WANDER
One Fish Two Fish
Red Fish Blue Fish
Nine ridiculous days exploring the coast of Queensland with some truly incredible people
Day One
Well day one started at the butt crack of dawn around the lovely hour of 5a.m. We battled the grogginess through the bus ride and fought sleep on the train ride, but we eventually found ourselves at the Brisbane train station. After inhaling our PB&J’s and a cup of coffee, we headed upstairs to meet the rest of the members on our tour. In a true act of foreshadowing, our tour guides showed up almost a half hour late. The boys stowed all our bags and the lot of us filled every single seat on the bus. Rhys (pronounced Reece) introduced himself and Charlie over the broken microphone and left us with three simple rules. 1. Don’t be late 2. Don’t be a princess and 3. Get weird! Buzzing with excitement and anticipation, we were off to the Australia Zoo! We had just enough time to check out all the exhibits, take selfies with the koalas, and even catch some of the live croc show which featured all the Irwin’s! Steve Irwin’s son even fed the croc! It was a pretty awesome experience to see them carrying on the legacy of the Crocodile Hunter. Once we hopped back on the bus and downed a second PB&J, Rhys came over the loudspeaker to let us know we’d be stopping at a bottle shop to load up on “goon”. I already know what you’re thinking…what the hell is goon?? That same thought was running through my mind when he said it. Well come to find, goon is the classiest of all alcohol. It is a 4 liter box of wine for about 12 bucks. Sounds like an awful hangover to me... Not being fans of chugging wine, Linds and I opted for a pack of Coors. As soon as everyone had their goon stored safely away, we played a game of speed dating to get to know each other, although that would definitely get taken care of over the next nine days… Pulling into the Dingo Hostel, we were quickly assigned rooms and then were off on a trek to Rainbow Beach. Just the vastness of it was breathtaking, but as we made our way to the sound of crashing waves we were even more speechless (if that’s at all possible). At the end of the sand was a strip of rocks and a vertical drop straight down to where the shore met the ocean. The sunset morphed the sky into pastel pinks and blues. We took as many pictures as we could, trying to capture the beauty, but it was something that really needs to be witnessed firsthand.
Back at the hostel, we reunited for dinner and drinks. All it took was a little “jungle juice” and some cheesy karaoke songs for everyone to loosen up and start mingling. We laughed and drank and learned how to dance to “Uptown Funk” from our new friend Mike, then headed to our room. It was an interesting night to say the least. Mike warned us that he spoke in his sleep; however he failed to mention that he shouted and violently kicked the end of beds in his sleep as well. That being said, not much sleep was had that night, but we had quite a laugh in the morning.
Day Two
Today started bright and early again at 6:30am with a hearty breakfast consisting of two pancakes (luckily peanut butter was provided). We stored our bags in one of the rooms, checked out, and loaded ourselves into the three huge off road vehicles parked outside. We were transported, massive 4-wheel-drives and all, to Fraser Island by ferry. (Fun Fact! Fraser Island is the only place in the world where the rainforest is found growing on sand dunes at elevations over 200 meters.)The road was bumpy to say the least. We quickly abided to the seatbelt rule as soon as we hit the first bump and we all went air born. The driver informed us that our first stop would be Lake McKenzie, a perched lake. Basically a perched lake happens when organic matter gradually builds up and hardens in depressions created by the wind, eventually filling with rain water. Upon arriving at Lake McKenzie I was completely mesmerized by this little piece of paradise. The sand was so fine and the water was the clearest blue I have ever seen. Even in the areas that my feet didn’t touch the ground, I could still see straight to the bottom. Lindsey and I beached ourselves half in the water, half out, trying to take in as much of Lake McKenzie’s beauty as possible. The only thing that could pull us away was the promise of food, so we headed back inland for a quick lunch and toilet break. The ride back was quite entertaining, as the whole cabin sang along to Katy Perry’s Firework and the driver flashed the lights in synchronization. We made our way back via the 75 Mile Beach, stopping to play in the tide pools and snack on Lamington’s. When we arrived back at the Dingo Hostel we were instructed to “find a shower” and get ready to go. There were only three showers available, one being the open one by the pool, for 60 of us to use. So naturally, Lindsey and I snuck into an open empty room and hoped in the shower. It was quite a site to see, people scattered around with open suitcases, brushing teeth in the bushes, towels in the trees, and I even saw some public pit shaving. Once all basic human needs were taken care of it was time to get on the bus for an overnight ride to Airlie Beach. I’m pretty sure every single one of my limbs went numb at some point that night. Rather than frustrate myself trying to get comfortable I instead chose to watch the bus driver play his version of “Frogger,” swerving every now and then to hit the giant toads jumping across the road. To my amusement, he even showed me his victims splattered remains on the tires when we got off for a toilet stop. An interesting night to say the least.
Day Three
Everyone emerged from the bus the next morning a little stiff and very tired. No one seemed to have managed to fall asleep for more than two hours. However, with the day we had ahead of us there was really no way to feel anything but excitement. After a much needed stretch and a toilet stop we were off to spend our day on a couple of high powered speed boats! Once the papers were signed and our bags were stored away at our private island for the night (yeah, you read that correctly), we headed out to beach hop The Whitsundays! We stopped at one of The Whitsundays’ 74 islands to hop in the clear blue waters for a snorkel sesh. We were given “stinger suits” to wear as it was still box jellyfish season and encountering one was a possibility. Pushing that terrifying thought to the back of my mind, I jumped right in. There were plenty of fish to see and even a few jellies (the harmless ones of course). One of the boat drivers who were snorkeling with us even managed to see a turtle! Everyone eventually gathered back into the boat and we headed off to a quick bushwalk of The Whitsunday National Park. After a couple minutes hike through the trees, the branches opened up to a view that literally dropped my jaw. Looking out over The Whitsundays truly leaves you at a loss for words. It looks like a snapshot out of a vacation pamphlet, a literal piece of paradise right smack dab in front of your face. It’s no wonder at all that it is titled #1 beach in the world. Pictures will never do it justice. Once everyone picked their jaws off the floor, we jumped back on the boat to have lunch at the next beach, Whitehaven Beach. You know those cheesy commercials of slow-motion couples walking hand in hand down an empty beach with white sands and unreal blue waters? That’s Whitehaven beach. We grabbed lunch off the boats and sat down to relax for a bit on the fine white sands. Relaxation time was limited as the goon Olympics began shortly after lunch. Not much organization, just a lot of shiny silver bags dangling; being drank and tossed back and forth. This was the day we realized cold goon is a luxury. The ride back was long, but as we were gliding through the waters a massive cluster of butterflies came through the boat. The boat driver informed us that they migrate in large groups over the waters between the islands. I couldn’t help but smile as butterflies seem to have been following me this entire trip and I know exactly who they are :)
Pulling up to the private island, South Mole, was unreal. A small hotel was located right at the shore, but apart from that there was not another soul except our group and the hotel staff. We all located our rooms for the night and headed down for our spaghetti dinner (I was beginning to notice all of our provided meals were carbs with a side of carbs and some more carbs). We were each handed a white bed sheet on our way out and advised to make a toga and be back at 9 for the toga island party! Constructing something somewhat cute out of a king sized bed sheet was a struggle itself, but nothing compared to the struggles of people we witnessed when we got back down to the common area. I guess the goon hits you pretty hard when you’re out in the sun all day. I played quite a few games of the best game ever, thumper, and then joined Lindsey and Mike by the pool to enjoy the night’s entertainment of drunks throwing each other into the pool and guessing who would go home with who. The night ended in our COLD (aircon is also a luxury here) room with not a clue where our togas ended up.. Cheers to that!
Day Four
Waking up hangover free has its benefits. Not only did we spot a few embarrassed walk of shames, but we made our way to the end of the dock at 5am to catch the sunrise. I’m not exactly the best with words when it comes to expressing myself, but there is something to be said of the silence and calm surrounding a sunrise. Sitting on a dock out in the middle of the water with the sun rising from behind the mountain and the sunlight slowly creeping over shore gave me chills. It clears the mind completely, humbling you in the realization that no matter what happens in life the sun will always rise and a new day always begins.
Anyway, back to the light stuff :) Today we were picked up from the island by a huge catamaran. Everyone slathered on the sunscreen and found a spot to bake themselves. We sailed for awhile and eventually stopped, the location I’m not entirely sure, to hop in and cool down. I made my way back onto the catamaran several times just so I could I could make another running jump off the side. Lindsey and I floated around on our noodles, held a little jelly in our hands, and I even did a few pull-ups in the hollow under the boat! Back on the boat where more sunscreen was applied and the goon came out, this time in coffee cups (the class is endless with this stuff). We pulled into the dock and hopped on the bus to head to our hostel, “Down Under,” for the night. Everyone assessed their tan (and burn) lines from the day and I noticed the flash tattoo on my back had washed away, leaving behind an exact outline. Saweet.
We met our roommates for the night, four boys who turned out to be extremely smart, friendly, and 10x cleaner than the filthy boys we live with back home.. Food was eaten and pre drinks were had and we soon enough found ourselves in the Down Under bar with not only our group, but many other backpackers as well. There was karaoke and thumper and a lot of getting to know each other. Lindsey and I found ourselves hanging with the two tour guides of the trip. We ended up at a bar called Mama Africa (hahah) where the Jell-O shots were $2 and wild animal sightings were frequent. The night turned into morning and we all headed back to the hostel. Lindsey strung her tour guide on a little longer, but I shooed mine back to his room and booked it to my room where my bed was calling my name.
Day Five
A round of applause for tipsy Taylor remembering to drink a bottle of water before bed! No hangover for me! Unfortunately, Linds couldn’t say the same. We had the morning to ourselves to indulge in the cute backpacker town that is Airlie Beach. Our hungry bellies guided us to the closest breakfast café, The Village. In all our indecisiveness we settled for sharing two plates: an open omelet and a 3-layer club sandwich. We inhaled both in silence and shared our satisfaction with a smile. With the rest of the morning to ourselves we wandered the streets, searching the quaint little stores for nothing in particular. After a short and awkward encounter with the tour guides, we ventured back to the back of the hostel and found a couple of hammocks in the shade. I’ve taken a lot of naps in my life and I have to say this nap was hands down in the top 3, possibly even number 1. An hour or so late, we reluctantly pulled ourselves out of the hammocks and we grabbed our bags to met the rest of the group in front of the Down Under bar. We leisurely entered the bus, chattering with one another of how everyone spent their morning. Seats were chosen, aircon was adjusted, Finding Nemo played on the TV, and we were off on our 6 hour bus ride to Mission Beach. Nothing too much more eventful for this day. We checked into our rooms and as soon as everyone had showered and re-packed their bags, the room was asleep.
Day Six
A knock on the door at 7am from our tour guide Charlie was how day six began. This is the day I was dreading the most. Papers were signed and river taxes were paid. Next thing I knew there was a helmet on my head and a paddle in my hand. We were at the Tully River preparing to go white water rafting. Upon entering the raft I found every possible handle and rope within my reach should I need to grab on to something (which inevitably I would). The tour guide, Johnny, was quite amused with my terrified faces and sassy comments. I think the part that scared me most was the thought of flipping over and being dragged over all the rocks. I sat on the middle right, with Lindsey directly in front of me. On the first rapid, to my horror, I watched Linds fly off the side into the water. Mike and I quickly grabbed her legs and hauled her back in. I shot a glare at Johnny which only egged him on. “Jump left” and “jump right” were commands that when instructed and performed would balance out the raft and prevent us from flipping. To my delight Johnny instructed us to jump left and the whole raft toppled over. I found myself in the pocket under the raft and scrambled out and away from it as quickly as possible. As soon as I surfaced I could hear Johnny laughing. “Oh, did I say left? I meant right!” he managed to say between the bursts of laughter. This guy. The rest of the day went pretty much just like that with Johnny pushing every single one of my buttons. In all honesty though, I had a blast. It had a lot to do with Johnny and him making me realize it was not that scary after all. We made our way back to the bar, of course, and scrutinized all the perfectly timed photos. Linds and I each grabbed a beer for the two hour drive to Cairns. Twenty minutes into the drive and our bladders had reached full capacity. Squirming in our seats, the driver finally pulled over and it was an all-out sprint to the toilet.
We finally arrived at the hostel we would be staying at for the next four nights, Gilligan’s! Easily the nicest hostel yet. We were pleased to find our roommates were all girls and all pretty cool chicks at that. With food on the mind, we headed down to The Woolshed for a group dinner. One extremely long wait for a burrito later, the girls headed back to Gilligan’s only to all return a few hours later back at The Woolshed for free ladies night champagne! I grabbed my first glass of champagne and didn’t get much further than that as I bumped into one of the guys on the trip, Eric, and we somehow managed to talk for two hours without even noticing. He is prepping for a bodybuilding show here in Australia so we basically just talked about meathead things for the duration of our night out! Haha it’s really awesome though finding someone who shares the same passions as you. Bodybuilders need their sleep so Eric headed in for an early night and I went out on the hunt for Lindsey. Being that we had plans to skydive early the next morning, we had both agreed to take it easy on the drinks as jumping out of a plane is probably not the best cure for a hangover. Upon locating Momma Linds, she had seemed to have forgotten that little agreement and I could tell tomorrow would not be pretty if she continued. I convinced her to leave and managed to get her back to the hotel, but not before we took a stroll as requested by Linds to “walk off the alcohol.” We eventually found our way back to our bunks, excited for tomorrow’s plan.
Day Seven
Unfortunately, Linds woke up with a bit of a headache, but that didn’t impede on the excitement we both were feeling. WE WERE GOING TO JUMP OUT OF A PLANE TODAY! We strolled downstairs and outside for breakfast (you guessed it…more carbs). To our dismay it was drizzling outside. We shared a uncertain glance and at that same moment received a text from Cairns Skydive. Jumps would be postponed until the weather was cleared by safety officials. Ok, so there’s still hope. We walked a couple blocks to find some real coffee and steal a bit of wi-fi. One more text from Cairns Skydive. No jumping out of planes for us…today. It was quite a bummer, however, we would all be bungee jumping this afternoon so it wasn’t a total loss. When 3 o’clock rolled around, the group found themselves in a red double-decker bus (no roof on top). The ride over to AJ Hackett was gorgeous. Fields of sugarcane and mountains in the distance was all we could see. We pulled up to the site and the first sign we saw read “Caution: Falling People.” That’s about the time my stomach got a little fluttery. All were signed in and weighed then off to jump! Linds and I were one of the first to go. The bridge stood 164 feet high and looking all the way up at it from the bottom gave you a kink in the neck. I slowly ascended the stairs, my heart rate increasing with each step. Once at the top, I couldn’t help but look down. Big mistake. One of the guys working there called out my named and chucked the harness at me. I was starting to question my sanity, but the adrenaline rush even at this point was indescribable. A couple minutes later, I was next in line. They don’t give you much time to think which is probably a good thing. Before I knew it I was being scooted to the end and told to smile at the camera. The next words I heard were “3..2..1..BUNGEE!” and I had somehow jumped off the bridge and was flying face first towards the water. If I thought it was adrenaline rush at the top, I don’t even know what to say about the jump. The high was unreal. Escorted down and untied by one of the cute bungee staff, my feet were back safely on the ground. Only to find that I had the urge to go again. Lindsey met me down on the bottom after her jump and we grabbed a couple of vodka redbulls(the special of the night) to calm down a bit. AJ Hackett also boasts its one of a kind 148 ft Minjin Swing. Three people lay tummy down and on self release drop and swing from 45 meters down to 1 meter in 3.5 seconds. We went up with our friend Mike and although not as intense as the bungee was still loads of fun. The rest of the night included a lot a vodka redbulls, a topless bungee jump, and a girl who overcame her biggest fear by jumping with one of the guides. It was awesome to see all the support from everyone who just a few days ago were only strangers. By the time we left it was dark out and we drove back to Gilligan’s to get an early night to get ready for the Great Barrier Reef the next day!!
Day Eight
Today started with the usual breakfast of toast and cereal (I wasn't joking about the carbs). We gathered at the dock and eventually boarded the boat where we paid the reef tax and found our seats for safety instructions. I noticed quite a lot of uneasiness as the boat began to rock and it became quite clear which ones had chosen to go out the night before. Choosing a spot away from those individuals, I filled out the papers for scuba diving and made my way out to the deck to join my seasick Momma Linds. To her relief, the boat came to a stop somewhere over the ocean. Our group was set to snorkel first, so we squeezed into our suits and headed out on a hunt for cool sea life. So many fish were scattered around and I even saw a few reef sharks! Nothing too terrifying, only a couple feet long. We were quickly called in to load on our scuba gear and get ready to go. I was not expecting the gear to be as heavy as it was. It took a few tries, but I gradually got up and plopped myself at the side of the boat. We learned how to use the mouth piece and into the water we went. A quick few necessities to know were taught and then we were lowering ourselves down to the bottom, equalizing our ears as we went. It’s weird to say, but I actually had to remember to keep breathing. We played with a sea cucumber and were visited by a big fish (I’ve forgotten the name of it) that enjoys its lips being tickled. It swam right up to us and let us take turns touching its lips. After the scuba was over there was a little more time for snorkeling and then finally it was lunch time. This day was quite a success. Linds and I were first off the boat to get first dibs on the shower. We caught up with Eric who was also in a hurry to get back, but he was heading for the gym (meathead life). Showered and dressed in a matter of an hour and a half, we made our way down to the bar at Gilligan’s where everyone was meeting for the bar crawl. The night started with a couple of vodka sodas with lime and that’s about the clearest description I can give. I remember climbing up a stripper pole with Eric to flex at the top, why? I couldn’t really tell you. Mark gave me a quick swing dance lesson in the middle of one of the bars (he’s actually not too bad). One venue had their staff walking around with boxes of pizzas, offering slices. I did pass on the pizza, but there were several more vodka sodas had… I don’t think any of us could really say what bars we went to or where they were, but one thing was certain: we all had a hell of a time. We made it back to Gilligan’s and one by one (some by twos) headed back to their rooms. Couple bottles of water down the hatch and I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Day Nine
The hangover prevailed over the water chugging strategy on this last day. Once again, we grabbed some carbs in the morning (I stocked up on the peanut butter packets) and went for a walk to see if any of the stores had reasonably priced tank tops to wear for our last night out (as we had run out of clean clothes). If you’re a girl, you know the following sentence never happens, ever. We found what we were looking for in the first store and the first things we tried on. I took this as an omen of the night to come. A couple of advils and a lots of water later, the headache slowly subsided. We hoped on our bus one last time, making a stop for lunch and coffee at Trinity Beach before heading to our last adventure. The last adventure of the trip was a short hike to Crystal Cascades, a secluded freshwater swimming hole, hidden in a tropical rainforest. Yet another slice of paradise. We climbed through a few obstacles of rocks to a section of the swimming hole that had a decent sized waterfall. The water was pretty chilly and maneuvering around the sizable rocks in the water was a skill. Most of the boys were making attempts at getting behind the waterfall, but most were unsuccessful and were shot backwards by the pressure of the water. Linds and I decided to climb to the top of the waterfall. It was a short climb and once at the top found another waterfall set back behind the trees. We took a few pictures and explored the top a bit more until the others started making their way up to the top as well. We found ourselves back at the bottom, packing up our things to head back and get ready for our farewell party. All of us on a mission, the SEVEN girls in our rooms all showered and were ready in a little over an hour. If that doesn’t impress you, you’re lying. New found playsuit on and hair straightened for the first time in 10 days, I was ready for a great night. We gathered at The Woolshed for dinner, where I found a tortured Eric staring at all the pizza he couldn’t eat. I found myself back in meathead conversation before I could grab another slice. After dinner, (and even before) the drinks started. Goon is a distant memory at this point and we have all graduated to proper beverages. I was back on the vodkas sodas with lime as was Lindsey. It’was a bittersweet night, but we’ve all had the time of our lives and made friends to last a lifetime. Once again there was quite a lot of jumping and dancing and kissing that took place. Eric came to say goodbye and, not wanting to say adios to my newfound fitness buddy, I somehow ended up walking him back to the hostel. For his safety, of course haha. Magically, I made it back to The Woolshed where I found more friends and more drinks. The rest of the night I will leave back in Cairns and up to your imagination :)
Until next time Cairns...
Waking up in the dark, all I could think was “holy hangover,” but as I made my way out of bed I found that I had not yet reached that stage quite yet. Yes, I woke up still a little tipsy. Still in darkness, I grabbed everything of mine off the floors and counters and stuffed them into my duffel bag. A couple of minutes later and we were out the door to catch a cab to the airport. We ran into a few people who were also checking out and bid them a bittersweet farewell. Linds and I haven’t had McDonald’s (here they say Maccas) in YEARS. But, on this day, we were on a mission for some Maccas. However, in true Lindsey luck there was no Maccas to be found at the airport. We settled for a couple breakfast sandwiches and hash browns at the Hungry Jack’s (basically Burger King). Somehow, we managed to score the emergency exit seat with the third seat unfilled. You know what that means…time to stretch out!! We fell asleep in all sorts of positions and when we awoke were greeted by the steward who inquired how our nap went. It was really a sad flight, landing back in Gold Coast, but when we exited the plane we were greeted by a cool breeze! The weather left us feeling hopeful although we knew the depression of an adventure ending would soon set in...
