On Friday I reached the northernmost part of my time in Australia, 1770, or Agnes Water as it’s also known. After saying a sad goodbye to our Fraser Island friends in Rainbow Beach, we drove up to 1770 so I could tick the Great Barrier Reef off my bucket list. Most people do the Reef further up north near Cairns, but as I didn’t have time to go this far I decided to see the southern part of it. The coral isn’t as vibrant in this section, but as someone who has never seen any before I was still impressed. The Great Barrier Reef is actually being destroyed because of oil underneath, so the likelihood of it being around in twenty-odd years is slim. Therefore I needed to take the opportunity to see what I could, and I’m very glad I did.
The morning of the trip consisted of a speedy exit from a campsite just as the ranger arrived to collect money from campers – isn’t that a strange coincidence?! – before the boys dropped me off at the marina. They weren’t joining me for the trip so it felt like they were dropping me off for my first day of school, as they were suggesting people I could go and make friends with. Such cuties! In the queue I got chatting to a Swedish guy, Elias, then we were joined by a Norwegian couple, Mathilde and Henrick, on the boat. The two hour journey to Lady Musgrave Island was filled with an interesting combination of talking and feeling nauseous as the boat bounced along. It was a nice feeling to be travelling alone again, as it really motivates you to get out of your comfort zone and chat to anyone you can.
Once we’d arrived at Lady Musgrave Island I donned fins and a snorkelling mask, and jumped into the clear turquoise waters to explore. It was a really surreal experience to be swimming around gazing at fish going about their daily routine (swim-swim-swim, such simplicity) and seeing the coral formations. I swam around awestruck for over an hour, and luckily got the hang of breathing through a snorkel, something I have failed at miserably in the past. The highlights of this time were seeing stingrays, starfish and sea cucumbers below me, as well as stumbling upon a rock used by four relaxing turtles. I stopped for a while just taking in the view of these magnificent creatures, then was amazed when a turtle swam right below me.
During lunch I ended up sitting with two ladies who had grown up in King’s Lynn, one who had a son at the University of Nottingham! I then had a tour of Lady Musgrave Island, taking in the birds and wildlife. This was followed by a glass bottomed boat tour of the area. After that I headed back into the water for another snorkelling session, but failed at my mission of finding turtles again. I sat with my Scandinavian pals on the way home, and started chatting about where we were heading next. I mentioned that I was driving 7 hours north in order to catch a flight back down South to Brisbane. Mathilde and Henrick offered me a lift straight to Brisbane with them, a mere 5 hour journey compared to the 11-ish hours of travelling I had planned to do.
This brings me to the beauty of travelling mentioned in the title. Accepting this lift and spending hours on a spontaneous roadtrip bonding with the Norwegian duo is what backpacking is about. Although I had to say an early (and emotional) goodbye to Harry and Pat, who I had been travelling with, it gave me the chance to get an extra day in Brisbane and meet some inspiring people. For the whole 5 hours of our journey we didn’t put any music on; instead we just laughed, and chatted about travelling experiences and life at home. After this Mathilde and Henrick invited me to sleep on an inflatable mattress in their hotel room, which is a huge amount of luxury for a backpacker. I had breakfast with them on Saturday morning, joined them for a trip to Surfers Paradise that day, and met up with them for lunch on Monday. It’s amazing how much you can bond in just a few hours! They have, however, ruined any plans of mine to go home, get a permanent ‘real’ job and act like a grown-up. Their tales of travelling through the Caribbean, Central America and Western Australia have inspired me to plan similar trips in the future.
I spent a few days in Brisbane, catching up with my friends Steph and Matt. I’ve concluded that Brisbaneans (or whatever they’re called) are the friendliest people in Australia. The bus drivers were smiley, shop assistants were chatty, and locals were happy to help this little lost backpacker when she got off at the wrong ferry stop. During my time in Brissy I’ve wandered around South Bank, caught the City Cat boat up the river and looked at the city views from Mount Gravatt. Sadly yesterday was my last day in Australia, and I woke up to find that it was raining. I like to think that Australia was crying because I’m leaving! I’m now in the departures lounge of Brisbane airport, ready to fly to Auckland. I have three weeks in New Zealand to explore the North and South Island. I’m very excited to see the beautiful views, although not so sure about the wintery weather, especially when it’s sunny back home in England.
Travelling Ginge 