An annoying illness and a great adventure

As announced in the last report, I went to Noosa on Maundy Thursday afternoon from Brisbane, where there is a large national park with large forests and many rocky coasts. I wanted to take a closer look at these. The emphasis is on WANTED. But let's start from the beginning. After the probably most extensive check-in in Australia (with passport scanner and several questions 😩), it soon became evening and thus dark. I had decided to participate in one of the Peterpans parties that are everywhere in this country. At first everything went well, but after eating and having a first drink, I got severe headache and stomach pain. These improved for a few minutes, but came back when we decided to change the location and moved to the hostel bar. So I had to leave the party early and decided to go to bed early. In the middle of the night, I woke up because the headaches became stronger. Despite fresh air and water it got worse instead of better and I couldn't sleep until early morning. By then it was clear to me: I had caught a classic stomach bug, with everything that goes with it. I'll spare you the details 😉

But since I still wanted to see a little bit of Noosa on Good Friday, at least I walked along the coast for a few kilometers during the day, which also had some interesting spots. But I couldn't really enjoy it. So I skipped a walk through the forest. Later I visited the lagoon and otherwise stayed in the hostel to rest, hoping that the bug would be over by the next day.

But that was not the case - the second night was a mirror image of the first night. And that, even though I had hardly eaten anything. Fortunately, I felt a little better during the day. I spent a few hours at the beach and in the pedestrian zone before heading to the bus. All in all, the illness was very frustrating, because I could only see a small part of what I wanted to see. I was also considering a canoe tour through the Everglades, but in that condition, I could forget about it. Too bad 😢 It was already dark when I arrived at my next destination Rainbow Beach. For dinner, I risked eating "normally" for the first time in two days and fortunately it went well.

On Easter Sunday, I first explored the small town (approx. 1000 inhabitants) before I went to the beach and spent a few hours there as well as in the sea. Afterwards, the briefing for one of my biggest adventures so far took place: 3 days and 2 nights on a camping tour on Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. First, we were divided into our groups. Each of us should explore the east coast in a 4WD vehicle from Easter Monday. I found myself in a group with Samantha, Ellen, Kimberley, Claire, and Emma from Aberdeen in Scotland, who are traveling the east coast in a group of five and are all 22 years old, as well as with Mickael and Lionel from Bordeaux. Then we were given a long presentation explaining everything we needed to know for the next few days.

The morning of Easter Monday marked the start of the expedition. It started with a surprise, because on the first day we were supposed to ride in the car with our guide Crumpy, so none of us would be the driver. After loading the drinks and some explanations about the meals that we should, of course, prepare ourselves, we quickly got started. We reached the ferry after just a few minutes. The ferry ride lasted only 10 minutes. As soon as we reached the island, we saw a dingo running along the beach. We had been strongly warned about these animals the day before and our campsite was completely fenced to protect against them. We then took our first break at 75 Mile Beach to eat our lunch, which would not change for the next two days - wraps with meat, salad, and various vegetables. We then went to Lake Birrabeen and Lake Mackenzie. The special thing about both lakes is the white sand and the very bright blue of the water. It was really nice to see them and splash around a bit. The weather was also quite good, so it wasn't too cold. With loud music in the car and bumpy sand tracks, we returned to the beach to pick up our food trailer and then drive to the camp, but not before we took a group photo just before sunset. When we arrived there, it was already dark. We immediately started cooking dinner: Chinese noodles with various vegetables and chicken. Once this was done and the meal was eaten, we started the party. There were four other groups in the camp, so a total of 32 people. Over the course of the evening, I got to know several new faces, including a group of 4 girlfriends from Ireland who are also traveling together and whom I now consider to be some of my best friends in Australia. Their names are Niamh (pronounced: Neeve), Cait, Kathryn, and Karen. They are all nurses or will start working as nurses after returning and will spend the next few months in Sydney. I will include a photo with them in the next report. During a card game, I also got to know their fellow travelers Sophia (London) and Andre and Vince from southern France. That would have been a great car for me too 😋 Of course, on such a tour, one thing should not be missing: Goon. This is an Australian cheap wine that is very popular among backpackers. I only brought a few cans of beer, but Lionel and Mickael kindly donated a lot of their Goon to me. However, over time, I also realized why there are so many horror stories about Goon 😂 Anyway, the evening continued with the card game "Ring of Fire", which is basically a drinking game, with marshmallows over the campfire, a bit of dancing in the camp disco, and finally in the tents, which were set up in large numbers for us.

In the morning, refreshed and after a hearty breakfast, we continued with the exploration of the island. I even had the honor of being the first driver of our group 😊🚘 After just a good quarter of an hour, we made our first stop at a very clear river and stayed there for a while. I played a little throwing game in the water with some others and also cooled off a bit, as it was very hot outside. We then went to the Maheno Shipwreck, which has been there for many years. Therefore, the ship looks very rusty. That's where the picture with the whole group was taken. On the way back, I experienced for the first time that it is not so easy to drive through deep sand, especially since I had some problems with the gear shift. Nevertheless, we arrived safely at the lunch break in the camp 😊 After lunch, I handed over the keys to Kimberley and we went to the next attraction: the Champagne Pools. At this point, there are some rocks just before the beach in the sea and the waves break over them, creating two natural "pools". Hence the name. There, I also got to know Samuel from Switzerland - finally someone who also plays soccer 😆⚽ On the way back, heavy rain suddenly started, so we more or less sprinted back - of course only as fast as our flip-flops allowed 😅 The next stop was a rock that no Aboriginal goes to anymore these days. This is because in the past, the indigenous Australians were regularly thrown from the summit towards the sea and thus died. The view from up there was absolutely amazing, even though it was unfortunately very cloudy. On the way back, I chatted a bit with Niamh and Karen, so the others in my car wondered where I was, because they wanted to continue driving 😆 Anyway, we could only leave when all 32 were present, so the worry was completely unfounded 😜

After a long drive, we arrived at the camp and quickly moved on to dinner: steaks with vegetables and potatoes. I had never thought that the preparation would take a whopping 2 hours, but it was also fun because everyone from our car participated and we could have good conversations. In between, we were visited by Connor from Newcastle, who is simply gigantic (over 2 meters), is also a big Celtic Glasgow fan, and screams more than he talks. He had learned to say "Je te déteste" from the French guys, which he then said to everyone as a greeting. Not very nice, but it was meant to be funny 😊 Side note: He enjoys playing football manager games and therefore he knows Samantha's boyfriend from my car (virtually), who is currently playing for Shrewsbury, but is actually under contract with FC Fulham and played under coach Felix Magath for six months in 2014 😂 Things like that 😅 You can definitely have some fun with Connor. I had that a little later in another card game with Team 7, the Ireland-France-England group, while some others had a little too much fun and played Russian roulette with real knives 😨 Luckily, nothing happened. As we had a birthday party ahead of us - Lionel turned 40 the next day - most of us stayed up until midnight. At exactly 12 o'clock, we were on our way to the beach and of course started singing "Happy Birthday" 🎶🎉 I don't have many memories of the beach. All I know is that I must have fallen asleep almost immediately after arriving - according to witnesses, I even snored 😂😂😴 What Goon can do to you 😜🍷 Anyway, I woke up sometime after 1:00, with a beautiful starry sky above my head. I don't know how much time passed after that, but eventually Niamh, Kathryn, and I went to my tent together, where I fell asleep again immediately.

I would not have thought that this would be possible, but the next morning I was actually already up at 7:00 and felt surprisingly awake. So I had a calm breakfast with Team Ireland and enjoyed a warm morning. Unfortunately, I had to realize that someone had taken my sunglasses while I was away for maybe 10 minutes. Well, it only cost $10, but still it's just sh**ty and rude 👎👊 Some people never learn 😳 On our last day, we only had a drive to a lake and lunch at a small beach directly on the edge of the forest. However, as soon as we arrived at the lake, it started pouring down as if on cue. It seemed to calm down quickly, but as soon as we arrived at the lake - the visibility was not good anyway because it was very cloudy and foggy - it started raining again. So we quickly sprinted back to the car and off to lunch. The weather there was, unlike the rest of the island, quite good, at least dry. We also saw a small crab there, which had left small sand balls everywhere, and I mean really everywhere, as well as some holes in the ground. It was interesting to see what such a small animal can do. We continued by car, which was much quieter that day than the first two days - the last night had left its mark on everyone - back to the ferry and then to the hostel. First and foremost, it was time to rest there before an after-Fraser party for the whole group was supposed to take place in the evening. I was adopted for the evening by my "second car" again, Team 7, and we had a great evening with live music in the hostel bar. Over time - as a result of an Instagram or Facebook post - it turned out that my Irish friends are friends with a countrywoman of mine that I had met in New Zealand. Aiofe had been one of the numerous Irish people who were with me at Lake Aniwhenua, in Whakahoro, and in Tongariro National Park, and had also walked the Alpine Crossing with me. Anyway, Karen received a message from a totally surprised Aiofe, which was immediately answered with a selfie with me 😉 Once again proof of how small this world is 🌏 After agreeing with Karen and Niamh to go sandboarding the next day, I went to bed around midnight.

The weather on the following day was very changeable. Although it was quite nice every now and then, it also rained constantly. Unfortunately, this also happened in the late afternoon. About 2 kilometers from the hostel, there is a huge sandy landscape with dunes, and at around 4:00, all guests who wanted to could meet there to grab a sandboard and slide down the dunes after a hike. I had already done this at 90 Mile Beach in New Zealand and had been looking forward to it all day, especially since two friends were supposed to be there as well. But just as everyone had gathered, there was no stopping - to get inside. As if on cue, a heavy rain shower started, which stopped after fifteen minutes, but started again not even 10 minutes later and wouldn't stop until late at night. Great timing! On all other days, sandboarding had worked out 😭 I didn't like it at all. Neither did I like that the Irish girls continued their journey towards Airlie Beach in the evening. I would have loved to spend more time with them 😭😢

Even though it drizzled almost all day the next day, I went to the Sand Blow, because if I couldn't go sandboarding, at least I wanted to see the whole thing. And it's really beautiful there. On the sand, at least on that day, you could walk wonderfully because it was very firm. On both sides, you have a great view of the sea, which can only be reached over steep cliffs, so I only saw it from a distance. Nevertheless, I was even more frustrated that the day before, we couldn't slide down the dunes in this great scenery. It would have been really awesome and would have been 100% fun. Especially with Niamh and Karen. What a shame 😔😓 But I guess that's fate and it can't be changed. I also went to the beach in the town itself, enjoyed a portion of fish and chips, and then made my way to the bus to Agnes Water in the evening.