Sizzling - Hervey Bay / 15th and 16th November 2018

Hervey Bay was a small, admittedly nice place with a beach. Accordingly, we didn't do much during the two days we stayed at Flashpackers. Linni was also quite hoarse (which quickly became a running joke because it just sounded funny), so she made herself a hot cup of tea every hour, and there was also coffee, which I was very happy about. Our hostel was really cozy and we also had 4 very nice German roommates (once again): 2 girls from Stuttgart, Michi and Jule, and 2 guys with a slightly southern accent, Marten and Gregor - all around our age, which was really refreshing because otherwise we were always the youngest.

We also met Anna again, but she would start her Fraser tour the next day, so we arranged to meet again in Brisbane at the end of November. Jonathan from the Cool Bananas in Agnes Water was also back with us at the hostel and during a conversation where he shared his giant bread with Nutella with us (how happy Nutella can make you!), we discovered a common interest - our love for Corsica, especially the area around Calvi, and talked about it for a while and also about how it was for him to travel alone and how you really get to know yourself in that process.

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On the first day, Linni and I also went shopping - plenty of supplies, because in Rainbow Beach, our next stop, everything would be expensive again. In Hervey Bay, we finally found the first Aldi on the way down, which made us particularly enthusiastic. Tonight there would be a rice pan with minced meat and carrots, and after a short walk to the beach, which is also quite beautiful, we went to the mega well-equipped kitchen (first hostel with an oven). For dessert, there were strange pink marshmallow-like sticks that Michi bought and didn't want because they taste like soap. It was quite funny to try a little piece, but the rest ended up in the free food shelf in the kitchen.

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On the 2nd day, we went to the beach again, but this time together with the guys and only in the early afternoon, because before that we chilled out a bit and I watched the new episodes of Riverdale, which really scared and creeped me out. We also showered beforehand, which was quite a challenge because there was a sign in the bathroom with a warning: please limit showering to 3 minutes, otherwise the others in the room will have no water left. Yeah, sure, but it was still funny to time it.

In the evening, there was a free sausage sizzle at the hostel, which quickly became my favorite word of the day. Sizzling sound, pah. The sausages were really good too, and we sat outside at a table with our roommates, talked about trivial topics, exchanged weird stories, and watched the bats in the sky, which triggered sentimental Cairns feelings in me.

Afterwards, I called Friedi and went to the toilet house, which was actually pretty cool. Then we all went to sleep quickly, because tomorrow Linni, I, and Marten (he and Gregor separated for a while) would have to get up early again to catch the 5:50 am bus to Rainbow Beach. Unfortunately, there was no shuttle that early, so we prepared for a 30-minute morning walk, with 80 liters on our backs, and my backpack somehow became heavier and heavier, I didn't know why.

Song of the day(s): She's so High by Tal Bachman, because it has a really cool melody and it played twice in the last few days at Flashpackers.