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Who knew backpacking meant having to lug your rucksack around for 4 hours getting from Brisbane to Coolangatta via the train, wrong bus (full of teenage surfers!), lots of walking around Surfers Paradise only to be told it's the wrong place, and another bus ride?! I did not!
Eventually made it to my hostel, impressive considering their address was down as in Surfers Paradise, but they were actually 20km down the road in Coolanagatta! Still, made it in one piece and found a nice, clean, safe hostel that only had me and 3 other girls in an 8-bed dorm. Set about organising a trip as soon as I arrived and so walked down to the information office where they told me I needed to book a tour rather than simply get a bus. Who am I to argue? Booked a tour to the Skywalk in Mount Tamborine for Saturday.
Saturday morning came and somehow flew by, because before I knew it the bus driver was knocking on the hostel door saying I was 10minutes late! Luckily he wasn't too annoyed after I continued to apologise in my best English accent! We picked up another solo girl, well woman, from another hostel: she's spending 5 months here on a sabbatical from teaching in Quebec!
The tour guide advised that you still had to pay the extra $18.50 plus taxis to get to the skywalk over the rainforest, and that upgrading to the next tour, an extra $30, was much better value as you got to do that as well as some wine tasting, a visit to an Alpaca Stud, and transport the whole day. I opted for this as I didn't much fancy just wandering around the town full of fudge and macadamia shops: the waistline's already faltering!
Glad I did, as it was just the Canadian girl and me, and whilst she did laugh at me and ask 'why?' when I said I was going to America she was cool to spend the day with. Although when she said did I want to spend another $40 to go back to the village the next day, I had to politely decline!
Got back from the trip at about 6pm and I was already tired! Although I had been falling asleep on the way to the trip so I suppose that wasn't too surprising!
This morning was another story - I had a lie-in until 8 and then went for a run along the beach. For 30minutes the Gold Coast redeemed itself as the sun shone (heavily!) and the waves crashed whilst I plodded on by. Coolangatta, as is the rest of the Gold Coast from what I hear, is such a paradox within itself: on one side of the path are these gorgeous beaches, waves, and sunshine, and on the other sit a multitude of shadow-forming high-rises that wouldn't look out of place in a John Betjeman's 'Slough'!
Alas, I was forced to book another night here in Coolangatta as I couldn't find a bed in Byron Bay for Sunday. My Greyhound bus is now booked for Monday morning and my bed for Monday night.. just a little later than I'd planned!
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