Rockhampton - cattle country ( as far up as we go) & Great Keppel IslandWe were glad to get out of Bundaberg but found ourselves in Townsville which didnt look that much better. The only reason we had come up this far is because the far end of the Barrier Reef starts round here. The are well know here for their cattle ranches, steak and the rodeo thing. The hostel uy was telling us in the bus there that some fellow traveller asked if he could r...

Bundaberg is a dump That was the first thing we thought when we pulled up at the bus station, with our hostel situated opposite. The bus driver had told me on the journey that it was crap, so prepaired me for the dissapointment. It reminded me of Dagaville in NZ; wide roads, ugly, service town for farms. At least in Dagaville there was a homley hostel. Bundaberg is really for people who want work fruit picking. We dont have a Auz work vis...

Rainbow Beach & Fraser IslandWe arrived late afternoon, getting off at a large area of grass with an old looking circus tent on it. We didn't have a map in the book for this town as it was quite small(pop;900). So we were bumbling around trying to figure out where we were, then Sam spotted it, pretty much all the hostels were opposite the bus stop on the same road. We wandered into Pippies (the hostel) which had a big open area with benches and hammocks a...

Noosa Heads Our bus was about an hour late arriving in Surfers and we had a change at Brisbane. By the time we got to Brisbane the bus was ready to go. We hadnt eaten since breakfast and it was now 2. We were sceduled to have a lunch stop here, but the connecting bus driver said we had time for a pee but no food, not allowed food on bus either. We would be on the bus till gone 5!! was this man nuts??? It wasnt our fault the...

Surfers ParadiseSurfers Paradise is basically a city by the sea. The beach is really long, there are lifeguards who are well buff, but in speedos and and far too old which is a shame. The sea is ideal if you are a good surfer but if you go in the designated 'swimming' area you are likley to a)drown b)drown someone elce or c)get battered. These areas are so crowded in the water, and i cant believe that the parents would take the small kids in the wave...