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Since we'd unpacked most of our gear in our Agnes Water condo (to make it feel more like home), we had to once again extend our check-out time (which we haven't had any difficulty doing anywhere we are), before heading to our next destination: Rainbow Beach. It was supposed to be a 4.5 hour drive, but with all the construction going on, we arrived at our hostel after 6 hours - late for our Fraser Island orientation (which we'd have to make up in the morning). Staying in a private room with its own bathroom is considered luxurious for our fellow backpackers, but after staying at such nice accommodation in Agnes Water, it is quite the eye-opening experience. We've felt completely grateful for the vast array of experiences that we've had, no matter what kind of accommodation we're staying in for the night. This specific stay has revealed our "Chameleon Flashpacker" lifestyle - "Flashpacker" is a term used to refer to travelers like Steve and myself who travel a little more comfortably than the average backpacker, toting more luggage, staying in hotels vs. hostels, and eating out every meal instead of using the hostel kitchen. Most of the backpackers we've met are traveling by Greyhound bus, only allowing them one bag of gear, staying in multi-bed dorm rooms (with 6-8 beds), and sharing bathrooms with everyone. We may not stay in dirt-cheap hostels with other backpackers very often, but when we do congregate with them, we are like chameleons - assimilating ourselves to a more humble way of travel so that we can be more relatable and easily connect with them. Before entering the hostel, we pulled all of our luggage out of our vehicle and packed our backpacks with items we'd need for our Fraser Island camping trip so that we wouldn't need to roll our large (very un-backpacker) luggage bags through the hostel up to our room. I was really excited to walk into this open-air hostel to see a couple of cute kitty cats lounging around the premises. They definitely made me think of my lil Roxy and Juniper back at home! We went out to a delicious supper of steak and pesto pasta and then came back to the hostel for some amazing live music. Nathan Kaye is a musician who plays steel guitar, synthesized drum with foot pedals, didgeridoo, beat box, and vocals. We loved his music so much that we even bought his c.d. that we've been listening to in the car. We ended the night with some friends that we met earlier on in the trip and were ready for the next few days to come!
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