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I arrived in Noosa on a very gloomy day, it was early when I got there but the rain was set in for the day. Needless to say I didn't accomplish much, I just went shopping for food I would later cook for my tea (and spent a fortune on not a lot) The hostel was nice and relaxed and when I found out the surfboards were free to use for residents staying there I hoped I would get the chance to get on one (in the sea). The following day, the sun was out, I was looking on the map at the different beaches and trying to figure out which would be the best to surf on. I heard a girl talking about going on the bus so I asked her which would be best for a novice who could stand up and turn a bit. She said I would be fine at the place she was going and that we could go together, I have forgotten her name as I am writing this nearly a week later (we didn't stay up to date for long). Regardless, she was a Swedish girl who worked at the hostel. Neither of us had much luck in the water as there wasn't much going on in the morning, she had to leave about 12ish but I stayed and chilled out on the beach for a bit before having another go in the waves. The waves had got up so I was hoping for better results, what I didn't realise was that I was about to get the worst results to date. In less than 2 hours that afternoon, I managed to sustain a few injuries:
·1 x Badly bruised elbow (from a collision with another surfer - totally not my fault)
·1 x Bust lip which swelled like a balloon (from a wave flipping my board up into my face)
·1 x Bruised/Bleeding chin (from being smashed by a wave on to the sandy bottom)
Needless to say, I gave the sea a few of my favourite swear word combinations, and hoped the surf boards days were numbered too. I called it a day and headed back to the hostel.
The following day brought more sunshine, conscious of the little time I had there I went for a walk around Noosa National Park hoping to see a koala bear. I walked about 8k, got drenched a couple of times by showers but then soon dried out in the sun 10 minutes later. I didn't see any Koala Bears but it was a really good walk, and I came across some deserted beaches along the way which I spent a bit of time on just watching the crashing waves. Probably the best thing about the walk is that I didn't see anyone (not that I was being unsociable it was just nice) apart from the ranger coming past in his truck who asked if I was okay. Obviously this was just out of courtesy, and not because I looked like a tourist holding my map wondering which way I should go. I only had 3 nights in Noosa but it reminded me of Bryon Bay a little bit just a bit more upper class. It was very expensive and I was told there was population control and only Australians are allowed to live there. I had not met to many people whilst in Noosa but it was a gorgeous place (that I would love to live in if they weren't so selfish) and I was glad to be able to fit it into my trip. I didn't sample any of the nightlife there or restaurants so it would be nice to go back and spend some more time there. I was due to stay for another night, but I had found a really cheap flight to Sydney on a certain day for only $30 so I could not turn it down. In preparation for my return to Sydney I booked 2 nights in a hostel before I was due to fly out to New Zealand. I did some research on which hostel to book, I didn't want to go back to the G'Day Backpackers at which I had started my Australian adventure. As much as at the time I thought it was okay, it was my first hostel in the country and after 3 weeks I realised there was much better to be had for the same price or cheaper. I found one called Original Backpackers (where my friend Tom had also stayed and recommended). It did not disappoint, whilst I was only staying there for 2 nights it was a nice building with good facilities and most of all clean. I shared a 6 bed dorm with a mixture of people who were all very friendly, some working out there, some passing through. I had been told the day after was supposed to be a very nice day, so after my spell of unsettled weather I was more than keen to make the most of it. I got up early and had already planned that I would take a boat back to Manly Beach and see what other injuries I could sustain upon myself in the surf. The day looked promising but there was also cloud threatening. I really just wanted a nice sunny day to end my stay in Australia. I got a boat ticket from the Circular Quays and waited for my ferry, a local guy made some small talk with me, and I asked him whether it was going to rain or not. He simply replied "It doesn't really matter mate, the beer will still taste the same", whilst I wasn't going to be drinking much on my second visit to Sydney I rather liked his attitude. I arrived in Manly (the place where I got attacked by the birds) and looked around for Surf board hire. I found a good deal on a 2 hour lesson and thought it would be good to give me some pointers and help me progress in the areas I was going wrong. The waves were decent that day and we had a small group so the instructors where able to give lots of advice on what I was doing wrong and how to improve. I found there knowledge invaluable and again I couldn't believe just how much there is to learn about surfing. The guy leading my group was about 30 years old and he had been surfing since the age of 5, as you can imagine there was not much he did not know about the subject. I am aware that I have detailed numerous surfing exploits previously so I will not bore you with the details, but basically, despite a bit of help sometimes to catch the wave, it was my best surfing experience to date. No white water, actual decent waves that I could catch, turn, and ride all the way in to shore. One of the instructors was from Peru and he had finished for the day, so we went to grab food and a cold one. The sun stayed out to, so my last day in and around Sydney did not disappoint, it was a fantastic day. Now, less than 12 lines ago I had said stated that I had not planned to drink much beer on my second stay in Sydney, and whilst that is near enough the truth, there was a Scottish girl in my dorm room who was travelling alone for 6 months. We got chatting for about an hour and with it being my last night in Australia we both decided it would be very rude not to end it with a couple (plus a few more) of cold beers. We headed out, and actually ended up in O'Malley's, the Irish bar where only 3 weeks earlier I had a rather unfortunate experience involving a toilet visit, a drunken man and a soiled t-shirt. If this is the first blog you have read of mine you might want to look at an earlier one for the details. So we had some drinks and a really good laugh before calling it a night about 10pm. I had learnt from previous occasions not to hit it to hard the day before an international flight, and because I was due to be up at 4am I did not have much room for error. I woke up on time, even though it seemed like the middle of the night, I caught my transfer to the airport making our way through what seemed like a deserted Sydney. I reflected on what I done with my time in Australia, and whilst there had been a few ups and downs I wouldn't of changed a thing…
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