EASTCOAST (English)

Yeah my good friends,
There I am again with an amazing story about the Eastcoast in Australia.

On 2nd January I left Sydney in the evening; going to Port Macquarie (my 1st stop at the Eastcoast). I just put my bagage in the Greyhound bus, while I turned away and saw a Dutch friend of mine(same town as me). He scared the hell out of me, because I never expected to see someone from the same town as me in Australia. On the way to Port Macquarie I talked with him about his plans and my trip. It was nice to see somebody from home after 4 months of traveling.

PORT MACQUARIE (3-4 January)
At 2am I arrived in Port Macquarie without booking a room. I thought it was easy to get a room, but all the offices were closed (no 24-hour service:-(). I was glad to see some fellow backpackers awake, so I could stay in their room for the night. :-) Really sweet of them!!!
The next morning I asked the hostel if they had a room for 1 night. "No and especially not for 1 night", the guy said. So I grabt my stuff and walked to another hostel. That guy said: "You can stay, but the minimum stay is 2 nights." My answer was: "Okay, I'll pay for 2 nights, but I'm only staying for 1 night." I just was sick of going from the one to another hostel.
I walked the coastpath; the weather was very good (sun and warm). I went to the Koala Hospital to see how they help wounded koalas. It's really sweet and everything is on volunteer bases. In the evening I sat on the veranda, reading a book and talked with fellow backpackers. It was cosy and fun!!! :-D
The next day I went for a walk; Kooloonbung Creek Nature Park Walk. The nature was beautiful and the different ecosystems were amazing to see. I enjoyed the walk very much!

COFFS HARBOUR (4-8 January)
On the way to Coffs Harbour we had a delay, because of a eatstop and an accident; 6 cars were crashed into each other. The only thing that I've seen is rain today... and it keeps going on:-(
I heard that the weather up north is worse, because of the typhoon season which can go on for 3 months. So I can prepare myself for.... :-S
The only thing that I've done in Coffs Harbour is watching movies, going to the shopping mall and talking with other backpackers. I even ran into Bastiaan and Francesca(I've met them in NZ); what a coincidence :-)
Finally, 7th January the sun was shining. So I walked to the Harbour with 2 Irish girls. We've seen Muttonbird Island and the shopping center. At the end of the afternoon I went to see Clog Barn, typical DUTCH; miniature dutch village, wooden clumbs, delfts blue etc. I just had to see this ;-)

BYRON BAY (8-11 January)
I arrived in Byron Bay and the hostelvan was already there. So I checked immediately in and saw that I shared a room with 7 guys. I'm the luckiest girl in the world ;-) :-D
When I did a small tour in the hostel, I saw Bastiaan and Francesca again; coincidence doesn't exist anymore! ;-)
The rest of the day I walked in Byron Bay and booked a tour to Nimbin. In the evening I went out for dinner with Bastiaan and Francesca; the fishcurry was amazing good!!!
The next day I had a daytrip to NIMBIN. ;-)
The Grasshoppers bus picked me up. On our way to Nimbin it started to rain and it didn't stop when we arrived :-(. Well, we just saw the only street in Nimbin and went to the museum, because you could get IT there. And ofcourse, Lieke is in Australia and tried there for the first time drugs; a marihuana cookie. Our guide said that a half cookie was enough. After a few hours(3hrs) I still didn't feel anything, so I ate the other half of the cookie. I waited...and waited..... still nothing. So the question is: didn't it work or does it have no effect on me? :-S
Thursday 10th January I got a massage and an AURA picture taken. It was good and I was tired, so I went for a nap. In the evening I chatted with the 2 German guys of my room on the balcony, with some music and a nice wine ;-).

SURFERS PARADISE (11-13 January)
When I arrived in Surfers Paradise (11am) I had to wait till 2pm for checking in. That's why I had to store my bagage and looked around in the city. At 2pm I finally could go to my room and I was impressed; just like a hotelroom, but then with bunkbeds(4 beds).
In the afternoon I took a fresh dive in the swimming pool, because it was really hot. In the evening I walked along the beach to see the Friday evening market. Really nice and impressing what you can buy. On my way back to the hostel I listened to entertainers; didgeridoos, "clowns" and acrobatics etc.
The next morning I arranged a game of tennis, but the guy had a hangover. It was a nice game, but not to my standards ;-). I just practice my strokes :-). The rest of the day I laid on the beach and begin of the evening I had a party: PARTY CRUISE!!! :-S
It was an amazing evening/night; party on the boat on the river (in the rain), going out to some clubs, hangout with people and see how they act :-S. I wasn't pissed, to answer you're question ;-)

BRISBANE (13-16 January)
I saw all the high buildings and thought: Oh no, it's really a big city". I just wanted some rest and quietness.:-( But my hostel was outside the center and in a really nice and quiet environment:-). I heard there were many Dutch people in the hostel (I want to speak English and not Dutch). They were very nice and they all came from the same part of Netherlands as me.
My GRANDPA had his birthday on 13th January, so I called 14th January at 6am to congratulate him. He said it was great to speak to me and glad that I called. It was nice for me to speak to everyone and know how it's going there (without me;-)).
The weather in Brisbane is shit: rain-sun-rain-sun-rain-sun-rain and that within 20minutes time. I just picked up my ticket for the Australian Open and the receptionist asked me if I would be a model at the hairdresser. I said: "Okay, why not? But no cutting or something". It was only shampooing and straighten my hair. It was really difficult to get my hair straight, because I have naturally curly hair. I sat there for 3hours and I was pretty glad with the result and the free treatment:-).
AUSTRALIAN OPEN
The next morning my alarm went off at 3am. The airport shuttle would pick me up at 4am. My flight was at 5am and I was about 9am in Melbourne. First of all I went to see my colleagues at Dorcasstreet ;-). It was good to see everybody and talk with them for a bit, because I had to go to the Australian Open and they had to go back to work (Sorry that I kept you a little bit of your work, Datacom IT) ;-). I miss them and I wished I had more time in Australia, so I could work longer there ;-).
About 11.30am I saw Michaella Kraijcek playing on Showcourt 3. I sat together with the other Dutch Fans :-D. She wasn't playing well; too much errors. At 1pm Colette(Irish) arrived :-) We went to court 18 to see an other Dutch Player: Robin Haase. He played very well and won of Ljubicic. I was amazed that he won!!! The end of the afternoon a lady came to me and asked if I wanted to see Lleyton Hewitt. Ofcourse, so I asked Colette if it was okay. It was in the Rod Laver Arena, but when I got in Hewitt just won the match. I just stayed for the interview with Jim Courier and I saw Hewitt's family in the VIP-box (3m from me). The last game that I saw was Santoro-Imez. It was great; short vs. tall(2.08m). Imez was playing very well(a real hotty!!!), but Santoro won the important points. My flight back to Brisbane was at 9pm and around 11pm I was back in the hostel and went to bed. It was a really great day and exhausting for me. :-)

NOOSA (16-18 January)
I arrived at 1pm in Noosa with the Greyhound bus. I had to wait till 4.30pm for the hostelvan to pick me up. First of all, we did some groceries and shopping. There we're 4 guys that we're going to do the 3-day canoe trip, so they needed their supplies. About 6pm we arrived at GAGAJU BUSHCAMP. It was just like a jungle, in the bush and along the river. We slept in armytents. The environment was beautiful, but there were a lot of mosquitos and bugs. In the evening we sat at the campfire and I also watched the Australian Open, because I can follow it now(here in Australia);-). The next morning I woke up around 6am, because it was too hot in the tent. They didn't have a vent or airco ;-). I went to the village and saw some shops, walked along the beach and watched the sea. In the evening we had again a campfire, but now with spectacle; a firespitter, 2 guitarists and a jambler with firesticks. It was nice and cosy!!!

HERVEY BAY (18 January)
About 5.30pm I arrived in Hervey Bay. It was really busy in the hostel to check in. But I had a room :-) and I packed my stuff for Fraser Island and watch the Australian Open on TV. I went early to bed.

FRASER ISLAND (19-21 January)
The briefing started at 7am; a video about 4 wheel-drive, National Park, camping and dingoes etc. I was in Group 2 with 9 other people(2 Spanish, 2 Danish, 1 Irish and 4 English). We had to pay a BOND of 1000 dollars, in case something happened with the car. After the briefing and paying the BOND, we drove to the CAMPSHED to pick up all the gear. After that we had 15 minutes shopping time for food and drinks. We arrived just in time at the ferry terminal!!! :-)
The first thing we did on Fraser Island, was going to the tankstation for our permit. After that LAKE MACKENZIE. The ride was harsh, because of the loose sand and you could only drive 20-30km/h. Lake MacKenzie was amazing! Beautiful, clear blue water and a nice temperature for swimming :-)
I could have stayed here for the 3 days we had. ;-) We spent a lot of time at the lake, so after that we had to find a campingspot. We saw another Palace car, so we camped with them. We put up the tents and did the cooking. Yummie:-): bread, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, burgers and sausages. We threw the frisbee on the beach till it was too dark to see anything. Then we just sat down in the sand on the beach with a beer and talked bullshit ;-). I had a great time at the beach! I even gave Jose(=Spanish) a surflesson in the sand. It was fun!!!:-D
The next morning I woke up, because it was too hot in the tent. I slept with Sarah and Roberto in 1 tent. Roberto came in the middle of the night to the tent. He wanted to sleep on my place, but he grab my leg and knew then that I was sleeping there. Really funny! I slept bad, because the ground was too hard; my back hurts a lot.
Around 9am we drove away and I was DRIVING. It was pretty difficult to drive in a jeep (toploaded) and the wheel on the wrong side ;-). We almost crashed, but I saved us ;-). The other 2 girls didn't like it; me driving.
We went to a river/creek, a shipwreck, and a point to see sharks. I enjoyed my driving part :-). And I did it well, said 2 guys of the group :-). The weather was really good; sun!!! The river refreshing and cool:-). In the evening we cooked pasta by Jose (Spanish Chefcook). I slept in the car and it was pretty good. :-) The only part that hurt was my neck.
The next morning we couldn't leave early, because of the sea. At 10am we drove to Lake Wabby. The walk to Lake Wabby was pretty far and hard. It was nice and a pretty view!!! Unfortunately the water was not clear; green, because of the plants and fish in the lake. Lake Mackenzie was much better and beautiful.
It was nice to swim in the lake and refreshing cool :-). After Lake Wabby we couldn't go back to Lake Mackenzie, because we hadn't the time for doing that. So we drove back to the tankstation. We played frisbee and had an ice-cream. At 4pm we were on the boat back to Hervey Bay :-(. We got our BOND back :-) and at 6pm we were back at the hostel.
Jose cooked PAELLA for us, because I asked it :-). It was delicious!!! After dinner we talked a lot and played some stupid games together with the other Palace group, like Chines Whisperers. It was fun and funny! Irish Dave tried to seduce me, but no I didn't want it. ;-)

AGNES WATER/ TOWN OF 1770 (22-23 January)
I was waiting in Hervey Bay for the Greyhound bus to Agnes Water. I ran into Howard. He was waiting on the bus to Byron Bay and after that he would go to Airlie Beach. So maybe I would see him again. Around 6pm I arrived in Agnes Water, where I got a tour in the hostelvan. Then to 1770 Backpackers hostel with a little tour around the hostel. It looked really good; quiet and relaxed. I could stay here for a week or so. I was tired, so I was reading my book and felt asleep.
The next morning I had a free tour in Agnes Water and Town of 1770 at 11 am. A beautiful view over Agnes Water, the beach and the sea. After that to Town of 1770, where 2 houses were sold for 2million dollars a house. The houses were crap, but the view was amazing. After that I walked to the beach, went for a swim and changed myself at the hostel. At 3pm a jeep of SCOOTEROO picked me up for the chopper ride. It was an automatic, but the feeling was amazing!!! I drove a pink chopper with a flaming helmet ;-). The chopper ride was awesome; driving a chopper for the 1st time, beautiful drive, kangaroos, Town of 1770, wedges at sunset en drive back to Agnes Water. I wanted to catch everyone ;-). So with a speed of 80km/h and sometimes more, I caught everyone and drove in front. :-D hahahahihihi
In the evening I was sitting in the bus on my way to Rockhampton. It was a pity that I couldn't stay longer in Agnes Water (travel plans). :-S

ROCKHAMPTON (23-24 January)
I arrived at 11.30pm in Rockhampton and took a cab to my hostel.
The next morning I checked out at 10am and put my bagage in the storage room. I walked around, looked in some shops and went to the Botanic Gardens & ZOO. I saw kangaroos, emoes, koalas, monkeys, crocodiles and different kind of birds. It was nice to see a crocodile in reallife:-). The only annoying thing was the mozzies; I got 20 bites or so. I watched the Australian Open in the hostel and waited till 11pm to catch a cab to the busterminal.

AIRLIE BEACH (25 January)
I arrived at 6.15am and the hostelvan was waiting. We could check in at 12.30pm. So I walked along the only street they have in Airlie Beach with shops. There was one shop I entered. They sell didgeridoos. You can choose your own didgeridoo with an own design, that an artist draw on the didgeridoo. That's what I want!!! :-) So I choose my didge and the design. I'm really glad with my choice; I can't wait till my didge is home ;-)
In the hostel I had a filthy room, but yeah, just for one night it's okay. In the afternoon I had a massage. It was really relaxing; it had to do with breathing(no idea how you call such a massage). At 5pm I went to didge lesson; how to learn play a didge. Arount 7pm I finally booked result in playing the didge. :-)

WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS (26-28 January)
I was waiting at 8.30am in the Marina till someone came from "Waltzing Matilda". First of all the rules etc. and then we went aboard of the sailingboat. We were with 12 people, the captain(Wayne) and 1st decadent(Paul). It's nice to have such a small group (2 Danish, 2 Swedish, 4 German, 1 English, 2 Scottish an me als Dutchie). The first few hours I slept on deck. When I woke up I was burnt as hell in my face. :-(
The weather was really good; sun with enough wind. Early afternoon we went with the little boat to an island with the stingersuits. We walked to the lookout and at the other side we went for a swim. The sea was really clear and beautiful lightblue. I was afraid to run into a stinger, but we had the protective stingersuits :-). Back on the boat, the lunch was ready. It was delicious; Paul is an excellent cook. After the lunch we sailed to our nightstay. Everyone took a shower and we ate on deck under the stars. We talked and drunk the whole night. The stars were beautiful and it was unbelievable how many. The 2 Danish guys had a special drink, that we had to try, called the Danish Bastard. It was unbelievable how many alcohol was in it :-|. I fell asleep on the deck and woke in the middle of the night up and went to my cabin for sleeping. :-s
The next morning I had a hangover of the Danish Bastards. I was sick and sat at the back of the boat. After 30minutes and breakfast I felt better :-). End of the morning we went snorkeling. I wasn't sure if I would try it, but... I wanted to see the coral. I had breathingproblems again, but Wayne helped me through it :-). So now I could snorkel on my own, feel secure and see the coral :-D. It was really beautiful and I had fun; the coral and all the fish were beautiful!!! In the afternoon we went snorkeling again. Now close to the rocks and the coral, so we had to watch out for not touching the coral (because it would die then). When Wayne pulled me on the little boat I touched the coral with me toes and it really hurts. So Paul had to play doctor and fixed my toes ;-). I also had a stinger on my noodle when I was snorkeling, so I was a little bit scared of them again :-S. In the evening we watched the stars again and I was the only one that didn't see a falling star :-(.
The next morning I was early awake(7.30am). Breakfast was delicious with all the fruit, cereals, bread etc. We sailed to an island, where we walked around, took pictures, did snorkeling and maybe we could see turtles. I didn't see them :-(. While I was washing my stingersuit, I dropped my bag in the water and the water came in my camera. So that's my second broken camera :-(. I was already glad that all my pictures were still on the memorycard :-). At 3.30pm we arrived in the Marina. I went to the hostel with Catherine and just rest for a while.
In the evening we went out for dinner at Magnums (7.30pm). Nobody was there when I walked towards Magnum. I run into Howard(from Hervey Bay), so we drunk some cider at the bar while we were waiting for our friends. His friend arrived and my friends too. So we had dinner all together. Afterwards I went out with my group and run into Howard and his friend again. It was really cosy and fun!!! Howard and his friend had the idea to go swimming in the Lagoon. I went, but no swimming for me. Eventuelly I jumped in the water; it was really nice and refreshing :-). At 2am I walked back to my hostel.

AIRLIE BEACH (29 January)
I made some preparations to meet my family in Yeppoon, like present for Michelle's birthday. I had to wait from 9pm till 11.45pm at the busterminal, because the hostelvan couldn't bring me there at 11.25pm. But in the bus I had 2 chairs for myself. We had an eatingstop at 3am :@. Why? So I slept not much. :-(
I arrived at 6.30am in Rockhampton and text Michelle that I arrived. Betty came and picked me up around 7am. I was really tired, but yeah... I was glad to see some of my family :-D:-D

Okay then, this was my story about the Eastcoast. The next one will be about my family in Yeppoon ;-).

Take care!!!

Kisses and hugs,


Lieke

P.S. I already arrived in Bali and I have 3 weeks left now. So I will see my family really quick now :-D :-)