Rainbow Beach, Fraser Island and Brisbane

25/02
We wake up at 7am as our flight to Brisbane is early. The flight is pretty short (2hours). We still dream of our dives, Val reads the inflight magazines, I write a bit about the past few days. We now touch down in Brisbane. It not as hot and humid as Cairns! Which feels nice. We have hired a car and at the rental office desks, we're being asked if we would like a free upgrade to a bigger car (we originally hired a small, tiny and cheap car!). Of course! We are upgraded to a big Holden (Aussie made), very luxurious. Nice because we have quite a few kilometres to our next destination: Rainbow Beach. The choice is simple: sandy beach, surfing and diving!
Few hours later we reach Noosa for lunch. It's a seaside resort, famous for its surf waves. It's quite big and quite posh in fact. The beach is lovely, but it feels a little bit too built up. I get new flip-flops as mine are pretty tired. We then drive again for a while and we make it to Debbie's, our new accomodation, in Rainbow Beach. It's the start of the low season and it's not busy. Instead of staying in the main house, we're upgraded (once again!!!) to a lovely semi-detached house, bedroom, (great) bathroom, kitchen and living room. What a change from the boat cabin and the grotty place!!Nice to have some space and a house for ourselves! We walk around town, watching the burning sky of the sunset. We do a bit a shopping for tomorrow's breakie. We watch a bit of TV and off to bed. The past few days have been intense, we need more rest and it seems to be the perfect place.

26/02
The night has been really rainy. But the day is welcoming us with a great blue sky. Slow start but we go to have a look at the beautiful sandy beach, quite wild with bushes arouund and no houses. We walk along the breaking waves. It's quite windy but it feels like a proper holiday time. The feeling of rush is slowly fading away. We do a bit of food shopping, book tomorrow's excursion, and then go home where I fire up the BBQ, Aussie style. We've bought some chicken with Teryaki marinade. It's great to wind down this way! We're really enjoying our time here. We're very relaxed and peaceful. Rainbow Beach is a very small resort town (more like a village really). And it's not crowded. And the house is so quiet. After lunch, a little nap (I think we took that nice little habit on the boat!) and we're off to the beach. I decide to enjoy my afternoon surfing the Aussie waves. Val stays on the beach reading, chilling out and sunbathing. It's a nice day, warm despite the strong wind. Good to have a bit of sun. Back on the beach we walk on the golden sand before sunset and then go home. Tonight it's lamb BBQ and fresh salad and a glass of rose. Lovely!

27/02
Early start today, we're going to Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. We booked a tour even if we are not big fans of them but we have no time here so one day on the island will do. We drive around to pick up the group, we are 12, mainly foreigners and everyone seems nice. We take the small ferry that cross the sandy straight separating the island from the mainland. It is pouring rain, we are very annoyed as it is supposed to e amazing...Nice ride on the beach, it is all sandy so 4WD ride on the sand and it feels quite fun! Our small coach gets stuck in the sand, a great start of the day!!!We drive around, go for tea in a resort then visit the Lake McKenzie, a stunning lake with blue water, white sandy beach, it is a perched lake, depending on rainfall.
Fraser Island is a world heritage site because of its exceptional natural beauty, its sandy beaches, dunes, its tall rainforest, dune lakes and it is truly incredible. The vegetation has grown despite the fact that is it all sand, the plants find nutrients from thin coatings on the sand grains and then from the forest floor, incredible! The rain has stopped now, we can enjoy the place, it is a huge island stretching over 123 kilometres in length. The lakes are great, the island is surrounded by saltwater but has more than 100 freshwater lakes!! We visit the rainforest, a proper rainforest with tall trees, a thick canopy of leaves, pines, eucalyptus, satinay trees (only found here). Truly beautiful. We have a short lunch break then we head on to the famous 75 Mile Beach, an amazing beach which is also a highway where all road rules apply, but also a runaway!!! We go to Eli Creek, visit an old logging camp and see the Maheno shipwreck which was struck in 1935 by a cyclone, we observe some coloured sands, the weird coastal dunes formations. We learn about the strong history, the logging industry, it is very interesting and this island is incredible. We both feel this day was a great introduction but we want more so we will have to come back here as it feels magical. We get back to Rainbow Beach around 5pm then go for a long walk on the beach until dusk, it feels peaceful and serene, we both reflect on our time here...our Australian moment is coming to an end, we both loved it, felt connected to this continent with so many aspects and contrasts.

28/02
We are leaving this country tomorrow, feels weird and a bit sad as we both really loved being here, it was fun, beautiful, magical, exciting and sometimes intense, a country gigantic and diverse, with amazing landscapes, strong history and friedly people. We have seen friends here, stayed in homes, met new people, overcome fears, had fun...It was a really good experience and we want to come back to dscover more!!
We wake up around 8sih to finish packing, go to the post office and then walk to the beach, we are sending many stuff back home as our bacpacks are too heavy and soon we won't have the luxury of cars in Asia so we are from now on travelling light!!! It is really sunny and hot, the vibe is a holida one, people in shorts, bikinis, the beach is quite busy, I am going surfing this morning and Val swimming, reading and resting. A beautiful morning. I enjoy the surf, the waves, but it goes very quickly. Already time to go, Val loses her sunglasses in the waves...a gift to this place then!! We leave around 2pm, to go to Brisbane, our last stop before our flight to Bali. Tonight, we are staying at Nigel's, who used to work with Val in Oval. Going to be nice to meet new faces and stay in a home again! The drive is long and a bit boring, but we manage to arrive a bit early so rush to the koala sanctuary to see some little animals before going to Nigel. We are late!!It is closing in 10 minutes and the guy doesn't want to let us in, Val is very disappointed but a kind lady tour guide sees us and sneaks us in discreetly and so we get to see two cute koalas before leaving the country! They look like furry toys, very cute and cuddly...
We reach Nigel and Nikki's, Val is really pleased to catch up, we meet the boys, have a BBQ, lots of wine, laughter anfd many interestring conversations, Nikki lived in Oz before and worked with Aboriginal communities, a truly intense experience. Very enlightening for us to share with them, about their life here, the many changes and challenges...Inspiring to hear about relocating, starting afresh here and dreaming of a new life with your family...a great night!!