CAIT AROUND THE WORLD

March 26, 2023 — Today, I left Noosa and headed to Rainbow Beach. In my original itinerary, I wasn’t even going to stay in Noosa at all but when I booked my tour from Rainbow Beach to Fraser Island before I left home, the dates that I had to choose from were a couple days after I’d been booked to leave Brisbane. Rather than spend more time in Brisbane, I decided to make a stop in Noosa. I’m so glad I did and I honestly wish I’d spent even more time here. When I come back to Australia, a longer visit to Noosa is definitely something I will do.

Before I left for Rainbow Beach, though, I had quite a bit of time to kill in Noosa. I got up in the morning and gathered my stuff, then checked out as close to the 10:00am checkout time as I could manage. I was up so early that I even had time to enjoy breakfast before I checked out. It was so nice to have free breakfast at this hostel and you can be sure that I had another coffee in the morning.

After I checked out, I left my big bag on the luggage storage racks just outside reception and sat at one of the bar tables by the pool. I pulled out my iPad and worked on my trip budget because after making additions in Byron Bay, I was down a large chunk of cash. My plan was to travel until early December, but it was becoming clear to me that I wasn’t going to make it that long.

In Byron Bay, I was really missing home and feeling like I wanted to shorten my trip. I was thinking about coming home before Thanksgiving. When I sat down in Noosa and figured out how much money I would probably have left after June, I realized I wouldn’t have enough money to continue through December. That, added to the fact that I was wanting to come home earlier because I missed home, made the decision for me. So, my plans are now to be home around the end of September.

I left the hostel in the afternoon to walk into town and pick up alcohol to take to Fraser Island, since it’s bring-your-own. I picked up a four-pack of Jack Daniel’s and Cola for $27.00 (just one way that Australia is super expensive! I found out, though, that the reasoning for it is to discourage binge drinking in the population; alcohol is taxed huge here and that drives the prices up in the — probably vain — hope that people won’t drink as much). The town itself is so cute, very charming, and seeing it is just one of the reasons that I would have loved to stay in the area longer.

When I got back to the hostel, I called home and talked to Mom as she was still awake — they had gone to Toronto for my brother’s birthday. I’d texted in the morning when it became his birthday in Australia but called after I hung up with Mom because he was still awake too. We had a really nice chat while I got my stuff and walked to the bus stop to wait for the bus to Rainbow Beach.

Although Greyhound is the main company for transportation up and down the coast, and certainly the favoured option among backpackers, it is a lot cheaper to use Premier Motor Service. I booked the rest of my bus trips up the coast through them (provided the were cheaper than Greyhound, which most were) except for my trip from Rainbow Beach to Airlie Beach, which I’d booked through Greyhound before leaving home.

It was only a three hour trip up to Rainbow Beach, with a half hour stop at a service station. We arrived shortly after 7:00pm and thankfully the hostel was literally across the street from the bus stop, so I didn’t have far to walk at all. I got my key and settled into my room. Two girls were already in there who were on my tour and they were super nice. Another girl arrived shortly after me who was also on the tour.

We all chatted for a while, then I eventually showered and curled up with a bag of popcorn and a few episodes of Modern Family. I went to sleep after talking to Mom and Dad because we had to get up at 6:00am the next morning and be at reception, ready to go, at 6:30am.