WHITSUNDAYS....CRUISING ON THE AVATAR!!

 We have been in Cairns for two weeks and it's time to move South to the Whitsunday's. I REALLY DON'T WANT TO LEAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Tuesday June 5th at midnight we went to catch our overnight bus to Airlie Beach. Thankfully our friend Immanuel gave us a ride so we didn't have to walk a mile with all of our bags in the middle of the night! by the time we got on the bus and settled in, I was ready to go to bed! The bus only had about 10 people on it so I could lay down across the seats without bothering anyone but Catherine....haha We made a couple of stops throughout the night but I slept through most of it. I finally woke up around 9am when we stopped just outside if Bowen at a Gas station. I packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the bus in case I got hungry but got off just to stretch my legs and get a drink. We got back on the bus and before I knew it we had arrived at Airlie Beach! We are staying at a hostel called Beaches and it has a sweet little outdoor bar with live music with an awesome happy hour! We are staying in an 8 share room but we only have one roommate. His name is Jason from Germany and he is precious and super attractive but only a baby of 18 or 19 years old....damn that Gap year! We had dinner at the bar/restaurant at our hostel and it was awesome! Steak or burgers  with an alcoholic drink for 6.50 which is our cheapest meal yet in Oz! So good! On average you spend about 20 dollars per person at any restaurant for dinner....so we normally cook dinner ourselves. We eat lots of pasta because it's cheap and easy to store....If I never see pasta again after this year I don’t think I would be upset.

Tomorrow we are getting on a boat for three days/two nights of snorkeling on the great barrier reef and sailing the deep blue sea!  I am forced to condense my already condensed big backpack into my small computer backpack! Since we are going out on the Great Barrier Reef we are not allowed to bring shampoo, conditioner, glass, plastic, pillows and blankets. We are storing our big backpacks at the hostel until Sunday when we get back...

Here is the list of stuff to bring:

Light clothes

Swim suit

Hat

Sunscreen

 beach towel

Insect repellant

Favorite music

Alcohol

Waterproof camera

So to sum it up....no real showers for three days! Catherine reminded me that for the first three days I was in Australia I didn't shower....that was a lie...I showered on my second day here after two days of traveling lol. 

I packed my bathing suit, Goon, and water. 

We got on the Avatar at around noon with 26 other people. The cabin space was very small. We literally have a full size bed to share in a common area near the kitchen and bathroom..we are next to our new friends Laura and James from England.

 We could literally touch hands with them from our bed! I  Instantly fell in love with them...they went on a road trip across America so when I told them I was from Texas they both shouted "Four Loko!"! Most people just ask if I own a gun or if I ride a horse....Laura is obsessed with America so she had a million Questions for me. She also had the best American accent I have ever heard..it goes a little something like this (imagine a valley girl) "like OMG, I am so excited for the pep rally and the football game!"....haha she said she wishes she could have been a cheerleader, rode a yellow bus to school and been in a sorority in University! Oh the American dream!

Kevin is one on top of the orange thing. Its the only picture I could get of him. lol

I have been lucky enough to meet so many people that I fall instantly in love with but Kevin our captain is NOT one of them. Kevin is the most unbearable human being! He doesn't have any people skills and yells at Everyone all the time. He also says inappropriate things to all the girls...he is my nightmare! 

All the other people on the boat were amazing! We drove out two hours then went for a snorkel on the great barrier reef in wet suits. 

BEN AFFLECT....IS THAT YOU?!?!

After we got out of the water and dry, we sat on the outside of the boat waiting for dinner chatting as the sunset. I started talking to Paul and Rachel from England and they are the sweetest people I have ever met. Paul looks Like the splitting image of Ben Afflect! I was telling them about the time I drank wine with our stripper roommate and Paul (whom I called Ben) started calling me Stripper Sue. (disclaimer: I am not/nor ever will be an actual stripper). For two days I was Sue and he was Ben. 

Rachel and Paul (who I call Ben)

The inside of the boat was TINY...so we spent all of our time on the top of the boat. It was super windy and cold at night so everyone put on jumpers and warm pants to stay warm. We all started drinking "goon" or bag of wine. Goon is an Aboriginal word for pillow which is what they used it for after they drank the whole bag...so resourceful! My good friend James got Gooned before dinner and fell with his full plate of food on the nets...he then proceeded to eat the spaghetti off the net with his fork. It might have been the funniest thing I have ever seen!!! We had to go to bed early because Kevin said we had to be awake by sunrise..

I woke up to Kevin stomping around the boat at 5:45am...not an ideal way to wake up but the sunrise was beautiful...I have been wanting to see the sunrise at sea but it's normally too early to watch so this was a nice treat. 

The Whitsundays are 74 beautiful islands all really close together. We went to Whitehaven beach and it was breath taking! The sand was so pure you can brush your teeth with it, clean your diamonds and exfoliate your skin! We got onto the sparkly blue water and saw stingrays swimming about so of course we followed them to try to take a picture....they were too quick so we were unsuccessful!

 I sat in the water pouring the sand all over me...it was the softest sand I have ever felt. It was pretty windy so we didn't spent too much time in the water...the boys built a sandcastle and the girls sunbathed.

 When we got back on the boat, it was time for  lunch before our last snorkel. We saw soooo many little fish on the reef but we didn’t see any sharks or turtles ( I was a little disappointed)...and spent the rest of the day doing what we do best: DRINKING GOON!!! Overall the boat trip was slightly disappointing because we thought that we were going to get to see more Islands and do more snorkels BUT the people on the trip were AMAAAAAZING!!!!!!

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FRUIT PICKING ADVENTURE: WEEK 1

We arrived in Bundaberg on Sunday around Midday. Christine (the owner of our hostel)  came to pick us up from the Greyhound station in a van with Spray paint all over it reading “EAST BUNDY BACKPACKERS”. When we arrived at the working hostel it was very different from our other hostels. Most people stay here for three months at a time searching for farm work in order to get a second year working holiday Visa for Australia.

(For all other countries NOT INCLUDING AMERICA, Australia has a deal that if you do 3 months or 88 days of farm work you automatically get a second year working holiday Visa). I can’t earn a second year visa because America doesn’t provide working holiday Visa to foreigners....so in short, I only have one year in this country unless I find a proper job willing to sponsor a professional Visa for me. I am traveling with an Irish girl (Catherine) and she needs to get farm work and well lets be honest ( we have been on vacation for 2 months) I NEED MONEY...and quick. Most people from our hostel talked about how they work here and there but there isn’t much farm work right now... I started making plans to leave on Sunday and go back to the Gold Coast so I didn’t have to pay for accommodation while I figured out how to make some money. 3 days went by and I got called to the office about a JOB! ( Most people wait 3 WEEKS!!!). It was such a blessing because I was really starting to stress about money!!!!!

SORRY MY COMPUTER WOULDN'T LET ME ROTATE MY PICTURE....LAME.

My first day of work I set my alarm for the wrong time so I was woken up the bus driver at 5:30am telling me I had 10 minutes before we left!! I jumped out of bed and got ready quickly and made it to the bus just in time! I am working at a place called Ackers Farm home of the quality sweet potato!! My job is in a packing shed sorting sweet potatoes in to different sizes and shapes....it is the most repetitive, back breaking job EVER but it pays 20 dollars an hour/ 6 days a week so it will do. My boss is a MONSTER and she enjoys shouting ALL DAY! I have come to terms that she will always scare me...She calls me Rachel (even after I corrected her)  and likes to say things such as:

FOUR POTATOES, YOU SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE FOUR POTATOES IN YOUR HAND!

FASTER GIRLS, YOU JUST DON’T GET IT!

IF YOU ARE SO WORRIED ABOUT THE TIME YOU CAN JUST GO HOME AND NEVER COME BACK!!!!!

WRONG, WRONG WRONG...ALL WRONG! WHEN WILL YOU GET IT RIGHT?

I could go on forever!! I will never be able to complain about how terrible a boss is ever again for the rest of my life because I have literally found the absolute worst!! I am literarily surprised every single day that I still have a job at that farm because she always says such awful things about me like I am too incompetent to understand the science behind sorting potatoes.(I just tell myself that I am good at loads of other things...potato sorting is not one of them).

Most of the girls I work with have varies degrees and are educated women (they are all backpackers working for their second year VISA) but our boss talks to us like we are complete idiots...I am just one of those people who do not work well in that type of environment and I am REALLY proud of myself for not crying after being yelled at (yet). This is one of my new year's resolutions...so CHECK?!?!

We begin work at 6:30am, have a smokers break (I have a pb&J sandwich) at 9:00-9:20, lunch at 12:30-1:00, and finish between 3:30 - 5pm (most of the time its 5pm). Thankfully I have made some really nice and wonderful friends!! My work BFF is named Julia from England and she is an ANGEL from heaven because she makes my work day seem bearable. We sing songs and tell stories whenever the monster isn’t close by. She has a degree in Education and plans on teaching in Australia for the next school year. Sadly she is near the end of her 3 months of farm work...She is my absolute favorite thing about potato picking!!

Most days we aren’t allowed to talk and my inner dialog sounds a bit like this:

I am so cold. I wonder how people do this for a living? This is sooo easy. I could totally do this for 3 months, I would make a million dollars! Oh my Gosh I am going crazy. I hate potatoes. Large. Large. Large. Who cares if this is a medium small or medium large? I hate this job. Uhhh she is such a monster. I really want to stand on that conveyer belt. I really need a real job. When I get home I sending out my resume to everyone in Australia. I am so hungry. What time is it?    Why is it so cold in here? 

I basically go crazy all day.....

My first 3 days were a bit rough but then I had a day off and day 4 and 5 were AMAZING. I even had a bit of fun. Day 6 was the worst day EVER! I started with getting yelled at by the monster about how shit I was at sorting potatoes and how I wasn’t progressing. She made is sound like she was about to fire me on the spot. It took every ounce of might in my body to stop the tears....I was trying really hard to care about potatoes but today I just didn’t feel good (I should have called in sick but I feared losing my job). Then I got moved away from Julia to add a cherry on top of a bad morning!!!! I got moved by this Australian boy and here is how our conversation went.

Aussie boy: are you from England love?

Me: No I am from Texas in the U.S.

Aussie: oh we never get Americans here! Are you African American?

Me: BURST INTO LAUGHTER...NO! (I turn and tell the girl beside me what an idiot this Aussie boy is) I am Mexican American.

Aussie: oh do you have your green card? I heard about you Mexicans!

Me: I was born in American. That is really offensive.

Aussie: Do you eat nachos and burritos?

Me: it depends on what I feel like eating. I would ask what you eat but I already know what a racist douchebag would eat. (as I turn around and ignore him)

......much later

Aussie: Since you are African American, do you live in the ghetto?

Me:..........I wish you would stop talking to me!

Aussie: You look like Dora the Explorer.

Me: ..........

Aussie: Hey Texas girl, were you a cheerleader?

Me: You are being a really sad representative of your country...maybe if you actually traveled outside of Australia you would realize what a total idiot you are being.

Aussie: I guess you just don’t get me humor.

Me: guess not.

*I thought of about 87 reasons why I should quit this job today even if I make over 1000 dollars a week. 

I didn't quit. I am really proud of myself for sticking it out with this job. It is without a doubt the hardest job I have ever had (in the manual labor context). I can't help but feel like I am proving something to myself by keeping a job that is so difficult. I am a bit stronger than I thought I was... I also am proud at how positive my attitude stays even on the worst days!

 So here are my lessons for the week: 

Laughter really is the best medicine. 

Killing people with Kindness doesn't always work but its always worth a try. 

Perspective is EVERYTHING.

CAPE TRIBULATION TOUR...A NIGHT IN THE RAINFOREST!!

Goodbye beautiful Dreamtime hostel in the middle of a city....HELLO beautiful beach house hostel in the middle of the RAINFOREST!!

Just a bit of history for ya...captain Cook (not to be confused with captain Hook) named this island after all the trouble he went through therefore calling it trouble ahead island or Cape Tribulation. The island does not have electricity or water...and I am in LOVE! As you will notice I fall in love with most things that are new and exciting to me...Well I love the simple life of living in the rainforest! Waterfalls, rockslides, endless trails and in Australia the Great Barrier Reef meets the forest! Breath taking!

I got into my room and two American girls were just arriving as well. They are nursing students from Philadelphia studying in Brisbane for the semester. We immediately click and go out for a walk in the rainforest together talking about America and all the funny things we miss about it. We were walking and were sandwiched between the rainforest and the ocean.....I was speechless! I thought for sure this has to be the coolest moment in my life......

I booked a kayak tour and my new friends booked jungle surfing so we went our separate ways in search of adventure. As I was waiting for the person in charge of my kayak tour I was really wishing I had booked a jungle surfing tour instead (my friend later told me that jungle surfing wasn't as cool as she thought it would be).....then Daniel arrived. He was my kayak tour guide and he was a wicked cool guy. Turns out I was the only one to sign up to kayak that day so we set out to get my wet suit, life jacket and kayak.  Right before I set foot in the ocean, a 2 foot shark splashed near me about 5 feet away....I almost peed my pants! I was about to go kayaking in SHARK INFESTED WATER!!! Okay so the shark wasn't the size of jaws or anything but I was still scared but I had to be a badass since it was just the two of us....it was too late to chicken out plus Daniel didn't seem bothered. Daniel is one of 50 people who live in Cape Tribulation and my new best friend. He taught me how to surf in a kayak ( imagine that...two things I love together), took me over part of the Great Barrier Reef, found huge sea turtles, and let me kayak wherever I wanted! We surfed for a while since I was freaking excited to learn to do such a thing and surprisingly I only got knocked out of my kayak once! I kayaked right beside a sea turtle that was as big as a car tire....I thought I was going to die of excitement. Just when I thought things couldn't get more perfect, it began to pour down rain! It was the most beautiful sight in the entire world to sit on my kayak in the middle of the ocean and see lush rainforest wildlife surrounding you.....I wish I could describe it perfectly giving it justice....it was so beautiful! (sorry for the lack of pictures...I hate not having a waterproof camera!!)

The rain let up a bit and Daniel asked if I was hungry....of course I am...we have been kayaking for 2 hours at this point...so he got out organic juice and Banana bread made from only organic and natural products....if you wanna know how to win me over surprise me with a healthy little picnic in the middle of the ocean...or really anywhere haha...straight to my heart! It was perfect! We then made our way back towards the beach house as the sun was setting....I was floating on cloud nine! Soooo good! 

After I returned to my room, took a warm shower (with recycled rainforest water) and got cleaned up I walked down a dark windy path through the rainforest to find the bar/restaurant for dinner. I was scared silly by a little animal that ran in front of me as I was minding my own business and I started screaming bloody murder.....maybe I wouldn't love living in the rainforest so much but visiting has been complete bliss!

I have really found the Northern part of Queensland so fun, quirky and interesting. It's filled with mostly backpackers and travelers. It's weird to consider myself as one of them but I don't remember a time that I have felt this happy, stress free and alive. I have this growing confidence inside me bursting out. I feel like I can do anything! Haha I know it seems like I am just vacationing but I am really learning so much from my journey. Things don't always go according to the plan I make up for myself...and I am learning that LIFE GOES ON...that's a pretty important lesson to learn.

I woke up at 7am to go for a nice beach run....but apparently I don't know anything about the ocean. The morning is high tide so the beach is covered in ocean..so plan B is to run on the paved "road" down to the end of the beach and back (estimated about 5 miles).  I ran down the path up and down hills until I reached the lookout spot where the beach was. It was really pretty but the tide was still too high to run on the beach so I went back up the path and ran in the rainforest again...2 hours later I am still running/dying and haven't found the beach house. The rainforest all looks the same after a while. I pretty much ran 5miles all up hill until I saw some construction workers who pointed me in the right direction. I had run past the beach house street about 5 miles ago.....

My legs feel like jelly! My Nike plus said I ran 13 miles....I am just happy I am not going to die in the rainforest! So lesson of the day: Not all who wonder are lost...unless you are in the middle of the rainforest. 

On our way home we stopped to go on a crocodile cruise..it was SCARY!! We saw three different BIG crocs and a couple of little babies. Even the Babies are pretty scary!!!!Its weird that they can survive in the ocean...I would not want to swim with them ever!!! It was really cool getting to see them and understand their habitat a bit more.  This has been a really AMAZING trip!! Just what I needed!!!!!! Now back to DreamTime for some sleep!!

UNCLE BRIAN'S TOUR Cairns, Australia

On Saturday we were up early to go on our first tour. It’s called Uncle Brian’s Tour and was recommended by Lindsey and Stuy who said it was the best tour they have been on. We were picked up in this small bus called Gus by an man who introduced himself as our cousin Brad. 

He had dreadlocks and looked a bit crazy. We got on the bus and he introduced us by name to everyone on the bus (it was full). We left town and went into the rainforest leaving all civilization behind....

We made our first stop in the middle of the rainforest!!!! It was so cool!!! We walked up all these pathways looking at raging rivers and streams. They looked super dangerous and had tons of warning signs surrounding them.

 Then Cousin Brad told us that he had a surprise for us...a rockslide!!!! The deal with the rockslide was that you had to stand on a rock and dive over this raging current that could take you to what he called a “DROWNING HOLE” to the other side of the river where there were more rocks. You climbed to the top of the rock slide, scooted your body across and let the current take you down the slide! I was the first girl in line behind two boys with Catherine right behind me. IT. WAS.AWESOME!!!!! 

The water was freakin cold but we went down about ten times before we decided to get out. To get out you had to motion to Cousin Brad to tell him you wanted out and then he would throw a rope at you to fish you out of the raging current before you went in the drowning hole.....don’t worry I lived to tell about it. SO COOL!

We all got back into Gus the bus to get lunch at a sweet little bed and breakfast in the middle of nowhere. We had BBQ chicken, Cous Cous and salad...and MOLTED CHOCOLATE CAKE with ice cream for dessert. I probably would have just been content with staying there forever...but we had a waterfall to get to.

We arrived at this beautiful waterfall and we all headed towards the water. IT WAS ICE COLD!!! If it weren’t for my pure adrenaline and excitement to get to the waterfall I never would have made it all the way there. I swam up to it, behind it and through it....it was amazing!!!! We all dried off and got back into Gus to go to our Volcano!! Now I thought that for sure it would be like a hot spring...and boy was I wrong!! It was really cold!! The Volcano was crazy deep water and looked like a huge lake. I jumped in just to say I have been swimming in a volcano but I will be totally honest when I say that I was only in the water for about 3 minutes......Even though its pretty warm all year around, its the middle of winter right now so its about 75-80 degrees on average with loads of rain. So its not warm enough to happily swim in freezing cold water. So I dried off and got back into Gus the bus where it was nice and warm.

The entire way back to town we sang songs, played games and sang more songs! It was the best day! My face seriously hurt from smiling so much!!! When we began to drop people off at their different hostels we all made a plan to meet at the Woolshed for a night of drinking and dancing!! Best way to top off a great day is to dance the night away!!! This has been my favorite day so far!!!

Packing up for Cairns, Australia!!

Packing up for Cairns:

 I know I packed a ridiculous amount of stuff to move here but what can I say...I didn't want to forget anything! Now we are about to start our official journey as backpackers which means I have to organize my stuff into what I should take and what I need to leave behind....it is causing me so much anxiety to think about it. I have to carry everything I want to wear for the next 4 months on my back so if I overpack I will be the one suffering! My problem is that I have to have clothes for working in a field picking fruit to dressy stuff for going out. That's a pretty big spectrum!!! 

Catherine has zero problem with packing...she can most likely fit all her stuff from her small suitcase into her backpack with room to spare....but I am a lot less practical than her...and I am way more of a girly girl than her....uhhhh here goes nothing!!!

So Here is a list of the things I need to bring:

*this is also most likely what Catherine has in her suitcase:

1 pair of athletic shoes 

1pair of pants for work

1 t-shirt for work

2 swim suits (one piece and bikini)

2 pairs of sandals (flip flops for showering and nice sandals)

1 workout outfit

1 dress

2 pairs of shorts 

1 jumper (sweatshirt)

1 pair of pjs

A couple of tank tops

1 going out outfit

1 towel

Here is a list of what I actually packed:

2 pairs athletic shoes ( one for work, one for running)

3 pairs of pants (one for work, one Capri, one for going out)

4 t-shirts for work

5 swim suits....I feel like I need them all!Why live by the ocean and only wear one swim suit?

2 pairs of sandals!!! 

2 coverups for swimsuits

2 workout outfits

1 dress

2 skirts

4 pairs of shorts

1 jumper

1 rain resistant jacket

2 long sleeve shirts

1 pair of sweat pants

1 cardigan

7 going out shirts ( they are light weight and I don't want to have to go shopping so I am saving money by taking them...consider that justified! Ha)

1 towel

1 blanket

Toiletries 

Makeup

Head bangers headband

2 hats

1 clutch purse

2 water bottles

1 airplane pillow

iPad

Laptop

Assorted chargers and adapters

Camera

1 pair of flats

 

I do have to add that I am NOT taking ANY hair appliances...that is pretty surprising and impressive! Also, I am not taking any high heel shoes...sad day! 

My backpack is packed to the MAX! I hope its less than 20 kg!!

I have stuff in ever pocket of my big backpack, my small backpack and satchel....but it doesn't feel unbearably heavy...I am officially a BACKPACKER!!!!

Byron Bay..My surfing adventure!

First trip: Byron Bay! The most Eastern point of Australia!

Date: 18 May 2012

So excited! Catherine and I packed up an overnight bag and got on a Greyhound bus to go an hour and a half south. On the journey to the Greyhound I realized that I had failed to pack a towel despite my mental note....Epic fail! Also, I forgot eye drops and allergy medicine that I am forced to take due to Hay fever which I have had for almost two of the three weeks I have been here. Womp Womp. I am definitely going to have to improve on my packing skills before next Thursday!

 We made a friend in the greyhound station. My first one! She is American who has been here for 10 months and traveling alone. I am excited to start making more friends! (not that the ones I already have aren't wonderful) 

We arrived at Byron Bay at 12:45ish and exited the Greyhound. Awaiting our arrival we all sorts of hostel workers with surf boards with their assorted company names on them. We hadn't previously booked a hostel so we just went with the one that sounded the best and most affordable. Youth Hostels of Australia roped us in and the shuttled us to their hostel. The front desk lady was super nice and helped answer all of our questions. She even gave us directions to the light house that I had my heart set on watching the sunset at. She also gave me a towel! While we checked in we signed up for surfing lessons for tomorrow!  It's on my bucket list to learn to surf so I am giddy with excitement! 

We got settled into our 5 girl dorm room and changed to begin our journey to the lighthouse. We set out for our long walk (estimated 2 hours) to the lighthouse at 2pm. The sunsets at around 5pm so we have loads of time to go for a swim if we would like. ( we didn't)...half of our walk was on the beach and if I had to estimate how many stairs we climbed in the other half of or walk I would say about 1000...

Well that's what it felt like! The water was super blue and full of kayaks and surfers. Byron Bay seems to be a very laid back town full of hippies...I felt right at home! On the way to the lighthouse we got to stand at the most Eastern point ofAustralia and looked out for whales and dolphins. I haven't seen any yet but since June thru August are winter months whales are supposed to  be all over!!! Fingers crossed!

For Tea (dinner), we decided to just get a pizza and some beer and hangout in the common area of our hostel. We had almost finished dinner when two guys asked us if we wanted to play a drinking game with them. We politely said sure...that's where we met Sebastian from Finland and Glenn (the most annoying person we have ever met) from Sydney, Australia. Glen was very particular about the rules of his drinking games and got really frustrated when we asked to tweak his rules (Catherine was so annoyed I thought she may burst!) He then continued to lie, call us chicks, and say offensive things throughout the games. Thankfully he ran out of wine....but then he went on a search for weed. He asked me if I would go I would go in on some weed with him....haha I said no thank you! He then left and we talked to Sebastian about Finland and his travels around Australia. He then left to get some more wine and we sat in hammocks and talked about all the annoying things Glen said. It was a funny evening...I can't wait to live in different hostels in the upcoming months! I love getting to hangout with new and different people and find out about their culture and country. Well it's off to bed now, we have a big day of surfing tomorrow!

We woke up early for our day of surfing because we had to check out of the hostel before we left. Thankfully they allowed us to store our bags and valuables and use all the facilities for the rest of the day.  Our surfing instructor was a funny older man with long dirty blonde hair. He was a stereotypical surfer dude. He was really funny and entertaining but as for actual teaching anyone more than the steps to stand....he wasn't spectacular. By the end of the lesson (about three hours) I could stand and ride a wave! I loved every bit of surfing! It was challenging but when you catch a wave you feel like you are flying! It was complete bliss!!!! I can't wait to surf again! Sorry I don't have any pictures of us surfing...I don't have a waterproof camera! EPIC FAIL!!

After surfing we went back to the hostel to shower up and put on proper clothes for lunch. We went to a place with delicious fish tacos near an Indie backpack shop that advertised free wifi for backpackers. We walked up to the indie shop and we greeted by two guys. They told us we had to sing a song in order to get in...I of course said Catherine has the better singing voice...but we both sang and got our free Internet!! While we were at the shop we asked questions about different places up the coast since we are heading that way next week. The guy told us he could get us cheap tours if we booked through him so.....we did! Now we have 3 tours and accommodation for all the things we wanted to see in between our fruit picking along the coast! 

Byron bay is super beautiful and I can't wait to visit again in October!!!