Farewell Australia, and Thank You!
Ahoy there!
After leaving Cairns and saying goodbye to the great people at Tropic Days, me and my Irish mate Stu purchased our Greyhound tickets and began the journey South along the East coast, stopping firstly in the small town of Ayr. There aint much to do in Ayr…in fact scratch that, there is practically NOTHING to do in Ayr, however like many spots in Australia, it has one major attraction which makes it well worth a visit. Ayr has the fastest method of getting to the famous S.S. Yongala shipwreck, taking a full 30 minutes to reach it - all other trips take over 2.5 hours. However, even as much as a 4 hour trip would be worth it to see that incredible place! Everything down there seemed 5-times bigger than normal; Giant (GIANT) Trevally, Barracuda, Moray Eels, Sea Snakes, Bat Fish, Nurse Sharks, Turtles…the list is endless. The wreck itself was very impressive too, quite spooky as it is still very intact and you can make out all of the features (such as the 1st class toilets) easily. Sadly no pictures from this dive, I decided that I would enjoy the dive fully rather than go snap-happy!
From Ayr we left for the supposed “haven” of Airlie Beach. Now don’t get me wrong, Airlie is a nice enough place however the backpacker hostels there are distinctly lacking and it took us a few nights to find an ok place (the YHA which are always a safe bet). Airlie Beach is also lacking…a beach, strange. It has a strip of sand which touches the sea at high tide and it also, like Cairns, has a lagoon (a landscaped outdoor pool) but, like Cairns, I wasn’t about to go jumping in - not when you know what goes on in there of an evening, if you know what I mean 
catching an STD without the S part could be considered ironic. Ergh.
Sorry, got on a tangent there. I had to wait around in Airlie for 5 days in total, which was more than enough time to make a good opinion of the place and decide I was never going back. So, on the 26th June I took the ferry to Hamilton Island to begin my RYA Competent Crew course - what better place to do a sailing course than round the Whitsunday Islands?! I had a great time, my instructor Gregor was awesome, the rest of the crew, Dianne, Roger, and Kate were a pleasure and the whole experience was all and more than I expected. As far as sight-seeing goes, the weather wasn’t perfect the whole time but for sailing it was great with steady strong winds which put us to the test.
I left Hamilton Is. on the 4th June and caught the overnight Greyhound down the coast to Agnes Water and 1770 - named very aptly after its year of discovery by Cook in…1770! This place was lovely, a real nice break from the intesity of the other East Coast “resorts”, with great value tours and just a completely different feel. Unfortunatley it rained for the 3 days I was there but the hostel I stayed in, 1770 Sothern Cross Backpackers was fantastic, a complete contrast from many other backpackers and I didn’t mind hanging around there.
I left 1770 on the 7th June and caught the 12 hour bus down to Brisbane where I met up with my good mate Tom for my final few days on Aussie soil. After a couple of nights out around “Bris-vegas” we decided to get off our rears and do something; so we hired a car and drove down to Byron Bay, spent the night there and then drove inland (via a few diversions, thanks to a not so accurate map - right Tom ) to the Lamington National Park and returning to Brisbane. Then the day had finally arrived, my last full day in Australia…nearly a year to the day after I arrived. A great final day it was too. We drove north of Brisbane to a town called Noosa Heads, a beautiful spot at the mouth of the Noosa River which, although still very popular with backpackers and holiday makers has still retained a lot of its charm. It was sunny, it was warm, it was beachy…it was great. So great in fact that we decided to spend the night there and drive back the following day.
So to the here and now then…I said my farewells and flew from Brisbane, arriving here in Singapore at 8.30pm last night. Using Singapore Airport’s free internet facilities I found what seemed to be a good hostel and booked in, i’m staying at the The InnCrowd which is in a area of Singapore called Little India, packed full of Indian markets, shops and restaurants…a far cry from the Land Downunder.
And thats about it for now, i’m going to stay here for a few days, see a few sights and then make my way either overland or by air to Malaysia where i’ll spend as long as I see fit and until I get a nice tan to come home with! 
I have a few pics to upload and i’ll get on to them tomorrow, keep checking for updates!
Thanks Australia, for great times…amazing times.
TTFN 
Dave
x
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