Our little retreat in Agnes Waters

Well we've had some haphazard days since we left Tasmania.  Our plan was to fly into Melbourne and rent a car and drive along the Great Ocean Road and maybe to some mountains called the Grampians but we neglected to read the fine print when we filled out the car rental form the day before that they require at least 48 hours notice so we arrived in Melbourne and couldn't get a car!  So we took the tram into the city and found a decent place to stay right in the downtown area and booked a flight for the next day to the Sunshine coast.  Dan really wanted to see this area anyways since he didn't get to see the great barrier reef the last time he was in Australia so we decided to do that first and that way we would have lots of time to organize a car rental for when we get back to Melbourne (although we havn't yet decided when and how we will do this.)  We booked a place in a town called Cotton Tree for 3 nights.  They didn't have any double rooms for the first 2 nights so we opted for the dorms...big mistake!  I really feel we hit the low point in our accomodation!  We stayed in the dorms a few times in NZ and it was fine, but the vibe in this particular hostel was early 20's surfer kids and the dorms were sooooo messy and stinky!  I wanted to take a picture to show just how gross the kitchens and bathrooms were but then I decided it wasn't worth space on the camera card.  For for someone like me who hates a messy kitchen it was torture!  On the upside however (there always has to be one, right?), we did save some money on accomodation and we took a day trip to a nearby town called Noosa where we arranged all of our accomodation and travel for the next week...which is so unlike us (normally we are one day at a time) but it's kind of nice to know what we will be doing and not have to be constantly looking things up.  We had a nice day in Noosa on the beach and wandering from cafe to cafe having cappucinos and then moving onto wine or beer (figuring we saved it on the hostel...ha ha).  The next day we rented surfboards from our hostel and headed down to the local beach, although I've never surfed before so I pretty much rode the board on my stomach when the waves came but but it was still a blast!  I think we may take some lessons when we get to Byron Bay next week.

Today we picked up the rental car we will have for 4 days and drove to a place called Agnes Waters.  We have booked an all day snorkelling trip tomorrow to Lady Musgrave Island to enjoy the Great Barrier Reef!  It's a MAJOR splurge, but we think it will be worth it, especially since it's my b-day gift to Dan since his big day is quickly approaching.  This area is actually supposed to be really good for enjoying the reef because it doesn't have the crowds that the towns further north along the coast have.  We have always had a huge step up accomodation wise!  We found this backpackers place that is HUGE and we have our own cabin and bathroom and TV and fridge and porch with lovely wooden table and chairs.  The weather is just perfect...it's warm but with a nice cool breeze so we are enjoying wine and beer at our little table while we play cards...heaven :>)  And because we will be here for a few days I bought real milk for my cereal (rather than the powdered stuff)...ahhh the little things that make me happy.

Well I guess that's it for now.  We will keep you posted!

Love Hanna and Dan

Flash flooding in Melbourne -