Sunday 26th August 2007

We were up in time to check out this morning, because after yesterdays events - there was no way we wanted to stay. We got ready, had some breakfast (this time in bowls that looked like they were purchased in the last 20 years) and then caught the hostel bus to the bus station. We still didn't have a plan - we figured we'd work it out when we got to the Greyhound...

... When we did arrive at the bus station we found that the Greyhound Ticket Office was shut (because it was Sunday (we've lost track of the days)), so Nikki rang Travel Bugs (the company we booked our trip through) to see what they could do for us. When she explained about our problems with Kookaburras and that we'd still like to go to Fraser Island, they said they understood why we didn't want to stay any longer and arranged for us to have a free night in another hostel in town - this time, one called Beaches.

As soon as the courtesy bus pulled up outside, we knew we'd be 'safer' at Beaches. We dumped our bags in a spotless dorm room (hey, at least it was free) and then checked out the hostel... it was fantastic - it had a huge, clean kitchen too!

This afternoon we walked back down to the Esplanade and strolled all the way along the beach to a famous place called Urangan Pier, which stretches right out into the sea - and was once used to transport cargo to-and-from big ships. We had a look around the shops in that side of town and then took a nice slow walk back. On our way we stopped in one of the pubs for a drink - and they had two guys playing music, so we thought we'd stay for some lunch and shared some wedges with sour cream and chilli... then some more beer!

When we got back to the hostel this evening, Nikki was pretty tired from all the walking we'd done - so she had a nap whilst I read my book (the Gazza biography). When she woke up later, we figured we'd go out for more beer and perhaps some food - so we took a walk down to Hoolihans where, at 9pm, it was buy-one-get-one-free on certain meals. Nikki ordered our food at about 9.05pm, and for some reason - as soon as she did, the pub called last orders! It was crazy, as we were eating the staff were putting chairs on tables! We finished our food nice and slow and then came back to the hostel.

Beaches Hostel: 1 Kookaburras Hostel: 0!