East Coast

Myself and some of the Fraser Island group took off on a 17 hour bus journey to Airlie Beach. To be fair, the buses are very comfortable here so it’s not actually as bad as it sounds.

There had been weather warnings for where we were headed and rumours had started circling that some of the roads ahead would close. However, our bus was still running, so we took that as a positive and went on our way. (Perhaps we should have questioned the driver asking us to sign a waiver when boarding saying if we didn’t make it, it wasn’t the bus company’s fault!) But we hopped on enthusiastically and off we went.

5 hours in, 10 hours in, even 14 hours in, things were looking good. Then suddenly we were told we couldn’t make it any further. We were given the choice to stay where we were or start going back down a few hours to Rockhampton. Both locations offered were less than desirable, so our sleep deprived minds felt the best thing to do was to stay put as we were closer to where we wanted to be.

We got off the bus, and full of optimism started exploring all options- taxi, bus, car rental…No luck. Finally, we admitted defeat for the time being and found a place for breakfast. Brain food!

‘Mackay’ was the name of our unexpected destination, which can only be described as an overnight stop for truck drivers. Not a must hit on your Australia itinerary by any means! This was our main view for the time there!

We booked a motel room that fit all four of us which even had a pool! Perfect rainy day activity!!

Most of our time here was spent like this!

Trying to find a bus or taxi to take us to Airlie Beach or trying to contact travel companies about trips we had planned for the coming days. As it’s a very busy travelling season, all the subsequent buses were full so getting a taxi was the only option really, although they hiked the prices up big time!

There were some silver linings however as Ben (in the red top) is actually a chef!

This was over 30 hours into being motel bound… we had fully lost it at this point!

Thankfully an unexpected visitor provided some light entertainment for us!

There was very little to do in Mackay, and the rain was atrocious. There was an airport though, and flights were still going! So after much deliberation, I decided to fly to Townsville (the stop after Airlie Beach) as my friends Emma and Paddy from home, who were honeymooning at the same time were driving to there and could give me a lift back to Airlie Beach as the roads from their direction were open. It was a bit more expensive than the taxi would have been, but I decided it was worth it to not waste any more precious time!

I had planned to meet Emma and Paddy in Airlie Beach anyway, so the itinerary was juggled slightly. This did mean that I would be leaving the crew I had met in Fraser Island as they had decided to wait out the storm and get a taxi as soon as the roads reopened!

We said our goodbyes and hoped our routes would overlap again in the coming days! And off to the airport I went. The weather had not improved by this point at all!

It was a short one hour flight with Quantas who are my new favourite airline as they gave free wine and cheese on board! They very much knew the key to my heart at that moment!

I arrived in a few hours before Emma and Paddy so I treated myself to an apartment in Townsville for the night. To say I felt like the queen bee having this much space to myself is an understatement. I had time to wash my clothes and catch up on Netflix as the rain was still pouring around me!

The next morning Emma and Paddy picked me up. What a treat to see two familiar faces!

Townsville was only ever a stopover.

Next stop, Magnetic Island.