Rain rain rain rain rain crocodiles rain

Floods at Australia Zoo

Me and a Roo

The Crocoseum at Australia Zoo

Alligator

Waiting for the bus back to Noosa

Well I got to Brisbane and had a good night out with Lisa and Andrea. We ended up in a blues bar, where there was a great atmosphere and we all enjoyed a couple of quiet drinks and a nice mellow night out. Unfortunately Donna wasn’t feeling too well, so she stayed in the Hostel to rest.

This morning me and Donna were up at 6.30am and walked across to the bus depot where we were due to get the bus up to Hervey Bay and our trip to Fraser Island – At least that was the plan. We started to get worried when we were asked to sign an agreement that if the floods stopped us getting to our destination, we wouldn’t sue the bus company.

However, we set off on time and although it wasn’t brilliant weather, we didn’t have any problems for 3 hours. Then at the designated rest stop at a service station, the driver told us there would be a delay as the road ahead of us was thought to be closed.

The delay went from a few minutes to 2 and then 3 hours before we were informed that the floods meant the road would be closed for at least 12 hours. We decided to take the hit and immediately set about cancelling out Fraser island trip and trying to get the money back. It was a bit of a trauma and we also had to decide where to spend the night as we were informed that the roads would be closed for at least 24 hours. We decided to head to Noosa., which is the town where Lisa and Andrea were staying ad also only half an hour down the road. We got accommodation booked and after a four hour wait in total and a swap of buses we finally set off at 2.30pm and headed back down south. Everyone on the bus was in the same boat (or bus) and was trying to change plans at the last minute. It was a nightmare, but everyone seemed set when we arrived in Noosa. We said goodbye to our new friends from the bus and grabbed a taxi to our new home – a nice little hostel on the outskirts of town. Its a strange little house with three rooms, but its warm and comfortable and there are free buses into town till Monday so that’s a bonus! We set about booking flights and stuff and after a couple of hours had a plan in place to head back to Brisbane on Tuesday and fly up to Airlie beach for our whitsundays boat trip the on Thursday. Tonight we are heading into town for a quiet night before we get up early tomorrow and go to visit the famous Australia Zoo.

Well, me and Donna went out last night to the Hostel in town where Andrea and Lisa are staying. It was a nice mellow night, with a few beer being drunk while the rest of the place was going mad – there was a beer auction on the dance floor and the girls got a fresh beer when theirs was knocked over by a drunk reveller – but overall it was a good evening out. Me and Donna left about 10.30 and having missed the bus tried to get a taxi home, which took a while, but we managed it eventually. Luckily, it wasn’t raining!

This morning we got up and after checking the weather outside left the hostel – It immediately started raining and Donna very nearly turned round and went back home, but the rain started and stopped constantly. Eventually we met up with Lisa and Andrea and got onto the free courtesy bus to Australia Zoo – made famous by The Crocodile Hunter – Steve Irwin. It continued to rain – heavily and we wondered if the zoo would be open, but as we arrived it stopped – for about 5 seconds, before the heaviest rain I have ever seen started top fall again. We even took the drastic action of buying the plastic rain macs that I hate to wear, but it was worth it as they topped us getting really really soaked during the day.

The zoo itself is really good. You can get really close to the alligators and crocodiles as well as the Tigers, elephants and loads of other animals. The highlight of the day was the Crocoseum show, where there are birds flying in and out of the audience, snakes swimming in the water and of course the crocodile show, hosted by Terri and Bindi Irwin (Bindi did a show first for the kids where she dances and sings – it was a bit shit, but the rest of the show was ace!) The show was very very good and worth the admission on its own!!

Unfortunately the weather got worse and worse as the day went on and by 3pm the paths were all flooded and people were getting really pissed off and it was the worst rain I have ever seen – Then it got heavier!! We sat in the food court and didn’t think it could get worse – but it did!!

When we queued for the bus at 3,45pm, the car park was flooded and people had to walk through knee deep water to reach their cars. It really is mental this weather!! We headed back to Noosa on the bus but due to floods on the main road, we had a diversion and it took longer than expected.

We finally arrived in Noosa and Lisa and Andrea took their free courtesy bus to their hostel, while me and Donna had a couple of beers before getting a bus back to our place after getting a bite to eat. We are now sat at home watching telly and listening to the weather outside. Tomorrow we need to make a plan to see what we are going to do next – one thing we know is we need to get away from Noosa as the local buses are now being affected and we don’t want to get stuck here!!