byron bay, brisbane and stradbrook oh my!

Hi everyone,
sorry its been forever and a day but internet access has been a little scarce. lets see, i think the last time i updated we had just gotten to byron bay. the weather there wasnt the greatest but i'm not going to complain. the first 2 days there itwas too windy to do any of the water sports (snorkeling or kayaking). one day we took a really nice hike along the beach and then up through the hills (througthe bush as they call it here) to the eastermost point of the continent...which i guess is the closest i'll get to home until i come back. we then hiked up some more to a lighthouse at the top of the cliff where i honestly felt like i was about to get blown off the cliff by the crazy winds (not a good hair day at all...crystal has been suffereing for this since then she's starting to grow dreads). it was almost like a national park/reserve area but they had these random art displays throughout which i thought was a little wierd but whatever. we got to hike down through some more bush and then made it back to try to "tan" on the beach. unfortujnately it was so windy we just got sand burns from the sand being whipped across the beach by the wind and basically froze our butts off. our hostel there was amazing though...2 dollar huge dinners and happy hour each night with cheap beer and pool. i actually didnt even have to sleep on a top bunk which has usually been teh case and there were bathrooms in the room (as opposed to communal). the next day the wind had finally died down however it was cloudy instead. the lack of wind meant that at least crystal and i could go kayaking (shannon doesnt so much like water sports) so we were excited for that because it was called "kayaking with the dolphins". however, we were soon to find out it should havec been called "kayaking with 10 foot swells and no dolphins" they claimed to have seen dolphins 90% of the time but just our luck (we havent been very lucky on these trips...freezing our butts off in the glowworm caves ring a bell?) there were no dolphins that day. it was in a bay so we had to kayak out through waves which was exhilarating (we were one of teh few not to tip over) but even when we got out in the bay shich looked calm there were literally 10 ft swells, a few of which we thought were going to break on top of us). it was a little scayr i'll admit but it also got us a little seasick, and crystal especially so. the only thing that made up for it was that i got to surf a couple of waves in on the kayak. that was pretty cool, although we did get tipped twice, but it was worth it (the getting wet part, i dont know about the $60). we spent the rest of the day doing a little shopping and hanging out on the beach (though still not in bathing suits) with some english girls we had actually met in sydney and randomly saw the night before. they are lots of fun and we had gelato on the beach (i'm getting addicted to this creamy goodness again...it reminds me of italy and its so good!).
that night, we took a 2hr bus ride from byron to brisbane (not too bad). we got in about 10:30pm and were a little tired with all our stuff, even though we had a reservation for a hostel we knew was nearby, we decided to take a cab since we were tired. turns out, we ended up taking an $8 cab ride across the street, literally. the bus station was two floors above the street, we went down the levels, over about 1/2 a block and there was our hostel. we felt like such idiots and i think we got shiested by the cab driver because he acted like he didnt know where the hostel was which is really werid since he's always drivingn from the station and he didnt know where a hostel was across the street???? right. anyways we took it pretty easy that night, had a drink in the bar downstairs at the bar in our hostel after meeting up with a friend we met in auckland (its pretty wierd we actually keep seeing these people). the next day we spent washopping and then i walked around by myself in downtown brisbane. its great cuz i feel really safe here and i got to walk along the river (brisbane is situated a little inland on a river and not a bay) and through the parks and botanical gardens. they even have a fake beach here...it was so hilarious cuz they randomly havec sand, palm trees, water and even a lifeguard with a surfboard (but now waves) along a pathway on the river. i couldnt get over it. the gardens were great...i love that in these cities they have huge parks that you can get away from all the noise of the city. i was very tired by the end of my 5hr walk and just HAD to get a gelato to get me back to the hostel. we spent the rest of the night resting and then going out to a bar with our friend that was his last night in australia after 10 months of traveling (by the way, pretty much everyone we meet her ein teh hostels is british or irish and are travelingn around for at least 4 months...they are so surprised when we say we are only here for 1). so brisbane was cool but we didnt have a whole lot of time there becauase the next morning we took a train and 3 buses to meet meghan and kat on the coast so they could boat us over to south stradbrook island where the beachhouse was. there are only 50 housees on the island total (8 in her block alone) and you can only drive around 4 wd vehicles and boats. its about 20km long and less than 1 km wide at our point. on one side is the bay side (its only less than a mile offshore) and the other side is the ocean side. her house has gas powered lighting, running water from rainwater, and newly installed outlets to charge things! there are also 3 resident kookaburras these really cool carnivourous birds that just sit on the porch less than 3 feet away from you. there are wallabies running all over the island (we've already seen like 10, one wiht a joey!) and little bandicoots (a rat/possum thingy), along with lots of other birds. we are pretty 5 of a very few poepole on the island (most poeple just come for the weekend, not very many actually live there...there's no grocery or anything). we hung out that night and wathcecd a beautiful sunset. the next morning turned out ot be a beautiful day so we took a short 1o min walk to the ocean side of teh island to see the beach...and boy was i amazed! it was crystal clear, aqua blue waters with white sand, bright blue sky and sand dunes. the best part was, we saw probably 5 people the whole 5 hrs we were there (all fisherman that come over for the day). the water was almost 70 degrees, we tanned, ran around, looked for shells, body surfed, read...everything you would dream to do on a beach, and we were the only ones on this little paradise. i loved it! we came back for food, walked around looking at more wallabies and then made it back for dinner and hanging out.
this morning we got up and left for teh mainland to go to surfers paradise. its about 15 min south (we boated over then took a car megs borrowed) and even got to stay with family friends here. they are really nice and we are so lucky meghan can help us out. we hung out more on the beach (not a whole lot of surfers, and just more crowded than our little island but still nice) and then did some more shopping. its nice on teh island cus you are completely isolated but only a short ride away from civilazation. we are going to hang out here tomorrow some more and meet up with audra and then go back to the island for 2 days before crystal, shannon and i need to head back up the coast for our 27 hr train ride to cairns (we'll have eto break it up into 2-3 days). hopefully we wont have as many weirdos this time. i'm having a great time, the weather is great jsut still a little chilly at night. i'll try to keep in bettter touch and i love you guys. happy bday al!