After a short night's sleep in Brisbane, I packed up and hit the road on another Greyhound Australia bus. Unlike in America, these buses are well-appointed. They're clean, include a toilet and tap water, usually filled with backpackers, efficient, and rather comfortable. In terms of the buses I will be utilizing on my journey, these are as good as it gets. In Byron Bay, I purchased a 45-day pass allowing me on/off travel on northbound routes from Byron Bay to Cairns.
Along the 5-hour drive, I found ample time to appreciate the low-hanging, fluffy white clouds. I also firmly believe the various shades of blue in the sky are rather unique. If you look in the photo above, the sky is a lighter blue nearer the horizon. As you move further away, it gets darker. It could be I'm making something out of nothing, however I found it rather fascinating all the same.
The buses are required to stop every 4 hours for 30 minutes. On this trip, I devoured a meat pie for lunch. The pies are common throughout New Zealand and Australia. Basically, it's a dough pie crust with a savory filling. So far, I've enjoyed beef, chicken, and mutton pies, though vegetarian versions are often available as well. They are very filling and quite cheap (about $3-4 USD).
I caught the sunset in Hervey Bay, the popular jumping off point for 4×4 tours of nearby Fraser Island.
Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He's been to 66 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.
Planning a trip? Go Backpacking recommends:
- G Adventures for small group tours.
- World Nomads for travel insurance.
- Hostelworld for booking hostels.
- Rail Europe for train passes.
Kango Suz
Tuesday 22nd of January 2008
God, that meat pasty makes me hungy, it looks amazing! Couldn't you just freeze-pack some to ship back home to me? No? Ok, perhaps I'll just have to figure out how to get to a former British colony sometime soon...
Kango Suz
Tuesday 22nd of January 2008
God, that meat pasty makes me hungy, it looks amazing! Couldn't you just freeze-pack some to ship back home to me? No? Ok, perhaps I'll just have to figure out how to get to a former British colony sometime soon...
Overland Travel
Sunday 20th of January 2008
>Unlike in America, these buses are well-appointed.
Yes - the one I took to Adelaide came appointed with a VHS recorder playing Crocodile Dundee 2! Doesn't get much better than that :lol: Another bonus the Australian Greyhound's have over the American buses is that they are not full of crazy people and recently-released prisoners...
Dave
Sunday 20th of January 2008
On my recent long trip, they played "End of Days" which was filled with violence, bad language and nudity. A big departure from the romantic comedies I see on the DC to NYC bus at home!
Overland Travel
Sunday 20th of January 2008
>Unlike in America, these buses are well-appointed.
Yes - the one I took to Adelaide came appointed with a VHS recorder playing Crocodile Dundee 2! Doesn't get much better than that :lol: Another bonus the Australian Greyhound's have over the American buses is that they are not full of crazy people and recently-released prisoners...
Dave
Sunday 20th of January 2008
On my recent long trip, they played "End of Days" which was filled with violence, bad language and nudity. A big departure from the romantic comedies I see on the DC to NYC bus at home!
Toby
Saturday 19th of January 2008
Hi! Just stumbled across this, and coincidentally I am from Hervey Bay! Hope you are having a great time, be sure to check out Fraser Island, have a camp there, its rather nice :) It is the largest sand island in the world :smile:
Dave
Sunday 20th of January 2008
That is a coincidence - it seemed like a very small community. Yep, I enjoyed the world's largest sand island despite the rain!