DAY 4 - BRISBANE

CrazyJourney Boys Outside the Casino in Brisbane

As usual, the Irish boys were up early this morning in preparation for a charity event in Brisbane. However for the Aussies, it was a different story. The 2 groggy messes struggled to emerge from their nests so Finto had to encourage Rhys with a glass of water to the ear. The monster reacted with a flurry of exotic language to the amusement of Finto and Dave!

We said a quick goodbye to Ish who was off to an exam. We’ll see him again in Singapore very soon where he will also be putting us up.

We then drove two hours to Brisbane for a charity event organized by Andrew from the Mental Health Education Board of Australia. Andrew organized with Brisbane council for the car to be positioned in the busiest pedestrian area of Brisbane’s city centre. We were met by representatives from various Mental Illness groups from Queensland and did a short interview for Channel 10. It was really encouraging to get such a positive response from some people who had experienced mental illness. In particular, one man named Anthony had flown down from Townsville to meet us. He had suffered mental illness and an alcohol addiction which left him on the streets living rough and picking through bins to eat. However with support he was able to turn his life around and is now working in construction and writing poetry in his spare time. He has promised to write a poem that we can post on the site. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Andrew for organizing this event and showing support and interest CrazyJourney.

Following the event, we checked into Palace Backpackers on the corner of Ann and Edward Street. This backpackers is also owned by the Base backpackers group who are one of our donors and they kindly arranged free accommodation for the four of us for the night. Having all previously stayed in many backpackers we all agreed that it was top rate, especially the mad bar in the basement!

After a brief meeting with representatives from the ABC we then went on a hunt for camping gear. On the journey, we are going to encounter some of the harshest conditions on the planet, so specialized tents, jackets and sleeping bags are essential. AussieBum provided us with the cash needed for the gear and we were given a great deal by the boys at Globe Trekker Camping on 142 Albert St (http://www.globetrekker.com.au/). Thanks a lot guys!

US and the Guys from Globe Trekker Camping

We received news of yet more media interviews in Townsville from our PR guru Liz Courtney. This meant yet another early rise on Sat morning which Rhys and Chuck were not happy about. This of course developed into a heated debate where the frustrations of a hectic few days driving and meeting deadlines emerged. However after two pints that evening all was resolved between us.

For the night we decided to head to the busy Valley District and ended up having a great time in Family Nightclub where Muscles was playing (http://www.myspace.com/musclesmusic). Check out our videos at his gig below. The place was packed with Brisbane’s finest and Dave was struggling to make progress with one girl until she realized she had seen him on the news that night! Z-List celebrities in action! Dave is still disputing that this had anything to do with it and claims that she was interested long before she realized. The night ended with the looming of a 7am wake up interview for channel ten’s morning show….. should be interesting. And the story continues.

Day 4 Route Map - Click on Map for more Details:

Quote of the Day: “We’re by far the best looking guys in here”

(Rhys Baker in the Brisbane Backpackers Bar)