We were greeted in Sydney by a big down pour of rain. We stayed in a hostel on Elizabeth St which is about a 20 minute walk to the harbour, where its all happening. Over the Weekend we had a walk round the Opera House and the Sydney Bridge, taking the classic tourist shots. The Rocks market is more suited for the "Raa Raa's" so was obviously out of our budget range to buy anything. The Sydney Aquarium was also a highlight

From Sydney we got on the Oz Experience coach which would be our mode of transport all the way up to Cairns. First stop was at the "Spot X" Surf Camp. If you want cheesy commercial surf culture and posers then this is the place to be. We had to get up at 6.30 for a 'surf lesson', in the looses terms of the phase, and surf in sloppy 2ft waves. I explained to the instructors that i've been surfing for a while and pretty much know what i'm doing. They insisted i took out there 10ft long foam begginners board. The different in boards and surf conditions is like given Lewis Hamilton a Fiat Punto and asking him to drive through London at rush hour. So for the rest of the morning i wasn't allowed to leave the group which was kinda funny in a way. From "Spot X" we got back on the coach to Byron Bay. We stayed here for 5 days. Amelia had found a freind so I got some surf time in. We bumped into out mate Sam Hearn from Crawley Down which was a nice surprise. From Byron Bay we did a tour to Nimbim, the local hippie/stoner/alternative village in the hills. It is quite a seedy place. Its the only place in Australia where coppers turn a blind eye to spliffs and hash cakes. I wasn't really feeling the whole getting stoned thing so i just took in the sites and smells. The place to be in Byron Bay if your the typical cheesy party going backpacker is 'The Cheeky Monkeys'. We ended up here a couple of times mostly due to amount of free beer they give out to Oz Bus passengers as well as the 2 pound 50 meals. I wouldn't say its really my scene but if you can't beat it then join it. Amelia decided to take part in the Ms Backpackers Beuty Pagent. She done a bit of singing and a little dance in a hawaiin dress. Obviously she won that nights round and was through to the final. Fortunately (we later found out the final was a bit more near the knuckle) we were not in town for the final. Instead they gave Amelia a prize for two people to go on a self-drive 4wd 3 days and 2 nights tour on the Wolrd Heritage, Fraser Island, which is the biggest sand Island in the world. This was worth 250 pounds! Result.

From Byron Bay we got back on the coach to Surfers Paradise where we spent 2 nights. Excuse the name as this place is far from a surfers paradise. It is the high-rise Americanised region of the East Coast. High Rise buildings accommodating shops, clubs, bars, restaurants, hotels, hostels among otherthings, overlook a really long beach. Its a kinda place you either love or hate. It wasn't my cup of tea. Although 30 minutes down the road there are 3 world class surf spots, Snappers Rock, Kirra which connect to make superbank, and Burleigh Heads. On its days you can have minute long rides and get barrelled for over 20 seconds at one time. Luck wasn't doing me any favours and even though i could see the surfspots this time, there was not any swell to produce any waves. No worries though Amelia actually got me to lie down and chill out on a beach for the first time in my life instead. From Surfers Paradise we got back on the coach to Brisbane. Due to the coaches timetable we only spent a night here as we had to leave early the next morning to carry on heading north.

From Brisbane we headed north to Rainbow Beach. This is the main point where you get the barge across to Fraser island (our free trip!). We got up early Thursday morning and met our group of 11 (including us) who we had hired the 4wd drive van with. We packed up the roof with Tents, Sleeping Bags, Eskys (big cool boxes) with beer and food and cooking stuff. The 4wd we had was a Toyota Land Cruiser. 3 people sit in the front with 8 in the back. You had to be over 21 to drive which was unfortunate for me but probably a god send for everyone else. Over the three days we drove up and down the seventy mile beach and inland to some of the freshwater lakes along beat up dirt roads. We had 4 drivers, a couple were good and others were, to say the least, terrible. The problem is if someday bogs or tips the car and the sea takes it then there is no insurance to cover the costs of the damage so everybody has to fork out to pay wthe price which couldbe excessive! So when one of the girls (no sexist remark intended) was driving proper s*** along the beach with an incoming tide it made me more nervous than surfing in sharky spots or jumping out of a plane. Lake Mckenzie, the biggest lake on the island was beautiful spot. Freshwater and clear blue it was lovely place to swim and chill in. It was kinda chilly at night though but after a couple of beers you have your beer coat on so its not all too bad. We arrived back from Fraser Island on Saturday afternoon.

Due to the timetable of the coaches over the nexts 5 days we could only spend one night at every destination until we arrived in Carins .From Rainbow Beach we headed to town of 1770, the last surf spot on the East coast. Another quiet, pretty little beach town. From here we went to the edge of the outback to a working Cattle Station (Farm) called Kroombit. We arrived around Lunchtime. Here we got the chance to shoot some clay pigeons and take part in a goat rodeo which were both really enjoyable. In the evening we went on the mechanical bull and learnt how to crak a whip which proved harder than you'd think. If i had the time i wouldn't have minded staying longer and working at the cattle station, getting stuck in to the outback lifestyle. The coach drive from Kroombit to Airlie Beach was the longest one, 11 hours of pure sitting down fun. At Airlie Beach we bumped into Sam again which was a nice surprise. Over the next couple of days nothing to exciting happened, we stopped overnight at Magnetic Island before driving the final leg to Cairns. Just south of Cairns we stopped off at a crocodile farm. We saw the crocs being fed by a bloke who made Steve Irwin look like an amateaur. It was all looked very dodgy for the feeder. In Cairns we've just had a lazy day getting some last bits and bobs before flying off to Bali!! I heard theres a good swell waiting for me when i arrive!