Guys we are so sorry that we havnt written in ages but we have just been too busy! We are going to try and fill you in with what we have been up to- but a shorter sweeter version!

03/04/08- Lynne picked us up from Surfers Paradise and took us back to their house. It was a beautiful bungalow backing right out onto the water. Rob thought that it looked a bit like the neighbours set but nicer! that evening the whole family came over- there were about 20 of us including Monica, such a good laugh. we had loads of lovely food and too many beers, we were really spoilt!

04/04/08- had a lie in which was probably the first in a whole month-bliss! then we all got showered. we had to shower outside in a makeshift cubicle (if you can call it that!) because they were having their bathroom done up. after we were alll spruced up Lynne cooked us up a lovely brekkie then we chilled in front of the t.v and watched their videos of when they visited London. Lynne and Wozza then took us out to a lovely pub on the seafront for lunch (ive never eaten so much in one day!) full and contented Lynne dropped us back into Surfers where we caught our next Oz bus. we drove via the Zorbing site where we watched people roll down the hill in huge rubber ballls, then it was onto Brisbane. We arrived at Palace Backpackers (our hostel) had dinner and rented a film to watch. it was really nice just having a night to chill out.

05/04/08-spent the day researching deals for our transport in New Zealand. BORING!!! in the evening we went for a walk around the city, it looked reallly pretty at night-then the highlight of the day.........Pancakes! we had a salad for dinner (really cheapy cheapy!) so we thought we would treat ourselves! Charlotte (the girl we were travelling with) nearly collapsed from excitement!

06/04/08-We wnt to a Koala sanctuary and me and rob got to hold them. the koala we held was called Trace!

07/04/08-up at 5 to catch the Oz bus! we drove through Noosa where we had a stop off and then onto Hervey Bay, the gateway to Fraser Island. we got checked in and then went down for our briefing about the trip. there were 16 of us- 8 in each 4 by 4. we had to designate a driver for each vehicle and then the safety briefing began. We were told not to swim in the sea if we wanted to live! its full of sharks and deadly jelllyfish! if that wasnt bad enough we were told how to ddefend ourselves if we got attacked by dingoes! also if anyone got bitten of got hurt out there we were told that mobiles don't work. i was s***ting myself by this point but then the guy explained that you can dial and link up to a satellite to make emergency calls- sigh of relief! he then went on to say that this doesnt really work either, the heli ambulance would be at least 2 hours away so basically if anything happened we were screwed! we met the rest of our group who were really lovely and then got a relatively early night.

08/04/08- first day on Fraser-AMAZING!!!! spent the day driving along the beach and seeing the sights. drank far too much!

09/04/08-2nd day on Fraser. another fab day. went to the Indian Heads (a lookout point) and Champagne pools, a rock formation that when you sit on them you get sprayed by the sea creating the effect of over fklowing champagne- yea i wish! spent the night playing drinking games and getting drunken and disorderly.

oh, one of the gils in our group is working out in Oz as a nurse, and guess what.....she has just qualified from Leeds! her old mentor had come out to visit her and so i have now already got wrecked with one of the mentors!

10/04/08- last day on Fraser.Spent the day by Lake McKensie. Fraser island is the only island ion the world made totally from sand that can support a rainforest and naturakl lakes. pretty cool huh! so yea we spent the day chilling there, the sand was bright white and the lake an illuminous turquoise, you could see right to the bottom- it looked like something out of yo0ur dreams-jealous????? we arrived back in Hervey Bay that evening and had a last supper with our team.

11/04/08-bloody early start again, we were on the bus for 7! we arrived at Kroombit Cattle station in the afternoon and we went on a Goat muster. gwe all hopped up onto a horse then headed over ther hills to find the goats. once we had found them we all had to spread out and steer then down the hills to their pen. it was so much fun, Rob couldn't get his horse to obey him- so funny! he was getting really frustrated and i just laughed, he wasnt impressed! ROB: can i just add that they said i had the hardest horse!...Then once all the goats had been rounded up we headed down to the pen for a GOAT RODEO!!! we learnt how to lassoo and then the fun and games began. in teams of three we entered the pen. one was the lasoo-ist and one was supposed to tip the goat onto its side once it was caught, the third had to brand it (dont worry it was a fake, it wasnt hot) can i just say we were the t***! we now hold the new record of 26 seconds which no one has ever acomplished! That night we tried our hand at whip cracking (harder than it looks) and had a bucking bronko competition.

12/04/08- back on the bus for 7 and spent the whole day driving to Airlie Beach. that evening we all went out for a meal and drinks but we restrained ourselves and got a reasonably early night ready for the next day!

13/04/08- Whitsunday Sailing! We boarded our boat, The Matador - The fastest Maxi boat in Airlie Beach and once upon a time, the fastest in the world! Amazin huh? After meeting the crew Pete (skipper) Ben (deck hand) and Gemma (host / cook) we had our safety briefing and headed to Luncheon Island. Once we had left the harbour we witnessed what a maxi boat could really do! sailing sideways we had to dangle our legs over the hgh side of the boat and try not to fall backwards while the boat reached incredible speeds! at luncheon bay we had a quick snorkle around the coral and saw some incredible sea creatures, as well as multi coloured fish there was a huge Monkfish (ugly fellow) and a couple of swordfish! We also swam through Box Jellyfish and Irukanji Jellyfish (the two deadliest in the world- if you get stung you have 4 minutes to live!!!) after the snorkle we went back to the boat for our SCUBA Dive!!!! Ali was bricking it because of the jellies but she managed to overcome her fear and took the plunge! It was incredible like nothing weve ever experienced before! surprisingly much easier than snorkeling!

14/04/08- the layout of the day was much the same, breakfast sailing snorkeling, we visited a few of the different bays in the whitsundays including Whitehaven Beach! (the 2nd most beautiful beach in the world). That evening we had a waterpolo match against one of the other boats and won!!! we later found out that we were in shark teritory during feeding time!!!!

15/04/08- the last day in the whitsundays. we went back to the other side of Luncheon Bay where there is a masive sand bank and a family of turtles! Unfortunately we didnt see them when we were in the water but we saw them from the boat! We sailed back to the mainland, on the way we encountered another maxi boat so we had a little race, needless to say that we whipped their asses but we almost tipped the boat in the process! when we arrived back in Airlie Beach we had a fair well meal. the boat that we beat at water polo were also there, they challenged us to a "boat race" (3 girls & 3 guys stand in sequence and neck their drink consecutively and the first line to finish wins) again, we won! Ali did us proud even though she got more beer on her breasts than in her mouth!

16/04/08- woke up with a hangover and hopped onto the bus for Townsville. The egg and bacon roll on the way was much welcomed into our tummies! in townsville we caught the ferry to magnetic island where we have been for the last couple of days and will be for a couple more. tonight (18th 04 08) is the full moon party (the bigest party in Australia!!!) we will update in a couple of days when we have recovered!

Well done to Lucy for her triumphant run in the marathon! were both incredibly proud of you and sorry that we couldnt be there! love you

Thank you Melgey for your letter. It made me smile! I tried to save it but i couldnt!

Hope you are all well. Love you bundles. xxx Ali and Rob