Blimey. (or as our Israeli friend pronounced it; bli-may). There has been very little let up in the pace of our trip down the east coast of this massive country. It is such a well travelled backpackers route that everything is geared to keeping you busy and, more importantly, keeping you spending. We have done our best to fully immerse ourselves in this world that seems aimed at travellers a decade younger than us. But, it would seem that it is starting to get the better of us. As I write this I am laid up on a bed struggling to move due to an injury sustained while surfing in Byron Bay today (actually, I managed to twist my back walking on the beach. But I was carrying a surf board at the time and I had just been surfing so I am still classing it as a surfing injury!). While at the same time Gen is nursing a kayak surfing injury when a pretty nasty wave dumped us down and Gen got bashed in the nose leaving a rather nice looking cut. I keep telling her that chicks dig scars but she's not interested. Not to worry though, we shall battle on with this hardship of not working and having a lot of fun in a very sunny and hot country. I'm sure you all feel very sorry for us.

From airlie beach we got an overnight greyhound bus down to a place called Agnes Water, right next to the Town of 1770. The main draw of this town was it's boast that it was the most northern beach that you could go surfing, due to the lethal jellyfish that you get at all beaches further north, and it's waves were perfect for beginners. This sounded like a perfect place to begin my new career as a pro surfer. The day before I hit the waves Gen and I decided to go on a sunset kayaking tour of the waters of 1770. We were blessed with perfect currents and a friendly breeze which helped us along our way. The tour was excellent, run by a very enthusiastic Aussie, called Simon, who owns the company Liquid Adventures. We stopped for a quick swim in the ridiculously warm sea before heading out to the waves to have a quick go at kayak surfing. Being in a tandem sit on top kayak meant it was quite easy to pick up the speed to catch the waves and Gen's initial fear of capsizing was quickly replaced by thrill of riding the waves. After a good half hour of this it was time to make our way to the beach to watch a beautiful sunset while drinking a surprisingly paletable cup of goon (goon is a cheap Aussie wine sold in boxes. So called due to the fact that when you have finished it you can discard the box, blow up the bladder, and use it as a pillow, or as the aboriginols call it, a goon). We were unfortunate not to sight any dolphins or turtles on this trip, which they had seen that morning, but that didn't put a dampener on the trip at all. We had a fantastic time and it made me even more excited for the surf lesson. The following morning I left Gen having a lie in followed by a wander into town for a cup of tea and read of a trashy magazine, while I braved an uncharacteristically windy and therefore choppy sea. I went surfing with a company called Lazy Lizard who, for the measly fee of $22, took a small group of 12 beginners to this unwelcoming sea. Luke, the owner of the company, was a great teacher and clearly loved his job and his life. He managed to get me standing up and riding a few of these waves during our session. Due to the ferocity of the waves I spent far more time trying to swim out and getting trashed by the breaks than actually attempting surfing which wiped out my energy levels for the rest of the day. However, a decent afternoon kip and I was ready for a few beers.

As I said, it was a fleeting trip to Agnes and we were soon making our way down to Hervey Bay. Bumping into our friend Matan in the process who had just spent a rather unpleasant week sampling the sights and sounds of one of Austrslia's dullest towns, Townsville. He quickly signed up to join us on our Fraser Island 'Cool Dingo' tour for which we were due to leave from Hervey Bay early the following morning. We had signed up for a 2 night, 3 day tour of this magnificent sand island and were not dissappointed. The island itself is amazing, having rainforests, white beaches, beautiful lakes and desert like sand dunes all within a relatively small space. One of the highlights had to be swimming in Lake McKenzie. Wonderfully warm and beautifully picturesque. We were fortunate enough to have a great group of people on our tour, who we hope to meet up with again at different places on our travels, which makes a great difference to everyone's enjoyment of the trip. To top it all off, the food was tip top and plentiful as well. Good times.

Almost perfectly on cue with the start of the Australian summer the rains came down. This meant that our next stop, Noosa, was destined to be a wet one. We spent 4 fairly wet days here, a little longer than we had planned but we were holding out for some nice weather, which unfortunately only came in short bursts. Our wet weather program was mainly drinking and eating which I'm happy to say, we excel in. We did find this fantastic burger place called 'Eat Me' where we eat the best burgers we've had since being in Australia. We have been completely converted to having both pineapple and beetroot in a burger and I am now disappointed when one is missing. If you haven't tried this crazy concoction you should definitely give it a go, it's a taste sensation. I also managed to further my inevitably sparkling new career, this time being taught by a very crazy frenchman called Stephan. Again, the wind was up and the waves were steep and dumpy and so it was a battle to get out and catch the waves. Unperturbed I threw myself at it with all I had and again was rewarded with a few good rides. As with Agnes, the rides were short lived due to the conditions but were thrilling all the same. Kelly Slater will be asking me for tips next season. Our last night in Noosa was spent battling a man sized cockroach in our room (this may be a slight exaggeration), which was a pleasant end to our stay!

Brisbane was our next destination, and we headed to it not knowing what to expect having heard so many differing opinions about the city and with the weather forecast looking ominous to say the least. We stayed at Bunk, a notorious party hostel, in a 6 man dorm full of all boys except Gen. Thankfully the alcohol managed to dull Gen's sense of smell enough to allow her to make it through 3 nights in such a pleasant environment. On the whole, Brisbane was excellent and I'd happily go back to visit. The markets, the bars, the urban beach, the Christmas music concert in the city centre, the gardens, the museums, the cafés, the live bands were all fantastic. Coupled with the fact that we hung out with Matan and an german sounding Italian girl called Christina meant we had a great time. One of the afternoons we even helped Matan get into the Hanukkah spirit by cooking up a phenomenal amount of Latkes for dinner. Very tasty. The only downside to our brief liaison with this city cannot be blamed on brissy as they could have happened anywhere. Firstly we were hit with quite a number of thunderstorms, but seeing as it was warm and it gave us an excuse (not that one is ever needed) of running into the nearest bar, it didn't bother us too much. Secondly we were given vouchers to for a cheap meal at the bar/club that was attached to the hostel. What with it being a bar/club and costing $5 for a meal and a cocktail I didn't expect much. I did, foolishly some might say, expect something edible, and having been let down on this count I thought I could wash it down with a cocktail that wouldn't make me want to vomit at every mouthful. Still, you can't win them all.

From Brisbane we embarked on what we thought would be the worst part of our trip, but one we wanted to make just so we can say that we have been to Surfer's Paradise. Perhaps it was that we expected so little from this town, whose reputation is a sunny Blackpool, that we found ourselves liking it so much. The beach was so long that it never felt that crowded (it was a little strange having skyscrapers block the sun from points on the beach mind you), and the town, although tacky and full of tourists was clean and friendly. The bikini clad meter maids, however, were always on hand to remind you that you were still in a town aimed at drunk Brits abroad. Our hostel was a pleasant surprise as well. Just like the city it was friendly and clean and we even managed to get ourselves in a twin room. I must admit that we didn't embrace the full culture of Surfers as we were so tired from doing so in Brisbane that after a much needed curry we were in bed before the party bus had even left our hostel! Still, we enjoyed the town for the brief 2 nights that we had booked and used it very much as a rest and recuperation stop on our trip down the coast. Knowing that Byron was our next stop and having heard great things of this town we wanted to be ready for it.

And that is where I write to you from, Byron Bay. A fantastic little surf town with so much to see and do that we have extended our time here to 6 nights just to fit it all in. So far, as previously mentioned, Gen and I got on our tandem kayak and took a tour out into the pacific ocean, and what an amazing tour it was. After battling out through the steep surf our group made it out to sea over very high rolling water. Our efforts were not in vain though and no sooner had we made it out to as far as we were able, a small pod of dolphins came and played in the water around us. Watching these graceful creatures jumping around us was an excellent sight to behold. Our return to shore was unfortunately rough and Gen picked up a bash on the face for her troubles! But she will be the first to admit that it was all worth it for that trip. I set out to improve my already impressive surf skills with a Sunday morning lesson. This time the weather and the waves were on my side and the conditions were perfect. Catching my first 2 waves and riding them for 20 seconds a piece I was already on a high and about to rush out and spend the next few hours in the water when tragedy struck and I twisted my back and floored myself doing nothing more challenging than walking into the sea! This wiped me out for the rest of the lesson and to add insult to injury the photographer decided to turn up after this had all happened. Still, I can't complain as riding those 2 waves was an amazing rush and I am determined to follow them up some day soon. We also rocked out at a sold out Wolfmother gig at an awesome venue called the Great Northern. The hair on those guys is incredible.

There is still plenty to do at Byron and hopefully I will be up and walking by tomorrow. From here we have one more stop until we get to spend Christmas in Sydney. Bets are currently on for a dry Christmas day, but I'm not holding my breath. Still, it's hot out here, which is nice. Good times.

Even though the quins finally suffered their first loss of the season, I am still in no doubt that it is well and truly in the bag.