Thanks for all the messages guys. Can't believe we've only got 2 weeks left (we're back in Blighty on 22nd) but looking forward to seeing you all. After a couple more nights in Sydney (we had to wait to get a seat on a bus) it was time to visit the great Byron Bay.... apparently everyone's favourite place in Oz. As you can imagine, expectations were high, so much so that after calling about 20 different hostels and numerous websites trying to find a bed, when we...

Good afternoon everyone - the sun is shining here in NZ and we're off to watch England thump the Kiwi's tonight as the Twenty20 cricket bandwagon hits Christchurch. Good times!! Once again, the few messages we're still getting are very much appreciated. Good to see Mr Philips is still tuning in - the NZ itinerary we worked on is turning out to be a corker!! Thanks for the City update Nige, Win was right, he is a much better crack than you, at least he sends m...

Hi everyone. Hope you're all OK. Thanks again for all of your birthday messages. x Moving on from Canberra, we arrived in Sydney mid-afternoon on the day before New Year's Eve. We checked into our room (the four of us were cosying up in a triple as the city is soooo expensive around new year) and headed down to the harbour to see what all the fuss was about.... we'd heard rumours of an opera house, a bridge, some pretty good views? Well, we weren't disappointed....