Well, we've now been exploring Brisbane, and I have to say, it seems to be yet another lovely Australian city! The cities here are all so nice, they're all centred around water of some form (a river here) and it just makes them feel so much more open. They also really go in for Botanic Gardens, which are more like parks to you and me but are still really nice - Dad, you would love it! Our hostel is quite nice, a large, bright orange (no relation to Easyjet) building about 15 minutes walk away from the city centre. One of our room mates is a girl we met before in Byron Bay which is cool, but another is a stripper who works at Hooters all night and insists on sleeping all day in absolute darkness which is nice for the rest of us!! We decided to spend the day sightseeing in the city, and I feel like we've walked for miles! We walked through the main pedestrianised mall, and then across the river to the Southbank, which is an absolutely gorgeous part of the city, a sort of parkland along the river bank, with loads of cafes and restaurants. Best of all is the Streets Beach, a little man made lagoon with a gorgeous sandy beach and lots of areas to sit around it. Sarah and I went paddling, it was lovely! We spent quite a long time just sitting in the shade looking out over the sea....to the skyscrapers behind! Its quite strange to be by the beach in the middle of the city, but very cool. It was quite busy today, so I would hate to imagine what it would be like in the middle of the school holidays!! After that we wandered back across the river and into the Botanic Gardens, which made for a lovely stroll. We were standing by the lily ponds trying to decide whether a bird we could see was real or not, when I heard a strange huffing noise, which I thought was a strange noise for a bit so I decided to try and see what had made it. Got the shock of my life when I realised it was a massive lizard! We both jumped a mile and screamed like big girls, so a man that was passing by took pity and told us it was just a water dragon, and that it was totally harmless. I decided to be brave and stand next to it for a photo, but then it moved and I jumped a mile again - so brave! I did manage to get a photo though - and when it wasn't moving I realised it wasn't really that big or scary, so long as it stayed where it was!! On our way back to the hostel we got handed a leaflet offering us the chance to paint our own didgeridoos or boomerangs - and we were sold! We're going to paint boomerangs we think (cause didgeridoos take a whole day!) and we're very excited! In all fairness, neither of us is particularly well known for our artistic talents, but we're sure it will be fun! And of course, you'll all be obliged to tell me how pretty it is, so I'll never know.......