In my mind, the name Surfer's Paradise conjured up a hippy little town, a bit like Byron Bay, full to the brim with surfy types. Actually, its a massive city, full of high-rise buildings and British backpackers! We had been warned that it was big, and nothing like Byron, but we were still a bit surprised! Someone likened Surfer's to Benidorm, and to be honest I can see the resemblance!! We arrived in Surfer's Paradise yesterday, having left Byron that morning. We were really sorry to leave Byron Bay, it was such a nice place. On the Friday Sarah and I went snorkelling at a marine reserve just off the beach, and saw 2 green turtles swimming along! They were absolutely magnificent, so chilled, just bobbing along calmly. Kept expecting one to say "woah, dude" a la Finding Nemo! We knew the turtles were there, but I was still really chuffed to actually see them. We also saw a giant spotted ray, which was absolutely beautiful, very elegant, and a few sharks.......just wobbegong sharks though, that bob along on the bottom and just look like ugly fish! The water was really clear so we could see really well, it was an excellent trip, although I did nearly have a paddy and refuse to go at the beginning! The first wetsuit they gave me was the same size as the one they gave Sarah - she struggled to get into it so unsurprisingly I didn't have much luck! So then they gave me a different one, which fit ok but was really tight at the ankles and wrists so was a real challenge to get into! But I made it, red-faced and exhausted, and strolled triumphantly out towards the bus. I think the exact moment I wanted to cry was when the guy said "well, its a perfect fit love....but you've got it on backwards." All the other wetsuits I've worn have done up at the front, how was I to know that one was any different?!? By the time I'd got out of it and back into it I'd grazed all my knuckles from trying to pull it up and was seriously cheesed off, to the point where if he'd said it was wrong again I would just have refused to go! Thankfully he didn't, so I did go and it was well worth it!! Apart from that we also managed to experience the nightlife in Byron, and it was pretty good! We went out with a group of girls from our room in the hostel and had a very entertaining night - very late finish for us, normally when we go out we're home by about 12! The girls were really nice, so we managed to pass the rest of our time in Byron very easily with them. And of course, once we'd started, we had to carry on, so no sooner did we arrive in Surfer's Paradise than we were signing ourselves up for the famous Backpacker's Big Night Out Club Crawl - well, if you can't beat em.....! It was actually another very entertaining night, we met more nice girls in our hostel here so had fun dancing the night away with them! Unfortunately we managed to spend most of the money we'd budgeted for today as well last night so we've spent today lying on the beach to make up for it! The sea breeze here is really strong, so we spend most of the time trying to remove half the beach from ourselves and our stuff - definitely fighting a losing battle! But the biggest surprise of Surfer's was yesterday, when we wandered down to check out town centre and came face to face with a guy we went to college with! It was great to see him, he and his girlfriend are staying in our hostel as well - such a small world!