Hi all,

it's been a very long time since i updated this blog so i have millions of things to tell you and I'll probably forget most of it. So I'll give you the main pointers.
After Byron Bay, we moved on to Brisbane. It was so hot and humid. We couldnt breathe in our room and the fan didnt work very well. Brisbane was a nice enough city but after Sydney it couldnt really compete. On New Years eve we went to Australia Zoo, Steve Irwin's place. His wife and kids actually did the croc show the day we were there. We really enjoyed it. I fell in love with koalas. I was so tired after it, i fell asleep and nearly missed New Year. Woke up just in time to see the fireworks over the river.

We moved on to Rainbow beach which was really quiet, it actually felt like a ghost town but we loved it. The beach there reminded me of the beaches at home in Ireland...maybe thats because it rained the whole time we were there! From there we went on a day trip to Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. We went in a big lorry/bus thing, bit of a bumpy ride but was class deiving along the beaches. Our guide was great, knew loads about the area and wildlife (his other job was as a snake catcher, really!) We saw a carpet python in the rainforest too. When we went back to Rainbow beach we went to feed wild dophins which was good and found the Carlo Sandblow. It actually feels like you're in a desert.

We had a massive 15 hour bus journey after that to Airlie beach and from there we were going sailing in the Whitsundays which i had been especially looking forward to. It turned out to be the worst 3 days of the trip so far. I will never again in my life book/buy the cheapest of anything ever again! You definately get what you pay for. The boat was old and dirty and the crew were unprofessional. It rained the whole time more or less and i was sea sick. I wa smiserable pretty much the whole time, except when i was diving but even that wasnt very good considering its in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Lovely coral but few fish and the visibility was shocking. Anyway, the worst thing was that we found BUGS in the beds!! I was devastated and raging at the same time. When we got off the boat, i went straight to complain to the manager of the company and he completely fobbed me off, then we went straight to the nearest laundry and fumigated all our stuff! Couldnt wait to get out of the place. So if any of you ever go to the Whitsundays sailing, never go on a boat called Pegasus or with a company called 'Whitsundays to the max'! Anyway, thats my little rant over with.

When we got to Cairns we picked up our van and (stupidly) ignored cyclone warnings and headed north. Port Douglas was a lovely place but a bit pricey so we only stayed one night and headed for the daintree. Now, when i was organising this trip I worked very hard to miss all the rainy seasons in Asia, but it never ocurred to me that there would be one in Australia too. I just never thought. Well, we ended up in the middle of the rainforest, in a van, in a cyclone!! And not only that, the showers and toilets at the campsite we were at were terrible. I have never seen spiders the size of that in my life. When i did go to the toilet once, there was a huntsman spider in the toilet roll dispenser! I swear i nearly died. Needless to say i stayed smelly rather than have a shower with all the beasties. We left early the next morning anyway as the rain had been so bad that they were going to shut the ferry and we'd have been stranded. There were trees and debris all over the roads and at one stage we had to drive through a waterfall that had sprouted over the road.

When we escaped to the relative safty of the Atherton Tablelands it was nice to have a bit of relief from the mad weather. It was still raining but not nearly as hard. We went to a really rubbish crystal museum and saw some pretty spectacular waterfalls at Millaa Millaa. But then it was back to Cairns as we had to leave the wee van back and get on our way to New Zealand. At the airport we were told by the second most rude customer service agent in the world that our tickets needed to be re-issued as we changed our dates and it was going to cost us $100. Then we went to the Jetstar counter to see about or refundd from the cancelled Bangkok flight. I dont know what it is, but this customer sevice agent was even more horrible and obnoxious. I was under the impression that they were there to help you, not be cheeky witches! Anyway, we were glad to be going to New Zealand.

We didn't spend much time in Auckland really. One night in a hostel, where i the owners 2yr old daughter took a liking to me and never left my side the whole time i was there. We went to pick up the campervan and they had a special offer going where you could supersize your van for ony 4 quid a day. That was the best money we spent on the whole trip!! It would have been difficult to spend 3 weeks in the wee van but our new one had a microwave and cooker and everything.
Headed straight to Waitomo where we went cavng and saw loads of glow worms. Then Headed to Rotorua and spent 3 whole days there. I was a nce place and we wanted to do loads of activities. We went white water rafting which was class, even went down a 7metre waterfall! We went zorbing (rolling down a big hill in a big rubber ball filled with water!) and on the luge (kind of like go-carting) and that was excellent. One night we went to a Maori cultural village and Darren was picked to be chief! He had to get involved with all the ceremonial dances and roleplays. He was loving it, ended the night doing the Haka in front of about 100 people. The bus driver, Ngata was hilarious and really made the night. Went to see some geysers and hot springs too.

Frome there we moved on to Taupo, where we had our first and only free camp. But the toilets were minging so everytime i needed to go, Darren drove me into town. The scenery was gorgeous. Had considered doing a skydive but Darren chickened out and i wasn't goingto do it by myself! Tongariro National Park was next and we were really excited to see Mt Doom from the Lord of the Rings films. Went up Mt Ruapehu on a ski lift and saw our first snow of the trip We had one night outside Wellingtonbefore we caught the Ferry to the south island.
Nige had sorted some Wine tours out for us and It was lovely in Blenheim. Our campsite was right by a creek and i used to feed the ducks. There was one of the wee ducklings that only had one leg! From there we drove for 7 hours down to Franz Joseph Glacier. We were a bit underwhelmed with it to be honest but i'm sure its amazing if you actually hike up it. Then down to Queenstown which is beautiful. Darren went to play golf and i went to ride horses so we had a good time there. Milford Sound was beautifula nd we met a nice couple. Niamh who is Irish and Jay who is English annd they live near us at home. Ended up travelling round the southern tip with them for 2 days all the way to Dunedin. We were running out of time so just stayed the one night and went to the Cadbury factory and stocked up on chocolate. We didnt do much in Christchurch but relax as we'd been running around constantly since we left asia. It is lovely though. Very English.

So the we flew to the Cook Islands. First impressions were great and they only got better. It is a paradise. Like what you see on tv and postcards. The guesthouse was nic too and more or less on the beach. Met some nice people there and it was nice to have company. Steve and Lucy were from Oxford and Craid and Nicole were from Edinburgh. The only thing that was annoying was that the mosquitoes were terrible. I dont think i ever had so many bites. We went diving a couple of times as well and it was good but i think we had been spoiled a bit in the Similans and it wasnt quite as spectacular here.

So now we are in San Francisco staying with Laura who I went to school with. Darren's bag was late in coming and we couldnt find Laura for a while but had a nice night last night and thinking about getting up now and going and seeing a bit of the city. Only a week until we get home and then it's back to the real world. Cant believe its nearly over but we've had an amazing time and we'll never forget it. Best thing we have ever done, apart from getting married of course!