Hey everyone, its been ages since i wrote a blog, so i will do a little catch up. Okay so the last time i wrote we had just got to Townsville i think, so since then we have been to Rockhampton, Yeppoon, Bundaberg, Noosa, Brisbane, Byron Bay, Surfers Paradise, Coffs Harbour, Newcastle and Sydney. So we have been pretty busy over the last 2 months, and now we are at our final stop of Australia, and dying to get to New Zealand.
So il start with just a little bit of info about the more interesting things we have done:
Yeppoon: So in Yeppoon, which is on the Capricorn Coast, just orth (i think) of Rockhampton, we stayed with some vague relatives of mine. When we arrived on the greyhound coach into rockhampton, we were picked up by good ol ruffus, (they are old relatives lol) who drove us about an hour to his and gwens house in Yeppoon. We were very worried about what the place was going to be like, as i have only met them once just before we left. Once we arrive, and saw the house, we were very very happy. A huge house next to the beach, with great views from the balconies, and loads of space for us to relax and have some homely stuff around us for the first time in 4months! It was brilliant. Whilst we were in Yeppoon, Ruffus and Gwen did everything they could for us to show us everything they could about the real australia. From cutting and choosing fresh mangos from road side stalls, differences between pineapples, and taking us to cattle farms inland, and also cuddling koalas in the local animal reserve. Ruffus also took us out on his boat (yes they have a huge house, and a boat! We did well!) which didnt start to well as i got very sea sick, very quickly. So we made a stop on The Great Kepal Islands, which were beautiful, took some photos and had a nice packed lunch on the tiny, deserted island. It was worth being sea sick for. We stayed with them for 5days, and by that time we were craving to get back on the road and onto Bundaberg, but before we left, we got the chance to meet some more of the family when they took us for a great lunch at the Hogs Breath Cafe, which is kind of like a Beefeater or something, which was a perfect way to finish our time with them.
So after we had filled up with lunch, we jumped on the greyhound and headed down to Bundaberg, where we stayed in a refunished Prison... Yes, a padded cell for me and zoe. Still with the bars over the windows and everything, and the occasional rat running past it in the moon light. Our main objective in Bundaberg, was to go to a place called Mon Repos, which is a turtle nesting site, the central one of australia. So once we had settled and had a good night sleep after our late arrival, the next day we booked our taxi, and waited in anticipation for the sun to set and for the taxi to pick us up. Once we arrived, we could see a storm out at sea, and we were expecting the worst. A couple hours of waiting past before the man on the mic, called up group one, which lucklily included me and zoe. We gathered around in a group in the pitch black of the night, and were lead down to the beach. Quietly we followed our group leader to a track in the sand going up into the grassy sand at the top of the beach. And then we saw it, A huge Loggerhead turtle was digging out its nest in the sand, its shell measured over 1metre long. It was increadable to see. Once the turtle had started to nest, the lights were turned on, and we could ask questions and take some photos as it didnt bother the turtle once it was in this stage of the nesting. It was truley one of the best things we have ever seen, and the excitment in the air was unlike anything either of us had felt before. Once it ahd finished laying, people were alloud to walk the turtle back into the wate, but as we had a taxi to catch, we missed that part, but we were still so lucky to see one, as the other groups of people went home empty handed due to the storms. We arrived home about 1am, and it was worth every penny.
Okay, so after bundaberg, we headed to noosa, then got into Brisbane for Christmas and New Year. We stayed at this really cool hostel called Aussie Ways which was just outside the CBD. We pretty much had the run of the seperate building as it only had private rooms in the block, which was perfect for us and for xmas and new year. We met a really nice couple whjo we spent New Years with, over on Southbank. They had loads going on over there so we made the most of it, and had a few beers and threw some shapes at the massive dance party which was held in the southbank stage area. Then at midnight we headed to the 'beach' area of southbank to watch the very impressive fireworks.
After Brisbane, we went down to Surfers paradise, which a really nice place, but a bit expensive, so we stayed there a few days and then went down to Byron Bay for a week. The hostel we had was very disapointing for the money we were paying, and was a bit of a dive, but Byron was a cool place, and we finally took the first steps to becoming a pro surfer by taking some lessons with 'Cool Catz' Surf School. If you could combine Zoe's balance with my wave catching skills then we would be amazing, however, on our own, we were very ordinary lol. But both managed to catch and stand on a good wave before the end of the lesson, and had a really good time.
So after a week, we moved on, had a couple of stops on the way to Sydney, first at Coffs Harbour then to Newcastle. Newcastle was cool, we stayed at the YHA there, which had a huge ball room filled with plush leather sofas and board games. We took a trip to a place called Anna Bay, and saw the very impressive Sand Dunes, and did a bit of sand boarding, which again was great fun. However i was picking the sand out my ears for a good few days after.
Then we made it all the way to Sydney. Greated by a view of the harbour bridge and the oprah house, and the hot sun beating down on us, we jumped off the bus and onto the train to Kings Cross, where we had a hostel called Chilli Blue to stay at. The Kings cross area has a bad reputation for being a party zone and very seedy, our lonely planet book describes it as a cross between Bangkok and Soho. However, even tho there were several strip bars, XXX Adult shops and drunks past out on the floor, most of the day, it really wasn't as bad as it sounds. Parts of Kings cross were very up market and the place had a good atmosphere. Our hostel was definately catered for the partiers, but as we had a room to our selfs, we were only disturbed a couple of times. The first thing i thought about Sydney, was how similar it was to London, just with a blue sky and a monorail. We did most of the big things there are to see, Bondi Beach, Darling Harbour, The Harbour Bridge, Oprah House, we even took a amazing trip to the Blue Mountains. My Dad even paid for us to have a nice curry, which we found about 10mins walk from Kings Cross. In fact, it was so god we went back a few days after. Nearly 6months without a proper curry, It was well deserved. I think the place was called The Palace, and it was pretty well priced. Okay, il stop talking about the curry before i start dribbling.

That pretty much takes us up to where we are now, the blazing Melbourne as it is now. We had a 12hour bus ride over night down here, with a re-route to avoid the bush fires which have claimed 180 lives to date. So once we got to Melbourne City, we were releaved to find the temperature a cool 20c compared to the blistering 47c that it was 2 days before we arrived. Again melbourne feels very english, especially with the cool temperatures we have had the last few days. Feels like an English Autumn day, warm in the sun, but a cool and crisp in the shade, but still with a perfect clear blue sky. We are staying in a place in St Kildas called Pint On Punt, and apart from the very small kitchen and common room, and the typical loud and arrogant northern monkies that are down the hall, the hostel is pretty nice, with a British Pub down stairs and a decent free brekky, we are satisfied.
On the day we arrived it was St Kilda Festival, which had various tents from big companies like MTV, Comedy and FOX promoting things and giving away prizes, along with alot of beer being consumed all around us. They also had various bands and artists playing a wide range of music over several stages around the st kilda area. Which is where we picked up a couple of cheap comedy club tickets for this friday (13th of feb), which we are pretty excited about! Other than Riding the trams in and around the city, we havn't done too much to write home about, hense, i am going to stop typing soon. Our plans for Melbourne, are to do the Great Ocean Road in a camper van, and maybe Phillip Island or the Neighbours Tour, but both seem expensive, so maybe neither.
So we have 15days until we finally fly over to New Zealnd, i will make sure i update this a bit more often now i have put all this effort into this update! Can't wait to get there, and then onto Fiji!
Hope everyone is ok back home, miss you all loads. Will write again soon xxxxx