Hi everyone! My goodness, it has been so long since the last update and so much has happened! As you can guess, we have moved on from Sydney and started our proper travelling. We left Sydney a week ago. We finished up work on the Friday, Fuz got a lovely send off from his - wine, t-shirts, caps and an umberella (which has been a god send!) We had a bit of a mad week prior to finishing up, involving lots of booze and general socialising. The weather was chronic - constant rain, and being in the house we were in, it was very cold and damp. both of us had colds and were generally miserable. The mood of the house got lower and the lower it got, the dirtier it seemed to get (if that was possible...)! It was lovely to hear from folk from home, but that added to my homesickness I suspect. Anyway, since leaving Sydney, everything has improved, and at last, so has the weather! We left Sydney on the 18th and it pretty much rained non stop for 5 days. We drove for 9 hours and reached Coffs harbour, which was lovely and the people were so helpful. We stayed in a backpackers/ hostel called the Hoey Moey for three nights (even though we were only intended to stay for one). It was cheap and they shouted us a couple of free beers, so that was grand. We entered a pool competition (mainly because you got free pizza as contenders!) but unfortunatley we were a bit rusty and were both knocked out in the first round, so we've been practising and will probably win the next one...! We got all the stuff for the van sorted when we were there (re-registering etc) and I decided to get the soft furnishings sorted for the van. I went to a caravan shop and found that they didn't make them, but the guy Scott who I asked, just happened to have a mother-in-law who would be happy to help out. Vicky was a god send and managed to haggle to get us $20 material for $5, made the curtains for us and then got her husband Dennis to fit them (under the strict supervision of Fuzzy obviously!) Scott lent us his drill, garage space and all sorts. We couldn't believe our luck and the van is completely blacked out when the curtains are pulled and it acts as a sun screen as well. We went whale watching whilst in Coffs and had three hump back whales frolicking around the boat for the duration of the trip, which was amazing. It was two male and a female and basically they were trying to distract her in order to mate her, and the trick they were using was 'hey, look at the boat full of people. Lets get closer' and as soon as she was distracted they could do the deed. However, she had obvioulsy seen lots of tourists in her day and was having none of it! She escaped under the boat several times, much to the annoyance of the boys. It really was amazing to watch and I was pleased she wasn't silly enough to fall for the old distraction trick! After Coffs we drove to Byron for a couple of nights. We still didn't camp due to the awful weather and found a backpackers that was reasonable. Byron was pretty dead due to the season. Fuz got out to surf, but got pretty mashed in the big waves. Fuz loved Byron and we intend to go back in the summer to see it in it's full glory. We left Byron and headed for Nimbin, which is high in the mountains (high in more ways than one I might add...) It is the cannabis capital of Australia and there are loads of old hippies living there. It is a tiny place, with one main street. Cannabis is illegal there, but the police don't bother enforcing it. We stayed there one night and it was our first night in the van! It was grand, we had a great sleep and the campsite we were on had good facilities. The sun even came out - hurrah! We went to a place there that practices and promotes sutainable living, which was really interesting. Fuz and I could be returning as the new 'Good Life' (watch out Sem, we'll give you a run for your money!!) Anyway, left Nimbin and arrived in Queensland at Coolangatta. We are camping and the sun is shining! Life is good. Keep the messages coming on the blog, it keeps me going when it is raining. Good luck to Hayley, Mon and co. for the Race for Life. Hayl is doing it in memory of my mam, which is fab, even though it makes me want to greet (in a happy way of course!). I am so proud of you for for doing it Hayl, wish I was doing it with you dolly! If anyone hasn't sponsored her, make sure you do!! On that happy note, I'll get away. Just going to the beach to meet up with my surfer bloke. Hope everyone is good and am expecting emails/ messages about weddings, outfits and general chit chat. Lots of loveXXXX P.s Hope the holiday in the Domican went well.