22/9/06 - Shelley picked me up in Brisbane, it was sooooo good to see her. We went straight to a wine bar and had a glass of wine, it was lovely, all open air onto the street. We then went to find some cake info. for her wedding. Shelley had managed to get the afternoon off work, yippee! Got home later on and had some more wine, then we went and got a Thai takeaway just down the road. Met Simon when he got home from work, typical Aussie bloke, but a very nice guy. Shelley spilt the plum sauce for our Dim Sims all over her and half of the dining room surfaces, it was soooo funny!! Went to bed very tired! 23/9/06 - Simon had to work today, so Shelley and I went into the city. Bargain all day ticket 4 dollars and we could use it all day on the buses and the ferries too! Shelley showed me around Southbank, where there is a lovely Nepalese temple, we had a mooch around the shops, had lunch on the riverside, then we hopped on the CityCat (Ferry) for a ride down the river. We got off at New Farm and had coffee on the riverside. On the journey down the river we had seen soooo many weddings taking place and a very posh looking party in a massive house which backed onto the river, they were all in cocktail dresses and tuxedos! On leaving the cafe Shelley's bag caught her empty coffee cup and it shattered all over the floor, she was very embarrassed! We laughed back to the CityCat, as to what the third thing was gonna be! Got back to Southbank and had a mooch around the open air market, we wandered past 'Streets' beach, which is a man made beach on the riverside, very nice to see lots of families out together. By the way did you know that 'Wall's' over here (as in ice-cream,etc.) is called 'Streets'? We ended up running for our bus home, there were lots of roadworks and we were just about to run across one road, when this jobsworth shouted at a traffic control bloke, that the road shouldn't be letting pedestrians through, as he was going to be spraying! We wouldn't have minded if it wasn't for the fact the bus was nearly turning the corner and we wanted to catch it. We had to end up going the long way round!!! We ran with all our might (which isn't alot!) and luckily the bus got stuck in a line of traffic, because of the stupid roadworks and 'jobsworth' (who hadn't even started spraying yet!). The kind bus driver had spotted us and motioned for us to get on, even though he hadn't made it to the stop yet so we did, very nice man!! He said he thought we were running away from somebody! Got back home and Simon had cooked some steaks and sausages (or snags!) and made a lovely salad. It was a lovely yummy meal. After that the three of us headed for the Corner Stone Hotel where we had a fab night, watching a duo (2 guys), can't remember their name!!! Played great covers and saxophone playing was fab! 24/9/06 - We got up around 9.30am and went out for some breakfast. Wandered around some more shops for a bit and I bought 2 jogging bottoms and 2 t-shirts all for 13 quid - bargain! Shelley and Simon then bought a new bed and we went to the pet shop, so Simon could look at getting some fish for his tank. Saw some gorgeous puppies whilst we were there. Later on that day Simon's brother Andrew and his wife Michelle and baby son Lachlan came over. Very nice people and Lachlan is sooooo cute! Simon's other brother Chris came over in the evening for dinner, we ate outside on Shelley and Simon's new outdoor furniture, Shelley's second hand bargain! and had a good chinwag. 25/9/06 - Simon and Shelley both go out to work very early (5.30am/6.00am!!) They both work very hard. I did some washing and sorted out some things to post home. Checked out the train times and costs to Beerwah, where Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo is, as I want to go tomorrow. Popped into the city later on and sorted everything out at the Post Office. Then I headed to find the guide for a City Walkabout Tour. I ended up being the only person for the tour and the guide, Chris still agreed to conduct it, which was very good of him! So it ended up being a very personal tour, it was great and we had quite a laugh. I learnt alot about the history of Brisbane and it's links with England with the convicts. Also, I learnt that Australia had actually been bombed during WW2, which I just had no clue about! Darwin and Cairns had been heavily hit by the Japanese. I saw one warship which is now in dry dock at the Maritime museum. At the end of the tour Chris and I played a game of '2 Up', which is 2 coins on a piece of wood and you have to guess heads or tails (you can't have one of each) and he said if I got it right 4 times in a row I would win a stubbie cooler (the hand held coolers for cans), well low and behold I WON! So that was the end of a good afternoon. 26/9/06 - Got up very early and caught the 7.15am bus into the city. Walked to the train station and got the 8.06am train to Beerwah. This got me into Beerwah at 9.25am, where there was a courtesy bus waiting to take people to the Zoo. It was sooooo simple! Australia Zoo is just an amazing place, it's not like a conventional zoo, most of the animals are in open enclosures. You are trusted to behave accordingly and there are plenty of rangers around to ensure the animals are kept safe and well. It is set on a site of 72 acres and it is increasing all the time, basically Steve Irwin would buy extra land continuously with any money he made and it is obvious how much love and attention has gone into the zoo and is still going on. I saw his son, Bob, playing with what I can only presume were family members, as staff kept going up to them and shaking their hands. Watched a few demos in the 'Crocoseum', the snakes, then the birds, then of course the 'crocs' themselves. Afterwards, they said a few words about Steve and the lad who had sang at his memorial came out and sang again for us, along with lots of photos and footage on the big screen of Steve and his family. As you can imagine I shed a few tears! It was very emotional and I could sense/feel the 'rawness' which one staff member commented on. I had a fantastic day, but I didn't get to see everything, as it's such a big place, definitely worth another visit! The day was topped off by a text from Mark saying that Julie had given birth to a beautiful baby boy, Harrison James, 6lb 14oz!!!! 27/9/06 - Lazy day! Was shattered, so read and relaxed all day. Had a lovely phone call from Mark, unfortunately Shelley was still at work, so she missed the call. 28/9/06 - Went to get the bus to Mount Coot-Tha and discovered that Chris (the walkabout guide) had given me the wrong info!!!!! I eventually caught the bus an hour later than I wished, but never mind! The views from Mount Coot-Tha over the city are just magnificent, so got a few good piccies. Had lunch at the cafe there then headed on back. Went for dinner at Simon's parents, Frank and Julie and the whole family were there and a friend of the family, Rachael, who is studying to be a vet. Lovely roast lamb dinner and strawberries and cream. Simon has a very nice family and I can see that this has helped Shelley settle into a strange country and city. Frank gave me some info. about wineries to visit in the Hunter Valley (near Sydney) 29/9/06 - Went and had my hair cut and coloured at the salon just down the road from Shelley's. Matthew turned out to be great and I'm very pleased with outcome. It was getting too long and heavy and he listened and has cut it into a style which can still dry on it's own, but he's taken alot of the 'bushiness' away. I feel alot lighter!! Got back and Shelley phoned to say to come and join her and her work colleagues for a drink. So I hopped on the bus into the city and walked to the Jubilee Hotel (eventually got there, it was a longer walk than I thought!) Ended up having quite a drunken night out, it was such good fun!! Met some lovely people and I ended up breaking my record of flipping beer mats, it was 25, it is now 28, woo hoo!!!!!!!! Shelley and I don't remember much of the taxi journey home, as we still don't know who paid him!!! Shelley must have done! 30/9/06 - Got up early feeling a little rough, as catching coach to Byron Bay at 9am. Shelley was rougher than me I think, but she still managed to drive me to the bus station! Said our cheerios, as we will meet up again in Melbourne for her hen night and I'll be back in Brisbane for the wedding on 21st Oct. I felt a bit rough for the first hour of the journey, had to really concentrate on deep breathing, as I felt I might puke at any moment!! Finally made it into Byron Bay at 12.45pm, puke free!! Courtesy bus was there to take me to Belongil Beachouse, where I checked into a dorm. I went and had a big breakfast at the cafe, then mooched around and caught the courtesy bus into town later on, where I had a lovely dinner, but was back by 7.30pm absolutely shattered and went to bed.