Hi everyone, its Lauren!!

hows it going? hope everyone is well and behaving themselves!! this is the first chance we have had to update our blog this week as we have been on our ozintro tour since monday!! here's a nice log blog entry to fill you in on what we have been upto!!

on monday we met our tour leader and group! they are all really nice and we get on with everyone!! we went to sydney harbour to do jetboating!! we was meant to walk around the opera house and botanical gardens as well but it was a bit rainy so we went straight to the jetboating!! it was... brilliant!! we went soo fast and the driver was doing little jumps,sharp turns and donuts!! we went out for ages and by the end my arms were aching from holding on so much, my eyes were sore from the wind and salt water and my head hurt from headbuutting Adam, the boy next to me, in the shoulder!! but i would recommend it to everyone, it really was amazing!! in the evening we all went to one of the local hotels ( which is what the auzzies call a pub!! weird) and we had steak and drinks! Greg liked his massive steak so much, he had 2!! everyone watched in amazment!! even i was shocked and iv seen him eat a lot!!

on tuesday we had a learn to surf day! we went to Cronulla beach about and hour south of sydney! the beach was really remote! our instructor was a steriotypical auzzie surfer called Ji with long scruffy bleached hair, a proper oz surfers accent and was mental!! the waves were really good! me and greg were riding the little waves like nobodys business! so the instructor took us out behind the waves and taught us how to ride the bigger waves! i was quite scared cos we was really far out, the water was really deep and the waves were huge! it tookall my energy to paddle out there! i caught a massive wave and stood up just before it broke! i rode the wave all the way in! it was such a good feeling!! i was so chuffed withmyself i started jumping up and down, shouting and waving at greg who was tottally oblivious as he was too busy riding an even bigger wave!! greg went out a couple more times and was catching the big waves! i tried to paddle out a second time but we had been surfing for a few hors and paddling out the last time took so long and used all my energy so i called it a day and went back on the beach feeling very pleased with myself! lol tuesday night we went into sydney to a bar called the gaff!! we got a couple of free drinks and we danced all night!! it was great!!

wednesday we went into sydney again and got our medicare cards and paperwork etc sorted! we then got a ferry from the opera house round to Darling harbour! we got some good pics from the ferry of the opera house and harbour bridge! we had a meal at darling harbour and went into sydney aquarium where we saw crocs, nemo and dori, sting rays, and sharks!! it was quite cool! but the best part was when we had our pic taken with a mermaid!!

on thursday we went to Bondi beach for a couple of hours! it was quite nice there but its not as great as what everyone makes out! ive seen a lot nicer beaches! after the beach we went on a coastal walk to a beach called Clovelly! its a few bays down from Coogee! we had a barbeque, played vollyball and went snorkelling! i was really looking forward to snorkelling but when i got in the water i was only in long enough to see a couple of fish before i found out that im petrified of snorkelling!!... which i find a weird thing to be scared of! lol! so i i panicked a bit, got straight out and needed a minute to calm down!! this fear will prove to be a wee bit of a problem for me as i cant leave oz without seeing the great barrier reef! so im going to practice in swimming pools and over come my fear...hopefully, before we head up north! greg was fine though, he loved it saw quite a few fish, nothing like what we will see at the reef though!!

on friday we went to the blue mountains! we was told it would be 27 degrees, bright blue skys etc! so we left at 6.45am in shorts and vests but it turned out to be cold and rainy! lol! our tour guide, bless him, was a lttle over enthusiastic about his job and waffled on about the traffic and roads and lots of pointless information on the bus microphone the whole 2 hour journey! we we got there we saw some wild kangaroos in the carpark which is our first kangaroo encounter!! we then went on a 2 hour walk which was really nice and the views were breathtaking (we were cloud level!) however our enthusiastic guide stoppped every 2 mins to point out a leave or a peice of bark and make us feel them! lol we came accross a waterfall and despite it being cold and the water refreshingly freezing, greg and our new friend sam decided to go under it!! it was funny to watch! cos it looked cold! we also painted our faces with aborigional paint made from rock powder and water! which was kind of cool! we stpped for lunch, by this time it was really raining! no one had coats, just vest and shorts!! after lunch we went to a different part of the blue mountains and walked through the rainforest... in the pouring rain! everyone was drenched but it was cool that it was raining! when we got half way down the mountain we caught the tram back up! this would normally be a good thing after walking 45mins down a mountain! however this tram happend to be the steapest tram in the world and was at a 52 degree angle!!! and it looked old, rickety and like it was made by 10 year olds!! it was very scary! me and greg was at the bottom facing down the mountain which nothing but a thin peice of metal mesh between us and certain death!! lots of people needed a bit of time to recover after that ride! but alas we made it up there alive!!! it was a good experience and the veiws were amazing!! we went down the the palce hotel (remember that means pub!!) that evening and had a few drinks with some of our new friends!! and again it poured down with rain!

tomorrow we are having a farewell dinner in the sydney revolving tower! which should be really good!!

today the sun came back to us!! yay! it was really hot and we sunbathed and played in the sea! we also had a 'what to do next' meeting with our oz intro leader! he told us what we can do the best places to go and where to book things etc! we had origionally planned to go to perth to find some work after oz intro however we have now decided to fly south to Melbourne on monday with 2 fellas we met on our tour, Sam and Ben, and hire a camper van for 10 days! we are going to drive along the Great Ocean Road for a few days, which is meant to be beautiful!! we cant go in the sea though as there are great white sharks down there! eek!! after the great ocean road we are going back to melbourne and catching the ferry with our camper van over to Tasmania and spending the rest of our time travelling around there! after melbourne we are flying back to sydney and doing a 5 day surfing tour from sydney to Byron bay!!

thats all we have planned so far! so again its going to be a hectic few weeks!! so if we dont update the blog its because we cant get to a pc, so bare with us and keep messaging and letting us know what your all up to!!! i think thats enough of me waffling on for now! we will update the photos tomorrow as the pc im on wont let me upload pics!!

miss you lots speak to you all soon!

Lauren and greg x x x