Hello from Surfers Paradise. But what surfers.... we see no surfers!!! We think this is due to the fact that this place looks like the high rise building stretch of one of the Costas. We feel no credit crunch here...

Our Contiki tour has started well. I don't have my notebook with me at the moment so will probably miss loads out. Our first night was spent at SHoal Bay, not far from Nelson Bay (last blog point). We had a fantastic 'suite' (huge!) and almost wanted to stay in it, but I dragged Chris out from his late afternoon nap attempt and told him that we were going to walk along the beach and up to a lookout point I'd spotted on a map. It was called the Tomaree lookout and had WW2 gun battlements on it, so Chris was happy. Not so happy about the big spiders that were hanging around over our heads sometimes. But the views were amazing and it was almost like an idyllic mountain tropical forest hill and beach view. We were rewarded by seeing some wild kookaborros on the way down. They're so cute! That night was a 'cook your own BBQ' at the hotel and Chris did me proud with a huge thick slab of steak. I'm already disappointed with the thought of the choice in Sainsburys when I get home. Quite a few drinks later, I was sensible and pulled Chris to bed but it was a hazy trip back to the room...

The next day was a journey up the coast to reach Arrawarra beach, near Coffs Harbour. We arrived mid afternoon as most people wanted to try surfing, Chris included. The lesson was good and I was very proud of Chris - he did so good!! We stayed in a 'surf camp' and it was Australia Day, so all the 'surf dudes' were maybe more freaky that the usual, but it was a nice night with quizzes and guitar playing and parties etc. Chris and I went for a little walk along the jetty to look at the amazing starry night sky and had an early night. Our room was like an old butlins one room chalet come caravan thing which was a bit hot, but we were glad we weren't in the converted shipping containers like some people were. Oh, and we thought the spiders were big up Tomarree... well the one that we saw in surf camp dwarfed them! It appeared on the projecter screen and we thought it was a fake rubber one... but it was a wolf spider. HUGE. Can't wait to show you the pictures, Mum!

From there we left and visited Cape Byron, Australia's most easterly point, where I spotted dolphins for the group and we saw a turtle. Lunch in Byron Bay and a quick dip refreshed us for our visit to Currumbin wildlife park. Koalas, feeding kangaroos, crocodiles, snakes... it seemed a long day as we had crossed into Queensland and gained an hour due to daylight saving differences, so we were glad we didn't sign up to do the party meal that night. Instead, Chris had his nap (why he needs sleep when he sleeps on the coach so much...!) and I had a bath (sorry Australia, but it was a little one) and we found a great Italian restaurant for a lovely meal and a bottle of red. Mmmmm....

Today we were up just after 6am to get ready for our kayaking, wedding gift from Julian and Gwyn. I was rather apprehensive due to developing my dislike for deep water swimming (especially in Oz...) and was concerned we may capsize, but the company was great and my kayak buddy hubby allowed me to rest my poor arms now and again. We went out to some islands and Chris took the opportunity to do some snorkelling as they was quite a bit of fish around, but luckily no stingrays as we had been warned we may see swimming around on our way out. We stopped at another island for snacks and walked over to the other side to the beach where there were white sanddunes and no-one else there. Then back to the mainland. I've stretched out my arms a bit but know I'm in for pain tomorrow. Thank you Julian and Gwyn for a great gift.

Tomorrow we're off to Brisbane and later Fraser Island where we have to 'pack down' a bit as we go on a ferry and stay for two nights. We're doing a 4wd tour. There's a heat wave down south in Adelaide and Melbourne, so glad we're out of that but it's still high 20's/into 30's but there's more cloud around and we even saw a shower yesterday, so we know it's starting to change as we go up north. We have the mozzie repellent ready too as there's a Dengue fever outbreak further up the coast....

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