Hello everybody, I'm over a month behind and a country behind with this so lots to recap...

I headed down to Brisbane next for my first taste of a city in Australia, it isn't half as bad as people make out! I managed to inadvertently meet the mayor of brisbane in the lift in city hall which was pretty surreal. I also met up with some guys from further up the coast for a big birthday night out for one of them. The journey to Byron Bay on a hangover wasn't much fun...

Byron bay is as good as everyone says it is. It is very laid back, no traffic lights, no parking meters and the residents have resisted any chain shops (so McDonald's haven't made it here!) I stayed in the Arts Factory, a sprawling complex of huts, tents and dorms which started in the 60s as some hippy commune. It's still pretty alternative, lots of people with dreadlocks playing very bad Bob Marley covers on their guitars. The beaches were fantastic and I got to hike up to the most easterly point of Australia. I also managed to do one last dive at Julain Rocks just off the coast. The problem was that a great white shark had been spotted at the rocks a few days earlier! The choppers were out looking for him but we took the risk anyway! We did see dozens of grey nurse sharks (which look mean but we were reassured won't eat you..much.) We swam through an underwater cave with hundreds of fish swarming around you. It was definitely the best dive so far. My buoyancy was a bit off and I did nearly tread on a shark sleeping on the bottom! He didn't seem to mind...

I stopped off in port Macquarie for a couple of days on my way down to sydney, some great coastal walks down there and we spotted tons of dolphins playing off teh coast and diving in and out of teh water slapping their tails. Apparently it's foreplay. Well it is the mating season...

More to come later...

Cheers, Jonny