Hello, apologies for the gap in updating this site, but we haven't had much internet access and have been having far too much fun to spend any time on the internet.

Yesterday we dropped our "Hippy Campervan" off in Melbourne. As you can probably tell from the name this was not the most masculine of vehicles (purple flowers on the outside), but it has been a lovely home for 5 weeks and taken us 5500km from Cairns to Melbourne. The van itself was pretty small and basic, but had everything we needed. Putting the bed up and down proved a bit stressful, and in the tiny sleeping compartment we were either so hot we had to hang out the door, or so cold we wore all our clothes. We are now masters of the one pot camping meal.

The campsites here have been fantastic, and we've seen thousands of Austrlaians travelling with the most amazing range of camping vehicles, inlcuding trailers that fold out into palaces and campervans bigger than the average family home.

Our journey started in the Atherton tablelands in Queensland where the landscape was incredibly green and filled with stunning waterfalls, national parks and farm shops. We were enjoying exploring the area so much we forgot our petrol tank was quite small, and spent about 30 minutes anxiously looking for a petrol station, until just as we were about to run out of fuel we spotted a lone petrol pump and rolled gratefully onto the forecourt. We also spent a day on Fraser Island, which was stunning, but unfortunately we had an incredibly dull guide, who thought things such as fallen coconuts were interesting to stop and look at. Another day was spent sailing around the Whitsunday island wearing very attractive stinger suits to protect us from box jellyfish. Jon wouldn't let me take a picture, but I'm sure you can all imagine him in a skin tight lycra bodysuit.

For the next couple of weeks we drive along the Bruce highway, stopping to stroll along lots of beaches and walk through lots of raniforests. It's unbelievable how old and alive the rainforests feel, it makes you feel very small and insignificant. There is an amazing variety of wildlife, we've been lucky enough to see koalas in the wild. One evening we were woken to the sound of a tap dancing possum on our roof (we thought it was only penguins that were famed for their dancing ability), and on another some kangaroos joined us for dinner. On many occasions we have been deafened by flocks of colourful and extremely noisy birds, and have even been attacked by some birds! I now duck every time I hear a bird noise. In Northern Queensland we spotted a cassowary, which is a bit like an extra fluffy emu with a bright blue lump protruding from the top of it's head.

We eventually arrived in Sydney where we were very lucky to stay with two couples we met during our travels. Australian hospitality is amazing, we were constantly supplied with yummy food, great company and plenty of beer. During our time in Sydney we also visited to zoo, which we spent so much time in we were eventually thrown out. All in all we loved Sydney as a city, a definite favourite so far. It's very apparent that people seem to have a really healthy lifestyle here, which I guess is partly due to the warm weather.

Although the majority of our days have been spent enjoying the sunshine, we have also seen snow. We climbed Australias highest mountain, (actually we cheated and got a chair lift half-way up) Mount Koziosko and were rewarded by stunning views and about 6 inches of snow covering the ground.

Our final journey in the camper was along the magnificent great ocean road, where we admired the stunning beaches, strange rock formations and formiddable power of the ocean, surging and cascading over the landscape with frightening force. Oh, and we also saw the lighthouse they used in the TV programme Round the Twist.

Needless to say we have had a great few weeks, and have absolutely loved the country. People have been very very friendly and the landscape seems to be endlessly beautiful and varied. That said, there are some downsides. This is a very dangerous country, here are a few things we've had to be wary of . . . . .

Box Jellyfish - Stinging trees - poisonous snakes and spiders - attacking birds - crocodiles - mythical drop bears - armies of cane toads and, not least of all, 4 litre boxes of wine.

Tomorrow we leave for Fiji, where there will be very limited internet access, but we'll let you know what we've been up to in a couple of weeks.

Sarah and Jon