Brisbane 2 By the time we got to Brisbane everything had caught up with us. I felt tired and unfit. So for a few days we just ate well, went to the gym and chilled during the day. Surfers paradise 2 Despite not liking the town itself in surfers, I was back so Jess could see it and we could have a few days on the beach. We stayed at the same hostel I was at before so I knew a few of the staff. There wasn't much to do in surfers so we used it as more time to cat...

Mission beach The day had come round very quickly, it was time to jump out of a plane. We got up at 6am in time to be picked up at 7. When the bus arrived they were looking for 4 jess' but there was only the 2 of us. It appeared that they had a booked us in twice meaning we may have to wait until the people from Cairns arrived later before we did our skydive. Not a great start but we weren't going to let that worry us. The woman driving us was an experienced sky...

As the greyhound bus came into Byron bay we immediately knew we were going to like it. It was made up of a series of quirky shops and a variety of good food places. The hostel minibus picked us up from the bus station and the guys working there were so welcoming and chatty. They took us round town showing us the beach and the Main Street. They told us about the main nights out and where people were going that night. You could tell they loved living here and it ma...

Our hostel was right by the beach. In both directions the white sand stretched out in front of you and surfers could be seen up and down the beach. Behind the beach were high rise hotels and cafes nearer to the beachfront. It was quite a contrast but at sunset the sun fell behind the buildings creating quite an atmosphere. There was a path running alongside the beach where further a small market was set up. Also, every 100 yards there was an outdoor BBQ available...

My friend Jayne and her aunty picked me up from the airport. We headed straight for Bondi beach. The beach had character with a series of small cafes along the coast. There were a few surfers waiting for waves out at sea. But generally the beach was quite empty. It seemed strange as the sun was out and the beach looked beautiful. Apparently the beach got rammed in summer. We tested the waters and it was freezing so we understood why all the surfers were wearing w...