After two very relaxing nights in lovely Rainbow Beach, i got back on the coach but just for two hours this time, down to Noosa. I am lucky enough to have somewhere to stay here - with an old friend of Pop's, Dr Ian and his family. Sorry Ian you're not old, you know what i mean.

Its been great staying in a real house and Noosa is gorgeous. They've taken me for fish and chips at sundown, to a Christmas cocktail party, a 5am bike ride (its already 27deg then) and there's more drinks tonight.

And straight in at Number One on my list of the thing i never thought i would be doing in Australia occured on the afternoon i arrived. Ian had finished at the surgery and had an afternoon at the gun club pencilled in. I jumped at the chance to join in cos i've always loved shooting. I was actually really nervous, never having been around a proper loaded GUN gun before. We were using a 357 Magnum! I didn't feel very Dirty Harryish as the gun weighed 3 pounds and i found it huge and heavy and hard to handle. However, i got all of my first six shots on the target (25 yards) including a bullseye. I really don't know how it happened and Ian was a bit gobsmacked to say the least!

I went to Australia Zoo for the day yesterday - home of Steve Irwin and overdosed on this crazy Aussie. There's no getting away from him, his image on on evey conceivable merchandising item from teatowels to action figures - you can even buy a wig like his mullet! There's a video of his life story on the bus going out there and one of his out-takes on the bus back. Crocs Rule according to Steve and a show of they feats is presented in the Crocoseum once a day. To wind the crowd up beforehand the mc gets them all shouting Crikey and this is called the Crike-Off. It sounds like total overkill and it really is but i loved it. Bloody good for him i say. He spent the best part of his adult life in the bush catching rogue crocs BY HAND ON HIS OWN and relocating them so people wouldn't shoot them. He such an amazing man, God love him.

x

p.s i am entirely Croc-ed out now though.