Saying my goodbyes and thank yous at the Rivlins, i took the bus down to Brisbane and went straight to the sea taxi terminal to get over to North Stradbroke Island to meet Jo and her family. No mobile coverage caused a bit of confusion but me and Jo eventually met up and had a mad scramble around the local shops to get me some Christmas food and booze, as i had come with nothing.

"Straddie" is beautiful and very laid back and beachy but not in a tropical way. However over the Christmas period the weather just got hotter and hotter and with no aircon we all became a bit frazzled to say the least. We had a lovely Christmas Eve dinner with Jo's family (Kanga Bangers which were very tasty but i felt a bit guilty after making friends with them at the zoo!), then Jo and i went over to the local hostelry for a few bevvies.

We met a group of Irish chaps and had a right good laugh with them, meeting up with them again in the following days for some boozy frolics and a lot of laughs and giddiness. The chap in the picture was actually called Gerry Sherry and he is a legend in his own lunchtime!

On Christmas Day Jo and i had a lovely time on the beach just relaxing and "swimming" in the pounding surf, followed by a few rounds of s***head and then a lovely Christmas dinner with Jo's family. Thanks to John and Maureen and the gang so much for inviting me.

I left the island for a night in Brisbane but decided to go back to Sydney because i just can't stand the heat anymore!

x