Hi all

I hope you are well and that the Autumn months are not too cold for you :)

I have so much to tell you and so little time (mainly my credit on the computer) plus I am afraid Im going to be eaten by a spider at any moment....but I will tell you about that in a bit...

So I have been in Australia for 2.5 weeks, I will break it down and give you guys the highlights and my thoughts...

Sydney

Amazing city and I went to the Opera hosue & Sydney harbour bridge. I met a great group of people in the YHA rocks hostel (which over looks Sydney harbour bridge) and most of my time spent there was pottering about the city and then drinks and dinner in the evening. As a city Sydney is great but not one of my most favourite places. It doesnt help as its so expensive at the moment. The Austalian dollar is really strong and a glass of wine is about 7 pounds and dinner is always about a fifteen. Not ideal when your on a budget! However I did manage to squeeze in champagne next to the Opera house and made it over to Manly island and Bondi beach (not impressed with Bondi at all! - bit like Bournemouth beach I thought!)

Melbourne

I stayed with a mate Steff in Melbourne which was great, not only to see a friendly face but also not to be in a hostel for a few days and be able to do washing and lazy about. We had a great Friday night out and there are some great bars and restaurants there. Saw an amazing band and did a pub crawl till 5am...felt a bit special the next day though!

Cairns

I arrive in Cairns after a week of city tours and straight away did a Great Barrier reef tour and did two dives. That was amazing and I held a sea cucumber and played with the fish. It was a great day and one of my favourites so far in oz.

Cape Tribulation

Next I did a two day tour to Cape Tribulation and did a 2 night stay a PK resort (thanks for the recommendation Jo). Its an amazing place set in the rainforest and we stayed in quite basic cabins but it was worth it for the views od the beach (where the rainforest meets the sand) and also for the bush walks! I also did a croc tour on the Daintree river, we only saw one croc but its another thing to tick off my list. I also met a really nice girl there. I have realised that I enjoy things so much more when I meet a travel buddy! You meet new people every day when travelling and some of them you bond with and its great to be sharing these experiences with someone. Oz is quite different to NZ as Im not travelling with a group any more, which I do really miss and it is difficult as Im on the move every other day so its hard to bond with people and then move on.

So last night I went out in Cairns for a Halloween party and ended up drinking Goon (rubbish Oz wine - famous with backpackers) and playing drinking games with a group. It was a fun night....photos to follow on FB mainly involving me with a box on my head :)

Mission Beach

So this morning was my first time on the Greyhound bus. This is my main mode of transport around Oz and so far so good. Quite plush (it has a loo!) and DVD player..lucky really as I have 8 hrs on the coach tomorrow down to Airlie Beach (Whitsundays). So tonight Im in the jungle again at Treehouse, it is literally in the middle of the rainforest and of course what comes with this is BUG hundreds of them EVERYWHERE trying to be quite brave on not think about the spider I saw as big as my hand in the next cabin. But I did freak out a second ago when a beetle flew in to my neck, cause me to drop my glass of wine...just shows how scared I was :) But again it is so beautiful and so different to anything I have experienced so far. i wish i could stay longer here but maybe in a hotel with walls and stuff to stop bugs getting in the kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms etc!

So all in all its going well! I am a true backpaer now tho as money is tight so Im taking all the chavvy free meals on offer I can get plus its eggs on toast for tea tonight. Im also having to navigate myself around on my own as well which is new compaired to NZ. It was a bit stressful at first but Im getting in to it. It is harder doing this bit when travelling alone as it takes up alot of time and energy and always having to plan where to go next and be packed and ready to go each day. I am so looking forward to the Whitsundays though as im going on a 3 night trip on a 10 sial 1900 boat. I cant wait!

Anyway miss you all loads - hugs and kisses

J xxxx