Road trip! With the parents packed off back to Guildford, it was tine to embark upon our epic trip up and down the East Coast. Janine very kindly (bravely) left us the keys to her car and Stu stayed on as our travel companion for the next 3 weeks. We soon got into a routine of alternating as driver, map reader and sleeper (in Stu's case) or sandwich-maker (in Katy's case).

First pit stop was at Coff's Harbour and our introduction to the East Coast Aussie bogan... Essentially an English chav but with a tan and without the Burberry. It was also our introduction to small town Australia - clapboard houses, massive retail warehouses and... drive-thru bottle shops - there's something a bit wrong about that concept...

From bogans to the bold and beautiful, we headed to the Sunshine Coast resort of Noosa to sped a couple of days wave bobbing and attempting to surf. For New Year we headed to Airlie Beach on a mammoth day drive - a drive that was accommpanied by roadside roo and emu spottin and bug and cane toad squishing as it got dark. We scored extra points for massive rodent/small marsupial thing roadkill... Had one of the best NYEs in years eating fish and chips on the beach whilst watching the fireworks mark the start of the tens/teens (whatever this new decade is called). Spent NYD with the inevitable headache which was not made ay better by the headache that is Australian TV. Seriously crap programmes and budget and endless adverts!

Feeling fresh the next day we headed out on the obligatory sailing trip around the Whitsundays - or 'Wetsundays' as they were on Day 1. Our vessel was the 'British Defender', a sturdy ex-racing maxi (well she woul be being British and all). Sadly there was zero wind so the sailing was minimal but we spent the 3 days motoring around the clear waters between the islands. The sun made a scorching appearance on the 2nd and 3rd days so we got in some good sun deck bronzing in between snorkelling with stingrays, parrot fish and turtles. Ended up sleeping under the bright stars of the Southern Cross - just couldn't hack the claustrophobia of below deck with the other 28 stowaways!

Back on dry land it was time to head back south where we broke the journey at Rockhampton - the beef farming capital of Oz. Essentially a little bit Aus city and a whole lotta American country. Big bulls, Dolly Parton-esque music and of course steak. Anton and Stu in true man and meat style opted for the 'Big Fella'.

Another long drive later and we were in Hervey Bay - our base to head over to the world's largest sand island of Fraser Island. Now years back, Stu had spent 2 months 4x4ing around the Aus desert and wasn't prepared to be driven by some gap year travelling muppet. So rather than go with one of the backpacker tours, we flashpacked it with our own Landcruiser christened 'The Beast'. As the barge took us over to the Island, the black clouds set in once again... Seriously, if one more Australian in London dares to moan about the English weather ever again... And it didn't just rain. It poured. The sandy rainforest tracks became raging mud rivers within minutes and nightmares of our Nepali rafting trip - 3 days and 2 nights camping in the monsoon - came 'flooding' back (excuse the pun). Thank goodness for Stuart's expert 4x4 driving. And so as not to 'dampen' our spirits, we made the most of the day bumping along the tracks exploring the island to 'w(h)et' our appetite for the remainder of our time there. Some hippy traveller must have performed some kind of campfire sundance because the next 2 days were blissful soaking up the sun by the freshwater Lake McKenzie, floating down Eli Creek, and spotting manta rays from Indian Head. All in all a fantastic trip comprising:

- hairy moments gettin stuck in the sand - 0 (did we mention that Stu is amazing at 4x4 driving...?!)

- dingo sightings - 4

- dingo invasions of our makeshift beach camp - 2

- mosquito and horsefly bites - 1,493,672

- nights spent under the stars - 1

- nights spent huddled in the van sheltering from the monsoon - 1

Sadly we had to say goodbye to The Beast and soon we were back on our way south in the Golf. Another couple of nights were spent in Noosa - definitely one of our favourite spot and a convenient bus ride away from Australia Zoo. Now of course the Croc Hunter himself wasn't there to greet us (sob sob) but being school holidays we were lucky to catch the rest of the Irwins in action. And 'by crikey' has Terri Irwin cashed in on her husband's death by pimping out her 11-year old Bindi and 5-year old Robert. For an hour and a half we were treated to 'The Bindi Show' - a mixture of songs, clips from her first feature film and dance routines with her 25 year old Jungle Girls backing dancers (I bet their parent are proud of their well-spent dance schooling). The place was packed with people buying Bindi Barbie souvenirs, her cooking and exercise DVD(?!) ad her Bindi burgers. Still it was a 'beaut' of a day and it's more of an interactive circus than a zoo. If only that croc could have got a little closer to that Hannah Montana-wannabe whilt she was feeding them...

We're now in Byron Bay soaking up a little sun. Time to say goodbye to Stuart as well with 3 becoming 2 again. But not for long because Melbourne is calling and hopefully Lisa and Tim will be at the airport to greet us!