Hi everyone,

It has been almost a month since I last wrote so there is a lot to say. We went to Melbourne from Sydney, where we spent about a week. We had a really nice time here and were quite lucky with the temperatures. We went all over the city to various parks, and gardens as well as the Queen Victoria market which was absolutely huge. We visited St. Kilda too which was great, and we also went on a trip along the Great Ocean Road and saw the Twelve Apostles. That was so much fun, and we were with a really small group of people which made it much more personal. Our driver/guide was really eccentric and nearly drove us off a cliff to look at a wild Koala (which later in the day we saw safely from ground level, haha). Also, whilst in Melbourne we (I pretty much had to drag Sarah to be fair) made the pilgrimage to Ramsay Street. It was fun, but an absolute nightmare all at the same time. Our ladette tour guide turned up over an hour late looking like she'd slept in a ditch, and just couldn't care less. The rest of the day was good and when I had a little moan about it to the manager, we got $50 of free merchandise...result! We met Susan Kennedy (friends from my youth will appreciate the significance of a Kennedy meeting......I still love Jesse Spencer).

From Melbourne, we flew to Brisbane. I think the pilot was blind and one handed as at some points I actually had my life flash before my eyes!! The relief of everyone on board when the plane stopped was clear, haha! The weather in Brisbane was fantastic, and quite a contrast to Melbourne. We did get caught in an apocalyptic style strom though one evening, running in flip flops is not the easiest thing to do!! Whilst in Brisbane we spent a lot of time at a place called Streets Beach, where there was an amazing lagoon for lazing by. We also went to Lone Pine Koala sanctuary, which we loved. I had my hug from the cutest Koala in the whole world, which we have photos of. We also went for a walk in a field of Kangaroos and hand-fed them. I befriended a new mum who was hopping around with her Joey in her pouch. He popped his little head out for some food too which was very special.

It was from Brisbane that our Greyhound bus adventures started! Its like a travelling backpacker zoo/circus! We don't really like other backpackers so this is hell for us, haha! We drove north for a few hours to Noosa. This was a nice little town and the main reason for going there was to go to Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. We had a fantastic day there, starting off by hand-feeding some Asian elephants and watching a show in the Crocoseum. Later in the day, we had a very lucky encounter. We met the Irwin family, and had our picture taken with Terri. They were there doing some filming for the Disney Channel and we just happened to be in the right place at the right time. It really made our day, and it was only by chance that we were one of 3 people who Terri came to speak to.

From Noosa, we went to Hervey Bay, where we took our trip to Fraser Island from. This was yet another awsome day. One of my favourite things that we have done in this whole trip was swimming in the crystal clear waters of Lake Mackenzie, something I have wanted to do for years!! We walked through the rainforest, visited the shipwreck of SS Maheno, and walked up Eli creek (without a paddle, ba-dum). We also saw a huge python which was still digesting a fruit bad, yummy!! No dingo's though unfortunately!

From Hervey Bay, we took the nightmare red-eye Greyhound, 13 hours north to Airlie Beach. This was horrible, especially the smell of stale backpacker farts!! We went sailing around the Whitsunday Islands from here, on the Ragamuffin racing yacht. The boat was practically on its side the whole time, as the wind was so strong. Perfect for sailing (although I don't think the pregnant woman who was vomiting the whole time really appreciated the authenticity of the experience, haha). We stopped at Whitehaven beach for lunch and had a swim, whilst wearing sexy stinger suits...we like to be trend setters!!! The beach was beautiful and some of the whitest sands I have ever seen.

We are now in Townsville, apparently Queensland's 3rd largest "city", ok! It is so hot here, we are loving it. Yesterday we took a ferry across to Magnetic Island for the day. We enjoyed several beaches and did a bush walk in the height of the heat. I found a lizard which I named Bruce and picked up on a stick in Steve Iwin style...he didn't like Hob-Nobs though.

We have a couple more stops in Australia, and are both celebrating our birthdays over the coming week or so. Looking forward to the Great Barrier Reef too.

Anyway, that is enough. I hope you are all keeping well, and look forward to seeing you in just over 6 weeks time xxx