so, i left off in Sydney after saying goodbye to Ellie, but waiting for Ali to arrive. Despite the hype surrounding Sydney, as a tourist destination I think its only real appeal is the proximity to some awesome beaches and this only applies in the summer months. I wouldnt like to spend a winter in Sydney as I think you could quickly become bored. After a walk through the city centre, a trip to the botanical gardens, harbour bridge, opera house and a few view points, you've pretty much covered it! With Australia being only 200 years old, there is very little history and therefore I've found that much of the east coast has been similar to England, with no history, but many very beautiful beaches. Unlike the more hectic countries Ive been to where weather isnt a factor in what you do that day, if it rains in Australia, there really is little or nothing to do. Ive been lucky so far, and only got rained on twice in Sydney- STAY AWAY RAIN!!!

After a pretty crazy night with Ali and Paul in Sydney (Ali standardly had to be carried home first, same as uni-always the lightweight) I got on another dreaded 12 hour overnight bus to Byron Bay, skipping Coffs Harbour on the advice of an old friend. I checked into pretty much the first hostel I came across, and had a bit of a touch, it was banging! It had a pool, volleyball court, planned events every night and the people were great. Now Byron bay itself is a beautiful beach town with many many coffee shops, organic juice bars, jewellery shops and restaurants. There is also a huge backpacker population as Byron is truly a must see. There were only 2 real options on night clubs, Cheeky Monkeys (which also did $5 meals) and Coco Mangas. On the first night me and some Irish lads I met from Wexford went to Cheekys. Now in Cheekys, theres no such thing as a dancefloor, as all that happens is that the tables from the days business as a restaurant become the dancefloor! Its one of the coolest venues ive been to in Oz so far. However, the risk is of course that someone will fall off the tables, spill someones drink, get in a fight with a rowdy Aussie and then chucked out and banned!!! Now I assure you, that did not happen to me. But it did happen to one of the Irish boys which meant our next 3 nights were Coco Mangas or bust!

My days in Byron were spent on the beach, playing volleyball with the Canadian lads (who are absolutely everywhere in Oz), chilling in the pool and reading- yes reading- John Grisham has captured me into some sort of legal thriller addiction- ive read 5 of his books in a row now and I'm about to start a sixth- how sad!! I also did something called "Zorbing" which was awesome. Basically you get strapped into a huge inflatable hamster cage, and rolled 400 metres down a huge hill screaming with laughter at how fun it all is....then you vomit or fall over. No lie, I was dizzy for about 15 minutes and my insides were churned!! I wasnt as bad as one girl though, who actually started crying whilst on the way down the slope, got to the bottom, the guy opens the door of the cage, she looks at him teary eyed, hair everywhere, hands secured above her head and then proceeds helplessly to get sick all down herself!!! Now I'm not one for graphic detail, but I reckon the day before she must have eaten some of the dead kangaroo we ran over the other week- rotten stench!!

The next day, the Saturday I did a day trip to the notorious town of Nimbin. To those that dont know, Nimbin is the spiritual home of all Australian hippies, and now pretty much the world over. The trip was organised by a company called "Grasshoppers" so you can imagine what the general feel of the place is like...crazy! The town itself is miniscule, but densely coated in weed. All the cafes openly sell it as does the Nimbin museum (which actaully looked like 10 years worth of leftovers from carboot sales Up North) and I was suprised actually that it wasnt available in the police station!! The trip also included a trip to a hidden waterfall with huge jump down into a fastmoving river and rockpool. You didnt really need the full hour and a half to understand what Nimbin was all about. A 5 minute walk end to end allows you to take in the sights: colourful murals, 60's memorabilia and life-long hippies, and the smells: well we all know what that is!! I had a good sleep on the way home, and decided to make that night my last in Byron.

I had planned to skip Sufers Paradise and head straight to Brisbane, I just didnt realise how big the place was going to be, I thought it was literally just a beach. The only reason I decided to go was that the 4 Irish lads had been up here a few weeks earlier, and decided to rent an apartment in the town, and that I could crash for free with them. The apartment was a beauty, just what I needed. We had a sea view, 2 beds, 2 baths, full kitchen, tennis court by the river and indoor and outdoor pools- I could hardly say no could I? What really sealed the deal thogh, was when we were sitting talking about it, a lad "Builder" comes in after looking up Surfers Paradise on the net, and without flinching says "Jaysus lads, that Para Surferdise looks like a helluva spot". I was tickled by just how wrong that had come out for a good few days!!

When you travel for so long, theres certain things you miss about a house or flat. Simple things, like being able to walk to the kitchen and make beans on toast in your boxers, and being able to change the channel on the TV without having to consult with the 10 other people in the shared TV room...bliss.

The lads invested in some tennis rackets and balls (which we lost within 20 minutes in the adjacent river) and had a Wimbledon of Surfers Paradise. I'm too modest to say who won ;-). The next day I decided to go to a theme park just outside SP, about 40 minutes away. It was a mixture of a theme park, and a waterpark, and was pure bliss in 27 degree sunshine. Surfers Paradise itself hada very Costa Del Sol feel to it. There are huge apartment blocks 50 or 60 stories high, and line up 5 deep back from the beach. The bars and cafes are lazily operated, and apart from one brilliant club called "The Bedroom" the nightlife is spread across many bars and small clubs which suited the 5 of us just fine. After going fairly mental for 3 weeks straight, it was nice to have 4 days of beach relaxation, tennis, and champions league football from the comfort of our own lounge, even if it was on at silly o'clock in the morning.

I left the Irish lads today who are travelling back down to Sydney, and just landed here in Brisbane. I dont think there is a huge amount to do here, but I'll have a poke around and an ole' wander around and see what happens.

xx