hi everyone. us again!!!! after a relaxing 10 days in Bali we finally arrived in Oz!!!! OH MY GOD it is freezing in Melbourne. Well maybe not freezing but a damn sight colder than Asia. The fact that we only have 2 pairs of trousers each, two sweaters and one pair of proper shoes meant that we wore the same clothes for about a week and slept underneath 4 blankets and duvets. we are so nesh!!!

for our first week in Melbourne we stayed with Lucy's family (her mum's cousin Wayne and his mum Dot). they were so lovely and made us feel so welcome and looked after us a treat! it was so nice to be in a family environment for a change and have a sofa, t v and a fire! we spent quite a few days in the city doing the tourist thing. melbourne is a really cool city with loads going on. we went to melbourne museum, the huge market and drank in loads of coffee shops to keep warm. on the saturday (21st) night we went out for dinner for a birthday meal with the family and met up with the other cousins, Kathy and Pete. Laura is now officially a Collier!!!

on the sunday we went to a winery in Bendigo which is a couple of hours north of Melbourne with a band that Wayne helps out with called the Ska Vendors. they were really good and we got to sit in the sunshine with lots of wine and cheese. yum!!! on the monday night we went to watch Wayne play ice hockey which was fun but a little cold. good job Dot packed us up with blankets and a flask!!!

on the tuesday we headed off on a mini adventure. we hired a little car and drove to the Great Ocean Road. we named the car Maggie May and set off in Thelma and Louise style with the music blasting out the ipod speakers and the wind in our hair. we were careful not to drive off any cliffs though! absolutely amazing places with beautiful views. we stopped off in a few little places and saw the 12 Apostles. Laura also saw her first taste of Oz wildlife. there was a koala right in the middle of the road which we managed to get some fotos of and also a kangaroo that was squashed on the side of the road! dead! we stayed the night in a town called Port Campbell and then headed back to Melbourne the next day.

on the Thursday evening we met up with Zee who is one of Lucy's friends that she met at Camp America. we had lots of coffee and lots of catching up which was brill and got to see her little flat. we are defintley gonna meet up with her when she is back in Sydney over xmas.

we left Wayne's on friday morning and headed to Woodend (hour north of Melbourne) aka Woodsy aka Paradise (as they like to call it) to stay with Laura's friend Michael who she met at camp. he has the most beautiful house in the middle of a little town overlooking the mountains. it was so good to see him and meet all of his friends who were lovely. on the first night he took us to Sunset Bar. The only place to be in Woodsy. one of his mates Andrew has converted one of his sheep shearing sheds into a kind of batchelor pad/bar/shed. after a few beers and getting warmed by the fire the boys had a jammin sesh on their guitars and drums (mint) and Laura got some drum lessons. yeah ya do!!! she now has her own set of drumsticks to boot! fun times!

the next day we did some sightseeing and went to a waterfall and the gay capital of well who knows? had lunch by the lake and went to some freaky road that looks like its uphill but u actually roll down it! woodend is nuts! that evening Mike was at work so Andrew took us to the cinema to see the funniest film called 'Kenny'.

on sunday we had a pampering day as Mike's sister is doing beauty at school and she was lovely enough to tint our eyelashes and give us manicures! mike was doing uni work so we went into Woodsy for a wander and had an award winning vanilla slice and then headed back to the house for some creative time. that evening we had a bbq and a campfire in the back garden with all the lads.

monday we had a flight booked to Townsville (north east coast, just under Cairns). we stayed in Townsville one night and then caught the ferry to Magnetic Island where we are now.

having a bit of a nightmare trying to find somewhere to upload our piccies as none of the internet cafes have hard drives but we will try to find somewhere and do it soon. its just hard with being on the island but we will do our best.

love and miss u all lots. make sure u keep in touch xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx