It was Boxing Day, so we checked out the sales, hoping to pick up more Billabong wear. However, we didn't find any great deals and the kids had to content themselves with buying new backpacks for school. After a quick brunch, we went back over to Damian and Carolyn's, where Nikkia offered to guide us around one of Coffs Harbour's biggest attractions - the Pet Porpoise Pool. We had a great time getting kisses from seals and dolphins and watching them perform in ...

Merry Christmas!!! How strange! We woke up to a hostel full of world travelers making toast and humming carols in the hostel kitchen. The kids excitedly opened their presents, discovering that Santa shops for Billabong in Australia! Connor got some red Billabong shorts and Tessa a lovely teal Billabong shirt! They were exactly what they wanted. After breakfast, we drove over to the Humphries' house, as they had invited us for Christmas lunch, a swim, and a game ...

After leaving Yamba, We headed for Coffs Harbour and the Aussitel Backpackers Hostel. It felt very strange to be celebrating Christmas Eve so far from home and family and as we headed for Coffs, we all commented on how surreal it was. We got settled into the hostel and then phoned Damian and Carolyn Humphries, the Australians who had exchanged homes with the Kiryluks a few years earlier. They invited us over and we spent the afternoon getting reacquainted with th...

We made our way from Alexandra Heads to Yamba without much difficulty, although traffic was heavy and moved slowly in places and there were some torrential downpours along the way. It was, again, quite a long drive - almost 6 hours, including stops at scenic pullouts and at Byron Bay for a short walk on the beach. When we arrived in Yamba, we parked and phoned Brian Smith (Smitty), a friend of our good friends, the Kiryluks, who met him during their teacher exc...

After a nice homemade breakfast at the hostel, we headed for the Australia Zoo (Steve Irwin's Zoo). The exhibits included crocodiles, alligators, native snakes, iguanas, monitors, skinks, cassowaries, dragons, dingoes, Tasmanian devils, tigers, elephants and more. What we liked most was how interactive everything was. We got to pet koalas, kangaroos, and wallabies. Everything was well kept and shady and lush and the animals all seemed happy and very active. We ma...