After Port Macquarie we drove to Coffs Harbour, stopping to walk along the beach before driving to Bryon Bay. Those of you who have been to Byron will know it is a strange mix of stunning coastline and nightlife. It's a great place but always really busy and so prices are always sky high for accommodation, dinner etc. It was named by Captain Cook after Lord Byron's Grandfather who was an explorer (and not after the poet which was originally thought). On the headland is a beautiful lighthouse that marks the most easterly point of Australia. The temperature was well into the 30s so we drove up most of the way in the air conditioned car, instantly melting when we got out to walk the rest of the way to the magnificent view point. That night there was a tremendous electrical storm. The whole sky was lit up with lightning, people were gathering in doorways and at windows to watch the storm.

After Byron we drove onto Tweeds Head where the states Queensland and New South Wales meet. Oddly one half of the town is on one side, and therefore in a different time zone as QLD is one hour behind NSW as they don't have daylight savings time. So strange that one half of the town is literally an hour behind the other half! Then it was onto Surfer's Paradise, the home of 'schoolies' week. This is when students finish school they come up to Surfers with all their friend for a week of partying. Surfers has a beautiful beach but it is full of burger bars and theme parks. A real tacky delight! I guess it is Blackpool…with sun! Needless to say we didn't stay there being the sophisticated honeymooners that we are (!) and we drove onto Caloundra; a sweet seaside town with beautiful clear sea and loads of lovely restaurants. We decided to stay here as it was nice and close to the one attraction we did want to visit… Steve Irwin's zoo! The crocodile hunter has his own zoo called Australia Zoo and it is amazing. Zoo is a very negative word and doesn't suit this place at all. It is much more of a sanctuary or wildlife reserve. There we patted a Koala, wallaby, possum and a wombat. We fed elephants and watched the amazing Asian tigers jump and play in the water.After the zoo we went up to the Glass House Mountains (named by Cook as he said they reminded him of the Glass Houses of his home in Yorkshire). The next day we drove to Brisbane and dropped off our hire car.

We've had a lovely few days just chilling out in Brisbane, it has great shops, bars and restaurants which seems its main attraction. We were very civilized and went to the theatre to see Stones in his Pockets which was really good. But the storms have followed us and so the humidity crept up to 34 degrees (just stifling in a city) and so we sort refuge in the air conditioned cinema two days in a row and watched James Bond first and then Australia. Both excellent.

Today we are saying goodbye to Brisbane and flying up the coast to Airlie Beach (the cheapest way to travel thank goodness as it reduces an 18 hour coach journey into just a 2 hour flight - this country is huge!!). We're hoping to go sailing around the Whitsunday Islands but the storms might keep us on land for a few days first, but we'll keep you posted.

Thanks once again for all your messages, the Christmas trees here made us feel a little homesick, especially now we've been away for 16 weeks, but your messages keep us smiling, please keep them coming.

Lots of love x