Left Sydney for our East Coast Roadtrip with the boys today, packed up the car with everything we currently owned and we were away. Preparation was minimal for this and we were tooled with only a map, booking no accomodation along the way, exciting times. After a 3 hour drive we stopped at Seal Rocks, a beautiful beach. We parked up and decided that our accomodation for the night would be the car......

The next morning we awoke with stiff necks and tired eyes but the view of waking up next to the ocean was totally worth it. Next stop was Port MacQuarie. On the journey there we decided to prepare ourselves for our camping trip, a bit late but never the less we headed to Aldi to find some cheap camping stuff. Driving up the coast makes you really understand how big this country is. We have been used to the hustle and bustle of the city but this vast open space, with miles and miles of nothing but forest land, has opened our eyes. We stopped at a cafe in Port MacQuarie to make use of the free wifi. We booked into a campsite along a deserted beach, it truely was paradise. Bens rating...Highlight of the trip.

We ended up staying another night at the campsite, making the most of the miles of secluded beach. We met a fellow camper who had been living on the campsite for a few weeks, over conversation informing us she had seen a 6ft python in the 'dunny' (or toilet to us English people).........cue Morganes gasp of breath. We didnt see the python but we did see a possum, some kangaroos and a couple of huge lizards (im sure huge lizard isnt their proper name but oh well). After a fine meal of homemade pesto pasta we each grabbed a glass of the finest goon (very cheap boxed wine) and headed off for a moonlight walk along our beach.

The next day we set off for our next part of the journey. After having a glance at the map, closing our eyes and hitting our fingure along the coast, we decided on Coffs Harbour as our next destination. On route, Morgane informed us of some large arty fruit and veg sculptures that lined the East Coast....cue a look in the rear view mirror at the boys giggling. Eyes wide with excitement she told us the first one was the 'Big Banana'.....again cue the immature laugh from the boys (i think we are now showing symptoms of cabin fever!). We eventually found the banana and it was exactly how it had been described by Morgane, big. The harbour was again home to some stunning views and cute cafes. That evening we had been told about a showground where we could camp for free, so off we headed with big smiles on our faces. We rocked up and were greeted with a huge sign saying 'Absolutely no camping'.....s***. After travelling a futher 2km we decided to head back and try our luck at the showground....if you dont ask you dont get right? Morgane asked the kind groundsman if 4 poor old backpackers could camp just for one night as we were stuck with what to do. The groundsman said it was fine as long as we kept out of view of the nosey neighbour on the hill. We pitched our tent behind the wall and were offered hot showers before the groundman finished his shift....this man is going to heaven for sure! A trip to the local pub and some more 'goon' made for a decent nights sleep.

The next day we drove a further 3 hours to the famous Byron Bay. First impressions were- a seaside town filled with British hippy dosers trying to sell you skydiving trips. The town is quirky and cool with a good backpacker vibe, feels much more like the backpacking vibe surrounding Asia, we felt at home (elephant pants and traveller tops back on!). Had to pay for the campsite here though, not impressed. On the positive side, it has showers!

Looking out across the beach with views of the lighthouse, we could be in worse places! Our job hunt is going from bad to worse with hurdles that keep being thrown at us, apparently its easier to find astronaught work that teaching in Asutralia! This afternoon we ventured to Aldi to buy supplies for our civilised picnic whilst on the lighthouse walk. Ben was in charge of supplies and came back with a variety of tapas food for us to enjoy....and there you thought backpackers only ate tins of beans!

We piled inot the car for the final leg of the journey to Brisbane. We decided to come of the pacific highway and drive along the tourist route instead for a while passing through even more deserted towns. Its so hard to describe these in Aus, you drive for hours through forests, along what feel like abandoned roads and then all of a sudden you stumble across a small town with wooden houses on stilts and a grog shop! We drove the final few hours singing along to Bens downloaded 90's tunes, the Animal Hospital theme wont be the same again. We arrived in Brisbane and were greeted by a small city which was so quiet compared to the madness of Sydney. We ventured out for a drink to South Quay. This was after we had hired bikes in possibly the hillyest city in Australia, made even funnier by Morgane pulling a mighty strop on the fact the boy and I were racing to the top, leaving her to walk behind dragging the bike with her....what can I say, im a PE teacher, competitiveness is in my veins....needless to say, I won! :) Live music by the river, sunshine and cider....a happy day. After camping the whole way up the coast, blagging our way in and out of free campsites, we decided that for our weeks stay in Brisbane, we would treat ourselves to staying in a flat between the 4 of us. Hot showers, clean beds a TV....we were in heaven.