Surfers Paradise is quite the contrast of Byron Bay. Rather than a quaint, hippy town, it boasts towering hotels, hundreds of commercial shops and Australia's collection of theme parks.

We were welcomed to town by a friendly smile, that of Georges Auntie Jean! There's nothing better than being welcomed into a home whilst you're travelling. Having stayed in hostels, motels, camper vans and spare rooms it was certainly a shock to be driven into a housing complex on the edge of town complete with it's own heated pool, golf course and lake.

Our first day was unreal as we were given a tour of the estate via golf buggy before making a short stop at the supermarket for the evenings meal - spag bol! We then welcomed George's cousin Darcy home from school before enjoying an afternoon in the swimming pool and chilling out in front of their 150+ inch projector screen tv to watch a film.

The following day we sampled one of the gold coasts many theme parks - 'wet n wild'. It wasn't just your typical water park and probably won't be topped by any I go to in future. Wave pools, shoots that make you feel as if you're going a thousand miles an hour and all in the heat of the gold coast sun (and tropical rain!). Even though they're apparently having a mild winter/spring season the temperatures are still reaching the high 20's. The gold coast actually see's the most of Australia's sun with on average more than 300 days of warmth a year...

I'd personally like to say a huge thank you to Jean, Adrian and Darsy who showed us such fantastic hospitality during our stay. You have all been unforgettably kind to let us stay in your beautiful home. I'd be lying to say I wasn't envious of George to be returning to Australia and staying in such a gorgeous place with such a nice family! Also, best of luck to Jim Beam racing for the last races in the V8 season, hopefully the results will be in your favour!