Well hello everyone... where have you all been....;)

Okay well sorry for the lack of blogs/pics... let's try and remember what we've been up to over the last month.. a good for you guys is that it isn't going to be so detailed so at least it wont bore you to death.

So last time we put a blog on we were in Sydney about to head off to Byron Bay!!Okay arrived in Byron Bay again to gorg sunshine.. and after checking in at very nice hostel headed down to the beach. Water was absolutely gorg so clear.. kinda like cleethorpes..he he.. We spent both days while at byron at the beach as other than sunbathing/surfing their isn't much more to do. On the second day we hired some body boards which are the lame version of surfboards and tried to look cool :) was actyually really fun when you manage to catch a wave (which i found quite difficult) and cos you only need to be laid on your belly it;s alot easier than surfing!! On our second evening we walked upto the lighthouse at byron to watch the sunset.. unfortunatley we didn't quite guess the time right and only just got there in time and then had to head straight back down as we were both starving from not eating all day!!.

Okay so after byron we headed to surfers paradise...very strange when you first get to it as there are loads of high rises which you just don't see in these small towns in oz.. it kinda looked like miami.... but once you have walked around for abit its more on a cheaper scale a bit more like tenerife!! So while we were here we knew we wanted to go to one of the water parks so got our tickets for the following day.. that evening however after just intending on having a couple of quiet drinks at the hostel ended up playing some silly games.. going out getting a little bit wasted and not being able to get up for the park the follwing day.. Lucky for us we could change the tickets!! Jay went out again the following night but i had one of my stay in bed days and just watched a film at the hostel.

Next day at the waterpark was really cool and they had some wicked rides... esp a surfboard water ride and this kamikazi (god knows how you spell that!!) ride.. had a wicked day.. that evening had our bus ride to brisbane and to meet my friend leanne and stay in a house,.... whoo hooo... !!

It was pretty luxurious, leanne picked us up from the bus station so we didn't have to walk and find our hostel with those stupidly big backpacks!! arrived at her gorg townhouse with balconly with our bed/ bathroom - couldn't have been happier. :) So while in Brisbane leanne had lots planned for us.. first day we went on a fab drive through the rainforest and outback oz.. it's amazing how quickly it can change from city highrises to thick "bush".. went to cedar creek falls whhich was a pretty amazing waterfall and then to a lookout over the rainforest.. where we also had lunch which was pretty amazing. Headed back to brisbane as we were heading out to meet friends for drinks and a curry :)

Next day we headed into brisbane central to check out the sights and sounds of the city. We went over the river to southbank where they've put an artificial beach - its so nice! We walked along the river, through the botanical gardens and to the harbour area. All in all a beautiful city!

Next day we spent at australia zoo made famous by the late Steve Irwin, crododile hunter. We got to see a really cool crocodile show, hold a koala and feed the elephants! It was a really cool day.

That evening we left the luxury of Leannes house and headed to a hostel in the centre of brisbane...and trust our luck, it had to be the worst hostel we've stayed in to date...cockroaches, ants...and mice in the kitchen!! Needless to say we didn't spend much time in there. The next morning, we got up and out early and headed for southbank for a chilled out day next to the river. In the evening we met up with a friend we made in LA, Rachel, who lives in Brisbane also.

Next day we were on the move again...next stop - Noosa Heads. A pretty quite seaside town with really beautiful beaches. This was another chill out stop to just relax in the sun. Noosa is also really good for learning to surf as the waves aren't too big...so Jay had a go! He seemed to love it and was up on his feet trying to be a proper surfer dude...some good pics (when we put them on!!)!!!

After 2 chilled out days in Noosa, we head up to Hervey Bay where we did our 2 night /3 day Fraser Island trip. A bit dissapointed when we arrived at our hostel only to find out that the group we would be going onto the island with were all at another hostel that was a 10min drive away...anyway we headed over there to meet our "castaways" for the "meeting". The tour guide whose 4x4's we were taking and who gave us some relevenat info and some absurd info was absolutley hilarious and we were all kinda gutted that he wasn't going to be our tour guide.. anyway we were given our shopping list for the next three days and off we went to get the essentials.

So next morning up bright and early to head back to the hostel to get all of our stuff packed away on the cars. We really hit it lucky as our group was too big to just take the one 4x4 that seats 2or3 in the front with another 8 in the back facing each other so we had to take the guides luxury 4x4 and guess who were 2 of the lucky ones who got to travel in that!! It may not seem like much but hopefully when you see the pics or the vids you will undertsand how you wouldn't want to be bouncing around in the back of the 11 seater!!

Somehow I got volunteered to drive first to the ferry and when we first got to the island and the others hadn't driven a right hand drive and didn't feel comfortable on the "wong side of the road" bloody canadians!! Well anyway how weird to be driving this big truck like thing on the sand and over all these bumps...it was proper off-roading! Abit scary but alot of fun!! Our first stop was Lake Mackenzie which Dev and Usha should remember...absolute crystal clear lake in the middle of the forest...SOO pretty! We had a little swim and chill before heading off down the beach to a shipwreck called the Maheno. While we were there, one of the girls in the other car, Jess, realised she'd forgotten her bag at a little shop we'd stopped at about 30k up the beach and inland...someone had to go back! Considering it was gonna be dark soon and the tide was coming in (there are no roads so you drive on the beach!). We thought it would be better if the smaller car went to get it rather than 11 of them going all the way back...so we set off on a race against time (oooh!)!! As the tide was coming in, we had the drive higher up the beach where the sand is softer and so couldn't go as fast...we knew that if we got caught in the sand we'd be b*****ed...anyway, no-one was more nervous that Jess who's fault it was that we were doing this mission! Anyway, luckily we didn't get stuck anywhere (except when trying to come inland, but that was no biggie!) so we got the bag and got back to the campground just before sun-set. The other group were nice enough to get our tents up for us so at least we didn't have to do that! That night we had a really nice bbq and chilled out next to the campfire eating marshmellows! We headed down to the beach for a latenight dingo and turtle spotting mission but not surprising it was pitch dark and we could really see a thing!

Next day we went to the Indian Heads where we were meant to see tiger shark cause that where their breeding area is apparently...but it was a bit cloudy so we couldnt really see them (or their shadows) in the water which was quite disappointing! We then did a massive walk to the champagne pools which we thought would be 10 mins but was more like an hour! It was cool to see though even though it was quite cold to be in a natural pool cause of the cloud! That night we stayed a aboriginal campground where we were told that we were not allowed to whistle or spit into the campfire...otherwise the spirits would get you!! The aboriginal guy there told us horrible stories of backpackers who didn't show respect getting dragged in the woods and roughed up by the spririts...he seemed a pretty serious guy! he did however seem to take a liking to Jay...he asked where Jay was from and when he said "england" the guys looked a little disappointed...but Jay knew what the guy was getting at so when he asked again a little later on, Jay told him that he's Indian and that got the guy started on how the Aboriginal people closest relatives are the Indians and that he would like an indian wife and asked Jay if he had and cousins that would like to marry a billionaire which he apparently was!! Apparently his family owns half of australia by the sound of it! Anyway he told Jay that if he ever comes back to Aus to give him ring and he'll pick him up from the airport and stuff!! haha

Our last day on fraser Island we went to Lake Wabby which is an emerald green lake in the middle of all these sand-dunes which is really strange but really nice! We then headed back to the Ferry terminal and found out that a category 5 cyclone was on its way and that the island was being evacuated...thats pretty good luck cause we managed to get out full trip whereas others had to leave after one day (without refund!) or didn't get to go on frasewr Island at all!

We decided to hang around Hervey bay for a few days to see what the cyclone did because it was coming down from the whitsundays so we didn't want to get caught going up cause the road get flooded and you can get stranded in the middle of nowhere for days! So we just chilled...

Anyway...we'll let you digest over that and we'll give you the rest of Aus very very soon...promise...

Love you all...sorry again for being really lame...and for this huge blog...:)

xxxxx