As you know I was due to start a new job on the 25th in Brisbane, therefore I had to leave Newcastle on Friday.

I got to the point where I really didn't want to leave!! The hostel was great- not so big there are too many people and not too small- but small enough that you can get to know people! As I was working there as well, I got to know the other backpackers I worked with as well as the hotel staff, my room mates as well as all the others along the way! So it was like a big family!!

My room mate- Anna was good fun to hang out with (I know your probably reading this Anna so I have to say that! Lol) she is a 'pastafarian'. Never heard of it before so when I asked more about it, I wasn't sure if it was a good move! Pastafarians are people who do not believe in good and infact believe that the world was created by the flying spaghetti monster!! No, I am not joking! Seriously, google it and you will see how serious it all is!! So as you can imagine, very interesting person to have around!! She also thought my pronunciation of certain words was totally hilarious compared to hers! (She is an aussie- a banana bender to be precise!)

There were also the boys- Peter and Hakan who I worked with- they were great! Peter was English and Hakan was Swedish but we made work fun!!

Most nights during the week we would head to the bars for trivia nights, games, and live music so it was great to get out and about with some mates! I would work every day for 2 hours between 10 and 12 playing maid- making beds, bit of cleaning and stuff and after that I would head down to the mall for a wander, head to the beach or wander down the foreshore.

On Sunday I met up with Annette and the kids and we went over to Blackbutt wildlife park and we saw some great native animals, kangaroos, red kangaroos, emus, wombats, wallabies, all the different birds, and of course koala's! The koalas we saw were awesome- they had little joeys!! They were hanging in the trees actually cuddling their joeys just like babies- it's was so cute!! (Check out the pics on facebook!). It was great to see Annette and the kids again too!! Missed them loads and am glad we managed to squeeze in one more visit before Christmas!!

I also headed over to Port Stephens during my last week to go whale watching. I had already been to Port Stephens with Annette and the kids but it was so lovely I didn't hesitate at the 3 hour bus journey to get there instead of going from Newcastle! During the week we had seen a lot of whales and dolphins on Newcastle beach which was a 2 minute walk from the hostel so that was great by itself but I was pretty keen to see them all up close!! So off I went- what an amazing day!! Once we were out on the boat it was only about 15 minutes before we found our first pod of whales!! The whales migrate up to the warmer waters of Australia to give birth this time of year as the baby whales need time to grow all the blubber before they head down to the warmer waters of the Antarctic so they head all the way down the east coast of Australia between September and November. The first pod of whales were playing happily only meters away from the boat- tail slapping, waving and blowing water so as you can imagine it was quite a treat to sit and watch!! Not long after we had another whale surface right next to the boat- was so close you felt like you could touch it!! We also found several groups of dolphins who swam alongside the boats racing us and jumping up, again so close you could have touched them! Before we headed back we found a mum and baby humpback whale and the mum was teaching the baby how to breech (jumping right out of the water!) so we spent a while watching in amazement how these huge animals threw their whole bodies out of the water!! As I say, pretty amazing and not something I think I will ever forget!!

This was my nana Christmas present to me (although she doesn't know it yet!) so thanks Nan!!!

On my last night in Newcastle we all headed down to The Brewery (local drinking spot in Newcastle) for a BBQ and a bit of trivia which we totally sucked at!! There were a few live bands on afterwards which we stayed for although I have no idea if they were any good or not as we were all so busy chatting I wasn't paying attention!! Before we know it they were kicking us out as it was closing!! We weren't ready to give in so we headed to the bottle shop for supplies and headed down to the beach where the fun continues!! By about 4am me and some mates were sitting on the beach watching the wave's crash and listening to the silence of the night. Was the best way to end a night out and to end my time in Newcastle!!

So after seeing all these amazing animals as well as all the others I have seen since I have been here, making great friends and working in a lovely, homely hostel it was time to leave Newcastle…so off I went to the train station ready for a nice twelve hour train up to Brisbane! Only to find that it was an hour and a half delayed!! To cut a loooooooooooong story short I was supposed to leave Newcastle at 6.30pm and arrive at 5.30am the next day (Queensland is currently an hour behind NSW and VIC as they do not have daylight savings) and I eventually left at 8pm and arrived at 9am the next morning so as you can imagine it was not the greatest trip ever but never mind- I MADE IT so that's the main thing!!

I hadn't heard a great deal of good things about Brisbane along the way so I had my concerns about whether I would like it or not but when I arrived to the sunny Queensland whether (hence the name- Sunshine state!) I was instantly cheered up!!

Once I arrived at my hostel and headed out to find my feet, I came across this lovely part of Brisbane called South bank. It's just across Brisbane River on the opposite side of the CBD. Because there is no natural beach in Brisbane- they decided to make one!! So there is a great little beach with a water park on the side of the river with the Brisbane sky scrapers in the background- pretty cool sight I must say!!

Since then I have been to Roma Street Parklands and Royal Botanic Gardens as well, may sound boring to some but even those with the untrained eye would enjoy all the lovely themed gardens!! My Nan and Mum would love it here!!

The great thing about Queensland is the fact you don't have to be doing something, to have done something if you know what I mean? A lot of people just head to one of the parks to read a book, chill out in the sun or hang out with mates having a BBQ on one of the many public BBQ's that are everywhere in Australia!! So, when it comes to my chill out time, I have been taking the advice of the Queenslanders and taking a chill pill! Going to the park, reading a book, walking round the gorgeous parks here or just wondering around to see the many sites of this lovely city!! I really love Brisbane and Queensland, forget everything I heard- they are all wrong!! It's awesome here!!

The other great thing about Brisbane is that because it has a tropical temperature all year round- the wildlife is much more exciting!! They have lots of different lizards running around everywhere- not exactly sure what they all are but I know one of them is the bearded dragon. Honestly, they are everywhere you go!! They also have lots of different birds as well! It's amazing how each state is so different even though they are so close to each other!!

I also went to the Indian Deepawali festival last night in Brisbane CBD. It was great, all the indian woman dressed in thier lovely dresses dacing to the indian music. There was all sorts of dancing and things. There was a woman who was balancing pits on her head, first 3, then 6, then she stood on a load of knives- so yeah pretty interesting!! It was a great atmosphere out in Brisbane as well- I didnt want to go home as there was so much going on!! What with halloween tomorrow as well there are lots of people walking around in various costumes so I bet the atmosphere will be mental!!

As for my new job, I won't say too much as it is still my first week so I am still settling in and getting to know the family. The parents are called Nikki and Brett. The children are called Luca who is 4 and Zander who is 18 months. The family are currently moving from Melbourne to Brisbane in order to renovate Nikki's old family home so they can sell it in a few years.

This week we have all been staying in a hotel called the Sebal, right in the heart of Brisbane and also Brett's new work place! I have been totally spoilt with my own room with en-suite- not something I am used too since becoming a backpacker!! Honestly, the massive bed and TV is a totally treat too! You know when you have been a backpacker too long when you get excited about little things like being able to put your shampoo in the shower and leaving it there!! Lol! But yeah it's a great place and I don't want to leave this nice hotel!! Although I will have all the same things at the new house!!

As I said, Brett works in the hotel and Nikki is currently interviewing for new jobs so will have to see but at the moment it's me and Nik with the boys each day which is nice to have some support!!

We are moving to the new house in Tenah Mera on Monday (20 mins outside the city) so it is defiantly going to be a manic next week for everyone so I am making the most of chilling out on my days off before everything goes back to being 100 miles an hour like it has this week!! As you can imagine the children have been a bit unsettled what with moving states, living in a hotel and not having any of their toys!! So it's been a difficult week for everyone but hopefully it can only get better!!

Well this should keep you all going for a while!! It's taken me long enough to write it all down (so don't expect anymore for a while- lol)

Once I am a bit more settled down I look forward to Skyping some of you and hopefully keeping in touch a little better!!

Miss you all, lots of love xxxx