Hello again people. . . . I am now in NZ, I did eventually leave Xanthe in Sydney, however still need to update from Oz, so will do NZ later in the week. . . . . Oh Yeah, well done Derby County - We are Premier League, say we are Premier League! Awesome news!

So when I left you last I was going to the pub to see NSW vs Queensland in the Origin Rugby match. . . . . . Obviously routing for NSW. . . . . Well, it was quite a good match, some great tries, etc, but the hero for NSW soon turned to villain, as he got a great try 9one of the best I have seen), but then mess up down his end later and gave a try away. . . . . NSW lost momentum and ultimately lost the game. . . . Not a happy bunch in the pub!

The following night, we met up with Claire and Nick early doors and then went to the opening on Pirates of the Caribbean 3. I really enjoyed the movie but was a little tipsy, so I don't know if that helped?!?!

We chilled out on Friday, as Xanthe had the day off and we had arranged for a long day on Saturday with Claire and Nick again to go up the coast to the Hunter Valley (That's the famous wine region if you didn't know) and then on to Port Stephens to go Whale Watching!

So, at stupid o clock on Saturday we got picked up and headed off. . . . . By 10.30 we were tasting our first wines from the vineyards. . . . . We had a schedule to get up to the Port, but still managed to do 4 vineyards. . . . This was my first experience of wine tasting and I now feel more at ease of going it alone. . . . . Watching Claire and Nick at work was funny. . . . . They seem to ask all the right questions, to keep the wine flowing and make us look sort of respectable. . . . . ! We bought a few bottles to be consumed later.

We got to Port Stephens just after midday and parked up and headed straight to the boat info box all excited about the trip. . . . . We had to wait 20 minutes or so, but we were soon on our way on a beautiful catamaran carrying about 20 - 25 people. . . . . We headed straight out the bay and after a bit of a talk from the cameraman a 'blow' was spotted on the horizon. . . . . A blow being a whale blowing off. . . . . We headed in that general direction along with 2 other boats and soon saw 2 whales. . . . For obvious reasons the boats are not allowed to get too close, but it was still a great sight. . . . . 2 Humpback whales heading to warmer waters. . . ! We got a good view of the hump, the tails and one fin wave / slap, but unfortunately they didn't breech (jump out the water). Still, it was a great experience and as an added bonus we also saw 2 different pods of bottlenose dolphins. . . . One set were swimming with the front of the boat and jump out the water. . . . . We also spotted a few see turtles mozying on around the bay. . . . ! All in all it was pretty special.

After about 2 - 3 hours we started heading back watching the sun set at the same time. . . . We were also allowed to climb on to the front of the boat, which was great fun. . . . . Claire (bless her) also gave it a go and in her words nearly fell in! They also managed to put up the full sale for 30 minutes on the way back in and that was very peaceful, not having the engine going!

So, back on dry land we thought we would have a quick drink before heading towards home and that's when the drama started. . . . Now there is always a bit of drama with Claire and Nick and it started here. . . . In all the excitement of getting the port and wanting to get on the boat, nobody realized that we needed to pay for the parking, needless to say there was a nice $77 fine waiting for us when we got back! Doh! You've gotta laugh really!??

Anyway, so after drowning our sorrows, we had a plan to head back to Dee Wye (where Claire and Nick live) and have a meal and a few drinks. . .  .So Nick did the long drive home. . . . It seemed a lot further going back, I suppose because we didn't break the journey with wine tasting?!?

Anyway, we got back and headed to an Italian restaurant for some easy food. . . . . The food was great, some nice pizzas to share to start followed by pasta, all washed down with 2 of the bottles of wine we had bought. . . . . . It was all going good, until the second drama happened. . . . Xanthe and Nick saw what they thought was a rat. . . . hmmmm. . . . Then I saw it or another one?!?! The girls were gone like a flash as soon as we had paid. . . . . Not good really, but we didn't hang around to complain!

So, that was it, we were all done in and all that was left to do was get the crazy bus back to the city and then a cab home. . . . . We said our goodbyes to Claire and Nick and I said "See ya in Thailand". We then waited for the late running bus with all these weirdos and rock apes! Dee Wye seems to have it fair share of village idiots! One of which started playing up. . . . . The bus arrived, already full, however we managed to get on (standing) and something started kicking off outside. This young drunk guys was offering to fight some other dude and well I am sure you can picture the scene, friends pulling people away, lots of swearing, etc, etc. . . . Well, anyway, it all seems to calm down, but this same d**k head wanted to get on the bus, but the security people said no (Yes - they have security people at the bus stop - does that tell ya something?). Anyway this guy was clearly not happy with the new situation he found him self in and started trying fight with the security guard and as the bus pulled of he decided to punch the window or side. . . . hmmmm, how's ya broken hand dude?! T**t. . . . . ! So, yeah, nice start to the endless journey back to the city, listening to young intoxicated nerds. . . . . . ! Enough moaning. . . . We got home ok and crashed. . . . . !

Didn't do much Sunday, til late afternoon, when we met Tamzyn (Xanthe's sister) who has moved back to Sydney. . . We had a few drinks and bit of a catch up and laugh. . . . . Then it was back home to finish my packing, etc as I was off on Monday morning!

So, goodbye for now Australia. . . . It's been emotional. . . . See ya again soon x x