Our next stop was Brisbane, where we stayed for three nights. We both really liked the city, but found it very similar to Melbourne as they are both on a river with a really nice southbank area. We met up with Rachel, a uni friend who has moved there; she cooked us a great meal and we got to try Kangaroo which was really delicious. Other than that we didnt end up getting up to much, mainly just walking around the city and eating lots of sushi!! Our next port of call was a small surfing town called Coolangatta where they happenned to be hosting the Quicksilver pro surfing contest; so we got to see the likes of Kelly Slater in action. The weather was so hot there we spent a lot of time in the water trying to cool down. They had the strongest rip current there that we have swam in, we couldn't even stand up!

We also spent a few days in Port Macquarie and Newcastle which were both quite nice seaside towns, but there wasnt a lot to do there. They had a Koala hospital which we got a tour round, they were very cute. We got told that they are the only animal whose brain doesnt fill their skull, as it is just the size of a walnut. This inevitably makes them not very clever; apparently if they are about to get hit by a car they just cover their eyes as they think that it will go away, hence they are often in lots of RTAs.

We only spent 3 nights in Sydney as we were coming back in a few days with Cyn and Iain. We ended up staying in a nice guest house in Kings Cross, the Mardi Gras was on so we walked down to see the parade which we have some interesting photos of! Both of us really liked Sydney. It is quite a bit bigger than Melbourne but we just felt that there was more to see. Mike and I braved the 15 hour overnight bus from Sydney to Melbourne and met Cyn and Iain at the airport. We spent 3 nights in Melbourne and had an amazig appartment on the Southbank which was perfect for walking into town. We went to the Victoria Market which was lovely, and got to taste different wines and cheeses. We all 'survived the Edge' which is a glass cube suspended from the second largest residential building in the world, and have photos to prove it! And we got to enjoy Melbournes infamous cafe culture.

The first night we all arrived in Sydney there was a massive storm and torrential rain but luckily we magaged to fid a great resturant not too far from the appartment, Mike tried lemon Sole, and I tried Veal for the fist time which was really good. We were incredibly lucky with the weather as we had three days of perfect blue skies. On the first day we went to Darling Harbour and went on a HMAS Navy ship and submarine, which made Mike and I realise that living accomodation can be a lot more crammed and uncomfortable than hostel dorms! We then walked along the main street were all pressing our noses against all the lovely shops and luxury florests. On our second day we went to the Circular Quay and walked around the Opera House, had a lovely lunch overlooking the bridge, climbed one of the pilons and got and amazing view and went to the museum of contemporary art. Needless to say we were all very tired that night after lots of walking. On our final day we got the ferry across to Manly which had a great beach, although the water seemed so cold to us now! We had a great time with Cyn and Iain and the week just flew by; they are now on their way to New Zealand, and we are flying to Singapore to begin the final leg of our tour!!!