G'day mates!! Thats the most Australian phrase we could think of to begin this blog.

So we are half way through our Australian adventure and so far its been great :-). Weather wise its been fairly good, it was freezing in Melbourne we were forced to buy wooly hats. Sydney got slightly warmer but unfortunately we had rain, by the time we reached Brisbane it was sunshine most days and its been getting warmer the further up we travel.

We began in Melbourne there is a bit of a rivalry between Melbourne and Sydney over which city is best....Sarah preferred Melbourne as she is a country girl where as I preferred Sydney as its more hustle and bustle. We spent our days in Melbourne seeing the sights on the free tram which included federation square and the Melbourne Botanic Gardens it was very pretty although we didnt know much about the trees and plants. The hostel we stayed at was really good; free breakfast pasta and rice and lots of free drinks. We spent one night playing beer pong and drinking free punch happy days! The highlight of Melbourne was definately seeing an Aussie Rules Football game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Even after seeing a whole game its still a very bizarre sport, however we did get hooked and were shouting along with the crowd. The funniest part for us was probably when the ref through the ball back into play over his head and just the fact there were about 7 refs on the pitch. We watched Collingwood vs Geelong Cats whoich was a rivals game and it was a great game, at one point it was 95:95 and ended with Collingwood scoring in the dying seconds to win the game Whoop Whoop. Another highlight was the two old men from opposite teams shouting abuse at eachother and the teams throughout the whole game. That sums up Melbourne after a 12 hour overnight coach journey next stop Sydney.

Although Melbourne is a nice city, Sydney definately wins on the sites. We spent the first day wandering around the Harbour Bridge (Sarah spent the day debating if she could get to the top of the bridge without wetting herself) and of course the Opera House which really is just how it looks in the post cards. We also went to Sydney botanic gardens and did some sunbathing. Day 2 and we hit Bondi beach which is surf central in Sydney, so much so you aren't even aloud to swim in the water which was good as it was bloody freezing! After our picnic of chicken nugget pasta salad from the night before (normal chicken was too expensive) we decided to be brave and went for a run along the coastal cliffs which was actually really cool as the views were amazing and we stumbles across some other beaches. The next day we were up bright and early for the big day the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb!!!!! I was excited where as Sarah was petrified. It began with us getting suited and booted in our jump suits. We then had waist belts fitted which held your safety harness, this was literally a ball on wire string and you also wear a radio so that the guide can talk to you through out the climb. We then did a ladder practise even this was scary! After collecting our fleeces, hats, rain jackets, gloves, hankies and hair bands we were off. Suprisingly the start is probably the scariest part as you are under the bridge walking across the 'catwalk' which has holes in the flloor and just 2 side rails. This was a bit of a shock as we thought it would be a bit more covered! Having said that the view was already pretty good at this point. Next challenge was climbing the 4 ladder which takes you up through the bridge right next to all the moving cars and up on top of the bridge arch. Very Scary!!!!! We then made our ascent up the arch and celebrated as we reached the top and could see the whole of Sydney it was fantastic!!!! Next challenge was going back down which was just as scary as the way up. All in all it was amazing and we definately recommend it, its the best way to see Sydney and a real adernaline rush. :-). After successfully climbing the bridge we decided to celebrate so we headed to Scubar which is known for its cheap drinks! We also had all you can eat pizza including Kangaroo pizza which tasted a little odd and made us feel slightly guilty :-). Our final day we had a few hours to spare so we went to the Australian museum which was good. Next stop Brisbane.

After a mammoth 17.5 hour journey we arrived in Brisbane. Brisbane was slightly different as we were lucky enough to stay with 2 of our english friends that live out there. Our first night we went to an Aussie house warming barbeque this was literally amazing as there was so much food so we stuffed our faces, and enjoyed drinking goon (a 4 litre box of wine for 12 dollars!!) and talking to the Aussies who were very friendly and were laughing at our accents. Day 2 and we headed up to Mount Coot-Tha which is basically a view point where you can see the whole of Brisbane which was cool. We then went for a kick around and ended the day at Southbank where they have an artificial beach lagoon overlooking the city which is quite surreal. We experienced cold rock icecream which is literally amazing, they mash whatever chocolate you like into your ice cream so its twice as naughty another indulgent day followed by a mean roast dinner!!!! hehe. The next day was a real Australian day as we headed to Lone Pine Koala Santuary where we got to cuddle a Koala and play with the Kangaroos! You can see in the pictures Sarahs Koala was lively and mine was HUGE!. We also saw Wombats, Dingos, Tasmanian Devils and a Platypus. we finished the day by going to watc h Hangover 3 and cooking the girls a Lasagne, it was nice to have a little bit of normality. Our final day in Brisbane was a little rainy so we did some shopping and actually both found cheap tops yaayyy!! This evening finished with Mexican take away so by the time we were leaving Brisbane we were the size of a house!! But we have no complaints because we loved it.

thats sums up part 1 of Oz part 2 will follow shortly!

lots of love Vicki and Sarah xxxxxx