We have arrived - in Oz, and also on our new blog site, so relief all round! I chose this site as it seemed the closest to Travelpod and had many of the same features plus some new ones. They also very kindly transferred everything over for me which was a huge plus! I think its all ok but if you spot anything that hasn't transferred over properly then please let me know!

We arrived to rain, which brought back memories of our last trip 7 years ago when we were chased by the floods. However the weather is now a pretty constant 23 degrees with blue skies and, as we keep getting told, its going into their winter - it is quite funny to walk around in shorts and T-shirts only to see the locals in Ugg boots, jumpers and scarves!!

We have only been here just over 2 weeks but we have done SO much - Bali seems a lifetime ago already. Bill has been great and ferried us around to look at vans, so the biggest news is that we now have a 'Winnie', as she seems to be called by everyone! We are very pleased with her and are looking forward to our first trip which will be a separate blog. The first few days, however, were taken up with mundane tasks such as sorting out phones and internet, registering for our Medicare cards, and sorting our banking and cards out. We managed to squeeze a few games of tennis in with some of Bill's friends - it was great to hit a ball again!! We were also taken to join a local club - the Sharks. This is where the Southport Sharks, an Australian Aussie rules football team play. However, it is mainly an entertainment club, with several different bars, restaurants and gaming machines. It is this that pays for the footie apparently. This became evident when Bob and I went along to 'our club' to watch a game - it was free entry and there weren't that many people watching (it is a lower league team, but even so?!).

The Aussies are extremely friendly, chatty and interested in our trip. Some friends of Bill's are looking out for stuff for our van for us, and some other friends of Fay's took us out for the day on their boat. We had a brill day on South Stradbroke Island, paddling in the surf (it was too strong to swim!) and eating lunch with huge monitor lizards and a wallaby! Other friends, Paul and Brenda, who we have met several times (once in a Spar shop in Jersey!) invited us over for a huge Sunday roast - it was just like being at home and our first roast since leaving England!

So, what have we noticed so far? There are public toilets EVERYWHERE, along with barbeques that are free to use and not vandalised. There are loads of green public spaces with children's play areas, cycle paths, and keep fit routes with free to use gym equipment. The keep fit vibe is everywhere so maybe promoting, and subsidising, a healthy lifestyle saves the medical care in later life? The birds are very different - all brightly coloured with loads of lorikeets and mynah birds and some with loud calls that wake us up in the mornings! And there are some very different bugs. I have seen a "snack" wrapped round a boy's arm as he walked along the path and shoved it in front of me as I cycled by. How I didn't fall off I don't know!! But I guess the main thing is the BLUE SKY and warmth - if this is winter then I can't wait for the summer!!