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Hi again,
Hope everyone is well! Keep the emails coming, everybody's been really good with updates except of course Lynchy who has finally managed one email! Can I suggest that you put aside some time each day to give to me and Vix?! Nevertheless, I'm v.impressed with Paulio's efforts!
By the way, please don't let this photo mislead you. THIS IS NOT ME. Not only is the person in the photo a man but he's also v.good at surfing. So this is definitely not me. We went to Surf Camp for 2 days which was great. We had a 2 hr lesson but because we got there late from Sydney, we didn't get in the water till 5 which I was a bit scared about because dusk is dinner time for sharks. Surfing was so hard, much harder than it looks and I felt as though I'd done ten rounds with Mike Tyson afterwards! I ached for days! We had massive boards and it was hard just to get up on one because the waves were huge and everyone kept falling off. The boys - of course - got the hang of it much quicker and I'm pleased to say I wasn't the only girl who spent more time trying to catch a wave rather than ride it! By the end I could get up but I'd lose my balance after about 10 seconds. I'd swallowed half of the sea as well! Surf Camp was basically a campsite with caravans and tents and then shacks where we were. The whole camp was really open so I had my first experience in Oz being 'at one with nature'. Let's just say, I won't be rushing into it again quickly. There were loads of bugs and one beetle in particular formed an attachment to one of my flip flops and wouldn't get off. It then got annoyed and started hissing at me so I screamed and one of the boys from camp had to safely remove it. Also had an interesting dinner experience when 4 possums decided to irritate us, me especially by knocking over my glass of wine and greedily drinking whatever was left in my glass. I couldn't believe the cheek of the thing! After dinner we went down to the beach for a midnight session which was um, interesting to say the least. We had to cross this nasty creek to reach the beach which was awful at night considering you couldn't see what you were stepping in or on and the whole time we were down there I could hear these weird noises. Unfortunately, there was no Paulio there to sing 'Band of Gold' to me like in France!
Next we went to Byron. My hostel was amazing there with a pool and a huge communal dining area, free bike hire and free board hire, not to mention the guy at reception who should be my husband! Byron was fab, could have spent much longer there! Met up with Emma, a fellow English student who I randomly bumped into at More magazine. She's travelling with her friend Caroline who I got on really well with so I spent a lot of my time with them. We took an interesting trip to Nimbin, a place with a hippie community in the middle of nowhere where the high street is just a couple of 'herb' shops and people down the sidestreets try to sell you intriguing concoctions in cakes and cookies. Needless to say I haven't been converted into a fun-loving hippie just yet, I'm still a Londoner at heart! There was a cool candle factory and a Sunday market - titled Mothership Earth - there aswell. Back in Byron, we also had our first real Aussie clubbing experience. We went to Byron Hotel, a massive pub/bar for the locals with a live band. It was kind of folk/country music and got some great photos of Caroline dancing near this Aboriginal man who I think was part of the band but I'm not sure. He spent most of his time dancing - in full costume, so basically a loincloth and some facepaint stuff - around the stage. I also went to Cheeky Monkeys, a bar that's a bit like Jesters for those of you who are unlucky to have experienced it in Southampton! Except here it's a rule that you have to dance on the tables. I overlooked the health and safety risks and decided to give it a try. It was a good way to get to know the people on my bus anyway when you were dancing practically on top of them, holding on to them for dear life in case you fell off the table!
I'm in Brissy now, which is totally different. It's a fairly small city but the only beach they have here is an artificial lagoon near the botanic gardens! Met up with Emma and Caroline again yesterday to have a 'cultural' day which consisted of a trip to Conrad Treasury, a massive casino where we watched people lose loads of money from afar. Then we went to the art museum and got tattoos. Its ok though, it doesn't really hurt now...not considering it's fake and I only did it for charity! We went out last night in the Valley, the bar area that's supposed to be 'jumping' at night. Was certainly jumping and saw this drunk guy who'd been involved in a stabbing! V.dramatic introduction to the Valley! Don't think I'll go back there.
Keep updated!!
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