Before I begin, the photo was taken at Surfer's Paradise and location too as we spent the longest time there and to put it as Sydney would really make the little map thing look boring, so yeh... anyway, This is the Road Trip:

09/12/12

Road trip starts tomorrow! Today, we chill out and do nothing, went for a swim in the lagoon ate some ice cream, played my ukulele next to the hostel pool and ate Chinese. Standard hangover day in Cairns. Packed my bag, up at 7am to walk to pick up the 'Man Van', named so due to the flowers and butterflies covering it.

10/12/12

Well, we didn't get that van, we got upgraded! TWICE! To a 'Cheapa hi-top'. This van (from the inside) is pure luxury compared to what we would've had. We set on the road at 10am, and got to our first stop at about 11am. 'The boulders' in Bambinda, a swimming hole suggested by Nigel, it was pretty neat. The boulders themselves (where swimming was prohibited) we a geologists orgasm, even I thought they looked cool! We got back in the van and continued to Mission Beach to get what I have described many times as the best burger I have ever had. Unfortunately, they weren't open until 4pm. This made me cry a little bit inside. We ended up having a greasy burger at a service station on the side of the road. Insult was added to injury when we carried on our trip only to get a phonecall from the lovely woman at the Yongala, informing us that the trip has been cancelled tomorrow due to rough seas. Plan changer. We've booked on for Wednesday now, and hopefully that will go ahead. The hardest thing though, will be what to do tomorrow. There isn't a lot in Ayr, although there is a Men's shed and 6 bars. So who knows... We booked into a touring park where we had a fry up for dinner and met some friendly Samoans. I'm writing this from the inside of our van, having driven over 500km today. Time for some sleep before Day #2: 'Waste a day'

11/12/12

Today started out by calling the Yongala people and telling them we'll hang around and do the dive tomorrow. However, it ended very differently. After playing a bit of cards and realising it may get cancelled again tomorrow, we had a look at what else we could do. Turns out the HMAS Brisbane sank a few years back and you can dive that from further down the coast! NEW PLAN! Drive all day and get to the HMAS Brisbane in Moolooba by Thursday! This sparked us getting on the road straight away, driving 11 hours and ending up in Miriam Vale at a caravan park. We did everything road trip style, including making and eating lunch on the road and getting stuck in a traffic jam. Now, just 450km north of Brisbane, tomorrow's drive will be short in comparison. Being located on the Sunny Coast, Mooloolaba will be a lot nicer to hang around than Ayr. Plan for Day #3: Drive to Mooloolaba

12/12/12

Well, another day of solid driving! We called the HMAS Brisbane to see if tomorrow is still on, it is not. Another disappointment. So instead of waiting around for a day to see if the weather's good on Friday, we're now in Brisbane. If it's good, I think driving 2 hours to do something awesome is reasonable. We'll find out tomorrow (Thursday) if it is or not. So tonight, we are sleeping in our van just down the road from Tom's house. The drive today was quite different to yesterday, we did a few detours, taking the scenic routes because we had plenty of time. However, there was another traffic jam which took us an hour to get through. When we got here, we went for a few beers with Tom, went back to the van, played cards and had some baileys. Tomorrow, Day #4: We pick up Max's board at 7am and wait for the phonecall from HMAS Brisbane. If it's on, we're heading back up the coast to do that on Friday. Else, Tom's jumping in our van and we're going to get my board in Gold Coast and then hit the town. Hard.

13/12/12

It was the 'Else' route. We're in Surfer's Paradise, gearing up for a night out, having not done any dives in Queensland. This is quite annoying as it means we did a few days solid driving without any fun. But tonight, we party. Tomorrow, we surf. Oh Yeh! I picked up my board, it's a 7'5, whereas Max's is a 6'10. I have a feeling that they're going to be difficult, but with 7 whole days (which are going to be filled with surfing) I'm sure by Christmas, I'll be used to it and show up the pros on Bondi! (Maybe) I realised something today too, my hair's getting long again, looks like i'll fit the surfer image!

14/12/12

I know these blog entries are pretty small considering we're on an epic road trip, this reason will be revealed at the end. So anyway, last night we went out in surfer's paradise, I was pretty tired and couldn't drink much, so when we got out, I wasn't really in the mood. I wingmanned Tom a bit, rode a mechanical bull and left. But because Tom had the only key for the dorm, I slept in the van. Not uncomfortable, it wasn't a bad thing, but I did wake up pretty early. We went and grabbed breaky before dropping him at the station. This left me, Max and our two boards to hit the beaches on the Gold Coast, we surfed at Mermaid Beach and Buleigh Heads today, obviously only really getting used to our boards so neither of us caught anything spectacular.

16/12/12

I didn't write in here yesterday because, frankly, I didn't get the chance! 'Off having too much fun!' One might say. And you'd be right! The day started off with an early morning surf. We got up at 7am, hit Surfer's Paradise Main beach and attempt to surf. The conditions are rough, the current underneath is strong. Managed to catch a couple of short lived rides, me and my board are not getting along yet, but we'll get there... we'll get there. When we got back to the van, we were packing it up and I got a phonecall from Julie. My Mum's Cousin's Wife. Inviting us for dinner, a BBQ. When have I ever refused an invite like that?! So off we went to dreamworld, one of the Gold Coast's theme parks, and it was, awesome. There were a few 'big rides' which we managed to get on a few times with longest queuing time being 15 minutes! I don't know why, in the height of summer, with kids broken up from school, on a Saturday, why it was so quiet?! Hell, I wasn't complaining. When we left dreamworld, it was straight to Ian and Julie's house, a new build, it was amazing. The sort of house I'd love to live in. They offered us showers, food and beer. Luxury. It was nice having a homely feel, even just for an evening. Nat, their son was there with his girlfriend and by 9:30 we had eaten, left and were at their place getting pre-drinks underway. He took us to the main strip in Surfer's Paradise, which frankly, had a bit of a magaluf, ibiza feel to it. Eventually, the inevitable happened and we lost everyone. Max stayed with me, I'm assuming because I had the van keys. I found an oxygen bar with wifi, I think I spoke to Zoe and my Mum on facebook, then we stumbled home, via the local greasy food joint, of course. We got back to the van and passed out.

I woke up this morning, sweating my b******s off, in a hungover "This is too hot but doing anything about it is too much effort kind of Glastonbury hangover". We decided that doing something about it was probably the best option, so we made sure everything was secure and went to the nearest beach to surf it away. It worked as expected, we sat on the beach, had a bowl of cereal and decided we'd move on. At about lunchtime we left the Gold Coast and hit the road for Byron Bay. We got about 28km down the road and I saw a sign for 'Tweeds head'. I remember my parents saying something about it being a good surf spot so we pulled in, cooked up a bbq lunch by the beach and went for a surf. There seemed to be a lot more people with surfboards here, that was a good sign. However, there were also a lot more people walking around with surfboards than actually surfing. With good reason. The current was so strong, you could literally end up at the next beach over. Thanks Mum! So that surf session was short lived and we continued our way to Byron, we then realised that Nimbin is on the way, so we'd probably go there first. Meant to be 'stuck in the 60s', it's one of the places you've got to see. We followed signs for Nimbin, off the highway and onto a smaller more British looking road. That's when we saw Mt Warning. Ian had mentioned this to us, told us it's definitely worth a climb. Change of plan again! We quickly took the tiny road to the campsite on the foot of the mountain and this is where I write this, with a painful sunburn on my face. I really need to learn, even in the morning I will burn.

19/12/12

Having to write this one on the road because I just don't get time in the evenings to write them whilst on this road trip. So, where did I leave off? Wow, that long ago? Okay, so Monday morning we climbed Mount Warning, estimated to take 4-5 hours round trip, we did it in 3. 1:20 up, 30mins up there, 1hr down. Don't get me wrong though, it was hard work. On the way down, my legs were like jelly. The view from the top was stunning though, really spectacular. When we left, we headed to Nimbin, the place that wants to legalise weed and boy you could tell. We were planning on going there for a spot of lunch or something but decided there wasn't anything there worth seeing and moved on after a short walk up and down the main (only) street. Jumped back in the van and drove to Byron. Because of the climb in the morning, I didn't quite fancy surfing, wayyy too much effort, so instead, just sat in the park facing the ocean and chilled. We checked into a caravan park and had dinner. We got chatting to this family and a kiwi woman who had worked on film sets, LOTR, Avatar etc. In the morning we got up and went for a proper surf. The waves were clean and there was enough of a gap between sets to get out past the breakers. Allowing you to just sit on the board and chill until you're ready to surf one in. Well, try... We surfed in the morning, got out for lunch, had a burger at this place called 'Bayger'. I tell you what, at a reasonable $10, it was awesome! So after lunch, we surfed again and decided to move on. Hell, I haven't painted a picture of Byron at all, this place was awesome. The one place I wish I could've stayed longer, but because of the amount of time left, the distance and places left to see, we had to move on. If you ever travel the east coast, spend longer than a day at Byron Bay. Also, I'm starting to get used to my board, still rarely getting to my feet but it's happening more than when I started. Problem is, I think, it's quite narrow, so balance is difficult. Anyway, less of the excuses, I must try harder. When we left Byron, we intended on just driving, seeing where we got to. Ended up in Coff's Harbour for the night, but that was all it was, the waves were pretty non-existent, so we got up and moved on. Time's a-pressing! 2 days left and 7hrs of driving til Sydney. And that's what we've been doing this morning, driving to the next surf beach!

Oh yeh, I almost forgot, a couple of things that will please my sister: First of all, I got stung by a Jellyfish in Surfer's, just a bluebottle, but still. Secondly, and most importantly, the morning before climbing mount warning, I had a shower at the campsite. With a huntsman. Walked in the shower and no further than 3" from the lock was an eight legged freak, just chillin. I didn't mind. I feel pretty Australian now.

21/12/12

I assume this will be my last entry into this blog. Not because of the end of the world, but because the road trip is over. After finding the nearest surf beach: Lake Cathie (Yes it had a beach with surf). We found a little campsite for the night. The price on the door said $55 for the night, but as we were leaving, I said we were only after a cheap 1 night thing, he gave it to us for $20. Bargin! When we got up, it was a short 200k trip to Newcastle, and as the name suggests, yes, it was a s*** hole. We surfed on Mereweather beach, giving the surfing competition some laughs as we tumbled in the waves. I've managed to catch a couple, but Max, unfortunately, is better than me. I really think 'Fil' hasn't got respect for me. Fil is the name I have given to my board. He is a Father In Law, slowly gaining respect for me so one day we will get on just fine. But at the moment, he is nothing but hostile, occasionally throwing me a line. Just enough for me to think that there is hope in our future yet. After surfing Mereweather we decided that Newcastle wasn't that great and we decided to get to Manly before bed. We drove and arrived there at about 8pm, managed to find a car park, looking out over the sea with a lack of 'No Overnight Sleeping' signs. Bingo. Max cooked up a meal and I packed my bag, suspiciously light I might add, so who knows what I'm missing now. We woke up at 7:30am and headed down to Manly main beach for a surf, again, I caught a couple, but my arms are knackered, oh and I slipped and crushed my b******s on my board. Not ideal. We grabbed breakfast and returned to a parking ticket. 10 whole days and we get stung in Sydney?! Neither of us noticed any signs or meters in the area, and so many places have been free parking down the coast it didn't even cross our mind. God dammit! Luckily it's split between two of us, so it's not terrible. We're now sat in the car wash café waiting for the van to be cleaned. Any time I sit still I can feel the waves rocking my body, a feeling I remember vividly from Ireland.

So that was the road trip; a whirlwind of 10 days, filled with fun, disappointment and driving. There is a video montage which will be coming your way as soon as I can use a pc or laptop with a decent graphics card. I've done half of it, but my poor little netbook can't handle the whole thing.