Our Oz Adventure began in Sydney. We experienced the NYE fireworks display from the Botanical Gardens one of the best vantage points in Sydney, overlooking the Opera House and the bridge and right in front of the pyrotechnics display. We went with a mate called Sanj (from Birmingham) who we met the day before, had a brilliant time. We then boogied our way into the NY at the Tank club where Hed Kandi were providing some funky Tunes. NYD was an absolute scorcher we were practically melting in 44.5 degree heat. We vegged in the hostel Garden praying for the god of wind to send us a cool breeze... Next stop Newcastle, a bit of a ghost town. Good for surfing and a good night out on a Wednesday (Student Night). We went to the Cambridge with two Irish sisters Karen and Sarah and Mark from the UK who we met at a BBQ the night before. We saw 3 local bands play that night,(The unemployables) were 1st and they were terrible, a fact that I was not shy in mentioning to Kial the lead singer (We did have a few drinks by then.. at $2.50 it would have been rude not to) The bands to follow were quite good, we finally met some Aussies that night, in Sydney they were few and far between. Amanda and Ben ended up dragging us to the Ducks Nuts afterwords and before we knew it we were having breakfast. We left Newcastle with fond memories even though everyone asks us why we decided to go there!!! I always say it\'s what you make of a place.... Next stop Byron Bay, we had no accommodation booked for the first night, it seemed everyone was in Byron that weekend... ho hum it\'s all part of the adventure. We stumbled off the bus and saw a sign for Lennox Head which is only 15 min from Byron so that was our accommodation sorted for the night brilliant!! We had a fantastic Thai that night and then it was off to the local pub where we met the only other saffa there, this mad energetic surfer chick called Lorraine, who has an amazing spirit. She insisted that we stay with her in her farmhouse in the hills, so off we went with a crate of twisties and spent a mad night with Megan, Bernie, Jefferina, Paul and Loz. Bernie provided the music by singing and strumming his guitar, crazy night... The next day Loz took us on a bit of a road trip in her \"little red rocket\" to Nimbin (Australia\'s little Amsterdam) It\'s a hippified village in the mountains. As soon as we sat down with a scooner of Tooeys New we met Faren and Matt who had just started managing a motel at the bottom of the valley. They provided us with the cookies and free accommodation. We managed to convince them to go back into town to watch a band play, so they put the No Vacancy sign up and off we went. The next day Loz took us back to Byron we wanted to spend at least one night there even though it\'s a bit of a tourist trap. We went to the Buddah Bar for a bit of a farewell session, a very funky band called Pablo Discobar were playing that night. I ended up getting their CD for $10 instead of $15... they finally gave in to the persistent merry saffa he he he Wow what a weekend so far we have just met salt of the earth people it\'s been fantastic I wonder what the next place has in stall for us.... Our next stop Surfers Paradise, we were a little bit disappointed the place is very built up with tall high rise hotels and accommodation all along the strip, but the beach is amazing it goes on forever and the sand is soft between your toes. We spent 3 days just relaxing here and catching some rays. On our last night there our hostel rep came knocking and roped us into going on a club crawl. As we had not been out yet in surfers we thought why not.. mmmm the clubs were pure cheddar but after a few drinks we didn\'t seem to notice. That night we only seem to attract the attention of 20 year olds. Two crazy Tasmanians insisted on posing with there pants (I mean trousers down) They were persistent and we obliged.mmmm another all nighter, rolled into our hostel at 6am just enough time to shower and pack and head to the next destination Brisbane. Our time in Brisbane was much more tame, and we needed it. We overloaded on the cultural thing, did a walking tour of the city and visited a few art galleries. Brisbane is so laid back the people are so diverse you just seem to blend into the crowd. Next stop Noosa, this place is beautiful no high-rises in sight and an amazing National Park to boot. We did an 8 KM trail but we saw no Koalas unfortunately, we did see a Lace monitor, Australia\'s second largest Lizard in it\'s natural environment, some snakes and some exotic birds. We also managed to catch up with a childhood friend, Gerardo and his family who live 30 minutes away in Mooloolaba. It has became a bit of trend that we have at least one night out in each port of call... so after another session and 4 hours sleep later it was time to pack up and move on to Hervey bay where we will be starting our Fraser island tour (The worlds largest sand island and world heritage site) Wow what an amazing 3 days... I would definitely recommend a trip to Fraser Island if you are ever in this area. Where to begin, this island is so beautiful and has so much to offer. You negotiate the terrain in powerful 4X4 vehicles and it\'s a real bumpy ride. We swam with fresh-water turtles at basin lake, we did a rain-forest walk and saw giant satinay trees which are over 1200 yrs old, swam in the turquoise water of lake McKenzie where we also saw dingo\'s. That night we boogied away in the dingo bar... The next day we drove along breathtaking 75 mile beach where we stopped by the rusty Moheno shipwreck that is stranded on the beach. We also flew in a dinky 7 seater plane around the island, which offered spectacular views of the Island. we spent another night boogieing away in the dingo bar. On the 3rd day we visited lake Wabby an Emerald green lake against a backdrop of lush eucalypt forest from the look out you can see the ocean, the lake, sand dunes and the forest... Four Eco zones all merged into one. some moments in life are just perfect and this was one of them. we swam in the lake and then walked across the massive sand blow until we reached the ocean. We had a BBQ and then another swim in clear blue Lake Birrabeen. we were sad to leave because we had such a good time... Our next port of call was Mission Beach, and what a mission it was to get here (21 hours later) the temperature also seems to have risen as we have been traveling up north... This place is so tranquil and the pace of life is really chilled, exactly what we\'ve needed to recharge the batteries... There is an abundance of rain-forest walks here where we even spotted some Cassowaries which are large flightless birds now an endangered species. Mission beach has the largest concentration of Cassowaries in Australia of which there are only 40 here, so we were quite fortunate to spot them.... Next and final stop along the east coast Cairns and the great Barrier Reef. Wow what an awesome experience we saw nemo and all his colorful buddies as well as giant clams and funky coral. While in Cairns we also managed to go on a tour of the table lands and visited volcanic basin lakes, did another rain-forest walk where we had close encounters with blood sucking leeches... I say close but they actually got us, the b******s... disgusting or what.... we then went to Millaa Millaa falls where the famous Timotei advert was once filmed and had an invigorating swim. We had an absolute ball in OZ and have met some really cool people and have seen such breathtakingly beautiful places. We can\'t wait for our next adventure, so see you soon Australia and hello gorgeous New Zealand....