HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! I hope everyone is back into the stride of things with 2009 well underway now.

So its been longer then ever since ive had a say on this blog so plenty to tell and show, i guess most of you have seen from my photos i put on here the other day ive had an amazing time in Australia so far. Some really amazing places and people ofver here ive already met.

2008 ended bad, well more of a pain and a lack in knowledge really. Me and the girls head to Tullamarine Airport at 4am to catch our early flight to Sydney however once at the airport we soon discover we had come to the wrong airport and there is actually 2 airports in Melbourne, Tullamarine & Avalon! after a discussion with airline staff they told us we wouldnt make Avalon in time to check in on our booked flight! The next available flight was on the 31st at 11am! far to no late as we had an apartment booked in Sydney for the 30th and how the hell where we aver gonna make our new year celebrations in time and get a decent spot around the Harbour??? so we made the executive decision to pay for a new flight on a different airline costing us a further $125 which isnt a great deal but it is when your on a tight budget! so we eventually arrive in Sydney and check into our apartment in Burwood, 12km from the city centre and a 20min walk to the nearest train station, not ideal but its somewhere. Once settled in we head into town and go our seperate ways for the remainder of the day. Louise and Kirsty head around Sydney while me and Donna head for Coogee beach to chillax for the afternoon. I also meet up with a friend of mine from back home and we have a BBQ & goon (cheap wine) all night until Donna cannot stand up no longer! A quite hilarious bus, walk and train ride home!!!!

The 31st brought a hangover for Donna but an absolute scorcher of a day! not a cloud in the sky which was brilliant as we plan to sit for 14 hours waiting for the new years celebrations to begin. we arrive at the entrance to the Botanic Gardens to be welcomed with a queue of 30,000+ new year revellers. not good when they are only letting in 20,000 people to the spot we want to be in. luckily my good friend and now true legend Charlotte was at hand at the front of the queue to let us in! phew! i dont like jumping queues but there wasnt a chance on this earth i was missing out on the biggest new years party in the world, so we jump in! haha. find a decent spot and manage to wrangle some more Goon and beer into the garden which was good because alcohol was pretty expensive! we lay in the 33 degree sun all day drinking and counting down the hours from 14 onwards!!!! the atmosphere around us was buzzing, people with guitars singing, ipods blurring out mixing with the excitement of everyone as they passed by. It was a real party atmosphere building! So after consuming a number of litres of cheap wine and several bottles of warmish beer the evening was setting in and everyone was quite relived as it was so hot through the afternoon. We where graced with the most beautiful sunset over the city casting a beautiful orange warm glow over the skyscrapers, Opera House and Harbour Bridge. by now aswell the harbour was completely chocka with expensive yachts, my favourite been a young boy with his family where he sat on an imflatable chair ropped to there boat and he just bobbed around watching the world go by. a pretty special place to watch the fireworks for sure. We where also lucky enough to get hold of some passes for the waters edge where only 3000 people where permitted! so 9 o clock came we head down there to watch the 1st firework display, it last around 10 minutes but if midnight was going to be anything like that we where in for a treat! For the last 3 hours we clock watched, drank more, watched the fruit bats fly out of the gardens and head for the city. I was loving the whole day so far. Been with a real selection of people, friends id made, guys id travelled half the world with, friends from home who ive known and worked with for some years, a pretty strange yet completely amazing feeling. As 12 o clock approched we made sure we had the best seat in the house, 2m from the waters edge, city, opera house, and bridge all in one eyeshot plus a few bottles of champers of course! the count down begun 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1....... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 1.5million people all around the harbour errupt in a huge wave of noice and the most mindblowing firework display begins! Its a moment ill never forget, people dancing, kissing, jumping around, the noise, the sounds!!! it was just phenomenal. For a whokle 15 minutes the fireworks engulfed the sky, firing of skyscrapers, 2 sides of the harbour and of course the Harbour Bridge! nothing could have ever preparred me for what was happening only pictures and highlights from past years. once the fireworks stopped everyones adrenilin was pumping, dancing and singing took over and more drinking!!!! we partied for another 2 hours before getting finally thrown out of the gardens at 2am all partied out! we walked into town to look for another watering hole but by the time we found one we where all craving our 1st Mc Donalds of 2009, food and bed was the decision! great way to start 2009, Big Mac Meal!!!! haha.

We all rise late, as probably everyone in the world did that day and we decide on a quiet day at the beach. Manly our choice of destination. once at Circular Quay we realised the 1.5million other people on the harbour of new years eve where all heading for Manly too!!!! ok maybe abit of an exaggeration but it was busy! we catch the ferry and take a walk along the beach before having a snooze in the evening sun. caught the ferry back to be welcomed with a beautiful sunset again, very similar to the night before, a few drinks in the Opera Bar was called for which was a nice end to the 1st day of 2009!

2nd Jan - did nothing, literally! the girls headed to meet some friends and tak a walk around Summer Bay and i bummed around the city basically. not a great deal down that day but did manage to organise to meet some family of mine who live in Sydney so that was something nice to look forward too.

3rd - checked out the apartment and back into the city in a hostel for 2 nights to get ourselves sorted. i arrange to travel up the coast to Brisbane in a car with a friend from home, Chris and his girlfriend, i thought it would be the cheapest way and also a nice way to see some parts of the east coast. it was a quick trip though, only have the car for 4 days so we plan on a night in Port Stephens, 2 nights in Byron Bay and then on to Brisbane.

4th Jan - Family Day!!! caught the early ferry across the harbour to Neautral Bay to meet Diane and John, my uncles daughter and son in law. They where going to take me upto Bilgola to see them as they live about 45 mins from the city and isnt the easiest place to get to. Bilgola is up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, the home to Australia's rich business entrepreneur. Bilgola is a beautiful part of the world, small bay with a golden sand beach. My uncle lives in one of the oldest beach houses in Bilgola and is nestled away in some high pines but over looking the Pacific Ocean! a pretty amazing spot. its been some years since ive seen them both, only the 3rd time in my life i have met them, they welcome me with open arms at the ages of 87 (eric) and 90 (June)!!!! So once checked into the Whittleton Entertainment House, the champagne came out and we sat and talked for hours about all sorts. They do this everyday, entertain and drink! my kinda lifestyle i could get use too. June cooked up a beautiful dinner for us all and we sat out in back garden area which Eric likes to calls his entertaining area! we where joined by Viv, a family friend and also 2 water dragons, they didnt come with Viv they just live in the rocks in my uncles garden! June lets them sit on her lap and eat! well cool. So after numerous glasses of champers it was time to leave the old timers for there beauty sleep and time for me to head back to reality of the city and my backpackers hostel! That night we all met in the Opera Bar again for our final Sydney drinks as a group, strange really because some of the guys ill leave tomorrow ill have been with for nearly 3 months of my trip!

5th Jan - Early morning to depart north. Chris picked me up in a tiny car big enough for 2 not 3 but it will have to do as its only costing me 45 quid to travel 1000km! 1st port of call was 'suppose' to be Port Stephens but we got lost, well not lost just missed our turn off by 50km! whoops so we drove on to port macquarie, a small town with 9 beautiful beaches, we check in to a small hostel and head for the beach for the remainder of the day. the evening was spent playing cards, eating Nachos + Fajitas and drinking half a bottle of JD! whoops! haha.

6th Jan - NOT HUNGOVER!!!! we drove on to Byron, not a great deal to see along the way as it was inland from the coast. probably the hottest day in NSW though, around mid 30's to 40's! scorcha! we arrive in good time to Byron, Chris and Jess are staying at the YHA while i have to make do with a Beach house 1km out of Byron! Byron is a very cool place, hippies everywhere, everything is all organic which isnt great when you run out of toothpaste and have to buy some herbal crap that looks and probably tastes like polyfiller!!! unlucky Chris! we head for the Beach near me, Belongil Beach (clothing optional) we lay out and soak up the last few rays of the day, great views down there . The night we head out for a drinking sesh around Byron, very backpackers orientated which is cool, means cheap booze and cheap food. bumped into Adam for the 1st time since i left him in NZ! also saw 4 guys i knew from LA that i met in San Diego. Happening alot this bumping into people months down the line!

7th - day for the beach, we stick around in Byron and hire some surf boards and head for the beach, i was never great at home at surfing but out here its pretty dam hard, crazy strong rip currents! i think ill take some lessons before i leave. very hot day, not much to do apart from relax in the sun and surf. after 4 months of travelling i think this was the 1st time i have burnt a little! an evening of washing clothes and playing cards followed with extremely head faces!!!!

8th - was suppose to get up for sunrise over the ocean but didnt! whoops, then was suppose to get up and go kayaking with Dolphins at 8:30am, again didnt and slept in, whoops again! 31 missed calls, 2 abussive voicemails off chris reminded me i should have been there. sorry guys. so a very unproductive day for me! i buy Chris and Jess dinner to make up for my late arrival in the morning. we drive to Bribane that afternoon and check in to a city hostel. Brisbane is cool, not Sydney, not Melbourne just like a normal city really. its ok though.

9th - Donna and Louise are here! shock horror! haha, kidding girls! we decide to head off to Australia Zoo for the day, Steve Irwins place! i loved that guy and always wanted to go and see what he had done up here. The Zoo was amazing, to see some amazing animals like crocs and gators! also fed some elephents, stroked a Koala and Wombat! then chilled with some pretty cool Kangaroos! This guy started something pretty special down here, i just hope Terri his widower and Bindi his daughter will carry it on. We got the chance to see them at a show where they fed crocs and stuff, pretty cool.

10th - left the girls for the FINAL time this time, for sure, they fly out of oz in 8 days so they head north to Fraser Island while i get picked up by Adele, a friend from the Cook Islands! she lives out here in Brisbane with her parents so she has arranged a party at her parents house which has a pool! so alot of drink and some serious pool fun went on for 12 hours! we also decided to dress up in Adeles little sisters fancy dress costumes! great idea when your drunk! we had an absolute ball and got to stay the night!

11th - more pool action, this time at Australia's biggest waterpark on the gold coast. we drove down there after meeting adeles parents and appologised for splashing there windows with pool water! they where cool though, made us breakfast and might even get a fishing trip out of them as adeles dad has his own boat! anyway waterworld was packed, still made the most of it, some amazing waterslides at this place. early night called for after that and also a heavy drinking day/night from the day before, i check back into the hostel for one night and sleep for 12 hours! zzzzzz!

12th - TODAY! checkout and time to hunt for a job, im seriously skint! moving into Adeles house for a few days will save some cash but its only really for while i find a job then ill have to move on.

so busy busy busy as per usual. many thanks to everyone for the xmas messages and new years! thanks to my Mum and Sally for my xmas gifts, although sending chocolate out to one of the hottest countries in the world wasnt a clever idea! but thanks all the same, the money helped massivly in Byron and my travels up the coast so far.

speak to you all soon, 69 days and im home!