So I've not written for a couple of days which usually means we're having a good time right? RIGHT! The horse riding was a blast even if I did get the worlds only gay horse to ride on...well 'Trooper' was described as 'having a boyfriend'. He's a gelding though, and so is his partner...confused...? I was...anyhow, enough about horse sexuality and onto the riding. We went through about 10 km of rainforest and although we were promised that there were Koalas we didn't see any. The trip took us through some lovely scenery and my 'usually lazy bugger' of a horse even managed a trot or two. Poor sod. He did look truely knackered at the end. The estate on which the horse riding is set has been owned by the people who took us riding for about 5 years and they own 400 acres - read it and weep. You can buy a 5 bed house with 5 acres out here (albeit 20 km from the coast) for about $500,000 Aus...about 200k to you and me. Ho hum...will someone remind me why we live in England again....?

In the evening we all went bowling and Rich topped the scoring charts with a whopping 177. Both me and Pat managed creditable averages of about 125. Jen wasn't last so she was chuffed! We thought it'd be rude not to visit the pub Russell Crowe had a big drunken fight in a few months before his wedding (he lives just up the road), but the big burly and thick as pig-shit bouncers barred Jen and Helen's entry on the grounds that 'you need ID if you are under 32'. I nearly asked if he meant IQ or age, as he would clearly have needed ID for the former. Ho hum...trip back to the van and an early night where Jen, Helen and Pat all tied last and were all shit-heads. I'm not telling you who lost the play-off they decided to have to choose a clear 'winner'. She won't let me.

On the evening (before the cards) we booked onto a day's white water rafting on the Nymboida River for the following day (yesterday). It proved to be great fun although we did nearly flip the boat on one of the more dangerous sections. We knew we were in trouble when the guide's command changed from 'get down, get down' to 'f**ing get down - NOW!' Very amusing. A great BBQ was had by all before we headed back.

An early night then, and then an early(ish) start to get to where we are now (Byron Bay - not the internet cafe). First impressions are good, although loads of travellers and, ahem, alternative lifestyle people (see Khao Sarn Rd for details). Should be good fun for a day at the beach and possibly a day's diving before we head North to Surfer's Paradise and Brisbane. The van has to be back on Wednesday by 4.30pm and anyhow, our flight to Melbourne is at 5.50ish...it's a Qantas internal so let's hope there's no nutters with wooden stakes.