Well, we had the night out with Shane...the poor mite just couldn't keep up with his English drinking buddies and by the end of the night looked a little akin to the famous Alan Partridge, 'I'm Confused' moment...haha We offered to let him sleep on our floor as he'd missed his last train back but he declined stating it was his intention to go and clean the local casino out. We duly let him out back into Brisbane and haven't heard from him since...hope you're alright mate!

Somehow we struggled out of bed by 7 yesterday in preparation of the day's whale watching we'd booked earlier. Every year thousands of humpback whales make the trip from the Antarctic up to warmer waters to give birth to their (blubberless) young. They then slowly make the trip back down. Having missed them on the South coast (Warrnambool) and Fraser Island (we saw a couple of spouts of water but no actual whales) we decided to take the trip out on 'Eye-Spy' to Moreton Bay with Kerry Lopez, the only female boat captain in Australasia. (Click here)

As we left Brisbane I came across a sign reading 'Don't Spread Fire Ants'. Now I may be in a minority of one (well two, along with Jen) but I have never heard of Fire Ants, or indeed why I should not spread them. I didn't know if they were referring to spreading them like marmite on bread (kind of aboriginal delicacy per chance?), or populating a large area with them. I thought they might even be like small insect arsonists...however via google I have discovered that:

"The red fire ant is a tenacious but ordinary looking red-brown ant originally hailing from South America. If you disturb their nest they will swarm on to you and sting you with their tails repeatedly and in unison. Each sting releases a small amount of venom. The immediate sensation is that the bitten area of your body is on fire. The sting gives rise to pustules which can be extremely itchy for a week. In about 1% of cases an allergic reaction will occur."

Fine, but it still begs the question as to why anyone would deliberately spread them.

Further along the highway we went past a wonderfully named place called 'Humpybong'. This is where the Bee Gees went to school and indeed played their first gig at a hotel around the corner. when you type in 'Bee Gees Humpybong' into google you only get three results...are they embarrassed of their roots?

On arriving at the jetty I had a chat with a lovely old lady who'd spied the 'Dive the Yongala' t-shirt I was sporting. She was from Townsville and her husband was an ex-sailor and we spent a good few minuted chatting. She sported a rather natty cap/visor and it wasn't until I was just finishing the conversation what I noticed the brand name, barely readable, on the brim. And a splendid name it was too - 'Drunk'nMonkey'. I wondered for a brief couple of minutes whether this was a description of the wearer but dismissed that thought immediately. I also wondered whether she knew of what she was wearing, and indeed, whether it would be pertinent to inform her of this fact. Maybe, I decided this particular company hadn't sold enough products to 'the youths of today' and where thus tackling an, ahem, more mature market...

Anyway enough of the trivial matters and onto the whales. The sea was, to put it mildly, choppy and Jen decided to perform her usual party trick and re-view what she'd eaten a few hours previous. I, for some reason, felt great, and even managed some of the bloody awful lunch they provided. However, they are not chefs but a whale-watching company, and where they failed with the panini they succeeded with the whale-watching. First up we saw a couple of pods, maybe 5 whales in total and they spent a good few minutes coming to the surface to a chorus of 'ooohs' and 'ahhhs' from all aboard. The fun really started though when we chanced upon another pod - just two whales this time - a little further out to sea. These guys were totally uninhibited - coming within 5 metres of the boat and performing a number of 'breaches' - where they flip spectacularly out of the water. They also laid on their sides and waved their flippers. If I hadn't been there I wouldn't have believed it - they were definitely communicating with us. Indeed when we finally had to leave them for shore some 40 minutes later they made an screaming-like noises before performing a final wave each - truly mesmerising. Of all the things we've done either here in Aus it ranks up there with the best. A humbling, but amazing experience, one that will live long in the memory (I think I've used that phrase a few times on this trip now...;) )

One other thing Brisbane knows how to do well is kebabs so we had one last night and it was just like a Doner at home...In other parts of Aus all the kebabs have been weird and looked more like dog droppings in pita bread. So here we are now, waiting for State of Origin III tonight. Although it is a dead rubber there's alot more than pride at stake as the whole series is currently tied at 33 wins each (with 2 draws) and, thus, NSW (GO BLUES!) can take the overall lead for the first time ever tonight. To say I'm excited is a massive understatement. Tomorrow we're off to Darwin, and, I am sure to get to the airport we'll have to take a cab. I only mention this as the 'yellow cab company's cabs are all orange which I find somes up Brisbane really - a little quirky.