Big hairy elephant (mammoth) post coming up...

Our first evening in Darwin (last Thursday) was spent at the Nimbil Market, home to hundreds of craft and food stalls, tens of hippies with bad dreadlocks and one fantastic didgereedoo player. In fact he was so good we even bought one of his CDs although, alas, not the Drum 'n' Bass one. After listening to didgeman for 20 mins or so and chomping on a pile of nachos as big as your house we bumped into Jason Gillespie - one of Australia's fast bowlers. He was in town for the test match against Bangladesh starting on Friday. I am pleased to report he looks as tall, ugly and gipsy-esque (Romanic?) in real life as he does on the telly. We retired early (bit like Bangladesh - an innings and 132 runs defeat - OUCH!) due to our early start. We were so bleary eyed that Jen took it upon herself to fall down the stairs, bruising and grazing her knees. 'These things always come in threes don't they...?' I thought...only to be proved spectacularly right in the course of the trip.

Our guide (Warren, or Wazza - pronounced 'Wozza', just as, I found out the other day, Wagga Wagga is pronounced 'Wogga Wogga') had been in and around Darwin for about 5 years and kind of sub-contracted himself to our tour company in that all the equipment, 4x4 et al were his. I thought I worked some hours in the past but it pales into insignificance for this guy as he gets up at 5, and starts work at 6 after typically finishing at around ten the night before...but as he said, whilst stood in the middle of the National Park, 'Yeah but just look at my office...' He was a good and knowledgable guide although occasionally he would floor us with 'facts' that were just plain wrong...e.g. 'The crocodile has a three-chambered heart - just like us', and the best - 'Go to the top of the hill for a full 380 degree panoramic view...'

After a few niggly bits of admin, park fees, sleeping bag hire and the like, we all crammed into Wazza's Landcruiser. Our group was quite well balanced - 3 accountants (Aussie early 40s Glen and his partner, early 30s Kate and Katherine, a South-African living in Britain), 3 recruiters (arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! me (well, ex-recruiter), Zoe (later to be known as 'Dirty' Zoe and Rogelia - both of whom now live in Aus after immigrating from Wales (definitely NOT ENGLAND OK!!!!)and Portugal repectively) a doctor (Laurina, from Ontario), a dentist (Jen) and a mad Frenchman - Ben. We remarked that our group would be ultimately balanced if Ben was in a medical profession, and to our surprise when we asked us what he did he replied 'nursing'. We could hardly contain our glee until Ben qualified that in fact he was a student and actually did 'Nothing', just with a heavy French accent. So, off we went into the dust and towards Lichfield, stopping just once, briefly at magnetic termite mounds. These mounds are built from north to south (about 5 inches wide, but a couple of metres long) so that the termites get the sun in the morning on one side and the evening on the other - kind of like natures central heating I guess. Some were 50 years old and towered some 2 metres plus tall. On arriving at Wangi Falls we were ready to cool down and we took time out to swim across a lake (no cros here although, curiously, there were no locals, only tourists, swimming) to said falls before discovering that a car had been broken into in the car park and a couple had lost all their rings, passports, children, that kind of thing. Ever so slightly worried by the whole thing (we'd asked Wazza to lock the truck - his reply 'No-one ever breaks into vehicles here' meant he left it unlocked...) but returned to an untouched truck and trailer...I guess 'backpackers' never have much worth stealing anyway. After an hour or so it was time to move on to Tolmer and, subsequently, Florence Falls (down, and then back up, 160 steps...) where we also enjoyed the tropical whether with swim-time, but thankfully without 6 metre reptiles.

Only one really amusing incident happened during the day. Katherine (who was sitting next to Jen) got on the bus as I was talking to Glen and Kate. She reversed in (we were sitting on two benches of four - facing each other), and bent over to pick something up. I looked up to see this bum (covered in sarong) about 30 cms from my face and, convinced it was Jen (Jen evidently has a sarong & swimming cossie just like Katherine) went to give it a good pat. For some reason (maybe the look of horror on Kate and Geln's faces) I just made as if to before Katherine sat down and I flushed red in embarressment. God knows what would have happened if I had actually slapped her on the arse. Incidentally we had a good laugh about this later and she said afterwards if I had she would have elbowed my somewhere...)

The trip to the campsite followed, during which I was very careful to identify my wife before touching her knee, holding her hand etc... It was highly amusing to watch people do that little head slump thing when just drifting off to sleep. Every single time Laurina's head nearly touched the window of the bus she would sub-consciously correct her slump and her head would go back upright. Very strange but quite amusing nonetheless. Beer and bolognaise for tea which were both delicious. we decided against the tents (no mozzies in Lichfield for some reason) and, thus, slept in swags looking up at the stars. (Interestingly enough for me and my brother when we asked Ben how he felt as a percentage when he was flagging a little he said 57 and a half!!!!!)

Our (very) rude awakening came at 6 before we heading out towards Katherine Gorge where we spent half a day canoeing up and then back down. About halway up, we spent some time on our very own secluded beach before continuing on. There was a section at the end of the first gorge (there are 9 in total I think) where you could carry your canoe over 3 sets of (not very) rapids before carrying on to (you've guessed it) the second gorge. In the 35 degree heat we decided to watch the others and shout encouragement from the bank, and made it back around 20 minutes early. Laurina, Katherine, and Ben (paddling on his own) didn't get back until nearly an hour late meaning a change of plans - not all bad - we got to go to Katherine Thermal Spa
instead of another waterfall.

We finally entered Kakadu National Park after more driving (in total we drove more than 1000 kms over the four days, on dirt, 4x4 and normal roads), arriving at Barramundi Gorge (Maguk to the local aboriginals) campsite. After an uneventful night (remembered only for my toasted marshmallows, and Zoe's roasted bananas with chocolate) we got up early for the entertaining walk straight up a bloody big hill to the top plunge pool. There were, in fact, two main pools, with one other only accessible by diving and swimming into it or jumping in and then swimming out. Feeling brave (and-or foolhardy) we decided to jump off a couple of rocks some 4/5m high into the main pool. Jen decided to complete her second fall (quite spectacularly too it must be said) by slipping on the rock and grazing her backside whilst bouncing off the rock and into the water. Was this a (potentially) nasty accident or was she trying to give me something to help me differentiate her bum from others? Either way I'm pleased to report she didn't hurt herself physically (only her pride hurt) and what's more I got it on video!! This spot (despite Jen's Greg Louganis-esque fall) was our favourite of the whole trip - a real oasis in the tropics. Oh, and the fact that we didn't have to keep our eyes open for crocs as none of the buggers could ever climb up to those pools.

Jen decided to complete her sumersaulting triumverate with the most spectacular coming last - on the way to Jim Jim falls. Neither her, nor I, am 100% sure what happened other than after stubbing her toe on a tree root/stone/small mammal she ended up flipping over, and lying face up in some undergrowth. Considering the whole tracks was nasty looking rocks she was pretty fortunate to choose the only bush for a good km to land in. Nevertheless she now sports a bruise the size of a fist, but no longer sports the shorts she was wearing - they were ripped beyond further practical use. At Jim Jim we swam in the clear pool (not convinced there were no crocs here although I felt more convinced we were safe when Wazza dived in too) and spent a good couple of hours chatting to others in the group.

With a fridge full of beer it was inevitable that the final night would descent into some form of debauchery and it duly did. I think it is unfair to besmirch anyone's character on here (honest) but suffice to say it was during this evening, as the beer and wine flowed, that we gave Zoe her new moniker; 'Dirty' Zoe, she doesn't get that nickname from a lack of cleanliness you know! Without getting into too much detail she told us of her fascination for 'dirty men' (Robbie Williams and Colin Farrell are top of the tree, although Vin Diesel qualifies too apparently). This topic and line of conversation had most of us in stitches but not poor Ben, who by this time had consumed a couple of litres of red wine (well he did start at lunchtime) and was taking about half an hour to get a sentence out. We finished the night by trying to solve one of Zoe's men dilemmas for her by all chipping in our 2 cents of advice before finally getting to bed around midnight. It was a great night, as the seven of us (the two Aussies and Wazza slunk off to bed early) really gelled and had a great laugh.

With most of us feeling surprisingly refreshed we headed off, after breakfast, to the local Aboriginal Cultural Centre. I say most of us as Ben looked as though he was about to die. He muttered something about the steak being off or something and, feeling generous, we gave him the front seat (more leg room for him, less change of getting covered in vomit for us) for the duration of the day. The centre was similar to the one at Ayers Rock, although no 'scary-boob dance' this time round, but we'd seen enough after 30 mins or so and hurtled off to Ubirr rock, site of some of the oldest Aboriginal art (some say up to 22,000 years old) and a great view over the wetlands. With time running out all that was left was our crocodile cruise along the Corroboree Billabong. Our host, Ted, a straight talking late 50s Aussie, had to wait an hour or so for another group who'd suffered a flat tyre before setting out onto the water. The tour was fantastic - another highlight. Ted certainly knew his eco-system and treated us to an excellent commentary describing all the birds and other wildlife. However we'd all come for the crocs and they didn't disappoint. We must have seen 5 or 6 Freshies (smaller - not dangerous to humans unless provoked) and the same number of, the larger and much more menacing, Salties (they eat everything and anything - even their partners and offspring - these are the ones that killed a German tourist in Kakadu last year). Ted even managed to find what he believes could be the biggest recorded croc in the world - one 6 metres (over 19 feet) long. It swam on the surface some 10m in front of the boat for a minute or two before, rather ominously, deciding to submerge. At this point Ted hit the 'full throttle' button and we were out of there p.d.q. After a bit of fun with lotus flowers (leaves as hats - that kind of thing) we trapsed back into the van for one final drive back to Darwin. Never has a shower been more welcome (we hadn't had one since day one) and we must have scraped off accumulated dirt at least a millimetre deep.

The tour, guide, food, wildlife, sights, and people were fantastic. One of the most fun tours we've been on and definitely a great group of people. In fact, we all got on so well we're meeting up for more drinks and a Thai meal tonight before every one moves on. Who knows what revelations we'll get tonight...

We've spent the morning washing just about everything we own (that dust gets everywhere).

Whilst we've been away our collective sets of parents have been busy and it now looks likely that Richard, Lynn, and Rachel will be popping over (only 30 hours) to New Zealand to go skiing with us in September. Jen rang Lynn (her mum) last night and was so tired she could barely speak let alone sound excited, but, just in case they read this, Lynn, Richard Rachel - SHE IS - VERY!!! They should be booking something in the next day or two. However, my mum, stepdad and brother have all booked their tickets for New Year in Barcelona which, is also, great news.

Off to Perth on Thursday - we're in the process of arranging to meet up with Helen and Rich who arrived there yesterday. We should be able to spend some time diving with them on Ningaloo.

The following are a load of pictures some as far back as Brisbane/Aussie Zoo, and others from the recent trip.

Tasmanian Devil, sleeping koala - Aussie Zoo.


Jen with 'Steve Irwin' and again with a couple of 'roos (asleep not dead before you ask)



The stage is set - State of Origin - Suncorp Stadiumm Brisbane, and us at the match.



Jen on Nimbil Beach, and The Roadkill Cafe - 'You kill it, we grill it'...



Us by the magnetic termite mounds, me at Wangi falls.



Tolmer falls, and us at Florence falls.



Jen at Florence, us at Buley rockholes.


Me canoeing and on 'our' beach.



Empty canoe-park, group shot at Katherine Spa.



Katherine Spa again, and me with marshmallow stick(!).



On the walk to, and at Barramudi Gorge.



Aboriginal art, and us overlooking the Wetlands.



Salties, the second 'The Biggest in the World?' (!)

State of Origin turned out to be, if not a damp, a very soggy squib. The Blues lost 36-6 and thanks to Jen persuading me to wear my new Blues shirt I got a fair amount of (fairly good natured) abuse from Maroons fans. Good job I took a zip-up top to wear on the way home!

We've arrived in Darwin following a 4 hour flight (with additional hour delay thanks to some idiot not getting on the flight despite their baggage already being on it...I mean just what type of person does this???), and it's a little hot. Now I like it warm, but I don't like it this warm. There's warm and there's warm...(bit of Peter Kay for you there) and indeed it is bloody hot again but then we are back in the tropics...only a few hundred miles from Indonesia. Darwin appears quite laid back and less backpackery than the East coast. Our Kakadu tour starts tomorrow and we've got a full group of 9 people (&guide) going so should be fun. They've closed the area we were meant to swim 700m (Twin Falls) due to a newly discovered, and now resident, crocodile. Nice! Providing we survive you'll be sure to get a blow by blow account sometime Monday evening/Tuesday morning!

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.

Just booked our 4 day tour of Kakadu. Click here for details...

So, we've arrived in Brisbane. I've always thought of Brisbane of something akin to Peterborough insofar as it has sports teams I hate and doesn't compare to other similar sized rival cities (i.e. Cambridge and Sydney)...however having spent the afternoon here I may have to change my mind (about Brisbane, not Peterborough - that is still, and always will be, a hellhole...) First things first...we bade farewell to our newest found enemies by not even saying goodbye to them (that'll teach 'em eh?) when we left. Tempting as it was to run them through with a sword we managed to bite our tongues although we did bitch about them on our way out to reception.

Arriving in Brisbane we were picked up by an absolute nutter who runs out hostel. He drove though the City at top speed chewing on a piece of cod whilst attempting to give us a guided tour. Jen thinks he is certifiably insane, I just think he's a little quirky. Either way he's made us feel very welcome at his hostel and he's got an even friendlier dog, a Wynerama called Mr Spock. We finally managed to pick up our State of Origin tickets for Wednesday night (although as I booked them using a credit card that now resides in Sheffield at my brother's house that was more trouble than it sounds...) and we are getting ready to meet up with Shane whom we met in Vietnam earlier in the trip. Should be a fun night. Tomorrow we're off whale watching at Moreton Bay providing we can find a tour that's cheap enough...

Tweedledum and Tweedledumber decided to stay in last night and sat on the sofa talking to themselves refusing, seemingly, to admit we existed. I tried so hard to communicate with them but presume they just must hate the English (they made a couple of sly comments I didn't rise to...) They hurumphed around all morning as well and must have gone past us in and out of the house and in the street on at least four/five occasions; blanking us EVERY time. At least we move on tomorrow and will never have to see their over-perfumed, pretentious, fake, irritating, thick as pig-s**t faces again. YIPPEE!!!

Did very little today other than hit the beach for a half hour or so, lovely and warm it was too.

From the sublime to the ridiculous...

Chris and Charlotte; mild mannered, friendly, down to earth, loads of stories to tell, helpful.

New Irish housemate couple (even after 3 days after trying to be nice to them and find their names out they haven't bothered to tell us...); inconsiderate, rude, unfriendly, boring, nothing to tell.

Chalk and cheese, Cambridge and Manchester Uniteds, Tony Blair and an honest politician. Yes they are all as different and as contrasting (some would say so different in fact that they're opposite) as our previous and 'new' housemates. All we know despite seeing them on three occasions (and hearing them on many more) is that they're Irish, love themselves (HE spent over 40 mins in the bathroom this morning perfecting his boy-bandesque look (he now successfully looks a bit like the ugly one from Boyzone)) and have no personality between them. She is so vapid that she makes the Queen Mother look full of life...

Anyway claws away for a minute. Although it is just mentioning the hilarious moment last night when we locked ourselves in the bathroom (the handle came off in our hand) and the only exit was through the dullards' room...at about 10.30. They weren't amused but we thought it was hilarious...

Onto our past two days, which have been, housemates aside, an unmitigated success. We managed to find a hire car last thing on Thursday evening and, thus ventured out from Noosa yesterday, and again today. First up yesterday was Australia Zoo - this was set up in 1970 by a couple who spawned the most famous 'Crocodile Hunter' in the world - one Steve Irwin. He has since taken control of the site and it now covers over 75 hectares with plans to increase in size to over 315 ha within 3 years. It is a great zoo because the animals are enclosed in areas akin to their natural environment; crocodiles in billabongs, snakes in dense undergrowth, and spiders under toilet seats. We also sat through a highly entertaining crocodile show (no top-hats and dancing though...shame) before leaving at around 2.30pm. We didn't spot the man himself, although he was apparently, 'in the area'...I guess it's a little strange in that it's just about the only zoo in the world where people come to look at a human.

Onwards and upwards to the local Noosa Par 3 (Aussie for pitch 'n' putt) golf course where for the second time this holiday I got 'spanked by my wife' - she beat me by one shot. Revenge will be mine...I did distinguish myself by hitting one ball into a lake which cost me two shots, and thus the match...

After our rude awakening by the Avon couple at around 6.30(am) we evenutally surfaced at round 8ish before heading out to the Eumundi market - a local institution. As markets go (avid readers will know they are the bane of my life) it was good and we found at least one decent stall which sold framed photos (all taken by the stall-holder) from the Barrier Reef and around. He's putting together a couple of pictures in a frame for us and posting them home. We chatted with him about various divesites, and had a wonderfully hot 'hot dog' before heading north to Tin Can Bay and Rainbow Beach. To liven things up a little Jen did her 'that scenic route road looks nice' routine and we thus went via Aberdeen (even saw seagulls the size of dogs...) At Tin Can Bay we successfully saw none of the dolphins it is famous for and at Rainbow Beach we saw very little of the famous multi-coloured sand as by the time we got there it was almost time to get back (d'oh!) and it was at least a 3 mile walk along the beach, dodging high-tide, 4x4 trucks and kids with ominous looking buckets and spades. So, here we are back in Noosa, which is definitely turning into one of our fave places in Aus. We're going to give it one more go with Mr & Mrs Vain this evening before giving them up as a lost cause (in case you're thinking 'well isn't there a possibility they just don't like you...?' we have thought that too but then realised we haven't even spent enough time with them for them to hate us...) Tomorrow is a designated beach day (our last for a long long while probably) whilst we should arrive in Brisbane around lunchtime on Monday.

In other news I have had a great idea what to do when I return to the UK - one which I am going to explore but I can't say what it is here so you'll just have to wait - it is a corker though!!

We have bade farewell to Charlotte & Chris, and although our paths don't cross again on this trip (they're off to Northern Aus then China next, then home in about 6-7 weeks) I feel sure we'll meet up when we're all back home...they only live in Chester for godssakes!! We whiled away yesterday with a series of videos - first 'See Spot Run' (2 out of 10) which was perhaps the worst film (barring Chain Reaction) we've ever seen but we loved it nonetheless as it featured Bullmastiffs...We followed this up with 'Blood Work' - Clint Eastwood, 5 1/2 out of 10, 'Crackerjack' - about lawn bowls (for those that didn't know my Dad played bowls for England and also was president of the EIBA when he died - indeed their headquarters is named after him), very very funny in an irreverant Aussies taking the piss out of themselves kind of way, 7 1/2 out of 10. We followed that up with 'Bowling for Columbine' - Michael Moore's controversial docu-film about the massacre at Columbine High School in 1999, and the reasons behind it with regard to American gun culture. Although very biased (isn't all journalism in one way or another) it is an exceptional, thought-provoking piece of film - one we were all shocked by but thoroughly 'enjoyed' - if that's the right word. 9/10.

Today we've had a brief look around Noosa Heads - where all the big knobs hang out apparently. Very nice in a developed and expensive sort of way. We are trying to hire a car for tomorrow for a couple of days to enable us to get up to Rainbow Beach and the local pitch 'n' putt golf course...but it's school holidays and everything is booked out...watch this space.

We've booked our campervan for Perth from 28/7-16/8 and also in New Zealand for the 44 days we are there, we've also booked a flight from Christchurch to Auckland for 30/9 - the day before we fly to Chile. Charlotte & Chris have both done the Southern Cone in South America and New Zealand so they gave us loads of hints and tips - if you read this thanks guys!

We've arrived in Noosa where we've seen more expensive apartments, luxury cars (even saw a Ferrari yesterday), and more arrogant looking ****ers than anywhere else. That last notion may be a tad unfair we'll just have to see. There are an inordinate number of 'surfer dudes' (to use their parlance) who all look either really hard or about 12...or more menacingly, both. On a serious note Noosa looks much more developed than all the other resort towns on the East Coast and seemingly caters for the well-heeled (not sure what we're doing here...). Avril Levigne (whoever she is) spent a couple of days here last month cavorting on the beach by all accounts, and what's OK for an un-talented 17-year old Canadian that can't sing should be more than OK for us. (Whilst we're talking about Canadian songstresses it's a shame Alanis wasn't here - what fun we could have with the lyrics to 'Ironic' - the irony being of course that in a song called 'Ironic' none of the 'ironic' observations are 'ironic'...oh the irony!!!) but I digress...

We arrived yesterday afternoon after a fairly uneventful bus journey only enlived by a bus driver that knew everything about every small town/village/house en route and peppered us with facts along the lines of 'You can fit seven and a half UK's into Queensland and it's not even the biggest state...' Arriving at our hostel we found we were sharing a kind of maisonette (a bit like my brothers flat but on two levels and without all the gadgets) with another couple (who were out). Charlotte and Chris (both 23, although he born in 1979 her in 1980 - very crucial bit of info this) sauntered in at about 5.30, and it appears they were having the same thoughts as us all along - namely: what will these other people be like, will they steal stuff, are they tidy (whoops!) etc etc... Our fears (and hopefully theirs) were allayed - they are a great couple - he's a sports mad Alan Partridge fanatic (and frankly who isn't?) and she's a really down to earth bright bubbly sort. We all got on really well and after a few beers I even helped her fill in a job application form and told her how to manipulate the client and, more importantly, the recruitment consultant. God I hope my advice works... Today is a 'let's look around our new home' type day so we probably won't do a great deal. We're here until next Monday and may learn to surf at some point (yes they do make boards big enough...) and possibly take a trip up to Rainbow Beach. We may bring our trip to Brisbane forward by a few days if we don't like this place...

Well we've messed up a bit...it's the school holidays (how could we forget) and, thus, most, if not all, of the accomodation in Noosa is booked out - we've managed to find one place with doubles but we have to share the aprtment with 2 other strangers. It'll either be wonderful or awful - these things always are...

So - a 3 hour trip to Noosa tomorrow and then 5-6 days there before we head off to Brisbane. We're probably going to hire a car and visit one of the national parks and also take a trip to Rainbow Beach. It is interesting that the 3-hour trip just feels like 10 minutes to us now when, if in England, it would be the equivalent of Glossop to Cambridge...

Meanwhile, the Blogger stats just get more and more bizarre - will whoever typed "farm animals and girls pictures" please own up - this is getting disturbing now.

Picies time....

Mick and our intrepid green travelling thingy; Jen at the Champagne Pools



A turtle's head; Us in Eli Creek



Us at the Maheno Wreck; Me with my big rod.



D-I-N-G-O; some bloke in the desert....

On Friday morning we were picked up on cue and were greeted by Mick, a genial Englishman who emigrated to Aus about 5 years ago. He married an Aussie and they now have a kid together. Mick was to be our guide, and his first words to us were 'They did tell you it was school holidays...?' Well no they didn't actually. The pertinance of that question was obvious in seconds as we were greeted by 11 adults...and 5 kids. Now 12 y.o. Bridget was really well behaved, as were Harrison, Caleb, and Harmen (not anagrams folks these are there real names) but Abby...oh my God... If you think of the archaetypal 'I'll scweam and scweam and scweam' kid you're not far off. If you throw in a mother who gave into her every demand (and I mean DEMAND), little habits like crying (for an hour and a half) to get attention when in bed, and repeating words and phrases around 10 times each time anyone said anything (at FULL volume)...then there's your girl. She is, without doubt, the spawn of Satan.

However it wasn't all bad, the other kids were really well behaved, and the adults attempted to make polite conversation despite us having little in common. There were other backpackers - Emma and Paul, doing a smililar trip to us. They are both librarians (shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!) and despite us having opposite opinions on just about everything (monarchy - I want to keep and think they're OK in the main, they hate, want to dissolve and would prefer a republic; music - they like RADIOHEAD and PJ Harvey ('nuff said)) we seemed to get on OK. There was also Rebecca, from Georgia (USA) who was really level headed and had some great stories about how messed up the US is. For example in her state you can only have sex in one position (missionary presumably - didn't probe her on that one...), can't drink until you're 21 and can be arrested for either offence, but you can own a gun (in fact you have the right to bear arms as per the constitution) and can drive a car at the age of 16. She also told us a fantastic story about her room-mate called Prea who called herself 'Princess' and made all her friends do the same. I could go into more detail but suffice to say it just confirms even more of my opinions of our 'friends' from across the pond. She also had many more serious and worrying stories about the recent war and people and things being branded 'Un-American'. For example The Dixie Chicks having a go at Bush in an interview and subsequently having an amendment passed that banned them in certain States; and the 'French Fries' Vs 'Freedom Fries' name change. I guess you could say eclectic would be a far description of the group...

We arrived on the World's biggest sand island (Fraser Island!) early on Friday morning and our first stop was Lake Allom where we saw some incredibly cute little turtles who swam around for a bit and breathed. No juggling, magic tricks or anything - inconsiderate sods. We then went for a swim in Eli Creek, a fantastic slow running little clearwater creek. Jen fell in incredibly specatcularly but didn't hurt herself, as Vic Reeves might say...'Ooooh I'm in pain Bob, it's me pride, me pride really hurts...' After this we travelled up the island to Knifeblade Sandblow - a kind of huge solid dune that has taken thousands of years to form, it looked a bit like you imagine the Sahara to look... without the sand blowing across it ironically...Next up on day 1 was a trip to the Maheno shipwreck - a luxury liner that ran aground during a cyclone in 1935 whilst being towed to Japan. Much of the structure now lies below the sand but it was still a spectacular sight, you can only wonder at how much more so it would have been some 70 years ago. When it washed up 68 years ago this week it had all it's contents still on board and people came from miles around to buy souvenirs. The Aussie taxmen, not missing a trick, set up a couple of tax officers on board and charged everyone VAT...nice to know nothing changes over 70 years...

Our campsite at the Cathedral Beach resort (so named beacuse of the Cathedral Rocks - formed by weathering of sandstone on the beach -which we viewed last on day 1) was an excellend place to stay - we were all in tents, but ones with beds in, housed in a covered shed. Excellent. We were soon tucking into Mick's fine Thai beef curry and Abby was preparing her lungs for the screaming fits (9.30pm, 2am, 6.30am - all times approximate - I was too bleary eyed to check my bloody watch...) to follow.

The glorious weather of Friday had disapated somewhat by Saturday morning and, thus, the view of the ocean at Indian Head was not as we'd hoped. Usually you get to see sharks, whales, dolphins...we saw a couple of stingrays in the bay. However we did get to see a Brumbie in the afternoon - this is what Yanks would call a Mustang - a wild horse. There are now less that 20 on the island as they culled about 2,000 a few years back as they were basically eating everything. In the afternoon I had a quick go at fishing and kept my proud 28-year record in tact of never having caught anyhting on a fishing trip, although I did 'catch' a big log that tore the hook, weights and some line off. It was too damn cold by the time we reached the Champagne Pools - a set of rocks where the sea bubbles gently over the top giving off the effect of champagne bubbles. We watched from afar as a couple of the hardy Aussies ventured in - our reward was the first 'whale spot' of our trip, albeit from about 1km away...We had a really early night (I was asleep by 8.30) and Abby didn't wake us this time (lucky for her that one trust me...) until about 6ish. So, to our last day (today) where we (in no real order) did about 9kms of walking, though rainforest and to and from Lake Wabby, saw a dingo (that then looked as though he was about to attck a fisherman), and had a great lunch at the 'Happy Valley' restaurant, where we had (not Chinese) but a smorgasboard (Mick's word not mine) dinner. We arrived back at the hostel a couple of hours ago and have had a decent shower for the first time in a couple of days.

Fraser Island is a wonderful place and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. We are glad we did it guided and not as part of the hideously cramped 'backpacker' 11-seater landrovers. Yes, our group was not as we expected (it was a bit like going away with your Mum, Dad, irritating cousins, and a couple of socialist workers (only joking Emma and Paul)), but we still had a great time and crammed so much in. The company we went with were 'The Fraser Island Company' (no ambiguity with the name then...) - click here for their website. I'm glad we've booked a recovery day in Hervey Bay (that rhymes) tomorrow before heading South to Noosa on Tuesday.

My hard drive seems to be playing up a bit but I should be able to add some pictures to the site tomorrow.

No email for a few days - off to Fraser Island to wrestle with some dingos....

It's that time you all look forward to...piccies - this time all from the Whitsunday's. Thanks to Pat's picture changing program I should be able to add a few every couple of weeks now...

Me doing captain's pose; us on the Iluka



Me doing the 'I'm on top of the world' Leanardo thingy; Jen and Iluka.



The stunning Whitehaven Beach;...and 2 tourists



The angle we sailed at; us at sunset at the Captain's wheel.



Finally, 2 group shots. One at Whitehaven Beach lookout and one at the end of the trip.

(l-r - piccy 1 - Gizmo, Gertia, Ella, Nuala, Me, Jen, Annik, Louise, Roma, Josephine, Andy)

I clearly have far too much time on my hands, as, since this whole plan was conceived (1st Nov last year) I have written over 61,000 words in this diary. If this continues by the end of the year I'll have enough for half a Harry Potter, well a book/novel of approx. 400 pages!! Amazing stuff!

OK just to clear one matter up - all our posts used to get published at a time and date we had no control over - i.e. about 5/6 hours behind GMT - some American time I think. This, however, has now been resolved by the wonderful people at Blogger who have now made it possible for you to change your time stamp. Therefore from now on every entry will be done (in theory) at the actual time I post it wherever we are. At the mo we are 9 hours ahead of UK time. So I'm writing this at about 11.30pm yesterday...

We haven't done an overnight bus so far this trip...nearly six months in, and no overnight bus trip which are a bit of a rites of passage thing for travellers. The worst bus trips we've done were the 2 9-hour ones in Laos, the biggest danger there was getting shot at - here it was that we didn't get back on the bus after each (enforced) break, or maybe getting attacked by the massive beetles and cockraoches at Rockhampton. Ironically this was where they cleaned the bus! Only one moment of any interest really as it was one of the best night's sleep I've had in weeks - there were 4 seats to each person so you could really spread out - I woke up just after a pitstop to find Jen not in her seat and not behind me or, anywhere to be honest. I had a brief look around and then, presuming she'd forgotten to re-board at the petrol station, or was stuck in the loo, proceded to tell the driver of my predicament. His response (Oh bugger!) was then followed up by muffled laughter as a fellow traveller pointed out Jen had simply moved seats and I was clearly the biggest idiot on the planet...ho hum!

We arrived in Hervey Bay on time and not too tired but saw fit to have a mid-afternoon kip anyhow before going out and booking our trip to Fraser Island. We're not going for the self-drive option but we're doing a 3-day 2-night trip with a max of 16 people. Should be great fun. Incidentally I was quite looking forward to the body-boarding into the lake scenario that Rich of Helen & Rich fame enjoyed but 2 people have quadraspazzed on a life-glug (c Brasseye/Chris Morris) over the last month - nice!

Catching up slowly on emails and the like and another chilling out day tomorrow before we leave for FI on Friday morning.

We have got pictures from the Whitsunday's trip and they should be up on there at some point tomorrow providing I can find an internet cafe that takes our camera.

By the way we fly home 6 months today...still not half way through this thing yet!!

Well here we are back on dry land, and this time, thankfully, the weather was glorious and there was not even a hint of sickness. We arrived at Iluka a little bleary eyed but after finding out that there would only be 10 of us (plus 2 crew), which meant we got a cabin - and that cabin hand the only electric-pump toilet - talked about spoilt! Myself and a jocular Cetic supporting Glaswegian (Andy) were the only two blokes on the passenger list although 2 of the crew (Skipper - Pete, and dive specialist Matt) were also of the less fair sex. We were accompanied by Andy's other half - trainee solicitor Jo(sephine), 2 Dutch girls (Gerthia, and Gizmo (!)), 2 English girls (Roma - it was her 25th b-day and Louise), A Red-haired Irish girl (Nuala - Pat you went home 2 days too early!!!), and a (French) Canadian (Annik). On day one we managed to get a dive in - beautiful coral but very shallow - which meant we managed to surface after 50 mins with 90 bar of air left - they wouldn't let us do any more - the spoilsports. All the others that hadn't dived before did an intro dive and really enjoyed it. So off to our first overnight stop - Tongue Bay, from where we walked to the lookout for Whitehaven Beach.

Whitehaven Beach is the 'picture postcard' beach that everyone thinks of when you say 'Whitsundays' and we were not disappointed with tthe view - spellbounding. On that note I've finished Harry Potter by the way and a jolly good read it is too, although I couldn't believe they killed off Ron and Hermione at the end...what a shocker! (Only kidding JK and lawyers...) It was decided that we'd all play cricket on the beach and, unbelieveably, the top scorer was the Scot - they don't even bloody play it up there...There were a couple of pools where there were (supposedly) Stingrays, but despite us having a good look we couldn't see any...despite this though it truely is a fantastic beach which even I enjoyed. Just time for a quick snorkel before another night of wine, talking about football and Championship Manager (me and Andy) and shooting star gazing. We were hopeful of spotting some whales at some point but the best we got were turtles and dolphins...apparently you can spot whales regularly at Hervey Bay (where we head on the overnight bus tonight...). So to the final day - Jen did a 4.4km walk to the top of the lookout where she and the rest of the group saw (apart from the amazing view) a snake although Pete said from the photo it was harmless. Myself and Andy relaxed on the 9-hole golf course where Scotland gained a moral victory as although it finished all square at 47 shots each (we managed one par - mine at the last hole) he beat me by one hole at matchplay. Even though a great hour and a half. Jen managed to get some fantastic photos too so we're all happy!

On the way back there was one last chance to get the sails out and go with the wind and that we did until reaching our final destination at about 4pm. One last group photo before the bus back to the hostel. We're now going to shower and change before the horror of the overnight bus...

Overall we had a fantastic time - we had another great group where everyone got on well (as always getting on with some better than others) and the food, crew, sailing and sights were all outstanding. I would thoroughly recommend them, despite having quite possibly the rudest Scotsman on earth (and that is an achievement!!!) working in their sales office. A fantastic 3 days - we now feel sooo relaxed and chilled (I am sure Mr McCafferty and Mrs Greyhound will shake us out of that tonight...)

So, onto Hervey Bay, and Fraser Island. We want to do it ourselves (not in a group) but we're not sure if that'll be safe and/or affordable with all the dingos on the island and lack of money in our pockets! Either way we're going to have a couple of days in Hervey Bay first before deciding what to do. Unfortunately Andy and Jo aren't arriving in HB until Sunday and we need to have left by Tuesday so we can't share any more footy stories...

Airlie Beach is a bit of a con really in that it hasn't got one. A beach that is. Only imported sand from some 60 kms up the road - Bowen to be precise. This place is backpackers heaven/hell depending on your viewpoint really...loads of fast internet cafes (heaven), but loads of dodgy travel agents, sailing companies, bars, and people...Unsurprisingly we've brought our bus to Hervey Bay forward to Tuesday - meaning we've only got tonight in this god-foresaken place, as tomorrow we board Iluka for our Whitsunday's sailing experience. It nearly didn't happen as when we went to see ProSail yesterday they only had 3 (including us) booked onto the trip, needing at least 2 more to definitely venture out. We were told we'd be downgraded to a (much) worse boat and get a little bit of cash back for our trouble - we weren't happy last night to say the least. That said we're now a group of seven, and because we paid nearly full price and they're now discounting we should be upgraded to a cabin from a dorm...every cloud and all that...

As I write this my bro is boarding his flight to the UK (via Singapore) and by the time I next check email he'll be home the poor sod. It's weird to think but it's still about another week until we're halfway through our trip - scary stuff!

So here's to 3 days sailing, sunning, and snorkelling (what great aliteration, Mr. Parsons (my English teacher) would be soooo proud) - catch you all in a few days...

Piccies time.

Atherton Tablelands first; Jen with Pelican at said Tablelands.



Me at Cathedral Fig Tree; Jen with diver's helmet at ReefHQ.



Maori Wrasse on the Yongala wreck; us hovering at the bow of the Yongala.

First things first, whoever typed in "spanked by my wife" into yahoo and got our website must have been in for a bit of a shock...very very amusing...(the quote on our Blog refers to when Jen thrashed me at pool btw)

So we're back on terra firms - thank God. During the last three days and nights we have experienced everything from 30 knot winds (in the middle of the ocean) to the most amazing dive-site we've ever been to.

Just to start - I forgot the walloping we gave the wallabies...hahaha in your own back yard as well...

Anyway - to the trip. We set out and the first thing we were given (apart from our nice ensuite double room) was the weather report for the next couple of days - strong winds (up to 30 knots) and 2m+ waves...happy happy joy joy... Just how bad this meant things would be wasn't clear until the first overnight in which the boat rocked so much en route to the reef we were thrown around our room and Jen saw her tea for the second time...nice...

Arriving at Keeper's Reef we finally got in the water only for me to find that I couldn't equalise (my ears, not CM4) and thus I stayed on the surface whilst Pat & Jen buddied up for a few minutes. They eventually resurfaced some 10 mins later having lost the rest of the group - not a good start. Onwards and upwards, and after the mighty Sudafed had taken effect we completed our second dive. Good news in that my ears were fine and we completed the dive. I felt a bit rough and didn't do the 3rd dive of the day whereas Pat and Jen buddied up again and went back down. We all felt the first site was a little disappointing as alot of the reef was bleached and dead, and also there were loads of 'Crown of Thorns' which had killed off alot of the coral.

The following morning I lost my 'never been sick on a boat' virginity as it was my turn to see exactly what I'd eaten the night before...however once in the sea (we were now at a different reef - Wheeler's Reef) my sickness went and we enjoyed three good dives. In Shark Alley we saw (wait for it) a white tip shark - the first reef shark we'd ever seen. The coral was much better and a good day's diving was had by all. In the evening they managed to rig up a TV so we could all watch State of Origin II and the mighty Blue slaughtered the Maroons. The Captiain (Greg - a top bloke) was cheering for the Maroons and at one point threatened to crash the boat that night if we continued cheering for NSW...we all shut up and then a broad grin erupted on his face, so then we shouted for the rest of the game...(NSW won 27-4 for those who don't know - we'll be there to see if they can get a 3-0 sweep for only the 3rd time in their history on July 16th). So to today, we arrived at the SS Yalonga wreck at about 6am and were woken up, kitted out, and in the water by 6.45...some wake up call. The SS Yalonga was on the last part of it's voyage - the leg from Sydney to Cairns - when it went down during a tropical cyclone in 1911. All 121 passengers and crew perished. The wreck, still mostly intact but now covered in soft coarls, stands in the middle of nowhere - in about 30m of water on a sand bank. To get to it is more than a little tricky and requires a good leap of faith. You have to swim from the boat along a rope to the buoy line where you descend to about 10m before joining another line which goes down to the ship. You have to do it like this as a) the visibility above the wreck is so poor you can't see it until you're 3-5m away from it, and b) the currents (especially at 6.45am!) are so strong if you didn't hold to the lines on you'd end up in New Zealand. That said after a few ear problems (it's these early starts) we managed to descend onto tthe wreck. Having dived some great sites our expectations were quite high and we were not to be disappointed - an unbelievable sight greeted us. The shape of the ship itself is recognisable and a couple of the mast type things were at an angle they shouldn't be. The cargo bays were uncovered and you could peer in and stop for breathers, although penetration of the wreck is not allowed due to the fact that the iron is corroding and it is more than a little unsafe. Those in the know believe the wreck has about 30 more years before it collapses and forms a new artificial reef. The sheer variety and size of sealife was incredible - we saw Moari-wrasses (about 1.5m long), clownfish the size of your hand, and most fantastic of all, a couple of giant potato cod (one nicknamed V.W. - as it's the same size as a Beetle) which must have been all of 3m in length and fatter even than me...unreal. We enjoyed the two dives immensely, I can't imagine we'll ever dive a better site, even though we only amassed a total of 55 mins underwater - you don't half suck your air in those currents and depths...

So back onto the boat and a calm(ish) trip back before bading fairwell to our crew and new found diving buddies. Diving Dreams were excellent and I would thoroughly recommend them to anyone considering doing the Yongala and the GBR. We have some piccies - one of us on the wreck (well above it) and one of the Moari Wrasse, they should get uploaded tomorrow.

On arriving back at our hostel we found out that an English guy had pentrated the wreck today, whilst diving from another diveboat (twice - he was pulled out and bollocked once, and then went back in...). He now faces the prospect of being deported from Australia, or at least a few nights in jail and a whopping fine - serves him right.

Tonight is the last night we are a threesome - we're off to Airlie Beach tomorrow for the Whitsunday's (we're praying the winds will have dropped), and Pat's off home. After 8 weeks travelling together we've only had 2 or 3 rows all of which after we'd both consumed a few too many shandies and we've all got on really well. Believe it or not it's the most time we've spent together since I went off to uni some 10 years ago...Whilst it'll be nice to get some privacy back I'm gonna miss the old sod...we're going for a meal tonight and no doubt we'll raise a toast to our Aussie adventure...(just to rub it in Pat we've halfway through Aus and still have NZ/South America to go...tee hee!)

Yesterday we visited the ReefHQ which is a huge aqarium. We saw a variety of fish, all along the lines of the ones we'll see for real over the next few days. We also went for a drink with Helen and Rich who were both looking well. We swapped stories about the places each other had been and tentatively agreed to meet in Perth later in July. It was good to see them both again. We made it an early night, which was only disturbed (ironically) by a disturbed sounding woman going on about her friend's sombrero at 1am...

So that's it for Townsville really - next 'blog will be after the diving, and when we have to bid adios to my brother - he flies back to Manchester on Friday, via Townsville, Brisbane, Singapore and Heathrow airports...sounds like fun.

Well here we are, in Townsville staying at another great guest house. Not alot to do tonight other than watch the Poms getting a bashing from the Wallabies hence we're off to the pub shortly. One thing we didn't know is that this is a US Navy port and one of it's ships has turned up today after 6 months at sea. Great 3,000 rabid Yanks wandering around trying to get drunk and/or laid...should make for an interesting night at the very least.

Helen and Rich are arriving tomorrow so we're meeting up to go round the aquarium and for beers tomorrow night before they head up the coast to some sort of hippie commune (their words) for a few days...

Just as an addendum to that last one we're getting some weird hits from people typing strange things into search engine ('Paul outbreak boyband' is by far the weirdest so far) so to try to improve the accuracy of hits I am putting a load of words below that should help us get the right sort of traffic.

round the world trip journal diary tour australia travel travelling asia china laos vietnam cambodia thailand diving british airways (tempting to put 'are shit' after that one)

Will keep you all informed of the progress.

Cairns, for those of you who don't know, is most definitely not the state capital of Queensland as per my email...just having an off moment on that one...it is of course Brisbane, home of the Broncos (and Gordon Tallis - grrrrrrrrrr!). Either way it's a pretty cool place absolutely teeming with backpackers. We have been staying at 'Tropic Days' for the last couple of nights, run by Gabriel - a 16 stone 6 foot plus Aussie dude...and it's great. If only all hostels were like this...friendly, inviting, knowledgable, well equipped and just a ball of fun really. Part of the deal with staying there is that you get a free meal every night at 'The Woolshed'. On arriving it's a bit like a soup kitchen with 10s of hungry emaciated backpackers (and me!) queuing for free food. When you enter you can upgrade to a better meal by paying about 2 quid. I had steak on both nights we went and it was marvellous...steak, chips, veg, pepper sauce for 2 or 3 quid...MAGIC! Having said that at around 10pm when food stops being served it just basically becomes one big student night complete with bad dancing, awful music and hilarious drunk 18 y.o.'s. It couldn't have been all bad as we stumbled out at around 1am the first night.

Cairns itself is quite a cool place - the city centre is new thanks to some hurricane or other a few years back and it shows. We spent most of yesterday booking stuff for the trip down south and we now have the following to look forward to:

23-26 June - 4 day, 3 night liveaboard diving...got it at a stupidly cheap price, and they come highly recommended. Apparently they've got all new equipment and a new boat to boot. One of the sites we are going to is the SS Yongala which is one of the most famous wreck sites in the world - for info click here.
27 June - Jen and I travel from Townsville to Airlie Beach (by bus) where we stay for a couple of days before we head out to the Whitsunday Islands with these guys on 29 June for three days. Pat leaves us here and is flying to Brisbane before the long haul back to the UK. On our first ever sailing adventure we are on this boat and the company comes highly recommend it. Helen and Rich have had an awful time on there one by the sound of things so we thought we'd go for one a little higher than our budget...it'll be interesting to see if our dinghy sinks, or if the crew have never sailed a sailing boat before...I bloody hope not.

After that we have got connections through to Hervey Bay (for Fraser Island - going to go 4WD/camping ourselves and hire stuff when we get there), and onto Noosa before hitting Brisbane on or avround the 14th July. The 16th of July is State of Origin III (which is now sold out) and we've got tickets!!

We also booked a car for today and tomorrow mainly so we can get down to Townsville tomorrow, but also it gave us the opportunity to explore the Atherton Tablelands today (not Table-lamps as Pat thought they were called). At the Budget rent-a-car place they very kindly offered to upgrade our Renault Clio to a 3.5 litre automatic Mitsubushi beast for a whole 2 dollars (80p) a day...it was a really tough decision. Girl's car or Animal - you decide... So off we went and had a great day. The landscape itself is mostly ex-volcanic areas thuis there are a few craters and the like and some hills that look like volcanoes...We also went to Lake Berrine which is a deasd ringer for Coniston, and had a cracking couple of hours watching the wildlife (2 pelican's that you could get within a couple of feet of were the highlight) and having a lazy lunch. We also managed to visit 'The Crater', Barron Falls, and a couple of massive fig trees that were over 40 metres round the base. Both were also over 50m tall and over 500 years old, they are basically parasites that have lived off the other trees and now stand up of their own accord long after the other trees have died.

In other news I have broken the first bed on our travels - no real story other than the fact that one of the supports underneath buckled and then the bloody thing snapped. We bent it back into shape but it was well and truely 'fubar'ed - Gabriel said he wasn't surprised - the manufacturer went out of business a few years ago apparently...

Pat did a skydive today from 15,000 feet. He said it was utterly amazing but on the downside it was all over within about 7 minutes (and wasn't cheap - over 200 quid). He got the piccies done and there are a couple below.