Hi everyone, thankyou for your recent updates.I cannot believe the freaky weather conditions back home, it must be connected to global warming! Im ok at the moment, but it still seems surreal at times, especially now im in a serious relationship at the other end of the world.It all happend so fast & unexpectedly! Me & Ian have to pinch ourselves when we think of the circumstances how we met...haha! Im still on the property, bord as hell! I had to have a break from it the other week & decided to do my fraser island tour.It was a self drive camping adventure for three nights.One of those experiences you take away with you forever! Fraser is the largest sand island in the world & voted the forth sexiest-if an island can have sex appeal that is, then yeah, i agree with that.To wake up on those secluded, beautiful beaches which were so unspoilt, just white sand & rolling waves that stretched for miles & miles.We had dingoes come right up to our tent too.We spent the day at a shipwreck & walked along a rocky cliff called (indian head) a lookout, were we saw baby tiger sharks below us, a school of dolphins & a giant ray.The highlight for me was the walk to wabby lake over huge sand dunes that looked like snow fields! the lake was lagoon green, & inhabitated by two fishing eagles that circled over us. Ian has a really bad back at the moment, yet he cant complain too much having lots of phsyio friends to lend him an helping hand.My study plans have changed dramatically once again.Ive decided to push myself a little further & do a three year university degree because in the long run the job prospects are never ending & this course would allow me to branch off into all differnt areas of the animal industry ,including management.The hard parts getting in! Me & Ian are going to extreme lengths to get me in so i can study the first two years externally.We have to obtain a spouse visa & prove we are in a defacto relationship infront of a panel.Its a good job Ians so smart because i wouldnt have a clue which strings to pull! Its called( Veterinary Technology Bachelor of applied science) & sounds pretty full on.Im sure ill struggle with it but my interest in the subjects will be my advantage, hopefully enough to pass.Its scary thinking ill be returning to oz for three years! I would be visiting home every xmas time though.And if i ever get married we have agreed it will be in England so you can all attend..haha! My mum sent me over a big photo album full of my baby pictures & family.It was nice for Ian to be able to see the people i talk about. AUNTY RUTH- I cant believe joel is in the jungles of sri lanka-thats so cool! I blame uncle mark for our animal obsessions, the long nature walks he took us all on.He was such a good uncle to have around really! I didnt know naomi lived in london.Where abouts? what job is she doing? I have the picture of me when i was your bridesmade-awwhh! Thanks for staying in touch, speak soon love mexxxxx AUNTY PAT& MYKA-Thanyou for your msgs.I bet your cursing the weather if it flooded out your new pub! Neely told me about it over the phone, but she loved the fact they were stuck in their village for a week without a phone connection! I can imagine you Myka getting stuck in the floods..haha! Well, your attractivness meant you wernt alone for long without being recued.As long as you made it to work in the end, half mast trousers & all! I cant wait to see & your mum & dad at xmas time.keep in touch love mexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi Brooke - hope you're OK. How's Ian? don't be too homesick for England as the weather is shocking here - worst it's been since records began (over 200 years!!) So you're well out of it. Even though we're into July it's blowing a gale and raining today. Anyway enough of the weather (you know us Brits are obsessed by it!) What are you up to at the moment - are you still working on the farm?

Naomi is loving London (even though they found two bombs on the street where she works) and Joel is working in the jungle in Sri Lanka. He's seen elephants and mongoose and sleeps under the stars just with a mosquito net. He's loving it.

Dom is doing his work experience at Burghley House working in the grounds with the deer (isn't it funny how all the cousins are potty about animals).

You seem to have been away ages but these last few months will pass so quick - it'll soon be November - so take care and enjoy your brilliant experience

Lots of Love, Aunty Ruth xxx

hi brooke i hear your coming home in november your mum told me she seemed really excited. but then your going back over to aussie .

its been really exciting here with all the floods its flooded our pub and all the furniture and carpets have had to come out. the rains started again so better get my boat out ha ha .

love pat

Hi Brooke

I'm really sorry and sad to hear about Keaton, you know how I love animals and it really upsets me when things happen, brings back memories of when our Josh had to be put down. Sounds like you're still having a good time, you wouldn't be so homesick if you saw the weather here, its terrible. A lot of schools have been closed but not ours in good old Maltby so on my way home from work I got caught in the bad floods at Conisbrough and ended up stuck, the road was gridlocked and I had no choice but to try and carry on.... and then my car cut out and the water started to come in...I couldn't even open the door to get out because the water level was just below my window. Luckily some men helped push my car through and it did start again but I had to drive with my suit trousers around my knees until I could open the door to let water out. Theres still about 6 inches of water in my car and I've got to wait for a courtesy car to be delivered but at least I got home ok eventually and my laptop did'nt get damaged!! :0)

take care xxx

Love Myka

Hi friends & family! My crying face is for my dog Keaton, who died of kidney failure tuesday night.He was eleven which is pretty old for a japanese akita.He had a good free roaming life too.But the story my mum told me about how he broke off his lead during the night to go away to die was heartbreaking! He was found outside my mum& dads friends house, in a field looking exhausted, as he had been gone all that day.Louis, better known as (Rabbit man) thought he was a fox at first & got out his gun to protect his chickens! He then recognised keaton & saw him collapse.Mum & bob went round & had to put him in a wheelbarrow & take him into a stable.He was dying at this point , with his stomache serverely bloated.They stayed with him until louis's wife returned home, luckily being a vet, She put him to sleep after they had left. Yeppp...the sadest story ever! I'm sorry to burden you all with it. Anyway back to my adventures.This week i had off work,it was only meant to be one day because i desperatly wanted to stay in Roma, just to collect my parcel from home. but it was quiet out at glentulloch & not much work on thankfully.I'm very homesick at the moment, its kicked in all of a sudden, so im frequently dreaming of chistmas time, at home with family & friends. Its not helping matters working on the farm & spending weekends with Ian in Roma, it is'nt enough for me.I'm starting to feel a little bit trapped & thats not good for my state of mind, me being me.Me & Ian, however, had the long weekend away two weeks ago, they celebrate the queens fake birthday here. We went to noosa & hired a boat for the day. We caught six bream & had them for dinner.What an over indulging weekend that was..ate too much & drank too much! After a horrible week, i'm a lot happier today because im having a weeks break on my own.Off to Brisbane tomorrow, where ill be staying over at a friends before leaving to go to hervey bay, there ill do the fraser island trip for three nights. I booked it back in december.I'll definatly feel like a backpacker again! Im doing a self drive safari, camping & driving over huge sand dunes.Fraser island is well known for its purest strain of Dingo's which are protected there. Also voted the worlds forth sexiest island..haha! Ill take lots of pics & Promise to upload some onto this site. Byeeee xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hey you, thanks for the message!

Yeah, we are due to fly back on November 5th 2007, so yeah, deffinately want to catch up! im so pleased things are working out for you, from what you told me in the small period of time we were having a laugh, you deserve some good luck and a bright out look,are you missing Lottie and Keaton? (we will not mension the gerbel lol) so pleased you put this idea into my head! lol will keep sending you the e-mails so you can laugh. Ian is a very very lucky man! hows the physic predictions going? have you met imogine yet? lol.....Karls Girlfriend has just gon to Perth, she got there and thought it was too cold so gon up to Broome to work, shes meant to be comming out to meet us at some point. It is really humid here, not far off the border of Thailand.

Any way, keep in touch Brooke, decided im keeping the phone number i got coz i got cheep travelling rate.

Have fun you, speak soon x x

Hi Jonathan! Wow, it sounds like your taking up the challanges of tavelling & loving the big break, from your old mundane lifestyle! I couldnt stop laughing at your description of carls toilet habits... (any normal person) ...haha! I liked the pics too & i almost didnt recognise you with a tan.Remember i last saw you in winter, (Halloween) in a skeleton suit, with matching complextion! Im returning to England in november, then going back to oz for the New Year, hopefully to study & live with ian on the sunshine coast, until my study time is up.If your back from your travels, i'd love to catch up.How cool it would be to be able to compare our travel snaps! Its offically winter from today & im sat in Ians ski jumper & wearing his fur-lined Ugg boots -just until the sun warms up this flimsey style house! It reaches freezing on anight, but during the day its a cosy 24degrees,shouldnt complain really.Anyway happy travels & take carex

Hey Brooke,

keeping in touch as a friend as promised - sat in Kuala Lumpa at the moment writing this, really enjoying the travelling, can be hard work at times as you will no - Your job sounds fantastic, its weired not working after doing it for 9 years, KL is ok, once you have seen the main sights its a bit of a dump, Tioman islands were so relaxing and pictoresk, Singapore was a fantastic city, clean, safe, night life is fantastic, not sure where next, trains are realy slow here - Keep in touch, Jonathan x

Hi Em! Its great to hear you are fit & well & you havent lost that travelling spirit!I would love to go to canada too, to the whistler ski resort.When i tried to call you in Noosa that time, the phone card i�was using failed on me & i ran out of�change�aswell.When i return to England, yeah ill definatly come & see you & we will go out, get pissed on rum�& try to find a river to swim in, in the pitch black of night...haha! keep in touch.I keep getting all your funny emails to my yahoo site! take care luv ya bye4nowxxxxx

Hi Nanan collins! Its brilliant that you have joined my fan club...haha! I think its great you are a keeping up with modern day technology,cos Its not so simple to use a computer these days, well if you havent got a technical mind like me that is! Its funny to read everyones msgs though, you will enjoy it.I am going to send more pics to neelys in the next few weeks ,so hopefully she will take them to show you.love you lots & say Hi to Malc from mexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi too all! Its lovely to hear from you..Im glad folk are still aware of my absence & make the effort...hehe! I never made it to the buddist retreat, but instead, when i left Federal, i drove back to Roma with Ian. I therefore started my farm job a few weeks early.Im working on a large cattle property, roughly 25,000 acres,about half hour drive from the nearest small town.Im only one hour from Roma, where Ian lives, so its perfectly convenient for me to leave the confines of the farm & spend my weekends off with him.My job role varies, but most of the day im a professional gate opener! Me & keith will spend three hours driving around the land moving cattle from padd0ck to paddock & pumping the water systems.I get to do a lot of off roading, in a toyota land cruiser up & mini mountains, crossing gullies & basically getting tossed about like a frog in a blender! I sometimes mind Keith & Annabels two,2&4 year olds boys.I got to do some mustering in a chopper last week,as the property is so big its just easier to pay for a helicopter to come & scare the cattle up to the yards.This chopper had no doors, so you had to wear a seat belt while doing the sharp turns & hope the buckle didnt spring open. A Pretty cool experience.I think im working on the farm for another two months, to enable me to apply for my second work visa, but you never know with the way my plans keep drastically changing at a rapid pace, even i lose track of what im doing.Me & Ian are still a happy couple four months later.Ill let you know when we have our first row..haha! bye4nowxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx