Hey everyone, sorry to not have updated you sooner, it's been a very busy 3 weeks!

So, I ended up staying in Byron Bay for an extra 3 nights thanks to Jon and Matty (the guys from the pool) persuading me to. They had already met a girl called Caroline so most of my time in Byron was spent as the 4 of us eating bbq's before heading over to the legendary Cheeky Monkey's nightclub. Cheeky's is the ultimate backpacker bar with dancing on the tables and cheap drinks.

Unfortunately I had to leave Byron at some point so i moved on up to Surfers Paradise- with hindsight I wish I hadn't bothered! Surfers has a gorgeous beach and good night life but unfortunately it is just full of sky rise blocks and tacky souvenier shops, it reminded me a lot of Benidorm actually! Looking back, I would have much rather spent my time back in Byron still; the thing about Byron is that it has this unspoilt charm to it. None of the buildings are allowed to be any taller than the trees and the locals have petitioned to stop any fast food chains moving in. It is just a much prettier place with a more laid back feel, plus i left a group of people who i was having a good time with to go to Surfers. But then i guess you have to form your own opinions about somewhere don't you. So i went, i saw, i didn't like, i moved on!

Changing the subject slightly, I don't think i've mentioned this guy steve have i? Well.....Steve was on my first bus and he is the biggest t*** I have EVER met who, unlucky for me, is from Bromley so he thinks we have stuff in common! He's a builder from Orpington so already you can kind of imagine what hes like. No prejudice, but he really isn't the type of person you'd expect to find travelling. Everyone is "babe" or "darling", he has no manners or social skills, plus he's as thick as two short planks, "Scotland, Wales, all them up north it's all part of England ain't it babe!" To top it all of aswell, he is this ugly, skinny bloke with little man syndrome! Everyone on my bus hated him and so we were all so glad when he left Byron after 1 night.

Anyway, when i was getting off the bus at Surfers he was getting on to carry on up to Brissy. He spent 4 nights in Surfers and this is how he summed it up, "f***ing pukka babe, just been getting wasted everynight!" so there you go, the type of person (generally) who loves Surfers comes for the party and nothing else, and in my opinion when you're travelling there's so much better stuff to be getting on with. But each to their own i guess.

So, moving on up the coast i next hit Brisbane. Before you get into Brisbane though, everyone on the bus has a chance to go Zorbing. For those of you who don't know what this is, think giant inflatable ball water 3 of you inside= very, very fun!

Brisbane is a really nice, clean and attractive city which i imagine would be a really cool place to work, but from a backpackers perspective there isn't a whole lot to do. Alot of people who don't intend on working here only spend a night or so. I ended up staying 4 nights though as i met some really cool boys from my dorm and Jon from Byron was coming up to fly out to New Zealand so i thought i'd stay to see him too.

The hostel I stayed at was really central and it even had a bar underneath. ( i know i just rambled on about how there is more to travelling than partying, but it depends on where the partying is!). On my first night I ended up in the bar with some girls I had met on the bus, Jodie and Pippa. Pippa is from Bournemouth actually so no doubt i'll bump into her when i'm back. Small world! They left the next day, but as i said i got on really well with the boys in my dorm (there were 3 of them, Andy, Adam and Vinny, plus another two of their friends, Pete and Justin, arrived a day later), so I just spent my time hanging around with them. Andy and I even made it to the art gallery! By the time they left, Jon and the staff from the hostel I had stayed at in Byron had arrived, so the partying continued!