i can't believe its been so long since i last sent an email. christmas has now suddenly passed and it is strangely already january... the 8th! its the evening here, even though its only 9am over there but i thought i'd come to the internet cafe as charlotte left for new zealand today and i sort of miss her already! we've been together so long now, every single day since we left and now suddenly she's not there anymore... its very weird. so the couple that were staying at our appartment over christmas and new year left on the 3rd, and 2 guys who we met in port macquarie moved in and left today so i have spent most of my day tidying up as 2 more girls are moving in this evening! im glad its girls cos boys are just tOO messy. the appartment has never felt so empty though!

new year's eve was pretty fun. charlotte, the honeymooners, james, steve & i all got ready early that evening (we aLL wanted to have a shower!) and headed for jackson's on george - a bar round the corner from circular quay where the opera house is. we left around 10.30 to get a spot by the bridge for the fireworks but ended up pretty much getting crushed!! the fireworks were pretty exciting evening though i could mostly see people's armpits (yes, despite my high sparkly heels). i took a few photos which you can see on the website and made some videos so you can experience the atmosphere!! at midnight charlotte and i let go of the green balloons we had stolen from our jungle theme party (hope it reaches you soon mum) and after the commotion we headed back to the club for some more partying.

on new years day (after a lazy morning and NO headaches) we all got together and cooked the most wonderful new year's day roast lunch. we had roast chicken with stuffing, crispy roast potatos, roasted parsnips and carrots, cauliflower cheese, broccoliflower cheese and deliciOUS gravy (a la charlotte). we pulled the last of our crackers from christmas and wore the hats and told the repeated jokes which were even more funny than before. for dessert, even though we could hardly fit it, charlotte made a humUNGous chocolate bread and butter pudding. its what dreams are made of. then stuffed like pigs, we sat and watched a movie.

since then, we haven't really had much on the agenda! we went to wildlife world at darling harbour (photos to come) and also the aquarium where we saw huge sharks and lots of the fish we have seen whilst scuba diving over here. charlotte also went surfing the other day whilst i sunbathed on the beach (..what?! i hurt my back! i had to relax) and visited palm beach where my faVOURITE home & away is filmed! john and janne (our grandma's friends) took us out for the most delicious lunch on saturday at a well-known fish restaurant - i could not get over how amazing the food was. this week, as well as last week, i am looking to get a job. im quite excited because i have brought a small make up kit and portfolio with me and have already been in contact with some make up people to do some editorial work and perhaps some weddings as it is their summer over here. if that fails, im going to try something else - i saw a scuba diving cleaning the shark tanks the other day... always a possibility!

apart from that i am absolutely having a brilliant time. we have already been here almost 2 months now so im halfway through my trip which is a bit scary! its going to be sad when charlotte leaves in 2 weeks time - i wish she could stay longer. but il be ok.

hope to hear from you soon xx