Hola strangers! it has been a while!

so loads and loads has happened since Hervey Bay, after there we went up to Airlie beach and spent 3 nights in the whitsundays, did a trip out to the great barrier reef on a pontoon and then a trip sailing around the islands - it was absolutely beautiful - the pictures are spectacular - especially us in our stinger suits (like wet suits only bright colours so we didn't get stung as it was in season for it!) we looked less than pretty but you will have to wait for us to get home to see the evidence of it!

after the whitsundays we spent a week back in sydney and spent lots more time with lori and around coogee, loved being back there again!

then the dreaded overnight to melboune - 12 hours on the coach is not fun for anyone!!! but we got through it and spent a lovely 5 days in melbourne sightseeing - like proper tourists (on the free tourist bus and everything!!!) saw the mcg the immigration museum, really got to grips with the cbd and then as you have to do when in melbourne of to ramsay st - and we met Dr Karl - laura nearly wet herself! really enjoyed melbourne even if when we got there we froze for the first two days (it was about 14 degrees!!! what will we do when we get back to the sunny climes of wales!!!)

then double trouble set sail!!! ..... well picked up the car at least!!! a little white hyundai getz!!!! nippy little b***** when it needed to be mind! we have driven about 1000km (including wrong turns because hooi was too busy undressing her aston doll because the sun had come out and she thought he should be sunbathing on the dash board - unfortunately lucky o'day just had to sit there and boil!!!!) we have driven from melbourne to adelaide via the great ocean road - even though the weather was pretty poor at times it was still a breathtaking drive and what coming to australia was all about for us! we stopped off in some little hick towns that smelt like old ladies but when we saw a mcdonalds with its free wifi we felt a lot easier!!!!!!! then we hit adelaide yesterday...

... and what a bloody let down!!!! realised we had booked a so called hotel in the red light district, got followed home from the internet cafe and then wolf whistled at in the corridoors of the hotel - not the safest place for us to be to say the least!!!! but we survived one very sleepless noisy night and thanks to our saviour - some people call him daddy hooi!!! - we are ok tonight in a lovely hotel that feels perfectly safe and isn't in the red light district!!!!

so today we went to the zoo and saw giant pandas wang wang and funi - that were a lot smaller than we imagined - also we saw a vile looking baboon with his willy out just sat there chilling, wasnt so impressed by that one!!!!! then this afternoon we drove down to the beachy area of glenelg and had a lovely afternoon in glorious sunshine with a cold rock icecream oogling beach volleyballers! - this is a hard life!!!!!! and a million miles away from how horrendous the day before had been!!!!

anyway flying to perth tomorrow for the last 2 weeks of Oz and can't bloody wait - so many people to catch up with - its going to be a ball!

all our love

missing everyone!

Mel and Laura

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