Hi guys, so we're now half-way through January and it already feels as tho its going too quickly.

So after Xmas NYE was the next big thing, from the very beginning i'd wanted to have NYE in Sydney. Had heard Bondi beach was the place to be and had bought tickets for Shore Thing 08/09. Han and Gret (the twins I worked with in Perth) and Emma all got tickets with me and we had the best New Years of our lives. The gig was amazing, atmosphere incredible and backdrop (the beach) unbelievable. There's not a lot more to say than that but there are some videos I found on youtube which sum-up what it was like, they're on facebook but i'll put them on here as well for those who don't have facebook! Emma stayed with me for the week around New Year which was nice. We went shopping, did the red bus tour around Sydney and obviously spent a lot of time laying on Bondi Beach! New Years day obviously started with a hangover and we slept most of it but after dinner we decided to go for a few drinks which then turned into another night of mayhem. Had a sad farewell with Emma on Monday as she was going back to Perth for a month before returning to NZ to get her residency. That week I went up to the Blue Mountains for the day (with some friends I'd met in Sydney). We went riding which was really nice, a bit slow but it was a large ride so there wasn't much they could do, we still managed to get some gallops in!! In the afternoon we went to Scenic World which has the worlds steepest railway, a cable car and a skywalk (a verylarge cablecar with a glass bottom) This is where the 3sisters are (as seen in the pic above) so got some breathtaking views.

The twins stayed in a hostel in Kings Cross for a week so spent a long weekend taking them out on the town and showing them around. We went out 4nights in a row and then I had a 10hr drive up to Byron Bay on Monday (12th) so obviously slept most of it. A few of us did a skydive in Byron, making this my 2nd!! It was truely amazing and i enjoyed it so much more than the first, possibly because I wasn't ill this time but also because I was much less nervous. I still got really nervous in the plane on the way up but as soon as I was hanging on the edge and I put my head back I was fine. I just thought to myself that I'd done it before so just enjoy it! i had my eyes open all the way down which I dont thing I did last time. The view was incredible, Byron Bay has the huge strip of beautiful pristine beach, we spun around a few times and then opened the chute and being a pro I asked him to do some spins which makes you come down to the ground much faster but is so much more fun. We span around and he did this amazing thing which made it feel like we just stopped in mid-air. Landed nice and smoothly on our feet with the biggest adrenaline rush! You can see all this on the dvd when i get chance to upload it or when mum brings in back with her! The next day I hired a body board and spent the day on the beach catching some waves. This is really fun as well and much easier than body surfing. Its such a great rush when you catch a big wave and ride it all the way up the beach. It was good exercise as well as there was a really strong rip as you went out to the waves so I had to keep getting through that. Made me miss Bondi as there were no life savers so i was a bit concerned about shark attacks! I like Bondi as I know if anything goes wrong Bondi rescue will be there to save me!! I seem to be a natural tho at body boarding and had great fun! Burnt my stomach a bit tho as sunscreen seems to go off and not work if its left in +30deg heat for a while. Tricky when your on the beach all day and its 33deg! Sorry to rub that in while its 0deg back home! haha x

So since Byron I've been back at Bondi sorting stuff out, will be getting a job this week so will let you know how that goes, have an interview on tues for a pr job so that could be adding another string to my bow!! I move back into the hostel tomorrow as well, i missed the social life and i can borrow body boards for free and surf on Bondi! woohoo!

Love to everyone back home, hope you all had a great New Year!

H xxxx