Unfortunately the weather in Surfers Paradise wasn't much better than it was in Brisbane. My frist day here was very cloudy and grey with heavy rain every now and then. I didn't come all the way to Australia for this!

My new hostel seems nicer than my last one, however I was stuck in a twenty person dorm. I had booked my room when I was staying in Airlie Beach but the number I was given was not for the YHA in Surfers but for one 25km south! So I had to take what was available. It would actually have been ok except for the fact that we only had one toilet and shower between all twenty people. Lovely!!

Spent my first day having a walk around but there wasn't a lot to do in a place that's famous for it's beach when it is raining. I darted into shops every time the heavens opened but had to be careful which ones I went in. Surfers has a strange mix of people, shown by the shops here. There are all the typical surfers shops you would expect but Surfers Paradise also attracts the East Coast's jet-set and so there is also Prada, YSL, Gucci etc. I had to make sure I didn't end up in one of those because I'm pretty sure I would be asked to leave after about 30 seconds and I'd be back in the rain.

The weather did clear up by the evening so I was able to have a proper look around. This place is definately more commercial than I thought it would be. But it's obviously very popular.

My second day here was still a little cloudy but a lot warmer so I spent the day relaxing on the beach. It's a hard life. In fact I spent almost the whole day on the beach. I went back to my hostel to get showered (once the queue for the bathroom shortened) and changed and was back on the beach to watch "Toy Story" on a big cinema screen set up for the Christmas period. Not a bad way to spend a day.

Tomorrow I move on to Byron Bay for New Years. Christmas in Oz was different we'll see what New Years has to offer.