Hello all, this is hopefully going to b a big one!! as havent really written a lot the whole time we'v been here as internet is expensive!!

So we left Thirroul to go to Wolgoolga, which was a tiny place known for its bananas, we got off the bus and had to walk for what seemed like miles as had our backpacks on and all of the other stuff we have with us, to get to this campsite. We arrived there at about 7am and the office didnt open till 8.30am, bus times run through the ngiht and u usually arrive at your destination really early in the mornign or late at night. So we managed to wake them up(they heard us coming up the drive with our wheely bags) and then set up the tent. Went for a walk to the beach and ahd some coco pops:) Nowhere to hire a board so i couldnt go in. But greg went and bought some wetsuit socks for his fins as has cuts around his ankles, and went in with his body board. Good surf there. We stayed just one night as not a lot to do there.

Next on to Byron Bay, Well lets just say its very touristy.. we stayed in a hostel in a double room, but to get to the double u had to walk through an eight bed doorm, which we also shared their bathroom, so u can imagine it wasnt very tidy!! But the people we met in there were very nice, and we gave them advice on thailand a werent planning on going but r now:) that night greg and i went out-the first time since Thailand, as the hostel gave free entry..was an ok night, but we discovered we dont really like going out and drinking when we can do that at home, so havent been out since. Although near the end of the night, Greg met a guy who turned out to b a tree surgeon in Byron Bay and gave him his card and said that if he wanted work next year there will b some going for him, so that sounds good for Greg.

We/well I didnt really like Byron too much, as when we first arrived and i was ringing up some hostels to see if they had avialability, using my lonely planet book..when we got picked up i left it by the hpone...i know this because when we returned there later after i had realised i looked by the phone and no nook was there, just the bus timetable which someone must have taken out. So we decided to go to a place called lennox head, about 30mins back south which was much nicer, quieter and a good beach also. We stayed in a self contained unit i suppose, with two other people. it was like a home away form home..had a kitchen and alounge area. Stayed 2nights, had a bit of rain, ate good fish and chips there, thats the most extravagant our meals get now!!

Bus to a place called Coolangatta, which had some amazing surf, with good breaks apparentyl!!stayed in a YHA there, and saw Diane who we stayed with in Lennox Head. So next day hired surfed boads and went to the beach. Surf wasnt good for DIane and I as was so hard to paddle against the rip...then somehting bad happened,looked on the beach and wondered whether greg had moved our bags, but he was nowhere to b seen, as water was quite busy-probs somewhere 'out back'!then noticed some boys moving closer to our stuff, then we decided to get out of the water and check our things as we did, the two started to get up, so i ran after them, and the just vanished...they had gone through dianes wallet and taken her cash and her visa card for Australia (she's from NZ) so notified lifeguard but what were they going to do!!bit of a shame, but she cancelled her card straight away and there wasnt a lot of cash..sneaky boys, reckon they were only about 14!! It then strted to pour with rain, so the day was getting even better! went back to hostel and had some food and dried off.

From coolangatta you can see 'Surfer's Paradise' and it definitely is not surfers paradise, just a load of high rise buildings and the sea, so we decided not to go there. and instead onto Noosa, but-when we arrived there,we asked for accomodation but everywhere was fully, the bus hadnt left so we asked if we could hop back on, so we did but didnt know where we would have to get off!!Arrived at Rainbow beach.

Lovely place, got a room, and went to get food. Next day walked to a garage and booked a trip in a 4x4 truck to go around Fraser Island. Decided to do it on our own rather than go with a group as more problems can occur in a group and u never know what might happen when someone else is driving in terms of damage to the vehicle which means extra cost at the end! So we are doing a 2day 1night trip around the island. that night we went for a run!i actually went running with greg-mind u he'd probably call it a jog!but we havnt done any exercise is hard to here, so thought it was a good idea. and didnt feel too bad the next day either!!

Fraser Island- was AMAZING. we arrived and got a free upgrade from a Suzuki Vitara to a huge 11seater Toyota Land Cruiser. So had plenty of room for all our bags..went to get a camping and ferry permit and then drove to get some food for the journey. The crossing was short and the car rocked-the handbrake was not very good on it..then drove on the sand to get to the dirt road inland, to then get back on the beach track. and o my was it bumpy inland, up and down good job it was big or we'd have bumped our heads a lot!!we drive straight up to the fursthest point we were allowed to go, to Indian Head, parked and walked up to the top of this cliff, here you are meant to b able to see sharks and sting rays. We saw a manta ray which was huge and also 2 turtles swimming gracefully! stayed there for a bout 40mins and decided we werent going to c any sharks..so we then drove south, to get to our campsite. on the way we saw lots of people fishing in the sea, its so rough, and ur not allowed to swim in the sea due to jelly fish, sharks and currents. When your walking along the beach u cant hear any of the cars coming because the wind is loud and the waves crash heavily, so have to watch out for people all the time. We went to the Mahino ship wreck which would have been huge, fascinating to c it there on the beach, have some good photos too. We went to a place called Eli Creek, which is a fresh water creek that runs down into the sea and is as clear as bath water-before u get in!so greg decided to swim down it, i just walked as it was only knee depth in most places!some people were taking blow up matresses and floating down it! Saw dingoes, which are just wild dogs but can attack if annoyed, so stayed clear. arrived at the campsite. We had bougt sausages as heard there was a free bbq u can use, but could we find it-no! so dorve aruond, getting stuck in the mud sand...there were no people telling u where to pitch so we just chose somewhere and put up the tent. We found the bbq and cooked our sausages and ahd hot dogs for tea. as we were leaving the dingoes arrived...obviously smelt the cooking, so got back in the car...didnt have any change with us for the showers, so had a cold shower-and it was freezing!!just went to bed as decided to get up early to try and be the first people at Lake McKeinze. And it worked. We woke up at 6.15am, took down the tent and drove straight there, it was a beautiful morning and arrived at 7ish to find crystal blue clear waters and white snad, it was stunning...see from the pics later..so we got in and had a swim...warm water too, with nothing in it. was amazing it was so clear an blue and was a lake:) we were there for about 40mins on our own before people started arriving. which was when we left and sat and ate breakfast in the car.

Then drove to Lake Wabby, is a big green lake which is surrounded by a huge sand dune, which is gredually engulfing the lake. People were there swimming across it, but it was a long walk down so we just took a picture. Decided to try our luck again at Indian Head, so did the drive there. and it was worth it, after waiting about 45minutes, we'd already seen some rays, we saw some sharks. Think they were tiger sharks, but i saw 4 and greg saw a few more he had his bino's with him. So that was defo worth waiting for, the distance from where we were watching was quite high up, and they looked big, so i wouldnt want to b in the water with those things!! By now it was getting late, nearing 2pm and we had to catch the ferry no later than 3.30pm...so we had to drive pretty fast, but safely!and then on the inland road again, which was even bumpier than on the way here...maybe because of the speed and we got to where the ferries leave-and there werent any ferries-uh oh. as there is a fee for being late back at the garage. But one came across, so we drove back to the petrol station, filled up and made it back at 4.30pm, so plenty of time spare(deadline 5pm) BUT when we arrived there was a group of people and the other mechanic there and he said-i quote 'what have u done to my springs?' both of us thinking what?we dont have a clue what ur talking about, 'we are going to have to have words when i get back' he said exactly that. Left with the group of people. Greg and i now really worried, thinking what?we ahvent done anything wrong?couldnt see anything wrong with anything.........then he returned, greg a little angry..and the guy completely changed his tune, said he wasnt here to rip anyone off and asked for the keys. He fixed it within seconds, and explained it was because we had been given a big car which was meant for a big group of people so there was no weight in the back for when we went over big bumps hense why the suspension springs had gone like that. Then had to fill up a bit more diesel and he dropped us back. How worried was I, thought we would have to pay loads more money but we didnt thankfully!

The next day we caught the bus to Noosa again, had to pay as ticket only goes north and Noosa is south. this was so we could go to the zoo. arrived in Noosa, went to our hostel which wasnt very nice at all, tiny kitchen for the amount of people there, so got fed up easily. Took an early morning bus to the zoo, beautiful sunny day and lots of other people there. The Zoo was very Australia, saw Kangaroos and Koalas-got a good picture that i didnt pay for, just gregs good photography:) and saw crocodiles lots of them, and tasmanian devils-ugly things! We saw the show in the crocoseum which was good but very staged, felt like they were trying very hard, as steve was a natural. So overall the zoo was quite small, and 'something' not quite there. People had written what ahve they done to ur zoo steve-we cam here in 2005 and is really different now?!?but it was nice to c the koalas!!

ending up staying 2 more nights in Noosa, so amde the most of the surf. Hired a board and walked sooo far with it, but to a place called granite bay, which was a tiny cove with awesome waves, managed to surf and stand up so was good fun and greg body boarded and loved it out there. The next day we took some people we met the previous night to the bay and i hired a body board. They loved it and greg took me to where the BIG waves were, the first wave i tried to take i was at the top of it and had to pull back-totally blue crush moment when she sees how big the wave is!!it looked huge. But i did catch what i think is the biggest wave of my life and greg said i surfed it well!so is convinced i should b a body boarder too!! then that afternoon, back to hostel to pick up bags, then to catch the longest bus of our lives!

The bus from Noosa to Cairns, was 27hours long, way way way too long, but thought it gives us a week here now before we fly out, and are here for our dive trip. couldnt stop to do the Whitsunday Islands although they are meant to b beautiful,as money is tight, but we figured we'v seen lots of white sandy beaches in thailand:)

So we arrived here last night, walked to our hostel, were very tired, with the hostel they give u free meal vouchers at this pub, but tried to find it and couldnt so we ended up just ahving a chicken noodle cuppa soup which was surprisingly nice!!

The weather today is glorious, the tide goes out very far, and the beach is like a big mud flat, so everyone goes in this gigantic pool of pools and sun bathes on the grass around. so will probably be doing that later. Have been into the dive shop and confirmed our trip, have to go in tommorow to try on equipment and finalise last minute details. So exicited about the trip, So will write again when we'r back, and try and upload photos soon. Is too much to write a huge blog and do pictures which take ages when the weather is soo sunny outside!

Glad we now have a broody chicken, i like the updates!!did u have a heat wave this weekend?how is dad?good seminar?the code which u gave me worked, so have money in my account now thanku-sorry to panick u, was last night and we were stressed out and tired from long journey, to discover greg couldnt withdraw money, but we just didnt understand the australian bank statement thing. But all should be ok, as trip is paid for which includes food-so hopefully we'l have something a bit more tasty than noodles!!

Lots of love to all u readers, write as many comments as u want on photos or the mesage board, we love reading them speak soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx