Im on the road again, now making my way up the East Coast of Australia between Brisbane and Cairns. After leaving Sydney I headed to Melbourne for a few days where I was able to catch up with a friend Tammy, who I met a couple of years ago when working out in the USA for the summer.

Melbourne is a lovely city. Very clean and tidy, with a more laid back feel than Sydney. As a city it is fairly new and so doesnt have the history that many of our British cities have. Its full of art which you find in all different places. At the moment there is a group of angelic demons (basically huge black shiney babies with tails or wings) all across the city. They are quite unusual and striking in the sunshine. Federation Square had a festival called 'RISE' on one day which I enjoyed. It was all put on by refugees and immagrants from various third world countries who have settled in Australia and want to raise awareness. There were sme great musicians and readings that kept me entertained.

The museum of the moving image had a great exhibition on the history and development of TV, Cinema and Video Games...I spent a good half an hour sat in the kids zone playing old school lemmings!

Tammy is a student at Vic university and lives on the student campus. There was a big party one night that we went along to. The theme was America (I didnt look very American!). There was beer pong and some very dodgy punch...which im sure was the cause of my headache the following morning!

I had a few days in Brisbane at Base Hostel...NEVER stay there!!! It was so so noisy and rather run down. The night I arrived at 1am a girl in my room was drunkenly swearing and crying at her so-called boyfriend on the phone, you couldnt see the floor of the room for stuff and there were no made beds. Plus the club downstairs was so loud it almost vibrated the window panes...not quite what I had in mind after a day of feeling rather sorry for myself after the consumption of too much student punch and a rather delayed flight! Well I guess that was my punishment.

Anyway, having finally managed to get some sleep I was up the following day and off to explore. Luckily the sun was shining and I made my way to the south bank of the river, where they have their very own London Eye, albeit a much smaller one. Theres even a man made beach and pools which were very tempting in the heat, except for the 100's of screaming children in them.

The one thing ive found the most interesting about Australia so far is the wildlife. The birds are so different from home and seeing lizards is not un-common. There were huge birds with long black beaks being chased around bushes by some toddlers which amused me for a few minutes as the toddlers were about the same size as the birds, not really something you ever get to see in the UK.

Brisbane is a lovely city, but quite small with not a huge amount going on in comparison to Melbourne and Sydney. I took a long walk one day along the southbank with the aim (after about 2.5hours of walking) to cross back over a large bridge and head back into the city...except my plans were floored...I couldnt find the way onto the bridge, so ended up walking for about another 2hours before giving up and catching the ferry back across to the main centre of the city!

After Brisbane I caught the bus up the coast to Marochydoore a small coastal town. I met up with two old school friends there (Heather and Laura Talbott) and it was great to see them both! Our two days were spent eating too much bad food, going to the beach and sofa time along with many episodes of Jersey Shore. It was really nice to take the time to relax. When leaving them to get back on the Greyhound bus I even gained a hug from a random stranger, much to everyones amusement! I was hugging the others and this lady just joined on the end of the line and hugged me before I really realised what was going on...shame it wasnt a toned fit surfer!

So ive now been in sleepy Rainbow Beach for two days. I took a day trip to the famous Fraser Island, its the largest sand island in the world and stretched for 75miles. Its also the home to Dingoes which look like dogs but are a kind of wolf. We were lucky enough to see a few which was great. They live in packs of 6 or 7 and only the alpha male and female are allowed to breed. If any of the other females in the group have puppies the alpha female kills them all! Seems fairly harsh but aparently this means that only the fittest dingoes survive.

There were hundreds of blue bottle jellyfish on the beach due to the rough weather. They pop when you drive over them and sound a bit like popping an empty crisp packet. It ment we had to always keep out sandles on as they still give a nasty sting even when dead.

We visited an old shipwreck on the beach which was quite amazing. Its been there since the 30's after it beached in a cyclone. Its now very rusty, but some of the wooded decking is still hanging on strong!

Our swim in lake McKenzie was lovely. Its a freshwater lake in the centre of the island, completely pure and clear. The sand is incredibly fine and very white. Quite picture perfect but still a little chilly.

So today I head on to Agnes Water where tomorrow im going to try and take a surf lesson if the weather is ok. The seas have been quite rough here so i'll have to wait and see. I then move on to Finch Hatton Gorge which is inland. Its a rainforest gorge and a guy has built a bush camp there. You sleep in huts overlooking the forest and a lake where they have platypuss so im really hoping I get to see one...will let you know :)