Hello my follower's,

Apologies for taking so long to write another blog, I am sure most of you have been waiting with baited breathe for the next one!! But due to internet issues have been unable to update me blog. It has been a while so rather than do a day by day blow account I'll just tell you what I have been upto in each place I have visited.

So when I left you last I was in Sydney still and had gone for a wander round Bondi Beach for the day and do the coastal walk to Coogee. Bondi hasn't changed a bit since I was last here but it was a nice walk along the coast and was inspired by a visit to Bondi Ink to get another tatto, sadly their prices were a little rich for me so will have to try and get it done down the line somwhere else. Sadly though Coogee has gone through a transformation to my last visit and it is no longer the cheap, cool backpacker hangout it used to be and is now occupied by young profesional's pushing the prices up of all the cafe's and bar's.

After that I got back to the hostel and went and watched the final installment of Harry Potter at the IMax and it was pretty good and was well impressed with the IMax. However, once again I was baffled by the phenomenon and people clapping at the start and end of a film!! Why people?? Why??

I spent the next day having a trip down memory lane and saw an old school friend Vikki who I used to walk to school with. It was great day down in the harbour and the rocks and had a nice little catch up with her and her 2 kids.

After that I went to Arncliffe which is were myself, Kev and Gaz lived when we stayed in Sydney and I worked to keep them 2 in beer!! Sadly the hostel we stayed at Fairview and had most of our fun has turned into a residence now and the local pub the Arncliffe has shut down.

On my last day I spent it wandering round Manly that is still a lovely little beach. By the time I got back the heavens had opened and this was the beginning of one of the wettest downpours Sydney had seen.

The next day I jumped on the Oz Experience and headed for Coffs Harbour were I would be staying for a week. Now Coffs Harbour is famous for 2 things, the first been a giant Banana and the second the fact that Russell Crowe lives there!! So that just about sum's the place up, very uneventful. I did however have a superb time there meeting a great group of people, Rowan, Bal, Laura, Ciara and Nick who made my stay there fantastic. Of course it wouldn't be me if something eventful never happened!!

Whilst there the famous canoe incident happened. I was sat in the common room one day when a girl called Becky from Hong Kong came in asking for someone to partner here in a canoe ride up the local creek. No one was volunteering and she seemed pretty desperate to go so i did the gentlemanly thinkg and stepped up!! This however was foolish and now have a canoe checklist that I use whenever I go out canoing!! I should have checked to see if she could understand me, she did not!! She was full of flu, insisted on going in the back where if anyone who has been kayaking knows is were all the power is!! Then spent most of the time taking pics rather than paddling meaning we kept going round in circles and going aground on the banks!! I also discovered to late that she had not been in a kayak before and couldn't swim!! It was the most traumatic hour and a half I had ever spent in a kayak and was glad when it was over.

Due to the stress of that situation I decided to go out that night to a local bar which had a free shuttle bus for backpackers. I foolishly expected the place to be busy and was gutted when I got on the bus with 5 Gewrmans and the bar was diabolical!! The Germans talked in German amongst themselves and I was left to get blitzed and did no favours for English/German reltaions!!

I also did a white water raft day trip on the Nyombian river which was half price if I did it on a Sunday. I had always wanted to do it and it was guaranteed grade 4/5 rapids. So got on the bus with 6 Ozzie's and headed down there. After some briefings and shown signals, etc we split up and it was the boys in one raft and the girls in the other. Imagine my surprise when I went into the rather cold water on the first rapid when we hit a rock sideways and the raft got stuck!! So I went floating down the river awaiting my rescue which took it's time coming!! I managed to stay in the boat for the rest of the day thankfully. The grils did not have so much luck and due to the fact they never listened to the instructions came out of the raft on the only grade 5 rapid we hit that day and got sucked under the rapids. It was a great day and only wish I had done the 2 day tour now.

Whilst at the hostel I spent most of me days chilling out going Kayaking with the gang, fishing or down the beach. Then of a night we would hang out in the hostel having a few drinks whilst enjoying pizza night, sausage sizzler, punch night or the now infamous Tim Tam night!! I was very sad to leave and had a great time with everyone.

After Coffs Harbour I headed to Port Macquarie to meet up with some friends I worked with at Volclay Lisa, her great Hubby Andrew and their son Cayden, as well as her brother Lee and Anya. Their folks happened to be living there at the time as well so met them.

On the first day I went for a coastal walk and for some strange reason decided it would be a good idea to wear some new flip flops I had purchased, big mistake!! They managed to rub the balls of my feet down ot the bare flesh and I literally hobbled back to the hostel with my feet in agony and bleeding!!

After sorting out my wounded feet I met Lisa in the local Irish bar for a few drinks and later on Lee and Anya met us for a couple. We then went to Lisa's gorgeous house for a good old fashioned BBQ, which was fantastic and a few beers. Had a good night catching up.

Next day Lisa and Andrew picked me up and took my sightseeing round Port Macquarie, there wasn't much to see because we were done in an hour!! After that we went for some lunch down the beach hotel, sat outside having a few drinks, can't beat that. But had started in on the beers and got a taste for it then. Last time I was here I stayed with Lisa and Andrew for a bit and was routinely drank under the table by Andrew and was determine to put in a better effort this time. Sadly I couldn't manage it!! After getting quite hammered in the bars around Port Macquarie, once again I was refused service at one of the bars and we had to leave!! Got the standard kebab and swayed about waiting for a cab!! Was a good night though.

Thankfully though the next day Andrew was feeling a wee bit delicate and I faired a bit better in the hangover stakes. After a delicious lunch I headed for the coach. I was told by the hostel to be back by 2 and I got there at 1:55 and the guy drove past me and refused to stop whilst I grabbed me bags. I had to leg it to the bus station with me backpack on and when I got there told the hostel worker exactly what I thought of him and told the other backpackers not to stay there!! Childish I know but me feet were kiiling!!

Thankfully I got back to Coffs Harbour for Tim Tam night and I sadly lost the battle of how many Tim Tams you an fit in your mouth, I only managed 5 and the record was 6 by Matt!!

I then headed to surf camp for a night to learn to surf with the Oz Experience. After hearing about my friends Amy and Ellie's drunken antic's I shouldn't have been as quick to judge them!! Firstly let me tell you about the set up here I was staying in a 6 bed dorm cabin with 3 girls and 2 Danish lads. That night we played some group games and I won the scavenge hunt with a few of the girls, which got us a free kayak tour the next day. I then proceeded to get wasted on goon round the fire with everyone. Well apparently I rocked up there and fell all over the shop, the Danish guy had to help me up!! Gets changed and then just stood in the doorway pissing out of it!! Gets onto the top bunk, fell out and landed on me shoulder and cut me hand open!! I then proceeded to throw the cabin door open and relieve myself once more!! Falling all over the place I managed to get onto the top bunk again only to fall out again and the Danish guy had to help me up!! The f***ing shame of it!

So feeling a little worse for wear and having a banging headache I headed off for my surf lesson with the rest of the group. I managed to get up on the board no problem, but couldn't ride the waves in. Plus my shoulder was in pieces from falling out of the top bunk. If I have another go I reckon I'll nail it if I have no hangover or shoulder injury!!

In the afternoon I went out on my kayak tour which I had won in the scavenger hunt. This probably never helped the old shoulder, but after went out anyway, it was free after all!! It was ok, glad I never paid for it though. We had a bit of a go on the rope swing and by the time we got back the Oz bus had turned up to take us to Byron Bay.

I got to Byron Bay quite late on and had met 4 teachers on the bus from surf camp and we were all staying at the same place. Considering how old they were I have never met a group who could complain or b**** so much about anything!! They sucked the fun out of everything. But was still feeling rough from my antics the night before so didn't stay out long at the legendary backpacker bar 'cheeky moinkeys'

The next day I was up handy, but never slept particularly well due to my shoulder throbbing all night and the fact that myself and my roomates were awoken at 1:30am to find a rather drunken chap who looked like an extra from 28 day later swaying the middle of our room!! We eventually managed to get him to leave and he then proceeded to spend the next 4 hours knocking on our door or the one next door!!

Now if you haven't been to Byron Bay I have to say it is a very hppy place and has a wonderful feel about the place with colourful arcades, cafes and bars. It also has one of the nicest beaches I have come across yet.

I spent the next day chilling on the beach and topping up the tan, before having a lovely lunch on the beach and heading back to the hostel whilst having a look in some of the shops. Myself, the 4 miserable teachers and the 2 Danish dudes from surf camp decided to wander up to the lighthouse, which is the Eastern most point of Australia for sunset. It was bit of a hike, whcih obviously they moaned about the entire way. But we got there just in time for a stunning sunset and walked along the beach back to the hostel.

The next day I went on a day trip to Nimbin, whcih is the Australian answer to Amsterdam. It was a good day apart from me standing in som dog s*** that stunk out the bus!! Nimbin is just one mad, colourful road full of mad characters. I had a space cake there, be rude not to and was quite stoned in the end. When I got back I headed to 'cheeky monkeys' for a feed and a few drinks before having an early night.

And that brings us to my current location which is Surfers Paradise. I am staying ina fantastic hotel right in the centre of everyting with a cracking group of people. I'll update you on my antics again soon.

Toodles for now,

Mup