Hello!

This is definately a long overdue entry and I have done so much since I last wrote this will be a long email and my fingers may have dropped off by the time I finish but it will be worth it! I am infact having to consult my hand written journal to write this as I dont want to miss stuff out as one day seems to roll into another and everything merges into one. It is infact as if every day is a Saturday! Today is more like a Sunday for me though as I have chores to do - email writing and food shopping, its a hard life!!

Anyway.... so after Hervey Bay I went to Rainbow Beach, a really beautiful small village by the ocean. Attempted to play a didgeridoo here and throw a spear 'aboriginal style' alot more difficult then it looks. To play a didgeridoo by the way you need to make a raspberry noise and then blow down and hope for the best! Met up with some girls I was with in Airlie beach so that we could do our Fraser Island safari together. On the second day of being in Rainbow Beach we went up to a big sand dune called "Carlo Sandblow' as it has awesome views of the surrounding area and lots of people hand glide off it. After taking some good pictures we decided that we were going to climb down the side of the sand dune, bear in mind it looks more like a scary cliff edge then a friendly dune. So we decide the best way to approach it is to slide down on our bums and let the sand carry us down. Started off ok, quite fun felt like a waterslide then I saw Alana fly off the edge in front of me and couldnt see where she was! So I made it slowly down to the edge and looked over and we were only half way down and I was stuck because there was a bit of a drop down to the next safe bit of sand! I was starting to think at this point s*** this is actually quite dangerous! Couldnt climb back up so just let go and hoped for the best, slid down fine and could then see Alana so felt better. Then got to another tricky section which Alana (who had made it to the bottom by this time so I knew now I had a chnace of surviving and making it to the bottom!) then guided me down as it was really difficult at this point I fell about 3/4 ft down the dune and managed to scratch all my arms up and came crashing down onto my bum! Let me tell you my bum has not been right since! It was killing the few weeks after everytime I sat down and stood up and it only just feels ok now! But was such an adrenaline buzz coming down the dune, I was laughing and shaking when I reached the bottom - brilliant! Stayed in Rainbow Beach for about 6 days before I went off to Fraser Island and I was going stir crazy by the end of this time as there is really not alot to do there. Literally you just lounge round by the beach and then get lunch/dinner have a few drinks in the bar and then go to bed. So I was itching to get on Fraser Island.

We were doing a self drive safari of Fraser Island which meant that you spent 3 days and 2 nights on the Island, camping and driving around in a 4 wheel drive with 10 other people. We managed to create a good group consisting of 3 English, 2 Irish, 3 Danish and 3 Israelis. We all met up in the bar in the hostel the night before and got to know each other. I already knew Katie and Mae from Airlie beach as I mentioned so that was good and we lucky to be in a good group because it makes all the difference to the time you have on the Island. So we packed the 4WD up with all the camping equipment, food and alcohol and we were off. Had one of the best trips ever. I cant describe to you how unspoilt and beautiful Fraser lsland is, saw some of the most best beaches and lakes I have seen. My favourite lake was Lake Wabbi, to get to it you had a hard walk up and down sand dunes but it was really worth it when you reached it. Half of it was surrounded by the sand dunes and the other half by rainforest and it had an echo, it was so cool. Went up to place called Indian Head which is one of the highest points on the shoreline and we saw turtles, sea snakes and sting rays from it. We also saw a snake as we were driving round the island - cool! Driving round the island was fun, it was such a bumpy ride on the inland track as it is really deep sand so for all of us in the back of the vehicle were clinging on as we got thrown round the back! We camped both nights on the beach and not in the camp grounds so had no facilities like toilets!! We washed our pots and pans in the sea with sand, it really cleans it well you know. Inhabiting the island are dogs called Dingos and they like to come into the camps you have set up and try and steal food, the little scavengers! You are told if you see one to shout at it to go away and if it should attack to defend yourself aggressively! We didnt see any on the first night but we moved camping grounds and on the second night 3 of them tried to get near to us in our camp so the boys shouted at them to get away, I was actually quite scared! So now when you went off the to the toilet you had to be on dingo alert! Ha ha! We were really lucky in our group as we had an Irish guy called Paddy who had been serving as a chef in the navy so he cooked up some real treats, steak with salad and potatos and an asian style chicken stir fry, was yummy! And I ate potato salad, I have also eaten fish, coleslaw and like all tomato pasta now - CHECK ME OUT!! I managed to get bitten by something on the island, think it was probably an ant but was quite scared at the time as my 2nd toe (where I was bitten) swelled up and was really stinging , I thought it could drop off and my balance could be affected but all ws fine!! So a really brilliant trip - one of the best things I have ever done.

Moved on from Rainbow Beach to a town called Noosa, a pretty, upper class place which had really beautiful beaches and where the surf starts. Got to Noosa and headed straight for the cimema to watch The Departed. Was so good to do something normal and film was quite good. Loads of people I knew were in Noosa so it was a bit of a reunion which was great and also met up with my friend Jane's sister Sue. It was so good to see someone I knew and who knows me from back home out here. Also her and Jane are so similar its like Jane is here so really comforting. On the second day of being in Noosa it absolutely chucked it down with rain, I couldnt believe it. I had seen rain in Australia before but not like this, it was really stong and lasted virtually all day so all we could do was play cards, i-spy and drink cider! But this was nothing compared to the storm we had a few days later. Sue and I were walking back from the beach and the sky had turned grey, we walked into supermarket down the road from the hostel to get some dinner and when we came back it was really dark outside (it was about 4pm). We were going to go and get a drink and a cake but decided we should probably go back incase it rained. Well it rained oh my it rained! I have never seen such a storm, i thought there was going to be a cyclone. The trees were nearly bent over to the ground by the wind and the rain was pelting down and then suddenly huge lumps of ice were coming out of the sky, the size of golf balls, parrots were being pelted out of trees by the things! We were all hiding out in our dorms which were on the groundfloor and realised that the water was actually coming thick and fast into our dorm, we were being flooded! So we got all our bags and other stuff and threw it onto the spare beds quick sharp. The storm finally subsided, we were flooded and there was no power as a tree had been uprooted and landed on the power cables by the hostel. Luckliy Sue and I had purchased sensible storm food - a pre cooked chicken and salad so we were still able to eat, ha ha!! So we stayed in Bobby and Rileys room our friends from next door as their dorm wasnt flooded and we watched The Dukes of Hazzard on their laptop, then the power came back on during the night, some very exciting times, I think you will agree! Luckily we were checking out the following day to go to Brisbane.

I was excited to be going to a city after not being in one for a while, Brisbane was ok but just a city and I soon realised I was not ready for the normality of a city. You have to wear heels to be able to get into bars and you have to wear smart clothes and I cant walk around barefoot their so I wanted to move on. While we were there we went to Steve Irwins Australia Zoo, it was really good there and we saw some bird, snake and crocodile shoes. I also met a Wombat which I have never seen before, it looks like a pig crossed with a bear - I love them! I also purchased new clothes in Brisbane which was pretty exciting to have new things, bought a dress to go out in on Saturday night and heels so I could get in a club called Family which was dubbed as the best club in Queensland. Should have cottoned on really that that is because Brisbane is the only major city in Queensland so its not really difficult to have that title! The club was bad, which was really disappointing as I had been looking forward to dancing to decent music and bought new clothes specially but oh well!

I really have written loads! Also managed to get my debit card swallowed by a machine in Brisbane so i am dangerously relying on my credit card until my new card gets here.

From Brisbane we went to Surfers Paradise which I would liken to Blackpool, it was brilliantly tacky! Sue and I wandered around the town on the first day absorbing the beauty of the tackiness, it was ace! Went to a theme park called Warner Brother Movie World there which was cool, saw some shows with Scooby Doo, Bonnie and Clyde in and saw Shrek in 4D. Again it rained a bit that day so we couldnt watch the Police Acadamy show as it was cancelled. I have to say its a myth that it hardly rains in Australia! Then when we got back from Movie World we went out on a pre arranged pub crawl. Oh my god, I have seriously been scarred by this. There were so may people there to display that they were the sluttiest people going! Girls in hotpants were kissing each other to win a free drink! Sue and I just sat in amazement watching the night unfold, we were there for the free entry to bars and free vodka and we soon left as the night progressed into further madness!

We left Surfers Paradise for Byron Bay last thurday and this is where I am now. Byron Bay is definatley one of my favourite places in Australia. It is a hippy flavoured surf town so full of chilled out people and surfer dudes. Fast food chains havent been allowed in so it has its own identity. We are staying in a hostel called the Arts Factory in a giant tee-pee. Its ACE! There are 10 of us in there, its freezing cold at night though, thats the only down side but I have a huge big fur blanket to keep me warm! We went on a tour to a hippy town called Nimbin called Jim's Alternative Tours which was so much fun! They play you really cool music like Bob Marley, The Doors, The Rolling Stones e.t.c as you drive there and then you have a chance to walk round Nimbin and purchase special cookies and plants should you wish!! Then we went on this crazy bus tour back, they drive you up into the mountains to music and then zoom down the otherside of the mountain to a Pink Floyd track which feels like a rollercoaster especially if you have been eating cookies!! Ha ha! We also visited this crazy hippy dude on his farm and ate nuts and fruit and generally chilled at his and then got dropped back off at our hostel it was brilliant - so much fun. So I have spent the last couple of days in a very happy state ha ha!!

Sue leaves tomorrow so I will be sad to see her go. I think I will probably stay in Byron for another week or so and then head down to Sydney. I think it will really sink in that I am in Austalia when I get to Sydney if that makes sense!

Hope all is well for everyone back home and its getting nice and cold and christmassy! Its so weird seeing christmas things here in the sun, it really does not feel like its gonna be xmas soon. Anyway I am off, my fingers are sore and I am hungry! Let me know what you have been up to. xxxxxxxxxxx