Hello everyone,

I realise I have been a bit shocking over the last two weeks and not written at all, so all my apologies and prepare for a rather long installment.

Having got to Brisbane, we realised that there isnt a great amount to do there on the weekdays. We also found out that our friends Craig and Mark from Sydney were going down to Bryon Bay and Surfers Paradise for a week or so. So...the first installment of the last couple of weeks begins with a backtrack to Surfers Paradise! The weather wasnt as great as it was last time but Brett and I were stoked to go surfing again. We stayed in the same place as before and had some Argentinian girls in our room who were nice if not a little mental. On our last night of two they got so drunk that one got carried back by a bouncer and one came home two hours later. They then got up at 6am to catch their flight. Crazy.

After two days in Surfers we headed back up to Brisbane for the weekend with two girls, Leila and Alex, that we met in Surfers. However, Alex was staying with her friends on the outskirts of Brisbane so it was Brett, Me and Leila. The weekend turned out to be a weekend of sport, going to watch Brisbane Lions play North Melbourne in the AFL. Me and Brett decided to go for the home team Brisbane, which turned out to be a great move as they won the game 129-91! On Sunday night we went to the Suncorp Stadium to watch Australia vs. Iraq in the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers. We had sweated about this game for a week before as we had heard that it might be cancelled due to a disagreement between FIFA and the Iraqi government over the dissolving of the national sport body. However, the game went ahead and we watched the mighty socceroos destroy the Iraqis 1-0. Awesome.

Next stop after Brisbane was a self guided 4x4 tour of Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world where groups of 7-11 travellers bomb it around the island in their separate 4x4s. We also rejoined with Dave who had taken ten days out to go to Fiji, so the three of us all hit fraser island together. There were 7 of us in the group, 2 more girls and 2 more guys all from england. Upon first meeting them there wasnt a lot of optimism for the trip, as we didnt really get along. They didnt like us because they thought we were posh and stuck up, we didnt like them because they were foul mouthed and hostile. All it took however was a night under the stars with some goon and we all seemed to get along. Fraser Island itself is a really idyllic spot and lake Makenzie boasts some of the clearest and freshest waters around. Fraser Island is also a hotspot for Dingos, several of which were wandering around our camp at night, and a breeding ground for Tiger Sharks. Brett, Dave and I decided to be extreme and go paddling in the sea up to our waists, but we got some photos of us submerged so it looks like we're really extreme and far out to sea. In the end, we all ended up having a magnificent time on the Island and I would say it has been my one of my favourite times in Australia so far.

As part of the Oz Experience, between Fraser Island and the Whitsundays we are taken to a Cattle station in Kroombit by the edge of the desert, where we are taught cowboy skills such as shooting, cracking whips and a goat rodeo. Needless to say there was a bit of testosterone filled competitiveness between us three, and although i dont like to brag, i did get 4 out of 5 in the clay pigeon shoot, which was better than the others. I also was in the group who came first in the goat rodeo, which involved one person grabbing the goat, one person lifting it, and the other branding it. Needless to say, i am the best cowboy alive.

In the last couple of days we have also been sailing around the Whitsundays, but i feel that needs a whole blog to itself so i will hopefully be able to do that in the next few days.

Next stop is Magnetic Island where we are meeting up with Leila, before our final destination of Cairns. We now only have 6 days left in Australia, how depressing.

Til next time x