Relaxing in Surfer's Paradise!

After our turn of being explorers, we decided a rest was needed....so next stop was Surfer's Paradise....a gorgeous beach resort with a fantastic beach too! It was here we got to the WB Movie world Theme Park which was so cool! There was great rides: Superman (a lot like thorpe park's Stealth), Lethal Weapon ride...sat petrified at the front but lived through it, soaked in wild wild west falls and had many goes on the Spooky Scooby Doo rollercoaster too. But the main thing was I got to have my picture taken with Bugs Bunny, Shrek and Scooby Doo and Shaggy too! Saw a parade with batman too and the looney tunes...kept my distance from Tweetie Pie as the size of his head in proportion to his body freaks me out! Went in the Willie Wonker Chocolate Factory and a Harry Potter shop too! It was a great day and didn't really want to leave but had to eventually since a security guard arrived to make sure we were leaving. Next we went to Brisbane we I shopped and did the cultural Museum trip...so now over half way mark to Cairns and in Queensland, and it's still sunny which is ok!

Mount Warning...My Everest!

Next Stop was a little town after Byron called Murwillumbah! Lovely little town, Lovely little Hostel managed by a lovely little old man called Tassie. It was lovely, except for the bloody big mountain we took it upon ourselves to climb! Set out with 3 guys who had to keep stopping for us to catch up but boy was it a struggle getting up there....4.4km of rocky paths through forests...spider webs everywhere! But it is the last 100 metres that were the living end! Bloody hell...it was a mad scramble up rocks, finding footholes anywhere trying to pull myself up using the chain by the side - the only aid. It was horrible, I kept thinking "why the bloody hell I am doing this"...then I saw an old woman climbing past me back down...so instead I thought..."if she can do it!" so eventually I made it to the summit....leaving Jen somewhere below but she eventually made it aswell...I'd left her on the way up, thinking I'd collect her corpse on the way down...but she made it so all good!

The going down was hideous....I just scrambled on all fours, legs shaking and a lovely downward view of rocks but somehow we made it down and hours later we came out of the rainforest with stupid grins on our faces. If I had known how I would ache the next day I wouldn't have grinned, but everytime I saw the mountain in the distance from the hostel after that, I laughed at it....ha ha ha! I had one up over nature!

Port, harbour, bay and beyond!

Well after Sydney, seems ages ago now...next stop was Port Macquarie and a temperature of 27 degrees which has stayed with us the whole time (pretty unusual for this time of year too). Went to another rainforest, then the Koala Hospital at their feeding time...they're so cute! I could just cuddle them! Also went on a dolphin cruise and saw...dolphins. I called out "Flipper" to no avail! But it was a lovely cruise where the captain even let me drive the boat for a little bit and did a pretty good job...though got my right and left mixed up as he used the technical words like "port" or something. After four days in Port Macquaire, next stop was Coff's Harbour and went on a long bike ride along the creek, to the Big Banana of course, then along the coast where I got soaked from head to toe by a gigantic wave that crashed against the wave break I was riding along. After screaming and cursing the sea in anger and a ice cream to cheer me up, we were off to Byron Bay...where I got sunburnt! Damn Sun! But luckily it's tanned abit now though I had really rosy cheeks for a while! Did another walk though a forest where I saw a bee hive but I had learnt from "My Girl" not to throw stones at it...so I refrained! : )

The Big Blue!

After the suffereings of jetlag in Sydney, came the mighty Blue Mountains! Where we did some mighty walks up and down so-called "Giant Stairway", "Fuber Steps" and the "Golden Stairway"...I've come to the conclusion that they give them nice names to make you walk them, when really they should say..."this way's gonna kill ya"! We did the walk to the Runied Castle whcih nearly did kill us...over a rocky landslide, through a hot rainforest before climbing up loose rocks to a pile a stones! Before walking all the way back to go up the bloody Golden stairway, which were really just bloomin' stpe carved into the cliff edge which left you tugging on to tree branches roots for dear life! Not to mention the big ants in the forest, that though they be small...I could see teh look in their eyes, they were just waiting to trio me over and then they's attack...like the little people in Ted Danson's Gulliver Travels' or more recently Ben Stiller in Night at the Museum (saw on plane along with 6 others)! So instead i ran for it and left them behind waving the fists in anger! Also jen twisted her ankle...was gonna leave her behind but though better of it ; )

Then it was back to Sydney...where I got ill...it was horrible...that's all I'll say, that and I'll never eat in China town anywhere again! But we managed to do the sights: The Sydney tower, teh Harbour bridge and Opera House and a visit to the aqaurium where I stroked a shark! It was a baby....but still hada crazy look in its eye! xx