Mar 11, 2007 - Return to Mouses House

Menage a trois with a leech Leeches are amazing creatures. I know most of you are probably thinking 'yuck!' but once you learn a bit more about their predatory skills, one cannot help but admire them. Ok, you may not believe me right now but read on and I promise... you will be amazed! And if not, I'm sure you are all curious to know how a threesome with a leech was. In Australia, leeches live in moist and wet areas such as rainforests and swamps. Silently, they hunt down their unsuspecting victims using tiny heat and vibration sensors....

Jan 6, 2007 - Byron Bay and Surfers Paradise

To celebrate finishing surf school the whole group went out for our first night in Byron Bay. We started at a place called The Beach Hotel (owned by Paul Hogan, otherwise known as Mick Dundee from the crocodile films), then went for mexican and finished in a place called Cheeky Monkies. This has to be one of the worst clubs ever! It gets absolutely packed and the men in their are v slimy!! I got chatted up by one Aussie guy who asked me if all the girls in Birmingham were as hot as me (oh dear!). Needless to say it was not love at first...

Jan 1, 2007 - A Happy Aussie New Year

So, Here we are in Upper Coomera, on Queensland's Gold Coast. We arrived around 9.30 am on Dec 30th, sleepless from the flight from Hong Kong. We were met at the Airport by brother Duncan and sister in law Jacqui, and went back to their place and spent the first few hours catching up. We had the ubiquitous aussie barbie the first night and after a few drinks were forced to call it a night. The following morning New Years Eve - saw us on Tamborine Mountain, a delightful alpine town on the mountain overlooking Gold Coast. The main attraction...

Dec 14, 2006 - Surfer's Paradise

I was in Surfer's Paradise, on the Gold Coast, for a total of 3 days. Most people say they don't really like it but I didn't mind it. It's different than the other beaches because there are highrises all along the beach. It has tons of shopping and really good nightlife, although I decided it was better to save my money for New Year's in Sydney. The beach however was not so fun. Emma and I went down to the beach and lasted no more than 20 minutes!! It is so windy there that you get sand in your ears, eyes, up your nose and in your mouth!!...

Dec 6, 2006 - Surfers Paradise

Just got the Oz Experiece bus up here. Really nice place on the Gold Coast (40 Km of golden beach) great for surfing. Might hire a board for a day now Im a pro. Yeah right. HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!!!!!!! Well, we've ben in Surfer Paradise for about a month now. All is well. Diane and Michelle have just moved on the Sydney. Noel and I are moving up to Brisbane on the 11th of Jan. We don't have a place booked yet. Surfers has been cool, and a great place to chill out for a while. The apartment has been great. No need to worry about you're stuff...

Nov 26, 2006 - The local shows us round: Gold coast, Surfers Paradise and a trip to a nail polish factory - guest blogger Nicko

Today's guest blogger is Nick, whose home we have invaded. It was his turn to "show us the sights" - so here's his report of the days activities: After a slightly more leisurely start to the day we went round to Peter and Katie's house for a brunch of home made cakes, watermelon and iced coffee. Peter is my business partner and is the guy who organised my visa to live in beautiful Brisbane for 4 years (I'm loving it by the way) They live in a renovated traditional Queenslander house with wide verandas designed for making the most of the out...

Nov 21, 2006 - Brisbane/Gold Coast

Flew into Brisbane and Gaddy, Jimmy and Rambo met me at the station after their visit to the Castlemaine XXXX factory! Stayed over in their apartment as the next day we were driving down to Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast with Kevin (who's just moved out here) and Andy. The plan was to meet up with Webby & Carole down there and then the Torquay touring party for the First Test was complete. Not much to say about Surfers. A great beach but not so great when you hit "Schoolies" week - 26 thousand kids who have just finished their HSC head...

Oct 11, 2006 - Koala Park

We woke up making a good getaway out of the slumber to the Koala park. Was fascinating to see the animals in there flesh, but surprised to see how lazy these buggers are, they get to sleep 19 hours a day. and dont work for their living - madness! But it was good fun, then we headed north again - until we hit the Paradise. Surfers Paradise, Amazing looking place, with Las vegas feel, but clean, cool and sophisticated. The views were magnificent. Full of nightlife, good people etc. But instead of taking part in the nightlife we decided to get...

Jul 17, 2006 - End of Melbourne and half of Brisbane

We are in Surfer's Paradise right now! We've finally managed to find wireless internet again (at our chain vice location, Gloria Jean's coffee house), so we've added pictures to the last entry. The rest of Melbourne trip was GREAT. We visited and patronized Queen Victoria Market, a crazy maze of cheap souvenirs, Ugg boots, clothes, produce and meat. Dinner was a whole lot of cheap veggies and chicken in satay sauce with rice—our first cooking venture was highly successful. We met a lovely English girl named Camilla at the hostel, and she...

Jul 13, 2006 - Surfers Paradise (?!?!)

Why the ?!?! you ask, well firstly although it may be Paradise for the affluent members of our world for us backpackers it wasn't exactly Paradise. This isn't to say the one full day we had in Surfers was bad, we had a great day whale watching!!... Problem A = Hostel. We were told it was in Central Surfers Paradise, excellent we thought let's book there. Result = Hostel actually in Southport the next town along and an hour walk into Surfers. Problem B = Hostel. It was pretty poor, the bathroom facilities left a lot to be desired!!. If we...

Jun 30, 2006 - Heading North

Well, we did it - we got out of Melbourne (for a while). We paid a deposit on a booking on the Gold Coast for 3 weeks, so we couldn't dither our way out of leaving. So long since we have moved very much, we sort of overdid the distances planned to be driven on moving days (days we actually travel - as distinct from days we just 'hang out' while en route from here to there). The way we travel (slowly) we try for around 300 km/day with at least 2 nights at each stopping point. That way we have time to do things slowly, shop (or just hang...

May 28, 2006 - The Gold Coast - Byron Bay: Sunshine Coast - Brisbane and Noosa

From Melbourne it was off to Brisbane via Sydney. With strong recommmendations from Jodi and Richard we hired a car and headed straight for Byron bay which is actully in the far north of New South Wales. Byron, as we call it, is awesome. No Macky Dees, no Red Rooster just a quaint surfing town with awesome cafes, restaurants and a sublime beach. Rob has been threatening to go surfing - let's hope he doesn't pull something!! We were and remain absolutely gutted to have left Byron Bay, the hippie village and surfing mecca of Australia (as far...