Well it was with heavy hearts and heavier rucksacks that we left Tracey, Mark, Misty et al behind in Brisbane after 4 and a half months of 9-5 working and 5.30-01.30 drinking. Our livers sufficiently pickled and our backs sufficiently rested, we set about making our way from Brisbane to Rainbow Beach, a colossal 19 hous away on the Greyhound bus service that runs up the east coast. Rainbow was to be our departure base for our Fraser Island trip and we were really looking forward to it so as we looked back on our previous travel faux pas', we [View Full Entry]

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Well guys, we can now confirm, SHE IS REAL !! Bindi Irwin is a living, breathing person. And she’s terrifying. Since Lee and I got back from Cairns, our touristy activities have taken a bit of a back seat to working and saving so there has not been too much to write about. Lee has also been working weekends for a friend at the Botanic Gardens Café in Brisbane to get a bit of extra cash, so our weekends have been somewhat restricted as well. It has, however, allowed me to become an Aussie Rules fan and watch the games [View Full Entry]

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Cairns - 14/02/07-20/02/07 Just before we get into our trip to Cairns, there’s something I need to mention about Oz that’s been bugging me since we got here and I keep forgetting. Australia doesn’t have 1 or 2 cent coins in circulation. Nothing particularly strange or annoying with that I hear you say, but it is when they keep pricing everything as $4.27 or $16.99. You get to the checkout and you either have to round up or down. How daft is that ?? Anyway, as mentioned in an earlier instalment, part of my 30th birthday present was to go diving [View Full Entry]

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Christmas 2006 25/12/2006 About 3 years ago, while our pal Tracey was travelling in Edinburgh, she was invited to join us for Christmas in Dalgety Bay. Obviously drunk at the time, she offered to return the favour when we got to Australia, so that we could enjoy a traditional Aussie Christmas while we were away from our families. Christmas is weird here. At the start of December, while we were in Melbourne, Lee and I were walking down one of the main streets in the city centre. It was about 30 degrees and we were doing a bit of shopping and [View Full Entry]

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Conventional travel wisdom dictates that the closer you move towards the equator, the warmer it should get. Equally so, the more you fill a travel blog with stories about the weather, the less people will be inclined to read it. Please bear with us though, one of these days, we will land in a place which is known for being hot, and it will be hot. Not so Brisbane. For those of you who are not fully acquainted with Brisbane, it is situated on Australia’s eastern coast a good 2 hours on a plane closer to the equator than Melbourne is [View Full Entry]

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For about the first time in 6 months, David had taken a week’s holiday from his work and wanted to go down the Great Ocean Road with us, something which we had planned since the beginning of our trip. It’s one of those you-have-to-do-this things that everyone talks about when they are in Victoria. Nerida also had a part-week holiday so we all decided to take off on a wee road trip for a couple of nights and see what the GOR had to offer. With Nerida having the time off as well, it meant we had someone who knew their [View Full Entry]

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Now I don’t want to sound like some old comedian, but what is it with men who don’t wan to ask for directions from their girlfriends, I mean, what’s that all about?? The plan was simple, Lee and I wanted to get out of the city for a couple of days and David and Nerida had said we could use their car if we wanted. We thought we would take ourselves off down to The Mornington Peninsula which is supposed to be lovely and crash out and relax for a few days so that we could recover from the “strenuous” seven [View Full Entry]

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Well, here it is. My 31st year on the planet. It's not as bad as everyone said it would be to be honest. I don't feel old and I'm having a massive adventure so as far as milestones go, it feels pretty goood. By a strange quirk of fate, my birthday fell on the same day as Melbourne Cup day. The Melbourne Cup is basically the biggest sporting event in the country. And this is a pretty sports-mad country. The state of Victoria gives its citizens a day off work for the races and the rest of the country pretty much [View Full Entry]

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"Excuse ladies and gentlemen, we apologise for interupting your flight, but is there a doctor, nurse or trained medical professional on board, if so, could you please report to one of our cabin crew. Thank you" Now I know what your thinking, surely you've not been watching Airplane again Graham. Well no, I haven't been overdosing on spoof flight movies. And don't call me Shirley. Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, the above was what we actually heard half way through an already terrifying flight from Perth to Melbourne. Lee and i aren't the greatest flyers in the world. There are emu's over [View Full Entry]

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The eagles have landed, the eggs are in the nest, the package has been delivered !! Whatever way you wish to say we hae arrived, then say it. Our mission has been accomplished and we are now in Australia, the other side of the planet, home of surfing, kangaroos, koalas and barbecues. And sun !! Our arrival in Perth was a bit of a mixed bag of emotions to be honest, once we had been ferried in comparitive luxury by Malaysian Airlines into the country, we were a wee bit disappointed that our pals were not there to meet us. They [View Full Entry]

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