Queensland to Victoria.....

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Hello everyone!

We've had a jam packed month since leaving Fraser Island so sit down strap in and get a coffee (or tea or any other beverage you want).

After leaving Rainbow Beach (where we had started our excursion to Fraser Island) we travelled down to a lovely sea side destination called Noosa. Basically Noosa is a haven of watersports and fancy hotels which we avoided in favour of a cheap and trusty camp site. We spent a few days surfing and sunning ourselves before heading down to Brisbane to meet our friends Rob, Michelle and Sara again for Michelle's birthday. We had a few quiet beverages, nothing too crazy as you might imagine and woke up the next day feeling fresh as daisies!

It was with said freshness and a dose of excitement that we were to meet up with Karl and Katherine that Thursday. We met up in the city and had a lovely meal-it was lovely to see them both after such a long period apart (of course after the 9-10 days they spent here we were happy to see them both leave!....only kidding bro!).

We journeyed back up to Noosa after saying goodbye to Beth (who carried on to Perth for a trip to the outback) and spent the next week or so eating lovely food, sunning, fishing, surfing, relaxing and generally enjoying each other's company. We managed to fit in a visit to Steve Irwin's "Australia Zoo" and Karl and Katherine also visited Fraser Island on a day trip which they both enjoyed and where they both celebrated that Great British tradition that is excessive sun exposure. Unfortunately all too quickly they both had to leave Oz and return to the real world.

(Thanks for coming to see us guys we miss you both.x)

Anyway, enough of that soppy stuff. It's hard to stay depressed during an Australia summer time! We cured our blues by heading to Byron Bay for two short days before setting off on the longest straight overland journey that any of us had made yet. The 2100 km beast that is Byron Bay (on the East coast) to Adelaide (Southern Australia) in order to meet up with our friends Tom and Anna whom we met way back in Vietnam and were good enough to put us up for 5 blissful days in a real house with real beds! We managed a sneaky trip to the Barossa Wine Region for a touch of tasting the good stuff, spent a few nights on the tiles and spent two days down at Tom's summer house on the coast. We were obviously grateful for the hospitality and so were down in the dumps again when we had to head off on our trip to Melbourne and were forced back into the leaky tent that has become home.

We stopped for a night in Warnambool at the start of the Great Ocean Road which finishes just west of Melbourne and managed a spot of surfing before jetting off the next morning. The Great Ocean Road is truly spectacular and we spent a day stopping off at the numerous spots of immense natural beauty along the way (as well as having a quick surf close to Bells Beach-an established surfing mecca in Oz) before arriving late in Melbourne and checking into a camp site.

So here we are, we have spent two days exploring the city and doing a bit of xmas shopping for each other. Melbourne is a lovely city, perhaps the first Australian city we've visited with a real cultural feel, not unlike a European city in it's architecture and cosmopolitan atmosphere.

Tomorrow we head to Sydney (a lovely ten hour drive!) to meet our friends Rob, Michelle and Sara (again!) with whom we will spend xmas and New Year! Until then, to all the guys (particularly Popsicle Gerald Atkins) enjoy your last minute cramming for gifts. To all the ladies (especially Mumsy Atkins) enjoy relaxing safe in the knowledge that your shopping is finished and that, yes, you are very very organised. We miss and love you all......

Adam and Janice.xxxxx (and Adam and Jasper.x)

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Photos

The Open Road
(Bryon Bay to Adelaide)

Experiencing some culture in Adelaide!
Tom, Anna, Adam, Jasper, Adam and Flic