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Hi everyone,
We were really, really excited to get to Australia, mainly as we were looking forward to catching up with some good friends and my brother, any familiar faces would have done though!! While it's been fantastic travelling around just the two of us we were itching for some variety and new people to chat to. We've kept ourselves to ourselves mostly and been pretty quiet as we knew that we needed to save money so couldn't have too many nights out - that pattern changed with a vengeance in Oz! We arrived in Brisbane and were met by my friend Ryno. We were all staying in the house of Annette and Greg, Annette is the mother of a good Aussie friend of mine (Alicia) who lives in London. Annette also lives in a lovely house right next to Suncorp stadium, couldn't be better! On top of the best location they were also the best hosts imaginable and we were looked after royally. The
Friday night we went out into Brisbane and met up with old friends Dave & Simon, who are across for the Lions tour. We met up and celebrated our engagement with the first familiar faces we'd
seen in 7 weeks. Had a cracking night which was slightly surreal as we were in a big boozer almost entirely populated with British and Irish rugby fans with barely an Australian in sight. Many drinks were shared, as well as a great sing-song, before Kirstin crowd-surfed her way towards the exit in the wee small hours! Game day on Saturday was superb. The atmosphere in Brisbane was awesome, as only Lions matches can provide. An equal split of fans from both sides enjoying the unique occasion with plenty booze and banter. The game at Suncorp lived up to the atmosphere and we sneaked a win. Celebrated until about
4am and I think we were some of the first lions fans to go to bed! After a look round Brisbane on the Sunday we met dave and simon and nipped a couple of hours up to the Sunshine Coast and Noosa. Had a great couple of days relaxing on the beach, boogie boarding and sun bathing. Went to Australia zoo one day, which was a really fun and interactive place where they encourage as much human interaction with the animals as possible. On our final day in Queensland we went
to a water and theme park, I've always loved them and it didn't disappoint. We had a brilliant day, particularly at the water park, was only about 16 degrees and pouring with rain so none of the locals were interested so we had the place to ourselves, running up all the stairs to keep ourselves warm. The highlight was a vertical slide called 'The Wedgie'. It's involved getting into a vertical tube and standing upright, they then took away the plate under your feet and you plummeted vertically before levelling off in a flat pool where it became apparent how the ride got its name! On the Friday we popped down to Melbourne for the 2nd test. Met up with another couple of old rugby mates and my brother, who was in Melbourne for the weekend for the lions test match, proper dedicated fan!!! After another big night out we all met up again on game day for lunch and prepatory drinkies before the evening match. We found another British and Irish dominated pub and had another great sing song. When we left this pub there were a group of English fans getting horse drawn carriages to the game, so
inevitably we all hopped on board and joined in. We then spent the next five minutes travelling down to the stadium with all the crowds cheering us like victorious gladiators on chariots, while we led them all in another sing song!! Apparently we were on tv just before kick-off, as I got several text messages slagging off my beard!! The game itself wasn't great as both teams looked a little nervy, the atmosphere was phenomenal though with the visiting supporters easily making more noise and with 20 to go the cacophony was deafening as we thought we were about to witness a series win. Not to be though as they sneaked it and it now goes to a decider in Sydney. I've looked into flights back from Honolulu, they come in about 3 grand so not the best. Pretty sure that if I did that then I wouldn't have a wedding to pay for though so maybe it would save money in the long run......... We were a bit gutted to say cheery bye to my brother and Dave and Simon, and jealous of the latter two who will be there for the final test. It's just back to us
two again. However, we're now off to Hawaii so life's not all bad! We're now about half way through our trip, feels a bit surreal, the months have seemed like forever, I worry that the next two will go past all too quickly! Big luvs to all at home. Donald and Kirstin. Xx Ps. There's often extra photos at the bottom of this page, we've discovered that some if you have been missing them.
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Lorna
non-member comment
Greetings
So great to read the blog. It's good to know all is well with you both. Looking forward to seeing you on Sep 14 at our party when you are back, Love Lorna and John