Comfort Inn Robertson Gardens Brisbane

Our final destination before flying back to Sydney. Brisbane is a very modern city that is increasing in size all the time. It had a nice relaxed feel. We drove around taking in some of the sights. The botanical gardens were very nice and a good way to kill some time before our rendezvous with Elliots brother Ollie. He was kind enough to put us up for a couple of nights before our flight out on Friday, he lives in a beautiful part of town called Balmoral which has ...

... whales under the water
seeing a seaturtle while snorkeling
going to a top 5 beach in the world, Whitehaven Beach
partying with fun people on a boat!
and many more...

Then Jesse and I did extreme camping and 4WD on Fraser Island for 3 days 2 nights. Fraser is the world's largest sand island and is the only place where a rainforest grows directly out of the sand. Camping was extreme (making your own meals with few ...

... old pub called The Ploughman's Pub. We are really making our mom's fill up on beer. Afterwords we took the River Cat up and down the river and watched the sunset. We checked into our new hotel and went back down to the riverfront and had dinner at a place called Friday's - but much different from the one back in the US. We sat outside under the stars and looked out over the water. One of the best meals yet. Glad to see that we are ...

... a glass of wine. However, inside was a different story as there was way too many kids. We also went to visit some of andrews family as they invited us to their home near coogee beach. Ian, Steven, Julie, Matthew and James McKenzie were all great company and filled us up on delicous homemade curry and wine, as the boys watched the old firm game. It was a great night! The main highlight of Sydney for us was the bridge climb. We were so lucky to get the ...

... travels. But tonight we took the river ferry along the Brisbane River and stopped off at Il Centro (may have got restaurant name wrong). It is a river side restaurant. NOw the food was worth braving the rainy weather on the ferry - the rain hasn't let up for about 4 days - not the Australia we are all familiar with. I chowed down on Seafood Chowder (nothing like the creamy Irish and Boston versions - though they are not to be sniffed at) and Moreton Bay ...

... s place, only a few miles down the road at Lowood. We were running away from the eye of the cyclone travelling down the Queensland Coast. Which by media reports, was going to dump hundreds of mls of rain on top of us. But it didn't eventuate. Back to Brisbane to finish up some business and to see The Strangler's live at the Tivoli Theatre on Wednesday, 11 March, a concert that we just couldn't miss. Final preparations Thursday and another ...

So our flights are booked home, just in time for Spring (April) - as least we will have missed out on Winter for a year. We changed to go back via Thailand since its so cheap - we have booked a hotel for the first 2 nights in Bangkok, it cost a grand total of £22 for the 2 of us, for 2 nights .. thats £5.50 each per night! It doesnt look too bad, but I guess thats just from the photos. It could be an interesting experience ...

... and dutifully logged onto BBC.com to watch their coverage. "Obama's inauguration in 2 minutes" is what I watched first, followed by a short blurb of him actually taking oath, and finishing with his speech. I was slightly overwhelmed by the thought that (finally!) Bush was not the president, not making decisions. For me it was a big day, knowing that change had come and knowing that my friends back home were probably celebrating like there's no tomorrow. But here there was ...

... seat of a taxi in the middle of nowhere?. As I was contemplating this the bright lights of Auckland hit us - we were here and again I breathed a sigh of relief.

The Hilton Hotel Apartment was magnificent and we were told by the receptiionist that when we awoke in the morning the Diamond Princess would be right in front of our window!
I fell asleep wondering what the next day would bring and if it would be less eventful. This proposal gig is tough....

... It works fine (and hopefully will stay that way!) We also made a trip to Ikea - this wasnt too pleasant for G. He cant stand the place since he says he could make things '10 times better'. We picked up a couple of plates bowls cups and pans etc. Richie and Karen are lending us a mattress so thats the important things all sorted for now ! So ... we are slowly, infact pretty quickly, sorting everything out and settling in. Next step we just need to find some jobs.... !!