Royal On The Park Hotel Brisbane

... I ended up texting mum + playing capitals :)!
I was feeling really homesick, as I had none of my own things, wasn't really eating + was so tired it was unreal! But mum kept me going :)!

On our last day in Rainbow, I was told my luggage would arrive! So I was on a high! Rhihannon + I decided to try + keep busy! So we went for a really long walk along the beach, before going for lunch! We also decided that we wanted to go up to the sand ...

... ourselves.

They led us to a building with no signs, no advertising, no anything and we walked in through this tropical garden to a big set of timber doors. We opened the doors and all you could see were curtains and little rooms. By now John and i were a mess and both excused ourselves to go to the toilet - when we come out we went into a little bar with only a handful of people and lounges and very dark, almost non-existant lighting. At the bar ...

... to get to that was closer than Cheeky Monkeys! lol However tonight was an early one for us all!

The next day it was really hot and we did some sightseeing, even though i have a cold which doesnt make much sense. We took a 30 min walk into Central Brisbane and went to the City Hall where we went up to the top and saw some lovely views of Brisbane. We took a look around the Boltanical Gardens and had lunch, then we took a walk along the river to have a look ...

... packed as I went kayaking out to sea in the morning with a group and surfing in the afternoon. The kayaks were 2 man and we launched off the beach, into the waves and out to sea. To get out to the lighthouse head we had to paddle past a reef which as it's shallow, breaks the waves. The tour leader just said go head on and paddle hard and you'll be right. So we went off and in came 2 pretty big waves that we caught before the break, then a huge one came in ...

... were good. Surprisingly the Qantas flight home might win the prize although the Dragonair from Honkers to Shanghai could tie. We were both a little disappointed with the Cathay flight. Service, food, entertainment, the actual plane were nothing special at all. Some people have said that we (I) didn't sound as though we were enjoying it but these places were ...

... off our bags and drove to the city's Southbank area for lunch and a walk along the esplanade and round the Sunday market before Kate and Bryce dropped us back at the apartment to finish unpacking. We are meeting them and Alex, who was 'wake boarding' on Sunday, for dinner tomorrow night. After finishing our unpacking we had a quick stroll round the neighbourhood and stocked up on essentials (like wine and beer) and came back to the Medina to watch Australia just beat NZ in ...

You will have already seen our photos on here or facebook from Airlie Beach/Whitsundays.. we had an amazing time there and my friend Sue came and joined us for her Birthday which was lovely. We spent a day out on the Whitsundays cruising and snorkeling around the islands and got to visit the beautiful White haven beach, where most of our photos were taken. We've never seen sand so white and the water so blue and clear.. we loved it. From here Sue headed ...

... fully booked but luckily we found somewhere. And the next day whilst in the museum I received an voicemail telling me that they had found us accommodation in Byron Bay in a hostel that told us it was full about four days previously. Suffice say to we stuck to Ballina primarily because we had to pay a fifty percent non-refundable deposit and we felt the other hostel was a shambles which was a nice way of putting it. Forgot to mention ...

... i had met in New Zealand, my friend Lana. a native to the Sunny Coast, i was hoping she could lend some of her local knowledge to helping me find a job and a place to live. if nothing else, it would be comforting to see another familiar face amongst the ever-expanding sea of unknowns. today had been a good day; warm sunny weather, good pics, lots of animals. i drifted off to sleep with visions of what i would find in days to come.

... for the Wildlife Cruise to the sanctuary for just a few dollars more. Soon I found myself boarding another of the many water vessels I would find myself on during this adventure.

The boat trip was pleasant enough, but at times seemed more like a real estate tour, with the guide showing off homes along the riverbank and quoting prices. This seemed to annoy Kevin much more than myself, but there are many other facts I would have rather learned about ...