Sofitel Broadbeach

... been petrified of jellyfish (probably dating back to that trip to Florida when I was 5 and my parents warned me not to touch them) and now I've been stung by one and survived. I can't say it's a fear I ever wanted to conquer, or even that I have conquered it because I probably won't ever go swimming unless the green flags are up, but I guess it's at least something I can cross off the life list. Better to be stung by a relatively harmless jellyfish than eaten by a croc! ;-)

... two months earlier than last year so will be faced with more cold weather. This should not be too much of an issue as we are well prepared for the full range of temperatures. The little portable heater that we have is very effective in the confines of the camper. Using it in the evenings has the effect of both warming up the room and drying the air ...

So much to do and so little time! This big knot in my stomach is getting tighter. Packing lists, itinerary, preparing for the house sitter, documents, (mental note: don't forget your toothbrush), hundreds of emails going back and forth and working full time till the day we leave. Forgive the stressful undertones in our first post - with the planning that's gone into this trip all will go smoothly. - M

... The water was running down the hill like a waterfall.. it was gushing down so fast that it was sweeping people's shoes off their feet!! I had pumps on so had to keep the toes curled to hold on to my shoes!! Anyway, thankfully we made it to the train ok, although the humidity down in the underground station was almost unbearable. Being drenched right through your clothing is one thing but then standing in the equivalent to a sauna with wet clothes on is awful. Anyway, we ...

... too- these were all in a big enclosure and were very used to people, and you could feed them. Obviously not the best environment for a wild animal- most were just laying around and the enclosure wasn't too big- but there were many volunteers making sure they weren't mistreated and many were carrying joeys. It was really cool to be able to see them up close. I explored the area to the north the next day, trying to wring out what ...

We stopped just before the Gold coast to take a picture of a big prawn, Australia has heaps of random big things dotted about the country, it must be the American influence however they just don't seem to pull it off! It was Steve's accommodation choice this time and he had chosen well. We were staying at the Chevron Renascence and had a two bedroom apartment overlooking the complexes lagoon gardens. The apartment was fully equipped with 2 ...

... natuurlijke de nodige foto's gemaakt (die volgen nog!). Uiteindelijke wat gedronken in het centrum. Kroeg was redelijk leeg om 5, maar om 7 uur was het ineens helemaal vol met krijsende schoolies. Schoolies zijn de schoolverlaters (niet veel ouder dan 18) die voor een week of 2 na het eindigen van de middelbare school helemaal los gaan. En de voornaamste plaats om dit de doen is Surfers Paradise. Na nog een drankje hadden we het ...

... in the city centre and pay for one night. The moose chaser also agreed to help us which probably weren't the best thing as he's so bloody loud. We spent the rest of the night in the room as he couldn't really show his face round the hostel. Was in bed by midnight and had the alarms set for 6 ready to leave early. Thursday morning we all got up as we said we would and were out of the hostel with all Lennys possesions within a couple of minutes and not a sign of ...

... became popular in 1965, when a local businessman had the bright idea to put all the "meter maids" (traffic wardens) into gold bikinis. Apparently the surf at this location isn't that great, but it does have a fantastic nightlife so it was appealing to backpackers. It was also handily located to three major theme parks, so this also attracted lots of visitors. Visually it proved to be quite a strange town, it didn't look like anywhere ...