Ronking round the world

Hi again,

Sea kayaking was really cool, we got to see loads of fish/turtles which was cool. Bren also decided that sea kayaking involves swimming, as he decided to rock the kayak for a bit of a laugh. Unsurprisingly he overcooked it and he and I went face first into the pacific, which was pleasantly warm thankfully. Everyone else followed suit and we frolicked gleefully in the perfectly clear water. Unfortunately I Insta-tanned(TM) and now have a ridiculous T-shirt tan line. How very English!

In Byron bay at the moment, it's 9AM and, for the first time, Bren has flatly refused to get out of bed at ludicrous o'clock. The reason for this is that last night, we went out. First of all, we started looking for a place to eat, as our meals thusfar had consisted of muesli and cheese sandwiches. We decided on a place called cheeky monkey's, as the portions looked hefty enough to sate us for at least a little while. Out of nowhere, a wet t-shirt competition decided to occur, with Bren and I still halfway through our meals. Strange isn't the word!! We decided to get into the swing of things and before long were realy rather hammered, and both partook of a bit of dancing on table chicanery, great fun as the tables near the stage had some kind of non-slip coating to cater for just such occurances. We finally got in at about 4, and are gonna stay here for another day before heading up to surfers paradise further up the coast.

Gnarly.

hey all! The difficulty level of the trip randomly increased to about 11 yesterday. School holidays met lack of forward plaanning in a "Nowhere to stay" fiasco. Luckily we managed to find a little place in a resort in Ballina that was simply gorgeous! We booked into a hostel in Byron bay today and are due to go kayaking with dolphins in about an hour or so.

In other news, the economy drive is in full swing, with breakfast consisiting of the "Reduced to clear" section of whatever supermarket we see first. On the motoring front, petrol is scouted out whenever we go past, and anything under 85 Cents a gallon is accepted in a flurry of panic braking and $20 notes...

Also, in an ultimate skinflint maneauver, i have increased the tyre pressure in all our tyres by 5 PSI. Should get an extra few miles per gallon, and, hey, wheelspin is fun!!

Anyway have to go, flipper is calling.

Blog soon!

Chris N' Bren

Hooray! We have, without a doubt got the crappest car in the universe. It's a Toyota Starlet Called Jeff and it's really rather "Characterful". We're in Newcastle at the moment(!) which is REALLY sunny, and the sea is about as choppy as i've ever seen it. Kinda explains why they love to surf so much! Left Sydney yesterday to a fairly emotional sendoff, with the pressure on Bren not to stall the first manual car he'd driven in almost 5 months being almost palpable! We've been given a list of places to go/things to do by Mel, one of the loveliest creatures on this green/gold earth. We're heading up the coast (if the car makes it) and stopping at a series of beach/surfing towns until we get to Cairns.

We're driving to Port Macquirie later today to see more Australian surfer shenanigans, then on to either Byron bay or somewhere a bit closer, depending on time. In an internet cafe called the battleground at the moment, so i'm going to leave before they request a fight to the death.

Strewth!!

Head's a bit woolen after yesterdays shenanigans, but it's all change for Bren and Chris! Here's a rundown of the randomness:
1: Have exchanged Oz experience pass for New Zealand experience pass
2: Have bought a driving atlas and managed to hire a car which we're picking up today
3: Have gained the ability to jump off a top bunk and land absolutely silently (very useful)
4: We've booked a 4x4 safari and a Whitsundays Yacht trip (coolest thing ever)
5: Now staying in New Zealand for 6 weeks, perhaps?
6.Have observed just how wrong having Christmas in Summer truly is...



It's my last day in Sydney today, all attempts at seeing the bridge and the opera house have been thwarted by driving rain whioch stops the second we turn to go back... I've decided to look at them when we get back in January, when the weather's a bit better! Sydney's a really nice city, as Brendan has observed though, all big city's are essentially the same, so i'm looking forward to driving to Newcastle(!) today, and visiting places such as Wogga wogga and ending up in Cairns for Christmas. Hyde park is also really picturesque, with palm trees and crazy wadeing birds called Ibis, which look really rather weird!

We've met a great bunch of girls and boys, some of whom, Dave, Robin and Ed, we're meeting again in Asia. Dave left for home in Melbourne today, so a lot of the craziness has gone with him. He's quite simply one of the most amusing people i've ever met, and am looking forward to Asian antics!

I really should a: Learn to type and b: Drink less. Woolen feeling head is not good for blogging! Anyhoo, have to go back to the hostel to meet Bren, he's visiting his great uncle at the moment, so I shall bid you all farewll. Blogging is likely to become more sporadic as we go to places without computers/phones/anything but kangaroos, but I shall do what I can.

Flaming Gullah!

few things i'd forgotten, including the awesome 5 foot sudden drop that the plane decided to partake in somewhere over the Indian ocean. The lady in front of me ended up head, shoulders and upper back above her seat before being slammed back into her seat. I've not heard as much cursing from an assambled group of people in a long, long time. That'll teach her for leaning her seat back as far as it'll go. SDimple things! Went out in Sydney with Bren and his hostel chums. Got "munted" on a 4 litre cask of wine, which cost the princely sum of five pounds.... Classy! Gotta sort out our car/bus/train/plane travel now, as, god willing, we're leaving Sydney tommorrow. Ta ta!

Said teary bye's to family on Saturday, after drinking just over a bottle of Red wine to help me sleep (worked like a charm, cheers Mark & mand!) and my "Good luck" Drambuie under my belt.

Arrived in Sydney at 6:25 this morning after a (time adjusted) 31 hour flight!! Stopover in Bangkok was a humid 32 degree palm to the face, then Sydney was a rain sodden slap to the chops. Met bren at the airport then got the rickety bus(TM) back to the hostel. Met some nice people on the plane, and the hostel inhabitants are a friendly bunch. Apart from the behemoth, or fat Tony as she's known.. Off to get "munted" later on tonight, and wait for the spectre of jet lag to rear it's ugly head...

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