Day 27 - Tuesday 29th December

Today we all went to Brisbane for a trip up the river, from South Bank, and back.
We arrived and had to walk a short way to the landing stage and they have a beach in the middle of the city!! what a brilliant idea!!
Also the provision of gas fired BBQ stands is very common in the park areas - such a fantastic idea!!

We travelled inland on the river - aboard the City Cat ( cattamaran) - this is a great way to see the city - and then seaward until we got to Brett's Wharf where we disembarked for lunch.

After much discussion we settled on an Italian Restaraunt and had a great starter - then the heavens opened again - and we had to moveto a drier area to continue with our main course!!

It was raining so hard when we left that we took a taxi to the car hire and then went on to the shopping outlet for some retail therapy ( bought nothing!! - what has happened to me?)

Weather still very bad so we had supper and retired to the 'cinema' again to watch 'Harry Potter'.

Forecast for tomorrow is good so we may be going on a boat trip - watch this space!

Day 26 - Monday 28th December

Jon and I were the first up today and after brekkie we went into Jimboomba with Jo and Ant to get our Goth costumes sorted.
Unfortunately most of the shops were shut for the holiday so we had to settle for some studded dog collars from the pet section of the supermarket and a couple of black eyeliner pens!!

Back to the house for lunch and then Jon and I decided to book a hire car for a couple of days - that done, it was time to perfect our outfits.

Set off for Dracula's at Surfer's Paradise, met Mary and Pete's friends (Roy and Ange) along the way and then entered the world of Dracula for a meal and a show. It was very bizarre but also very entertaining and we all had a great time.

Our souvenirs from this night out were a couple of glowable eyeballs!! ( It seemed like a good idea at the time!)

Day 25 - Sunday 27th December

Woke up very late at 9.30 - Joanne had alrady gone to meet a friend in Brisbane!
Went into Jimboomba with Pete to get some groceries and a look round the local shops. He then took us for a tour of the estate and we got to see all the different styles of houses and finally ran into several 'gangs' of Roos - amazing that they come up so close to the houses.

Returned for lunch and then lounged around the pool until Jo got back about 5pm - she had been shopping in the sales ( was extremely jealous) but my turn will come!!

Pete made a fabulous paella for dinner and following much drinking of a very palatable Lemon Myrtle Vodka we all had another bash at charades! Needless to say nothing made a lot of sense, but it was hilarious to watch and hopefully I have captured some suitably embarassing moments on video - heh heh!!

Jo and Ant managed to get themselves locked out and had to come in via our bedroom window!!

Tomorrow we are going to a show which involves us dressing in the goth fashion - should be interesting!

Day 24 - Boxing day

Had a good night's sleep and a lazy get up and brekkie - Jo and Ant went in to Jimboomba for supplies ( of the alcoholic liquid variety) and Mary and I had a laze around in the pool with some of the pink fizzy stuff and put the world to rights!!

Had a lazy afternoon reading on the veranda - very relaxing, even tho' it was raining on and off and then went down to the 'cinema' to watch a film - The Holiday with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz - funny and emotional and set us up for our supper and then we went back down to watch Star Trek.

All the right things to do on the day after Christmas!

Day 23 - Christmas Day

Got up about 8am and sat out on the veranda ( small boy next door roaring around on his xmas present - new bike!) and enjoyed a glass of pink champagne - followed by christmas stockings which Mary and Pete had kindly organised - much hilarity!!

Jon and Pete then cooked a full english breakfast accompanied by buck fizz which was followed by the present opening.

Mary and Pete had put a lot of thought into this and we all had some great gifts - guess what Jon got!!

I had a fab cuddly kangaroo (with joey in pouch) who will keep my koala company - checking on to the plane is gonna be a riot!!
We all retired to the 'media room' ( mini cinema in the basement) to watch a film - The Illusionist - which was very good and then back upstairs for our xmas dinner - the turkey was cooked on the barbie and tasted absolutely wonderful!
After dinner we all played a few rounds of charades - Jon attempting to mime 'dude' will go down in history - and we rounded off the day with another visit to the 'cinema' to watch 'Angels and Demons'.
A lovely day and we thank our hosts for their great hospitality.

Day 22 - Christmas Eve

Up really early and after Jon had cooked everyone a 'full english' we headed for the beach.

The sea was amazing - lots of really good waves for Jo and Ant to try out the surf.

An old wreck caught my eyes tho' and I went to take some arty photos!!

Can't believe that it is the day before Christmas and we are swimming in the Pacific!!

Finally dropped the van off at Brisbane airport ( very sad moment as Jon and I had just the best time ever in our 'home on wheels')

We will be thinking of all our family and friends back home but for now we have arrived and Pete and Mary's and will enjoy an Aussie Christmas.

Day 21 - Wednesday 23rd December

Both woke early so went for a walk along the beach at 7.30 - absolutely brilliant - deserted beach and white sands as far as the eye could see!

Caught the 10'o'clock ferry back to the mainland and headed North to meet up with Joanne and Ant in Machyoodore for lunch.

After a couple of 'fully booked' turnaways we finally settled on Dicky Beach just North of Caloundra.

Went for a walk along the beach - Ant bought a surf board - then we settled down in camp for a monster Barbie!

Talked on into the night sharing travel stories until we could talk no more!

Day 20 - Tuesday 22nd December

Good night's sleep so woke at 7.30 and had early breakfast and on the road by 9.30.
we stopped at Surfer's Paradise at people watched - fascinating - especially the Aussie fruitcake who was taking the surf school lesson - hilarious!!
Had lunch at Redland Bay and met a guy originally from Folkestone who wanted a quick squizz at the van as he was thinking of buying one.
Drove on to Cleveland and caught the ferry across to North Stradbroke Island ( or Straddie as it is known locally) and after being turned away at 3 camps we were finally let in to the Thankful Rest Caravan Park at Point Lookout!
Went fishing on the beach and then walked to the local restaurant for our evening meal - very nice Italian place called La Focacia and met a lovelorn Scottish girl who had gone travelling for a year but 'fell in love' the second week she was there and ended up waitressing in his Mum's restaurant! we celebrated our last night with a bottle of bubbly and were fairly merry by the time we got back to the van!!
Needless to say was asleep not long after our return - oops!!

Day 19 - Mon 21st December

Woke at 5.30 with the rain beating down again! - This meant brekkie inside so muffins and vegemite - Yum!!

Travelled up to Lennox head and had a look at the surf - beautiful beach, and then on to Cape Byron Lighthouse , which is the most easterly point of Australia, and then dropped down into Byron Bay.

This is kinda bohemian meets surfer meets artisans! bit like the North Lanes in Brighton - and the place where I bought my cuddly Koala ( yes, I know, but he was sooo cute!!).

Went on to Hastings beach and had a walk along the watersedge - sun extremely hot and we soon got back in the van and made our way to Fingal Beach, where we booked a place for the night.

It was early so we went for a stroll and Jon actually got to do some fishing!

Barbie by the van and an early night - shared the shower with a crab!

Day 18 - Sunday 20th December

Had a full night's sleep at last - we were up and off by 9.45 doing what, it seems, every country does on a Sunday - go to the DIY store!! We had to try and find a new gate valve for the water waste pipe as Jon has now extended his plumbing business to Camper vans!!

Bunnings in Coffs Harbour ( Oz version of B&Q but 100% bigger) was the place to be and it was an amazing warehouse stuffed to the rafters with just about everything and anything you could possibly need.

We also met a Somerset guy who had moved out to be a plumber here 4 years ago but preferred now to work in the store.

We then went on to the Sunday Market for a 'look see' and found it was more or less like our boot sales, but under cover. After a wander round it was off to Yamba on the coast for a spot of lunch, but as we arrived the 'monsoon' began and we had to stay in the van and watch the sea from a dry distance! Spectacular views tho'.

Having decided to try for Evan's Head as our stopover for the night we headed off, with the rain still lashing down, and almost collided with a roo that was careering around the roadside.

Evan's Head has a population of 3100 all of whom seemed to be occupying the only campsite there so we left, and finally settled on Ballina Central on the river front.

Day 17 - Saturday 19th December

Better night's sleep but something kept shrieking in the night ( think it was a bird of some description) and it was quite a bit cooler ( duvet had to come out of storage at about 3.30).

Another early breakfast and we were off to the Billabong Koala Centre - I was like a kid at Christmas!

They are absolutely gorgeous and the Koala chosen to be model for the day has obviously been to Charm School and posed like a pro!! The best was a Mum with twins - both clinging to for dear life whilst she just propoped herself between a few branches and slept! Absolute magic!

We left the centre (reluctantly) and without any cuddly toys - I was proud of my restraint! and headed off for Nambucca Heads for lunch by yet another river - everywhere has somewhere great to just sit and enjoy.

We picked up a few essentials ( plumbing materials mainly) in Coffs Harbour and finally drew up at the Emerald Beach Site.

We set up and then walked to the local Shop and bought a fish and chips supper and some wine and headed for the beach.

Nothing better than just watching the surf and chilling with a nice wine.

Day 16 - Friday 18th December

Not a particularly good first night's sleep - the fridge made enough noise to wake the dead and a bright red light suddenly started flashing on the electrics box!!! we got up at 7am ( unheard of on holiday)and Jon cooked us bacon butties - heaven!

We were very domesticated and did the washing that had been piling up and then took off towards Port McQuarie

Stopped at Seal Rocks and watched the surfers and collected some fab driftwood pieces that I have an idea for some jewellery when I get back.

We made lunch in the van and stopped to eat at Laurieton overlooking the river.

Finally stopped at Lighthouse Beach Caravan Park and we had another barbie and a few drinks, whilst discussing our plans for the next day.

We had our first kangaroo sighting today - very exciting, but still no koalas despite plenty of signs saying they are around ( Jon has promised to take me tomorrow to see some!!)

Day 15 - Thursday 17th Decenber

Woke up and packed, checked out and picked up the limo to go and collect our camper van. (The limo was just hanging around outside our hotel and the concierge offered it to us - how cool!!)

The guys at Maui Van hire were great and informed us that we were actually going to be given a new vehicle - it had only been out once or twice before and was the newest model - were we chuffed or what?

After quite a long and intense briefing we were on our way heading North towards Nelson's Bay. Jon having mastered the camper(which is approx. 6m long) and we were burning up the miles!

We got to Nelson's Bay at about 4pm in time to do some shopping and then headed for the Halifax Holiday Park for the night.

Jon cooked a fabulous barbie, which we ate outside and looked every bit the experienced campers that we aren't!! We both feel totally at home with this way of life and it is every bit as enjoyable as we thought it would be.

The lady in reception said there was a koala on site which could sometimes be seen in the trees by the beach but we couldn't find it - will keep looking as am determined to see one this trip.

Day 14 - Wednesday 16th December

Up and about at 9am this morning - amazing! Went for brekkie at our favourite - Waterfront Grill and then took a taxi out to Bondi Beach.

I'm not sure what I expected but it was just a beach!! Beautiful white sand (almost a powder it was so fine) blue sea, people sunbathing / surfing but that was it!! There were so many regulations about what you couldn't do whilst on the beach that the soul had been ripped out!

We tried to join in and sunbathe but the wind blew sand into every orrifice so we gave up and took a bus to Watson's Bay.

This was more like it - we enjoyed a cople of drinks on the beach front and then caught a ferry back to the quayside at the Opera House.

A quick wander round The Rocks area (a paint smeared aborigine? was playing the didgeridioo and flogging his CD's - I really hope we get to see these countrymen for real) and we were back on another ferry to our hotel.

This is our last night in Sydney so we went back to Harbourside for a final meal.

Day 13 - Tuesday 15th December

Have mucked my sleep pattern up again and when the phone rang at 2.30 in the morning ( my fault for assuming that everyone knew about the time difference in Oz!) I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep - finally made it at about 6.30 and of course we didn't wake again until 11.00 - Grrr!!

Rushed off to have breakfast at the Harbour and then left Jon with the paper as I wanted to go shopping - yippee!!

Finally made it back 2 hours later and we took a trip on the monorail around the city until we found the stop for the Tower.

The view was amazing and really gave you a much better idea of the size and scope of the city - from there we grabbed a taxi and went to the Opera House.

The sun had come out and the cafe on the lower level was obviously THE place to be - Jon presented me with a glass of bubbly and we sat and enjoyed the harbour life - people watching and eavesdropping is a fab hobby!

Had our evening meal at a tiny italian cafe on the pavement in the Kings Cross area ( Sydney's equivalent to Soho) - we had to walk throught the seedier part of town to get there but the food was delicious.

Day 12 - Monday 14th December

Touch down in Sydney at 11.05 am local time ( haven't gotta clue what time back home!) and met by non talkative driver who took us to hotel - really surprised as we had such a great welcome in Bali.

Hotel room upgraded tho' so that was good - now have view of Darling Harbour.

Had to sleep for a couple of hours but recovered enough to go walkabout around the harbour and find a great bar for a few drinks before dinner (great shops too - Jon will be bereft when I go bargain hunting tomorrow - sshh!).

Made a bit of a gaffe when ordering my ribs for dinner - could have fed a small village on the chips alone (and i had to wear a bib!).

Back to our hotel to find they had left us a complimentary bottle of champagne - well it would be rude to refuse...................!!

Day 11 - Sunday 13th December

Last day in Bali - we will be sad to leave as it is a beautiful island and the people are fantastic.

Made the most of our last breakfast and then went back to room to pack - a real chore!!

Spent the rest of the day lounging by the pool until our rep came to collect us at 5.30 to go to airport - they really looked after us and smoothed the way into the airport right up to the departure gate.

Arrived in Singapore for our connection to Sydney on time and had a good flight down to Oz.

No sleep at all and have had to add another three hours for time difference - this blog, therefore, might not make a lot of sense!

Day 10 - Saturday 12th December

Another full day today - we breakfasted at 9 and then were on our way into Kuta for a bit of shopping.

Much haggling later we are the proud owners of various items of clothing and a new sports bag to put it all in!!

Having run the gauntlet of locals on the beach trying to massage us and give us a pedicure/game of chess/cold drink/sarong/hair clip/bracelet etc we settled for a drink at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Returned to hotel for much needed slobbing out on the sunbeds until 4pm when Jon tried his hand at woodcarving with a local expert that was visiting - Local wood carver thought Jon had potential to start his own woodcarving business in Bali - Result!!

Mad dash to get ready for Romantic Sunset Dinner Cruise but made it OK and was this a real eye opener - huge boat for about 40-50 passengers and following the buffet (which was accompanied by a female karaoke singer singing elvis songs!) the real entertainment began...........

Balinese dancers - v good

Classy drag act singing - so good that a group of guys thought they were onto sure thing when he/she allowed them to touch his/her breast!!!

London Palladium dancers (or the crew) giving it their all at the Can Can!

3 Arnie Schwarzenegger lookalikes flexing their muscles to music

Jon and I were in hysterics by this time and then they brought round the questionnaire - needless to say we said it was the best night out we had had in ages!!!

Back to the hotel to pack and enjoy our last night in Bali.

Day 9 - Friday 11th December

Woken by the alarm at 8am today as we had booked a tour of the island which started with an amazing Barong Dance show at Batubulan - very entertaining with humour and beautiful dancing.

Our second stop was at Celuk which is the place to go for Silver and Gold - we saw the girls making exquisite silver beads with minute decorations and their methods were explained - actually very similar to ours but painstakingly carried out. Really interesting to see and they mix their own silver from raw materials ( silver from sumatra) and shape and form the metal to create all the parts they need. I cheated this time and bought some beads to help with some of my designs!

We then moved on to Mas where we were shown how the local wood carvers create some of the fantastic pieces we see in our shops back home. Very skillful and one piece can take up to 9 months to perfect! A little put out by the hard sell from the owner but we ignored him and left without a purchase this time.

Lunch was at Kintamani in front of the volcano and then took our return journey via the coffee plantation where Jon had a cup of the most expensive coffe in the world - made from the bean that has been eaten and pooed by a type of small weasel!!! we were assured that the beans are intact when they come out and are thoroughly washed and roasted before being ground - who on earth decided it was a good idea to rake through weasel poo just in case there was a coffee bean to be had!!!

Anyway it was a fab day and we had a brilliant time.

Day 8 - Thursday 6th December

Just about caught the last knockings of breakfast at 10.25 (finishes at 10.30!) and then had a walk around the estate belonging to the Bali Hyatt - would like to say that we managed all 36 acres, but I would be lying! A turn around the pool, beach and garden and we needed to go and lie on a sunbed to recover before meeting our rep.

Once he had gone it was back to the sunbed by the pool with a large cocktail - doesn't get much better than this!

Finally got up some energy to move from the pool to the room to get ready for dinner - we had been recommended a restaurant on the beach in Sanur called The Bonsai Cafe. It was really good - excellent food and a monster cocktail called 'The Bamboo'. We literally sat at tables right on the sand and ate by the light of the stars ( putting it bluntly - it was quite dark ).

In the back garden were hundreds of Bonsai trees and a little Mr Miyake sitting crosslegged on a table, tending to one of them

Jon found a Circle K ( local equivalent of tesco express) and stocked up on heiniken that didn't require a second mortgage and we headed of back to the hotel for a nightcap.

Day 7 - Wednesday 9th December

Woke late again - this is ridiculous as I never sleep for so long! So bad that we only had 40 mins to get up, pack and check out!!

Went for a mooch round the nearby shopping mall but unimpressed - everything is very expensive. Jon nearly had coronary at price of tools - at last something that is better in England!

Had lunch and Bali and Misa turned up to say goodbye bearing gifts of local sarongs for both of us! They have been so kind.

Picked up and taken to Airport for 7pm flight to Bali - Plane only about 1/4 full so plenty of space - got to Bali Hyatt Hotel at about 9.30 following a welcome ''chat'' from Dewa, our very friendly rep, and his sidekick, Wyan, the driver.

Lovely welcome at hotel - presented with a Lei each and given cocktails to 'refresh us after our journey'. Pleasure shortlived when we discovered that our Agents apparently had not booked us a room!!! Dewa assures us that he is going to file a report ( he looked very smug at this point)and we were not to worry - actually we aren't!

Bring another cocktail to ease the pain!! heh heh!

Day 6 - Tuesday 8th December

Majorly overslept this morning - didn't wake up until 11.30!! mad panic to get ready as our friends Bali and Misa were picking us up at 12.30 to take us for lunch.

Went to the Sentosa Yacht Club where Bali (ex senior police investigations officer) is a member - fantastic - treated like royalty.

From there he and his brother Jeff took us to Underwater world and then back to the hotel - promising to pick us up later and take us on Night Safari.

This was an amazing experience and probably very close to the real thing - we saw many animals in their natural environment - albeit a tad sleepy as it was nightime!!

From there they took us to a Chinese market where we were bombarded with people wanting to sell us their particular type of satay. we left the ordering to Bali and Misa and they didn't let us down - the food was amazing and very good value.

We finally got home about 12.30 and sat on the terrace for a night cap reflecting on a great day.

Day 5 - Monday 7th December

Picked up at Hotel at 9.30am and taken to airport for 1.30 flight with singapore airlines - lovely plane and lovely wine !!

Our pick up at the airport was a bit delayed but we were soon on our way and settled at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront hotel in Singapore.

We had a quick shower and set off for Raffles Hotel ( both Jon and I had agreed that it had to be done!) It's a fantastic old colonial style building and true to all the adverts we had a Singapore Sling in The Long Bar, ate peanuts and chucked the shells on the floor to join hundreds of others.

Another souvenir bought in the shop and we were on our way back to the hotel for dinner.
The rear terrace is right on the river and a brilliant place to down a few drinks and watch the world go by.

Tomorrow we are meeting up with some singapore friends we met in the Maldives 2 years ago - hope I recognise them!

Day 4 - Sunday 6th December

I know! but it really is day 4 today!!

Woke up very early today and then went back to sleep til 11am (maybe jetlag does exist after all) and found that a market had set up in the park opposite and people were arriving in droves.

Need to investigate but sorely disappointed with very odd assortment of junk that looked as tho it was left over from a declutter of everyones wardrobe!

Many many people setting up picnics on the pavements, walls, benches etc in the park - think they maybe waiting for something? any way................we go off on the ferry to Lamma island for lunch.

No cars on island so we walked for a very long way and although interesting at times - especially the shop full to the rafters with amber of all sizes and colours ( the lady who ran it was also called Amber!!) but I resisted the temptation (got her email address tho!) and we found a great place called The Waterfront Bar for lunch instead and Jon had his first pint of Stella for 3 DAYS!

Taxied back to the hotel for afternoon tea and in the evening went back to Soho for dinner at a very posh (but empty) italian restaurant.

Got back to hotel and finally found the hotel bar with an IKEA underneath - Madness!

Off to Singapore tomorrow..............

Day 4 - Saturday 5th December

Woke at 7.30 local time so who knows what time it really is!

Loads of Chinese people doing tai chi in the park below us and strangely another lot doing line dancing!

After breakfast we took a cab over to the Victoria Peak Tram and travelled up to the top - it has changed dramatically since I was there last and is very touristy - still the views are still magnificent and we managed to get a few photos.

Next stop was a drive out to Stanley Market on the south side of the island and spent an hour or so wandering around many little shops and stalls - great fun and first souvenir haggled and bought.

Following a few drinks on the beachfront we decided to go back to central and catch the Star Ferry over to Kowloon to look at the firework celebrations in aid of the East Asian Games 2009.

Too many people too many police and barriers everywhere sent us back over to the island where we grabed a cab to Lang Kwai Fong and found a fab restaurant called Kung Fee and had our evening meal.

No more walking home either - result!!

Days 1 and 2 - 3rd / 4th December

Today's the day!

Thanks t0 Ian for getting us to Heathrow for our flight at 9.30pm.

This was a very long overnight flight but many films and numerous offers of food and drink kept us going without much sleep!

We lost 8 hours in a matter of moments because of the time difference but arrived at 5.30pm local time and were met by the rep and taken to our hotel on Hong Kong island. Fabulous room - felt very exclusive (we don't get out much!).

Dumped our gear and decided to just explore and find somewhere to eat - very nice restaurant eventually found in Wan Chai district.

Made the mistake of walking back and the hotel wasn't quite where we thought it was - went to bed with very sore feet!!

Only two days to go and we will be on our way!