Airlie beach

We had a really late bus 00.40 :( and when the bus arrived they proceeded to tell us that we were not booked onto it! I quickly told them that we were! They were adamant we had booked onto the night before......I was sure we wasn't but there was nothing we could do about it now! You see we book ourselves onto buses via a internet account with oz experience...we were so tired and the area we was waiting for the bus was rough and dangerous and had been on the news more then once for attacks while we were there so the thought of being stranded here was not a nice thought! But he had two spare seats on that bus so we were able to board :) we were so pleased :) we would arrive in airlie beach at 7am, and while Luke managed to nap on and off for a little while I didn't :(. And it was really bad weather....there was a storm and all I was thinking was omg we have got to walk to our hostel from the bus stop :( both us and our bags would get soaked :( the only good thing about this bus was that it had working wifi the whole journey ! We just couldn't understand how some hostels had no wifi and on a moving bus travelling through the arse end of no where could pick up wifi! 

We arrived safely in airlie beach at 6.45 and thankfully the rain had stopped :))) we quickly found our hostel and it turns out I had made a mistake here aswell :( I had booked us in for the night before and so we had been charged for that night :( but at this time of the morning feeling this tired I really couldn't  care less I just wanted to book in and sleep! I had decided earlier on the bus journey that there was just no way we could stay in a dorm after having no sleep ! So I upgraded us to a double :)) and when we got in our room ....it was small but it had aircon and the bed was comfy :) Even tho I was so tired I was giving myself a hard time about making these mistakes I hadn't made any mistake since we left England and I was upset with myself :( I couldn't understand how it had happened? But anyway Luke told me it didn't matter and reassured me :) and then he cuddled me and within seconds I was alseep :))) 

We slept for a good 6 hours! And when we woke we had that feeling of like being jet lagged :( we had both worked nights and we said it was like working a night shift and that was a feeling I wasn't missing! But we dragged ourselves up and showered and headed out to explore :)

There was some lovely little shops in airlie beach.....the shops actually reminded us a bit of byron bay! We bypassed a tattoo/piercing shop and I decided to try to get my tongue bar removed .....not permanently but I use to take it out regularly and clean it but for the last couple of years it has been  stuck! We have tried everything and I have been to multiple shops to get it removed! And no luck and as I thought.... the girl could not remove it! So that's still stuck! Anyway.....we had a wonder in the shops and went down to the sea front which was literally in front of our hostel! It was lovely a real postcard picture :) however we were unable to swim in the sea due to box jellyfish....it's currently there season and there sting is quite literally life threatening, but they did have a lagoon pool on the sea front that people could swim for free which was nice :) it didn't take long to walk around the town it was one street! We returned and reluctantly bought some internet time.....I needed to see if I had made these mistakes or not! And plus we wanted to FaceTime everyone :) so it was a good first day and we got to catch up with family :))

Day 2..... We had a lay in and utilised the internet researching etc and I soon discovered that I had not made a mistake on the grey hound bus it clearly stated on our online accounts that we were booked for that bus! I quickly emailed oz experience and asked them what the hell went on, we could have been stranded in that awful place :( awaiting reply....watch this space! However the hostel mistake was my own :( but it was my first mistake with this trip so it's not all bad it could have been worse! 

That morning we spent well ........Luke mainly spent 2 hours on the skype to his best mate matt :) we hadn't spoke to him for a while so that was nice :) we decided late afternoon to go and try out the fishing! And would you believe it as soon as we left our hostel and started walking to our fishing point the heavens opened .....it was pissing down! We soldiered on we were not going to be stopped by a bit of rain! Luke had seen some decent fish so we set up and..........caught nothing!! However we did see a sea turtle quite literally right in front of us! It was lovely :) we had seen sea turtles before but not this close it was really lovely :) Luke said it was so close we could of jumped on for a ride on it's back !  and although we caught nothing we were pleased to see sea turtles :) we fished with spinners/lures as someone at the hostel had thrown away pretty much our whole bag of bait :( but luke decided he might buy bait in the morning and try again :) 

...fishing with the beautiful rainbow and cruise ship in the background 

.....the beautiful scenary surrounding us :)

......the beautiful view/beach at airlie beach :) a shame we couldn't swim there due to the box jelly fish :(

That night we cooked mash and veg with gravy :) it was lovely :) just what the doctor ordered! Then it was time for only fools and a good night sleep :)

Day 3..... And our last full day :) today I left the decision of bait up to lukee....I left him to wonder in the bait and tackle shop whilst I got ready :) and he decided bait was the way forward :) before heading off fishing we had another wander through town I desperately needed some new shorts mine were far to big for me now and I only had one other pair! So looking back I packed enough shorts but ended up sending them home in Vietnam thinking I wouldn't need them! That was a big mistake! Anyway Luke pics clothes for me quite well! So he picked me a pair of shorts and a top ....the top was $5 ..bargain and we thought the shorts were $20 much more then I wanted to spend but he told me to try them on anyway ! The outfit looked good .....he picks well.... And when he went to pay for them the shorts were actually $5! My sort of price! .....we then went fishing where we spent a good 3 hours fishing and again the sea turtle came back to great us :) this time even closer it was such a wonderful sighting :) 

.....that pic isn't zoomed in that's how close we were :) 

But still we didn't catch anything ....it was a total mystery to Luke as to why we were not catching anything! It was perfect weather for it, the sea conditions were great, there were defo fish around we saw them and we had tried a few different methods of fishing! It was to him and me a mystery and we so badly wanted to catch something ...I wanted to catch something on my new rod :) 

We gave up and just went back and chilled out watching only fools :) we had a fair journey tomoz 5 hours to our next destination.......

.......townsville :)

Somewhere off the beaten track.....Emu park

We got picked up from rockhampton yha by our next hostels owners "Paul and Mandy"and they were lovely, they owned our next hostel "emu beach resort and backpackers" they had in there car there little baby boy he was so cute :) we had a lovely 30 minute drive with them and chatted mostly about fishing and backpackers ! 

When we arrived we were sooooo happy the town itself was tiny and they took us on a tour which only took minutes! We then arrived at the accomodation and we were so happy and instantly felt relaxed it was like a holiday resort :) it had a lovely pool and a general good feel about it, we were booked into a four bed dorm but there was no one else in the room ! And we had it to ourselves for the whole four nights we were there! It was just what we needed, and we had a tv on there! The bathroom was also lovely and clean and there was a double shower ! It's safe to say we were please and had no complaints about this place ! It was a breath of fresh air coming to such a nice place :)

Not long after arriving the owner "Paul" took us a few doors up to have a look at some of the fish that his neighbours had caught that day! It was good to see what was out there they also had a puppy a very young one it was so cute so most of my attention went on that! Naturally! 

We went for a wonder that evening to the town it was only a ten minute walk, we got some shopping, there was a freezer and a oven here a sight that pleased us! So we got some different foods and headed back. It was so hot we decided to jump in the pool and cool off :) it was a lovely afternoon. 

In the evening (as it was valentines day!) we treated ourselves to some alcohol from the bar....Luke had a jug of beer and I had a bottle of wine! 

We also treated ourselves to a strawberry cheesecake :)

 Played some card games and games on the ipad......to us it was a perfect valentines evening :) We then settled in our lovely room and watched some tv :) it was so nice to do something low key and not over the top :)

The next day we had a lazy morning, chilling out, watching some tv, having some breakfast and then decided we would go fishing ......I so wanted to catch something on my new rod ! We went straight across the road to where there was a cut through to the beach......all the while on the look out for snakes! And when we got over the hill to the beach......it was just stunning....and there was no one on it! It was just so lovely :) it was ironically called "fishermens beach", there was no lifeguards here so we decided we wouldn't swim here you never no ! We did debate fishing here but it was so shallow you would have to walk out quite a way to get your line out enough to catch something decent, so we continued to walk along this beautiful deserted beach ....

until we came to some rocks.....we wondered across them for about 20 minutes and then decided we would fish at the beach furthest along, this one was patroled by lifeguards and looked just as nice :) we set up here (well Luke set the rods up!) 

.....Luke waiting for a bite

..... Me chilling waiting for a bite

we spent a few hours here fishing and swimming but didn't catch anything :( Luke was quite literally giving up hope of catching something of decent size in australia ! It seems that australia has been a let down to both of us in some way :( but we did enjoy the fishing even if we didn't catch anything we still had a laugh and I need all the practice and lessons from my lukee :) we headed back via the supermarket .......to pick up some ice creams :) on this day we did actually spot a huge sting ray in the sea that we thought at first was a shark ! We only saw it because we had our polarising glasses on other wise we would have missed it! Another great siting for us :)

The next day we was going to go fishing again but it was glorious weather not a cloud in the sky :) we we spent the whole day by the pool :))) and it was lovely :))) we just messed around took some funny underwater pics ......

....and had a chill out day and just enjoyed being in this nice hostel :) we was loving having a tv in our room and as a result we were staying up very late watching some of our fave programs that we were missing and also some films :) one of the programs we watched over the weekend was a show about the band "INXS" we don't really remember them but know some of there songs ..... It was very interesting actually.

Day 4......we was going to go fishing again in the afternoon but decided we would go the next day....Paul is going to take us to a place he no's that has good fishing :) but for now we decided to walk to the postoffice we had another small bunch of stuff to send home via sea just a couple of magnets and other things we had collected about our trip to go into our scrap book when we returned :) I was already excited about putting this together :) scrap book and crafty things were very me and I loved doing them especially keep sake ones :) so we sent that home :) we were also informed in the post office that you could buy australia postcards postage already paid to anywhere in the world from most post offices in australia for $1.60! We couldn't believe it we had been here for 8wks and didn't know this we had been buying the postcard and stamp seperately and the stamp on its own was $2.60! Oh well we know now! Luckily the post office was air conditioned as walking into town the sun just came out of no where and seemed to shine directly on us for the whole walk! And it was blazing hot! So we cooled down in there! We hadn't taken many pics of emu park yet so went for a wonder and were still a little shocked at the beauty of this place :) it was stunning and on the hill top they had this piece of architecture/monument called "the singing ship" it was a huge piece of architecture in the shape of a ship with poles in it with holes in so that when it was windy the ship made noises! It was great :) ......

......the singing ship :)

We went to the supermarket again as we wanted jacket potatoes! And it was nice having a wonder as it was air conned in there! So we cooled right down before the walk back :) the afternoon was spent by the pool, and playing with the owners dog gilly! She was adorable a Labrador cross collie, she was playful and cuddly and I also wanted to take her home! .....

 That evening there was this program on that I had seen advertised since we arrived in australia.....called "love child" it was set in 1969 in Sydney - kings cross and was about a home for woman who were having child out of wed  lock and the midwives that had to look after them! Very me :) I couldn't wait for it.....and I hope I get to see the next episode next week :) as I was missing call the midwife one series I love from home this was my substitute ! It was during one of our tv nights that Luke went to make a cuppa tea and noticed a baby brown snake right near our room! That scare me I was naturally thinking "where the hells the mother snake!"

It was leaving day today :( we checked out at 10am and Paul took us to this jetty that he knew and left us there for a few hours, it was fun and we saw two huge fish lunk out of the water! But unfortunately we didn't catch anything :( however a tuna fish or mackerel Luke can't decide! did jump out of the water onto the jetty.....

.....that was fun! We returned to the hostel and spent the afternoon by the pool, we had some time to kill as our bus wasn't until twenty to one in the morning :( the only bus that was available :( what sort of time is that for a bus! And we arrive in airlie beach around 07.25! We wasn't looking forward to it but was just hoping we could sit together on the bus, I needed to snuggle with Luke to sleep :)) the hostel was taking us to the bus stop at 10pm so we had to sit around and wait for 2 hours :( however it was only one night I am sure we would survive :))

We absolutely loved emu park and the hostel we was in :) the hostel was more like a hotel and it wasn't busy at all, we had the room to ourselves for the whole time we was there, the staff were lovely, the town was small and perfect, the sea was calm which ment we could actually go in without getting attacked by the waves! The whole experience was just a breath of fresh air and just what we needed :)

The owners invited us back ! And said they loved having us there :) what a great place :) 

Onto the next destination ......and our next fishing adventure in airlie beach :)

Missing the small things.......

To most of my friends it's no secret that I am a princess! Infact some of my closer friends call me that and refer to me as a princess this is mostly because they all think I can't cope without all my material things and they think I definitely wouldn't be able to cope in a hostel! They are also all aware how I hate dirt, and anything cringey like sleeping in a filthy bed or dirty dishes etc! It's all a big joke really.....but I am here to say I have coped in many disgusting, dirty and just down right awful places ! And have survived! And it wasn't as bad as I thought! But in the bigger picture I still do like to have everything that I need at my side! But here are a few things that I and Luke really do miss.......... some home comforts!

It has become more apparent in recent weeks how much we miss our home comforts! Throughout our travels we have always missed something or another but the list seems to be getting longer as the weeks go on! But we don't think it's just that we miss them.....we miss being able to go to the shop and get something we fancy at the drop of a hat! The food, snacks, goodies and other things we like ....like fruity ciders are either not available or to expensive! It's infuriating! And this seems to be more in australia then anywhere else!.....I do feel that australia is a bit behind the times! Unfortunately this may offend some .....but...... That's the reality!

First comfort....fruity ciders and alcohol generally!....We are on a tight budget so we can't go out every night drinking and pissing our money up the wall same as when we are at home as we are always saving for something.....mostly holidays! So we buy some fruity ciders and have a drink at home...... We would like to do this here but there are two problems with this ......number one alcohol In General is super expensive, at home you can get 3 ciders for £5 well here you can barely buy one for £5! Second problem is NO supermarkets sell alcohol! It it strictly only bottle shops that sell alcohol! So we have to find them! That sucks!

Next comfort we miss is .......having a car and our own independence to do and go where ever we want when we want! It's hard sometimes being restricted to walking distance and public transport! How people do it everyday throughout life I will never no! How can anyone cope without a car forever ! There has been places we would have liked to visit and certainly places we would have liked to fish but just cannot get there :(

This next comfort is really more for Luke then me! ....... "Goodies" as he calls them.....biscuits, cookies, muffins and chocolate! Now he won't really admit it but he does love his goodies! But again the price of all of this stuff is so high! We have to buy cheap biscuits which in turn arnt as nice :( what we wouldn't give for a pack of chocolate hobnobs and golden crunch creams! Luke also badly wants the blue berry muffins that are in sainsburys ! He loves them and will literally eat the four pack in one sitting !  What we have to do is buy a big bar of dairy milk when it's on offer and basically make it last! A tad bit annoying! 

This next one is mainly for me ...but Luke misses it aswell!....A BATH! OMG I would give anything for a lovely long hot bubble bath! We both had not have a bath since middle of October time (obviously we have been having showers!) but sometimes you just want a bath! Especially after some of the bloody long walks we did in New Zealand ....hiking up hills ! The recovery requires a bath! and also when it has rained in some freak downpour and you are soaked and cold ! A shower just doesn't cut it!

Comfort number 5 ...... Our lazy Sundays (or any day that we manage to get off work together! It's rare but it happens!) in our own living room together on our own, cooking a loving stew or roast, watching films and basically just chilling on the sofa together all day! We don't really ever have any privacy to ourselves on this trip (until we hit USA!) just to be together and chill and we miss it, some couples hate spending a lot of time just them but to us it's relaxing... My job is hard, stressful, mentally and physically draining......Luke's is very physically demanding, also hard and can be mentally challenging  plus he does loads of over time so when we do get a day off together that is our relaxing time ...... So yes that is greatly missed :(

This ones just for me!...... I miss all my lovely handbags and shoes (and dresses!) :( I have a lovely collection of dkny bags which are all sitting at home in there dust covers missing me! And all my different shoes including my very comfy ugg boots which my feet are greatly missing, my jandles just don't feel the same! I would love to wear my uggs just for the day! I really miss having a big selection of clothes etc to choose from instead of wearing the same clothes over and over again people that look at our pictures must think we don't ever wash our clothes! Luke misses it to ......not on the same level but he has some lovely clothes and footwear plus we both had loads of clothes made in Vietnam so I want to wear them now! He also misses seeing me all dressed up when we used to go out for the evening! This has only just starting bothering me very recently as I am now sick of looking at the same clothes in our bag! And I miss my nice clothes! I like to dress up, look nice, wear make up everyday that's just me :) I think it's safe to say that the backpacker look is just not us! Plus I am also very sick of the sight of my leggings and blue shorts which are now to big :(

Our valuables.....we are travelling with a lot of valuables.....ipad, kindle, iPhones, cameras, video cameras ...oh and our passports! .....the list just goes on! We realise that many travellers just travel with there phones but we are the exception! What we really miss is the feeling of not having to worry about your valuables, you can leave them in your house Charging on the side and not have to think twice about it, but every single day travelling we are thinking about where our valuables are, if they are safe and if they are locked away...... We cannot leave our phones or anything on charge for a few minutes while we go to the toilet or something as they will get stolen it has happen on this trip to others :( it's quite a stress having to ensure all your belongings are safe and not just the valuables but everything .....people steal the oddest things, a lot of the hostels in australia don't have lockers for you to store your stuff in or if they do you have to pay for them! It would just be nice to not have to worry about it for just a day! 

So there you have it.....our list of the things we miss the most obviously the family and friends are on a whole new level and we miss them more then anything ! And chester & Millie just have there own new level ! I couldn't even write about how much we miss them :( But as for material things, food, handbags, shoes and just the things we love these are the main things we are missing, I don't think you ever stop missing the things you love and are used to its just a case of finding a substitute but for now we are missing these things and no substitute can really make up for it!

Hervey Bay.......fishing for big fish :)

Arriving at Hervey Bay we were excited :) we arrived  at a huge shopping complex with fishing shops, a target,a. Super market, bottle store and loads of other good shops ! We were glad and ought we would return to this shopping complex but in actual fact we didn't return here! 

We were greeted and picked up by the owner of flashpackers "warrick" he was lovely and made us feel very comfortable he was chatting all the way to the hostel :) and when we arrived we weren't disappointed :)

The kitchen was lovely, clean, looked new and the fridge was a huge walk in fridge ! Plenty of room..the rooms were good like hotel standard apart from we were sharing with two others! But the bathroom was lovely everything was clean! The first night we was on the top bunk but after that we were both on the bottom ! We decided that we are being to nIce to others, we normally have one on top bunk and one on the bottom but why I don't know! Now we just take the bottom bunks if they are available! I am so over climbing up to my bed! Anyway first night was good we got the shuttle to the super market got some supply's ! And then by chance I met this guy called Christian, he was cutting up this big fish he had caught that day,  it was a mackerel :) I just started chatting to him about where he caught it (etc) and then he offered to take us fishing! To the place he fished it was at a pier 5 Kilometers away to far to walk in the heat! He was quite literally travelling all around the world to go fishing! A true angler :) anyway he said we could catch big fish down there so we were definitely game! Luke came round and started chatting to him, so it was sorted fishing tomorrow at the pier!

We got up the next day, Christian found us and we headed off! It was quite a way even in the car so was pleased we hadn't tried to walk it! When we got there there was loads of people fishing there, and as the boys were setting up there rods two people walked past about ten minutes apart with huge fish over there shoulders ! ....

....it was very promising :) now I had already decided I would sit this one out as I wasn't sure if I would be able to handle the strength of a sea fish of such size! I was now the dedicated bait catcher! I hung a rod over the side of the pier with 6 hooks on and caught as many bait fish as I could! And I was actually pretty good at it! I managed to catch loads all different kinds and actually unhook a few on My own! Proud moment for me :) and Luke was also pleased with me :) they both had big bites but lost a few it was all very exciting! These couple of men came and set up next to Luke and Christian and obviously they caught straight away :( it was so typical they caught really huge queenfish, I couldn't help but think that if they didn't turn up they would have been Luke's or Christians fish, but hey oh that's the way it goes, we were there for around 5 hours, and then called it a day, it was fun and I enjoyed myself so did Luke :) we also saw a huge pelican which was just hanging around waiting to be fed fish! It was huge! 

.....the massive pelican :)

.....the queen fish that was caught next to us :)

We headed back made some dinner and discussed the days fishing :) we may be going tomorrow  aswell ......another opportunity to catch some big fish :)

We got up mid morning and Christian had a hangover so he wasn't sure if he wanted to go fishing so we just chilled out the hostel had free wifi and computers so we just did the usual sending more emails and research! And then Christian came along and said let's go fishing! So off we went !

It was suppose to rain today and as we got to the pier it started raining hard, we were prepared with our rain coats so we just soldiered on! As we approached the pier the rain got heavier and people were leaving the pier! And we were the mad ones just starting our fishing day ! The rain was so heavy :( we were quite literally drenched from head to toe......

 ....the guys setting up in the rain!

......me soaked!.....but it's ok I have my magners!

We was here a good 4 hours! And both of them had bites.....and then luke caught one! Another fish he hadn't caught before a cobia......

.....it was a black and white striped fish :) he released it back to the sea :)

He was pleased with his catch, we left shortly after that we were all soaked and cold, so we headed back for hot showers :))

The next day we didn't go fishing we all had a rest :) me and Luke quite literally spent 3 hours on the computers researching (etc) and actually got quite a lot done :) we were desperately trying to sort out our disney accomodation but were having no luck, just not really finding anything we wanted or that was good enough for a long stay, and then I researched further, as we were going to be buying annual passes as it would be cheaper for us to buy these then pay for entrance to the parks as we were there for so long, I didn't realise all the perks you get with them.......15-20% discount on a lot of restaurants the discounts were for restaurants that we actually go to and that we like so that's a bonus! 10% on merchandise result! And various other discounts including anything from 25% to 50% off disney hotels! ThIs made us very happy but after several emails to disney we discovered that we would definitely do us a deal, and they could even book it with the discount and we wouldn't have to show the pass until we checked in! That was a result! But I couldn't call them :( we couldn't call from oz to usa it would just be to expensive, so I was in a bit of a dilemma and then I had a idea......my sister loved to plan disney trips and there was a free number she could call them from the uk from so I decided to ask her......if she couldn't I would ask mum, but i knew my sister would be good at it :) so I asked her she agreed to do it :) she would get back to me with some results In a week or so :) she told me a forum to check out as I couldn't find any! And she said she could see what deal,they could do :) I was relaxed knowing it was in her capable hands! And it was also a stress off our minds :) we had a chilled evening, we downloaded  some more only fools to watch on our long journey tomorrow to rockhampton and just chilled, we had two new roommates in our room they were English guys and they were a pain in the arse....let's just say they kept us up most of the night, coughing, bouncing on 

the bed like it was a trampoline, coming in at 2am turning on the light chatting loudly until 3am about poxy football scores! Inconsiderate Pr**ks I mean who gives a shit at that time of the morning! Anyway we left the next day, but were just so annoyed because we wanted a decent sleep, while we were waiting for our departure time we skyped Luke's mum which was nice as we had hardly spoke since we left the uk, so it was nice to catch up hopefully do it again soon :) 

Australia's Vietnam ........... Rockhampton

We had a looooonnnnggggg bus ride here around 6 and half hours ! And we arrived at night  around 19.45 it was pitch dark, there is nothing worse then arriving somewhere new in the dark! You just can't get your bearings and see where everything is around you and how far everything is in relation to where you are staying, it really does suck! But we were greeted by a YHA drive and got on our way to the hostel! It was around a 6 minute drive so quite a long way to walk if we had to walk with all our bags.

We arrived and the hostel and the area looked like something from the outback, but everyone was nice, there was free wifi at the reception and we didn't want to judge before we explored! Plus it was dark things always look better in the morning plus... It was a yha so we knew it couldn't be awful! 

We went to our room, we had booked a 8 bedded dorm,and arriving so late we just assumed we would have to both be on a top bunk but to our surprise it looked like there were only 3 other people In there so we both had bottom bunks next to each other! Which pleased me as a lot of the time I slept in Luke's bed with him until around 4 am when I went to my own! So I was pleased! It would be easier for me to get back to my bed! It was quiet here no bars no music just peace! Which we needed after the crappest sleep we had the Night before! We were so hungry by this point ..... I had packed us a pack lunch but we ate it at about 1pm so were now quite hungry! We took our stuff to the kitchen ........ Nice kitchen, clean and well equipt! And then I had to just make sure the showers and toilet were ok which they were! So although the room wasn't a very high standard..... It wasn't busy, it was quiet and the kitchen and bathroom were ok! We were pleased :)

We went for a wonder down to dominos! As it was Monday night $5 pizzas which is our weekly treat! And then returned for a shower and a early night! We would go fishing tomorrow :)) looking forward to using and hopefully catching something on my first/new rod Luke had bought me :)))) 

.......our rods....mine is the smaller one :)

I must just say that on our walk to dominos it didn't feel particularly safe, we had been to many places in the world already and we feel that some parts of australia feel a little unsafe for us! I think maybe because everything is so sparse? But also other small things like cars just pulled over on the side of the road, engine on, lights on, just sitting there ! And we have to walk past them! its a bit odd! And you no when you go somewhere and you just have a bad vibe, you just feel a little unsure about it? Anyway I am sure things will look different in the morning! Night all :)

So the first nights sleep was a success :) the aircon worked and we were exhausted so we slept all the way through until around 10.30! We then had the long walk to the supermarket.....it wasn't that far actually but it was bloody hot! But we had no milk, bread, butter and some other stuff so it was a must! We got to woolworths and decided that as this hostel had a oven a concept we were super excited about ! As we have rarely come across a oven and this ment we could cook something different and we decided on a lasagne :) we hadn't had one since we left the uk so this was our chance we got all the ingredients it come to around $12 of course we were using quorn mince but this was nicer anyway and less fatty! So not bad! We headed back, ate some brunch ! We wanted to go fishing so we decided to ask the staff where the best place to fish was......and as we got to reception we noticed a dog.....a black Labrador it was the owners dog and she also had two others! I got straight onto cuddling this lovely dog .....it came straight to me wagging it's tail! I could not resist ! And proceeded to do so everytime I saw it! Her name was lucky and she was adorable :) anyway back to the fishing ....we got some advice .....mostly good but then we heard it is brown snake season......these are the dangerous venomous ones :( and I am extremely scared of snakes :( and also that there were definitely  crocodiles around !its all a bit scary! But we carried on and went fishing anyway ! Unfortunately the river was so so dirty :( and it stank! So to cut a long blog short !.....we spent two days fishing and it was very uneventful! There were big fish there but there was no where you could really get close to the water to fish properly, firstly it was over grown and there are snakes around and secondly you were scared to get to close .....due to the crocs! We went for a long walk to some gardens as we were told to fish the creek there but it was so awful! It stank, you couldn't get to it unless you wanted to risk getting bit by a snake. So all in all the fishing was not so good :( we did see our first sign that was warning us about crocs tho whichever as exciting but scary at the same time!.....

We weren't so keen on rockhampton as a place either, we do try to make the best of things even if we hate the hostel or the place, but sometimes it's hard, we are at the stage were we have nearly had enough of oz! And we havnt even seen the reef yet! But we are looking forward to that :) and looking forward to magnetic island where we are staying at a koala sanctuary :) so there is things to still look forward to, but oz just isn't what we thought it would be :(.

Anyway.....verdict......rockhampton to us felt very unsafe, it was dirty, and the aborigines here seem to have a lot of attitude with everyone, like they did everywhere they were very intimidating and it felt very unsafe, we did not feel comfy walking around at night which is horrible we like to feel safe, luckily the hostel wasn't that bad the kitchen and bathrooms were ok, the rooms were ok. This was however this was the first place we had been to where there were mozzies everywhere ! Which sucked and people were freely just rolling and smoking there drugs in public areas which we hated :( if the owners want to turn a Blind eye the people should be told to do it in non public areas, not everyone wants to breath it in when trying to talk to family at home :( the other good thing about this hostel was that there was free wifi! It was only at the reception area but at least it was free! 

Luke really hated rockhampton and wasn't so keen on the hostel, infact he was getting a little frustrated with australia full stop! it was annoying because we were expecting something different! 

I don't really feel the need to write much more on rockhampton we have one more day left but I think we will just chill by the pool! 

Well......I thought I wouldn't need to write anymore but that night there was loads of commotion and so,e guys were getting in a heated argument outside, it was  awful and the owners did sod all to stop it,  Luke was making a cup of tea and came back and there was a poor girl who had just arrived and she was shaking :( Luke made sure she was ok but it was really getting out of hand and it just doesn't make you feel comfortable :( and that night we both got thoroughly eaten by mozzies! It was  awful.......put of everywhere we Had been in the world we were getting eaten bY mOzzies mostly here! 

Verdict we will not be returning! 

Next stop emu park.....our beach front hostel :) 

Fishing woman.......improving my angling skills :))

Since me and Luke became a couple he has introduced me to a whole new world....... FISHING!

And although most do not believe that I can fish or even catch a fish .... Due to my princess status! I am actually not so bad at all! Luke has taught me everything I know..... He is very patient and a good teacher .....I really do not know how he copes with me I am not the best student! I get very frustrated if I can't do what I am being taught the first time! Thank you dad for that trait! But he has managed to teach me......and I am pleased he has, as I am becoming quite the angler!

So just to add a bit of history to it ......Luke carp fishes at home and has done since he was a little boy and he is very good at it and really know's his stuff! He really enjoys his time fishing he loves the quiet peaceful listening to the birds aspect of it.....and of course catching the fish! Even though this is his main hobby it his not his life which is why I think I have found it easy to get Into :) we don't go every weekend or evening so when we do go it's nice :) he has taken me to many different places in kent and I have been lucky enough to catch a few fish .....

.....this was my biggest catch and the first fish I held!

Since this picture I have caught many fish and have got more confident handling them! 

.....a little more confidence here :))

I have never had my own rod......Luke always trusts me with his! And since he has taught me my thoughts have gone from ......fishing is cruel, to I simply cannot do this, to I caught one but I can't possibly touch it let alone hold it! To I want to try to hold it, to I can hold them and unhook the small fish! I must say I am quite proud of myself and actually enjoy the interaction with the fish! I don't think I will ever be able to bring my self to kill one to eat! Luke wants to but I seem to think every living thing has feelings! And also I don't see why we should take animals out of there own environment just to eat them...hence why I am a vegatarian! So overall I am pleased with my angling progress and Luke's obviously pleased because only yesterday he bought me my first rod :))))) I am very excited and cannot wait to use it!

It's a small telescopic one which he bought a seperate reel for so I can continue to use it while we are travelling and also take it home to use! It is the perfect rod for me and Luke ensures me it will be a lot of fun! Since coming travelling I have really found out how fun fishing can be and it's great we can do it together :)

We went fishing in New Zealand at west port where we caught kahawai :) it was here he saw me being more confident, we were on some rocks and it was difficult to get the fish out of the water and onto a rock so we could unhook them, and they were strong fish as they were from the sea! So this was a whole new ball game for me! But I really enjoyed it and even held a few fish with little hesitation ! And I was on my own on a rock having to handle them myself! I think this was a proud moment for Luke :))

....getting the fish in on my own

.......holding it on my own :)

I was very pleased with my self after that days fishing and was itching to do more but sadly we didn't have the chance to in new Zealand so I was looking forward to the fishing in australia :))

We couldn't fish in New South Wales for free so decided to wait until we got To Queensland to fish :) Luke couldn't wait to get stuck in! I was a bit nervous as I felt a little unprepared for catching big sea fish or a sea fish for that matter I wasn't sure if I would be able to handle them! I knew Luke would teach me new techniques tho :)) Luke had bought a fishing rod at the end of our New Zealand trip a telescopic one so we were prepared for fishing in oz :)

The first place he caught fish was Brisbane :) he caught flat head including a huge one! It Was all very exciting he gathered a little crowd of people watching him ! And it was great catching something he hadn't caught or handled before ! I loved watching him :) i sat this one out and just watched Luke doing what he does best :) ....

 ......one of the smaller flathead he caught :)

....... Huge flathead Luke caught :)

So next we fished in noosa....this was a beautiful place to fish and Luke taught me some more fishing skills :) I am casting the rod all on my own :) he has taught me well However I still need more practice but he says I am good :) so I cast the rod and caught fish and reeled them in all on my own :) proud !! I caught a bream and a puffa fish ! I was super excited as the fish were really pretty especially the bream and I love the excitement of not knowing what you are going to catch! I loved holding the bream and I think it was good practice for me as Luke says the small ones are harder to handle as they move alot so by the time we get back and go carp fishing I should be confident to hold them no problem! 

......my puffa fish :)

.......me looking like a professional!

......me with my bream :)

So noosa was a fishing success and I really enjoyed it :) 

We next tried our luck at Hervey Bay where you can fish off this massive pier called Urangan pier and catch huge fish! The kind of size I would not be able to reel in! So I decided I would be the bait catcher so I spent the two days we fished there catching the bait .....another new skill I learnt ....more knowledge to add to my fishing skills! It was kinda fun and I caught loads and I handled them well on my own and even took the hooks out of a lot of them something which I had never done before ! I was super pleased with my self for that! I never thought I would be able to do that! Luke just gives me confidence :) 

....me catching bait :)

It was here that Luke Caught another fish that he hadn't caught before a cobia .....

......he says it gave quite a fight!

So all in all I have absolutely loved the fishing we have been doing here and I have learnt so much and have loved catching the different fish, I am also very much looking forward to catching my first catch on my first rod :) 

.....my first rod :)

......Luke setting it up for me :) I havnt quite mastered that yet!

We plan to do more fishing as we visit more places, it's exciting to never no what we will catch!

I am so pleased Luke has shown me the hobbie of fishing :) I never in a million years thought that I would ever go fishing ! I am just not that kind of girl, I am quite squeamish and a girly girl! But it turns out you can enjoy anything you put your mind to......people can introduce you to all different things you never thought you would do and it's important to go in with an open mind ...... You never no what you might enjoy! 

I love that this is something we can do together and that we both enjoy it, I love that Luke's proud of me for how far I have come and I just love watching him fish :) it's an all rounder thumbs up for me!