The city of Brisbane.......& Aussie day :)

So we left surfers at 9.20 and got to brisbane at 10.40! Not bad! We had a bit of a walk from the transit center to the YHA but when we finally arrived we were very pleased first impressions were it looked like a great hostel :) and the best part was we had booked our own double room! We could not wait we didn't mind the hostels but nothing beats just being able to chill out together in your own room. 

When we walked into our room we were pleased and it had the added bonus of air con! This was now A luxury ! We settled in and decided to go out for a wander .......it had been raining all day but when we went out it was just spitting, we made our way over The bridge to the south bank where all the museums and art galleries were it was here we found some free wifi! Always a bonus! and decided to go to the GOMA - gallery of modern art! At first we were a bit kind of meh! It's another art gallery but as we walked on it got more and more interesting and weird! There was two exhibit's that really stood out to me......

There was one about violence and people affected by violence of all kinds - and under the exhibit there was space for people to write there thoughts about this and any supporting comments for victims, it's really hard to explain and there was a lot more to it, but as soon as we walked into the exhibit we were just sort of taken back by it and the whole mood in the room was different and you instantly feel moved, we read some of the comments and the letters people had left it was very moving, I decided to write something ........ I wrote just simply ..... Hope, love, smile and laugh...... As this to me was what I hoped for the victims.....I hoped that they would always have hope and be loved and try to smile and laugh all of these things can bring you happiness, everyone has different thoughts but these are mine......I dropped my note under the exhibit and went to the next room.

...... Exhibit one 

The second exhibit that really moved me was one about forgiveness, gratitude and love. There were three sort of huts open at the front where you could go Into and sit down and on all the walls of these huts there were letters, notes, and sayings. ThIs particular exhibit was about saying things to people/loved ones that were no longer with us and as most people don't get the chance to say what they wanted to Say to there loved ones whether it be forgiveness, thanks or just to simply say "I love you" this exhibit gave you the chance to do this.....so I wrote both my grandad's a letter :) first one to my mums dad talking about my achievements and how I am travelling and would have loved to have swapped stories with him about his travels, I talked about nan being with him now and missing them both a lot. My next letter was to my dads dad, and I also spoke to him about travelling and being a nurse and also how nanny was the queen bee for me and I will always look after her......for me it was just a chance to say things that I wish they were Here to witness. I put my letters with the others, when the exhibit finishes the letters get sent back to the artist and then burnt, there were some really sad ones there it was quite emotional but very beneficial. So the afternoon at the GOMA was better then expected, we had a nice walk back to the hostel and had signed up for the hostel BBQ it was only $5 each - Luke was having steak and sausage and I was having vegi sausage and mushroom burger :) and we got salad and bread with it and we decided to cook some potato aswell.....sweet and normal, it was delicious and Luke even tried a bit of kangaroo! Which he said taste like a mixture of lamb and beef! We then went down to our room to chill out and watch a bit of only fools! It was so nice walking into a room with air con! 

......waiting for our BBQ on the terrace :)

The next day we decided to take a walk into the CBD, it was a overcast day but still bloody humid! And we found a target store! To us that mainly ment free wifi! And also I could look for Millie and chesters presents ! for chester I was always on the look out for skylanders! And Millie was collecting fisher price little people range! She needed the seven dwarfs from Snow White and snow whites cottage! So far I hadn't had any luck with Millie's gift but I knew I would find it in disney! But I had found a couple of skylanders for chester, but I was specifically looking for the ones that were not out in uk yet! And as I looked at the skylanders collection I found 3 of the 4 skylanders that were not out in the uk! I was very excited about this! I what's app my sis immediately to check and make sure they were not out in England yet but of course it was night time there so would just have to return tomorrow when she had had a chance to look at the messages! Sammie says chester asks all the time when we are coming home and how many days until we come home, I find this very sad :( it's so nice that he thinks of us tho and it's important to me that they know we are thinking of them to, this doesn't always mean presents but it's nice for them to Recieve something the post from around the world ! 

We continued to look around town and just have a wonder and see where we end up! We saw many oldish buildings and a pretty church!...and lots of cast iron figures!.....

......these 3 figures where opposite the city hall and the lady was known for fighting for woman's rights, the man on the left was a writer and the one on the right he worked in politics! I gather they were all part of the short Australian history! After seeing these we turned around and saw the lovely building that was the city hall.......

 We went in for a wander! It was a huge building much bigger then it looked from the outside ! When we were wasn't around there was no one there it was very earie like an old Victorian school! We found out there was a museum on the top floor so went up to that which was a mixture of weird and interesting ! You could go up the clock tower for free but all the tickets were gone, that was a nice surprise for us to have a look around this old building and the museum is interesting :)

We wandered back to the hostel and made some lovely dinner! We made sweet potato and normal mash with leeks and mushrooms, we had my left over vegi stuff with it and carrots and broccoli with gravy! It was so delicious! It was Saturday night and while everyone else was drinking and going out we. Were going back to our room with a cup of tea and for a cuddle! We officially felt old! However the next morning a lot of the other backpackers were saying how expensive it was when they went out .....2 drinks for $22 ! That was like our shopping bill for 4 days! 

The next day was Aussie day! And we had purchased these Aussie tshirts a few weeks back in a cheap shop they were like superman tshirts but had the Aussie flag on! We put them on had some breaky and headed out there was loads of stuff going on on the south bank, but our first stop was target! My sister had messaged me back saying that the skylanders weren't out in England yet so I decided that I would get my little chester 2 out of the 3, i wanted to get him all three but I had already got him two a few weeks ago when they were on offer and I had to make sure the parcel I was sending back was 500grams or less and it wasnt fare on little Millie poppins if I got chester all of them, as I hadn't managed to get the things she wanted I did ask again that morning of they had anymore little people stuff out the back and they said no, but I had already bought Millie a couple of presents that I knew she would like :) I was going to get her something else but I really wanted to save the money for something she really wanted. I planed to send them home ASAP but it was bank holiday here so had to wait until the next town! I had to take all the skylanders out of there packaging as the packaging weighs about the same as the actual skylanders ! Every gram mattered!

We took a wander over to the south bank after that and on the other side of the bridge we walked across there was a protest going on! It was all very exciting we had never seen a protest before! Not that sort anyway, it was the aborigines shouting about how it was there land etc etc! It was stopping all the traffic over the bridge all I could think of was those poor motorists stuck behind them! We spent a couple of hours walking along the south bank towards the Brisbane wheel......

.....there were some activities going on for Aussie day and a lot of live bands it was quite nice just to have a wonder! There were two people sand sculpting a car......

And we also wandered to the man made beach that had been made for tourists and locals as there wasn't a beach here and it overlooked the river it was quite nice and Luke was now wondering why he Hadn't put his swimmers in the bag!....

.....we took a slow walk back along the Brisbane river back to our hostel for a late lunch snack Luke had a cheese, cucumber, beet root and apple sandwich and I had some crackers with the same on :) it was so refreshing!

.....the Brisbane river....

That evening we had another clear out of our stuff, threw away loads, put stuff in the free box and had a small pile of sovenirs to send home via sea, a couple of magnets, and info on places we had been, it was great to have a clear out! Later on we made another scrummy meal....

At 19.30 there were fireworks over the river for Aussie day and we had the perfect view from the hostel terrace! They were really good fireworks and went on for 15 minutes! Obviously not as good as Sydney at New Years but still good! 

Our last day in Brisbane we decided to go fishing on the Brisbane river, it was free and we had all the stuff, so off we went Luke had a fish and i caught up on my blog......

.......Luke caught a flathead on the Brisbane river! Not just one but 3 average ones and one huge one which one of the locals said was huge! He was so pleased and I was so happy seeing him catch all those fish! It was so funny because he had attracted a huge crowd of people! They just surrounded him taking pics etc! What a great afternoon! 

 The huge one!

There was a beautiful rainbow as we walked back ......

....so pretty ...

We decided to sit on the south bank lawn after and use the free wifi from the GOMA! We had a lazy evening going over the next few weeks of our travel plans and looking at our fishing footage! and enjoying our own room and the aircon! This hostel really was one of the best we have stayed in the standards were so high and we have enjoyed it,the best thing is it's got a huge kitchen with all the right utensils and enough cutlery to go around! So we managed to cook some good meals there....

Our reflection on the city of Brisbane is that it s a nice little city to visit for a few days do some shopping and see the sights, it's quite relaxing not like your average city, there is lots of art work around the city and the city is pretty interesting, we think that we spent the correct amount of time here .....4 nights! We would come back here if we passed it on route somewhere, Luke said he would pop in! Overall a nice city :)))

Leaving tomorrow for another town......more adventure!

Surfers paradise - our ten night stay at the Gold Coast :)

It was only a 45 minute journey from coolangata to surfers paradise, we left around 8.30 but had to stop a few times on the way we were in a brand new coach that kept breaking! Plus the aircon didn't work it was like a sauna in there and there were leather seats which made it even hotter! 

When we arrived at the bus terminal we were happy to find that our hostel was just opposite! Perfect! We were staying at islander backpackers it was attached to islander hotel so we could use all the hotel facilities the pool etc which was great ! We checked in and got straight in the pool! it was needed after the hot journey! 

Whilst I went to check on our luggage and get our jandles my back went :( I was just standing there about to move and it just went :( it was so painful and I was so annoyed :( Luke says I am a walking wound! I was in so much pain I had some anti inflammatory gel and Luke had some tablets he got in asia when his back was bad so I took them, we went to the pharmacy but they said they don't have anti spasmotics! They were just going to give me ibuprofen ! Honesty australia is so behind ! So we went for a wonder around town to see what we can see! We went to the beach, and to the shops, we got our theme park tickets and bus tickets that were like oyster cards so we could just top them up as we went which was good! And we couldnt wait to go to the the theme parks :) I was just hoping my back would get better, we had bought a combo pass which allowed us entry to movie world, sea world and wet and wild water park! And they lasted 21 days! We got a dominos for dinner that night it was there $4.95 any pizza night! We then made ourselves a picnic for the next day and chilled out watching tv in our room, we were in a five bed dorm but we had a double bed that was directly in front of the tv! So we took full advantage of that having not had a tv since New Zealand!

......our five bedded dorm !

.....we could finally sleep in the same bed :)

We had decided to go to sea world today as we thought that it would be easier on my ankle and back! We were up at 7 and got the 8.40 bus to sea world we had purchased these "go cards" which are exactly like Oyster cards, and it was actually super cheap it turned out to be about $6 for a return and if we had paid the driver it would have been around $16 each return and before we got there I was also looking at the shuttle passes and that would have been even more at around $160 for two of us for a five day pass! So we were very pleased with our go cards! Plus when we have finished with them we get to return them and get our $10 deposit back! Every penny counts! 

......we arrived at sea world and when the doors opened at 9.30 we were the first in! We made our way straight to the rides, there was only four roller coasters but we knew they would be busy once everyone got in, when we got to the first one we were told they would open Later and also that there was no where to put our bags so we would have to pay for a locker! It was $2 per hour and if you don't get your stuff out after an hour you get charged a fine of $8 !! We couldn't believe it ! How can they possible charge for lockers! They should be free! That really pissed Luke off! We went round to all the rides, they were all shut and about a hour later we were told only one was open as all the others had technical problems! Everyone was so annoyed :( they did eventually open later but it made no sense to us surely they should have been running them and testing them before the general public were allowed in so they were ready to go when we got it? It just didn't make sense? Of course I had been to florida many times and Luke has been aswell and we were so used to the standard of disney world! I think that other theme parks need to adopt there attitude! It all runs smoothly there and there are no complaints! We decided to just get on with the other things in the park......we started with the seal show which was really good and funny! And then went to the polar bears :) where we got a rare glimpse of the baby polar bear that had been born seven months ago! He was so cute! I questioned the staff about the polar Bears enclosure and why they were there etc etc I didn't leave until I was happy with what they were telling me! Of cors they loved me!!! I had to make sure the animals were ok! For those of you that don't know me I am a massive animal lover :))) And cannot see animals suffer, when I go to places like this which isn't often I do quiz the staff.

We wondered over to the string rays and gave them a stroke :) we then decided to que for the sea viper ride the que didn't look that bad and you could store your bags on the ride platform where they had boxes for people's belongings! This is what every ride should have! The ride was good and my back and ankle survived! We decided after this it was time for our picnic lunch! We had made salad rolls, we had fruit, and sweet and savory little snack packs of biscuits :) and of course tommy sauce! We struggled to find some shade it was so hot even for us ! we found a bench and that's where we ate :)) we couldn't really decide what we wanted to see or do next but we knew we were super hot so we just had a wonder and came across a small water park and thought perfect we needed to cool off and we had our swimmers in our bag :) but when we got to the entrance we were shocked to find you had to pay extra to go in! It was $10 each we just couldn't believe the cheek of it! We had paid to get into the park and for the people that paid on the door they paid $89.99! And then to see you would have to pay extra to get into this park was awful! The small water park was in the grounds of sea world so I just don't know how they got away with it! Anyway we were very near to the dolphins so decided To see the dolphin show and it was in the shade so we managed to cool off :) the show was ok it was. More educational then show but we liked it as we like dolphins :))

 we couldn't really decide what we should do next so we wondered over to the jet boat ride! It was a roller coaster where you sit on jet ski"s ! It looked fast so we decided to que up for it! Again we had the locker issue! And I had to tell the member of staff how awful it was and what a rip off it was that we had to pay for a locker! Many people just left there stuff outside the ride but we couldn't risk that,so begrudgingly we paid for a locker much to Luke's disgust! She said the que was 45 minutes so we should get back in time! The que was 45 minutes and when we got on the ride we loved it! It's so hard to find a ride that is different to what we have already been on as we have been to many theme parks around the world but this was great :) worth the wait :) we then approach the two other rides but one was more then an hour wait and there was no shade in that que and the other was to long aswell so we got a ice cream !!!! And chilled out for 15 mins before deciding we would leave and go back to hotel for a swim :) it was around 3pm so we had been here most of the day, we went back and sat in the hot tub/jacuzzi for a couple of hours! It was heaven !  It was then time to decided what to do tomorrow and make a pack lunch and some dinner :) 

.....a sea lion show we watched :)

 .....dinosaur land ! My fave!

Our verdict of sea world was overall a little disspointed, we didn't like that they practically ripped everyone off where ever they could and the locker thing really was a piss take! We enjoyed the animals and shows and we also saw a video of how sea world rescues the animals and how they come to be at sea world which for me I needed to see! So over all worth the one trip but we wouldn't go back and it's a Shame about the other rides we didn't get to go on they looked good ! Let's see what tomorrow brings :))

Another bright and early start for us which we found ok actually as this was the coolest time of the day ! We grabbed some breaky .....toast and fruit and made our way to the bus stop ......today our adventure takes us to movie world! Aka warner bros world!

 We were quite excited about this and couldn't wait to get on some rides! We got there nice and early just before 9am the park didn't open until 09.30 so we were first in the que! When the gates finally opened we went straight to one of the coasters....the superman coaster! And was then told it wouldn't open until 10am and that we needed to rent a locker for our stuff ! I had asked a member of staff while we were queuing if we needed to rent lockers for each ride and she said she didn't no! So anyway after finding out we needed a locker for this ride we just went to rent one for the day to save all the stress ! It was $10 and when we got there there was no change machines so we went to a couple of the shops who said they could change our money! Everyone was in the same boat people were running around all over the place trying to get change ! And there were only about 75 lockers so it was a race against time to get one! Eventually we had to buy something to get change ! Not a good start! And it was already 10am ! But when we got back to the superman que it was practically back at the entrance door and there was another que for the ride the green lantern which was also blocking the entrance! it was mayhem ! We really couldn't see why everyone was allowed to pile Into the park and the rides not start until 10am it didn't make sense ! Anyway all was well when we eventually got onto the ride! It was really good and we went on a second time ! 

We spent the morning riding the rides! Some good some defo not worth it! We stopped for our picnic and a rest It was a blazing hot day and none of the rides had shade areas and we had put our sun glasses in the locker! Which now we wished we hadn't as it was only the superman ride that had no space for belongings on the ride platform! We couldn't believe it we could of just paid $2 for a locker for that ride instead or $10! We chilled out for a bit and went to see a stunt show which was short and sweet! It was then time to hit the rides again! We went for a water ride this time ! It was like a log flume but with bit of a roller coaster inbetween ! It really cooled us down! Then it was time for the scooby doo coaster! The que was pretty long but it was all inside with aircon and a big tv with scooby on Perfect! There was one big roller coaster we hadn't been on yet.......batman Arkham asylum ! It looked pretty good but it had been shut all day :( but when we went there around 3.45 it was open :) we qued around 25 minutes and it was worth the wait ! We both came off feeling dizzy! It was awesome!

 We then went on superman again! We were hot and tired an decided just to take some pics and head back, it had been a brilliant day and we defo,come back before we leave surfers ! 

.......the green lantern ride .....not worth the que!

......the motorbike stunt show 

When we got back we decided to make salad French stick tiger rolls! And they were scrummy :) we had been eating lots of pasta and rice as it was cheap and badly needed something different ! And these were just what we needed ! We also made our picnic for tomoz as we were going to the water park. We hit the hot tub for a bit my ankle was soooo swollen it was in need of some tlc! We also discussed a fishing charter that Luke had picked for us for next week! It was all very exciting !

That evening our cool bag that we have had for three months, that has come all over New Zealand with us, flew to oz with us and had come this far sadly broke :( to the point of no return! It was a sad moment! This little bag had held a lot of our food over the weeks and had been good to us! So sadly it was goodbye ....... And we had to purchase a new one !

 So another early start which I didn't personally mind as it was so bloody hot in our room! We had seen rooms with two fans in and we were told there were none left! And the aircon was boarded up. Today we were going to wet and wild water park! It was the biggest one and we couldn't wait to rides the water rides and flumes :) we decided to get a slightly later bus just fifteen minutes later and what a difference 15 minutes makes the bus was so busy the driver had to leave some people behind! But I had got on elbows out every man for himself style!! And got us some seats! We were so used to london and the hustle and bustle of London transport! We arrived nice and early 45 minutes early! We thought the park opened at 9.30 but it opened at 10am! But we got inline and it was a good job we did as the que went so far back we couldn't see the end! And when we got in you could only go so far and then they wouldn't let you past it was crazy ! So we qued up for 45 minutes and were then let in and then had to que for another 10-15 minutes to get any further! It was so weird and then of course when we were allowed through there was a mad rush for sun chairs ! It was so funny! Me and Luke were laughing our heads off people were actually running there arses off to get a sun chair! This one lady was just behind me I was just walking and then she shot past me like linford Christie running in a hysterical fashion and just launched her towel on three sun chairs and sat on another ! Then shouted "yes I've got them!" Me and Luke quite literally fell about laughing And then continued to take the piss out of her while we calmly set up our sun chairs ! 

.....me in a calm state after setting up my sunchair!!

We immediately hit the rides we went on a few quite quickly but by the time we walked over the other side of the park the question were around 45-50 minutes long waiting in the blazing sunshine with no shade, so we decided we would..... well Luke would go down this ride called the "aqua drop" where you have a floating board attached to your back, your put in a capsule the door is shut and then the floor drops! And you are sent flying down and round a small tube before coming out at the bottom! I quite quickly decided I wasn't going on that and settled for videoing and taking pics of luke!! He was so brave! I wouldn't go on it ! I watched it over and over again and even watched a girl get stuck in the middle of it! They had to open the tube to get her out .....

.....girl stuck in tube being helped out!

......Luke in the capsule!

......the actual whole ride!

When he got off the ride luke said the actual dropping of the door and when you fall is the scariest but then it's just over in seconds!! I was so proud that he did it ! I couldn't do it! We then went back to our chairs for a roll and a drink! And to do a little sunbathing! We ran out of water pretty quick so I went in search for a water fountain I was told there was only one In the park .....and when I got there it didn't work! Anyway to cut the story short I eventually found someone to fill it up after going to 4 different food outlets including the bar who told me they didn't have taps or couldn't fill it up ! I was shocked we had to wait in uncovered que's and then there was no water to rehydrate you ! They wanted you to buy there bottles water which was $4.50 per small bottle which is around £2.50! Something we can buy for around 50p in the uk! Anyway this went on for most of the day including one person giving me  back my bottle filled up with hot water before telling me she had no cold tap! when I finally went to guest services and they filled it up with freezing cold water for me! Nobody advised me to go there I wish someone had in the first place ! 

We went to the lazy river for a bit and it was lovely just chilling in the sun :) there was one ride here it was a surfing ride ....

.....and it was pretty scary !

We only went on that once ! We next headed back to the main pool where we had a bit of fun in the wave pool before getting out and chilling and grabbing some food from our cool box :) we sat here for pretty much the rest of the afternoon, it was hot but there was a slight breeze which was needed! We left at around 16.30 and got the very busy bus back to surfers :) we had some salad left so decided just to buy a French stick again and have salad rolls which went down a treat :) we went for a little wander in town the view was so nice from the end of our road just watching the sea was great :)) we headed back and decided to get some wifi it was cheaper to get 7 days worth and as we were here for ten days that would be perfect :) having got it we realised it wouldn't work in our room :( so we would have to use it directly in front of reception! I decided I would FaceTime my auntie no :) I miss her very much and hadn't had a good chat with her for a while so we had a good catch up, I love chatting to her and it was nice to chat to someone at home :) we were pretty tired that night and having asked for a fan earlier that day after spotting people having 2 fans in there room! We manage to get one ! So that nights sleep was the best we had had here! Although still quite hot we left the balcony door open!

We decided to not set the alarm and just get up when we wanted to! Which was around 9.30 for me, sadly Luke woke up with a headache which we think is due to dehydration :( we had been drinking lots of water but probly not enough to compensate us being in this heat and sweating! I gave him some pills and water and carried on pottering around doing some laundry etc! By about 11 am we had both got ready to go out! For today was beach day! We had some breaky and headed straight for the beach !

It was pretty busy as it was a Saturday so all the locals were out, and you can only swim between the flags so between the flags it was so busy and the waves were pretty strong and big aswell the life guards kept having to put the sirens on to tell people to move between the flags, there are always some people that just don't listen it's for there own safety but they think they can handle the sea! We had just recently learnt what all the flags ment - yellow means - potentially dangerous conditions, red is danger don't enter the water, red and white checker is sighting of a shark and blue is a board riding area for surfers! We only really grasped onto the shark one! That's the one that stuck mostly in our heads ! We had a great morning and early afternoon at the beach and later went back to the pool as we were super sandy and it was so busy at the beach! 

That night we went to the sea front and found a cheap deal for dinner we had fish and chips for $5 each! It was hoki which we had had before and was nice, we were so sick of eating pasta so we treated ourselves to fish and chips! Whilst watching the sunset :) perfect :)) as we had purchased internet for a week we took this oppourtunity to FaceTime my mum and dad we missed chatting to them and wanted to tell them all about our adventures :) it wasnice  catching up amd then we facetimed my sis and boo and poppins :) which was nice :) would have liked to have spoke to Luke's mum but she hasn't contacted us for weeks :( and we can never get hold of her :( so there's nothing I can do about that. 

The next day was another relaxing one! We just sat at the pool all day until around 5pm it was heaven we just chatted about our trip and reminisced again! We love thinking back to our adventures! And I caught up with my postcards :)) that night we decided to cook some dinner so we had potato, sweet potato, broccoli and carrots with gravy and Luke had a meat pie it was lovely just what we needed :) we caught up on our Aussie planning and booking and went upstairs to watch mission impossible - ghost protocol! We had hoped to go to bed early as we were going on the fishing charter early tomorrow but we watched that film and then something else came on that was interesting and then we chatted to our roommate so it ended up being a 1am bed time ! And we had to get up at 5am. It was a bad nights sleep as we had a new man in the room and he snored so bad it woke us up multiple times! I was literally going to kick him in the arse! I did slap my jandle down on the bed side table next to him and it didn't wake him! 

We pretty much did not sleep at all and were awake half an hour before our alarm went off ! But were so excited about the day Luke had waited for this since we left England so I couldn't wait to see him catch some big fish. We got up at 5am and got a taxi around 5.30am when we arrived at the departure address there was no one there and Infact the charter was slightly late! Which annoyed us a little bit as we had been told to get there 5 minutes early! When the charter came around the corner we were both shocked at the size of it! It was tiny! I hadn't really looked this trip up but Luke had been researching it for ages and he said it was a good one so I just went with it, it was the best cheapest one Luke had found it was $90 each for 5 hours and they stop at a few different stops and pretty much gurantee you will catch fish at your first stop and there after! But the boat was so small and by this time there was loads of people there, we boarded and got a safety talk there was 11 of us all together he did talk a bit about sea sick tablets and that we all got sent a text about what ones to get and the best ones etc etc however we didn't get this text! And we was suppose to get a text with the departure address but didn't get it so I emailed them and they emailed that info but failed to mention the sea sick tablets :( Luke had mentioned them the day before but I had said we don't need them, we had never been sea sick before and I just didn't think we needed them, however as time went on I realised I should have listened to Luke.

We set off and I was feeling ill pretty much from the start and I just couldn't control it :( I knew I had made a mistake not taking those tablets Luke seemed ok and said he was fine but at the same time he didn't seem right to me I knew him well and he wasn't jumping to put bait on his hook so I knew something was wrong :( I expressed I felt sick and the skipper told me just to sit outside and look at the horizon it will make me feel better! It didn't and then Luke felt ill by the time we had stopped at the first place and left again I was Inside with my head on the table and Luke had already gone to the toilet to be sick and another girl was sick over the side, after Luke came out the toilet he said be sick you will feel better so I did and I felt like shit I felt good getting the bannana out my system that I had for breaky but after that it was just bile :( and you have that horrible feeling of being sick but having nothing to throw up! I came out the skipper said I could lay in the "hole" base of the boat and I gladly excepted it was wet with god knows what but I didn't care I needed to lay down and from that moment that's where I stayed until I got off! Poor Luke was pretty much in the toilet the whole time first throwing up and then heaving and bringing up bile, we left so early in the morning so we hadn't drank a whole lot and had only had a bannana so he was sicking up nothing and I just felt so sorry for him I really wanted to go see if he was ok but everytime I sat up I had to lay back down I just couldn't do it, I did shout for him a couple of times as I was so worried about him I kept telling him to come out and take deep breaths but he just kept being sick I felt helpless I hated seeing him this sick I think me laying down helped me I still felt rough as hell and really sick but I could take deep breaths close my eyes and just try and cope with it, my poor lukee :( the day went on no one caught any fishes apart from a couple of snappers, certainly not what had been advertised and they had also advertised free food and drink it was pour yourself tea and biscuits not really what we would call food! We continued to be ill the whole time the two staff not really helping or doing anything when we eventually got back to the port I could barely hear what he was saying but was glad we was back we both struggled like hell to get off he boat and the staff did nothing to help us or even say goodbye or give us advice or anything! I was in shock! When we got off the jetty Luke just collapsed :( he was shaking and could barely talk, I knew I had to get him home and hydrate him but he just couldn't manage to move :( I manage to get him to the other side of the car park wear he collapse again and was sick just green bile I was more worried by this point but was also feeling very ill myself and just wanted to get back I was trying to pursued Luke to walk with me but he just couldn't :( it was very frustrating at the time as I felt so ill and I couldn't do anything to help Luke at this point so I was just stuck, calling an ambulance had crossed my mind as I had no idea how we were going to get back, original plan was walking to the bus stop but that was out of the question, luckily a taxi came at this point to drop some others off so we jumped in the taxi and got back in no time, Luke got straight to bed for a lye down and I got him and myself some fluids and we pretty much spent the afternoon and evening doing nothing and hydrating our selves and eating a bit we both felt so drained and had headaches poor Luke felt the roughest and I was still concerned about him.

I left him to rest for a bit in the evening and went down to reception to do some more stuff on the internet we had paid for seven days and I didn't want to waste any time or money! That was me all over! I tried to pay some stuff and book some stuff and unfortunately the bank thought it was unusual activity so blocked our cards it was half my fault because I made mistakes on amounts as I was not thinking straight and that would have looked most unusual! Luckily I contacted my mum and she had it all sorted out in less then 24 hours! My mum ladies and gentlemen is a angel ! What we would do without her I don't know! We can really count on her to help us at the drop of a hat and sort things out, plus she knows how stressed I get with the bank ! Anyway the point is I couldn't ask for a better mum and just don't know what I would do without her :) and my lovely dad of course both amazing and very much loved. 

We was both so disappointed with the fishing charter, even if we had not been sick we wouldn't have caught anything so it would have been a complete waste of money and falsely advertised ! I felt so sorry for Luke :( he was really looking forward to this and was excited and it just wasn't what we thought, it was just a tourist boat and not what we like, we felt shit that we had wasted all that money when we were being so careful with our money and really picking our activities and that was $200 just gone :( but then if we hadn't done it we would of forever been wondering about it, I definitely should have listened to Luke about the sea sick tablets and I need to stop being so stubborn and just believe he is right aswell! He knows what I am like ! But I need to listen to him he does no best sometimes!(most of the time!) I felt bad for not getting them and will listen to him next time :) love my lukee :) and hated seeing him so ill, Infact in the while time we have been together he has not been that ill :( and it was horrible to see, we will put it down to anexperience but we won't be doing that again anytime soon! Luke said it was the worst day ever :(

Having attempted and pretty much failed to catch up on bookings that night I gave up and went to sleep ! It was needed and we was asleep that night before 10pm! And we slept until 10am! Which we hadn't been doing for a while because the heat and we had been getting up early to sight sea, Theme parks etc. but we must have needed it! We were going to go to sea world today and do the rides we had missed before but Luke still felt rough and I wasn't 100% I was a little disappointed but I couldn't really expect us to walk around sea world the day after being so ill! But I hated missing out and wasting a day! My parents will no this well and Luke knew this well but I had to just give up and have a rest ! So we had some breakfast and spent some time in the hot tub in the the shade and then just relaxed in our room and thinking a bit more clearly today we did do some research etc for our trip but felt like we got no where :( we wanted to book some more accomodation but were stuck on the town of agnes water we could not find a good enough hostel there :( there was only four and the reviews for all were bad apart from one but that one only had ten bed dorms and they didn't lock the doors to these dorms! So we just didn't no what to do, we started researching other towns but it gets so tedious we had been researching for ages long before we left England to get the most from our trip and quite frankly we couldn't be arsed any more ! But we knew we had to ! I just decided to email oz experience who we booked our tour with and ask there advise and then we called it a night ! And we were suppose to go to bed early but we watched a Film and didn't get to bed until gone midnight ! And we were getting up early the next day to go back to wet and wild.

So we were up early and so where the girls we had met opposite they were leaving today, it had been nice chatting to them and getting to no them. There was another girl in our room who seemed nice enough but I have to say she was soooo messy and when I went to close the curtain from her side of the bed there was plates and cutlery that were filthy and full of food and just sitting on the floor ! I can cope with mess everyone travels differently and sometimes you need you stuff everywhere but being dirty and leaving stuff like that around is just disgusting and when your sharing with others it's not fair! When we returned from wet and wild the dirty plates etc were chucked In her cutlery box still filthy and then she came home picked out the dirty knife and continued to make food with it! She had a bag of food on the floor actual food not just crisps and snacks open food there was like a pot of chicken in sauce which had been there ages and she picked that up and the dirty knife and made a sandwich on the locker tops! It was so disgusting! We don't normally moan about other travelers and especially on here but it was so disgusting! Luckily she was leaving the next day! Thank god as that night she proceeded to smoke weed on the balcony and waft it in! Each to there own but don't waft it around for others to breath in! We spent half the night shutting the balcony door!

We decided today that we would go back to wet and wild just to go on the slides that we had missed before, but still feeling a little under the weather we got to the bus stop and waited 25 minutes! I think these buses just make up there own timetables ! Then one came and it was full so we couldn't get on it! We weren't exactly there late we had got up early ! Then another came and we jumped on it! Unfortunately we got on the wrong bus :( something we have never done! Anyway we ended up at dreamworld and the bus driver said he would take us to wet and wild ! So all around it was an hour and half journey ! We eventually got to the park just after 10.30 so we just found a spare seat in the shade dumped our stuff there and went off, it was still pretty busy but we did what we could and had some lunch then we started to feel a bit ill and Luke had a headache so we went back and had a rest etc etc it was nice to visit wet and wild again :) we spent the evening at the night market just having a browse and then went to bed relatively early.

We decided that the next day which was our last we would go to movie world we wanted to see a few shows that we did not have time to see before and go on some of the rides again! We decided to not take anything of value so we could just leave our bags outside the ride this time and not have to pay for a locker as that's what everyone seemed to do! We got on the right bus this time! And the morning had started with some serious rain! But we still went it was only really spitting through the day so it was ok it was overcast which was nice a nice break from the heat! We qued up for the superman ride the only ride you had to pay for a locker for your stuff, chucked our stuff under some stairs that were there outside the shop and continued to que and then the staff said "you can't leave this there it's like leaving a bag unattended at the airport!" Errrrrr it wasn't... this was a lunchbox that I have told you I put there! F*****g idiot anyway we had to move it! He said put it in a locker! But we didn't want to as it would be like your paying for the ride when you have already payed to get in! And surely your have left it at your own risk? Anyway we gave that ride a miss that bloke had pissed us off! We went for the batman ride which was epic! And then saw the shows! It was a good day, we left at lunch time and just when we got back it started to piss down! We were so tired we layed down put the tv on and fell asleep for 3 hours! I think we were still getting over being ill :( we woke up had showers and facetimed friends. We were all packed and ready for our departure tomoz I had a headache by the evening and we just chilled and went to bed.

I must just add that there was new couple in the room from Sweden, friendly and also a girl from Norway both the girl in the couple and the other girl both just found completely except able to walk around the room in there thongs! And occasionally bra less! It was a bit odd when your in a room and you don't know anyone ! I woke up on we last day and the girl in the bed next to me was bent over getting something out of her bag in a thong ! It was 7am I did to need to see that!

.....Brisbane bound tomorrow :)))) where we have just heard there is flash flooding ! 

We absolutely loved experiencing the theme parks and got to go on some very different rides that we hadn't been on before with our faves being the Arkham asylum roller coaster at movie world and jet rescue at sea world :) we wasn't overly keen on surfers paradise as a place it appeared it was all built for tourists and everything was overpriced and there were so many night clubs and bars there were fights every night you could hear them from our balcony and it was in the papers for violent attacks at least twice while we were there! So it wasn't the best place, the beach was super busy aswell, but it was an experience! If we returned we would stay in coolangata and just make the journey to the theme parks, but we are off to brisbane tomorrow and are excited to see somewhere new :))

Coolangatta - the gateway to the Gold Coast :)

So being so relieved to leave byron bay we couldn't really care what the next place was like! We just wanted to get there!! But we were so pleased when we got there we could instantly tell this was a different type of place all together! We arrived at the bus stop and walked to our hostel, it was a small hostel above/next to a hotel, we had booked a four bedded dorm and when we got there it was pretty small 2 bunks and just enough room to walk between them! And we were next door to the kitchen! But we really couldn't care! It was heaven compared to byron, it was odd because when we first went travelling it would have really bothered us that the room was small and there would be a lot of noise from the kitchen, plus our room opened up onto the large balcony area where everyone congregated ! But at this stage of our travels we really didn't mind :) 

We settled in real quick and then headed straight to the beach! Which was just opposite the hostel ! We spent the afternoon there chilling and soaking up some rays ! Then headed back for some dinner which we cooked ourselves :) straight to bed ready for another day in the sun tomorrow! Luke had made me a hammock out of his towel for my ankle to elevate it through the night! As it was so swollen :( 

 

When we woke up my ankle gad gone down a little which was good but it was still painful :( we decided to take full advantage of the free breaky! It was just cereal, toast, tea coffee etc! But it saved our breakfast stuff! And there was crunchy peanut butter! Bonus! A little bit of home comfort for me! Then we headed to the beach :) it was another glorious day not a cloud in the sky :) laying on the beach....we were thinking .......this is the life :) we had a swim and then went back for a snack.

We decided we would then go for a wonder, we wondered right to a target ! Bonus ! We sat and used there free wifi for a bit :) we had a low walk back as my ankle was hurting a bit now and on the way back we stopped at a couple of fishing spots to check out what the score was! We decided that that evening we would go to the beach so Luke could use his new fishing rod! He was pretty excited :) I sag and watched and took pics :) he didn't catch anything we were still learning about what visits to use and hocks etc, so we will try again the next place. That night we treated ourselves to some chips and made chip butties! And they were delicious :)) having stuffed ourselves with chip butties we went to bed being quite tired from the sun, walking and food! 

We had a little lie in the next day and got up at ten! We packed our stuff up as we were leaving the next day, and I had to do some repairs on our bag! It was literally falling apart :( it wasnt going to last much longer :( and if it broke we decided we were just going to buy a suitcase! We should of bought a suitcase at the beginning ! Although Luke's bag was easier to pack then our backpacks were we were so fed up with packing every few days and it still being a little struggle to fit things in even tho we were travelling with barely anything we think it was the shape of the bag, it got smaller and thinner at the top so we just badly wanted a suitcase! 

......anyway......today we went to the beach again! It was glorious a little windier so the sand was blowing everywhere but it was still hot :) we just spent a few hours there then we went to this really cheap shop around the corner and got some more sun cream factor 50! Mum and dad will be pleased!  We also got a t shirt each for Aussie day which was the 26th jan! Luke picked them and they were matching! Love my lukee :) I put mine on that evening ! We went back to target I used the wifi we spoke to mum and dad briefly we missed chatting to them a bit had so much to tell them about our travels! Luke went to the fishing shop down the road, but unfortunately it had moved :( so we couldn't get any bait and go fishing :( so we headed back made some din dins! And get ready to leave early the next day. It was odd going to the shopping centre as the shopping center was in New South Wales but coolangata was in Queensland so when we went to the shopping center we crossed the border and had to put our clicks forward an hour and when we went face to our hostel we had to put the time back an hour! It was really weird! And a little confusing! When the shops were shutting we were confused as we thought it was an hour earlier! 

We really loved coolangata it was so peacful and like a little holiday town :) lots of fish and chip shops and restaurants, lovely beaches and lots of shopping! We just loved it and loved that the beach was moments from our hostel :) we would definitely return here again :) it was a big of piece and quiet before we headed to the theme parks at our next destination - surfers paradise :)))))