And so the travels finally begin...

Fresh from winning my case with the Fair Work Ombudsman with regards to my previous employment with the charity agency, it has been a long time coming having arrived in Australia on 24th November 2009, but I have finally travelled the east coast of Australia. The end of the Sydney times began on 16th May when England beat Australia at cricket to win the Twenty20 World Cup, it's always good to beat Australia...having beaten them in a 1 day series and holding the Ashes, these really are good times for the England and Wales Cricket Board...Anyway, for some reason work was very quiet on the Monday at Macquarie Leasing! Anyway as time went by the 22nd May I got to see my first, and potentially last AFL game when the Sydney Swans (who have SMFC on the back of their shirts, that's South Melbourne Football Club) got battered by Fremantle at the SCG 63-100...it is better live than on tv, there is no doubt about that, but it just aint football...so that night I headed to Cheers on George Street and witnessed history as Lancashire club Blackpool beat Cardiff in the play off final to reach the top flight of English football for the first time in a generation...amazing scenes, I met a dozen or so people, all of whom supported other clubs from Lancashire, and everyone was pleased that Blackpool had made it (except the Preston fan).

Anyway, having watched the opening games of the world cup down at the FIFA Fan Fest in Darling Harbour I finally left Sydney with the lads from 790 on George hostel who Id lived with for the best part of 4 months and we headed up the coast...first stop Byron Bay! What can I say about Byron except, AWESOME place, or it was this first time with the lads. Cheeky Monkeys, surfing in the bay with dolphins around you, cycling up to the Cape Byron lighthouse...amazing, the most chilled out place upto that point I had ever been! As time dictated that I couldnt make Nimbin we headed off, the guys went to Noosa, I spent some time at my sister's mate's in Brisbane before meeting the guys again in Noosa where we went kayaking around the Everglades! It was a great experience, if slightly unnerving being in the bush, with a long drop for a dunnie, and dangerous looking spiders around and always thinking what if a snake appears, the nerves were unfounded and we had a great time, although Scotty boy didnt last the full 3 nights!

After Noosa was Hervey Bay and Fraser Island, a bit of a nightmare tbh, Lake Mackenzie was shut, an incident involving too much goon, food, and regurgitation inside the tent almost resulting in being eaten by dingoes, the tent ending up in the tree, and not feeling the best the next day...the next day which you think couldnt be worse resulted in your water proof camera breaking...great! I had a wicked time with the lads, and the 3 girls who got put with us, I couldnt have asked for a better group of 8people to spend time with on Fraser Island, but yeah, it was 1 distaster after another, im surprised we got our deposit back, what with going through salt water...Im also shocked we only got stuck in sand once and that was the Irish guys turning our 4WD off on the Land Cruisers on the final morning... All in all, I would deffo do Fraser again, just next time I hope for a bit more luck. That said the self drive safaris have ended now, so the speeding on the beaches, sacking off the itinery, and trying to get to Lake Mackenzie when it was shut despite the itinery and getting lost was probably the most fun we could of had, not quite sure what to make of the increased cost and now having a guide with you all the time...Lake Mackenzie is a must see, so on my return to Oz that is what I will see.

After Fraser and another night in Hervey Bay I headed to 1770 and did the SCOOTEROO, possibly the most exciting thing you can do in Oz for $50. Riding in a pack at 50MPH (80km/h) in a big biker pack around 1770 and Agnes Waters and watching the sun set, simply amazing!!! The guys went to Airlie Beach but I headed to Magnetic Island, the most beautiful place Ive ever seen and met them there after they had done the Whitsundays...

Unfortunately we couldnt swim outside Base hostel as there was a rouge crocodile on the loose...Channel 10 news came and everything. We hired a Mini Moke and then the next day a scooter and rode around the island having fun and generally ignoring speed limits and road regulations! I enjoyed the Fort Walk upto the old base, where you can see wild koalas...it was amazing! If everyone says you cant come to Oz and not see Ayres Rock or Sydney Harbour or do Fraser Island, I disagree...MAGNETIC ISLAND is an absolute GEM!!! A must see, the best place I have now been to!

Having left Maggy Island Scott and Matt headed to Cairns, myself, Lewis and Max had a sky dive booked in Mission Beach...I only booked it as they were doing it, it turned out to be the BEST thing you can do! Falling at 200mph from 14,500 feet is a feeling that words cant describe, and even watching the video back, people go wow that looks fun, they dont get the buzz...if ever you have the oppourtunity to do an S-Dive, I highly recommend it! Simply out of this world! Later that day I met up with big red David Blatt (Author of Manchester United ruined my wife), which was great, always good to see a memorable face from back home...

The next day the lads hit Cairns but I hung around for the 4th July and had a WhiteWater Rafting day on the River Tully, just south of Mission Beach. That was epic, so chilled, and so much fun, the complete opposite of the day before. I got a packaged booked and it can save you money if you bundle things together, but be careful, there are always deals around locally, and I cant get my cash back from something I didnt manage to do in Cairns, so my advice would be dont get sucked in by sales people, dont book too much, you can get better deals locally especially out of season, and my other tip, DO NOT BOOK WITH WICKED TRAVEL...

Having rejoined the lads in Cairns, and indeed the girls from Fraser, it was good just to chill out and not have to lug 3 stone/20kg around on my back every few days. The east coast was how I imagined it in someways, but in others it wasnt as party filled as I imagined, maybe that is because it was the Australian winter, or we wernt in places like Byron for the weekend, but it was mega! One highlight was definately power hour in Rhino Bar, $10 all you can drink...messy end and involved shopping trolleys...

The next day we did our Great Barrier Reef Cruise and Dive...well the cruise bit anyway, I didnt manage the dive bit due to not finding my sea legs...Still not happy with Wicked Travel! And whilst Im at it, I aint happy my camera broke from Bing Lee when it is suppose to be a WATERPROOF CAMERA...the east coast was the only reason I bought it, but anyway back on topic! If anyone does do the east coast of Oz, dont pre-book any dives, a lot of dive companies give you a free 5 minute dive to see if you like it before buying, so if you do that you dont loose your hard earned cash and it is no more expensive!!!

An expensive extra, but I think worth it, was a trip up to Cape Tribulation (gotta love Captain Cook and his naming of places) where we had a cruise on the Daintree River, saw fat Albert the 20ft crocodile, held a Koala in Port Douglas, attempted a climb of Mount Sorrow (yes another of Cook's names after he ran aground on the reef) and got to touch a snake and a crock in Port Douglas...It was a fab day, but take a coat, the rainforest is called a RAINforest for a reason!!!

Having seen Matty boy leave, then the rest of the lads, and then the Fraser Island girls, I decided to head south, this time I opted for the Premier Bus, which was as soul-less as the Greyhound but cheaper, especially when you have a BBM (British Balls Magazine) that some travel agent wanted and he gives you a pass for $267 to Sydney...not bad when the Greyhound is $330ish.

Having arrived in Airlie Beach I stayed at Magnum's, the free beer and free pizza (Weds-Sunday) definatley helped forget the dodgey rooms, although the surroudings was quite nice with all the trees, had a really good vibe...however after the Whitsundays I headed to Beaches, and that was probably the best hostel I have stayed in on the coast...clean, spacious rooms, good facilities...yeah no complaints.

Wings 3 was a great boat to sail around the Whitsundays, hot tub, high speed catermaran, it was awesome! Met some pretty cool people along the way too, I could have stayed on that boat forever.

Anyway having left the boat around the Whitsundays, and then Airlie Beach, I headed for Rockhampton to meet my mate Gareth who I met doing Oz Intro, he works in a peach of a pub called the Criteron, if you ever end up in Rocky check it out...the first proper pub Ive been in whilst in Australia! Felt like a country British pub...lots of sports memorabilia on the wall, great food and dining area...and apparantly HM The Queen has been there many moons ago...very classy place, and surprisingly the beer was reasonably priced! Apart from that though Rockhampton didnt offer a lot...there is a free zoo, but I have seen more animals at my friend's house (that's probably why it was free)...but yeah, not much there!

After Rocky there was a whistle stop visit back to Brisbane before staying in the Arts Factory (people either love it or hate it) whose vibe I didnt get, before leaving Byron Bay. Bit gutted I arrived on a Sunday, the only day Cheekys was not open, but ah well, Que Sera, Sera and all that!

So yeah, I left Byron and headed to Sydney, and it wouldnt be me without the bus breaking down about 3am en route to Sydney...but when we eventually got back early on 27th July 2010 it had been an amazing 7 weeks of travelling! I have come to realise however that Ive had enough, not of Australia, not of travelling, more so, Ive had enough of lugging 20kg around all the time...next time I go away it will be with a lot less in my pack, and it will be to a place to work and stay in 1 place for a while. Right now I miss a routine and stability, 2 things you dont have backpacking in general, so what now for the future?

Im trying to find work, but if I cant I will head to somewhere where there is work, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne...and if nothing comes up in hospitality or office work, then there is always a farm to get on! So who knows what the future will bring, Im still no nearer to going home, all I do know is Ive been in Australia for over 8 months now, spent far too long in Sydney originally and a 1 year visa is not enough to do everything and see everything I want...those 88days on a farm for a 2nd year visa are looking ever closer!!!