Back to Oz...and up to Brisbane After saying our heartfelt goodbyes to the NZ crew and spending a wonderful night on the Christchurch airport floor (...I was saying boo-urns), it was back to Oz. Landed in Sydney in the early hours and promptly checked into our old Sydney home; The Funkhouse. It was pretty much the same as we left it, but with a new big screen t.v! We were also fortunate and grateful enough to find ESPN and Oilers hockey. Game 6 was brilliant, game 7...well let's just not even go there... ANYWAY, after a few days in Sydney we booked ourselves a bus up to Byron Bay, a beautiful little surf town about 800km north of Sydney. Although the bus ride was a little hellish (16 hours overnight in very uncomfortable seats, Jordan got the flu), Byron Bay is a town that must be seen. We stayed at a great little hostel just outside of town called The Arts Factory. Situated on a 6 acre complex complete with bungaloes, teepees, wild turkeys and everything and anything artsy, it was a great little place. Met some good people there too; The Dutch boys, the girls from Sydney and Alex, also from Sydney. Great all around time except for a little rain. On our fourth day in Byron we decided to take a day tour to the infamous town of Nimbin. Nimbin was first described to us soon after we arrived as something that needed to be seen to be believed. Having now seen it, I agree whole heartedly with that statement. Our tour guide, Fred was quite the character himself, a little spacey with tunes blaring and dreds waving, but he was nothing compared to some of the people we met on the streets when we arrived. All in all it was a great day of fun...from what I remember of it anyway : ) After 5 days in Byron it was up the coast through Surfers Paradise to the Gold Coast where we were lucky enough to be able to stay with Al and Pat Penner at their beautiful home on Hope Island. I'll tell you, after 4 months of hostels and hostel eating patterns, a home cooked meal is something not to be taken lightly. We were lucky enough to spend the week there with the Penner's as well as Devon friends Stew and Dallas. Our days were spent going for runs around the compound, using the gym, looking for work and watching Big Brother and Rocky movies. All and all, it was a very relaxing week or so. Thanks must go to Al and Pat for inviting us into their home and treating us like one of the family for a week. It was appreciated more than you know. From Hope Island, it was off to Brisbane; Australia's most northern large city. It was here that our journey went through a bit of a change...