Rainy Byron Bay and a touch of claustrophobia...

What can I tell you? We have now left the Gold Coast after an amazing time - Coolengatta was lovely and the boys had lovely surf and beautiful weather. The day before we left we went to 'Wet and Wild' which is a huge water park with the biggest scariest slides you can imagine. Sam's favourite was one which was a plastic tube with a vertical drop. You stood at the top and a trapdoor opened lauching you vertically downwards and with such force that you did a loop the loop. Naturally I sat that one out.

Will's favourite was a surboard type ride which launched you into the air on a horse shoe shaped track - whilst spinning around - it looked horendous... and my favourite was the Tornado.

The three of us sat in a big inflatable ring and you are launched down a dark tunnel into a vertical drop and then up the sides of a horizontal cone before being sucked through the base of a tornado.It was right bloody scary and I screamed my head off - which was actually quite nice - fairground rides are the only time you can officially scream as loudly as your lungs allow. We had a fab time at the water park - got there when it opened and left just as it was closing.

Then we headed down to Byron and this is where things took a turn for the worse. There are a few reasons for this 1) It's pissing down and there is nothing worse than being stuck in the van in the rain...except when combined with 2) It's ram jammed here - seriously it's like a tourist trap - i'm sure once upon a time this was a nice hippy community but now it feels like a place that's trying a bit too hard to recapture it's lost youth (as are many of the people who live here). There's nothing worse than a load of drug addled 40 somethings riding around on skate boards with no shoes. I'm sure when I was 18 I would have thought this was the coolest place, now it just makes me feel claustraphobic and makes me want to cry (or maybe that's the weather!). Anyway I have managed to escape the confines of the van and have found a coffee shop with free wi-fi whilst Will and Sam surf. There are actually loads of coffee shops here which of course would usually mean heaven but all of them are full to bursting because it's the Easter holidays and some stupid Blues Festival is taking place here. Hopefully we will only have to stay one more night and then we can escape to another place where there is space and fresh air and nice walks and room to breathe.

Will and Sam are currently surfing and I have left the van locked up so will have to depart and unlock it for them - but first will have to fight my way through the crowds of people who are also huddled in the coffee shop to escape the rain... So sorry to moan again but I hate the bloody rain. Hopefully a more chipper update next time (but don't hold your breath because it's not meant to brighten up until Weds).

Having a Fanningtastic time...

We are staying at a place called Coollangata just north of Byron Bay where NSW meets the Gold Coast. The beaches here are gorgeous and go on for ever. The sea is crystal clear and across the bay, through the palm trees sits Surfers Paradise a skyline across the ocean, outlined against the clear blue skies. It really is paradise...and even more so because there aren't just good waves for Will, but also good waves for Sam... and friends... and a coffee shop nearby.

Yesterday we spent a lovely day wandering through the town. In the morning we went for a surf and then went to the cafe where Sam did his maths, then as we walked back down to the van we saw Mick Fanning coming out of the sea (for those of you, who don't know like me, Mick Fanning is 2 x world surfing champion) anyway Sam had his picture taken with him and you should have seen his grin it stretched from ear to ear (Sam's not Mick Fannings, I'll put the pic up soon). In the evening we had a Thai and it was nice to eat out again after all that wholesome home cooked food we have been having!!

We have had another lovely day today just relaxing by the beach and Will has a bit of heat stroke he thinks, oh and sore lips, oh and a surfing rash, oh and a broken toe...not that you would know because he never mentions it!!!!! So another night on the campsite here and then off to Surfers Paradise for a couple of nights and a trip to Wet and Wild (think that's what it's called) a big water park near Surfers Paradise with loads of hellish slides.

Also met a guy today who gave us loads of telephone numbers for Indo, a driver, a guy to renew the visas and a cool place to stay...lovely.

Yeeeeehaaaaaw...

Well we're back on the road and have assumed our usual, familar position in a McDonalds Cafe. The world feels right again as we tear down the motorway (well, that's an exaggeration as Will doesn't tear and slow lorries overtake us regularly) Sam and Will throwing punches as we sing Oasis at the top of our lungs. Sam gives the thumbs up to road side workers and we are free free free...

That said it was a wrench to leave the comfort of home, the re-runs of Top Gear and umm The Brady Bunch were unfortunately very appealing. But here we are exploring again all squished uncomfortably into the front of the van and loving it.

We are headed to Byron Bay or maybe beyond. Will has drivers fever and won't stop (except for food) and wants to drive as far as he possibly can - hopefully he will stop soon as there is an awful long way one can go in Australia. The van, is sparkly and clean (apart from the dodgy, smelly cushions)and doesn't smell quite so much of sick. So who knows where we are going to stay tonight, but that's just the way we like it - a little bit of the unknown!! The weather is overcast but even that can't dampen our spirits and I'm looking forward to a sing a long to Simon and Garfunkel for the next leg... 'Iam a Rock I am an iiiiiisland,'

Only a quick update as Will needs to email his friend and I am in a race against a Big Mac!!!

Moving on...

This morning we planned to leave Corindi and head up the coast to Byron. We got up and started to sort all our stuff out ready to leave. Will mowed the lawns and tidied up the tools and the garage. I washed all the sheets, another load of clothes which were hiding from me in the bottom of the suitcase, and cleaned the kitchen, the bedrooms and the bathroom. Sam did his school work online and then me and Sam cleaned out the van. Washed the curtains, Sprayed all the sides and wiped them down and mopped out the floor... and by the time we had finished it was 3:00 and we were starving...and so we had lunch and in true 'us' style, decided that we should stay another night and head off tomorrow morning.

So now we have another evening to relax at the house which is cool because we still have a few bits to sort out online etc. Yesterday turned out to be a really nice day. We went to the curry festival in Woolgoolga. There were lots of stalls selling curry and hundreds of people there. It's odd because curry isn't as big here as it is in the UK so there wasn't much variety. Most of the stalls sold butter chicken and a generic lamb or veg curry with white rice, and that was about it. We queued for 10 mins and had a very disappointing small portion of curry with congealed rice...and we paid about £7 for it!!!

We decided to abandon the festival (but not until Sam went on a fairground ride and ended up sat next to a at kid who looked like he was going to puke all over him...brilliant) than we headed to the beach with Mark and Trilby for a surf. Later on Mark and Trilby came over for pizza and Sam was invited to a BBQ at his friends house. We watched the film Australia which was really good (but then anything with Hugh Jackman is amazing).

Picture above is of the completes fence (well one side of it)!!

A bright rainy day

Things are looking up, Sam's demonic mood seems to have lifted and once again we have back, lovely, smiley Sam (who is also a bit more helpful). The teenage hormones are starting to kick in though and spots are starting to appear, not many, just one in his nostril and one on his nose!

Today it's raining but we have had a really nice day. We drove down to Coffs Harbour to all go swimming but when we got there the waves were really good and so Will decided to have a surf. He dropped me and Sam at the pool and we had a great time swimming. Sam was teaching me to front crawl and it all went well except I can't swim in a straight line, I can't keep my right hand flat and when I try to breath I look like a fish gasping for air - I think we can safely say that I didn't glide through the water. Anyway it kept Sam entertained because he was laughing his head off at me (which was brilliant because it echoed all around the pool and I'm sure everyone else was smirking). After the swim we went for a cake and drink in the local cafe and did the cross word in a magazine whilst we waited for Will to arrive.

The fence is now pretty much finished, we just need to fit locks to the gates and so that's a relief. The fence actually looks fab - Will is very very good at making fences! The other news is that I have started writing again (just to shut my parents up) and actually it's quite enjoyable. So i'm aiming for 1,500 words a day, this is not too difficult as long as Sam is not wittering in my ear.

I'm really looking forward to going to Perth and then Indo, it doesn't seem too far away now. We watched Top Gear, Bolivia special last night and it was brilliant. It was good to see them driving over the Andes and dealing with the altitude, driving on the long dangerous windy roads and through the Atacama and to be able to identify with it all. It was especially good for Sam. So onwards and onwards... I leave you with a picture of the jolly fishermen on a much brighter, sunnier day.

Grrrrrrr.....

God, this is moaning post after moaning post but I ask you, how the hell do you get a teenager motivated to do anything? I have tried gentle persuasion, I have tried rational talking, I have tried shouting and I have tried withholding fun things (which got the best response) but seriously it's like banging my head against a brick wall, a really tough, thick brick wall!!

Sam is the master of excuses and his laziness is not a nice quality at all, but it's also a really difficult trait to shift. As a result, the days become a series of battles, Sam doing his best sucking up job to get what he wants and then not doing a thing in return...well perhaps he offered to get a glass of water for someone, or begrudgingly went around to the shop but to him that qualifies him to do bugger all to help for the rest of the day!! Now we all know that Sam has always been lazy but seriously it's exaggerated at the moment.

So aside from Sam being a little S*!% at the moment today was nice. It's mothers day and we finally got out of Corindi and went to Yamba which is a town about 100k up the coast. Yamba has beautiful beaches and really nice little cafes and shops so we had a nice lunch in a cafe and a little walk to the beach and then home. It's funny in Australia because we have the radio on in the van and they play the same songs as in the UK but the don't bleep out the swear words, seriously, it makes us feel very prudish when we are in the van and there's effin' and jeffin' on the radio and me and Will give each other raised eyebrows every time a rude word is said... it's just something you don't get used to and makes me feel like about 60 years old!!

We are also setting up plans for the next few weeks which are loosely as follows: perhaps another week in Corindi and then up the coast to Byron, then back down with maybe a few more days in the house and then back down to Sydney via Swan Beach again and then away to Perth on 4th May.

Picture attached of Sam looking like a little angel (not!!)

Too Settled??????

Today has been pretty nice, we woke up this morning and Sam did some Maths with Will and then me and Will finished varnishing the fence. After this we went into Woolgoolga and Sam had a surf, we picked up a couple of pairs of cheap shades as I think me and Sam should start wearing them to protect our eyes from the sun and then we came home and now Will is watching a surf video and Sam has gone to the skate park... and you know what... I'm a bit bored. I'm not very good now at just sitting still. I like it when we are all out walking in the sunshine along the beach, or climbing up some ancient ruin or volcano, sitting in front of the telly is just not for me, never has been really, I get bored too easily.

This is when we all start getting edgy with each other as well. We have all got on brilliantly for so long perhaps we were due a rocky patch but who would have guessed it would have come when we were all nicely settled into a comfortable house, or perhaps that's the point. Being in a nice house is easy, we don't need to support each other to pull each other through unfamiliar territory or to boost each others morale. We can all just sit on the sofa and snipe at each other. Terrible isn't it? So i'm not quite sure how to pull us out of this one or perhaps the best thing to do is to wait for it to pass... see, it makes me worried about when we get back because we are so much nicer to each other when we are all squashed into a little van. Perhaps we should sell the houses when we get back and just buy ourselves a little caravan which we move around Bristol every few days!!!!

Think I'll go do some yoga and see if I can breath my way out of it.