We realise now that we can't do justice to a country the size of Australia as it is so diverse and vast in the time we have. Therefore we have limited ourselves to two areas on the eastern side, these being Queensland and New South Wales.

We arrive in Brisbane and from here we plan to take the bus along the coast to Cairns. Along the way we plan to stop off at Fraser island, apart from that just stopping wherever the mood takes us, or wherever we feel the need to stretch our legs. As of yet we have never tried surfing so that could be one experience. Plans are vague but we figure so many teenagers backpack around the area it can't be hard to find something to do and somewhere to stay. As one person pointed out to us, having our route 'theotherwayround' from the norm (starting in NZ and Australia) means we get a gentle introduction to independant travelling in a country where we at least speak the language. So this bit really is the start of things to come. Hopefully they will be right and we will have settled into it by the time we reach South-East Asia.

Cairns is the first major destination in terms of acheiving one of our goals as we hope to learn to scuba dive here. Where could be better than the gateway to the Barrier Reef. Although we will be in Australia during their winter time the temperature will hopefully be better than anything we can hope for in the UK, and visibility in the water should mean learning is more pleasurable. Learning to dive in Australia near the beginning of our trip also allows us to dive in many other places along the way, so this is a key goal.

From Cairns we head straight to Sydney for our internship so travel will be limited to weekend trips for three months, although it sounds as if there is plenty to keep us occupied in Sydney. The one must is climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge, weather and breakfast permitting. Weekend trips will hopefully include the Blue Mountains to keep our fitness levels up and get us accustomed to walking in our boots and stop us getting too used to living in suits and keeping clean!