Mmmm Fush n chups

Today's lunch was brought to us by the letters F and S - FISH AND CHIPS! Proper tasty fresh local fish and yummy chips :)

Port Macquarie

We are at a PORT - as the name suggests - and there are loads of beautiful boats and heaps of peaceful water to gaze upon. Thought this was a nice view..

Nurse Katie

Andrew has cut his foot.. but luckily I have a first aid kit with me, and I have now improvised two different ways of dressing the wound. The first - yesterday - fell off. Oops. Today we are going with anti-septic cream, tape, a dressing pad... and a smiley face :)

Saturday morning...

This morning we went out for some breakfast to get ourselves ready for the next day of festival fun. Outside our hotel, there's a lovely local market selling lots of cool arts and crafts and local produce.

rainy festival fun!

Dan and Andrew partying in the rain-drenched festival arena. That's the thing, it's not cold here - just wet - so no one really minds getting totally soaked through!

Festival wristband..

My final festival wristband.. ahh... stil have to think of something cool to do with all of them!

Food!

Kebabs and wraps and burgers and salads and pancakes and ice-creams and smoothies.... and german sausages (what Andrew is eating right here):

Festival Of The Sun fashion

The floor at the 'main stage' is all made of sand.. so everyone danced about in the rain (YEAH RAIN!) all night with their shoes off - some people even wearing wetsuits!

Festival Of The Sun!

Last night was the first night of the Festival Of The Sun here in Port Macquarie. Myself and winners Andrew (left) and Daniel (right) went along through the local campsite to the fest...

Week 29 has begun!

Oh my goodness! Week 29 has begun! This morning I left Melbourne and caught a 6am flight to Sydney, where I then changed plans for a short flight up to Port Macquarie for the Festival Of Sun. At the airport I met up with this week's winners Dan and Andrew (both 23 from the UK) and we checked into our hotel. By 10am we were ready to explore the local town - and this was the view that met us:





Alongside the beach are a series of boulders and stones that have been painted by locals and visiting holiday makers with a series of happy messages, tributes and drawings. There are probably over 200 of them - but here are some highlights:

Mmmm Kangaroo Burger!?

Here is my pal Nathan eating a Kangaroo Burger. Not sure how I felt about that - so didn't try it!

Ramsay Street! - the video

Check out the video from my tour around Neighbours' Ramsay Street!

Ramsay Street!

When I was little I loved watching Australian soap opera Neighbours. It felt like I was getting a little insight into the life and sights of my cousins' world down under. Actually, Neighbours is totally crazy - and certainly those 1980s episodes were totally weird. Nevertheless, I am sure Neighbours has a special place in the heart of many UK TV fans... which is why today I went and visited the real life Ramsay Street - the street on which the TV show is filmed. The street is actually a pleasant residential road called Pin Oak Crescent, and my friend Matt kindly drove me over to it to take some photos of the soap spectacle. Real people live in these houses - and the TV company send them a weekly timetable letting them know when their houses will be required for certain shots. This means they cannot change the external look of their houses/gardens and decor. What a strange life! Check out the pics of the street and Matt and myself below:

Journey of a book...

I bought this book in the airport in Sydney and finished it today while reading in the park. I wasn't sure what to do with it next, as it's too heavy to transport to my next destination, so I decided to leave it in the park with a note inside.. hopefully someone will see the note and this will be the beginning of a fun international journey for The Finkler Question..

Alexandra Gardens

Next up, the sun came out - and I rushed outside to get a nice dose of vitamin C in the lovely Alexandra Gardens near the river Yarra..

National Gallery of Victoria

On my final day in Melbourne, I took some time out to visit the beautiful National Gallery Of Victoria in Federation Square. There was some incredible aboriginal indigenous art on display - wish I could have taken it all home!

Melbourne Zoo - Video!

Check out the video from today's visit to Melbourne Zoo - featuring a teeny baby elephant, kangaroos, tigers, lizards and more!

Queen Victoria Market

Queen Victoria Market is a huge covered market in the city of Melbourne. It sells everything from wholesale tourist gifts, to fresh fruit and veg, clothes and hardware. I popped along this arvo (while it was raining) to see what I could find.

Baby elephant

Special mention is going out to baby Ongard. She was born in September and is the latest addition to the elephant family at Melbourne Zoo. BEYOND ADORABLE!!

Melbourne Zoo

Today I spent the morning hanging at Melbourne Zoo. It's probably the best zoo I have ever been to, and I wandered around for hours checking out koalas, tigers, elephants, kangaroos, lizards and more. I took a whole heap of photos which I will entertain you with now.. have a gander: