Kookaburas, koalas and kangaroos......

One of the things we really wanted to do whilst we were here was to make the most of being much closer to Australia. As, during our long, "summer" holidays it is winter there, we decided to go there over Easter when we had just over 2 weeks off school and it would be autumn there, so hopefully not too cold for us softies.

So, when the children finished school at the end of last term, it was off to the airport for an overnight flight to Brisbane. Although I'd been keeping half an eye on the temperatures with a view to trying to pack the right amount of warm clothes, I hadn't heard the news that Queensland had just had so much rain that widescale flooding had just occurred. The first we knew about it was just after dawn when, as our plane finally made it down through the thick grey clouds, we were greeted with teeming rain and a sea of flooded fields. One of our fellow passengers then put us in the picture -needless to say, whilst we'd packed some warmer things, we had packed absolutely nothing waterproof, not even an umbrella.

Fortunately, the rain that day was short lived and we then spent two enjoyable days exploring Brisbane before taking a hire car north up the coast a couple of hours to the glorious little seaside town of Noosa. Noosa is one of those places that when you tell an Aussie you're going, they say "ah, you'll love it" and if you tell them you've just been, they say "ah, you must have loved it". Pretty and laid back with a river running through it, it does hit the spot somewhat. We rented a boat one day and went up the river, passing the island that Richard Branson has apparently just bought, and also round the waterways amongst some very glamerous waterfront properties. Well, I can dream.....

We also visited the "Australia Zoo" founded by Steve "Crikey" Irwin, who was a national hero in Australia and, despite his desmise to a croc, clearly still is. We fed kangaroos (lots of photos of that) and saw crocs being fed in "The Crocoseum". Unfortunately, the Queensland rain got us again on a couple of days and the Sunshine Coast didn't entirely live up to its name, but it was still a great destination. We were woken up by Kookabura's at around 5.30am then again by an enormous and very noisy flock of lorikeets - small, brightly coloured birds rather like scaled down parrots, at about 6.30am. It soon became clear why the day started early there for the locals.

Then, it was off to Sydney.

Sydney was fantastic and we now have far more photos of the Opera House and harbour bridge than any family could possibly need. We took them from every angle and in sunlight, cloud, dusk and the dark. We did the tourist things, loved the Botanic Gardens where the signs said "Please DO walk on the grass, smell the flowers and picnic on the lawns. We want you to enjoy these gardens". The food, the sights, the museums, the shops - it was great fun, despite another day of rain.

Then, another hire car and another drive a couple of hours west, this time into the Blue Mountains. Here the skies were blue, the views magnificent, the temperatures cool and the nights so cold we had a log fire in our little B&B cabin. We saw autumn trees for the first time in 18 months and marvelled at the colours and all got dry skin and chapped lips from the dry, cool air.

We went on the steepest railway in the world, much to Adam's delight. Originally built to take miners down an almost vertical drop into the valley below , it is now a tourist attraction and almost more like a rollercoaster than a train. We walked to waterfalls and view points and wore all our warm clothes, especially in the afternoons and evenings from about 4.30pm onwards.

We returned home via Sydney and Brisbane again and finished with a trip to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary - one of the only places where you can hold a koala. For Hannah, this was the highlight of the whole holiday. We all held a koala and found we were in very auspiscious company, as the sactuary has a photo wall of famous people that have visited. Apart from a selection of Aussie celebs, there were world leaders, Pope John Paul II and pop stars such as Cher and Bruce Springsteen. I'm sure our photos will soon be up amongst them!

We really enjoyed our time there, and the ornate Victorian buildings of Brisbane and Sydney gave a sense of the UK - but with (mostly) better weather! And for anyone who thinks that Australia lags behind culturally - think again. They are actually at the cutting edge of theatre with a brand new show soon to premier - Shane Warne, The Musical.