Big holiday - post 9

Hello kiddiewinkles/ma/Auntie P.

A few photos quickly as I am about to rush up the Gold Coast to go to, would you believe, a French restaurant. When in Rome.....do as the French do! Having said that, I've already had a Ozzie BBQ and was ace. They really know how to put on a good BBQ show over here.

Lightening summary of recent events.

Final days in NZ

Sniffed around Rotorua for a while. Lovely place - NZ really is beautiful. I want to come back.

Me on the beach at Rotorua. Stinks due to the sulphur, but scenery is
amazing (incl the natural springs, which are everywhere).

Another example of this county's varied prettiness.

A night of NZ razle/dazzle with OG in Rotorua followed. T'was a top old school evening (i.e. we we drank a fair bit) . Cheap booze helped ($3 a pint - that's one nicker twenty UK chaps), then some pool, an altercation with locals over a pool table. I then dozed off in a club and got booted out because of it. I then lost the hotel key. The night had everything. Top class!

Then Pitch and Putt, Zorbing and Luge with OG in Rotorua. All class activities (but no time to write about as have to run).

OG and me with Lake Rotorua in the back ground. This is from

the high up luge place (you need to take a cable car to get up there).

OG, looking good.

In Nandos mid night out. God he's got a long thumb.

At the luge. Meant to get the same chairlift as him

but there was a bit of a communication breakdown.....

Last night in NZ - out to a feederie called Genghis Khan with da gang. You get a bowl and then fill it with raw meat, veggies and tasty sauces of your choice and then some bloke cooks it in front of you on a hot plate. Completely yum. Thinking about it is making me hungry. We then hit a few NZ boozers before ending up at the place where we watched England lost in the rugby final a week earlier (was it Foxes OG?). Someone somewhere may have captured me dancing and singing You'll Never Walk Along at 5am and put it on a video clip. This is war Gartside! The new youngsters who were part of the gang - Jo's friends Harriet and Gemma - contributed massively to a top evening. Cheers chucks.

Gemma, Jo, Harriet, OG and me about to get fed.

Da crowd several drinks later.

Me and OG in one of those embarrassing snaps
together (of which we have very many)

NZ riff raff (all of you) - I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you ALL (esp OG, Jo, Rob, Bonzo, Harriet and Gemma) for making the week completely class. I really had a blast. You are welcome anytime to experience the delights of Islington!

I then hopped on a plane to Brisbane to meet my dad and continued festivities, OZ style. So far, I've done lots (quelle surprise), including:

• Dinner near Brisbane port with dad's girlf Kelly's workmates. Lebanese food this time and was, again, very very yum (all this tasty food will impact on the temple which is my body - a few session at Fitness First are required when I get back methinks).
• Last day or two - traveled down the Gold Coast for an hour to Kelly's parents' patch and went fishing and then swimming in the Specific Ocean (deliberate typo - it sounds better that way I think). Fishing was a strange thing for me to be doing as I don't eat fish or seafood of any description but it was quite relaxing - just sitting there for hours catching nothing. Actually, that isn't quite true. I attracted about five tiddlers.
• We then went to a class cafe and wolfed down a FINE gourmet burger. One of the fanciest burgers I've ever eater actually. Oozed class!
  

And look what I found on the wall of
my dad's house. Who you gonna call?

Have to go RIGHT NOW and hop in the shower. Where is a Zorb when you need one? Would washing machine me in a jiffy.