Friday 30th September - Toogoom

I lay in till 8am today to be awoken by Gaz who was an excited little puppy about going fishing. We got up and applied the sunscreen before heading over to the urangan pier. When we arrived i was shocked to see just how many people had their fishing rods lined all the way along! it was like some little fishing community all attending high tide on a friday morning. Unfortunately it was looking as though no one was catching anything apart from someone who had caught a sting ray and cruelly had it suffocating in the sun...a slow painful death. Gaz and i headed up the boardwalk towards the top end of the pier but the sea was quite rough. He fished for an hour whilst i sun bathed in my new bikini (courtesy of ASOS!). At 10.30am, having caught nothing and feeling a little defeatist, we piled everything into the car and took a drive up north along the coast. Its been a lovely hot day today with very little breeze so we had the air con in the car pelting. We followed signs to 'Toogoom', not really knowing what on earth we would find there but was pleasantly surprised when the sign lead us to a secluded beach area which had 2 cafes and bbq areas. It was very pretty and nice to see people fishing off the little pier that was there. The sea was so clean and blue you could see the fish swimming around through the water. Gaz and i had a little walk around the area and decided we very much like this spot and it was a good find, away from all the tourists (we are classing ourselves as locals now).

We ate some lunch in 'the salty squid' cafe and enjoyed a vanilla thickshake which was HUGE! yum yum. I took some photos and will put them on facebook later. We drove back to the flat at 2pm and have fallen asleep underneath the air con. Gaz is still fast asleep but ill be waking him up soon so that we can shower and have some food! it is cheat day and Gazs turn to decide where to eat so dont know where we are going to end up yet!

Thursday 29th September

Today Gaz has achieved his goal for the month so he is very happy!

Work was pretty quiet today, nothing very interesting happened other than a patient made me shortbread biscuits but i couldnt have any coz it isnt cheat day and another guy moaned about his denture. The lab technician, Mark, heard i was going to the  Glass House Mountains in 2 weeks and he has given me a map which he says he will sit down with me and show me a scenic route to take. The Glass House Mountains are north of Brisbane and is apparently an impressive Mountain range. The drive down there is meant to be lovely with quaint places to stay.

This evening i cooked Gaz some food and we watched Source Code. Other than that, nothing much has happened. I have the day off tomorrow so Gaz is dragging me fishing. Fun. 

Tuesday 27th September - GYM

I came home from work at 'morning tea break' at 10am to find Gaz had not long got out of bed. lucky thing! Work was OK, the director and senior dentist said it would be nice if i stay on after 6 months. I havent given an answer yet but i know i dont want to do any longer than 6 months but it is nice that they have asked me...i cant be all that bad!

I got home from work and forced Gaz out the door for our first attempt at the gym. We are both so unfit that after 10 minutes on the running machine i thought i was going to die! It is hard to believe i used to run on these things for almost an hour! We both had sweat dripping off us but managed half hour of cardio. Feeling as though the cobwebs have been blown away, we drove back to the house feeling refreshed but very tired! We cooked dinner together and had a chat about what we are going to do when my contract runs out. At the moment the plan is to look for private work around the Hervey Bay area as it has everything we want here. I am also planning our trip to the glass house mountains for 2 weeks time...cant wait! 

Monday 26th September - Cockroach

Min and Suzie woke up and left round about the same time i went to work this morning. They were really grateful to us for letting them stay. Work was slow and tiresome. Gaz and i had planned to go to the gym tonight but again, we didnt. By the time we had been shopping for food, we were both knackered and starving. Not much happened other than i hopped in to bed just now and was looking at my bag on the floor next to me thinking...'hmm that looks like a strange shadow, what part of the bag is that shadow coming from'. I looked a bit harder...couldnt work it out so put my hand out to move the bag when UCH! a cockroach ran past! I gasped for breathe and flew back on the bed....Gaz jumped up from the computer like WHATS GOING ON WHATS WRONG! It took me a moment to catch my breath but i was pointing down into the corner and managed to say 'coackroach!'. Luckily Gaz doesnt mind bugs and he  picked up a glass to try and catch it. This thing was HUGE. I would say almost the size of an iphone but not quite as fat...and it could SPRINT. Poor Gaz had his head underneath the table to catch the thing, then it jumped and he smacked his head, sending my perfume bottle DONK on top of him. Bless him. All to catch this yucky creature. It was faster than Usain Bolt! Eventually Gaz caught the thing in a glass, despite its attempt to start flying away. GROSS! I dont know where it has come from but EWW. God help me when i see a spider!!!

Sunday 25th September - Whale Watching

Gaz stayed behind to play on the computer which was a shame  but i couldnt convince him to come with Emily and I. Tony didnt come either because he was heading further north to Bunderberg to pick up a limited edition bottle of Bunderburg Rum which he bought for 100 bucks, but apparently in a few years it will be worth a few hundred. Emily and I boarded the Tasman Venture at 8.30am. It was quite a large boat with approximately 50 people on board...one of which was the car dealer, Allan who sold us the car! He came over and had a chat a few times to Emily and I and seemed to be enjoying a good few glasses of white wine. The boat took us at top speed along the Coastline of Fraser Island. Emily and I were only expecting to see one or two whales so the first glimpses of a mother and calf in the distance and i was snapping away at the camera, frantically trying to get some good shots of the whale fins that could be seen above the sea water. The skipper decided the calf was feeding and as they werent very active, we would try and find some more whales so we headed further up the Fraser Island coast. This time we came across another mother and calf. The mother headed straight up towards the boat and the calf followed. Apparently this is called being 'mugged' by a whale. The mother came right up next to the boat and every time the calf moved away, she brought it back to us to show it off. They were humpback whales that we were seeing and i know whales are meant to be big, but it isnt until you are a few metres from them that you can really appreciate the size of these things. They are beautiful creatures. The mother and calf then began circling the boat and the calf bobbed its head out of the water playfully. The crew then lowered the platform at the back of the boat so that people could get level with the whales. It was an amazing site to see these huge mammals swim right up towards the boat. After a good 20 minutes we left the mother and calf and headed further up the side of Fraser Island. I think we had been spoilt too early so then the next 6 or so whales that we saw from a distance were cool but didnt have the wow factor of what we had just encountered. It was great to see the mothers swimming and feeding her calfs...typical that the males bugger off once the baby is born! Just as the boat was being turned around, the battery on my camera ran out. I had taken over 300 photos and hadnt charged the camera up for quite a while. silly me. let that be a lesson to me! and all the spare battery packs that chris gave me i had left at home. shame on me. i wont be making that mistake again! On the way back the boat slowed down to take a look at a few whales breaching right in front of us. As i didnt have any battery left in the camera, i filmed a few of the breaches with my phone. I couldnt belive just how many whales were out there. it was fantastic and is definitely my number 1 best experience so far here in Aus.

On the way back to the Marina, Emily and I sat on one of the benches at the back of the boat. An old gentleman....must have been in his 70's stood in front of us with his hand on the ladies toilet knob. I pointed out to him that this was the ladies toilet but if he wanted to go in, i wouldnt tell anyone if he didnt. The guy said "gentlemen are gentleman and ladies are ladies and i respect that." i said oh ok well the mens toilets are over there" and pointed in the direction to the other side of the boat. When the guy came out of the toilets, he slipped something in my bag which i had open on my lap. "whats this?" I asked. "Its my card." he replied...."what do i want that for?" i questioned...by which time he had already walked off. Emily and I sat disgusted yet in hysterics that some sick old man had just slipped me his number. gross. What was even more funny was the fat bald guy that started hitting on Emily in the last 10 minutes of the journey!

After the boat ride, Emily and I sat and ate fish and chips int he marina and then basked in the sunshine enjoying an ice cream. I kept telling Emily she was burning and she needed sun cream but she kept saying she was ok. I was insistent that she get out of the sun but she dismissed my advice. When we got back tot he flat she took a look in the mirror and resembled the eyes of a possum when she took her sun glasses off to reveal two big circles around her eyes of skin that was not burnt against a red face. Her chest looked raw.


Tony had just got back from Bunderburg and Gaz had not yet eaten so we all went to the Irish Pub down the road, Hoolihans, and they scoffed burger and chips. Emily and Tony have a long drive back to Brisbane so they didnt hang round. It wasnt long after they left that Min and Suzie arrive dback from Fraser Island having had an amazing time. Gaz and I are getting an early night as we are shattered!

Saturday 24th September - Emily and Tony to stay

I woke up in the night in unbearable pain from my stomach which was cramping up as though someone was squeezing it really tight. At 6am Gaz was telling me i had to cancel Emilys trip up to see me and that if i was this bad on sunday i couldnt go whale watching. I feel bad because i told him to shut up, when really he was only trying to look after me. At 9am my stomach was still sore but i didnt want to let on to Gaz how bad it was because i didnt want him to call Emily to cancel the trip so i said it was feeling ok and i sat on the bed drawing doodles whilst he played on the computer. He did really well today so by 1pm  he was finished for the day and i insisted we go to the Hervey Bay historical museum around the corner from us. It is a bit like St Fagans...only in 26 degree heat. The people who worked there we so friendly and were so excited 1. to see soneone actually IN the museum and 2. Because we 'have an accent' as they put it and they want to know the ins and outs of where we are from and what brings us to hervey bay. The museum consisted of a number of original houses, each themed out with original antique items. It was really interesting to see the old dental chair and the foot pedal drill and the box with the gas and air. We were both surprised at how big the place was and it took my mind off the toilet for a little while, even if my stomach was cramping as i walked.

At 3pm we got home and collapsed on the bed from exhaustion. The heat really takes it out of you! By 5pm Emily had arrived with her new bf, Tony (althought not officially bf/gf but they practically are). He is very much like Gareth and i think she will do well to keep hold of this one!

We took Emily and Tony for a drive down the Esplanade and sat and had a drink outside at the harbour. It began getting chili as a breeze blew in so we scraped the idea of an outdoor bbq and instead settled for dinner in the local italian restaurant. The restaurant was extremly busy and we took the last free table. The service and the food wasnt as good as the first time we ate there which was disappointing. Its great to see Emily again and we had lots to catch up on. Gaz and Tony were also getting on very well so it wasnt awkward for Emily and I to chat amongst ourselves leaving them two to it. I was going to put pictures of the museum up but the camera is downstairs and i dont want to wake people going to get it so i shall put the pictures up tomorrow when i also have (hopefully) some whale photos to post!

Friday 23rd September - Gastroenteriris

Last night Min and Suzie came to stay for the night before heading to Fraser island. It was nice to meet familiar faces and compare stories of our experiences in Aus so far. Min has been attacked by a 'swooping magpie' but she claims 'swopping' isnt the right word to describe the magpies actions as it was more 'assaulted'. It is nesting season for the magpies and they become very territorial, so if you are to walk by their nesting tree, they will attack you. Gaz and i, when we first arrived in Hervey Bay, thought there were mentalists riding bikes with helmets on that had big long spikes coming out of it...we now find out it is to stop the magpies attacking them...these people are no longer viewed as crazy fasion victims but more...smart people.

I dropped Min and Suzie down the road to be picked up by their tour bus. Today i was being sent half hour away to Maryborough as they were in need of a dentist. All the other dentists in Hervey Bay and Maryborough had been invited to an orthodontic lecture but me being the 'locum' (which isnt what my job title states on the contract), i wasnt invited. I picked up a government car which was very lovely to drive and i found a CD labeled 'kellys songs'. I dont know who kelly is but she had good taste! I managed to find Maryborough hospital easily but the trickey part was finding the dental clinic amongst the grounds. I was so lost, i wondered aimlessly over the lawns and ended up in the blood bank! the lady looked so pleased to see someone who she thought was here to donate blood that her eyes lit up expectantly. Her face dropped a little when i said i was looking for the dental clinic leaving me feeling a little bit guilty.


At the dental clinic i got on really well with all the staff and they said they would take me on any time there (which is flattering but no bloody way will i be heading to Maryborough). Their patients are a special breed...more so than the ones in Hervey Bay. For instance, i had a gentleman with a hole in his back tooth. He was moaning to me that he already had a filling put in the tooth in Gympie and it had since come out. I look at the tooth and no wonder the filling had come out, the parallel walls of the hole would not be sufficient to hold the filling in place. I took an x ray to make sure the tooth didnt warrent extraction and explained i will fill the hole but to allow the filling to lock in to place, i will remove the existing amalgam present next to where the hole was. He agreed and i successfully carried out treatment. the gentleman even signed the consent sticker to say he agrees to the work i was carrying out. Half hour later he demanded to see me again. He was angry and very aggitated. He came in to the surgery, guns blazing (not literally) and wanted answers. "Tell me, why on earth have you removed so much of my tooth? you said you were filling in the hole and the next thing i know, i have a great big filling! you didnt have to put this big filling in!" I calmly replied, "i have not removed any of your natural tooth, i have merely replaced the existing filling you had." He snapped, "I had no existing filling, it fell out!!!". "Please let me show you the x ray i took before we commenced treatment." I offered.
"Pfft, an x ray." He shrugged, rolling his eyes at me. The beauty of amalgam fillings is they show up on radiographs so i pulled out the x ray i had taken prior to drilling out the EXISTING amalgam and there it was....a nice bold white object shown on the tooth NEXT to the hole. I pointed out this is amalgam and was there before. I pointed out the filling he had before was flat and lifeless, it felt different now because i had carved a work of art with anatomy to the tooth structure, giving it fissures and all the morphology a natural tooth would have. He couldnt understand when the previous amalgam filling was done and started blaming his dentist in Alice Springs from 2006 who put the filling in originally, stating she didnt tell him she was putting a filling that size into the tooth! He left the surgery feeling happy i had explained it to him and hopefully a little bit stupid. Patients are interesting creatures.

I was glad to get back to Hervey Bay and get home as for the past 2 days i have had a very sore stomach with painful cramps and diarrhea. I battled through the day trying not to think too much about it but Gaz and I went for dinner at the Hervey Bay boat club and i couldnt eat all my food and the cramps got worse. When we left i was in so much pain walking to the car it brought tears to my eyes....and i have a pretty high pain threshold and am NEVER ill so i knew something must be wrong. Gaz rushed me home, breaking all the speed limits to get me back in record timing. He should be an ambulance driver! He insisted i skype my parents so thats just what i did....dad gave me an over the internet diagnosis of what it could be and from my description and symptoms weve concluded possibly gastroenteritis. Gaz hasnt got any symptoms so i dont know what has caused it...hes drugged me up with paracetamol and gaviscon now and is nursing me in bed (i should make the most of this).

Gaz has had a long phone call from his cousin John in Canberra and we have been invited down there and vice versa. John has never managed to make it to fraser island so we have offered to take them over there for a long weekend..

ps. i have just asked gaz if there is anything he would like me to add to the blog about his day and his reply was..."tell them i correctly diagnosed your illness." Thats as interesting as his day has got.

Thursday 22nd September - spring clean

Work was long and tiresome. Gaz has been out and bought some extra sheets for 2 of the beds as we will have a full house here on saturday (emily and tony are coming up from brisbane and meenal and suzie will be back from fraser island). Good job we have a 3 bedroom house! Gaz has also been and bought a printer which we need to print stuff off for work and its just handy to have.

As Gaz was playing on the computer, i gave the house a good clean. An hour later he was still playing so i went out and bought the food for dinner. When i got back he was still playing so i cooked it aswell...im shattered and meenal and suzie will be here in less than an hour! For dinner we had nachos with cheese and nacho source with some seasoned mince and salsa. It was really yummy although Gaz wasnt a fan of the nacho source because it had refried beans in it which were mashed up into a source but he could still feel the texture.

We are now sat in the bedroom awaiting the arrival of min and suzie. Will be nice to have a good catch up with them when they get here.

Wednesday 21st September - Pig out

Yesterday no blog was written as nothing exciting happened! I arrived home from work shattered and fell asleep next to Gaz on the bed whilst watching a film. The end.

Today Gaz text me to say my plug adapter for my toothbrush had arrived. Mum has had to send it over from the UK because Australia dont have shaving plugs here and to buy an adapter meant paying a ridiculous price on postage. Work was ok today...my first patient was a very obnoxious 24 year old male who needed a tooth taking out but moaned his jaw was aching when trying to elevate the tooth out. He was a pain in the bum as he kept wanting to spit the blood out of his mouth and kept making a big drama out of things. He was annoying...but its ok because the cup he had been spitting in to, he spilt all over himself. He was not best pleased. I giggled behind my mask and did nothing to help as he had agitated me. It took me an hour to get his tooth out because he kept interrupting me! My next patient was very deaf so i had to shout at him but was so loud, the whole hospital could hear me! I asked the senior dentist how i was getting on and if he has any concerns about anything im doing. His reply was he is really happy with the work i am doing and said he has heard me with patients (as his room is next door and sound travels well through the seperating door between our rooms) and he said he likes how i communicate with my patients. So i was chuffed with that!

I came home from work and Gaz finished off playing on the computer. He has had an alright day. He treated me to a subway and very naughtily took me for an ice cream! i didnt resist. So much for going to the gym! We are going to watch some tv now and i have tidied the house before our guests (suzie and meenal - friends from university) arrive tomorrow evening before they head over to fraser island.

Oh and i have been paid a nice sum of money which is lovely!! 

Monday 19th September - Burglary!

Well for once a monday morning in work has never been so exciting! I rocked up at 7.50am as per usual to find the door was completely smashed in. I walked in to the commotion in the office to hear the dreadful news that on saturday afternoon, some hooligan had broken in and trashed the office, stealing 500AUD from the safe (which he hacked open) and some needles from one of the surgeries. The patients files were all over the place and the office was a tip. Luckily he hadnt touched the lockers as i have a very expensive pair of loupes (dental magnifier glasses) in mine. The guy has been caught. He has not long come out of prison and broke in to a few places in the Hervey Bay area and was caught holding up a woman at gun point down on the esplanade....psycho! The alarm had apparently been going off but it took the police about 2 hours to check the place out...by which time he was on the move  to the next location.

Gaz took the car in to get serviced and to find out what the rattling was. The good news is it only cost 170AUD to get fixed. It was a problem with the catylitic converter...some honeycomb filter had come loose. Luckily the car is under warrenty so the place we got it from has to pay an extra 250AUD to get it fixed. Had we kept driving the car, the filter thing would have got stuck further in and would have cost around a grand to get fixed! Somehow the 40AUD taxi ride to my riding lesson doesnt seem so expensive any more! Gaz asked the bloke what condition he reckoned the car was in and the mechanic said it was in very good condition.

Gaz and I have been for ice cream on the pier because he has had a very bad day on the computer. Hes cooking me din dins now and then we are going to relax and watch a film...tomorrow i start my first class at the gym!

Sunday 18th September - Horse Riding

This morning i had a 2 hour riding lesson but as i have been banned from driving the car due to its rattling noise, Gaz offered to pay the very expensive taxi ride to my riding lesson. 40AUD taxi ride later, i was at Lisa's ready to saddle up the horse i was riding, Buddy. Another lady (also called Lisa) was joining us for the ride today. We rode into the outback where the sun beat down on us and drained me of all my energy. At 10am, with another hour left to ride, i was absolutely baking! In the distance we could see horses galloping along a path...they were chasing a kangaroo! I really enjoyed the ride today as Lisa let me jump a few fallen logs which reminded me of when i used to mess about in the forestry with Kierra, jumping anything and everything in sight. I mentioned i was getting a taxi home but Lisa offered to drive me back as she said she was heading in to town any way. I felt bad as she went a really long way back to our house and she wouldnt accept any money for it she just said 'buy the horses a big bag of carrots'....so thats exactly what i will do! Before she drove me home, i had the chance to see her mount her friends rescue horse for the first time. The horse is skin and bones but apparently is looking a hundred times better than a month ago when they first got the horse.

I arrived home to Gaz playing on the computer. I showered and fell asleep on the bed underneath the ceiling fan for 3 hours. It has been so hot today! We even ended up turning the air conditioning on for a bit as the heat was unbearable...dreading summer now! When i woke up, Wales were losing to Samoa...so i fell back asleep again and was pleasantly surprised that in the last 15 minutes, Wales had turned it around winning 17-10. Gaz and I went and bought some dinner to cook and had a stroll along the beach. We have been lying in bed watching paranormal activity (which was a load of poop) and spirited away.

15-17th September - Tin Can Bay/ Rainbow Beach

I escaped the week without being called out - yay! I quickly handed the phone over first thing on Monday and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I had a lot of weird patients on Thursday...the dental nurses reckon when its a full moon, all the weirdos come out. I think they might be right. One gentleman came in with a top and bottom denture and was complaining that the dentures didnt fit. "How long ago were the dentures made?" I questioned him. "9 years ago." He replied. "And when did you last wear them?" I continued. "9 years ago." He replied again. I tried explaining that if you dont wear your dentures, your teeth will move and there isnt much i can do to make them fit. I altered a bit of metal on the denture and called for the lab technician to come and take a look. The patient was very rude and said "they were fitting on the one side but SHES stuffed them up. SHES made them worse!" I was taken aback by his rudeness and the technician, John, got very agitated by the gentleman. "Who is SHE?" John snapped, and the patient stuttered. I said, "My name is VICKY". The patient apologised. Rude sod. In the end i said i couldnt do any more for him and he would have to go on the waiting list for new dentures. He moaned that the waiting list is years long. "i know" i said with a smile and wrapped up the conversation to get rid of him. Turns out HE used to be a WOMAN...seems like a very confused individual.

I couldnt wait to get home so that Gaz and i could set off on our road trip! I offered to put some of Gaz's stuff into my suitcase but he had already packed...you would have thought he was going for the week the amount of clothes he had put in. Gaz kindly offered to drive which was great because it had started getting dark. We were going to spend the night at Tin Can Bay (approximately 2 hours away) so that we could get up early and feed the dolphins. Gaz had burnt a CD for the drive with songs such as 'sweet home alabama' and Billy Idols 'White wedding'. The sky was black and we were driving along quiet roads through the middle of what i think was forestry. The roads were narrow and had deep drops into ditches on either side with no railings to stop you driving off into the creeks. The car bounced up and down when we hit the pot holes a bit like being on megaphobia at oakwood. It was a relief to see the 'welcome to tin can bay' sign and the welcomed street lighting to guide us around the very small coastal town.

I had booked the accomodation online the night before - Sleepy Lagoon Motel/Hotel. We pulled up and found the reception...the lady could not find our booking. It wasnt a problem as she trusted us that we had paid (because we had!) and gave us the keys to our cabin. Gaz and I were in a little tin cabin around the back of the hotel which had a double bed and a very shabby looking kitchen and bathroom. We didnt mind because we were only going to be in it for a few hours. We dumped our belongings and took a ride around Tin Can Bay to find a place to eat. We found ....no places to eat. Luckily there was a bistro in the hotel we were staying in so we went back there and to be fair, the food was excellent. We both had a rump steak and chips...i couldnt even finish my chips because the steak was so big! Was deffinately worth eating there. Afterwards, we ha da little flitter on the pokies and lost 5AUD. Oh well! We went to bed and were joined by Baby Bob - a little tiny gecko who was stuck to our wall.

They say to get to the dolphin feeding place between 7-8am so as not to miss the dolphins. I had Gaz up at 6.30am so we could leave at 7am. We didnt really know where the place was but as Tin Can Bay is the size of a tin can, it was very easy to find. We were one of the first couples to arrive...then a few more people turned up....then a few kids....then a boat arrived with about 20 people on...so before we knew it, about 60 people had turned up to feed these dolphins. At 8am we began to que up to buy some fish to feed these dolphins which hadnt turned up yet. They are wild dolphins that have been coming to the area for years but there was no garantee that they would show. At 8.30am there was still no sign of the dolphins and Gaz was getting restless. I had been so excited about feeding the dolphins i didnt want to leave so i delayed Gaz a little bit by opting for some breakfast in the Cafe right next to the dolphin feeding area. Just as we had ordered the breakfast, 2 dolphins had arrived. Mistique (the dominant male) and patch (his girlfriend). Sadly some of the spectators had already left by this time! The dolphins were beautiful. As Gaz wasnt bothered about feeding them, he offered to film me. Its an 8000AUD fine for trying to stroke the dolphins so i settled for chucking a fish into their mouth. Gaz was glad i had seen the dolphins and so was i.

After checking out of the hotel, we drove up the coast and places to take some photographs of the bay. It was then time to drive to Rainbow Beach which took under an hour to get there.

Rainbow beach is another small coastal town. It is where, if you have a four wheel drive, you an catch a ferry to the tip of Fraser Island from Inskip point or camp on the beach in your fold out caravan. The first thing we did was head to inskip point and admired the views of Fraser Island. Gaz stood enviously at the men fishing off the beach and i enjoyed feeling the soft white sand between my toes and was fascinated at how clear and blue the sea was. The sun beat down on us and we decided it was time to grab a drink and apply some sun screen! We bought some supplies from the 'Rainbow Beach business centre'. Its called a business centre but has about 6 shops so i dont really know if it is worthy of such a title. We bought a beach bag, sun screen, a beach umbrella and some beach games to play as well as some magazines. All geared up, we strolled over the road to the beach for an afternoon of sun, sea and sand. Bliss!

The hours flew by and at 3.30pm we felt we had better check in to our accomodation - Debbies Place. When we arrived on her doorstep, we were greeted by a little dog thing with long scraggy hair....a handbag type dog whose hair had been tied up into a pony tail on the top of its head. Was cute though - she licked our feet with such delight to see us. Debbie (the owner) came out and said she had run out of accomodation for us but we werent to worry as she had upgraded us to Babs Place - A villa just around the corner. We thought maybe we were getting palmed off and drawing the short straw in this deal but no, she was right, she really had upgraded us. The villa had 2 floors with a big lounge with comfy  sofas and a nice dining room and kitchen. It also had a pool and a jacuzzi but as we found out later that night, it wasnt heated!

Before dinner, we went up to the Carlo Sandblow which is a big sand dune that overlooks the sea on both sides. It was quiet when we arrived but soon filled up just before sunset when a big group of backpackers had arrived. Some were learning how to throw a boomerang (and failing miserabley) and others were trying to surf down part of the sand dune on body boards (also failing miserabley). We didnt quite make it till sunset up there as our bellies were grumbling so we drove down for fish and chips. I thought i would be different and try the baramundi instead of the cod. The wasnt much difference in taste other than the Baramundi had a slughtly more fishy taste to it. Gaz had a burger which looked a little pathetic inside its ginormous bun.

After a very early night, we awoke fresh and ready for the day ahead. Unfortunately the weather was hot and had no breeze so the waves were rubbish for a surfing lesson as previously planned. We grabbed breakfast at a local cafe - pancakes and maple syrup - yummy! We had planned to go to Maryborough for a horse show but on the way, the car started making a weird noise so Gaz felt it best we get back to Hervey Bay. All the garages are closed on the weekend so Gaz will take the car on Monday to find out what is wonng with it. We spent the afternoon on the beach in Hervey Bay watching a guy fish. In the distance we saw something dark moveing around in the water. The guy that was fishing had gone wading in to the water after whatever it was. Turns out it was a Du-gone. Hervey Bay is a well known place for Dugones so hopefully that wont be the only one we see!

We are currently deciding where to get a takeaway from as we have no car to go out and eat. 

Wednesday 14th September - Gaz relocates

Apologies for no blog yesterday, the trouble was, nothing really happened to write about! Today Gaz reckoned he was going to get up at 7.15am when i woke...like hell did that happen! he waited for me to be up and out of bed before he reset his alarm and cocooned himself into the quilt. I'm always so envious of him when i get up each morning! I don't know what time he got up but at least he was dressed when i arrived home for lunch.

I still havent been called out yet which is great and i hand the phone over tomorrow which is better still! As we have no food in the house, we opted to walk over to woolworths but the trouble is, on route we passed the chinese. I was all for being good but Gaz has been craving a chinese for ages so we agreed we would have cheat day today. I don't know how we are going to manage eating healthy this weekend though as we are heading on a road trip...we may have to scrap it this weekend. On the plus side, next week i wont be on call and i am going to be starting classes at the gym. I havent been this week as i have been so paranoid the work phone might ring mid class.

Gaz and I came home to find Bob stuck upside down on the balcony. He took one look at Gaz's face and scarpered and we havent seen him since. 

Monday 12th September - What a day

Gaz and i have both had a rubbish day today. Gaz's day went bad playing on the computer and i had a day of patients screaming at me and not letting me do any treatment on them...both kids AND adults! To top the day off, the senior dentist handed out the roster for who is on call over the next few months. It was agreed i would be on call once every 10 weeks....so on 17th of November, as planned, i will be on call again. However im a little bit mythed as to why the following month i am on call over christmas. I am scheduled to be on call from 22nd - 29th december so yes, im working christmas eve and christmas day. what a load of s*it!!!! How fairly was that chosen? Not at all! Basically coz im new and buggering off in February...(which i am DEFINITELY buggering off now)...the senior dentist must have thought oh well,  let her work christmas. There is no point complaining about it as 1. it wont get changed and 2. someone has to do it...and i guess if we had all sat down fairly around a table and discussed who wants to work christmas, i may even have put myself forward but for one person to have so much power to decide all this themselves, i think its bollocks. There doesnt even say anything about being on call on my contract, it was just landed upon me when i arrived like so many other things. Crap like this makes me even more determined to one day have my own practice so that I can be in charge and people can work for me...im getting a little fed up of badly organised work places.

Gaz had dinner on the table when i got home - very spicy chicken stir fry with veg. So hot it burnt a lining of our mucosa off from the inside of our mouths, nevertheless, it was very yummy! We have been in the computer room watching episodes of extras and futurama...of course i fell asleep lol.

Sunday 11th September - Wales vs South Africa

Gaz and I cant believe how friendly the locals are here, even the local mentalists have a happy demeanour. From time to time, we sit on our balcony with an ice cold drink and watch the locals pass by. Our main interest is 'pants man'. Pants man is what it says on the tin....a guy that walks around in his pants. the pants are red and of very poor taste and could almost be mistaken for a tight pair of speedos but no, i assure you, they are pants. He passed by again today, this time dressed in a little more than just pants. We do like this guy. He is very friendly and skips past with an older gentleman...possibley his brother/dad or maybe even his carer. Pants man always shouts up to the balcony 'hello!' with a jolly smile. Today he told us he was going fishing as he hopped merrily down the road which i found quite sweet. Next time Gaz asks me to go fishing, i might point him in the direction of pants man and set them up as fishing buddies.

My riding lesson went well today. Lisa had me ride Buddy again, a 15.1hh horse that she rescued. She seems to think we have a bond going on as he behaves differently with me on his back to most others. We progressed from the little field we were in last week to going through a long narrow field that she let us canter in to suss out if i was able to stop the horse. As I knew where the brakes were, next week Lisa is taking me out into 'the bush' to do some jumping and hopefully spot some wildlife. Gaz has even said he would like to learn to ride and she has an ideal horse for him so watch this space!

In the afternoon i had a great plan that we would go bowling. We pulled in to Hervey Bay Tempin Bowling and i guess the empty car park should have been a good enough warning to turn back and not park the car! We edged through the front door wondering if the place was even open and braved our way through a dark games room to a very quiet and very empty bowling alley. Was this place for real? It was the worst bowling alley i have ever been to and we are not going back there...ever! The machine putting the pins up was VERY dated and on its last legs. The computerised score was great because it added in a few spares which i didnt rightfully deserve and Gaz somewhere along the way accumulated a strike when he still had pins left. One of the pins seemed to fall over before the ball had even been bowled and the wooden lane was uneven, always making the ball want to edge to the right. At 23AUD for us both to have 1 game which took us all of 20 minutes, we finished and left.

In the evening we went to watch Wales Vs South Africa in the RSL but looking around at deaths waiting room, decided this was not the right atmosphere to enjoy a rugby match and headed straight for the door. We drove up to the Hervey Bay Hotel to the sports bar and watched the game in a typical Aussie Pub. Good beer (for Gaz) and good company with locals all wanting to have a little chat with us. I think my welsh rugby shirt was a give away that we were foreigners. We were very disappointed with the end result and im dreading going to work tomorrow as 3 of the dentists are south african but at least i can hold my head up high and say wales played well.

Saturday 10th September - Cheat day yay!

Not much happened in work yesturday and touch wood i havent been called out yet! The bloody work phone is making me paranoide. I keep waking up in the night and checking the phone to see if ive slept through a call and i carry it with me everywhere i go just incase they ring whilst im in the shower/on the toilet. I cant wait to hand this thing over!
Today Gaz played on the computer whilst i gave the house a good clean from top to bottom. It was lovely and sunny outside so after lunch we grabbed an ice cream and did a spot of sunbathing for about 5 minutes before deciding it was too hot and we would probably burn.
Back at the house i FINALLY loaded pictures onto facebook which i have been meaning to do for a long time now. As it is cheat day and my turn to pick the restaurant, we tried another italian along the esplanade because i was craving cheesy garlic bread and lasagne. The food was even better than santinis (the italian we tried 2 weeks ago) so we shall definitely be eating there again! Gaz thought the england/Argentina rugby match was on at 8.30pm so we got to the hervey bay boat club sports bar and got a seat in front of the TV screen...unfortunately he got the time wrong and the match had finished an hour before we sat down. Oh well.

We havent heard Bob tonight. I hope he is OK as Gaz almost stepped on him yesturday.

Thursday 8th September - Police!

Today was a little bit more exciting than the last...

Work flew by. I was busy today working with a new nurse called Trudy. She's absolutely crazy but i love it, she made the day good fun and talks a lot so it saved me from having to make too much conversation with the patients. I still hadnt been paid so i made a little song and dance about it and ive just checked my account and the moneys gone through. Now all i need is a pay slip to see what exactly ive been paid for and make sure its correct! I'm now on call so i have this horrible black phone next to me that i feel is like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. Im looking forward to handing it over next thursday to its next victim!

Gaz and i went for a stroll after work. The bats that have infested the area were fast asleep in the nearby trees, hanging upside down wrapped like little cocoons inside their wings. There were hundreds of them! We headed down to one of the piers and Gaz spotted something bobbing around in the water in the distance. A few seconds later and i saw it too. A lady on the edge of the pier shouted, "wow, a turtle!" so we hurried up to the end of the pier to see a lonesome turtle bobbing around.

We then went to the boat club for a hot chocolate. It isnt cheat day but we felt we deserved one. When we left the boat club, a car was driving up Gaz's bum (not literally) so he pulled over when the car put on its flashing lights...it was an unmarked police car! Gaz rolled down his window and the police officer took his drivers license. He was doing random breath checks and asked Gaz to blow into the breathaliser. Luckily the hot chocolate wasnt spiked! The officer soon let us go when Gaz passed the breath test.

We are home now and going to watch a film.

I didnt have my SLR and the compact was rubbish but this is the only shot i got!

Wednesday 7th September - Gym Induction

In work today my nurse informed me that the admin staff are very impressed with the notes i have been writing and also with the amount of work ive been doing. I appreciated this feedback and am feeling rather chuffed! Today was meant to be pay day but like usual, something had to go tits up. I was organised and handed in my tax number etc when i started work but Queensland Health have failed to pay me. One of the admin staff, Leigh, rung up to find out why i havent been paid and for some reason i was on one system, but not on the other system? whatever that means. The woman on the phone asked 'is she desperate for the money?' ....Leigh put her straight and said..."put it this way, shes flown half way across the world to be here and her boyfriend doesnt work...so yes, she is desperate!" ...an adhoc payment has been done and i should have the money in my account tomorrow morning. fingers crossed!

This evening Gaz and i had an induction at the 24 hour gym. A nice lady, Michelle, showed us around all the equipment and took our fingerprints. As the gym is 24 hours, after 7pm, you can only access the gym by having a computer on the wall outside scan your fingerprints as an ID check - very clever!

We are home now and cooking kangaroo, potato and....baked beans!

Tuesday 6th September - Gaz caught a fish!

Sleepy Gaz slept. I worked.

I came home at lunch time and Gaz had been doing well playing on the computer so he treated himself in the afternoon to some time off and went fishing. He was very excited to have caught his first fish...yet very disheartened at the guy next to him who confiscated the thing and killed it. Apparently it was a 'toady' which are pests and must be killed?

Work was very busy but i survived. I was taken around Hervey Bay Hospital and shown where to go for when im 'on call'. Sorry, what was that? On call you say? When was i ever meant to be on call?! No one had informed me but..well...SURPRISE! on thursday im on call! this means for a week i have a pager and if it goes off, i have to drive to Hervey Bay Hospital to attend to whatever situation is in need of a dentist. I dont feel confident yet at being on call as if people need advice, i have only been in work for what will be a week on thursday and i am not up to scratch with the protocols in Aus! Im not even allowed to write prescriptions yet as my performers number hasnt come through yet. this could be a fun week on call! yikes!

This evening I cooked us kangaroo tacos. The kangaroo mince has to be cooked thoroughly as they reckon there could be worms in the meat...i tried not to focus too much on that thought. It tasted yummy though! We are going to snuggle up and watch a film now :D

Monday 5th September - Join gym attempt no. 4!

Not much to report today. I left Gaz in bed this morning as i popped off to work. Ive just realised ive been walking all the way around the block to get to work when there is actually a back entrance that is even closer to home! It now takes 30 seconds to get to work.

After work Gaz and I attempted to join the gym. Perfect, the door was open! The lady behind the desk broke the news to us that we cant become members until we have had an induction in the gym and the earliest she had was wednesday. We have an appointment booked for after work on wednesday so attempt 5 at joining this gym should be successful! Gaz is now slaving away in the kitchen cooking me dinner. We have managed to find some kangaroo meat in woolworths so tomorrow we will be rustling up some of that...unless gaz catches me a fish!

Sunday 4th September - Horse riding lesson

Poor Gaz was dragged out of bed at 8.15am this morning so that i could have some company in the car whilst trying to find the horse riding place. He didnt complain about coming and i really appreciated him being there incase i got lost! On the way to the lesson we spotted our first wild kangaroo! He was quite a way in the distance and looked like a tree stump at first because i didnt have my glasses on.

The riding place was a very small field. The lady has 6 horses (2 of which are shetlands) but she rescued them all 'from the doggers' as she put it. She was very friendly and a really likeable person who made me feel really comfortable for my first lesson in years! I shared the small field with another girl who was also part of the lesson but she didnt have much personality going on which shone through in her riding ability as she let her horse plod along. Lisa (the name of my instructor) started me off on her 'beginners' horse to see how i got on. 20 minutes into the lesson she said i was too good for this horse and put me on 'more of a challenge'. The second horse i was on, Buddy, was a sweetheart. I could feel him testing me at the start to see what he could get away with but within minutes he was loosening up and playing with the bit in his mouth, riding the corners nicely. The other girl in the lesson didnt seem to appreciate the school had any corners but Buddy was very obedient and didn't follow the slackness of the horse in front. Although the teaching was more relaxed than what i am used to back home (constantly being nagged about my leg/hand aids and positioning in the saddle), i really did enjoy being back in the saddle and for 25AUD, i cant complain! Gaz meanwhile watched patiently on the sideline and entertained Lisa's dog who pawed him continuously for a pat. He even rescued the goat behind him a few times as it kept tangling itself up in the rope it was tied up with. Apparently this was a flatulent goat.

When we got back to the house, Gaz played on the computer and i fell fast asleep. 3 hours later i woke up! We watched 'Megamind' which he downloaded earlier and really enjoyed it! Afterwards we went to subway for dinner because neither of us could be bothered to cook.

Before heading back to the house we went for a romantic walk on the beach. The seagulls were bobbing about in the water very close to the shore where the white horses were breaking and amazingly catching huge prawns before flying off. We must have seen about 8-10 seagulls all dip their heads under and catch a prawn! I wish i had my camera on me!

Saturday 3rd September - Cheat day yay!

Today we had the longest lie in since we been in Aus and managed to sleep until 11am. Gaz was a little hung over from the night before (lightweight). We attempted to join the 24hour gym for the third time but unless you are a member, you cant get in. I tapped on the door and someone opened it "erm are you a member?" he asked...."erm well we are trying to become members but theres never anyone in!" i replied. A girl behind the desk said we have to come between 7am-7pm monday - thursday to join. we shall try again on monday after work!

We grabbed some essentials for tonights home cooked curry before heading out for a stroll with the camera. Gaz stopped in the local fishing shop and picked up a nice rod etc. which he is happy about...so now he can get cracking with catching my dinner! We headed over the road to the beach and was surprised to see the younger generation of Hervey Bay was out socialising with one another. The boys and girls integrated with one another doing back flips off the railings which we were quite impressed at and i even managed to get some quick action snaps of them! We had a stroll up the pier to where a boy, no older than 11 was stood with his fishing rod trying to catch fish. He didnt have any bait on the end of his hook, but when the fish swum by, he would yank the rod upwards to try and hook them. He ended up catching a huge fish! He didnt have a knife on him so very cruely he just put the suffocating fish into his rucksack before carrying on with his fishing. We left at this point.

Back at the house Gaz played on the computer and i had a little nap...Its hard work waking up at 11am! We cooked a mediocre chicken tikka masala which wasnt amazing but was still better than the one we had in the indian restaurant! As it is cheat day, i treated Gaz to an ice cream at the ice cream parlor down the road.

Afterwards, we went to the pub in Hervey Bay hotel and listened to a young lad singing songs with his guitar over a can of diet coke...hardcore! It was a shame because the guy had a great voice and was very nice to listen to but the pub was so empty! he sung his heart out to a crown of 10 people....2 of which were his parents. We headed home and had the chance to show Gareths parents around the house on skype. Im heading for bed now ready for my first riding lesson in the morning - yay!

Friday 2nd September - Gaz's Rugby Dinner

We have had a lovely day today! I got to speak to my mate kirsty on skype this morning which was really nice to catch up with her, although i did deafen her as she couldnt work out how to turn her speaker down. Gaz and I then had some errands to run, starting with going back to the car dealer who had rung us to say Queensland registration people havent accepted our british drivers licenses so we needed to provide some other form of ID. When that was sorted we went in search of some shoes to go with my dress for the rugby dinner tonight...and a whole new outfit for Gaz, also for tonight. To say there are not many places to shop in Hervey Bay is an understatement...there is only really Target or Big W to get clothes which would be the equivalent of picking up clothes in Asda's George section...there isnt much choice! I was a bit pushed for choice with the shoes and ended up getting something that would do. I begrudge paying the money for them as i know new look do  much nicer shoes for half the price back home! Gaz found some smart looking trousers, a white shirt, belt, tie and even picked up some very smart looking shoes.

By the time we had finished shopping we were both starving so headed home for some lunch and then had a potter around on our laptops for a bit...before watching tv and Gaz falling asleep. At 5:50pm, Gaz had showered and went to put on his shirt. I heard a few expletives followed by "s*it, ive just taken the white shirt out of the packet and its huge with short sleeves". As both Big W and Target close at 6pm...Gaz had 10 minutes to get to the store, find the shirt he needed and pay for it. LUCKILY we live round the corner from Big W and Gaz was in and out as it was closing. Disaster over, i ironed his shirt for him and thankfully his clothes fit him rather well...ive only ever seen him look this smart for his brothers wedding reception!

We got to the Hervey Bay Hotel to where the rugby presentation was being held for the local rugby team that Gaz has joined. We were welcomed by the lead coach of the team, Andrew and ushered to a table with a very lovely couple, Rosemary and Jeff. We spent most of the evening talking to the couple who have even invited us to their house for a meal one day when they are back from New Zealand watching the rugby. The food was great and the drinks flowed. The speeches for the presentation dragged on...for about 2 hours but we managed. It was really nice to meet the rugby lads and they have all invited Gaz to the pub with them and said to give them a call if we need any thing.

Although it isnt cheat day...we did allow ourselves a little bit of cheese from the cheese board after the main course. It is amazing how much our stomachs have shrunk sine we have been eating healthy, smaller portions of food. I could only manage the chicken breast on my plate! After the speeches came a live band, at which point Gaz and I felt a good opportunity to leave so ive driven us back and we are going to watch a film now. Todays pic is of us together before the dinner :)

Thursday 1st September - Left handed surgery Day 1

So this morning Gaz had drilled it into me that i am NOT to back down about the surgery and i must not see a single patient until everything is how i want it. " tell them that yesterday you felt bullied into working right handed and you feel you are being discriminated for being left handed and do not see why you must compromise the quality of your work just because the dental nurses aren't happy about walking around the chair to get things." OK, i had my spiel at the ready! I marched down to work and my nurse was in the surgery setting up. The surgery was still set up right handed so i said "I'd like to change the surgery back to left handed. I tried right handed yesterday and it was compromising my work so im going to speak to regart so we can get it changed. Colleen looked at me and then glanced at the other nurse in the room. They both looked a little concerned. I wondered off to find Regart but someone informed me he wouldnt be in today! I stood outside the directors door waiting to speak to him. It was 8am and my first patient was in but i was under strict orders from Gaz that i am NOT to see anyone until i have a left handed surgery. The nurse who had been in the room with Colleen said "umm, is Head Nurse OK with it being left handed?" i said i didnt know, i hadnt told her yet and the nurse gave a look of like UHO!!! and walked off. The director was AGES on the phone and it was now 8.15am. I was adamant i wasnt getting my patient in so i would have waited forever if i had to. I had a little mooch around the surgeries to give him some space on the phone when i found they had already moved me to a different surgery where they had begun setting it up left handed. As i was looking at the file for the first patient my nurse had the cheek to say, "Next time you go for a job, how about you find out if its left handed first?"...i said through gritted teeth...."well, i DID ask if this was a left handed job and they said it was." and she was like " yeh well you should always speak to a DA or someone, not just admin." I felt like telling her to piss off but i was more than happy to have my left handed surgery so ill let that one go. She did make a few comments throughout the day about her not having enough space on her side so they are moving me to a different surgery tomorrow "so that we can get a happy balance between what dentist AND dental nurse wants." WHY IS THIS CAUSING SUCH A BIG F*CKING DEAL JUST DO YOUR F*CKING JOB AND ILL DO MINE!!!! excuse the bad language but for gods sake!!!

I had 10 patients all day...BLISS! and one patient said he would only come back again if i was treating him. Another very nervous lady said i had been brilliant with her and all the other patients were very friendly and very grateful. Overall i really enjoyed the day and today i feel like a good dentist! Im not letting the fact that the head nurse storms past me without so much as eye contact or a smile.All the other staff are really lovely and i really enjoyed today in work. Gaz was much happier to see me happy when i got home. And to top it all off, i have tomorrow off so the weekend begins here!!!

We went for a stroll after work to Urangan Pier. We didnt realise just how long the pier is. It went on for miles! People were fishing at the end of it...next time ill take my camera and get some good shots!  We then went to subway for our din dins....yummy!