Happy New Year

Happy New Year to one and all! We are writing this from the height of our first Australian Summer as temperatures soar and the swimming pool gets crowded. December has been the most magical month for us, as Alex proposed and Rhiannon said yes so we are officially engaged!!!! Unbeknownst to Rhiannon her engagement ring has been travelling with us the whole time, just waiting for the right moment.... (Rhiannon - How romantic!)

On our 9 year anniversary we celebrated almost a decade together by booking ourselves in to do a sky walk around the roof of the tallest building in Australia, the Q1 building right here in Surfers Paradise. It wasn't until we suited up in our Ghostbusters-esque overalls and full body harnesses that the nerves began to kick in. Next came a rip-roaring lift ride, scaling 77 floors in 43 seconds, travelling so fast that your ears pop half-way through. 

Before we knew it we were harnessed in and climbing the steps, the wind blowing forcibly high above our Australian home town. Up, up and up we went until we reached a platform at the climbs peak. The view was breathtaking and adrenalin was coursing through us, which intensified when Alex dropped to one knee and presented a ring (attached to some fishing line as you can't take anything up on the skywalk that could fall off). We are both over the moon and just can't wait to celebrate with you all when we get back! Following our walk in the clouds we enjoyed a celebratory glass of bubbly on the observation deck before cocktails, dinner and a wee dance... It truly was a perfect day.

And soon Christmas was upon us. Cards were arriving in the post which we were saving for Christmas Day and thanks to a very lovely Kylie Benjamin we had festive paper chains to festoon our little apartment with. Still, we will be the first to admit that it is very odd to have Christmas in a hot place, the sound of the ocean and palm trees at every corner even though the local council made its effort with lights, plastic fir trees and life-size  Santas. We were (and still are) working lots and so only had Christmas day off to really get into the swing of things. 

We began by opening our cards, reading message upon message from our friends and family  which made us feel closer to home and so grateful to have such beautiful people in our lives! We then took ourselves off to the beach for a Chrimbo day paddle before heading home for food. There was no turkey for us but rather marinated chicken, salad and the obligatory Aussie style shrimp on the barbie. Alex put his new found cocktail skills to work and off to the pool we went. We were joined by our work colleagues, an American couple, and we made cocktails, shared food and had a giggle. After they left we proceeded to open an entire box of Christmas Crackers and pulled every single one until Alex was wearing 4 paper hats at the same time and Rhiannon was wearing a plastic moustache! Utilising the wonders of technology we face timed many of you and soon we were filled to the brim with Christmas spirit once again.

We were both working on New Years Eve so the end of our year was a fleeting one but we did manage to steal 5 minutes together at Alex's bar to drink some bubbly, reflect a little on the wonder of the previous year and kiss when the clock struck midnight. 

The first week of 2014 brought with it more work and a little surprise in the form of a spontaneous day off together. Embracing our inner children and our list of places we want to visit before our path leads us away from the Gold Coast we ventured into the heart of Surfers to explore an attraction called Infinity (and yes of course we said "To Infinity and beyond" several times on the way.)

So what can we say about Infinity. Picture a big building, with lots of corridors and rooms made up of mirrored floors, ceilings and walls. It's like a futuristic fun house complete with many laser lights, a rope bridge, wobbly floors and mazes all to confuse and enlighten the senses. When we were pushed back out into the world we continued our juvenile jaunt and took ourselves off to Timezone, a gigantic indoor amusement centre complete with bowling alley and a horse. Alex won some star credits on a giant connect four game so before we left our bubble of fun we could exchange them for prizes. We arrived at the counter and was met with the most random assortment of, quite simply put, tat. Rhiannon, trying to be sensible about the volume of belongings we have now incurred opted for batteries and Uno. But Alex had other plans and was insistent on his choice of UNO and bat n' ball. The debate went back and forth for some time until an impassioned Alex played his final card and said "They're my points and if I can't have bat n' ball I'm getting fart putty." With this final statement he crossed his arms and stamped his foot. So you'll be glad to know we have both grown during 2013 but maybe not matured, oh and we are now in possession of a bat n' ball.

So as 2014 begins to take its shape we are enjoying our time being settled in one place yet excited to get a new and improved Bruce back on the road to seize more adventures from our time here. As it stands now we are planning to leave Surfers at the end of February to head north towards the Reef. The road will then lead us South to explore Victoria and Tasmania before we head homewards (perhaps with a little detour in the way)  .... after all, we have people who are long overdue a big hug and a wedding to plan!

With love always

Rhiannon and Alex

Xxx