A group of Kangeroos,not quite what i expected to see in the garden, on the first morning of our home swap to Australia. As you can imagine the children were delighted. Me, I just wanted to know if they could bite, and would they come into the house. We had already had our first night disrrupted by possums playing on the roof. But this is what we came to Australia for. To live as a local , with the comforts of home. We had exchanged our modest cottage on the Welsh borders for a Queenslander house in Yeppoon ,on the sunshine coast of Australia. We spent the next five weeks cramming in everything Australian. Barbecues on the beach, crocodiles at the zoo, kangeroos and koalas galore, it was everything we had expected and more. We travelled in July supposedly the Aussie winter, but we spent lazy days on the beach fishing and diving . The house was perfect for us with plenty of garden,and room to spread .When it was time to leave i felt quite an attachment to the house and area and had managed to feel like a local.

Next time we will make the 1100km journey to Cairns from Yeppoon and a trip to the barrier reef. The East coast of Australia is a fabulous place for a holiday, it is so diverse and provides something for everyone to enjoy.And yes we are home swapping again.

And how was my home left in the hands of an australian couple? Absolutely fine, they loved the cottage and the areas, could not get over how green it was!!!!. So much so ,they are returning this year.We have made a lot of friends during our trip and were made to feel really at home.

This article was written by the owner of http://www.weaccommodate.co.uk which is a worldwide directory of accommodation for holidays and home swaps.