Australia

After much painstaking flyer posting, phonecalls and meetings I set off to explore the great ocean road with a Canadian girl called Laura and a Dutch guy called Joris in his 70's Nissan campervan called Rosy white clouds.

Laura and i were in the same hostel and she replied to my lift share ad. Joris had contacted me a few days earlier but i had dismissed it as we had found another lift but he failed to show up when we asked to meet him so had to go back to the drawing board.

Joris collected us and after picking up food supplies and fueling Rosy we were off. It was the hottest day and up front in a van sitting on plastic seats and no air con i did think... 'what the hell am i doing!???'

As the scorchio day became evening it all became much more pleasent. In some parts the land was very desert like. We arrived in Robe at around 8pm and set up camp in a campsite with electricity and water. Our first meal expertly cooked on a gas cooker was soup and toast. We dined on a great camping set of tables and chairs. Treated to milo with biscuits we retired to bed so as to make an early start in the morning to head to the Grampians.

We drove to a village called Penola and stopped in the Mary Mckillep memorial park (dedicated to the first saint of Australia) for breakfast.

We then drove onto Hamilton, another quaint village similar to Penola. From here we headed north through the Grampians National park, through Wannon crossing and jimmy creek, this was where the bush fires of 2006 happened. We went on a walk through some of the park lands at several points. We saw an elk that just ignored us as it bathed in a small pool of water. No koalas as yet!

Along the way we stopped to see Mackenzie falls. The walk through the rainforest to it was lovely, many ferns and a type of plant that looks like monkeys tails. Tonight we roughed it in one of the parks campsites. No electricity, running water only by the toilets so our pasta dinner was a challenge made much worse by the running out of gas on the cooker. To speed up the cooking process we were already trying to heat the sauce on the engine! genius!!!!! However, our plan failed and a lovely English couple helped us out and save us from starving by letting us borrow their stove. With our appetites filled, I threw on about 3 layers of clothes in attempt to keep warm in the van.

Another day more sights to see. We stoped in Zumsteins picnic spot and used the BBQ to have eggs, tea and toast for breakfast! We drove several hours to ur first stop, the Bay of Islands, similar to the 12 apostles we knew this was where the great ocean road became stunning. We stopped every 5 minutes to see another beautiful rock formation. We saw the Bay of Martyrs, The grottos, London Bridge, the arch and port cambell forshore. Loch Ard gorge followed, which is several differnt lookouts, the Razorback, the blowhole and thunder caves. All were made up of different types of rock and looked glorious in the sunshine. The ocean holds such power and i decide there that i could watch the waves crash up the rocks all day and not get bored.

Further down the road there was the famous 12 apostles...or 8 as they are now. We only just made it before nightfall so we headed to Princetown to camp for the night. We stayed in a campsite overlooking a beautiful river and rolling hils. After a very cordon bleu meal of beans on toast (i had to introduce this to Laura and Joris as neither had ever had it...would have been better if we hadn't used a contain that had stored washing powder in as they did have a strange tang...added a bit of cheese to mask the taste!) we headed over to the local pub. 9.30 and it was closed...rubbish, really fancied a drink too! We ended up drinking tea and playing cards in the van...life is good!

An early start took us to Melba Gully...a rainforest that we took a few km walk around. We had picked up a Chillian hitch hiker along the way and were taking him as close to Appollo Bay as we were going. We made another stop at Triplet falls which were absolutely beautiful. We hadn't planned to go to Appollo bay but a road diversion forced us to go there so we stopped by the beach and had a picnic lunch. I walked up and down the beach to stretch my legs before the next haul.

From here we were on amazing coastal roads that gave us great views of the ocean. The sun was shining and we had blue skys so it looked stunning...now i know why people say this drive is worth doing. We stopped in Lorne and watch the surfers as the waves here are notorious.

Joris wanted to make a stop in Fairhaven where Simon, his father friend who gave him the camper lives. We met Francis his wife who made us tea and gave us orios which was nice. Once simon had come home he took the kids straight to the beach and asked us to come too. It was quite chilly by this point so i managed a paddle! It is times like this that i really don't understand why i live in London when i could live somewhere like this!!! Both Simon and Francis offered for us to stay the night but we had planned to make it to Melbourne by the end of the day. The offer seemed such a nice idea and gave Joris some time to spend with Simon so we agreed. After dinner Simon took us to a local golf course where i got just a few feet away from a pack of Kangaroos feasting on the lush lawns. There was about 30 of them, some in pairs boxing, others just grazing and some jumping about. It was like nothing i have seen before. Back at the house, the three of us had a relaxed evening chatting about our families and watching 'Open season'...a disney/pixar film.The house was amazingly huge and I stayed in a room with floor to celing windows..such a great view to wake up to.

After a lazy morning and playing on the kids trampoline we drove back to Lorne, i donned a billabong rash vest and i gave body boarding a try. I wasn't bad for my first attempt, even if i do say so myself, caught a few waves. The sea was really cold though so didn't stick it out for long. We then got back on the road stopping in Geelong for some lunch. Melbourne was then only an hour away and after a few days in the country seeing the skyscrapers on the horizon got me in the mood for another city adventure!

Hey all,

Well OK...i've now been in Australia well over a month and i am only just getting around to writing about it!!! That just goes to prove to you what a great time i am having.

So everyone said "why are you going to Adelaide for?" especially all the aussies i met while in S E Asia. They were the most surprised by my first port of call in their home country.

Now just to set the record straight to any of you thinking of coming to Adelaide, its not just a city of churches...they have cathedrals as well..no only kidding, it has lots to offer.

Adelaide was a great start for me as the culture shock of coming back into western society for me was far greater than arriving in Bangkok several months ago. All of a sudden everyone speaks my language, i can read all the signs and nobody is spitting in the street. Adelaide got me used to being back in a western city. It's grid system and american style sinage was a surprise as i was expecting a much more English landscape from what i had been told.

Arriving in Australia i notice that all the homes are massive bungalows, hardly any house. As i move into the city, it strikes me how modern all the buildings are. I am about to spend 4 months in a country where nothing was built much more than 200 years ago!

Before i forget and for those of you that i didn't bore with this sad tale, i was accousted at customs by a dog for trying to get contraband in! First off i had forgotten that i had an orange in my handbag and if that wasn't bad enough when they checked my day pack they found Milo. 500g of the best Milo from Malaysia i tell thee. My god the way the customs officer went off at me threatening me with a $250 fine you think i was carrying kilos of coke and some of the finest heroin around. Apparently the dried milk in milo is a foot and mouth risk or something stupid like that! Like i was planning on sharing it with anyone...it would have just been me to have got sick!!!

Anyway back to Adelaide. So i arrive at Backpack OZ, my hostel for a few nights. Tired from the plane (my own fault...deciding not to sleep as the inflight entertainment and meals are so good!) and my epic city hopping of the past few days i still remain upbeat and try speaking to people. Whether it was because it was only 10am i don't know but the welcome wasn't great.

Not detered by this and due to feeling slightly alone now that i will be travelling alone for the rest of my trip (Kelly, Emily & Lucy all flew to Cairns to work their way south) I decide to busy myself and see the city. I walked solidly for the whole day and visited the Tandanya Aboriginal cultural centre and got to see a guy play the digeridoo and explain how to do it and speak about aboriginal culture and art. Next i visited the Botanical gardens. Very pretty but nothing could have prevented me from having a bit of a cry. It really hit home that i was totally alone in a brand new country on the other side of the world from home. You will all be very glad to here that things went from strength to strengh from that point. After wandering through rundal mall (the shopping area of the city) and checking out the Jam Factory of contemporary arts and crafts I made it back to the hostel and got settled in my room. As soon as i walked in a lovely English girl called Fankie said Hi and soon i was chatting with her and another one of the guys in my dorm, Lee. In true Aussie style, i was quite chuffed that my first meal in Australia was a Barbie. The hostel did a free BBQ every wednesday....result! Not only that but there was also ice cream too. In this one night i met so many people and they all made me part of this huge family that they had formed. It became obvious that some people had been there for several months and were still loving the vibe. I really could see why as i ate my barbie under the stars with everyone laughing and a bar being in the next room with cheap drinks!

With my new travelling companions, Frankie, Lee, Eddie and Will, we jumped in Eddies car and headed to Mount Lofty the following day. Armed with an eskie (cool box) of BBQ food and drinks we checked out the highest point in Adelaide. From Mount Lofty we could see across Adelaide and pin point the small city. We also made a stop in the German village of Handorf. The village was very picturesque...and amazingly authentic in its german style, even Eddie who is Dutch and spent a bit of time in Germany said so. Failing to find a BBQ (in Australia they provide free gas BBQ's in parks and nature spots for you to use...its ace!) in Mt Lofty we headed to Sterling, a small village away. Sitting amongst the teenagers kitted out in their oh so neighbours/home and away style school uniforms and large school issued rucksacks, pashing on the swings, we had a lovely BBQ.

Another day trip while in Adelaide was to the Barossa Valley wine region. Now this was a day plagued by bad luck but still an extremely fun one. Even before we reached our 1st winery, the van got a flat tyre. The driver changed it and wouldn't accept any help from us (mainly girls and the only guy was most certainly gay, so i'm not sure how much help we would have been!). We reached Jacobs creek and they had had a sewage leak and therefore couldn't let us visit. Due to all the time lost changing the tyre we had to visit a restaurant for lunch rather than the BBQ that we were suppose to have. As the driver parked up he scraped the side of the van against a tree!! The lunch was amazing however but it didn't prevent that on the way between wineries, a palate flew off the back of a lorry and into our path causing the driver to swerve off the road....nice!

All this aside, it was a great day. We visited 5 wineries and all got thoroughly drunk. I have now stood in a Jacobs creek vineyard and been to the creek itself! We were talked through the wine making process and shown the equipment used. Frankie and I had loads of fun and decide just to carryt on drinking when we got back to the hostel to make a good friday night out.

Obviously i can't take you through what did day to day in Adelaide as that would take for ages. So in a nut shell other highlights included a bike ride around the city taking in the Oval, Japenese gardens and the riding along the Torrnes river. I visited the Haighs chocolate factory...it sucked compaired to Cadbury's world and one girls i was with actually noted in the comments book that there was not enough free samples! I went to Glenelg beach several times with people from the hostel...once at nightfall and had a few drinks in the town.

I went to stay with Jodie, a girl i met while in Langkawi. She lived just two streets from the beach. It was utterly amazing to leave the house in the morning and be on the beach in under 5 minutes...a dream come true. Jodi, Gemma (friend of Jodie's who i met in Langkawi too) and I went out for Chinese in the city one evening but others were spent relaxing on her balcony sipping on wine taking in the spectacular beach views. Jodie also owned a turtle who she took out of the tank in the evenings when she was home. It would take refuge under the bean bag...strange animal! While i was there i walked from Glenelg to Brighton Beach. Compaired to many of the beaches in Thailand this beach just goes on for miles. The weather was glorious and the sand so yellow.One major difference from thailand is that the beach is straight on he road rather than having lots of beach bars! This doesn't take away from its beauty however and the contempory house along the beach front is all asthetically pleasing.

Jodie and her boyfriend Dave were so hospitable and let me treat the flat like my own...massive thanks to them.

So during my time at Backpack Oz i met lots of lovely people. Fun nights out were had at PJ O'Briens, a live music venue with an Irish bar theme, the austral...a trendy bar not far from the hostel and the terrible but cheap drinks nights at the club, church! So many others were spent staying in at the hostel, my last nighgt was particularly memorable with twister and pictonary being played by all. It really was a great atmosphere at this hostel and I was sad to leave when the time came to hit the great ocean road