May 10, 2005 - The Land Down Under

It is official! I have now landed on my 5th continent. It was a long way crossing into the Southern Hemisphere, but we are here. This is the farthest south I have every been. Melbourne seems like a lovely town. Too bad there is not enough time to hang out any longer. On to Sydney!!!

May 7, 2005 - Moving on from Port Arthur

The next morning, I showered and Ruth said she would stay smelly till we got back to Aus. By the time we had driven back to Hobart she changed here mind, so I took her to a swimming pool so she could use the showers. We then called in a the shops, (now we were back to some form of civilization!) we both bought a few bits and bobs, mainly warm clothes needed ready for New Zealand and went back to the car. I gave Ruth the keys and got in the passenger seat. A few moments later she appeared at the door looking rather sheepish. 'Please promise...

May 5, 2005 - Road trip to Melbourne!!

Hey Everyone! Bout bloody time I hear you say?!! I'm sooo sorry, but I've developed a serious case of lazyitous but hopefully I'm over it now! Blimey Melbourne seems like a million years ago now, but here goes......... Me, Mark and Kev hired a car from Sydney to drive down to Melbourne and this is where the fun began as it took us an hour to get out of the city! On our first day we were heading for the Blue Mountains which are about an hour an 15 mins drive from Sydney but again we got lost around four times before actually getting on the...

May 5, 2005 - Personal effects

People ask me if I'm sad to leave Canberra, and sometimes I think people expect me not to. I don't really want to think about it. I do things like think about the things I'll have to do when I get back (like collecting my seven boxes from my Aunt and Uncle in North Lyneham), and thinking about all the things I have to organise over the next few months. I'm worried I'll think too much about Eleanor and reminisce. I'm in Melbourne again with everyone in her family but her, like I was when I first came to Australia, and living with Meigan, as...

May 4, 2005 - Only 5 weeks to go!

I can't believe it's nearly time... Thursday 9 June is the day that Robert and I finally leave on our BIG trip! Our flights are booked and paid for and we are currently in the process of organising last minute things. I'm buying myself a Canon 20D digital camera and am excited at the prospect of being able to take some wonderful photos to show you all! We are catching a flight from Melbourne to Delhi on Thursday 9 June at 12:15am in the morning. It stops over in Bangkok for about 12 hours so hopefully we'll be able to amuse ourselves for...

May 4, 2005 - Australia here we come ! Melbourne First !

The 4th May came along and it was time to move on, we pootled around town and spent our last few pennies on hot chocolates and sweets in the airport we jumped on board and set off for Australia !!! We arrived at 6ish (Oz time) and jumped on the bus to our first port of call....Melbourne ! We stayed in a cracking little place called Toad Hall which was our home for the next 5 nights. It was a large room and even had a spare bed in it for visitors. Later that evening after having a spot of Grub at a cafe (huge portions and really great staff)...

May 4, 2005 - Two weeks to sell the car...

We haven't had much success in our two weeks here in Melbourne this time. Turns out that no backpackers arrive in Australia at this time of year, obviously because winter is just starting, so nobody wanted to buy a car. We put up about thirty posters and got not a single phone call. Fortunately we bought it from a dealer here in November so we had somewhere to return it to. They wouldn't give us much for it but at least we got rid of it. Next challenge was to sell all the camping gear. This was also fairly unsuccessful except that KMart and...

Apr 29, 2005 - Melbourne and Yarra Valley, Australia

Am currently sitting in Warburton, a small and pretty town in the Yarra Valley, Vic. It's so nice to be in a crisp climate again where fires are stoked all day. Oh and I am totally addicted to the food channel and the Pinot Gris from across the road. Am counting down the days to see Frankie and then Africa!!!! Hope you are all well.

Apr 28, 2005 - Melbourne

We camped for 2 whole nights before we arrived in Melbourne. We then parked the van outside of L's step cousin's house for the next 4 days. Robert and Joyce and their 2 sons, Callum and Gregor, live in a gorgeous home outside of Melbourne. And they spoiled us rotten. They actually got us up at 6:30 am on a Saturday and they took us to the Victoria Market, the biggest market I've ever been to -- with hundreds of fresh fish stalls, meat stalls, deli stalls, bakeries and miles and miles of produce, and to top it all off, clothes and tacky...

Apr 26, 2005 - Melbourne, La Trobe University

La Trobe is my favourite university so far in Melbourne. There's a sense of trust, intellect, and commraderie that I haven't seen on the other campuses. I even made a friend with a girl that likes fantasy novels and inspired me to continue the book I recently picked up, "The Many Coloured Land" by Julian May. The professors have been fun to talk to, as well. For example, I just talked to one that is from Rhode Island and is going home for the summer for a reunion, and is planning on visiting the Grand Canyon for the first time, Vegas, San...

Apr 22, 2005 - Back to Melbourne

We returned to Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road on Wednesday and Thursday. We had better weather for it this time and apart from the usual problem of the Twelve Apostles being overrun by tour buses it was great to revisit one of our favourite places and take some sunnier photos! We stopped overnight in Lorne which was a pleasant experience just like last time. We had a lovely dinner by the fire in the Lorne Hotel. On Thursday we drove through Torquay and back to the city. We are very happy to be back here, especially as the car has...

Apr 17, 2005 - On to Oz! Melbourne Day 1

The trip from Auckland was an interesting one. First of all, it started at 2:45 AM with my wakeup call. That in and of it self is unusual. At first, I was really worried about this portion of my trip. Getting up that early, getting my overweight bags on a domestic flight and all that stuff. Then I decided to simply not worry about it. Guess what: it was fine. Sure, I missed some sleep but I didn't die so what's the big deal. The bus trip to the airport was interesting. We made many stops and picked up backpackers at each one. Backpacker is...