The flight to New Zealand was pretty uneventful and got an early first night at my hostel before I started my job hunting the next day. My brother Matt has spent some time living and working in Auckland and he told me about a "one stop shop" that helps backpackers find work, sort out bank accounts and tax as well as finding a place to live. Easy!! No! Unfortunately this place had shut down a few months before I got here so I had to do all my own leg wor...

My trip from Canberra to Melbourne took a little over 8 hours. Not too bad considering I wont be on another Greyhound Bus until I leave San Francisco in June. I arrived in Melbourne in the evening and had to catch a tram to my hostel. I managed that no problems and was soon checked in. Travelling still takes it out of me, even after the 3,500 kms I’ve covered since I left Cairns, so I got an early night ready to start exploring the next day. I spent most of...

To get to Canberra I had to travel on the train back to Sydney where I caught my bus. Chris was leaving Katoomba on the same day, heading north. We left the Blue Mountains together, had lunch in Sydney and then went our separate ways. Hopefully we’ll be able to keep in touch. I’m becoming an old pro at this Greyhound Bus business. I got to Canberra early evening and managed to have a short walk around before turning in for the night. The next day was ...

The train ride from Sydney to the small town of Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains region, only took a couple of hours but the two places couldn’t be more different. Katoomba is a little town that is mainly visited by people who use it as a base to explore the surrounding mountain range. I spent most of my first day exploring the town, trying to decide how I would spend my time in the mountains. There are several companies that offer mountain biking, rock clim...

Spent most of the morning waiting around because my bus was late…again. When it eventually turned up the bus ride went rather quickly. We even drove over the Harbour Bridge on our way into the city. My first Sydney experience. I managed to find my hostel, more by luck than anything else. It certainly wasn’t the map I had, which was totally useless. My hostel here is a converted mansion that has been painted a bright shade of pink. “The Pink Hou...