Got to Perth early on morning of 8th and it was pretty cold!! The flight from Hong Kong was good and I met a girl from Edinburgh called Anna who was heading down to Cottesloe beach like me! The hostel was in a great location right on the beach. I elected to stay in a mixed dorm thinking it would be full of more people but it turned out to be just me and three lads! Still they took me out to a brewer/pub called Little Creatures down in Fremantle so it wasn't all bad! (Think a bigger version of Zero Degrees Bristol crew!) Called up Matts folks in the evening and they said I could go and stay and offered to get me the next day which was really kind - think they were a bit worried about me and all those men ;) So I spent till Tuesday morning with them (and Matts parents who were over for a fortnight!) We went out to the Swan Valley and did a bit of Wine tasting and checked out the Mash brewery on Sunday which was great. Then went into Perth on Mon to check out Kings Park - its huge and very peaceful considering its right in the city, beats Victoria park anyday :) Had lunch in town and a look around the shops. Perth is a beautiful City - very green and the Swan river is huge and winds right through it. I have amazing photos to put on but this machine isn't accepting my memory card so will have to try again! If not i'm sending the CD home to Matt so he says he'll add them on from Bristol! On Tuesday morning I got the Coach from Perth down to Margaret River. It took about 5 hours but was pretty comfy and had a film on and nice seats so passed pretty quickly. I was going to stay for a night before moving on to somewhere else but I loved it so much I ended up staying for 3 nights! Went on a Wine tasting tour on Wed (15th) and met a fantastic group of people who were on the tour. There were 20 of us in total and we visited 4 winery's and a brewery as well as a cheese factory and a chocolate factory (all with free tastings!) we all got back at about 6pm and were a little worse for wear but we all met up at the Settlers bar on the main street of Margaret and had food and drinks together. I has my first swim in the sea at Prevelli beach on Thursday! Myself and a girl called Julia i'd met at the hostel got a lift down there with Dave the hostel owner for a few hours. Its was warm to me but I think the locals thought we were a bit mental as its only just the beginnings of spring over here! Still it was very hot and a cloudless sky and yep you've gussed it I got a bit pink round the edges!! Wasn't too bad tho and its gone a bit browner now. Went for a walk up the river in the late afternoon, saw some amazing trees that were standing in the water at the edge of a lake but had died so were leafless and a bit eerie. again photos to follow... Stayed at Busselton on Fri night - its just North of Margaret - by about an hour. It has the longest Jetty in the Southern Hemisphere at about 2.2km. I walked right to the end and back and did a lot of cycling in the afternoon. I stayed with a lady I had met on the bus on the way down on Tues (She was from near the forest of dean originally) travelled back up to perth on the sat morning and met up with Matt's Aunty Jean and Uncle Keith again - they have been great at putting me up and welcoming me into their home - their son Darren and his girlfriend Violet and I went out into Perth on Sat night, checked out a place called Hillary's boatyard on Sun avo which was a busy marina with shops and restaurants etc. Sat on the beach with a beer and saw the sun go down over the sea last night and today I got my flight to Ayres rock! It is very hot - the place I'm staying is really nice and i've spent the whole day by the pool with a girl I met at the airport. Think we're going to check out the shopping center this evening as theres a free shuttle bus that does the rounds and I think its open quiet late. Its 6.30pm for me now - but i'm 8 1/2 hours ahead of you guys so your all just finishing your first hour of work! lovely ;) Wishing you were all here to share it with me tho - i'm so pleased i took the step to book it and come over on my own - meeting some great people and seeings the most amazing sights. Ayres Rock from the plane window as we came in to land was something else! Lots of love for now xx