Well I made it to the infamous Byron Bay, although it was a mighty fleeting visit! The Greyhound dropped me off at about 3pm: after remembering to put my watch forward I checked in just down the road at the YHA. They handed my sheets, and the stay didn't start well, with long hair having to be pulled out from between them! I moved past it though! As soon as I'd wolfed down a much-needed dry bread sarnie I headed to the beach and tried to see the lighthouse, as t...

Who knew backpacking meant having to lug your rucksack around for 4 hours getting from Brisbane to Coolangatta via the train, wrong bus (full of teenage surfers!), lots of walking around Surfers Paradise only to be told it's the wrong place, and another bus ride?! I did not! Eventually made it to my hostel, impressive considering their address was down as in Surfers Paradise, but they were actually 20km down the road in Coolanagatta! Still, made it in one piece ...

Finally made it to the East Coast! Even though the airlines did try and scare me by delaying the plane due to 'engineering difficulties': yikes! Arrived in dark Brisbane after sitting in awe on the flight for 4 hours as I watched nothing but Australian outback fly past my window. 4 hours and that's all I saw! Crazy! Got my airport transfer to the hostel, after 2 men asked me if I my name was Philip - no, I assured them, I'm pretty sure I'm a girl! One cheeky begg...

A day of tourism in and around Margaret River, first stop the chocolate factory for breakfast. A few samples filled us up before spotting a bloke in a Tusker t-shirt: if only I'd bought one when I had the chance. Next on the agenda were a lighthouse, a water wheel, and an all-year Christmas shop. More wine and port followed, along with some rather large trees. After discussing dampers and outback food Sharon and I stayed up until 2am drinking wine and talking, ...

My first time behind a wheel for almost 9 weeks went rather well: I revved the engine a little in first but managed to drive the 158km to Busselton without too much trouble. There was a lot of windscreen wiper action as I struggled to remember the indicators were on the right, not left like at home. After meeting Cynthia's granddaughter, daughter, and great grandchildren, we headed back to Sharon's for a delicious home cooked meal: rack of lamb, home grown veget...