hey everyone. well im in adelaide! weather is shocking which is rather disappointing. its been raining on and off all day and it is extremely humid. guess this is going to be my first real journal entry to let all you guys know whats going on over here! as you can tell i arrived safely. the flight wasnt as bad as i thought it was going to be. me being me made a slight fuss over the fact i wasnt given an aisle seat but luckily enough i managed to wangle one at the last minute which was v nice! made friends with a gwakey lad on the plane who was sat next to me. bless him i think he thought i was a crazy lady as i was very excited when i first got on the plane and was chatting away to him for ages where in fact he looked scared to death! after a few hours tho we got to know each other rather well and he asked me questions constantly throughout the flight about random things to do with flying and travelling etc and made me feel really rather knowledgeable about things!

When i arrived at the airport and walked through the doors i was met by a smiley familiar face that often goes by the name of emily! we drove back to the house where she was staying and chilled out in the garden for a bit then went to bed. i couldnt believe i had actually arrived. i just kept looking around going whoah! im in australia! oh my god, im in australia! (it actually doesnt always sink in that im in australia now).

The first few days of my journey were spent exploring Melbourne. Both me and emily were staying in max and mollys house in south yarra and having a rented car meant we were free to drive around the city and go to some lovely beaches (of which you can see in the photos) and pick Claire up from the hostel in the city (Claire is who i am also travelling with for the time being). Everyday about 5pm for the first 4/5 days at least i had my afternoon nap to keep me up to speed but the jetlag wasnt half as bad as i imagined it was going to be. Each evening we would spend in max and mollys garden drinking wine and eating lovely food. I knew i was in oz when i saw a possem!

Sunday morning we started our road trip to go up great ocean road. Original plans were to rent a car for 2 weeks to do the trip there and back and also stay in adelaide for a bit. Yet as most of us know plans dont ever turn out the way we think sometimes for better sometimes for worse. this time it was sometimes for better as we didnt need to rent a car. one evening sat in the garden molly's friend cathy, who used to be in home and away, came over for some dinner. talking about plans, cathy mentioned she had a car she is trying to sell for her ex-boyfriend who is in england and we could borrow it if we wanted.wahey....no need to rent! unfortunantly the car is a little erm old and just after i drove it for the first time at the beginning of the road trip it started making the most awful sound and the breaks kinda broke! but its ok! we called out racv and got the thing sorted yet we had to stay in a small town called torquay until the car was fixed the next day in the garage.

Once back on the road, we started the trip again as we hadnt even got to the start of great ocean road before the car got sick! however, this day i was rather hungover due to hitting the goon the night before outside the hostel. the best part of the great ocean road drive i spent on the backseat with a plastic carrier bag! nevermind! i will be driving that bit on the way back so its all ok. that evening we stopped in a town called apollo bay. was a cute little place. we sat and ate fish and chips on the beach in the evening and then played trivial persuit (ozzy child edition!).

The next day was one of the best on the road. Only myself and emily are doing the driving as Claire doesnt like to and we covered rather a large distance. this was the day i saw a little bit of heaven in the form of the most gorgeous peaceful beach i have ever seen. I didnt ever want to leave. Yet we kept going, saw london bridge, the 12 apostles and more before landing for our 3rd night in port fairy.

Day 4 of the trip was definately testing to say the least. the great ocean road was no longer pretty. we had landed in the vast outback of australia in the blistering heat. driving for at least 6 hours we had all started to go slightly insane with nothin to look at but the dry outback. the ipod got a good hammering this day playing it through a tape adapter for our poor old car and singing out hearts out. this night we stayed in keith. a very strange little place to say the least. we had take away roast dinners and stayed in a motel. the lady who owned the motel was v nice and gave us a family room for the same price as a small 3 bed as they were quiet and it was luxury for us after staying in hostels. This night i saw the most amazing star formation i have ever seen in my life. There is no way i could ever explain how gorgeous the stars were. mum, they looked like they should be the ceiling in the great hall on harry potter!

The next day we set off on the final leg of our road trip to adelaide. only 2 and a half hours in the car then we had arrived which is where i am now. So far not feeling the adelaide love. its a very strange city. almost like it has been plonked in the middle of nowhere. very strange!

Anyway, loads more to say but go look at the photos if you havent already....im getting finger strain! Love to you all xxxxxxxxx