Hey everyone,

It doesn't seem like very long since my last blog entry but if I don't do them every few days then I won't remember everything I want to write... I'm moving so freaking fast, I can't believe I'm already in Melbourne. How did that happen?!

So I think last time I wrote was Wednesday, after a night out at The Gaff. Well, that day started pretty well - I noticed just before leaving Bobbie's to wander around Sydney that I didn't have my driver's licence... and oh god... yes... I had left it in The Gaff! So the afternoon began with a fairly shameful walk back to the scrubby backpacker bar I'd been in the night before. Not cool. Anyway, I got my licence back, hooray!

I went for a walk from Bobbie's in Woolloomooloo, next to Hyde Park, down George Street to The Rocks. That's the area where the Harbour Bridge is, and you get a great view of the Opera House. As I was alone I had to do another super cool thing which was asking an Asian tourist to take a photo of me, crrrringe!! Haha. I wandered about for a while and eventually worked out how to get onto the bridge. Walked to the first pylon but decided I didn't have the energy (or the willing to spend the $10) to walk the 200 steps up inside it. Started getting a bit chilly, as it gets dark a lot earlier here, so I wandered back to Bobbie's via the Botanical Gardens which were really nice. Saw a giant RBS building which I thought was funny. That night, two of Bobbie's friends came round for what was supposed to be a BBQ but instead ended up being a George Foreman sausage sizzle!

The next day I went to Bondi Beach. I had no idea how to actually get there as most of the buses are pre-pay only and I didn't know where I was meant to do that, but after asking a Canadian girl, I managed to get the bus for free as she used her ticket for us both! Hooray! Got to Bondi and had a walk along the strip, it's got a few shops and places to eat. It was a bit cold but, being Scottish, I sat on the beach anyway. Unfortunately my photos from this day and the next have miraculously disappeared, but I spent a fair amount of time at the shore, taking photos of the amazing waves and the surfers who were confidently riding them (I don't get how they do it, it's SO HARD!) Got myself some fish and chips and had another wander around. I took a photo of a shop called Shona Joy, but again, I can't prove that because my photos ran away :( Got back to Bobbie's and met her mum, who had come back from 2 weeks working up on Horn Island (near Papua New Guinea) then Bobbie got home from work and we went to her dad's for a BBQ, which was nice.

The next day, I met Lucy at Circular Quay and we took the ferry to Manly. It was cool to actually be in Sydney Harbour on a boat! We hired bikes at Manly and took a cycle up to some of the cool lookout points (STEEP) and got some good views back into the city skyline. We left Manly around 3pm and I went back to Bobbie's and made a start on packing, as I was due to be picked up by the Oz bus at 6.30 the next morning... which wasn't great because on a Friday, Bobbie gets a free drinks reception type affair through her work, so I went and met her around 8pm and enjoyed some free beverages. We went and met her friend Tom and had another few drinks at Jackson's on George, and got home about 1.30am... I hadn't finished packing or had my shower, so 3 hours later my alarm was shouting at me... argh! Wasn't too bad though, the scariest part of that morning was walking through Kings Cross to get to the pick-up point for the Oz bus.... music from the clubs was still blaring, hookers were on every corner... I was glad Bobbie came with me, although I think she may have been half dead (thanks Bobo!)

Got picked up by our driver "Squatter" and began our 3-day trip to Melbourne. There were only 7 of us on the trip, 4 of whom were a bit older, so me, a Dutch girl called Nadine and an English guy called Pete kinda stuck together. That first day, we went to Canberra, and had a look around the War Museum and the Parliament House. Both were pretty interesting but I was a bit too tired to fully appreciate them! And Canberra was coooold. That night we stayed at Lake Jindabyne, which is beautiful, and you can see snow on the mountains - bizarre! We saw a lot of dead kangaroos on the side of the road, which was pretty miserable. Up until yesterday I had seen more dead ones that live ones :( Anyway the next day we got up and went to Perisher ski resort (again, bizarre) where we hired sledges and had a couple of hours in the Aussie snow!? After lunch we drove through the Snowy River, which provided some amazing scenery. Squatter was telling us all about Aboriginal history and at one point he stuck on some classic Aussie songs to set the mood - Down Under, Waltzing Matilda and the like! Then some Aboriginal classics, which were... different. Later, on our way to Lakes Entrance, we drove past a patch of trees that were on fire, and Squatter had to ring the fire brigade to let them know. Nobody else had reported it - this must be how bush fires begin! We stayed at the YHA in Lakes Entrance which wasn't the best... we sat and watched a HORRIFIC film that had Ewan MacGregor and Colin Farrell in it, really weird. Cassandra's Dream or something?

Next morning we were up early to begin our drive to Melbourne. We stopped at Wilson's Promontory, the most southerly point of Australia, which was brilliant. We went into this reserve and saw HUNDREDS of kangaroos! They're so cool, I want to be one. Looks like fun. My camera was playing up again but I think I got some good pics on my Aussie phone. Also caught a glimpse of a redback spider (which can kill you), an emu, and a wallaby - cute. We walked about an hour and a half around to Squeaky Beach which didn't squeak - maybe because it was a bit rainy and wet? Then we got back on the Oz bus and headed for Melbourne.

Arrive about 7pm last night. Melbourne seems pretty cool, but my hostel kinda sucks... luckily I'm moving to another one on Thursday. Sharing a room with a super-religious Greek girl who knits and burps... (not enough credit left online to explain! But really, that's all she does) and 2 girls from Taiwan who work like 9am-9pm. Hopefully my other hostel will be more banterous. Hoping to meet up with Vicki and Ando soon anyway (Balerno school friends for those who don't know them) - bit of a school reunion! Could be fun :)

Not got much time left on here now, I'm in the State Library by the way. Free hour of internet! So I think I might head back into the main drag and maybe get on the free tourist bus just to get a feel for the city. Then hopefully tonight I'll either meet Vicki, or see what Pete or Nadine are up to. The weather is pretty bad, or at least it was when I came into the library an hour ago. Maybe the sun will be shining by the time I leave!

Feel that I've kinda just rushed half of that entry, so I'll write a more concise one soon.

Love everybody lots :) xxx