SUNDAY 21ST DECEMBER At an unbelievably early hour and barely 2 hours sleep, I caught the shuttle from my hotel to the airport. Mummy and Emily's flight was landing at 6.30am and I was very excited to see them after 3 months away. This was the beginning of 2 weeks of luxury and so began suitably when we were greeted, much to our surprise, by a stretch limo. Not a bad way to make the journey to the Blue Mountains. These mountains begin about 65km inland from Sydn...

THURSDAY 18TH DECEMBER This morning we began the last leg of our mini adventure, travelling from Melbourne to Sydney, to arrive in Sydney 3 days later. At 7am, Stinger, our new driver, arrived at Base Hostel, loaded us up and started on the long drive out of Melbourne. The weather was still miserable, wet, windy and cold, so those first few hours of just sitting on a bus were quite welcome. We were heading to Wilsons Promontory, the southern-most point of Austra...

Monday 15th December We left Adelaide at 6.30 am on a new bus and with a new leader, Tilly. Most of the morning was spent driving out of Adelaide with a brief breakfast stop at a small place called Border Town. As the name suggests, this is located on the border of South Australia and Victoria. During the 1853 gold rush in New South Wales and Victoria, everyone came from all over the world to make their fortunes. At the time it was illegal for South Australians ...

Monday 15th December We left Adelaide at 6.30 am on a new bus and with a new leader, Tilly. Most of the morning was spent driving out of Adelaide with a brief breakfast stop at a small place called Border Town. As the name suggests, this is located on the border of South Australia and Victoria. During the 1853 gold rush in New South Wales and Victoria, everyone came from all over the world to make their fortunes. At the time it was illegal for South Australians ...

Today was the last leg of the first stage of the tour and we were aiming to arrive in Adelaide in the early evening. There was an option of doing a walk before we left which some of the group opted for, but I, along with several others, took the option of duvets, hot chocolate and Finding Nemo. It was still raining outside and ver cold so I reckoned I was justified in my decision due to having only one spare set of clothes. We hopped on the bus after lunch and he...