12th December - 28th December Melbourne to Sydney (and a family Xmas)

I left Adelaide on the "Overlander" train.  This was a shorter journey than last time of a scheduled 7-8 hours.  This was interrupted by a breakdown which left us stranded for 2 hours.  I got chatting to a nice lady Patricia Warner Freeland, and we had a good giggle and she told me lots of interesting stories from her life and running her own restaurant.  We got on well and when we arrived I helped Pat with her bags until she met her son.

I was pleasantly greeted at the Station by an old face Claire Colvin, and her boyfriend Kon (Konstantinos Georiadis).  They guided me to the local YHA where I was staying and then we quickly headed out for a couple of quiet drinks.  They showed me the Crown Casino, and some of the bars.  We sat out on a terrace and felt like a furnace was next to us as the chimney stacks fired up on the hour!!  Heading further on down the riverside we had a bit to eat and then to the Irish bar where the tunes were banging out one after another.  Before we knew it it was 2am so we trooped off in our different directions.  The following day we met for breakfast and Claire took me for a tour of the city and St. Kilda.  I think the highlight for Claire was the trip to the fairy cake shop, where we bought an unmentionable number, and consumed them pretty much straight away.

A couple of day later Mum and Dad arrived as we are having a family Christmas. Our Paul and his fiance Jane are coming out closer to Christmas and will be getting married in Sydney.

We set off on a little road trip to Sydney along the Great Alpine Road.  This was a fantastic journey and took in a number of pretty towns.  The road goes through some high places, as Alpine would suggest.  When we arrived in Albury we switched on the TV and watched the local news reporting that the road we had just been on had been closed due to snow.  All the stranger as this was close to their summer time and that we had just finished the road in a lovely sunny day.  The kids were making snow men on the report - although there was not enough snow for skiing!!!

Canberra was an interesting stop as it was the capital, and visited the Parliament building.  The architect built the building with a roof that people can walk across - it even has grass.  The idea of this is that the people should always be masters of the Parliament so the general public should also be able masters (above) the parliament.  The war memorial was an impressive building and had one of the best museums I have been too (I have been clocking up quite a lot of visits to museums so far).  At closing time the bugler played the last stand.

On the 22nd we arrived in Wollongong.  We settled in for a Merry Xmas, and picked Paul and Jane up from the airport.  Xmas day was spent on the beach, and a Xmas dinner of BBQ.  Everything was done in a typical Ozzie experience style.  I had a lovely surprise as Jane and Paul had brought some cards from Denise which put a big smile on my face.

I decided to confront my fears when I rang up and booked a trip to walk up the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  Really not sure that was such a wise idea on reflection...... gulp!!!!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy on the beach.....

Well its been a hectic last couple of days.  Firstly went to Ihla Grande which was a beautiful remote island, with amazing beaches.  Yes it certianly gives Thailand a good run for its money and as there was no one on the beach I think it might just win out.  We spent the day enjoying the rays, and the waves.  I got another one off the tick list by playing footy on the beach against some brasilians.  Yes they did beat us 5-2 before anyone asks.  The journey over was beautiful on the boat and sun set was gourgeous.
The following day we headed to the old town of Paraty.  We settled into the hotel and did the usual sightseeing.  The following day was a booze cruise with good music, plenty of cocktails, BBQ and a

6th - 12th December Perth to Adelaide, and Adelaide

My time in Perth has come to an end and I have decided to travel across to Melbourne by the train.. Booked onto the Indian Pacific train, which takes 3 days (2 nights).  I think this would be fun rather than jumping a plane and probably more relaxing given my fear of flying.

I got to the station early and checked my luggage in.  After check in I got chatting to a New Zealander by the name of Caroline and we had a good giggle as one of the passengers started arguing with the staff over how he should pack his sleeping bag onto his rucksack.  We unfortunately didn't get the ten rounds of battling we hoped for and so wondered off to inspect the train.  It was probably the longest train I have been travelling on, and on the platform we took some photos to mark our journeys.  We also debated why the Koreans do the victory sign when taking photos and couldn't work it out!! I think they are just big fans of Mr Churchill..

Settling into the seats I found that they were big recliners, which would be good for sleeping in overnight.  After an hour I paid the $15 dollars to get into the lounge car and the free tea and coffee, which I immediately drank until it was coming out of my ears.

We stopped a couple of times on route and Caroline and I ventured off the train for a couple of photos and explore the towns.  The first stop we came too was a bit of a wild west town.  We headed off into the town for an hour and a quick pint.  We got into the bar and started checking out the surrounding and at which point Caroline pointed the young ladies behind the bar were on an economy drive on clothing.  Ade - you really know how to impress a lady!!!!!!  After having a chat with one of the locals (a drunken rant on his part about what the government were doing to the minors) we retreated back to the train.  At the next notable stop we were advised not to go into any of the abandoned buildings in the ghost town!!!

I arrived in Adelaide early morning, and was still trying to hunt for accommodation and struggling with great aplomb as the cricket was on.  I had been searching for a cheap hostel or B&B for two weeks already.  The last resort was to check into some majorly plush hotels and so I plumped for the number 4 hotel in the world!!!!!  This was a massive improvement on the hostels and a real palace.

Adelaide is a pretty little city and although I could get tickets for the cricket I managed to get myself in with a crowd of "Poms" who were watching the cricket in a bar, the girls seemed more vociferous than the other lads in the pub.  I was then tagged as a flashpacker by one of them for staying in plush hotel.  I advised that I would attempt to continue living up to the title.  I had been to Adelaide before and enjoyed some of the sites again and went for a walk around the botanic gardens which was well worth while.

Well off on the next leg of my journey where I meet an old friend.

21st November - 6th December - Perth/Freemantle

A general consensus was made amongst us all to base ourselves in Freemantle as it was rather chilled and laid back and so Armin, Diana, and I arrived there and had already booked ahead into the YHA hostel.  It was a bit of a shocker on my first night.  The dorm looked like 5 drunk scousers had been scrapping over the last can of Stella in it!!!  The dorm stunk and had my head stuck right next to a window that wouldn't close, and kept hearing conversation from the alley outside where the chef and waiters from the place next door kept having a ciggie break.  The following morning I went to shower and had to guide myself through an array of discarded razor blades (around the sink and in the shower!!).

Went out and explored my way around Freeo catching up with Mark and Amanda and settling into the coffee bar culture.  I was moved to another dorm which transformed from the one last night.  Clean, tidy and very friendly residents.  So I settled in.  Also found a different shower block which was gleaming and did not have an antique collection of razor blades on display.

Bumped into Sandra who I kept bumping into on the way down from Broome so whilst Armin left I still had a couple of friends floating around with Diana and Sandra.  Sandra and I went out for a couple of beers in Little Creatures brewery where I proceeded to try and barter her a husband.  It did end up with her meeting a rather eccentric Kiwi bloke who she seemed to take a shine too!!! He described himself as a Crazy Pirate Nice Gentleman Gangsta... I really cant work that one out for the life of me - but seems a nice fella, and they certainly made a nice couple.  It all seemed to make a lot of sense at the time but we were in a brewery!!!!!

My second day in Freeo though I had some bad news when I chased up Western Exposure to confirm my tour dates to see south of Perth (wave rock etc).  They advised that they would not be running a tour on that date and I could either do another date (conveniently when I was in Adelaide) or have my money back.  I advised them that I would take the money back.  That meant that I would be stuck in Perth as getting a car and travelling the route would have been too expensive so I decided that I would leave that for another time and come back to see that area of Oz.

On Saturday I was floating along the road when I bumped into Charizade who I had met in Coral Bay.  It was her last night in Oz before flying home.  The two of us decided to have a big night out.  My initial plan was to get the last tram back but we carried on partying on until the early hours of the morning and thought we were hardcore wondering back at 6.30am, only to have the wind taken out of our sails when we realised there were still people carrying on beyond then!!!  I had a absolutely fantastic night and will keep in touch.

Whilst out and abouts I also found a plaque in Kings Park - it was of note to me as the Name on it was Mr M Hearty - and I don't think I have ever come across another Hearty who is not related.  Very Bizarre!! Perth is a city which a lot of people miss off when travelling to Oz but I certainly enjoyed it and think I would definitely come back again as there was plenty to see and do.  I left Perth on the train and the little adventure that had started in Darwin had drawn to an end as none of the people I had been with on the way down were there anymore.  So off to meet new (and some old) friends!!!