Port Macquarie

I arrived at Port Macquarie at 2.30am so straight to bed for me after the faff of trying to get hold of security to let me into my accommodation which is a tourist campsite/sheds/convenient backpackers dorms about a minute from the beach. Considering it's Christmas it's been pretty quiet on the backpacker side of things and i've had 3 nights of an empty dorm which has actually been nice.

Port Macquarie is small but there is a lot to do- weather depending. It's not been the greatest weather with the majority of days being a little on the cool side and rain so I have not done a lot. Port Mac is home to a koala hospital which I went to see the koalas being fed and a guided tour. The hospital is volunteer run and does a great job at getting the rescued koalas who have suffered bush fires, hit by cars or attacked by dogs back into the wild. It was really interesting tour and I learnt lots about koalas.

Christmas Day was spent doing absolutely nothing. It rained and there wasn't anything going on. Thankfully Boxing Day the weather improved and I went for a walk 9km down the coast to a lighthouse and then back again. The path went over some deserted beaches, cliffs, and rain forest and it was a really enjoyable day, if a little tiring and far too humid for walking! I saw lots of lizards on the path side- skinks, various dragons and a huge monitor type thing and also a bush turkey!

Yesterday I headed to the historic cemetery. Port Mac seems to take pride in its convict history and there are signs outside of everything saying that it was built by convicts in the 19th Century. The cemetery was actually kind of cool as buried there are a lot of convicts and people such as soldiers, sailor and police officers who helped form the early town. A lot of them were British or Irish. Behind the cemetery is Kooloonbung Creek Nature Reserve which has nice boardwalk through mangrove swamps. It was nice to have a walk around but was a lot smaller than I thought (no need for the picnic lunch!). Highlights again were the wildlife as I saw lots of bright orange crabs in the mud, water dragons, turtles and lots of fruit bats in the trees, one of which pooed on my leg! In the afternoon I had a quick visit to the beach and saw dolphins swimming just behind the surf which was pretty cool.

You can go kayaking with dolphins and learn to surf here, both of which I want to do but I'm going to save it until further up the coast and after the kids holidays are finished when it's less busy. I have 2 days left in Port Mac but it's cold and rainy today so I'm hoping it will brighten up tomorrow.

Canberra

From Melbourne I had a 9 hour bus journey to Canberra where I was stopping for a night before heading to Port Macquarie. Lots of people had told me Canberra wasn't worth the time as there isn't anything there to see. As I arrived in late afternoon most things were shut but I did have a walk to the lake which was nice and the weather was great compared to the past few days in Melbourne. The city is full art galleries and museums which are all free and there are tons of cycle tracks in the area. I wished I'd given myself a couple of days to have a look around.

Canberra doesn't feel like a city due to a distinct lack of people. It's quiet due to the universities being away for Christmas and the buildings are all concrete boxes dotted around the very geometrical pattern of roads. Canberra is a completely artificial city with there being no natural need for it. It was decided that the capital of Australia would be situated about halfway between Sydney and Melbourne, due to state rivalry, so Canberra was formed and a river dammed to create the huge Lake Burley Griffin which sits in the middle of the city.

The complete downside to Canberra is the lack of hostels. Instead of lots of smaller hostels there is just a huge YHA. It was the nicest dorm I'd had yet as at 10 bed there was still so much space and a balcony. At $30 a night though it was the most expensive yet and I didn't get much for my money- no breakfast, swimming pool closed for refurb and the luggage storage is a mechanical locker that charges $10 for 4 hours which was very annoying especially when I only wanted 30 minutes to go to the supermarket!

From Canberra I headed to Sydney where I waited at the bus stop for 4 hours until the bus to Port Macquarie arrived. We drove over the harbour bridge as the sun was setting which provided absolutely stunning views over the hills as we drove up the coast. I'm really looking forward to visiting Sydney when all the New Years Evers and Oprah fans have gone home.

Melbourne

The train is very cheap Adelaide to Melbourne so I left the hostel before sunrise and caught the 'Overland' to Melbourne. The journey was so much comfier than a bus and the train passes through rural towns and lots of sheep fields on the way to Melbourne. I arrived later that evening after about 10.5 hours on the train in Melbourne- capital of Victoria state and an extra 30 minutes of time ahead of South Australia.

I'm not sure what I expected of Melbourne but it definitely wasn't heavy rain and freezing winds (I'm pretty sure it's always sunny in 'Neighbours'). The city seems to sprawl for miles but everything that you would want is in the centre, conveniently linked by a free tourist bus which I always seemed to miss. There is a distinct lack of free attractions in Melbourne unlike the museums of Darwin and Adelaide so I have filled my time mooching around the shops and looking for some warmer clothes. There's a lot of shops but just all the usual high street shops just cropping up all over the city.

There are a lot of pretty cathedrals, churches, old buildings and parks around so I've walked miles of the map finding them. I visited St Patrick's cathedral which was really stunning, and got lost in the botanic gardens in the rain which wasn't so fun. I also managed to end up in the residential end of town and found a street full of Italian restaurants and another full of bakeries so I ate my way through that afternoon! My hostel is walking distance to the docklands which feature more shops so I've walked along there where there's some cool sculptures including one of a cow in a tree and you can also walk along the Yarra river which is nice.

There is a huge shrine of remembrance in one of the parks which is a memorial to the Victoria soldiers who fought in WW1. The monument is a huge granite structure (apparently based upon the tomb of the King Mausolus of Halicarnassus) which looks over the city. Inside the monument is filled with statues, stories, photographs and books filled with the names of the people who died. It was really interesting and filled a few hours.

I went on a full days tour of the Great Ocean Road. The road is 250km long, running from Torquay to Warrambool and we travelled 200km of it. The road was built as a WW1 memorial to the Victorians who died, by the servicemen after they came back from the war. The coastline is spectacular but it wasn't as great as I thought it would be but this maybe as I've already been spoilt with some great coastal roads in Vietnam. We stopped at the famous surf spot of Bells Beach and watched the surfers. I went for a paddle- it was freezing! We stopped at various view points along the way including the 12 Apostles which were stunning even with the lack of sun shining on the limestone stacks. We stopped at other pretty rocks along the coast including 'London Bridge' which collapsed in the 1990's and Loch Ard Gorge which has a very nice beach and is named after a ship that is wrecked just off the cliffs.

The day was very fast paced but we saw all the main things. The definite highlights for me though were seeing 3 wild koalas sleeping in tree, feeding wild parrots and discovering that McDonald's do some of the best cheese cake ever tasted!

I feel Melbourne was nothing special but I can see why people like it as the city is completely full of shops and restaurants. Ive enjoyed walking around the city and I haven't felt like i've had lots of spare time to kill but its a shame that the weather's been so bad as it would have been nice to just relax in the parks or head to the beach. I've needed the time and decent internet connection to sort out Christmas plans. As I hoped to find farm work I didn't book any accommodation for Christmas and Melbourne completely booked up. I'm headed to the east coast for Christmas in Port Macquarie which is 8 hours north of Sydney. Getting there is a complete mission. I'm getting a bus to Canberra and then spending the night in the city to then get another bus to Sydney early the next morning. I have a 5 hour stopover in Sydney before I can then get a bus up the east coast arriving in Port Mac about 2am on the 23rd. I'll let you know how it goes!

Adelaide

This is what I have to show for Adelaide. A really disturbing piece of art, a pig statue and some hopping kangaroos!

Apparently there is lots of work in Alice Springs and that businesses are desperate for backpackers but I not sure that's the case. I gave my CV into a few shops and tour agencies but I'd not heard back from them after a week so I guess they aren't that desperate. I managed to get 4 hours of work clearing and cleaning the hostel owners house that he rents out. I didn't have anything else to do and it was actually quite enjoyable, partly due to not seeing any bite and they kill you spiders! $50 later and I was happy to have filled my afternoon.

I left Alice the next morning on a last minute decision. I was promised more hours work but the cost of a weeks rent out meant that I wouldn't be left with much change if I worked a 4 hour day. The 20 hour bus journey to Adelaide wasn't too bad and I arrived in a positively freezing 14 degrees in my shorts and vest. I'm staying in quite a nice hostel here with free apple pie in the evenings but unfortunately my dorm is full of Germans and Chinese neither of who can talk quietly at night!

Adelaide is nice but it is just a city. Its cold and rainy so I'm not impressed at the moment. You can do overnight tours to Kangaroo Island which would be nice if you were guaranteed good weather but South Australia has had record breaking amounts of rain recently so I've decided to stick with the city. I've spent a day mooching around the shops for warm clothing but all I can find is summer gear. I've also discovered the free WIFI in the library, the museum and art gallery. Other attractions of Adelaide include the Barossa Valley where you can go on wine tasting day trips and also multiple zoos and animal visiting centres. When I bought my bus ticket it included a free ticket to Australia Zoo. This is the Steve Irwin zoo somewhere up the east coast so I'm saving my zoo visit for then. I may venture to site on the beach tomorrow where apparently you can get proper chip shop chips!

The main reason for coming to Adelaide was to get some harvest work as there are tons of fruit and veg being grown in the nearby farms. Unfortunately I'm about 3 weeks too late for hiring and they aren't hiring more people as lots of the crop has been destroyed by rain. I was going to head to Melbourne on a Great Ocean Road trip but they are all booked up for the next few days and I don't want to arrive in Melbourne next week as its too close to Christmas. I'm hoping to get the train on Wednesday and find some hospitality work in Melbourne over Christmas and there are lots of day trips I can do from there. Again harvest work in Victoria is nil at the moment but there is all year round banana picking and bar work up the east coast so I guess I'll be there looking for work sooner rather than later!

Alice Springs

Alice Springs is small but quite a quirky little town packed with all the essentials and is also the main hub for tours to Uluru. It is quite busy here so I had to wait 3 days to get on a tour but still managed to find things to do around town. I've walked up a hill with a Anzac memorial on top which gave me a great view over town (it really is in the middle of nowhere). I've also been to the Botanical gardens and saw Harry Potter at the cinema (rainy day!) and walked along the completely dry Todd River.

Uluru is something that I've always wanted to see but I was worried that it would be completely hyped up and I would be left disappointed. I thought that the 2 nights tour that I booked on would be 'here's the rock, take a photo and we will move on' tour but it was a million times better than I thought. The group and tour guide were fantastic and we had a lot of fun and it also turns out that I had picked the current award winning tour company. We drove for the entire morning down the Stuart Highway from Alice to Kings Canyon which gave us great views over the outback and into the canyon after we had climbed 'heart attack hill'. We had a much needed swim in the Garden of Eden pool at the base of the canyon and were greeted with a much needed burst of rain. Driving away from the canyon it was surprising to see how quickly the roads flood after what seemed so little rain. Apparently a lot of tour groups actually get stuck in the canyon due to flash flooding. The first night was spent bush camping in the middle of nowhere. It was hot in the swags and there were so many ants on the ground so I didn't get much sleep, still it was great to experience out back life.

Day 2 was another early start as we headed to the Ayers Rock Resort which was basically a town in itself, complete with every sort of accommodation imaginable and it even had schools. We were to camp here for the night and it was nice to have the addition of toilets and showers. We drove to Kata Tjuta which is the remains of a mountain range which just looks like a lot of huge mounds popping up out of nowhere. We walked the Valley of the Winds walk which is about 7.5km around a tiny section of the site. It wasn't particularly hard to walk under foot but there was little shade and the walk is actually closed after 11am as the temperature hits 36 degrees so it is considered unsafe. We actually started at 9am and were still walking until 12.30. It was hot! Our guide was great and really informative about this important aboriginal site and it was interesting to hear about the dream time stories and the aboriginal interpretation on how Kata Tjuta and Uluru were formed. The afternoon was spent with a dip in a swimming pool (complete with a dead scorpion found floating on top) and a walk around a section of Uluru. We did the typical sunset watch amongst the coaches and all the perfectly clean people sipping their champagne whilst we took silly pictures, dodged flies and drank our cans of beer. Uluru did look great as the sun was setting but the majority of people were too busy taking pictures of the rock that they actually missed the fantastic sunset behind them!

We woke up on the 3rd morning before sunrise to go to Uluru and watch the sunrise behind it which was nice. We then walked the 11km around the base of Uluru which didn't take too long. There are a lot of sacred sites that you cant take photos of and there is no explanation of why it is a sacred site so you walk around not knowing really what you are looking at. Our guide informed of of some of the stories and you can completely see why the aboriginal culture believe in them.

It was 42 degrees at least by the time we headed back towards Alice Springs. The round trip would clock up 1500km and was complete with a dip in a river the temperature of a bath and a 5 minute ride on a camel (you've got to do it once!). The tour was fantastic and I'm so glad I went as I learnt so much about the aboriginal culture and met some great people. We topped off the evening with a dinner and a lot of drinks in Alice Springs- great night. The only thing I was disappointed about was the fact that I didn't see a wild kangaroo!

Darwin, Australia

I arrived in Darwin at 4am. I was very glad to be back into lands where everyone can understand you and you blend in when you walk down the street (I have even been asked directions). Darwin feels like what I imagined Australia to be- wide roads, friendly people, neighbourhoods that look like they came from the set of 'Neighbours' and the headline news of 'Is this the biggest croc ever?'. The city is new and shiny – there are no old buildings due to WW2 bombing and Cyclone Tracy in the 70's. Darwin is also not half as hot as I thought it would be with temperature scrapping 30 degrees.

I have sorting things that will help me with life in Australia- bought a sim card, enrolled with Medicare, got a TFN and just opening a bank account left. I got the bus to the northern suburb of Casuarina where there is a shopping centre (the only shops in Darwin centre are supermarkets and souvenir shops) so I could buy some walking shoes. It's really odd having all the festive decs up and music playing when it's so warm out! I've also visited the Northern Territory Museum and art gallery which has great exhibits of Aboriginal art and natural history of the Northern Territory, also cyclone Tracy exhibit and a stuffed croc named Sweetheart. Darwin's a small and really friendly city and you quickly get to know people especially when you are asking for advice. A day of solid rain which I was caught out in saw me spending the morning chatting to the lady in the Greyhound office and watching the Ashes (we were winning) with the man in the holiday shop!

There are many national parks in the NT but I chose to go to Litchfield on a days tour. I wasn't expecting a huge amount for $95- the cheapest tour around but it was great and even provided breakfast and lunch. We headed to the Adelaide River for a jumping croc cruise. I thought it would be really touristy but it wasn't at all. The staff were really informative of crocs and the emphasis wasn't on 'look what this croc does' as it leaps out the water to get the meat dangling on a stick but rather 'don't swim in the water as this will kill you'! We also got the opportunity to handle a python, something I'd never done before. The snake was really heavy and cool as it weaved in and out your arms and around your neck (all safe- this is Australia now!). From the river we headed to see some termite mounds which were a lot more impressive than I expected. Made by Magnetic termites the mounds look like gravestones in a field. They are aligned North-South and have large flat side fasting East and West so the termites can get maximum sun. We then went to a few waterfalls, some of which were croc free and you could swim in. A great day out in which we also saw lots of wildlife- parrots, wallabies, fruit bats, the biggest spider I have ever seen which had conveniently placed its web right across the path, and a large frilled lizards which the guide spotted from the minibus and caught from a roadside tree by its tail (apparently this lizard doesn't lose it tail when caught).

My original plan was to get 'The Ghan' which is a train which runs to Adelaide straight down the centre and stopping at Alice Springs. Unfortunately it derailed so they stopped selling tickets until the day it left. One mad rush later and a frantic phone call to the office in Adelaide, thankfully open due to different time zones and I boarded the train for the 24 hour trip to Alice Springs. Despite being in the cheapest seat available it's very comfy and theres a restaurant car and showers on board. I wanted to get the train not only because it's the cheapest way to get to Alice but also there's a very nice brochure on the internet showing the train moving through vast orange coloured desert plains with kangaroos bouncing past. Reality isn't quite like that as it's wet season now so the grass has popped up and all I can see is trees. We stopped in Katherine for 4 hours- most people headed into town to go a tour of some sort. I wanted to canoe down the gorge but the heavy rain recently meant that the river wasn't open so I caught up with some sleep in the station instead. Slept great through the night and awoke to an amazing sunrise. So now I am in Alice Springs- not half as hot as I expected and no humidity. Great weather!

Kuta, Bali, Indonesia

We had a 15 hour travelling day to get back to Bali as the ferry was delayed and in the end we arrived into Kuta at 10.30pm with no accommodation and no idea where we were. Shattered we slumped for one of the first we saw- which seems OK and is in a great location. Kuta is full of Australians on holiday, it's touristy, tacky- but I like it! We are staying 2 nights in Kuta with Ben, Roberta and Lesley flying to Perth on a morning flight and myself flying late night to Darwin. It's a great place to get bits and pieces done- internet, printing documents, laundry and haircuts (terrifying experience and my hair is now very short but it cost me less than 2 quid) before life gets very expensive in Australia.

Gili Air, Indonesia

From Sengiggi we had an early transfer to Bengsal port. Being on a budget we got the less reliable public boat. The crossing was fine but we had to wait ages for it to fill up and load all the local's supplies. Sitting at the port it feels like you must be forgotten about but all the local companies know exactly what's going on as you are passed from one person to the next and your ticket is swapped for another many times.

We arrived on Gili Air, an island just off north west Lombok and managed to get accommodation in someone's garden for very cheap. It's great as we are just off the beach and not in a resort to there's no hassle. Me and Ben are sharing a small house. It's basic but theres lots of space to spread out. I have the whole of upstairs (theres is only a bed) but the best and slightly puzzling part is the 18 electric sockets as we are usually lucky if there is just a single working one!

Gili Air is a great place to relax. Theres beach front restaurants but no party places so it's quiet and it's nice to just admire the views over Lombok. Swimming isn't great as the water is shallower than a bath but we did go on a snorkeling trip today and got pretty close to turtles 3 times. The Gili islands provide some of the worlds best diving with more fish species than the Great Barrier Reef so I went diving just off the shore. It was a fantastic experience, completely different to Thailand and Malaysia. With just me and a guide diving we saw many species I hadn't seen before including 2 type of eel, lion fish and stone fish which I was pretty convinced the guide was pointing to a piece of coral!

It's been really great to chill out for a few nights and I think it's what everyone needed as we get further to Australia and further plans.

Ubud, Indonesia

From Lovina we headed over the hills to Ubud in central Bali. It's very touristy and a lot more expensive than we are used to but it's nice to walk around. We treated ourselves (and bargained the price down a lot) to a very nice room in a bungalow complex with a pool which we all used to cool down in.

In the centre of Ubud there is the Sacred Monkey Forest which is full of the breakfast stealing Macaques (apparently they are Sacred!). Having encountered the monkeys in Borneo we were all wary of them but they turned out to be quite friendly, partly due to them being fed. It was great to see them playing in the water and sleeping where they felt like. There were some temples around but the attraction was definitely the monkeys!

Lesley had a bike for 2 days so Ben, Roberta and myself booked on a day tour to see some of Bali. We covered a lot in a few hours as the tour was in a 6 seater rather in a coach. First stop was Goa Gajah (Elephant cave temple) which being Hindu was completely different to what we have seen before and we all had to wear sarongs to enter the complex (even Ben). The temple was built in the 11th century and had been completely covered in moss and rocks were starting to fall down. The elephant cave was really odd as you entered through a very decorative face of a demon but inside it's all blank bar an alcove with a statue of Ganesh.

Next we headed to the holy spring water temple which looks very new as most was restored in the 1960's. The temple was built in 962 AD around the natural springs which was are considered to have magical powers and the water still bubbles into huge pools which is then released via a very nice fountain into a smaller pool where the locals go. It looked pretty nice water- inappropriate to take a dip though!

Also on the schedule was a visit to coffee plantations, some 'very nice rice paddies', a view of Mt Batur which stands at above Lake Batur at 1717m. We also went to the Besakih which is the biggest temple complex in Bali. We couldn't go in any of the temples but you can walk around the outside despite the local scam of needing a guide. The complex is 23 separate thatched roof temples which is 1km up Mt Agung which would have given great views out to the coast and Lombok had it not been so cloudy! Last we visited the Ancient courts which were in the centre of Klungkung. The 'hall of justice' was a pavilion with a moat with lots of paintings on the inside ceiling. The palace was destroyed in 1908 when the Balinese were fighting the Dutch.

Ubud has been a great place to spend a few days and you could easily spend longer as there is lots to do. We spent and entire day getting to Sengiggi in Lombok. We had booked a through ticket with a girl who couldn't speak English so we were not too sure about the specifics of the day. A bus collected us and took us to Padangbai where we caught the slow ferry. We got some great views of Mt Agung as we left Bali and as we got closer to Lombok dolphins came and swam by the boat. We arrived in Lembar (initially thinking it was Sengiggi) and then got a bus to Mataram and then waited for ages for a bus to Sengiggi. It was all very well organised on just one ticket but definitely not what I thought we had paid for. So now we are in Sengiggi which is not what we expected. The photos show a white sand bay that's empty. I know not to believe everything on the internet but we were a little shocked to see black sand, hundreds of locals and fishing boats lining the shore. Sengiggi is really geared up to trekking up Mt Rinjani, something I'd like to do but we all have flights to Australia booked so there's not much time. With Lombok being a strict Muslim island I don't feel I would get a lot of hassle on the beach here so today will be spend book reading and planing the next few days on the Gili Islands.