Bula Fiji!

Well, it was a wrench to leave Oz, but soon I was off to Fiji! The flight went smoothly and I landed around sunset at Nadi Airport. Nadi is pronounced "Nandi" by the way! I was collected from the airport by the Horizon Backpackers shuttle and was soon checked into to a clean dorm with air-con; Arctic wind would have been a more appropriate term, but never mind! I was soon chatting away with my new roommate, Luke (Birmingham), who'd just returned from the Yasawa Islands, and had already visited New Zealand! So the poor lad had to play Twenty Questions with me about both! It was good to talk to him as he gave me lots of info about his experiences on the Yasawas and so I felt well prepared to book all my activities there the next day.

On Wednesday, I went down to the beach at Nadi Bay. Whilst travelling, I've met may people who've said that it's best to get over to the Yasawas and I could see why... Nadi doesn't really have the idyllic expanse of sand you would expect in the South Pacific! Never mind, it gave me a chance to buy a coconut for $5 that I didn't really want!!! You know how it goes; "Hello my friend, where you from?" "Please, take a seat, here have this it's fresh!" "So, how much would you like to give to help me feed my family?" Well, I couldn't really say 50 cents could I? They always get me on Day One, and after such a long time in Oz, I'd forgotten what it was like to travel in slightly more 'rough and ready' places! Note to self - be really prepared for South America!!!

Sunset over Nadi Bay

I then took the local bus into Nadi, much better at 70 cents one way, and organised a boat and accommodation pass for the Yasawas. I'd left all planning until I arrived in Fiji, just to make sure that I could shop around and get the best deal. As it happens, there's really only one way to do it, take the Yasawa Flyer operated by Awesome Adventures, and all operators offer it at the same price anyway! So, I spent a good few hours in the Tourist Information centre, somehow getting a $19 discount without even asking, and I missed the afternoon deluge whilst I was in there as well!

Back at the hostel, I chilled out by the pool and bumped into Luke again, once again gleaning more useful information from him, and formulated an itinerary for the islands. Now, believe it or not, I was looking forward to a week without Internet access, but of course, because of my video application, I have to check if I have been contacted for online testing to make it through to the next round! Only two resorts have Internet and so I've planned everything around that! Part of me wants to just go with the flow, but then again, what if I only check my emails next week when I am back on Viti Levu later, and miss the deadline to reply by just two days? It's not worth taking that risk, so I'm slave to the machine yet again!

So, not to worry, I've planned to take the boat as far north up the chain to Tavewa Island first, to Coral View Resort, then work my way south again to White Sandy Beach on Naviti Island. That means that I'll be able to check my emails up until the Monday deadline and then I can move on to Waya Lailai (with no Internet) after then with no worries. That's the theory anyway! Anyway, I'm just using up my last bit of mainland credit now before the bus arrives to take me to Port Denarau... if I do make it online this week, at $12 an hour, please don't be expecting any blogging! You'll just have to be patient until I return next Wednesday!!!

It's All Over, Oz!!!

OH NO!!! I'm leaving Australia today!!! I swear, I've been a bit of an emotional wreck since I arrived back in Sydney for the last time on Sunday morning, and I know I'll be in tears on the plane to Fiji today. "Pull yourself together girl!" I hear you say, "You're going to FIJI!!!" Yes, that's pretty damn great but I cannot even begin to describe how much I've loved Australia and I've really been genuinely completely happy here; I feel like a new person. Well, not quite, I'm still crazy ol' me, but I'm way new and improved! Can you remember how stressed I was, back in Week One? Indeed, the money thing did worry me, and I've just about managed to stay within budget, but every penny has been worth it. I've had the most amazing experiences out here, but the very best thing has been the people.

Australians are genuinely the nicest people I've ever met anywhere and it has been a pleasure to meet each and everyone of them. the British service industry could learn a lot from these guys! Oz cured my phone phobia, diminished my spider phobia, made me so happy that I try to pet sniffer dogs and chat about any old nonsense to security whilst being tested for explosives at airports! And then there are all the people I have meet here from other countries, they've all been amazing! I have so many new friends that I need to visit again one day, loads in Denmark, some in Germany, hopefully I'll make it to Italy and Israel and then definitely back to Oz to again. Seriously, someday, somehow, I HAVE to come back to Australia. It is just... words fail me!

Talking of coming back to Oz... I left a little cryptic note at the end of my last blog post. Well, I can now tell you all about it! Mark had told me about a job, that the Queensland Tourism Board had been advertising online, for "The Best Job In The World" whereby the successful candidate would have to live on the Whitsundays for 6 months, rent free, and write a blog about their experiences out there, such as snorkeling, scuba diving, sunbathing, sailing. What's the catch? Erm, there isn't one! What's the salary? $150.000. Yes, you read that correctly - ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS! For 6 months work in paradise! When he told me about this I was stunned, I've been in training for this job for the last 5 months, I can scuba, I can blog, I can talk for England (and hopefully now Australia!).

"How do I apply?" I asked? Well, I went online to find out and lo and behold, the deadline for VIDEO applications was last Sunday! Crikey, I was really pushed for time and plus, how on earth could I make a 60 second video with no time to plan, especially as I was heading off to Perth that morning? Anyway, when Gillian had to cancel, I started to hatch a cunning plan, but I was struggling to come up with any cool ideas. However, when we got back to York that afternoon, I found that Mark had video making software on his computer, and by some miracle, I started to make a video to send in for the job.

6 hours (and one batch of homemade fudge) later, I had somehow managed to produce a 58 second video and I pressed submit... off it went through cyberspace and last night I got a confirmation email that it had been approved and was available to view online!!! So, I'm up against thousands of other applicants and I probably won't get any further with it, but it was so important for me to give it a go! For years I have shied away from opportunities because I've been too scared to fail or I wouldn't stand a chance... but things are different now, I mean, I am travelling the world on my own! I survived Vietnam! I'm going to South America for 5 months... what can't I do? Well, there's bound to be something, but I feel so positive and enthusiastic, bring on all the challenges!!!

Anyway, this is where you, dear reader, can help me! I'd ask you to kindly view my video and rate it (favourably I hope!) If I do make it through to the final 50, then voting starts and I'd appreciate it if you could take the time to give me your vote! I can't imagine that I will get to that stage, but my new motto is "Never say never!" Here's the link, hope it amuses you as much to watch it, as it amused me to make it!!!

Emma's Video Application

Now, I've just tried the link out and it wasn't available; due to so many people visiting the website, it is undergoing maintenance. However, I watched it online last night so it is there, I would kindly ask you to persevere and come back to it later to give it a look.

Anyway, that was Saturday afternoon, since then I left Mark and Kaiya in York, headed back to Sydney, checked back into the the YHA for my third and final time and since then, I've talked non-stop to my new roommates! I'd like to say a personal thanks to Sarah (UK), Azure (Canada), Sanne (Netherlands), Pernille, Maria and Cecilie (Denmark) and Sinikka (Germany). I talked the ears of these girls for 2 days! The Danish girls arrived last night and I basically didn't stop talking to them for a good hour probably; bless them, they needed to eat! Anyway, I made yet more cool friends and now I have even more people to visit in the future (if they can bear the talking again!!!) So, I have but 30 mins left here before I catch the shuttle bus to the airport, and by 2pm local time, I'll be on a plane to Fiji... and then next phase of my adventures begins...

Australia - Week Ten

On Sunday, we left Augusta and headed north through the national park to take in the spectacular sights of that area. First stop was Conto's Beach, followed by a jaunt down into Calgardup Cave! I was a little hesitant about this when I heard that it was "self-guided with a torch and helmet" - what, no rescue party or electric lighting??? Anyway, Mark and the park rangers assured me it was absolutely safe and the paths inside were permanent boardwalks, complete with sturdy railings! So off we went, down into the gloom, 27 metres below the ground! Once in there, armed with a torch and headlamp, it was actually great to be in the damp coolness of the cave, away from the blistering midday sun, and the structures within were fascinating! We turned of our lights at one point and took in the absolutely blackness. Even after a few minutes, when you would expect your eyes to adjust, nothing at all could be seen. Back at sea level, we left the caves and went to Prevelly Park, a world-renowned surfing spot and the town of Margaret River: unfortunately, the Fudge Factory was closed by then!

Still posing at 88 feet deep!

Nannup was our next port of call, to visit Mark's best friend Jason and his partner Dee. Unfortunately, Mark hadn't remembered to bring Jason's phone number on the trip AND he didn't know his address. "It's OK though," he assured me, "I've seen his house on Google Earth!" I didn't feel particularly hopeful about finding it, especially when he told me to look for "a wooden house with a white Ute parked outside." Believe me, in Australia, that really doesn't narrow things down! After what looked like kerb-crawling for way too long, Mark decided to knock on a door and to my surprise, he'd found the right house! The Ute was black by the way...

It was lovely to meet Jason and Dee and they were extremely hospitable, even letting us pitch our tent on their back lawn, to save us having to go looking for a campsite at dusk. I was especially grateful for this, as there had been bushfires nearby that afternoon and we had originally planned to camp right in danger area! (Don't panic Mum!) I immensely enjoyed a delicious dinner of homegrown salad and barbecued fish... and a bottle of semillion sauvignon blanc! And no washing up!!! The next morning, I enjoyed my second shower of the trip and off we headed to Busselton and Bunbury, to pay Mark's dad a visit, before getting in a few more geocaches, bringing the total for the trip to 27, including my 100th cache and two First-To-Finds! (That's good, all you muggles out there!)

We camped that night at Nanga Mill, in a beautiful coniferous forest complete with a babbling creek and a large group of wild Western Grey kangaroos!!! I got really close to them and managed to film a young joey and his mother feed on the roots and shoots of the forest floor. We had the area to ourselves and decided that instead of hitting the road again on our final full day, we'd spend another night there, so we could enjoy the river on Tuesday. It was great not to have to strike camp again and reload the Ute, for another long day's driving. Mark felt like a 12-year old again, as he skidded down rocks in his boardies and splashed into the river below, just as he did here years before, on family camping trips. So after over a week on the road and over 2,000 kilometres on the clock, we just chilled out with nature... although I did take an afternoon nap out on the open on an airbed with a duvet!

It's a dog's life!!!

On Wednesday, it was time to strike camp for the final time and head back to York. I was so glad to find (not) that we had transported TWO huntsmans back to Mark's house with us, and one had made it into the kitchen on the food box!!! Luckily, it was noticed in good time before it made its way into my Sultana Bran! On Thursday, I had a day to myself while Mark had a golf game in Perth, so of course, I spent it doing laundry (LOL) and on the internet, burning photos to DVDs, blogging... but that evening I got to do something quite special!

Mark had kindly arranged with a friend, Alan, to take me out in his little home-made plane! Now, when I say home-made, I mean that he had built it himself from a kit (like you can do with cars) and he uses it to oversee his farm! So, once the thermals had died down, off we sped along Alan's little airstrip (complete with real windsock!) and I was soon having a guided tour over Beverley. I got to wear a headset and everything got to say "Roger that captain!" through the microphone. It wasn't a formal requirement, I was just being a geek! Back on terra firma, we all then enjoyed some freshly smoked sausages, chicken and steak and myself a nice Wolf Blass chardonnay! Well, these are the perks of being a jetsetter!!!

Friday was another day of organisation - I had my backpack to repack and still bits and pieces to get done on the computer, plus some more Wii Fit practise! The damn thing reckons I'm 42, so it's a good job it was Mark's or I might have thrown it out of the window!!! Today, we set off to Perth to meet my old schoolfriend Gillian, who now lives and works out here. Alas, just as we were leaving York, she texted me to say she had to cover for someone at work and had to cancel! We decided to head into Perth anyway, just so I could get a few snaps and say that I'd been there! Once back in York that afternoon, I made some macadamia nut fudge for Mark, seeing as the factory in Margaret River had been closed! I was a bit concerned when I realised that Mark doesn't own any scales, but I managed with a little guesswork AND no thermometer! I was really chuffed with myself - admittedly, I beat it for just a few too many seconds and it set really hard and grainy, but it tasted delicious!

I also spent a few hours today on a special task... I'm not sure what will come of it, but when I have more details, I will let you know - in fact I will need your help, dear reader, so watch this space...

Australia - Week Nine

Well, the pace certainly changed this week! After spending six weeks up the East Coast, in and out of hostels like a yo-yo stuck in a revolving door, I had the luxury of staying in a real house with real facilities! Yes, I know I talk about it a lot, but I did laundry (it's important when you're backpacking!: I got to hang it out on a real washing line with real pegs in a real garden, with real sunshine and a real breeze to dry it!! I also got to sleep in a real bed with a real duvet and had several real lie-ins, for the first time in months and months and months... As a result, there isn't a lot of note to tell you all about, regarding my first few days in York, apart from the fact that I actually had a chance to begin to wind down.

The pace was all set to change again though, and on Tuesday morning, Mark and I loaded up the Ute, and set off on our camping tour of southern Western Australia, with dog Kaiya in tow on the backseat! The previous night, I printed out a swathe of Geocaches and logged all their co-ordinates into my GPS and we found our first one but a few kilometres outside of York! Off we continued until the yellowy landscape of the Wheat Belt became progressively more reddish, and the tarmacked roads more and more bumpy, until we were no longer travelling on asphalt, but gravel for miles and miles on end! We stopped midway through the day to visit Wave Rock, which I'd been terribly excited about as I can still remember reading about it as a child; indeed, I'm constantly surprised by how much I can still remember from Usborne's "Earth Facts and Lists" that I received for Christmas in 1985!!! Anyway, it was very impressive, although at that time of day, it cast a shadow upon itself that I thought would spoil my photos. I was pleasantly surprised when I uploaded them.

Wave Rock, Western Australia

It was then time to head further east, picking up a few more caches along the way. I should really warn you that should you ever wish to become a Geocacher, and have the good fortune to be able to participate in Oz, then you should be prepared for the terrain: quite a few times I've wondered what I may find lurking under rocks, be it spiders or snakes, and I was bitten by a bull ant that morning, and by gum, it bloody hurt! It was like a hot needle, coated with acid, had been stuck into my finger! Luckily, I slapped on some tea tree oil and that sorted it out after a few minutes. Once I'd calmed down, I was actually rather proud of my injury and was even more chuffed that I'd used some Australian Bodycare (from the UK, incidentally!) to treat the wound!

That evening, we arrived at our fifth cache site of the day - McDermid Rock. This was similar to, yet smaller than, Wave Rock, but just as interesting. In fact, we decided to camp there for the night, so we could see it in the morning light. After setting up our stuff and cooking on the little gas stove, we sat out under the stars with a bottle of sparkling wine... lovely, until a huge golden orb spider did a "Little Miss Muffet" but a few feet away from my chair... and that was just seconds after I'd moved out of its descending trajectory! "Yes Mark, it's not going to come anywhere near us, is it Mark?" I retorted in reply to his earlier reassurances!

On Wednesday, we continued further east to Norseman, from where we then turned south towards Esperance. From here on in, our days became quite similar: breakfast, strike camp, drive a bloody long way for hours in the Ute, set up camp, look at stars, go to sleep. I won't detail every movement with my usual vigour, so I'll keep it snappy! We camped that night at Starvation Boat Harbour, by a lovely little beach, although I was a little worried that the tent might blow away in the night, the wind was that strong! It was here that I had my first encounter with march flies since the Whitsundays and I can honestly say that they are just as annoying in WA too!

Then on Thursday, we headed along the coast towards Cheynes Beach. Unfortunately, although I had the map, I didn't know where we were heading: it was only after quite some time on the road did Mark say "I think we've gone too far!" We pulled over and checked the map and we realised that we'd missed a turn to the south and had headed inland, which meant a detour of approximately 100-150 kilometres was required!!! We eventually made it to our final destination and pitched the tent before dusk at Cheynes Beach Caravan Park, and after having a shower for the first time in three days, I felt human again!

On Friday, we headed north again and a little inland, via Denmark and Walpole, to the Karri Forests. Karries are the largest Eucalyptus trees in Australia, which can only be found in this region. We camped that night at Fernhook Falls, a lovely little spot. Not so lovely the following morning when I realised that a huntsman had been peeping at me all night through the tent window... at least it was on the outside of the mesh!! After that, we went to Augusta, where the Southern Ocean and Indian Ocean meet. We visited Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park and, as with the Great Ocean Road weeks earlier, the rugged coastline reminded me of Britain.

Scotland? Cornwall? No, Cape Leeuwin!

That night, we camped at Westbay Retreat Caravan Park, where Mark found "the best amenities I've ever seen! It's like a tropical atrium over there!" I can certainly vouch for that! Apparently, the urinal had a limestone rock wall that "curves up and around it, providing the necessary privacy." I can certainly NOT vouch for that! Later, after dark, an almighty thunderstorm made its way towards us, but stopped just far enough away to give us a spectacular light and sound show, with none of the rain. I saw lightning shoot upwards for the first time ever (just as my physics teacher assured me it always does). Hmmm, still don't believe that one...

Australia - Week Eight

"A cyclone warning has been issued. A Category One cyclone is apporaching the north Queensland coast and is likely to hit tomorrow (Monday) morning. Please be advised that we may need to enter your room to tape the windows if necessary. We recommend that all guests stock up on water and tinned goods. We will advise you of further developments at 11am."

That, over the hostel's tannoy, was my alarm call last Sunday morning. After a few seconds, I soon started to panic... "Cyclone? Stock up on tinned goods? But, excuse me, I have a flight to Ayers Rock tomorrow!!! What if the airport is closed? Oh my goodness, if I can't get to Ayers Rock then I will miss my tour and there is no refund and and there will be no point me going but I have to go just to catch my flight back to Sydney and if I don't get back to Sydney I will miss my flight to Perth and I can't get a refund for that... aaarrrrrgggggghhhhhhh!!!" And, so that was how I spent most of Sunday, I didn't leave my room, I read The Horse Whisperer from cover to cover instead and didn't get to see Cairns at all, even though I'd spent 4 nights there!

I even phoned Qantas (again!) to check if the airport was still open, which at that stage it was, but I was terrified that by the following morning, things would have worsened. I could have transferred onto a flight that day, but I would literally had to have put the phone down then and there, run back into the hostel to pick up my belongings and taken a taxi straight to the airport. Not likely, as I panic if I'm not in an airport before check-in usually opens, never mind trying to make it there with seconds to spare! My ear was still blocked and I was feeling pretty ,miserable for most of the day, but after a while, I realised that I wasn't panicking anymore, well not physically... I had stopped shaking and I had reached an internal level of calm. I don't know if deep down I knew it would all be OK, or maybe I had accepted the outcome as being a disaster but I'd get over it... either way (despite my initial panic), I was not me anymore, I was new and improved calm Emma. She's great, you should meet her!

When I awoke on Monday morning, the weather was surprisingly calm, especially as I was expecting a full-on cyclone by that point! As it turned out, it had hit Mission Beach, a few hours south, in the night, and hadn't caused much of a stir anyway. I told the lady at airport security, as she screened me for explosives, all about my tribulations the previous day. She thought it was ridiculous that they'd advised us to stock up on supplies and that it would have delayed, but not cancelled, flights. Once in Ayers Rock Resort, I took great delight in telling the hostel porter all about my adventure. It turned out that he was from Cairns originally and that Queenslanders wouldn't bat an eyelid at a Category One! When a Brit hears "cyclone warning" I don't think it is unreasonable to panic... we wiped all the supermarkets clean of bread and milk in 2000 just because the petrol tanker drivers went on strike! Nobody told me that Category One was the lowest threat! Anyway...

It is bloody hot in the Outback, I good forty degrees in the day and still well over twenty-five at night! I did a bit of laundry and it was dry within a very short time. I was really hot, but it was dry heat and it actually felt good to sweat and not be soaking wet as I was all through Asia! Evaporation worked once more! It also meant that dehydration was a very serious risk and so I drank a lot of tap water. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as cold tap water out there, and so I resigned myself to a week of drinking warm water... bleck!

On Tuesday afternoon, I was off on my adventure around the Red Centre at last. It took a fair bit of rescheduling and panic to get here, but the moment had arrived! I spent that afternoon trundling across the Northern Territory to meet the rest of my tour group and then making our way to Kings Canyon Resort to camp for the first night. I was really lucky and was joining just four more people for our tour - Evie (Italy), Will (UK), Morane (Israel) and Kellie (Sydney). That's right, an Australian who has actually been to Ayers Rock, and for the second time nonetheless!!! That night, we all mucked in to make a superb Spaghetti Bolognese (despite most of the ingredients being missing...) and were soon ready to get into our swags and lie out under the stars: although Morane was most concerned about the spiders and we didn't tell her about the huntsman that had been watching us prepare dinner! At last, I wasn't the one in a tour group that was most freaked out by insects, I had even been on moth and cricket removal duty! Then it really began...

On Wednesday, we were up at 4.30 am, breakfasted and packed away and in the bus by 5.45am, off to walk Kings Canyon at sunrise! We even spotted a few dingoes on route! When we arrived at the canyon, we were faced with the initial ascent up "Heart Attack Hill" but were assured that that would be the worst part over with first! Good job really, as it was quite hot, even though the sun had not yet risen! Once up at the top though, it was great fun and we saw some amazing views and found out all about the area and the flora and fauna within. After covering 6 kilometres in the morning heat, we spent most of the day (with a stop for lunch) back on the bus, to make the 300km trip back to Kata Tjuta (or The Olgas). It was a good job that there were only the 5 of us, plus our guide Jane, as we could sprawl out in the bus, in an attempt to nap and stay cool in the +40 heat. The air con became useless, even on full blast, as the weather was so hot outside!

Jumping for joy at Kata Tjuta!

Once at Kata Tjuta, I was incredibly grateful for the stupidly expensive flynet I'd bought back at the Resort, as the little b*ggers were everywhere! I was also pleased that I'd put on a long-sleeved shirt and long trousers that morning, as they were absolutely relentless. However, it didn't spoil out visit as we walked for a few more kms around the rocks. It was really impressive and despite the temperature, it was well worth it! Then, after taking some fun pictures, we were off again to... Uluru! We got there nice and early, and found a great spot to sit and enjoy our 'champagne' and snacks whilst watching the world's most famous rock at sunset! At this point, I feel duty bound to warn you, dear readers, that one mug of sparkling wine is more than sufficient to get you rather tiddly: if you have been walking and riding hot buses for 12 hours, you are likely to be quite dehydrated and so alcohol becomes rather more potent! So much so, that even though I took way too many pictures of Uluru, not one of them had me on it as I'd forgot to ask someone to take one! Whoops!

Back at camp, none of us really had the energy to cook dinner, but somehow we managed it and had a birthday cake for Evie (who had only told us about it just before we got to Uluru!) Then it was swag time again and I was awakened in the small hours by the howls of dingoes in the distance! Brilliant!!! Not so brilliant was the 4am start to get back to Uluru for sunrise, but we managed it! Again I took way too many photos, but I knew that this was my one chance to visit this magical place and I'd probably never be back. Morane and Kellie were ready to head off after a while to get started on the base walk before the sun got too hot, but they very kindly humoured me and waited until the sun had cleared the horizon so I could take snaps of every possible colour variation possible!

We were then taken on the guided Mala Walk at the start of the base walk and I was feeling pretty dodgy by the end of it, even though it was all shaded. I asked if the base walk was compulsory, and from Jane's expression, it seemed that it indeed was... we were to set off unguided and walk all around the perimeter of Uluru and it would take us about 2 hours. If it had been a partial walk, I think I would have opted out, but I knew that I couldn't miss this chance to make it all the way around. So off we set and very soon we were out of the shadows and in the full glare of the sun, which was incredibly powerful at only 8.30am. In short, at the start it was hellish as there was no breeze at all and we were all feeling the effects of the previous day's exertion, but Uluru was so spectacular, it was well worth it and luckily by the end of it, I didn't feel as bad. It was absolutely amazing, I'm just glad that I bought high capacity memory cards for my camera! Well worth it... even though we were amazed to learn that we'd covered 9kms in that heat and survived!

Uluru - absolutely amazing!

After a visit to the Cultural Centre, it was time to head back to camp for lunch and then our tour was over, but I was pleased to find that Kellie and Morane were staying at back at Outback Pioneer Lodge with me, so our time was not yet over! So we were dropped off and we said our goodbyes to Evie, Will & Jane (who still had a long drive back to Alice Springs!) After we checked in at the hostel, I dumped my bags back in the dorm and jumped straight in the pool, it was the only way to escape the heat! I then attempted to nap in the dorm, but the air-con wasn't working properly as despite being absolutely shattered, I just couldn't sleep in the heat!

I met up with Kellie & Morane later that afternoon and joined them back in the pool for another dip, by this point we had it all to ourselves! It even started to rain and some pretty big grey clouds rolled in overhead. The sky looked very threatening, at which point I said "I'd love it now if it just went (very convincing thunder sounds)!" No sooner as I stopped speaking, did the air rip open and an almighty rumble broke above us. "And I'd just love a million dollars!" I retorted... which had us all in stitches for about 10 minutes! I guess you had to be there!

Yesterday, it was time to leave the Red Centre and head back to civilisation and I was sharing the flight back to Sydney with... Kellie and Morane! I've met so many great people on this trip so far, but usually we move on in separate directions, so it was great to spend a little extra time with my new friends. The flight was fine, although Morane did not enjoy the turbulence and I had to watch the in-flight movie with only one functional earpiece! Back at Sydney, domestic arrivals was extremely easy and Kellie kindly offered me a lift back to the Sydney Central YHA (well, better the devil you know!). But then it was time to say our goodbyes and I promised to stay in touch and to one day visit Morane in Paris (where she lives at the moment) or in Tel Aviv (where she may be living if she goes back to Israel) - either way, I'll be chuffed to meet up again and see another new place!

This morning, I was up early AGAIN and back at the airport to board my Virgin Blue flight to Perth. We were due to board at 8.45am, but it was soon obvious there would be a delay. As I waited in the departure lounge, I could overhear many conversations and I soon learned that yesterday, TWO flights to Perth had been grounded and hundreds of passengers had to stay overnight in Sydney! It wasn't looking good, but surely that couldn't happen to three planes in a row...? Alas, yes it could, and to cut a long story short, we were delayed for over three hours and we had to get a new plane which was smaller and so people were asked to volunteer to take a later flight via Adelaide! I remained quite calm throughout, albeit quite bored, as I no longer had a tight schedule to work to and there were way more people in the departure lunge worse off than me.. plus, I got a free $6 voucher to spend on the plane!!!

So here I am in Western Australia at last! I managed to text Mark to advise him of the delay and he kindly collected me from the airport this afternoon. It was quite funny; as I was saying hello to him, I spotted a cute little beagle sniffing around my legs. "Hello, little guy, aren't you lovely?" It was only when its handler asked me if I had any fruit with me did I realise he was a sniffer dog and he'd made a beeline for me!!! What a fool! No, I didn't have any fruit, I assured the lady and started to empty out my bags all over Arrivals to prove it, but then I remembered that there had been an orange in my bag yesterday and that was probably the cause, so the dog got a treat and soon I was off in the car to York! Trust me to try and pet airport security!!!