So after the highs of Sydney I was off on my own to begin my journey around the west coast of Australia and Central Australia. So after a two hour flight in which I mostly slept I arrived at my first destination - Adelaide.

I arrived at the hostel and suddenly started wondering what I had done. The hostel was basic, it semt dead apart from a couple of people in the TV room, including a woman who looked like the bird woman from Home Alone 2 only more crazy. I was put in an 8 bed dorm and thought that would be a good opportunity to make a friend. There was a problem with this however as I was the only person in the room. I accepted the fact that it might be a lonely time in Adelaide but reasoned that I would be leaving in a couple of days so it didn't really matter. So off I trotted for a McDonald's. On my way I found two posters both advertising lifts to Perth in the next couple of days. This was ideal as that's where I wanted to head after my Shark Dive in Port Lincoln. So while munching on a delicious Big Mac meal I decided to text the first of my enquiries. A chap called Brad. I'm guessing he was American. I didn't have to wait long for a reply and unfortunately more bad news as he said that was an old advert and he was already in Perth. Dejected, thinking things were not going my way I polished off the remainder of my large fries and trudged back to the hostel. I was sat in the TV room watching some terrible Sly Stallone movie when I remembered there was another advert, this one semt more of a long shot, Rebecca, 29 from Germany wanted to leave the next day, where as I needed to head to Port Lincoln first so I could dive with Great White Sharks. But as they say if you don't buy a ticket you don't win the raffle so I decided to send Rebecca a quick message enquiring about her trip. A quick response ensued and as luck would have it she was staying in the same hostel. I met her in the kitchen and discussed the trip. Rebecca looked a slightly less small version of Dawn French, she semt and a nice girl and she was happy she finally found someone to travel with so was more than happy to not leave for Perth until Sunday. She also said she would drive to Port Lincoln, meaning I could get a lift there too. Things were looking up. I spent the next few hours chatting about travels with Rebecca, Another German girl, a Danish girl and two Argentinian blokes. I then thought I'd take myself for a little stroll into the town in search of a drink as I was parched. A stroll down what I presume was the main high street saw me greeted by quite the number of strip tease, massage parlours and gentlemen's clubs which made me instantly think of Deano and how much he would love them. I passed them by though opting just to go to the convenience store and getting an over-priced Orange Juice. I returned to the hostel via two interesting statues one called The Slide and another of a guy called 'Mo' and settled down for the night pleased with my achievements of making a few friends and also getting a lift from Adelaide to Port Lincoln and Perth.

After a horrendous night's sleep - due to the wafer thin mattress, I could feel every steel bar below the mattress and it made for a less than comfortable night. I woke up and thought I was back in England. I looked outside to grey miserable skies and rain. It was that fine rain that gets you wet too. I had planned to go to the botanical gardens but was now a little put off by the weather so was steadily getting my s*** together when two French guys moved into my room. Miko, who had previously done a stint in Australia and his friend Stephen. I instantly made my friends with these guys and arranged a few welcome rinks with them later. I would show Stephen the ways of goon, and it would be nice to sample an Adelaide night life, though I didn't hold out much hopes. But a night out is what you make it. They popped out for the day anyway so I decided to brave the weather and do some exploring myself. I headed to the Botanic Gardens which were ok; I guess on a grey miserable day it's not the best day to go. The Botanic Gardens were right next door to Adelaide Zoo, which have the only Panda's in the southern hemisphere. I was eager to go in, as we all know I love zoos but the price of $31.50 put me off a bit. I had an opportunity to sneak in for free when a s*** load of school kids were exiting I could have walked straight through the exit doors without paying a penny. But good shone through and I bottled it and made my way back into town. I walked by a gallery which drew me in with its free entry sign. I'm not much for galleries anyway unless there is the free booze and nibbles. But this was weird. In one room was a dead horse or cow hung from the ceiling smashing into the floor, and in another a naked man hanging from a clothes hook. It was just all a bit weird for me so I headed back to the hostel and met up with my new French buddies Miko and Stephen, who had offered me to join them for dinner. Unfortunately due to jet lag they were out cold so I settled for a Heinz Chilli Beef Soup. Then once they woke up I gave Stephen a glimpse into an Aussie nightlife. First we drank some goon, and then we hit Adelaide. It was very quite. But we managed to ride a mechanical bull and end up a place called the duke which was pretty lively. We were suitably drunk and I left Stephen in the hands of a nice looking Red haired Irish lasso and pottered off back to the hostel.

The next morning I woke up, feeling a bit worse for wear but I had things to do. I was off to Port Lincoln for the much anticipated shark dive! I wished the French guys good luck on their travels and then met German Rebecca in the TV area. It was now time for a road trip!

So until next time stay safe and take care

Adi

xx