We are so pleased we decided to fly from Sydney to Melbourne, the way Kate and I was feeling after our stint with Ledge and the gang, we would not have enjoyed a 15+ hour greyhound journey. My dad lives just outside Melbourne so we was going to stay with him for a few days before we went into the city. Daddy Oates met us at the airport gate, I think he was getting a little worried because we were the last off the plane! After a quick hello and bag grab, we headed to his car and got on the road to a place called Healesville where he lives. I've been twice before but I was much younger, it was nice to see how the town had grown in size and how it's got more of a variety of shops now. Although they do have a Subway sandwich shop now which I'm pretty sure the high street doesn't need, Dad said the locals are trying to protest against having a McDonalds put in. His house is pretty much how I remembered it but with a few changes and extensions, the biggest change is probably that two of the rooms have been converted into young girls bedrooms. Dad has two daughters here too, Becky (6) and Kate (1). I've met Becky briefly when I was 18 odd but she was only little and baby Kate is baby Kate so no ones met her back home yet. Becks was shy at first but soon came round, it took baby Kate a day for her to let me hold her, she just kept holding her arms above and behind her head so I couldn't pick her up - she found it amusing anyway. That evening we just spent the night chilling out, hair braiding and making bracelets - Kate and Liv played babysitters while I caught a mini nap, once I woke up, Becks enjoyed playing hairdressers, it took me twice as long to unknot my hair. After dinner, drinks and Jenga (!) we all crashed and went to bed.

The next day I was awoken by a jumping Becks springing onto my bed, it was around 8.30am and apparently she had been waiting since 6am to wake us so thought I better get up and play with her for a bit. Dad and Becks was taking us to the tourist sites of Healesville, I was pleasantly surprised that there was a few as I could only remember The Sanctuary. Firstly we went to the 'Look Out' over a big reservoir lake, got some brilliant photos of it, some of you may have seen it on my Instagram/Twitter. Then onto see the Dam, which was huuuge, it was a nice walk through a wooden area to the bottom of the Dam then went up a serious amount of steps to get to the top, it was holding back the water from the reservoir we saw before, on the other side was the drop and you could see a big sundial made in the grass, which made me think of the (tiny) tattoo I want to get when I'm home. Next was Badgers Creek which was a stream with rocks dotted throughout, we all had a little climb, took some photos and tried to skim some pebbles. We were peckish after that so headed into town for sarnies and milkshakes. Happily full, we headed up to The Sanctuary to see some Kangaroos, Emu's, Parrots, Bats, Wombats and Tasmanian Devils etc, it was 39+ degrees that day so it was sweltering. Luckily Dads mate had a pool so we all went for a dip, I know the family from previous trips so it was nice to see them again. That evening we had an early dinner and sorted out laptop bits, I know have The Wire season 2 on my iPad, this will get me through some bus journeys in Asia! ALSO I can now announce ALL of our photos are up on Snapfish, if you want the log in then get in contact and you can have a snoop on the website, warning though, there is a hell of alot of photos so make sure you make a cuppa to sit down with first. The next day, Dad, Becks and I drove Big Kate and Liv to the train station as they were heading into Melbourne and I was staying another 2 days in Healesville. Apparently they had a nightmare journey but I'm sure Liv will update you on that in her blog. That afternoon we went to Dads friends pool again because it was 43 degrees and impossible to do anything major, later that day baby Kate and Becky were leaving Aus to go to the UK for a holiday so we said our goodbyes and we waved them off, I'll hopefully see them again soon.?! That night Dad and I just rented a film and ate chocolate, worked our pretty nicely as Dad asked what I miss the most while I'm travelling, I said I miss having a day or even a couple of hours lazy chill time, were always on the move doing something so it was nice to so nothing but pass out in front of the box (I know it's sad but true mum). The next day we both spent the morning sorting different jobs out, mine was writing my Byron blog grrr, in the afternoon I went to the Drs Surgery that him and his wife own to see where he worked then onto the pubs!! We went to 3 or so places, each very different to the next, then topped it off with a film and a curry. Nothing changes, got a few jobs done while watching the film too so it has been a productive few days.

Woke up with a bit of a headache and luckily I had packed the night before so I just had to get ready and we was on our way into Melbourne to meet Kate and Liv in St Kilder. There was a mess up at the girls hostel and they no longer had a bed available for me that night, I rang a few other places and everything was booked, I wasn't the happiest about it but Liv managed to sneak my backpack into one of the big lockers behind their reception desk so all we had to do was worry about sneaking me in later that night. Dad suggested that we all go to the casino in The Crown hotel for a bit of roulette before we said our goodbyes, he very kindly gave us each $50 to have a go on the tables, sadly we all finished down but it was all part of the fun, made me want to go back to Vegas so much!! After we cut our loses, we walked down to the Southbank, which was kind of like London Southbank, bars and restaurants on the river, we had a burger on the river, well I had a kids meal because I wasn't very hungry but I got colouring in to play with so that kept me busy while I waited for them to eat haha. We then said goodbye to Dad, me and him already discussed our goodbye, we know how we play them. Kate, Liv and I then jumped on a tram - my first one! We went to little Italy for an ice cream and a bit of window shopping. We walked down to the main shopping centre, perched on a bench and watched some street performers singing in the sunshine, my favourite thing, people watching. Next we headed down to St Kilda beach, and walked the pier for a view of the coast. That evening we had tickets to go to the open air cinema to see the new film 'Hitchcock'. It was the first time I've been to one so it was a nice way to celebrate our last evening in Australia, we got our blankets out and bought some popcorn. Just as the film started, the bats come out to play, they were flying all around us, shrieking as they were swooping in and out of trees, I suppose it added to the atmosphere of the already eery feel to the film. Once the film was over we went to a bar called The Vineyard which was on the beachfront by St Kilda beach, brilliant house music just what we wanted, somewhere to have a little dance! I managed to sneak into the girls hostel that night, the security guard started to check names of the room list but for some reason just never asked mine, bloody lucky otherwise I would've been on the doorstep. I bunked in with Kate but she must've been cold that night because she cocooned herself in the blanket, it wasn't the most comfortable night sleep, I was worried about waking her so I tried to stay as still as possible, I also kept waking because there was a trophy snorer in their room, I have never witnessed snoring like it, it got to 7.30am and I gave up trying to sleep so I got the key card from Kate's purse and went to the bathroom only to realise that I had picked up her ID instead of the key card so I was now locked out, great! The girls didn't wake until 9.30am, you can imagine my mood. We had a few bits to sort that morning like bank stuff and Liv/Kate was posting stuff home, we then got our bags and headed on the shuttle bus to the airport.

Our time had come to say see'ya later mate to Aussieland. In 2 months we've done some once in a lifetime things, created amazing memories, me lovely people and made some real friends. Bye, for now! Off to Singapore we fly.