We are in Oz now and everyone is ultra friendly, well at least they seem to be on the west coast. Most drivers wave as they go past and everyone is so chatty.

We have a camper van called Ultra George Best and it has drawings of George on both sides, i think we did quite well considering some of the other Wicked camper vans i have seen - some a little too obscene for someone of my nature :). Although i saw a camper called the University of fine farts complete with a " are you smiling because you're happy or because you did a little fart?" written on the back which i thought was good too.

After 2 days and a 900km drive north from Perth sleeping at the road side parking en route we are now at Monkey Mia Dolphin resort. We have only 4 days left from our 2 week volunteer slot before we leave. Monkey mia is out in the sticks and this means it is 425km to the nearest city. Thankfully we are only 20km from the nearest village which we have been collecting our groceries from and taking advantage of the local cafe with wifi! It's really beautifull out here, our shifts at the dolphin resort are 7.30am to 11/12noon and we help with feeding the dolphins, make notes on what dolphins are in and what they may be doing. We also do the not so glamourous jobs such as litter picking and sweeping but it's no bother in such a nice location. We're getting to recoginise a few of the dolphins now - you tell them apart from the shapes of the dorsal fin as most have been damaged in some way, sharks mainly. Andy actually saw a shark on his beach run yesterday afternoon so that is definate i'm not going in deeper then my knees! The best bit really is helping with the dolphin feeds where we go into the water to about knee deep next to a dolphin and pick people from the crowd to come to us and take a fish to give to the dolphin. The dolphins some times rub the pectoral fins (arms) or stomach against your leg which is very cute but they can also get annoyed and impatient and whistle or knock you with the rosterum (nose) as the greedy grumpy dolphin named Nicky has done on many occasions. The rangers only feed the same 5 dolphins even though more come into the shallows of the resort, everything is moderated to ensure the dophins can do what dolphins should do for the majority of the day and also that they go out into deeper water and feed their calves.

We also have some cheeky pelicans to deal with as they try to steal the dolphin food. They are a little intimidating as they are quite big and have a long beak with a hook on the end. They give you a thousand mile stare with their black beedy eyes when they know you have the fish. Although they are intimidating I really like them, they are full of character and they make me laugh. It amazes me that they can fly. We have a decoy feeder for the pellies during each dolphin feed but that doesn't always tempt one crazed pelican aptly known as Rogue. She's a little loopy often snapping her beak at fresh air so a dolphin feed can turn into fun and games quite quickly with her flapping about especially as you often have the dolphin calves swimming and splashing around and causing trouble... very cute trouble. We were told that a group of pelicans is called a squadron which is totally suited to them especially if you see them all scooping up fish together in the shallows and our imagination starts to run wild with "come in red leader" impressions as we watch.

Sorry got carried away there... The resort normally has 4 dolphin volunteers also locally know as the Vollies ( i love the way Australians shorten words and add ies at the end!!) at any one time staying from 4 days to 2 weeks. We have had the pleasure of working with some lovely and crazy people from Hong Kong and have started to learn a few words in cantonese.

In the afternoons we sit on the beach, read, run or walk, it really is all very relaxing. Apart from first thing in the morning with the tour coaches coming for the dolphins it's all quiet and peacefull. It's early spring here so a little chilly when the sun goes in but that sun is sooooo hot when it's out. My nose is constantly pink.

Not really seen any nasty beasties yet. There are some goldern orb spiders on the rangers office which i'm told cause flesh rotting if they bite but they are ok because they dont kill you. Huff, i still wont walk under them even if they wont kill me.