I've been back in the Huon Valley for over 4 weeks now. Not staying in the same place as last time because a new hostel has opened up nearer to where i work. It's nice because it's new, has everything still in the kitchen and really comfy beds. It's a bit busy though cos it's only small and has 40 or so people in one kitchen and living room! It's good to be closer to work though, because I don't have a car so this time I'm cycling to work everyday! (well I say everyday but for the past week i've been getting lifts because i have a cold again). I'm back at Hansen orchards but packing cherries instead of apples. It's a bit harder work but only because we stand in the same position ALL day, just watching cherries go past us, picking out any bad ones that have made it through the sorters (and there's quite a few!). For the first few weeks we were working 9 hours a day, 6 days a week, on the same machine. It's ok though because me and Bernie, the girl fortunate enough to be stuck opposite me all day, have managed to amuse ourselves by playing as many games as we can think of, singing songs, comparing our music collections and getting really excited when our cherry boxes are full at the same time so we can watch them race up the conveyor belt. Yes, we are that bored!

I haven't exactly been the most sociable butterfly since i've been here, because I'm trying to save money, so i've been staying at the hostel as much as possible. I have also given up alcohol for the duration of cherries, so i've not had a drink for 34 days now! I'm hoping this will save me a bit of money, but as soon as cherries is over I'll definitely be celebrating with a cider or two. I haven't been a complete anti-social loner though, I've been to a couple of BBQs at the homes of people I work with and just after I arrived, me and Marion (a friend i met here the first time round) went with the hostel owners to the Cygnet Folk Festival. It was weird being back in Cygnet (near where i lived last year) and seeing so many people in such a tiny, usually quiet, town. We also did a day trip to the Hartz mountains with other friends Pam, Will and Ben but that turned out a bit unsuccessful because we had car trouble. We had to try selotaping a hole and tying a pipe up with a piece of string until a random passer by came to our rescue with duct tape.

Cherry season is probably going to end soon so i'm going to be heading back to the mainland in a couple of weeks. I've decided not to hang around for apples this year because there is a 2 or 3 week gap between the two seasons so I'm escaping while i can. My plan at the moment is to have a week in Melbourne and then meet up with a friend and drive round to Perth. It's a pretty long way but it'll be fun. I'm very excited so I hope everything goes to plan for my first big road trip!