Well, it's nearly the end of our final day in Melbourne, and in Australia! Today we hopped on the tram to St. Kilda, the seaside suburb south of the Yarra River in Melbourne. We even got an accidental tour of North Melbourne as we got on the tram going in the wrong direction and were too chicken to get off! It's been a while since we've been lost... I've not missed it!

St. Kilda is a bit shabby and kitsch, what with the slightly tired Victorian villas and old school funfair Luna Park - it was ace! Actually, it really reminded me of a little British seaside town what with the pier, promenade, fish and chip shops and ice cream vendors. We even had the grey weather today! It was just the palm trees that gave the game away. We didn't stay too long there as it was a bit cold for the beach, so the rest of the day was spent in central Melbourne writing postcards, doing some shopping and generally relaxing. And now the time is here to reflect on our hectic five weeks Down Under...

Australia has totally surpassed my expectations on every level and I'm incredibly sad to be leaving. We had such a shaky start here with inbred, rainy Cairns and the hostel from hell in Townsville, but as soon as we hit Airlie Beach everything started looking up. And the fact that I would happily live in Melbourne speaks volumes.

The quality of life is just so much better here than at home, thanks largely to the weather. It feels like that everything is geared up so that people can make the most of their leisure time what with the gorgeous parks, beaches, lagoons, galleries, barbecue huts and the countless opportunities to get involved in sports. It's just so much more difficult to do things in s***e weather so it's no wonder we have such a strong drinking culture in the UK and binge drinking problems (I'm by no means exempt from that!). Don't get me wrong, England does a lot of things better than Australia (music for one thing) but life is so much sweeter when the sun shines!

So, my highlights of Oz are as follows:

1. Our trip to Uluru/Kata Tjuta/Kings Canyon Just incredible on every level and a good laugh too. About a year's worth of anecdotes in three days and an experience that will stay with me forever.

2. Sailing around the Whitsunday Islands Some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. I LOVED snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef and that cup of tea after the first snorkel was the best of my life! It felt like a total luxury holiday and watching the sunset there was incredible.

3. Melbourne An amazing city. Great cafes and shops, Brunswick Street, The New Pornographers gig, Neighbours night and an arty, bohemian atmosphere. Our night out with Nicola and Tim was ace, the parks were beautiful... I want to live there!

4. Byron Bay Gorgeous beach, the views from the lighthouse and Cape Byron were amazing, a really cool hippy atmosphere and I daytripped to Nimbin which was an eye opener!

5. Sydney So slick and classy. The Opera House and Harbour Bridge were even more impressive in real life, Darling Harbour was really pretty, as were The Rocks and Circular Quay. We had a gorgeous meal in China Town and our daytrip to beautiful Manly was great.

6. Katoomba The Blue Mountains were truly awe inspiring and the town was surprisingly cool too - secondhand bookshop heaven! Plus I got to eat Thai Green Curry and get tipsy on cider which is always a winner. The YHA was the best hostel we've stayed at too.

7. Brisbane The Southbank was gorgeous, there was a really cool, relaxed atmosphere and we daytripped to Australia Zoo.

8. Noosa Heads A really classy seaside town, much appreciated after the tackiness further up the coast!

I don't want to leave but we fly to Auckland at midday tomorrow. I have absolutely no idea what to expect from New Zealand but I have an inkling it may be a boy's place - all extreme sports in the great outdoors. Jim is already wetting himself in anticipation of the mountain biking he's going to be able to do so I'm going to have to find some way to occupy myself out there. And I'm REALLY not looking forward to the cold :o( Still, sometimes no expectations make the best adventures...

Speak to you in NZ! Love you and miss you all xxx