Early start was an understatement! i had to get up at 3.15am as my flight was at 6am and i had to get out to the airport etc. I slept most of the way on the plane(4 hour flight) but not very well. Auntie Muriel was at the airport to meet me, as i had not seen her in about 10years i wasnt sure if i recognised her but i did! We drove to their house in a suburb called Joondalup. uncle John looked just as i remembered him. We had some lunch and then Auntie M took me on a drive in search of Kangaroos as i have yet to see any in my trp in Oz. We went to Pinaroo, an area known to have lots of them, but we drove and drove and didnt see any, and then there they were - there was loads of them, some massive, some really young. I was so pleased, i got a few pics and i saw a joey in its mums pouch! We then visited Hillarys harbour and wandered around looking in a few shops and wishing we had enough money to buy some of the beautiful boats moared up there! On returning to the house i had a sip in the pool, before bbqing for tea.

20th jan - Today Muriel and i went to the cinema to see the film Australia with Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman in it. It was such a good film, it was quite long but you never really noticed. the little boy actor in it was a star - he was so cute. In the afternoon i got a bit of sunbathing in. Alison (my 2nd cousin who id never met before) popped round to say hello. She invited me to go waterskiing with her and her partner Dawson tomorrow so i was pretty chuffed. In the evening i watched an episode of Home and Away (so far ahead of home!).

21st Jan - Alison picked me up at 11am, then we had a one hour drive to the lake. As we arrived Dawson was putting the boat into the lake. I was so incredibly nervous about waterskiing again as i hadnt skiied for about 6/7years! i didnt want them to be driving in circles trying to get me up. I made Alison go first to remind me how to do it...when it was my turn, much to my suprise and Alison and Dawsons, i managed to get up first time. I was so shocked, but it felt so good. I had forgotted how tiring it gets on the arms and back though, so i did 6 passes and then had a rest. Dawson suggested i try getting up on one ski, i laughed...there was no way id managed, it looks so hard. He said i should at least try and if i dont like it then i can go back to 2 skis. so i gave it a go and on my first attempt i was pretty damn close! this made me determined to get up. I managed to get up out of the water on about my 5th go, but then i screamed and let go off the rope! dont know why! So i had managed the hard bit, getting up out of the water i just needed to stay up. Dawson made me try in batchs of 6 attempts in order to not tire myself out. After a lot of failed attempts, i made alison show me how it was done - she got up first time which was a first for her so she was really pleased. I was now even more determined to succeed - i eventually got up on my 15th attempt - i was so proud of myself and couldnt wait to tell Uncle Rich (my waterskiing coach from the younger years!). I made sure i got a few pics to prove i managed. We spent the whole day down by the lake which was really relaxing. One of Dawsons friends came down to drive the boat so they could both have a go...they put alison and i to shame - they were awesome - they were practising the slalom (i cant spell) course! I had such a fantastic day. In the evening i just watched the tennis and went to bed pretty early as i was knackered!

22nd Jan - When i eventually woke up, i was in agony - muscles i never knew existed were sore! Muriel and I drove along the coast today, stopping off at many famous Perth beaches including Scarborough, City, Cottesloe beach. the beaches were beautiful, and so empty compared to the beaches on the east coast. We then headed to the town of Fremantle - a cute little harbour town. we spent a few hours looking around, stopped and had lunch in a french creperie and then headed back home. Alison popped in after work to see how i was feeling. She too was in agony so she joined me in the pool to relax our muscles! In the evening, Muriel and I went along to her local bingo night - i was hoping to win some funds for my trip but i wasnt lucky enough!

23rd Jan - In agony again this morning, one leg in particular so i just hobbled along.We went into Joondalup town centre, not much there, although they have just built a big new shopping centre so we had a nosey around there. I relaxed in the garden in the afternoon. in the evening i went into Joondalup as i was meeting up with an old friend from Perth High School who i hadnt seen since i was 15! it was so weird seeing her again, we hit it off straight away. she is living over here with her aussie fiance who too was lovely! We went to several bars and ended up in a club. i got a taxi home around 2am.

24th jan - woke up feeling a little rough but not as bad as i expected! After lunch Muriel took me into Perth city centre where i will be staying in a hostel with friends Rachael and Kalin who stayed in same hostel in Sydney as me. As i walked into the hostel Kalin appeared and was like what are u doing here, rach had obviously not told him i was coming. I ended up in the same room as them which was pretty sweet. I headed off for a wander around the city to get my bearings and to get some food for tea. Rach and Kalin were working this evenign so i just had a chilled out evening diary writing etc.

25th jan - Today i went for a wander around teh main streets and then headed to the Perth Mint. I went on a tour before being shown old soverigns and a pouring of gold demonstration, which was pretty impressive. I then headed down to the Swan river and walked along its banks to the harbour before heading back to the centre of town for lunch. In the afternoon i went with Kalin and Rach to Scarborough beach - it was beautiful, the sand so white and the sea so blue, however the sea was really rough, not very swimmable. In the evening, we ended up playing drinking games with Joey, Darren, Nick and Lauren. At midnight they close the communual areas of hostel so Joey, Nick, Laura and I headed out to a few bars and ended up in Mustangs.

26th Jan - Its Australia Day!!!! Spent the morning watching the tennis before heading to kings Park for the afternoon/evening. From Kings Park you get the most amazing views of the city. We spent the day, drinking, playing cards, listening to music and playign frisbee. We had such a fun filled day, the day disappeared rather quickly. The fireworks started at 9pm and lasted for half an hour - they were beautiful but not as good as the sydney fireworks.

27th jan - I felt like i had done perth city centre so i headed out to Cottesloe beach for the day - it was really quiet as the schools are now back and it was a week day. However, it was really windy so you were quickly covered in sand. In the evening, we went to see Bride Wars which was a real girly film. After we headed to an irish pub to meet up with the others, two of the lads were leaving the next day to go on a campervan roadtrip so it was farewell drinks. I too was leaving the next day. We had a great evening, ended up back at hostel chatting for a few hours.

28th jan - Bit of confusion this morning, the hostel thought they had booked the airport shuttle for me - when it didnt turn up i phoned them and they didnt have a booking and the next but wouldnt get me at airport in time so i had to get a taxi. flight to Adelaide was on time and was only 2.5hours so there was no in flight entertainment :(