Well hello there everyone. I am now in Melbourne, having just completed a two week camping/ backpacking trip through the outback from Cairns to darwin with three crazy lads that I met. I had the most amazing time. The trip was less than perfect and we had mishap after mishap...eg. we broke down in the middle of no where with a burst radiator hose (great for the hot weather). I know what you're all thinking...if its going to happen to anyone! we managed It meant that we had to stay the night in a village called Torrents creek (pop: 12/14) they couldn't remember the exact number which was a bit worrying. almost like forgetting how many friends you have!!! We spent the night in the pub car park which doubled up as a campsite on the edge of the road and then we partied with the locals- all men and all very drunk..cue lots of dirty jokes about women...blah blah blah. Having said that though this night was one of my favourites as we actually got to see a bit of Aussie life in the outback which wasn't on any tourist route ( for good reasons, he he he) The next day....all the camping gear flew off the top off the car as we passed a particularly big road train (huge HGV... and I mean HUGE) so we had to try and locate everything that had flown off into the bush.. again in the middle of the outback. Most of the stuff was broken, but it wasn't a problem. The trip was one of the best times I've had since I have been away. we just had a great time roughing it and got to see all the highlights...ayers rock, kings canyon, devails marbles etc for a fraction of the price it was going to cost me on a shorter tour. Anyway when we got to darwin i managed to get a really cheap flight deal and flew down to Melbourne within a matter of hours. its a pity as the little i saw of darwin I really liked. oh well there will always be a next time. so i am in melbourne now and am currently looking for a job which is so far proving harder than I thought it would be. But I will keep trying and i am sure that something will come up. I have met up with my friend Alison as well, who has been living over here for three years now, and she introduced me to life here. Take care all. Amanda xxx