Hooray! I've made it to Australia! And how wonderful to see Vicky and Grant after more than a year. They kindly collected me from the airport and took me to their beautiful little house in Surrey Hills. They have been looking after me (and feeding me!) ever since. A day later and who should turn up but Mum and Dad! A real Hill family reunion. They are here for nearly 6 weeks and it's going to be fantastic spending some time together in my year away, especially at Christmas.

We have spent our first week relaxing in Melbourne, exploring Surrey Hills and doing some Christmas shopping. The weather has been a bit up and down but Mum and Dad guarantee me that it is warmer than it was when they left England. We had a lovely drive out to the Yarra Valley for a picnic and some honey and cheese tasting - yum! We also visited a friend of Mum and Dad's from when they met in Nigeria, Alan, who lives in Bendigo. We had a delicious lunch at a winery (which was actually closed but didn't mind putting together some food for us!) and then visited a Chinese museum. It was an interesting collection primarily documenting the Chinese involvement in the gold rush.

Next week we are off to stay with the family my mum tutored for in England a few years ago. They live on a farm a couple of hours outside Melbourne and I've been told they have lots of animals - yay!