Leaving the hostel following writing my last post I headed to Flinders St Station. The station is one of four on the city loop that services Melbourne and its suburbs with rail. I caught the train at 2pm on the Frankston Line, all the way to Kananook (one stop from the end of the line at Frankston). I have used this line many years ago when I was visiting Australia on a family holiday, but I didnt remember just how far the journey was.

Frankston (and further south) is still classed as Melbourne suburbs, and it is roughly 30 miles away from the CBD. By train, its an hour to Frankston. By comparison, back home in an hour, you can get as far south as York on the fast trains. As you leave Melbourne you pass the Melbourne Cricket Ground (see quick photos taken in passing) and then head on through Richmond (home of inspire 9) before turning south to follow the coast. All the way down there are houses, with no breaks in suburbs.

As I travelled, it really dawned on me how every single house I saw on the way down was a different shape, different colour, different size etc. Absolutely no two buildings are alike. Most are bungalows, but every now and then a two or three story building will rise out of nowhere on an estate. Clearly land is cheapear here, as houses tend to have much larger plots, especially further out of the CBD.

When I arrived in Kananook I waited for Jill to pick me up. It was by this point the hottest I had been in Melbourne (26 degrees), and any clouds had long since disappeared. I took a quick pano just outside kananook station to pass the time.

When Jill arrived we hugged and dove into the car. It turned out she had just bought a new puppy, and had dropped it in at home seconds before diving out to pick me up. We headed back to her home in Carrum to meet the family and the other new arrival. As we travelled, Jill caught me up on what had been happening in the world south of the equator.

When we got to the house the family were gathered in the living room surronding one of the cutest little pups I have ever seen. The thing was just getting used to its new surroundings, and quickly became attached to Philip (Jills son) and Cassie (his girlfriend). Before long it would be chasing Phil around outside and pouncing on him.

I sat down and started chatting with Tom and Jill about all the changes I had noted in the house, and how my travels had gone so far. Before I knew it, it was time for tea, and I was in for a treat. A real aussie BBQ, Kangaroo Kebabs and all. It was a fantastic meal, and I really want to thank Tom and Jill for it.

After finishing up we headed back inside and before I knew it it was 10pm and I had completely forgotten about going back for the train and heading back to the hostel. Thankfully, Tom and Jill were happy for me to stay. Again, thank you to the both of you!

Next morning I woke up, and had breakfast with Jill. Last night, Molly (the new dog), had barked all through the night and apparently I was the only member of the household who managed to sleep through the whole night. I remember the same thing with Toby (our dog back in Newcastle) the process of trying to get the dog to deal with you leaving.

After breakfast, we said our goodbyes and Jill dropped me back off at Frankston station. Today it is now 31 degrees and with a very warm breeze. Its not hard to see just how bush fires can be started out here, when the weather can turn like this. I climbed aboard the train and headed back to Melbourne CBD.

As I was on the train it got very busy. I had completely forgotten that the Australian Open tennis starts today, and the closest station to the open is Richmond (which my train stops at). At one point a group of lads got on the train and then at every stop to Richmond, they dove off the train at the station, did a few pressups on the platform, and dove back on the train before departing again.

I got back to my hostel about 1:30pm, and i'm just making sure Im ready to begin catching up with work again, as its the first time I will be doing so this evening. Tomorrow I will be re-attempting wash day.

Talk to you all soon, Ian