After chilling out with the girls for the rest of the evening we crashed out and the next day I had planned to make a *wash* day. I went down to the laundry room and began figuring out the crazy contraptions known as washers and dryers. After studying the machines it dawned on me that I would need some soap powder and if I was going to go to the shops, I may as well get some food in while I was there. I have learned fast that Melbourne is an expensive city f...

After visiting Inspire 9, I headed back to the hostel. The weather really started to pick up and it was glorious blue skies and sunshine as I travelled back across the CBD. When I got back to the hostel I got chatting to 3 girls in the hostel named Adele, Julia and Marie who were also spending some time backpacking through Australia. Adele had recently been horseback riding with disastrous results - see http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Blue-Mounta...

Its my second day in Melbourne and already my Geordie influence is starting to spread over the city. More on that later.... After finishing up yesterday I checked into my hostel and set about getting the lay of the land. I walked up and down Elizabeth St about 6 times in total. The street basically runs right through the centre of Melbourne CBD. I got myself sorted with a new aussie phone number, an aussie bank account and some essentials for out here. Stran...

Hey all. This is the first blog entry I have written in Australia, so before I dive in, let me fill in the 3 month gap to my previous entry. After informing working work that I would be leaving to begin my adventure, I purchased my flights and started saving up the money for all the extra things I would need. I applied for my working holiday visa and began researching places to stay. I got recommendations for pretty much everything, from insurance to banks to...