Arriving in Australia we were greeted with our first Australian Quarantine experience - couldn't believe how strict they are about what is and isn't allowed into their country! Lucky for us we got fast tracked through which was unbelievable and didn't have to faff about at all! We hopped on our shuttle bus and headed for our hostel in Perth City. When we arrived we were less than impressed. We were checked in by a large 'I don't overly care about anything except when I am going to eat my next pie/get my next piercing' lady who informed us that we had stupidly already paid the full amount for 3 people and that we had been overcharged for our stay. She handed us our keys and we made our way through a loud smoky common room to our bedroom - which the door was actually in the common room so it stunk of cigarettes and smelly boys. There were clearly 4 other dirty guys living in that room, the sheets did not look clean, the beds looked like a thousand people had stayed in them previously, basically it was just an absolute hole. The worst part was that it was not an en-suite which we had booked. So we marched back to reception to be told that they were the only two available beds in the whole hostel and that she was new there and we'd have to wait 'til the morning to speak to her manager about the situation. Er…how about NO luv!! So we marched around Perth City without a map, at 5pm on a Sunday so everything was bloody shut but we were determined to find another hostel as there was no way in hell I was setting foot back in that room other than to pick up my bags and proceed to get as far away from the place as possible! We were in luck as managed to find a pretty decent hostel not too far away so reserved a room and set off back to the hole from hell to collect our things and tell them that we weren't staying. We took a de-tour to get a beer as were very much in need of a cold pint, did not check the price before ordering, and had to pay $15 each - so about 8 quid haha most expensive pint EVER!! Anyway finally got ourselves sorted and checked into the much more respectable hostel, then went out for a nice meal and some wine, followed by a couple of awful games of Pool back in the common room at the hostel and then called it a night.

The next day we had a much needed lazy day involving a nice lie in, brunch, a wander around the town and then went to the library to use their free internet as was quite expensive at the hostel. That night as we had had quite a lazy day we decided to hit the town and check out the nightlife of Northbridge. We ate at Nandos as was the cheapest we could find, then ended up queuing at this bar with live music going on inside, however it was one in one out so we didn't get let in 'til the band had finished and EVERYONE left! We found out they were all heading for a 'backpacker' night a few roads away so we grabbed one drink in the bar we'd been queuing at for ages and one of the local lads walked us to the next place. It was actually a really cool bar/club and drinks weren't too expensive. Got chatting and dancing with a few girls who were celebrating the end of their Uni term which was fun. Then towards closing time we met Jemma, Astra and Max who were having a random night out in Perth. Got chatting to them and none of us wanted to call it a night when the place managed to actually get us out so we went to Jemma's car and (as you do when slightly intoxicated) just messed about in the car park taking pictures, drinking their beer and having a laugh. We then decided at about 3.30am to go to this HUGE casino as Jemma hadn't been drinking she drove us there. So we arrived at about 4am, watched Jemma lose some money on a slot machine then went to the bar, got a drink, and ended up just sitting and chatting for another couple of hours. When we finally decided to call it a night/day at 6.30am we left the casino to be greeted by beautiful clear blue skies and the sun blaring at our tired faces! Finally got to bed at around 7am very weary but had a fun night! We slept 'til around 1pm and surprisingly wasn't too hung-over as probably had sobered up by 7am but were rather tired. Didn't do a hell of a lot the next day, bought some food in and cooked at the hostel kitchen (well microwaved as the oven was broken!)

Next day we visited Perth Zoo (finally got to make it to an actual zoo yay!). We walked through Perth town to the lake, saw the Bell Tower and hopped on a Ferry to the zoo. Spent the day in the sun with kangaroos, orang-utans, meerkats, rhinos, quokkas, random nocturnal Australian animals and loads more. Was much fun! That night we ended up at another Gay bar for "one drink" which then turned in to staying out much longer than we'd planned. Saw our delightful room mates out (who we were rather annoyed at for activities while Ben was still AWAKE and on his laptop the night before!!). The first bar was kinda fun as there was a big Drag Queen sing/mime -off on the stage which was hilarious (what is it with us and drag shows haha!). Then went to this awfully seedy club full of men more feminine than I, so I wasn't really feeling it and around 2am I managed to drag Ben home.

The next day as we were not tied to our hostel for the entire week anymore we decided to head to Freemantle as we had kind of run out of things to do/see in Perth. So we jumped on a train with our mini backpacks as left out massive ones at the hostel. Had a bit of an issue finding a hostel with spare beds for us - turns out Freemantle was a very busy/popular place, but managed to book in to the YHA hostel in a 6 bed mixed dorm which was actually quite a nice hostel. They showed movies every night at 8pm on this huge screen, there was another TV room, a common area outside and 2 big kitchens. A lot of the people staying there seemed to be long-term stayers with jobs so it was all very respectful and not much noise after 11pm. Went out for some lunch on "Cappuccino Street" and I ahd the most AMAZING pork belly with roast vegetables - who's have thought that I would have craved a Roast as much as I did and this really hit the spot, though it was absolutely huge and I ate wayyyy more than I should have but was just too damn good not to! We then went and had a hour and a half tour of Freemantle Prison which was really interesting. We had quite a small tour group so got lots out of it and the guide was quite an amusing Northern English guy who made it really entertaining! After that we got some supplies from the supermarket and settled for cereal for dinner as were still so full from lunch! Had a wander around the Harbour then went back to chill at the hostel for the rest of the evening.

Day 2 in Freo we followed the tour guide's recommendations of places to go/things to see so we went to the Harbour markets, saw a statue, ferry port, maritime museum, had a submarine tour by an excruciatingly dull, monotone guide and an extremely irritating man in our group constantly asking absurd smart-arse questions, so was quite a painful hour of my life being stuck in a very confined space with them. Had our picnic in the park by the harbour, chilled in the sun, went to Freemantle markets which were a little disappointing then got a bottle of wine and enjoyed a few glasses that evening back at the hostel before going to get some famous fish and chips at the harbour. Went to "Little Creatures Brewery" for one more after as it had been recommended to us by a few people - was a really funky bar and very busy, but unfortunately we could only afford the one drink!

On our last day in Perth we jumped back on the train and got off at North Freemantle to spend the day at the beach, watching the kite surfers. It was a really pretty beach and the kite surfing looked so impressive, however it was extremely windy and sand got EVERYWHERE which after a few hours was getting us rather angry as you just could not get away from it! So at around 4pm headed back to the hostel with our backpacks in Central Perth, re-packed our lives once again, went back the the nice restaurant we went to on our first night in Perth for some good grub and wine and then went back to the hostel for a SOFT DRINK as we had to be up at 5.30am the next morning for our flight to Sydney. I found out that I had been a bit cocky with lack of sun cream the day before on the beach and had badly burnt around my bikini line, and could not even wear a bra it hurt so bad! So was not the most comfortable of flights as had to wear a different bikini which still hurt! When we arrived at Sydney airport after an extremely turbulent landing which was a bit scary we had to wait 2 HOURS for our airport transfer, and all I wanted to do was to get out of my bloody uncomfortable clothes and have a flipping shower! We eventually got picked up and set off for the next part of our adventure in Sydney…the rest of this story will have to wait 'til my Sydney blog…