My train to Moree from Sydney was delayed by more than an hour and a half. So I telephoned the Gurley pub to tell them this and check that I could still get a lift in as I didn't want to be stranded in the back end of beyond. I finally rolled in to Moree around 9pm and two people were there to collect me - Mina, a Norwegian girl that I was replacing and Dave (who I initially mistook for the publican Al), who regularly stays at the pub whilst working nearby. We...

My night bus arrived in Melbourne early in the morning and I had a short train ride to my booked accommodation. I went to buy a ticket and was instead handed a valid one that had been left on the side by the ticket attendant - bonus! And then there was a huge power failure in Melbourne and so most of the trains were either unable to run or were experiencing heavy delays other than the train I needed to catch. Something began to tell me I was about to have a very...

I got to Adelaide (or, rather ironically, "Rad"elaide) just after 6pm on Thursday and checked in to Shakespeare backpackers - it seemed as good a place as any. Although the only token of Shakespearianism seems to be funny little pictures of William himself on the bedroom doors and an ornate bookshelf in the common area with a single copy of 'a beginners guide to Shakespeare'. I settled in to the room and bagged a highly-coveted bottom bunk near to a...

There were only 6 of us on my Groovy Grape tour from Alice Springs to Adelaide. And once again I was with a pretty quiet bunch. It consisted of two Asian girls, who were nice enough but kept themselves to themselves, Phillip a German guy who seeemed to have misplaced his sense of humour, Bertina a German girl who when I asked her a question always looked either shocked, as if I was accusing her of killing my whole family, or confused, as if she had never befor...

I was due to be picked up for the third and final leg of my tour from Alice Springs on Saturday 17th July at 6.10am. I joined my group from the previous tour in the hostel lobby when a tour guide arrived and called only my name. And then the dawning realisation that I was being split up from my friends! I hopped on the tour bus and recognised three familiar faces - Sebastian, Therese and Emma - who I have travelled with on the tour all the way from Kakadu. But...