Well we made it to Perth in 1 piece! It was a LONG ole journey but good fun.

We set off on Monday the 27th April and it ook us ages to find where we needed to pick the van up from so we didnt get setting off until around 3pm. The van was so cool! It was a 4x4 Toyota pop top, so you could pop the roof up when you werent driving. Which meant that 2 people slept "upstairs" and 2 down below. It had a fridge a gas cooker a sink all the utensils we needed (even a coffee plunger!!) They provided us will sleeping bags and pillows and towels. It really was a great deal.

The drive was along pretty windly roads with cliff drops at the side. Really beautiful but a bit hairy! We drove until about 6pm until we reached a lovely little town called Lorne. First night sleeping in the van and it was FREEZIN! It was raining and cold outside so our spirits were a little dampened. The next morning we got up and headed further along the Great Ocean Road to a place called Keith. Again teh drive was beautiful. It really reminded me of the coastal drive to Donegal. I kept thinking we were back home! The nasty weather helped that image also!! On the way to Keith we saw the 12 Apostles which are big massive bits of rock in the water. Ok... im not describing it very well but the pictures will tell all! I could have stayed looking at them all day! Keith was a pretty small town, but has the best chips in australia!! We had chip buttys for tea that night and lots of tea!! We've been getting up pretty early most morning, just whent he sun rises, so we were on the road again by about 7am. Today we are headed for Adelaide for lunch and then on to a place called Port Perie. Adelaide was really nice! We got to spend about 2 hours there. Its pretty small but has a really nice feel to it. People out busking and nice architecture. We called the campsite fromt here and lucky for us there is a free BBQ on tonight!! We love a bit of free food so we were very chuffed. By the time we left Adelaide the weather was beautiful. We got to the campside in time to have a nice shower and watcht eh sun set behind the Flinders Ranges. Met some interesting folk at the BBQ! Country and Western singers who were travelling around Australia in their vans doing gigs. Loads of older people who just decided to buy a caraven and tour australia. The next morning we set off pretty early again, passed through a town called Kimba!!!! and ended up in a place called Nundroo. We had been told to be careful about where we stayed around this leg of our journey as we were entering Aboriginal land. True enough... land is what we saw. We were now in the real outback, with only a roadhouse or very small town every 2 hours! Nundroo was interesting. It wasnt really a town... it just had a road house and a small campsite. We managed to charge my laptop in the pub enough to watch a movie so that was a nice treat. Early start again the next morning and we had a pretty eventful day. We went to the Head of the Bight where you can whale spot at the right time of the year (June-Nov). It was really beautiful. We stood for ages looking for any kind of sea life, but nothing came to say hello. UNTIL just as we were walking away and i was thinking how much i love the sea a dolphin swims right up!! They usually travel in groups but he was all on his lonesome. It was really nice to see. We then drove through the Nullarbor Plains which is just miles and miles of flat nothingness! A few hours later we had to pass through quaranteen between South Australia and Western Australia. They dont allow you to bring fruit or veg in so they searched through our whole van, but we already knew about it so had eaten all we could. Further up the road was a police checkpoint. They were stopping every car and checking everyone had their seatbelt on and breathalising drivers. We ended up in a place called Caiguna that night which is at the beggining of the longest straightest road in Australia!! It really is the longest straightest road ive ever driven along!! So boring to drive along! We didnt really make many stops that day and ended up in a beautiful little seaside town called Esperance. We stayed in a really nice campsite there where we met a lovely woman who said that she was going away on holiday in a few weeks and wanted us to housesit!!!! Her son had been away travelling in Europe and she knows how expensive it can be paying for hostels etc. We would just need to feed her dog and parrot!! There are also alot of hotels and bars in her town so we would be more likely to get work there that in Perth. We stayed up that night and had a nice BBQ. The next morining we went to the beach and did a bit of sunbathing as we were well ahead of schedule so didnt leave Esperance til after lunch. We drove to a place called Hayden which has this massive big rock thing which is in the shape of a wave! Very strange, but cool to see. We stayed there for the night and then headed for Perth the next day. When we got closer to Perth, we decided to go to a little town just outside Perth called Fremantle which id heard was lovely. It was really nice. Then we headed for the beach. Cottesloe Beach is the most popular beach around Perth. It was SOOO nice! The actual town of Cottesloe is lovely. We had fish and chips for dinner and stayed there for our last night in the van!

We had been recommended a hostel to stay in Perth with a swimming pool and vollyball court etc!!! So we left all our bags and stuff off there and then went to leave Tessy (the van) back.

Perth is a really lovely city. Its quite small, so very easy to get around, but big enough. The first day we just walked around exploring the city and met up with a few of the girls friends who live here. Last night was a free BBQ at some bar and never ones to pass up free anything we headed over. Today we went to Perth Zoo which was average. I personally think that Belfast Zoo is better! And thats not because im bias!!! The enclosures seemed really small and the animals didnt look happy at all! Was still a good day out though. We are going to call Patsy ( the woman who wants us to housesit) tomorrow and see when we can come up. She said that even if we come up before she goes away we can stay. Lovely lovely lady. Steph and I are going to go ovet the weekend hopefully and Gina will follow us over in a few weeks. All the talk in Perth is about work and the general lack of it. People constantly talking about being broke and probably having to go home early etc. It seems to be alot harder for guys to get work. Its a bit depressing to hear, but im staying upbeat and hoping that something will happen in Callgorie (where Patsy lives). Everything will work out.

So keep your fingers crossed for me!

Hope everyone is well and that the sun is beginning to apper a little more frequently!!

Lots of love

Kim xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx