We left Asia for the vastness of Australia, the world's largest island. Due to the rules of our round-the-world tickets, for Lottie to return to the UK early she had to fly home via Australia, so we arranged flights into Perth before departing the very next day! On the far South-Western corner of Australia, Perth is one of the most affluent cities in the country and one that we were both excited to. We landed in Perth early morning and took a taxi over to our destination, which Paul had arranged as a surprise for our last night together. The location was Cottesloe, a beach suburb outside of the city with the idea being that we could have one last day of sunshine before we went our separate ways. Unfortunately the weather conspired against us and on this rare occasion, the weather in Perth was worse than most of the rest of Australia.

We would not let the wet weather dampen our spirits and so we headed straight for the beach, where we wandered down the pristine beach backed by sandbanks, looking out to the wavy yet alluring blue waters, disappointed that we couldn't venture in. The adverse weather did not stop an old 'sheila' from doing her lengths in the sea before trotting passed us in order to get changed and warm up! Soon we continued our walk and took some photos of the local birdlife before we headed to a convenience store for our first taste of Ozzie food and the impact of the current exchange rate - the sausage rolls were tasty if not expensive! We were then able to check into our cold room and shower up before a short nap. On waking we set out to visit Kings Park, which had great views over the city and the huge lake that wraps around it. The park did boast stupendous views, however we found that it was too pristine for our liking, perfectly manicured without any personality, and when it started to rain we quickly retreated to the nearest café. Two hot chocolates (one white and one milk chocolate) and a heater warmed us up and before long we were heading back towards our accommodation for a free BBQ. However, we lost our way with the directions that we had received and before long we were overheard discussing our failings by a local who resembled Peter Jackson, Lord of the Rings director. He informed us that we had missed our stop by about 4km, and then proceeded to provide us directions, before quickly giving up and suggesting he would drive us back to our hostel! We exited the bus with this kind gent, and took a ten minute walk to his house, where his wife received us well albeit slightly shocked. They invited us in, gave us some hot tea and Feroe Rocha, before escorting us home!

The following morning we had a nice long lie in, before taking a bus to the airport. Arriving early, we were able to sit and have a lovely large tea to share, and our final face-to-face chat for 6 weeks. We both had mixed emotions. For Lottie, the thought of returning home to see her family was warming and the excitement of fulfilling a life-long dream of working in an African Orphanage. For Paul, family also loomed large with his cousin Debbie and her family, as well as his friend Jodie in Melbourne, whilst New Zealand has also been a life-term ambition. Contrast these positives with the fact that for the past 6 months we have lived inside one another's pockets without spending a single day apart just the occasional hour. Our contact would recede from daily and continuous, to infrequent and short, especially when Lottie reached an African country with frequent power cuts! So, we shared some tears, gave each other one last hug and set off in separate directions….

For Lottie it was a 24 hour flight back to the UK. On arrival she was treated to a breakfast of Marmite, jams, tea and bagels at sister Millies house, as well as a nice haircut for she has not had one in 6 months other than Paul's attempt! For Paul, a 4 hour internal flight to Brisbane and Aziz hotel, well Maged and Debbie's house anyway! Maged picked Paul up from the airport at the late hour of 11pm, and having only met once before at the wedding back in 1999, the 'fitness first' cap was a big help in spotting Maged! On the way the Tom Tom on Maged's iphone conspired against us so when we arrived 30 minutes later than planned the house was quiet as the children were all tucked up in bed. Debbie was however awake to welcome Paul into the home, where he was shown his own double bedroom with a couch, big wardrobe (which he failed to use) and a TV with sky TV!! It was not long before everyone retired to bed!

In the morning, Paul was awoken by the 'shy' Jacob who was so shy that he confidently walked into Paul's room, at the age of 6, introduced himself and detailed that he did not have school today. So, after a quick shower, Paul got to know his cousins youngest child Jacob who was quickly found to be dressing up in a Woody outfit from Toy Story. There was plenty to catch up on with his cousin too, given the length of time that has passed since the two last met, before we headed onto the schools to pick up the other two children. At arriving at Emma's (8) school, Paul was instantly greeted by an enthusiastic Emma, who shouted 'Paul!' at the top of her voice at the car that we were waiting in. Where Jacob is of pale skin with stunningly blue eyes, Emma is of darker skin with big brown eyes and a gorgeous smile, but both extremely cute looking children each in their own different ways. Where the youngest two were upfront and open with their introductions, the eldest Daniel was far cooler in dealing with the situation, avoiding much initial contact and preferring to play AFL with his school friends, but he soon showed that he was also quite excited to have Paul there. During the lesson, Paul mucked about with Jacob and Emma teaching them how to play football, Emma being particularly absorbent of the information, before we headed to McDonalds for their regular Friday night McDonalds.

In the evening, Debbie laid on some fantastic food which was the start of things to follow for this was not the only great meal that Paul was treated to at the Aziz's. For tonight, we had a huge joint of Roast Beef with a Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni, accompanied by some lovely White Wine and Carrot Cake which we had all contributed towards earlier in the day. In the evening, Paul struggled to sleep as he had hugely overindulged and his stomach was too full to lay on! Further treats that Debbie laid on during the next few nights were homemade 'fish 'n' chips,' bbq shrimps, aperitifs, a huge barbequed steak which was utterly delicious, copious amounts of olives and much much more. In fact, when we were in India and were received by Sidd and Studi, not to forget Rajesh, I thought that us Europeans were well behind in the hosting skills that our Indian counterparts had shown, but my own family proved that we can be equally as good in our hospitality!

Meanwhile, back in the UK Lottie was being treated by her family to cakes and her favourite foods, such as Lasagne, whilst desperately trying to sell as many of the pretty dresses that we purchased out in Thailand in order to have some cash to take with her to Uganda. She was heading off to car boot sales, vintage clothing sales, and busy pestering her friends to buy her dresses! Her week also involved meeting up with her beloved friends in London for some girly time and lunch in central London, whilst also organsing herself for Uganda. Her friends at work (Pippa Poppins) had been fantastic in pulling together resources that Lottie could take out to Kampala for use in the classrooms, whilst also she pushed through the fundraising of £915 plus gift aid which would all go direct into the charity. Once she had completed all her necessary paperwork and arranged for her work Visa for Uganda, she was all set for her next adventure!

Back in Brisbane, the whole family headed down to Daniel's school to watch him play in a tennis match which we are all proud to say that he won, before we trotted off to the Kuala bear sanctuary and Kangaroo park. Both Paul and the children showed equal excitement, for during our journey and in the months leading up to it, Paul has become somewhat of a nature enthusiast. So, we did what tourists do, stroked a snake (an Olive python), took photos with a Kuala bear, videos of a hopping Kangaroo and mucked about with the children in the 'Tails and scales' enclosure! We then ventured to a viewpoint where we absorbed some great views of the city and Paul treated the family to ice cream. The following day we took a walk down Brisbane's river front, stopping at the artificial beach, children's playground before having a sneaky beer on the riverside. The evenings were becoming filled with the throwing the children around and tickling them to death, much like my older cousins used to do when Paul was much younger! On the last night, Paul presented presents to the family, including the Bill Bryson DVD for Maged that he had somehow left in the store, and plenty for the kids to entertain themselves with. And with that, a fantastic homely and relaxing (apart from flying Emma and Jacob around the lounge!) break from this travelling lark was over. The next morning Maged drove Paul to the airport -for the family had kindly bought Paul two internal flights from Brisbane onto Sydney and then onto Melbourne. For the last time, thanks Maged and Debbie for your excellent hospitality!

So, in an unusual event in our travelling profile, Paul left one city and landed in the next an hour later, allowing for a whole day of sightseeing and exploring. With one destination in mind, he headed towards the Harbour and took a slow walk through The Rocks, a series of old buildings networked together and an older part of town - lacking character to a large extent. Quickly he found his way to the Harbour Bridge, where he was informed that a 3 hour walking tour over the top of the bridge was priced at a crazily expensive $230, or about 160 GBP. So, instead he wandered over the bridge by himself and found great views over the harbor and inevitably the Opera house, before crossing the bridge and seeking out food. Here he sat and ate a fantastic hot chocolate and choc chip cookie, accompanied by a delicious Roast beef sandwich that Debbie had earlier prepared. The views were superb, although the Ibis bird proved to be rather annoying. He then walked over to the Opera house, took a series of photos and took a mental note not to recommend visiting Sydney just for this purpose, it really is not that nice close up! The park just north of this famous landmark was nice, but it was not long before Paul headed home for dinner. In the morning of the next day, Paul headed out to the famous Byron Bay, which was particularly quiet as it was freezing cold, before taking a 2 hour walk along the beautiful coastline. This walk comes highly recommended.

Later that day, and another flight connection this time onto Melbourne. Here, a friend in Jodie awaited and this would be Paul's last stop in Australia. We met at the bus terminal before heading into Chinatown for a BOY meal. BOY, stands for Bring Your Own, as in alcohol, and Paul was particularly astonished when Jodie opted for 2 bottles of white wine, thinking that to be far too much. However, after some lovely Chinese, including a Wonton soup, pork slices, rice and other bits and bobs, and the two bottles of wine appeared to be drying up! Off home we headed, but not before picking up two more bottles of wine, which proved to be excellent company for the rest of the evening. After passing through the park where possums were out attempting to clamber up the trees, we ended up back at Jodies, finishing off the wine, talking until the earlier hours and having a rather drunken conversation with Lottie over skype!

After a nice lie in, the next day involved site seeing, led by Jodie throughout her favourite parts of Melbourne. The tour included several cool shopping areas where the city compliments the older buildings that are in place here with funky and modern architecture, and the two go hand in hand together. Federation Square is a great example, a brand new series of grey box like buildings, with a open seating square for the locals to meet and socialize, looking out onto the old train station and church, with the skyscrapers of the city's business looming large in the background. The highlight was unsurprisingly food, where Jodie introduced Paul to 'Lord of the Fries' which is basically chips with amazing toppings, and Dim Sim, Australia's answer to Dim Sum! Both were great. We also purchased a crazy 'KISS' like pink wig in order to keep Paul's head warm in New Zealand, and funnily an office gathering who were on a scavenger hunt requested a photo as they were seeking someone in a pink hat! In the evening, we headed off to a cool bar where we had a pizza and a few Rekordligs! The following day Paul was off venturing around Melbourne on his tod as Jodie had to return to work, and the day mainly involved walking around the huge sports park including the MCG (100,000+ seater cricket ground) and the Rod Laver arena, home of the US Open tennis final. Also, Lord of the Fries and Dim Sim at Fed Sq may have been had!

And that was it…a plane awaited the bottom of 'Paul Curtis' and that plane was destined for Auckland. Australia was great fun, short but great. Thankfully for Paul the time spent alone was short, for during his ambles throughout Sydney and Melbourne, there was a certain loneliness that could only have been filled by Lottie reconfirming directions 20 times, complaining at how far we had walked, but of course mainly for the good company and the constant laughs that we had along the way. Lottie on the other hand was two days from taking her flight out to Uganda, anxiously awaiting directions and instructions, for her flight landed at 3am in Kampala. Both of us were clearly filled with excitement though, as we made our way onto poverty stricken Africa and the Land of the Long White Cloud..