Whilst on the bus we had reserved a room for three of us at Base Central. That was one of the drop off points from the bus. We couldnt check in just yet so we left our bags in the luggage room and went out to find some food. Whilst we were out we saw an STA branch and Jasmin needed to ask them a question so we went in there. A few people then went off to the Qantas branch to sort a few things out whilst I went with Rob and Mel to Coles to get some food.

Once we had finished eating we went to McDonalds to use the internet as Mel was trying to check things with her insurance and the floods. We all decided then that it was probably best to get out of Australia, or atleast move to a different part. Mel decided she was going to go down to work in Melbourne as it is still sunny down there; Rob decided to bring his Asia trip forward and just leave Australia for good; and I thought of moving my flights around to mean I could go to New Zealand now so that it would give the floods a month to go down and the weather would hopefully be better.

The internet in McDonalds was absolutely shocking so we decided to go and look for a travel agents so that we could use their free internet. We found one that actually had unlimited free internet which was great. I sat there for ages trying to work it all out and my head got so confused; i really needed a break. There was so many things I had to change that I couldnt keep track of it all, I needed to write everything down. I still couldnt think straight because I had just worn myself out. I couldnt get through to a lot of the airlines to find out about the cost of changing so I head to guestimate from the ones I knew. I worked it out to cost me around $500!! I did start to think maybe it would be worth it considering it mnight mean the difference between me enjoying my trip and not doing. I decided to sleep on it though since it was a lot of money.

Mel told me that her friend had got free pass into Fitness First by saying she was moving into the area and wanted to try it out. We decided to go and see if we could get in. When we got there they said they couldnt do it today but we could pay the casual rate which was $20. We left it, because that is a ridiculous price, and went back to the room to do our own toning exercises.

Once we had finished with those I got ready to go out and everyone came up to my room to get ready as well. We went down to a bar called the Victory where there was a Karaoke thing going on. There was no way I would do it but it was a great laugh watching everyone else doing and then singing along. We then went to find everyone else who were in the garden where there was live music happening. We all danced on the raised platform for a bit but then it turned into music we couldnt really dance to.

We walked up to the Down Under Bar which was right underneath our hostel. It was soo hot in there but I danced for as long as I could. Mel went in a bit early and I went about half an hour afterwards. I was starting to feel a bit funny and even when I got back to the hostel I was absolutely freezing!!

In the morning I had planned with Mel to go and print off a voucher from the Cosmo website for a free Fitness First Pass. I wanted to sort out all of my flight things first so went off with Rob whilst Mel went and changed her trainors for a different size. We went to the Qantas branch where Rob changed his flights and the woman offered to change mine for free due to the situation I was in. I didnt want to change them yet though as I wanted to find out exactly how much it would cost and that I could actually change them all before I did.

We then went up to the free internet place again where I organised most things and found out most of the costs. I was having trouble with my flight from New Zealand as I couldnt call them for some reason and STA couldnt access the details of my booking as it is booked with the STA in New Zealand. I found out that there was a Air New Zealand Branch in Brisbane somewhere so then began the search for it. It took us at least three quarters of an hour and even when I got there they couldnt help me because it had been booked through STA.

The women in New Zealand Airways had suggested that I should be able to claim for flight changes through my insurance as it was a result of a natural disaster. I wanted to find somewhere quiet so that I could try to call my insurance company so we went to the STA office where I sat at one of their desks and got my paper work out. It turned out I couldnt call them until 8am England time so I had about 4 hours to wait. My head was going crazy and on top of that I wasn't feeling all too well; probably the mixture of running through the rain and stress lowering my immune system.

I went to McDonalds with my laptop to try to sort some things out, I cant remember what exactly, but the internet was just far too slow so I went back to the hostel and bought a days worth of internet for $10. I went and sat in Rachelle and Lewis' room where I called companies and waited until 8am to talk to the insurance company. In the meantime I got to talk to my mum and Lauren for a while which was lovely. When I tried calling the insurance company I was transferred and the automated message said they didnt open until 8.30!!! By the time I actually got through to them they said they wouldnt help and the only thing that I could claim for was if I had to move hotels because of the floods. On the positive side though I found out I got accepted into York University!!

The rest of the night was spent uploading photos and blogs as I had given up with the idea of trying to go to New Zealand early. I just had to accept that I was going to have to do Australia in the rain and pray that I could actually fly out of Darwin by the time I get there. It made me feel kind of homesick though, the fact that there was no way I could get home early even if I did get stuck in the floods. I fell asleep that night at 10pm.

I woke up quite early the next morning so I went online to talk to Lauren. I fell asleep again after that though and didnt wake up until 12!! I think I must have really worn myself out. After having breakfast I started walking with Rachelle and Lewis to the West End of Brisbane where there was meant to be a market. It took us ages to get there and by the time we did it was only fruit and veg and was shutting up.

We then head to Southbank where we were going to meet Steph and her mate. On the way we bought some lunch from Coles and then sat on the pool edge at Southbank. If it hadnt been cloudy and rainy it would have been a really nice area. There were 2 pools; one like a beach and the other looked to me like a pond. Even though it was really overcast they still looked really inviting. Whilst we were sat having lunch Rob snuck up behind me and pretended to push me in. He was with Steph and her mate (I cant remember her name). They had already been to the market so were heading into the city centre to go shopping.

I was supposed to meet them later but after looking around the market I decided I just wanted to go to sleep. I still wasnt feeling well and just had no energy to shop. We head back to the hostel, taking a detour to the toilets and Coles so that I could buy some orange juice. I fell asleep at just gone 4 and couldnt believe it when I woke up and it was dark. It was 8pm and I had slept the whole time. I went to get some food and then walked back up to the dorm. I could have easily gone back to sleep but I didnt want to in case I woke up at about 3 in the morning and couldnt get back to sleep. I had a bit of a chill out and updated my blog.

I managed to stay awake until 10.30 but I fell asleep straight away once I allowed myself. It was such a relief because my eyes had been aching so much all day. I woke up the next morning at 6.20 and felt so much better. My eyes didnt ache anymore and I didnt feel like I wanted to go straight back to sleep. The plan was to go to the zoo with Steph and her friend today. I got up and had a shower to wake myself up even more and so that my hair had enough time to dry before meeting them at 9am.

I left the hostel having not heard from them yet but thought they must be on their way and I didnt want to miss the ferry as this was actually something to do in Brisbane! It turned out they hadnt actually gotten up until then so were rushing around getting dressed. They said they wouldnt be long so I went for a wonder around the shopping centre whilst I was waiting. I didnt realise when I said I would do that that it was actually Sunday so nowhere was really open apart from the food courts. So I went and sat in there for a while, especially since it was still chucking it down.

When they called to let me know they were on their way I left it another five minutes before setting off towards the bridge because I knew they were a bit further away than me. Once I did start walking though I came to the edge of the shopping centre and decided to wait for a while as it was absolutely chucking it down. I dont know what else I expected to be honest since it had been doing for the past 4 days straight. I waited there whilst talking to Lauren on Facebook and then miraculously as I was texting Steph and Emily they came round the corner talking about not going in the rain as well!

We waited there until it slowed down for a bit...it didnt. We just had to run for it which is not easy in flip flops so we ended up walking at a quick pace. The hoods were useless and even when we were splashed by buses and lorries it didnt really make all that much difference. That's how heavy the rain was. Once we got on the ferry we may as well have had a bath in our clothes or gone swimming in the river.

The ferry journey took a really long time because it was meant to tell us all about Brisbane and all the things down the river. Apparently there was a really devastating flood in the 1970s so now they have good flood defences which is a good job because they really need it now! Even with those defences they have got flood warnings!

When we finally got there we went straight down to the Kangaroos enclosure where we started taking pictures through the fence. We were trying to make it look as if we were inside the enclosure right up close to them. It turned out there was a door into the enclosure right next to us and we were allowed to go in and feed them! So we did. Whilst I was feeding one though this giant scary one caming pounding over so I quickly backed away and around out of the way.

After the Kangaroos we saw hundreds of Koalas, some birds, different types of Lizzards, Tasmanian Devils, a Platypus, Crocodiles and loads more which I cant remember but they are in my pictures. We then went to hold a Koala!! We were going to do a 3 photo pass for $39 which meant we could have a picture holding a snake, crocodile and Koala which would have been amazing but our ferry left at 1.45 which was when the snake one was so we couldnt do it.

Holding the Koala was great though even though they really dig into your shoulders and mine nearly went for my face!! She wouldn't lean the right way either so I had to turn around holding her so she was looking at the camera but she was so cute! We picked up the picture once we had finished and Emily actually managed to have two taken which was so jammy! We then went to the reptile area where we saw loads of snakes which could have easily killed us!!

The ferry journey back was a bit nicer than the one there because there was no voice that I felt as though I had to listen too. I had a think about what I could do with the extra days I had in Brisbane which I was basically going to fill up with doing washing and then looking for hoodys to get me through the rain. It wasnt a very nice thought.

Once we were back we went to the free internet place where the girls were checking all of their last minute flight arrangements and printing off boarding passes. We then head back to their hostel where they said I could have some dinner with them because they need to use up some of their food. At this point I kept changing my mind about staying or going home as we were constantly soaking wet from walking through the rain. I decided I would ask my mum for some advice later as everyone elses parents had helped them out loads.

It was quite a walk to their hostel and we were pretty wet by the time we got there. Dinner was pasta and some sort of tomato sauce with garlic bread which I can still taste now nearly a day later! I feel sorry for everyone around me! It was pretty tasty though and they had a really nice hostel. It was small but good because there was two of them, I wouldnt have wanted to stay there alone as there would have been no way of meeting anyone. I tried to wait for the rain to slow down a bit before I head back home. It seemed to so I made a quick exit so that I could hopefully dodge it.

It turned out it hadnt slowed down at all. It had got worse. It was such a struggle to get back as I was going down hill in flip flops and my whole face was absolutely drenched, I was already wearing a drenched jumper and I had only just got to the end of their street. I decided right then that I had to go! There was no way I could stay in Australia. At that moment the only option felt like to go home but I think that was just because of the bad situation and I didnt think of any other options.

Once I got in, dried off and got changed I head over to McDonalds with my laptop where I was going to talk to my mum about what she would advise to do. She wasnt online for ages though and I began to run out of battery on my laptop so I was worried I wouldnt get to talk to her. Finally she came on and we had a bit of a chat about my options. There didnt seem to be very many and they all seemed to cost me a fortune. I could have gone over to New Zealand and cancelled my flights in Brisbane, got new flights over there and then would have had to cancel my flights home from New Zealand to be able to change the date and book new ones. I could have gone to Asia which I would have been able to do with a couple of friends in a weeks time but I havent had all the jabs I need for it and theres no way I would risk that. Or I could go home.

I ran out of battery before I could decide what to do so I got another unlimited internet access for a day in my hostel so that I could sort everything out in my room. I got back online with my mum but nothing seemed to work straight. I was up until the early hours trying to think through different options but they just didnt seem to work. Sleep seemed the only option then but I lay awake still with everything going through my head.

The next morning I did think of going to fiji for a month and then going to New Zealand when I was meant to be going and getting the normal flight home. It turns out though its raining in Fiji too. So that plan was off. I pretty much decided then that I would go home so that I save money on going around the rest of Australia and New Zealand, earn some money working for a couple of months and then go travelling around Asia in the summer. So that's now the plan.

I have spent the day trying to find the cheapest way home. I have had to cancel my original flights because they are from New Zealand and only get half back but atleast I get some money towards my new flights. After searching on the internet I couldnt find anything for anytime before Saturday as they said they couldnt show anything within 120 hours. So I called STA directly and said I want a flight home asap. I could have actually gone tonight! It would have cost me $1700 though. So I managed to get one for the next day for $1300 with Virgin Atlantic so I jumped right on that one!!

So Im all booked in and ready to go. Well once my tickets are emailed through. I feel so relieved though. Yes I am gutted that I have missed so much of Australia and lost so much money but I can earn that back after all and there is plenty of time to come back. It wouldnt have been the same in the rain so why waste even more money! I may even come back next New Year to stay in Steph and Emily's appartment and do the east coast through my christmas break depending on how long it is. I am really excited about going to Asia and hopefully because a lot of people are also leaving Australia early they might be up for joining me on the trip.