Well well, its been a while folks hasn't it, 9 months or so since I updated you and left you on a bit of a cliff hanger! The storm in Christchurch didn't stop me and I made it to Australia in one piece! So I wasn't supposed to be out of action for so long but I have enjoyed myself so much that I didn't want to return and rush things so I stayed in Oz longer than planned and it was the best decision I could have made.

So I have a really good mate here called Rachel, which a few of you reading this know and other who don't. I met Rach in the UK when she lived here and we were thick as thieves and I have missed her freckled face and coming to Oz had 2 reasons. See Rach and her partner Shane and earn some money, and both I have done!!

So I lived with Shane for a while in Werribee South just outside of Melbourne and worked on a farm pretty much like an immigrant. Cash in hand, lower than minimum wage but it was an interesting job were I met many interesting people from all back grounds. Life was simple as it was nice to stay in one spot and just enjoy having a house and a job to earn a bit of cash. However as all my friends now I tend to leave a lasting impression wherever I go and like to cause a stir if I can. So this farm was an aussie family based business, I worked in the nursery part, where the baby plants are grown and then trays of up to 200 plants would be loaded on racks and delivered to the farms. It's hard and physical work but I loved it, not taxing on the brain and a lot of variety to keep you occupied. I was handy there as I was so tall and definitely not a weak female so I could get the heavy trays on the top of the racks. You also most probably know that I treat everyone the same, doesn't matter if you are a ceo of a company or the cleaner, you are all human and I will speak to you as such. This place however was only woman working doing the manual work and there were supervisors on forklifts who directed us. My supervisor was an absolute a****** and had gotten away for years talking to the women like s***. They all came from cultures where they respect without question men and people in authority and then I rocked up. He tried once to talk to me the way he did with the other ladies and it didn't end well for him. He also didn't like the fact that I became really friendly with all the bosses and the family running the business. I became a bit of ring leader in putting him in his place and my word, did I enjoy knocking him down a peg or 2 and getting the other ladies to stand up for themselves. When I finished working there I was begged by the girls not to leave and the family said I'd be welcome back anytime, which is good to know I left such a lasting impression.

During this time though I managed to get around and see a few places as well, I went snowboarding were I made some great friends from Tasmania. So I went to Tasmania quite a few times as well. I met up with Rose whom I met in Guatemala and we went to see a gig and did some sightseeing together. There were lots of visits to Melbourne and I love that city, it's so diverse and so much to do, my favourite city so far if I had to settle anywhere, I can be completely myself and there will always be someone weirder than me, it was great to be surrounded by all this eccentricity.

My stories from these times are not so crazy, don't get me wrong I did a lot of crazy things but it was smaller and less frequently as I was here to work but I still got a reputation for myself around town J

So as I mentioned before Carl decided to come and spend Xmas and New Year with me, so he had a week in Melbourne, I still worked for a little bit of it and then we did a road trip to Warrnmbool to count little penguins for a conservation project and drove the Great Ocean Road twice. We then headed to Sydney for New Year, we spent a couple of nights in the worst hostel ever at Coogee Beach and then went to stay with my friend Simon at Dee Why just North of the city. We did the tourist thing at New Year and went to see the fireworks, smuggle drink in the park and master the power nap until the fireworks. We even watched the sun rise the next day, with the help of a power nap. After we made our way to Brisbane and then Byron Bay. Byron consisted again of a lot of drunken behaviour, making lots of random friends and beach time. Think Carl needed the down time and he was so happy to be swimming in the sea in January, who wouldn't!! The life on the East coast of Oz is amazing, its just sunshine and beaches and made me seriously question where I would want to be if I came back to settle in this country, it has so much to offer all over! I'll have to put some thought into it. The problem is, Oz isn't the only country I would like to settle in!!

So Carl headed home and I went back to Melbourne were we had moved to Lara in a nice big home with a hot tub, loved this place! The way of life out here is just so much better, you get more for your money and the weather certainly helps!

So I worked at the farm a bit longer and was doing trips to the city and Tasmania and anywhere else I fancied when I had time off. I then got a job working for an events cleaning company and was assigned to the Melbourne Grand Prix. What an experience that was, talk about hard work, major wastage but also awe inspiring! I earned every penny there and made some good money due to the crazy hours we were pulling off, 14 hour days, average about 10 hours in a normal day, 7 days a week, crazy! Also met some awesome people who I should be seeing in the near future in Bali.

So it got to the point where I was getting itchy feet, I had lost a crazy amount of weight from the work and just needed to bug out and start the travelling again.

So Rachel and Shane were due to get married at the Magnetic islands off of Townsville on the East Coast and decided to go see a bit of the area before getting to the wedding.

So I flew up to Airlie beach to check out the Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef and my word I'm happy I did. This country is expensive but you have to pick your places and I'm glad I went with this recommendation. I met Matt, a guy who I met in Iceland and also stayed with me in Melbourne for a bit as he was working in Airlie beach. The weather change from Victoria to Queensland was like a slap in the face. It didn't help that my last night in Melbourne I decided to just get wasted and go out partying with the Cleanevent lot, suddenly realised at 5:30 in the morning that I was still out and my flight was leaving in a couple of hours, so a cab swung by my hostel, got my stuff and got to the airport with only 5 minutes before check in closed! So obviously when I arrived in Queensland I was hungover and overdressed in my jeans but I slugged it out and made it to the top of the hill where Matt was living! Well now this is awesome living up here, rolling hills, beautiful seas, blue skies, flash showers and incredible weather. I loved it from the minute I arrived.

So I booked myself on a 3 day and night sailing and diving trip around the Whitsundays and Barrier Reef. Managed to get a good deal and on a good boat. I laughed so hard some nights that my face hurt and dived with an awesome bunch of people who had the same sick and twisted sense of humour as myself, couldn't have asked for a better bunch to be stuck on a boat with for 3 days. The diving was beautiful, I sometimes think I have been tainted with the awesomeness of learning to dive in Honduras but the Barrier Reef has its own beauty and we saw turtles, sharks and lots more. The wind picked up a few times when we were sailing and there was some people spewing off the back of the boat but I kept it all in and loved it all, even when the waves were crashing over the top of us.

So I came off the boat Friday afternoon, had lunch with a couple of the folks off the boat and then got ready to catch my bus to Townsville that evening. I was so shattered from my lack of sleep on the boat that I passed out for 4 hour bus journey, a blessing! So I arrived in Townsville that night and just crashed in the hostel near the ferry terminal. So Rach and Shane were getting married that next day, so I had to get my ass over to the island for the wedding, luckily it was an afternoon wedding!

I was staying in an awesome place on the Magnetic Islands called Cstay in picnic bay and had my own private room and at such a cheap place, my last bit of luxury before I really get back into the travels! Luckily the whole family were staying all close by and the wedding was literally 200 metres from my front door! So after borrowing Rach's sister's dress and attempting to look presentable we met on the beach for the ceremony. It was perfect, very Rach and Shane, casual, relaxed, lots of laughter and a beautiful destination. It was a small and intimate affair with minimum fuss, perfect! So the drinking began and you can always count on Rach and Shane throwing a good bash and making sure we got thoroughly battered! So as I was one of the very few single people there (only 3 single females!) I was put on a table with Rach's married friends, whom I know. We then got onto the conversation of dating and I decided to show them how Tinder worked! Well I would like to think that I entertained them well and showed them the best of that app, I'll leave the rest unsaid as my parents read this diary, ha ha!!

So the next few days on the island involved a lot of lazy days, swimming in the sea (where there are stinger nets as the jelly fish are lethal), eating lunches together, sunset visits and exploring the island.

They all left on Tuesday and I want to say a massive thanks to Rach and Shane for everything over the past 9 months, I love you both and wish you all the happiness in the world.

So after my lazy days on the Magnetic Islands I headed back on the ferry to Townsville to catch my bus to Cairns. It wasn't such a bad journey on the greyhound but unfortunately got stuck next to a rather aromatic gentleman for the 5 hour bus journey, not pleasant.

So in Cairns I was back to the couchsurfing as I didn't know anybody here and didn't want to spend my time in a hostel filled with really young backpackers. So one poor unfortunate soul decided to take me in for my visit. So Kel met me at the bus stop and I instantly liked him, he was so laid back and easy to be about and was also a fellow traveller. So we soon fell into swapping travel stories while drinking vodka. So luckily Kel had a few days off while I was planning on being in Cairns. The next day after we drove to explore some waterfalls and went clambering over rocks and off the beaten track to swim at the top, which we then proceeded to jump in from higher and higher spots until I slipped and did a brilliant sideways belly flop, resulting in my losing my bikini top, very similar to my incident in Canada when jumping off a bridge. I obviously haven't learnt my lesson nearly 2 years on I'm still doing stupid things.

We then drove along the coast to Port Douglas which is a wealthier coastal town with beautiful scenery and beaches. Northern Queensland is surrounded by lush rainforest and vegetation and sprawling beaches, I fell in love with the place and just wanted to see more and more! I was supposed to only stay 2 nights in Cairns and at the last minute, while at the airport, I changed my mind. The queue was long, the flight was cheap to sacrifice and I didn't want to leave, so I thought, why the hell am I? So I told the shocked lady at the counter that I wouldn't be taking this flight, which she was extremely shocked about (I think most people either call and cancel their flights or just don't turn up, not queue to check in with all their bags and then announce they are not getting on!) and called Kel who came back to collect me!

So I ended up being in Cairns for another week. I walked around the Botanical Gardens, we went swimming in a beautiful lake in the Tablelands, went to the beach and just enjoyed my time there. I was very reluctant to leave and have decided to go back for a spell after my time in Indonesia, but I'll tell you all about that in the Indo blog. Till then, farewell, I'm off to Indonesia for a month!!