Hey all, another update from our journey & there's plenty happening so be sure to read it all & not fall saleep!

Day 101:

After having a great sleep in our one bed apartment in Newcastle at the YHA we woke up to more rain but a free breakfast to put the smile back on our faces!!

We checked out & set off for Luke's house in Sydney, the guy that we met in Cairns & took camping! It was a good 400k away. Halfway through our journey we stopped at Newcastle to transfer the car into our names.

There had been a traffic accident moments before we turned off the motorway so we sat in traffic for about an hour. We passed the incident & found out on the radio that a truck had jack-knifed and flipped over!! When we arrived at the RTA to register the car, we discovered we needed proof of a permanent address in Australia with a covering letter from someone else living at the same place. We decided we'd ask Luke to do this so we carried on to Sydney.

We drove over the Harbour Bridge & saw the Opera House through the rain drenched windows & I let out a woohoo of excitement. We had arrived. It didn't last long because we couldn't navigate around town so after an hour of looking for signposts to Wooloomooloo we finally met Luke at a swanky bar for a couple drinks with his work colleagues. I was driving so didn't drink before anyone questions my ethics/morals!!

We agreed to go meet some more of Luke's friends at a bar in town so we dropped the car at his place & got changed. Because we were in a rush & the car wouldn't fit in the underground car park we left it in the car park out the front & grabbed an overnight bag & a change of clothes for the night ahead.

We met Luke's housemates & headed to a bar called the London. It was rammed, but we met loads of people & had a really good time. We went to a couple more places before going home around 2.30am. Luke donated his room to us which was awesome & he took the sofa. We maintain that he is a legend!

Day 102:

We slept like logs & the sun was shining when we woke up. We decided that we'd do some sight-seeing & enjoy the City during our brief stay. That's when the drama began.....

We went to the car to grab the rest of our stuff, only to find that some crackhead p****had beaten us to it. The door was open, the lock busted, the glove box emptied onto the seat & both our backpacks gone.

We called the police straight away & didn't touch anything. The forensic team arrived after about 2 hours & took prints. In the meantime Luke's best mate John had fetched us all a breakfast baguette. They found one thumb print on the back door but couldn't be sure if it was ours or the thieves. Even so, they could only use it if they had the prints on record already.

After they left we discovered the true extent of the ordeal. My passport was gone! Carly's credit card was gone! All my clothes were gone & p/copies of all our documents were missing. No cash or electronics were taken as we had those on us luckily.

We had taken a walk around the block before the forensics arrived but there was nothing. We decided to take the roof rack off & put the car in the secure car park. It just squeezed in so that was peace of mind. On the walk back around the building we found a pair of my socks with a Bon Voyage card from Kate & Mark & a birthday card for Carly from my Mum with £20 in. Well the £20 was gone obviously but they were considerate enough to leave the card. We both felt sick but wanted to see what else we could find.

We walked for hours & found a few cards from Carly's wallet in a bush, nothing important though. We found all the p/copies of our documents & my original driver's licence counterpart in another bush. None of our clothes turned up, orthe bags & my passport was still missing. I wanted to become Columbo without the whole eye thing & catch the thing that stole my identity.

Then we found my working Visa & flight plan in the alley behind our building, even though we'd checked it before, more than once. It was clear that they were still in the area & not dettered in any way. Another car had the same treatment just around the corner & we found the persons bank details on the floor. We tried to return them but there was no answer at her address.

Scenes from Hostel popped into my mind when I thought about what I'd do if I caught them. Plus I'd do some more for good measure. I hate them!!!

We cooked some grub & ate with Achill, Luke's flatmate who's ill. Watched some telly & chilled out as best we could.

Day 103:

We took another walk around the area this morning looking for any more clues but found nothing other than a jumble sale at a private address that we didn't fancy going to. It was in a rough area & we didn't wanna run the risk of being recognised by anyone. There were syringes & broken bottles everywhere so thought we'd leave it alone!

We walked in Sydney centre to do some shopping but couldn't find much. Luke recommended Bondi Junction so we took the train & met him there. I bought loads of clothes & a huge luggage bag for me & Berg to share as we didnt have many belongings left. We figured we could fit everything in that.

In the evening I posted an ad on the net to sell the car & searched for flights to Alice Springs to meet Ed & Sara. We'd had enough of Sydney already!! Luke took care of dinner. We watched some tv again & hit the sack around 12.30. We were so drained by now.

Day 104:

Carly was feeling ill today so I took a walk along George Street to find the Britishh consulate & the RTA. The British consulate wouldn't help over the weekend because it wasn't an emergency.....apparently. The only way they would help is if I died, was hospitalised or arrested. Love the way a criminal gets priority over a victim!! Justice systems are the same wherever you go.

The woman at the consulate was very helpful & gave me a few forms to complete. Then at the RTA I discovered that without my passport I couldn't transfer the car. TUrns out that as I'm selling the car I dont need to transfer it anyway. That saves us $135! A bit of good news after a crappy weekend.

I caught the train home as it was mileage away & chatted to Berg & filled out the passport forms. Carly went to bed & I chatted to Ed on the phone for a bit & he recommended a clever way of getting cheap flights so I will be sure to look into it tonight & tomorrow.

It is so cold here & the weather sucks so we can't wait to get away from this place. Luke has been an absolute gem & looked after us really well.

Want to say thank you so much to Jane as well, we feel you deserve a mention. We really appreciate it even though you are a silly b***** as you would say.

So the moral of the story is: Always suspect that everyone is a thief & you'll never get robbed!

Feel free to offer advice like, don't leave your things on show & you were asking for it!!

We will be in touch shortly as we have internet access from Luke's laptop. Enjoy your week at work y'all!! Were gonna try to take a holiday within a holiday. Haha, love rubbing it in!!

Love from Matt & Carly xx