Hello There! I'll begin with the usual apology for not writing for a while - we've been very busy accumulating anecdotes to relate to you all! OK, I believe we last updated the site in Sydney. So what have we been up to since then? First up we headed inland to the little known capital city of Canberra. Quite a strange place! For a start it is tiny and the streets are pretty deserted. There are loads of museums, galleries and historically significant buildings, but unfortunately, not a whole lot of soul to the place. It's the most low key city (let alone capital) we have ever been to - we were even able to park our car a few meters away from parliament house - Can you imagine Tony putting up with that! After Canberra, we drove to Melbourne, where we were glad to pick up the pace a little. We met up with Donna, a friend and native of the city, who along with her sister Genevieve, did an excellent job of playing hostess and guide to us! We spent a fantastic few days poking around the city and 'doing lunch', quite a luxury for us impoverished backpackers. For us, one of the highlights was a trip to Pin Oak Court, A.K.A. Ramsey Street. Concreting our belief that it's always summer in Erinsborough, the rain stopped, the sun broke through the clouds and we spent a most pleasant half hour trying to work out which 'Neighbour' resided in which house and exclaming how tiny it was in real life. We also had a great time getting to grips with Melbourne's beloved sport at an Aussie Rules match. Donna and Gen decked us out in Essendon Bombers scarves, patiently explained the complex and numerous rules of the game, only us to be spanked by fifty points by our opponents the Kangaroos. However, we were consoled by a nice hot pie and sauce, which is practically a compulsory requirement of going to a match. What most amazed us is that there are no home and away stands, and rival fans sit together quite happily ribbing each other abouth their teams. Can you imagine the riots if you tried that seating policy at a Arsenal v. Spurs game? Next up on the itinerary, we landed at a bush camp outside of Melbourne, slap bang in the middle of a state park. As our funds weren't looking so hot, we had arranged to do a couple of hours work a day in exchange for food and board. We arrived to find ourselves and the two managers the only residents of the whole 25 acres, and the only people around for miles and miles. Opoeia (the camp) used to be a Boy Scout's camp, but had been taken over by Eamon and Oakies, who were using the place to throw trance parties and alternative arts and therapies work shops. There were very trusting guys, as after a couple of days, they left us alone to get on with our work (painting a huge fibreglass UFO!) and from then on it was just us and the Kangaroos! The next stretch of our journey took us along the famous Great Ocean Road, which is renowned for its' stunning ocean (funnily enough) views. Here we heaved ourselves out of the car to do some bush and cliff walking and aquainted ourselves with the local wildlife. Some of the furry and feathered fellas spotted included Koalas, Kangaroo's, Pelicans, Seals and worrying amounts of squished animals by the roadside, not all of which could be identified! We arrived in Adelaide a couple of days ago as Paul starts a new job next week. He will be working on a magazine for the Schoolies festival, which is a massive event where all the school leavers cut loose for a week of celebrations. We've managed to set ourselves up in a beautiful share house by the beach and things are looking good here. Anyway, that's more than enough of our news for the moment! Hope all are well. Lots of love, Linda & Paul xxx