Sydney done…I was Adelaide bound with Michelle in our little hire car for 9 days of exploration and fun fun fun! Our first days plan was to drive to Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains via Cooma, a small and touristy town along the route. Cooma was a pretty place but very small. It was in the middle of nowhere and I just couldn't imagine living so far away from life! There were some historic buildings in the town though so we trundled around for about an hour on the Cooma-Lambie walk. After that break from driving we plowed onwards to Jindabyne. The drive was gorgeous, similar to home in fact so made me appreciate where I live a bit more. Once the mountains came into view we knew we were not far away and arrived at our hostel for dinner time. The hostel was awesome; there were just us and one other guy there so we had the place pretty much to ourselves! John, the dude from Perth was really chatty and the three of us headed down to the local pub for some pool and a get-to-know one another. Nice to meet an Australian who was traveling their own country for once!

The next morning we got up bright and early to leave by 8am for Kosciusko National Park and the highlight of the day for me…Mount Kosciusko (the highest mountain in Australia) and SNOW!!! Can you believe there is not only 38 degree heat in a town but also snow?!! Mental I say but we saw it! The weather was beautiful so it made for a nice day driving the windy roads in the mountains, along with some gorgeous views. The first stop of the day was the Yarrangobilly Caves right at the top of the National Park. We saw some cool rock formations like stalagmites and stalactites (ah knew those geography lessons would come in useful somewhere!) and popped into our bikinis to swim in the thermal pools. Now the next part of the journey was fun (*sarcasm*)…so I may have miscalculated the driving times and we realised it was going to take us until 9pm that night to arrive at our final destination…so a 13 hour drive day oooops! After we got over that shock we drove right around the National Park and caught our first glimpse of not only human life after about 5 hours but also of the highest mountain in the country covered in snow and people snowboarding. It was pretty strange as it just looked like a big hill in the park down the road. After a quick photo stop we drove, and drove, and drove…..until we arrived in Lakes Entrance, Victoria at 9.15pm.

Lakes Entrance is famous for Ninety Mile Beach, however the day we decided to arrive the weather was AWFUL so not good for a sunbathe or any beach action L We hopped on the beach for some pics wearing all our warmest clothes, rain jackets galore and started our drive to Melbourne. After about 6 hours we arrived there safe and sound (after a quick celebrity spot of Miles from Home & Away on St. Kilda beach) and hit up Mandy at her apartment. It was so great of her to let us stay with her for a few days and she had a central spot in the town which made easy for us to get around. She broke us into the Melbourne way of life by taking us out that evening with some of her friends…now I can't really write much more about it because I can barely remember myself haha! Don't worry mum, I am alive and all is ok!

The next morning I woke up with a bit of a weary head (and stomach) but we headed into the city to catch some sights. We did the usual stuff: the Immigration Museum, Flinders Street Station, people watching in Federation Square and the Yarra River BUT the main part of the day was to come….Neighbours Trivia Night!!!!! It was absolutely brilliant and I was living the Neighbours dream for sure! You can't come to Melbourne and not do something Neighbours and this was Grrrrrrreat! We got to meet Declan (hottie!), Donna, Saffron and the legend that is Paul 'Robo' Robinson. We even got to find out whether it was true about Susan Kennedy and whether she really has tattoos all up her arms! Sadly my dreams were shattered and Paul Robinson thought it was pretty hilarious…apparently he had never heard of that rumour before! The evening ended with Paul singing some songs, including the one he released and Dr Karl Kennedy performing with his band The Waiting Room. Absolutely amazing it was!!!!!

But the Neighbours fun didn't stop there….the next morning we hit up the tour of the set and our celebrity meeting with Dr Karl! He was sooo nice and chatted to us for about 15 minutes letting us take as many pictures as we wanted to and got an autograph which shall be treasured forever! After he left we even spotted them doing some filming of the show, even though we weren't allowed near to it we could see Zeke throwing himself up against a wall…random. Back to reality and to the real Melbourne we headed to the Old Melbourne Gaol. This place was absolute genius!!!! We had a guide who was a traditional police warden in the olden days (well not a real one, an actress) and she shouted 'fart brain' and called you an idiot to show you how the inmates would have been spoken to. You had to walk in lines and couldn't talk or look at anyone, loved it! At the end of the tour she admitted she was an actress and said if we wanted pictures with her she could arrest us haha…and arrest us she did, grabbing our hair and calling us 'fart brain' again. The rest of the day was filled with more touristy things like visiting Captain Cooks Cottage, Melbourne Cricket Ground, and going up the 360 tower for views of the city.

The day we left Melbourne was the day I had been waiting for since our arrival into Australia…The Great Ocean Road drive. The views all along the coast were just outstanding and we ended up stopping literally every 10 minutes or so to take photos. The highlights were the lighthouse from Around the Twist, Geelong statues, Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge and London Bridge. We also headed into the bush to spot wild koalas just sitting a couple of metres from us J

Our final drive day was heading to Adelaide and the worst end to a fabulous trip. We took the hire car back to Europcar and the swine's tried to make us believe we had dented the roof and as we didn't take out their insurance we would have to pay $3300 there and then. We were freaking out; almost in tears so the guys tried to call the Sydney office where we picked the car up from to check what damage was previously on the car. Seeing as the radio aerial was gone it was obvious that that must have been where the damage had come from. Thankfully they couldn't get through to the office so we had the evening to freak out even more and plan our course of action for the following morning. We could barely sleep as we were so worried but as soon as we got to the shop the next morning the dude just said it was all ok and that we didn't have to pay. I was feeling such relief that I burst into tears on him and Michelle! What a loser I am, just a shame it couldn't have been sorted the day before so we could have enjoyed 2 evenings in Adelaide. So for the rest of the day we dawdled round the city which was pretty small and consisting of not a lot! Had to visit Haighs Chocolate Factory for some free tasting mmmmm and then spent the evening catching up with Margeaux in the Chinese Markets. Was great to catch up with her again after a brief overnight stop on the OZbus but hopefully will get to see her early on next year when I head back that way.

So after 23 weeks together and over 12,572 miles it was time for me and Michelle to part our separate ways. The last time I shall see one of my OZbus crew for a while at least but onto new adventures with Nicki up the east coast…..