Hi Everyone, I realise its been an age since I last updated this site... so sit back, make sure you have a comfy seat and I'll bore you with what I've been up to.

Me and Tara flew into Aus on the 30th August, having had a fab time in NZ but ready for a change of beautiful scenery and thit the beach!!!

We arrived in Sydney and did the usual touristy stuff, the Opera House and Harbour bridge, and as good as it was I have to say I wasnt overly impressed ;-(. Maybe Ive spoilt myself because of what weve seen already, but it definatley didn't seem as big or as glamous as I imagined! However it was fantastic to finally be here and see it and we did it properly by booking to go and see Hansel and Gretal at the Opera!! again cant say I would do it again but it was an experience, don't think I'm really an opera kind of girl.. couldnt even understand what they were saying let alone work out how they put it to music! Great night though.. we got dressed up in our one posh outfit that we own.

Sydney is a great place, very much hectic and a bit of a shock after being in the depths of New Zealand for 6 weeks...

My first night in Sydney I bumped into Andy at my hostel by complete coincidence, we met up with some friends of mine that I met in NZ - Maite - from Belgium, Ali - 'Canada' and Paul St Albans, UK, they invited us to join them on a party boat with was crusing around darling harbour by night past the Opera House and the Bridge so we got perfect night time views of the sights for FREE!! so it was a perfect way to start aus.

Next day we headed to the Horse Races and trip held by the hostel, with champagne breakfast and transport etc...particualy hungover we made it to the race course ,after much deliberation, planning, tactical tips and ear wiggin, we closed our eyes,picked a horse with our figure and placed our $5 bets... for the first time in my life I won when betting... won 6 out of 7 races and walked away $90 in profit!! well chuffed... will bet on the grand national in the future... obviously got the knack for it.

Dying to get out of the city already me and Andy headed to the Blue Mountains for a couple of days which was as spectular as we had been told, amazing scenery and walks.. I really didnt realises I was a 'Hiking' kind of a girl until I came on this trip but it was so much fun!

Back to the city and spent another week trying to decide when, where and how to pay to get up the east coast as I have spent way to much money in new zealand. After changing my mind about 3 times a day, I finally decided to set up camp in sydney for a month with my friend Paul as he is also skint and work and save a bit.. we found a place right near the harbour unfortuatley not with a harbour view, but what can you expect for 50 pounds a week. Nice apartment block with a gym and swimming pool and spa- which I did use!! and 3 minutes walk to work!! fantastic.. lived with 2 indonesian girls, 2 german girls and a mexican guy all of whom where hardly ever there so we had the run of the place really!! it was great to get out of the hostel enviroment for a while.

I worked at the Exhibition Center on the front desk giving out badges and typing out vistor detail which was mind numingly boring but the money was pretty good so I stuck it out and made me remember why I'm doing this!

Alberto my mexican flat mate also offered me a waitressing job in a Latin Salsa club for a night which as you can imagine was right up my street!! I was great fun, at lots of spanish looking people around but the waitressing side of it was such hard work for not very much money that I have sworn I will NEVER do it again... I could hardly walk to get home.. again though, it was another good experience! Didnt get to do any salsa either which was a bummer

Spent any days off at either bondi or coggee beach, where Tara is staying, and headed over to take a look at Manly beach. I randomly bumped into a girl I met on the bus in NZ called Paula and now we are planning on travelling up the east coast together with will be so much fun!

I visited Simons (my sis's boyf) Aunt Alison who took me on a great day trip and picnic out to Ku ring gai national park which I wouldn't have seen without the knowledge and wheels of a local!! and to SUMMER BAY at Palm Beach!! Yay!! I was excited it was actually quite sad.

I also went on a neighbours night... which was a bit of a rip off but I did get to meet Toadie and Connor from Neighbours (no I didn't know who connor was either!) and Alf Stewart!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I had my photos taken with each so I'm happy now.

After 5 weeks I've said goodbye to Sydney and have started up the east coast...first stop being newcastle where I was to hunt out some long lost relatives(my great god mother) with only half an address which I didn't even know if was right, hired a car and took my friend Janine for Germany along for the road trip and headed out to Karuah... asked the locals where Carrington Village was once I got there (as a servere lack of sign posts) and then pulled up in this tiny village with only 13 houses in the whole place. Asked a lady coming out of a church if she by any fluke chance knew Dorthy and Bil Lyall and she said.. yes they live right opposite...( exactly where I had pulled up!!) So very odd and Very ment to be, so I introduced myself and after they got over the shock they invited us to stay the night and we saw some more fantastic places that we wouldn't have seen unless we went off the gringo trail!

Dropped Janine off a bus stop that was acually at the side of the road on a highway and chatted to some canadians who turned out to be going to the same hostel I was the next day, got on the bus the next morning and chatted to another canadian girl who was also from the same town as them in Canada (Winnepeg) and was also going to my hostel!!.. its just insane how you meet people... we then proceeded to go out that night and sample the night life of Port Macquarie, before I headed to the arse end of now where to work on a Farm for a week the next day!!!

Yarrowitch Jackeroo and Jillaroo School - 5 days.. looking after, sandling up and riding my horse 'Moon' for 4 hours a day.. I can now properly trot which I very proud of and can successfully dodge trees whilst going up and down 35 degree terrain and stay on!!, over the week we also mustered cattle from one field to another keeping them inline (like dogs do sheep) which proved a challenge especially when they dart of quickly and I cant go fast enough to keep up with them and they run into the woods and it takes another 1/2 hour to find them!!,
Learnt to lassoo, and crack a whip(although I managed to whip myself more that the ground which hurt so I gave up on that very quickly,
Drenching Goats (which means worming them.. involving catching 70 goats (from 3 weeks old babies to big scary male ewes with curly horns!!!) by there horns and syringing them in the mouth with nice pink stuff and then clipping there hoofs whilst they wiggle around and try and get away!! 3 hours later we were all ready for bed!! Swimming Horses...watching Kanagroos, playing with the 2 month old puppies etc.. It was a fantastic week and we did so much..I've always wanted to live and work on a farm and now I have and it was as good as I imagined. I was there with 2 other swedish girls Isabelle and Helen, so over the course of the week I learnt a bit of Swedish to add to my collection of useless foreign sayings and have another country to maybe visit one day in the future!!

Now I'm back in Port Macquarie for a couple of days, where Im going to the Koala Hospital tomorrow, then on Monday me, Paula and her friend Sarah head up the coast to Byrone Bay for some serious sunbathing for a few days before we go on a Canoe Safari in the everglades for 3 days camping!!

So thats where I'm at!.. If you've actually made it to the bottom of this update and didn't stop half way before you got bored then I'm very impressed!! and thanks for still being interested in what I'm up to.

I hope you are all still really well, its great to hear from you all and I do read your messages on the site!

Take care until my next update, love to you all
Elainexxxxxxx