Regardless, the good points were finally swimming in the sea, some snorkling, some buckets...with baaad bad bad repurcussions the first time, waking the next day feeling v. sick and acidic (bucket of joy..HAH! bucket of no joy, more like), but recovered in time for the actual party - definitely not the turnout it was last year, and much more rain this time around! however, just as good - started off with the 2 cool french dudes who still remain nameless....drinking buckets and going off in the mad rain and mud dancing. others included the v. nice english girls (tammy and lucy), and some from the homeland (edmonton to be precise), and Anssi from Finland. and the only loss was my shoes! soooo impressive. was home early by last years standard...1 pm the next day. then spent a last rainy afternoon on the same beach in disbelief of the transformation, and was treated to lunch by some visiting thai businessmen scouting locations for their next resort. the next day had an idea to reneg on my original plan, a thought spurned after random run in with a (presumably) canadian guy, saying everyone was going to krabi, so should i, and why was i going to bangkok? flights not a good enough excuse, and for a moment thought, he's bloody right! could do with an extended holiday, see Next...of course by the time it occured to me how easy easy eeeeeaaasssy it would be to change everything, i was already on my way here to bangkok. humph. no. no. need money. must go to sydney. weather will still be nice..i hope? looking v. forward to that as well.

but now, enjoying 'last chance' here in bangkok - am staying at v. nice guesthouse...my own room, king size bed, HOT water, as in real hot water that does not take 20 minutes to kick in and then dies after 2, air con and rooftop pool...all for less money than the hostel in Sydney will cost. also heaps of cheapie shopping, massage...(soon!), etc, etc. not quite sure i am ready to leave, really...but then again, not quite sure i was ready to leave canada either.....hmmmm.....or maybe it is just that i am not sure about how keen i am on spending all of tomorrow stuffed in the back of an airplane, to arrive at what will feel like 3 or 4am for me now that i've adjusted to thai time. oh god. i'll have to start wearing shoes again.

Saturday, 30 November. Sydney. I'm never drinking again. ugh.

Friday, 6 December. still in Sydney. I'm SO never drinking again.

Wednesday, 11 December. guess where? errr..ha ha ha. no hangover this time. so finally, a real entry on what else actually goes on here. Well, for me that is! hhmmm...ok, arrival, arrival...of course, everything with the hostel was stuffed up, but being in an English speaking country again makes it all so easy to sort out. Minor, minor...spent the first day checking out the sights in the CBD, meaning harbour bridge and the opera house. still in disbelief that after seeing so many pictures of this place, I was actually here. The next day was immensely hot - I think the forecast was 40, and the actual fell only slightly short of that. So I said stuff the sightseeing and headed to the nearest and probably most populous beach, Bondi. On the bus I met Paula, from England who had already finished her working holiday and was back visiting. Hung out on the beach with her for a while, and got some useful tips about it all. and that night, had the trippy reunion, seeing my friends Frances and Katherine for the first time in 20 years. Was treated to a lovely Thai dinner, a luxury indeed as the rice bowls were a v. large size, and therefore not necessetating extra orders of it.

Right....so some basic highlights..and lowlights..lets start with those, shall we? OK. so much for this WORKing holiday thing. I think everyone gets the same idea into their head, being that, Sydney is a land of fruitful opportunities at this time of year. EEEEH. wrong. despite my efforts, everything has been futile to the point I wonder if I am pre-ordained not to find any work in this place at all! Although I know I am not alone..Maarten....Miko....Vanessa (sorta!)..so there are a few of us with too much time on our hands, some cashed up, some not...errr...guess which category I am in!!! Usually just wind up muttering 'huh' and slight tinges of regret on not taking the offer from Westjet way back when...however, although a great opportunity...I would not be experiencing Australian summer! Sooo...

highlights....might as well try and enjoy the unemployment while it lasts, which meant signing up for some surfing lessons, to re-discover those amazing skills I developed in Bali (I fall off with more grace now, I do believe). That was a great laugh, and led to the meeting of some cool people, while under the tutelage of instructors called 'Big Wave Dave' and 'Tube Rider Toby'. and tied in with the surfing is the obligatory go for drinks after to discuss in great detail the day's nose dives and collisions, and be in awe of 'the fibreglass guys'. Andy, from Cyprus, I think can hold the nose dive king title, and has kitted himself up completely with surf gear...tho, unfortunately, minus the little motor to get out past those big waves (eskimo roll it is!!).

Bondi Beach from the start of the Bondi-Coogee walk

Other leisure pursuits...taking the beach walk from Bondi, to include tiny Tamarama, Bronte, and the further fetched Coogee. Also was treated to a day out on the boat with Katherine, Rob (her fiance) and Frances. was slightly windy, but still no deterrent to a great day, including going through the harbour at sunset for another view of the bridge, opera house and mrs macquaries chair.

Right..before this starts sounding like a package tour brochure, I'm signing off....besides, must get ready to meet everyone at the Coogee Palace! cha cha cha!

Saturday, 17 May. guess where? har har har....Sanuki, Japan Oh yes, just like...like..like a boomerang, here I am back in the Land of the Rising Sun, nearly through my time here. So much to catch up on from Australia, highlights after the last entry being the Christmas eve cruise, aka, Christmas eve disaster...that'll happen when one drinks, oh, over $100 worth of alcohol, but if ya cant splurge on christmas, when can ya? seemingly good idea at first, spending the evening on a cruise through Sydney harbour...with wine. cheap wine. lots of it. something with Bundaberg rum..or..black death is it? and the only memory you have isnt yours, but rather your buddy Maarten's recollection that you could only focus on one person at a time, and all Adrian (yar, the canadians were heading up the lushfest this night) could say was 'this is the best christmas ever!!!'. christmas day, was not.

however, new year started a little more settled, finding both a flat and a job within the first week of it. so still calling Bondi home, albeit slightly closer to the beach. weekdays passed looking forward to the friday drinks and weekends, which were passed in a blur of beaching, surfing and alcoholic confusion to say the least. however, met some other cool travellers at the job, and we could all just vent together, be it lunching in Hyde Park under the sun...making it oh so hard to go back, or on the train back to good old bondi. some friendly locals too...in some cases, perhaps too much so!

some quick highlights...australia day watching the parade on the water at Darling Harbour, followed by the return of Adrian, leading to a few more of those lovely sessions at Coogee Palace, a great fancy dress party with a Roman theme out in Mosman (tho Maarten failing to mention this fancy dress bit, tho Maarten is forgiven as we arrived to party with guys in togas and free liquor...definitely a workable formula for any good party, and the night was off to a good start. minus when i fell through the deck floor. wood must have rotted..sort of thing that could happen to anyone, really....). A brill party that carried on until the next night...

Anyway, with 'winter' setting in...a few of us were getting itchy feet, ready to leave Sydney and explore what is beyond the confines of the harbour bridge and Bondi beach. For me this meant first a day trip to the Blue Mountains..on THE worst possible day. BLUE mountains, ha! gray mountains more like. although one could visualise it would all be v. beautiful if it were not raining cats and dogs. or on fire as was case previously...after this, a short reunion with Colin and Jody, from the 'December crew', and a last blow out trip to Melbourne. getting there was an adventure in itself; first attempting to find the right bus terminal, and then..assigned seating. now my flatmate Myra was meant to be on this bus with me, but due to sudden job find had to cancel. so i was on my own...met a cool Norwegian called Inge before boarding, who was sat with nice normal looking guy. and then he got on....fat, sweaty, smelly, drunk...yobbo. Inge's thoughts: good thing he is not with me. My thoughts: oh ya, he is with me. he rolled up with that ' i am in 9C', as my mind raced frantically with panic hoping to be given divine guidance on reasons why i must be moved, or thinking, is it possible to change the nine in '9D'to 6 or similar? he took up a seat and a half. Fortunately he was moved for the Sydney- Canberra leg, but we switched to a full coach at Canberra. Dude was so drunk and out of it he didnt even realise this, and had to be fetched from the bus..at which point his trousers fell down, the first words going through my mind 'say no to crack' and Majken, a German girl sat in front me and I sniggered at the whole thing. got no sleep tho, as he kept moving, and smelt so bad Majken could smell him. arrival at 8am in Melbourne was more than welcome.

But..whatever bad karma caused that..couldnt have been too serious as the rest of the trip was brill. met Majken and Inge, along with some others - Irish Jo and English Melvin - for a ride up the Rialto towers, and a brilliant dinner at the Blue train restaurant on the Yarra river. the group gelled really well, and we made plans to meet for some partying...after a day on the great ocean road..which was marvellous, and beautifully blessed with brill weather...we whooped it up at the Elephant and Wheelbarrow in St. Kilda. Next day a bit off..starting at 6 am with a text announcing Myra's arrival...my only thought was 'huh..i am sleeping the wrong way on my bed'..but later clued in and went to get her...amused that i was still a wee bit intoxicated. rest of day..shopping, and then a night on the town with the locals...My buddy Tim's friend Ana, and a few of her crew...hit a few cool spots and decided to be annoying and ring tim at what would be a very ungoldy hour in Calgary...hehehehe....its just cos we love ya timmee t! all in all, a good memory created in Melbourne. and then back to Sydney..and despite naff weather, I wished to stay....

Toblerone Cake? Blue Train, Melbourne

Beaching along the Great Ocean Road, Victora

The famous 12 Apostles, Great Ocean road (tho, not actually 12 in photo ;)

However, after some more daft days with the whole job thing, money was short on bsupply and i had to make a decision; so upon exhausting all my resources, managed to get a 3 month gig here in Japan, thus allowing me to get cashed up again, and continue with my 'working' holiday in Aus. and voila..here I am, near the end of it and ready to head back. 3 weeks today, and I am on the plane!

So life has been rather quiet here...too quiet in fact. coming to farmland in Japan in the middle of winter was quite a shock after the sun and beaches and living in Bondi..new stuff happening all the time. upon arrival in narita, could feel the cold seeping through the vestibule and i wanted to run back to my seat and sit defiantly until the plane returned to its country of origin. the sanity saviours have been guesthouse party, weekend back in Yotsukaido with Jake, and social email contact from around the globe...as well as an escape to Osaka during spring break.

Turning Japanese on the Dotonburi, Osaka

So Osaka....figuring i had a bad omen at first...Jake being an hour late for our kick off dinner in Ebisu, Tokyo....he now knows the 'rapid' is the way to go...he he...anyway, all set and sorted after that..overnighter bus with daft morning arrival first at Osaka station, then into the blazing morning sunlight of Ikoma, home of my 'lifer' cousin Greg and his girlfriend Jo, our hosts supremo. after catching the lost sleep, hit the sights of Osaka...which of course, is no fun sober...Glico Man, giant crab, Dotonburi, Shinsekai, etc, etc, followed by an ANZAC day party at a foreigners pub...a so so event, but far better than watching grass grow up here in Ibaraki...also fit in Nara, happened Upon a festival at Saidai-ji, while in search of the Archaeological dig there...and Kyoto.

a DAY trip into Kyoto...we did more than our fare share of walking taking in Kinkakuji, Kyomizu and the Gion area. After nice chinese dinner by the river, decided to do a wee bit of a pubcrawl...but finishing by 11 to get last train back of course. starting point was the Pig and Whistle, for proper pints of Kilkenny and Samuel Smiths, and walk down memory lane for me, remembering seeking culture shock relief on my second night in Japan..round 1. attempting to find numerous bars listed in Jakes (out of date!!!!) rough guide was to no avail. wound up at whiskey/blues bar smaller than my kitchen, with us as the only patrons...hmmm...not exactly a good place to whoop it up.....and at \1000 per glass...not exactly good for budget either...so much like a child waiting for their mother to do some boring chore of other, i was insistent we get out....more futile hunts with guide book, circa 1853...we wound up at unlisted 'Hub', in a scene similar to 'Will and Grace' attempting to determine if a certain lad there was gay or straight, but really discovering yards of beer in the process (train? what train?). asked him to join us for dancing, seemingly keen at first..until he pops to the loo and Jake figures i need more beer, and presumably (hopefully) having some rogue thought on how to get it, proceeds to give me this lads yard...(my own Yard was not enough?). of course, being rather squiffy myself, I did not object....hmmmm....later more futile efforst to find dance clubs, drinking from convenience stores and finally calling defeat after hitting a reggae bar and then an izakaya to wait for the train. humph.

last day, headed up to the temple in Ikoma..without a doubt, one of the nicest I have seen (which says a lot)..situated on top of a mountain, and engulfed in the forest around it, with a view in some places all the way from Nara to Osaka...led to a very peaceful feeling with which to take dreaded overnighter bus back to the Kanto area...home...sleep more, drink less, sleep more drink less.

Monday 20 something August (?). Cairns. have come full circle, and then some. the remainder of the time in Japan was (quel surprise) rather uneventful. the last week living in Yotsukaido was cool, and rather shocking having other people around..including Paola, from vancouver, giving me my much needed serious fix of girl company..so much so that, i forewent many attempts at watching 'Bridget Jones's Diary' and average bedtime was 4am. all good....

The Return: Ripping it up good and proper in Sydney with my hostel-mates

So my combined birthday/surviving japan gift to self was the whitsunday sailing trip. was not so sure of group off the start, as it seemed to largely comprise of couples..eeeh, not always the best party option when one wants to drown sorrows of celebrating their last birthday in their 20's. but no worries, was quickly asked to join a nice group - Richard and Laura, Anna, Annemarie and a nice norwegian girl whose name i will not even attempt to spell. all good. weather was a bit off, but still managed to see some lovely spots, do some snorkelling (tho not much cos it was cold, and visibillity was all a bit crap), and got right pissed on the aforementioned night. and for added humour, anna pulled the skipper..har har, sorry anna...also had a brill dinner afterwards...the skipper showed up pissed on a bottle of gin and wearing bad 80's clothes. excellent. and true to form, i somehow managed to free myself of my camera...ARGH! repeating patterns. must stop this rather expensive pattern repeat...however, in this case, it was actually kind of a good thing...(more later...)...and again, like my leaving do, saved! As naturally, I was not the only one on the boat with a camera...

Burying Roar (photo by Richard)

Superdiver! to the rescue of any overboard mobile phones or cameras....(Photo by Richard).

Anyway, feeling all a bit lost after having my life planned for so long, i joined anna, richard and laura up at mission beach..so anna and i were off on the coach at a not so nice hour..even less nice with hangover, and first thing being told about skipper's silk sheets. weather was even more crap in mission beach, so leaving precious little to do....aaaah, bugger, my time is up. tho i guess having to leave for some free alcohol (if under slightly dodgy circumstances) is not a bad thing..i shall return!

Sunday, 14 March. Back in Calgary. 4 months on.... Yar, did really well with this journal! So, leaving off with mission beach, and around the time life took off in a different direction i suppose, leaving me to spend my precious internet time writing mammoth mails of gossip to various parties in various locations, rather than updating this thing. So! Mission beach itself wasn't much of an event, especially since the weather was less than stellar. attempts by myself and a French girl staying at the guesthouse to find a cassowary in the rainforest were not successful. rather met with hoardes of mozzies, and in her case, some weird vine that essentially burrows into your skin. eeesh. Whereas Anna, on a bus bound for Tully, sees a cassowary on the side of the road. pfft. no justice, i tell ya!

Anyway, meant to be continuing in a northerly pattern for Cairns, Anna and I'd got the idea in our heads to go back to Airlie..her for skippy, me for my own personal camera crusade. We got as far as Magnetic Island, where we finally saw some sun. The dorm we had there was brilliant as well - the infamous room 14, all in all v. entertaining with Kat, an English wannabe porn star, who, after spending the day in the animal sanctuary and suddenly overwhelmed with a desire to write a children's story, turned us all into various animals, somehow managed to still take the piss on ol' skippy and had us all rolling with laughter...good compensation for losing the toad race we'd entered our room in I guess! As well, a random run-in with English Melvin from the Melbourne crew, way back when!! After which, I headed south back to airlie (with Anna's unused ticket, pretending to be Anna..good thing they didn't take a closer look at my luggage!), Anna north for Cairns, planning to regroup some days on.

Well, the whole purpose for returning to Airlie was a complete bust. After having gone back to Morroco's 3 times, I finally called defeat and decided to enjoy the rest of my time there. This time I'd wised up and checked into Backpackers by the Bay...400m from the centre, smaller dorms, nice, and a dollar cheaper than my previous abode, Koala's. So a night of trying to win some free champers (no go! bugger!), and a day out sailing again with one of the lads from the room. Then finally, clear up to Cairns, to re-unite with Anna and Maarten.

Upon arrival in Cairns, and stepping out into the much warmer, yet misty air, I immediately took to the place. Little knowing how many memories and good times were coming. Upon the recommendation of Dom, part of the room 14, checked myself into Caravella 77 - nice enough place, central, if a bit on the more expensive side. Hooked up with Anna and Maarten for drinks..seeing Maarten for the first time since departing Sydney many months prior. A few nights out again, a pseudo room 14 reunion, and reality kicking in, time to find work and move out of Caravella. That landed me in a crustier place called Leo's, where I cleaned for my room, and met Mel and Kim from the homeland. The first night out with them, I encountered...the marines!!!! Yes, somewhere in the midst of it all...approximately 2500 US marines had descended upon this small city of 100,000, infultrating every corner, much like all the little ants did in my friend Adrian's apartment in Japan way back when...excellent entertainment they were, great, intelligent questions, such as, in order to be a backpacker, do you need a backpack? or can you have a duffelbag? How do we get our orders to go to the next place? Asking if we had ever seen a boat (For those unfamiliar, Cairns IS indeed a port city..). What with them being present on Canada day..pisstaking was absolutely necessary! Great day that was, we started off by being losers, job hunting, and were 'unwittingly' sucked into a pub by some other Canadians, spotting Kim's flag on her bag. Funny that, more of a celebration..25,000 kms away from home..than I'd had the previous year..AT home!

Me with 'honorary Canadian' Maarten

Well, the job hunt paid off for Mel. As for myself - Banana farm it was! So after a chance run in with one of the lads from my Airlie, round 2 dorm, made a plan for some diving, and cashed in on my 'free' night at Leo's, some small enjoyment before being exiled off into Innisfail. Well, that chance meeting turned out to be a major turning point in the big scheme of things. after a total of 4 whole days in banana hell, I packed it in (I have julie to thank for the bad pun!), and headed out on a nice outback adventure with him..intending only to go so far as Darwin, but rather going clear through to Perth.

24 March, still in Calgary.... OK! time to try and get this thing finished, as a few overseas opps. loom once again. And just back from a brill week in Vancouver, nice St. Patricks celebration (straight from the airport, I don't waste any time!) involving the bar that mixes Vancouver's second stiffest drink (according to the 'Georgia Straight' as we found out later..), and another one with an irish band, jugs of beer, 3 crazy Swedes and table dancing. As well as a real spring! hurrah! but now i am back in Calgary. bleeeh. ok. Enough of that, time to get down to business and FINISH THIS!!!!!

The outback. Miles and miles of....nothing! flatness.

(photo by Reto)

I should have been right at home, being from Alberta and all which is also full of nothing and flatness, but our roads aren't exactly littered with dead kangaroos. Now, don't get me wrong; its not like all highways in the Northern Territory or various parts of Queensland are skippy cemetaries, there ARE live ones...I was just disgruntled at it taking about 5 days before i saw one of those. Anyway you get some interesting characters out there, everything from lone dehyrdrated Israeli bikers to angry little men in caravan parks and biting cockatoos called 'cocky'. Welcome to Darwin was total accommodation disaster. Visions of easy transition into 4-walled accom immediately and pints on patios quickly disappeared upon discovering every backpacker in the entire city was full up - some freak busy streak. pffft. a streak that necessetated moving each night, and probably just giving a bad vibe on the whole place. However, there were some good points of the area; Berri springs being one, as even in 'the dry' up there, you have lows of 23, highs much higher than this, so its cool to cool off (har har, this bad pun's my own). Mindil Beach Night Markets warrant some checking out - and the influence from the not so far flung asian countries is shown here. The beach itself is great for sunsets. But..if you value your limbs, i'd enjoy it from the sturdy land portion only (They pulled out 50 crocs inside a week...). Outside Darwin, the oft passed-over-for-Kakadu Litchfield Park is spectacular. Home base here was Wangi Falls (sans accom. drama), which is a definite highlight, as is Buley Rockhole.

Wangi Falls, Litchfield NP, Northern Territory

There is also a smattering of other waterfall-type things and termite mounds to occupy one's self. Three days was plenty. Then heading West, for Broome, through the Kimberly area.

Boab Tree, WA (photo by Reto)

One note on crossing the border into WA - i'd hold out on your fruit and honey stock up, or you might end up chucking it out the window...as they have a quarantine. Whoops.

Broome, however, is spectacular. the first stopping off point on the west coast, and I knew immediately what everyone raves about. The weather in 'the dry' is spectacular, as is Cable Beach - day...

...or night...

Of course, the thing to do is ride a camel, or at least get a photo of other people riding camels on cable beach at sunset. can't do it all I guess! Broome also has an interesting history, involving Pearling, and there is a small museum and gift shop dedicated to this.

Next stop, Exmouth! This was probably the 'base' of the trip, having spent longer here than anywhere else. This is one of the access areas to the lesser known, but absolutely fabulous Ningaloo reef (Coral Bay is the other, but its smaller, and more expensive, so..ya). Anyway, it was here that I finally did one of the things I set out to do on this trip - My advanced Open Water certificate. couldn't have chosen a better place. Part of the reason being, there are only a handful of operators here..3 in Exmouth, I believe. Which means you're often the only ones out at a site. It is cheaper to do advanced open water here, about the same for open water. However, its not good value like in Cairns (ie, AOW here is $350 with 6 dives, whereas Cairns was about $470 for up to 10 dives, including liveaboard accom.). But the wildlife - incredible. face to face with sea snakes, following turtles, baitfish galore and the odd shark for those with a careful eye! Those with the not so careful eye may be lucky enough to encounter wildlife in other forms, right at your Caravan Park...there was a scottish/English couple having some serious issues with their van, the 'odd couple' - a German guy, and an English guy (that spells odd right there, but wait...there's more)...Sven and Sam, and Sven complaining about Sam's cooking, and Sam telling me he makes very nice meals every night, etc. they also provided the entertainment during the meal with Sven going on about serving beer to the German army during shooting practice, etc...After which I guess they kissed and made up over some cheap red cask wine, 'til the wee hours whilst us earnest divers headed off for our beauty rest...only to find they were on our boat the next morning. Not nearly in the great condition us early sleepers were. too funny.

Exmouth also has its share of beautiful, white sand beaches - some of which seem to be completely deserted. There's a good drift snorkel out at Turquoise Bay, which is about 60kms south of Exmouth - also part of the national park, so yes, paradise has its price! $9 for one year or something like this. Yes, I'd have to say the west coast definitely has the nicest beaches in all of aus!

Moving along to Monkey Mia - the dolphins. Of course, don't believe what is in the tourist brochures about this place...well, chuh, like you should anywhere, really...however, we'd been fairly warned about the experience being just you, the dolpins...and about 100+ other people with the same idea! What we hadn't been told...the place is actually just a resort. of course, one that you must pay admission to get into, on top of your accom costs. the accom ranges from camping, to trailers and proper hotel rooms tho. Normally this would not be strange, save but the fact that its usually marked on most Australian maps..maps that exclude Airlie beach, which is in fact an actual town! (sans admission costs..). The other lovely discovery I made at Monkey Mia was a wonderful vision of the bottom half of my swimsuit sitting on the laundry line at the Ningaloo Caravan Park..in Exmouth (800kms away). Unfortunately, it was more than just a vision(!).

After one night there...that is really all one needs...we seemed to pass from Australia into Ireland. Bush, Eucalyptus trees and red sand replaced by green fields full of sheep, and of course what would Ireland...or, little Ireland 25,000 kms away from actual..be without a wee bit o' rain? However, the place that served as a way station in Geraldton is worth a mention - Batavia Backpackers. One might be fooled upon arrival, thinkit it some sort of school, or library, but its not. v. reasonable rates in an historic building, friendly informative staff and a table for the billiard-savvy to show off on. The staff confirmed the existence of the 'Hutt River Province' - which, if memory serves is run by 'King Leopold', who defected from Australian citizenship and started his own...well, kingdom! One can get their passport stamped and post letters to people with Hutt River Province Stamps. Apparently Japanese go mad for this, especially when the manager said he'd just rung up and talked to the King. Unfortunately, it was north, and we were headed south...however, fortunately, the Irish transition lasted only a day, turning back into desert by the time we reached Cervantes/Pinnacles desert, 400 kms north of Perth. Pinnacles Backpackers, also worth a mention, tho like you'd find much else around those parts! Not to worry,if you are going to have just one option, this is a good one..run by Tony Lambert, who is also an author. The place is very modern, and felt more like a suburban Canadian house than a hostel in the far reaches of Western Australia. The Pinnacles desert itself...its cool, but once again, get your wallet out and be prepared to part with a few more dollars to gain entry. Sunset is the best time to go.

Defying gravity at the Pinnacles desert (Photo by Reto)

Perth, Perth...slightly frightening, the largest place I'd seen since the view of Sydney from a plane window nearly 3 months prior. Now, I'm sure Perth is all very lovely in the summer. Places like Cottesloe Beach and Rottnest Island would all be quite nice I am sure, but having some sense that 13 degrees and rain (ie, mid-winter!)was not quite beaching weather. So! After settling into some accom, sightseeing was kept mostly to indoor activity, such as the Western Australia Museum, or the Markets down at Fremantle (again, a place that'd be very cool in summer - well, not literally, but ya. A lot of places to do the Al Fresco thing..perhaps after a sun soaked trip to Cottesloe, or Rottnest?). Gave the prison tour a miss tho, as $14 was a bit steep. Some decent nightlife in the Northbridge area, and after taking in a hostel deal of a $5 meal..including beer (which of course is the most important part), and debating whether or not it would be a big night...chances are with a party à deux, it wouldn't exactly be a whooping it up kinda night. Until I made a fortuitous joke about how funny It'd be if the odd couple walked in. about an hour later, they did, so more added humour as we joined them for another club, managed to slide past the bouncers and cashiers, thus avoiding the cover charge, tho it would have been worth it. brill evening.

So Perth being the end of the outback adventure, I reluctantly boarded a plane back to Cairns, coming full circle and once again, on my own. Well, sort of. In the interim, Mel had taken a flat there..and I'd taken some floorspace. We had some good nights out, I once again, with most futility, hunted for work, but found none. Which was probably what was meant to happen anyway, as what I did find was an overwhelming need/want to move on from there. With indication of work in Sydney..and that being where my flight out of aus left (ie, if i ran completely out of $, i could go)..i took a loan from the bank of Mom and Dad and booked a Virgin Blue flight. So! last chance, Great Barrier Reef! I did Green Island for a day..what a nice little island, good day trip. Also a nice trip to Cape Tribulation with Mel, Colleen and Jamie..or shall I say, operation crocky spotting, as Mel was obsessed. fortunately I didn't have to go in as bait in order to spot one - they seemed to be out in the open without the prospect of me on the lunch menu. We hired a car after getting a deal through some of Mel's friends at Billabong Car Hire. Now, the humour is lost on me, but some who have viewed the photo of it found it amusing...

NOT the billabong photo...just me chilling at the beach..in fear that Mel will soon feed me to a Croc to increase her chances of spotting one.

Sydney. This was really back to the origin now, and in a make it/break it kind of way...meaning I needed work, and cheap accom..fast, or my 'cheap' accom would be in the back of a Singapore Airlines 747. By some miracle, both occured inside 48 hours. Well, OK, not exactly a miracle, but mad searching of ads, applications and internet surfing..however, still rather impressive by December's standards I reckon!!! Anyway, the accom was a travellers house in Darlinghurst (City Fringe, perfect) and run by a laid back South American fellow called Pepe. So my day job was

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