'It's alright, I'm ok, I wanna know where you are.'

Just a little side note before I actually do some serious writing. Get hold of Graham Nash (of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young fame)'s 'Songs for Beginners'. It's a wonderful example of '70s pop which had brilliant lyrical and musical skills and managed to make brilliant, poignant pop songs. Particularly of note is 'Better Days', which I discovered, I confess through this video: Dylan as posted by my lovely friend on Facebook. The album also manages, in a way that we've rather lost, to convey the concerns of a generation that really did have something to worry about.

On a lighter note, I have much more travel writing to do. I'm hoping to wrap up Australia in this one, if not begin New Zealand too.

So, we were waiting on the floor of Cairns' Airport about to fly, via Sydney, to Adelaide. Having completed that particular flight, the second shortest of our trip at 4/5 hours long, with a brief stop-over at Syndey airport, we arrived in a shockingly cold (actually cold this time, there was rain!!) Adelaide and found our way to Annie's Place; our lovely little, very hippie-fied hostel at the far end of one of Adelaide's main streets. (That should give you a sense for how small Adelaide is, or if not, know that one can walk the length of Adelaide in 20-25 minutes, comfortably.) Having checked in there, discovering we were, comparatively, far from anywhere of interest, I needed to make myself feel a little more human, not to say anything of warm, so I hopped into the shower while the other three disappeared off to a market we had been told about. A short while later, feeling a whole world better, I went of to meet them and after some searching found them deep in a fantastic food market trying to avoid spending lots of money on chocolate, cheese and other such delicacies.

To just change time, place and people for a moment. I spent a year in France during my degree, specifically in Grenoble, wherein I met two Australians, who live in Adelaide... You see where I'm going with this...

So, having gotten ourselves settled in and adjusted to time difference, climate and lack of sleep, I got in touch with them and we organised to meet up for a drink and a catch up that evening. So, while meandering through Adelaide's very pleasant Rundle Mall; the pedestrianised shopping mall that runs most of the length of Adelaide, we made our way to the Austral pub and met up with said Australians for a much needed catch up. After quite a few drinks and a good long catch up about all that had gone on between the last time I had seen them (May 2009) we parted ways, the four of us heading straight to bed to crash out after a rather long day and them back to their respective homes with a firm agreement that we would meet again tomorrow evening and go to the Tap Inn (prizes if you guess what the theme of the pub is)

Having recovered somewhat we spent the following day exploring Adelaide, which can be done very easily by foot and in a fairly short space of time. Nonetheless, it has a very nice feel about it and I must say, despite the initial shock, I did enjoy being a little cooler and actually being able to wear jeans, jumpers and even a hat in comfort. Once we'd got the car sorted out for our coming road trip, spending the day doing not much more than wander around exploring, taking photos and a bit of shopping was a really pleasant change of pace to the trip. Anyway, the evening rolled around and we met up again with my friends and headed off to the Tap Inn, just a bit further out on the outskirts of Adelaide. The theme of the pub, if you haven't guessed by now, is golf. So it's got a driving range attached to it, which for a not terribly considerable sum of money one can pass the evening on, quite merrily (in all sense of the word), whiling the hours away. Eventually, it got to the point of the evening when, after large quantities of liquid have been consumed, when nature calls and so off Bobby disappeared (I only mention this because it's humorous, don't worry). Now, we had noticed that at the far end of the driving range was a window, with 'Best Seat in the House' written over it. Now, I, in my naivety, had thought it was part of the bar, a cubicle or some such thing, but no no, it was the men's toilent cubicle. So you can sit on the throne, while you watch people hit golf balls at you. Having all had a great time, we once again parted ways and with a new CD to entertain us on our coming trip, kindly put together by a friend of my friends, we headed back to the hostel once again to crash out.

We only had one morning left in Adelaide and had a very specific objective in mind; the legendary 'pie floater'. Now, Cam, one of my Aussie friends, despite living in Adelaide all his life, his parents doing likewise, had never eaten a pie floater, so we made it our mission to find one. Eventually Cam found out that we could get one out on an industrial estate in a cafe there, that people apparently come from miles around to get them from. So, we turned up, were duly directed into a parking space and went inside to queue up to get our 'pie floaters'. It's a this point that I should probably mention, a pie floater is an upside down pie, floating in pea soup, with ketchup squirted all over it, which I'll grant you doesn't actually sound that appetising, but actually is delicious.

Having devoured our pies, we went back to our hostel, rounded up our stuff and piled into our hired car, to begin our three day journey along the Great Ocean Road, to Melbourne, where our Oz Adventure would end.

The first thing of note that happened while on the road between Adelaide and wherever our first stop would be, aside from being dumbstruck by the beauty of the South Australian countryside, was in the middle of nowhere, while driving across some swampy land just in from the coast, the skies opened and for a while it became almost impossible to see while driving due to the intensity of the rain. Then, once we had passed through it, we came found ourselves looking at the most incredible rainbow and so, it being an apposite moment we stopped and took a moment just to marvel at where we were and what we were doing:

We drove on through the Australian countryside, continually being struck by the beauty, variation and sparsity of population all along the Great Ocean Road. Eventually we needed a break from the drive and so pulled over into a pelican colony by the roadside, where we took the opportunity to stretch our legs, see a bit of wildlife, including the now rather mundane kangaroos and a complete lack of pelicans and to just enjoy some time out of the car. By this time it was starting to get late so we piled back in and carried on after a little while, still with nowhere in mind to stop that evening. Eventually we made a decision to stop in a tiny little place called Robe, where we were informed by the guide book that there were various B&Bs, hostels and hotels. So, we checked a couple of B&Bs, found them rather too expensive and so decided to go and check out the Lakeside Manor YHA, Robe which it turned out was a beautiful old 19th century house, complete with library, that had been converted into a fairly upscale hostel. After a little haggling, we all decided to stay the night here and then press on in the morning. It turned out to be one of the most interesting places we stay, with massive halls, wide enough to drive a car down (we didn't try, don't worry), beautiful grounds including, unsurprisingly the lake and a beautiful drawing room, library and bathroom with enormous high ceilings and wonderful bay windows. Waking in the morning to a beautiful clear day, looking out over the lake was stunning and it's somewhere I would highly recommend to anyone doing the route we did. Not least because the owners are so friendly and accommodating.

I'm going to leave it there because I'm exhausted, and I've got quite a lot more to cover.

Bon nuit, tout le monde!

Joe

xxx

More travelling.

So, after Magnetic Island, we had a brief stay in a very battered but equally tranquil Mission Beach. It was just what we needed after the rather hectic few days we'd had and furthermore provided a much needed rest a. in preparation for the lunacy of Cairns and b. after the intense weeks of travelling we had undergone up the coast. A day relaxing, doing nothing more than playing ping pong and chilling out in the very secluded and peaceful hostel was perfect.

It was not to last, however, and we had much to look forward to. Cairns was our next stop and a much anticipated one at that. As promised, the weather was getting warmer the further up the coast. (All things are relative, from the comparatively chilly high 20s of Brisbane Cairns felt scorching!) We also had the pleasure of finding we would be driven from Mission Beach to Cairns by an Aussie friend of ours, so the five of us piled into the rather small car and we set off. The journey it must be said did not pass without incident; the now infamous 'Hat' Incident, which left us all a little shaken. On the other hand, the rest of the journey was very pleasant and a hugely enjoyable change from the uncomfortable jolting of the Oz Experience Bus. So, we arrived a couple of hours later in Cairns, where the group split for the first extended period of time since we had left. Despite the increase in temperature, however, it was raining in Cairns when we arrived, so we parted ways with very little ceremony, not to mention the fact we would be seeing each other again in a few days. Ollie and I checked into the somewhat (in)famous Gilligan's and indulged ourselves by using some of our hard earned Base nights. We soon found ourselves checked into a room with a Norwegian, a Canadian and two other Englishmen and proceeded to see what delights Cairns had to offer us. They seemed largely to revolve around consuming many different kinds of alcohol and taking advantage of the various different night spots i.e. the Wool Shed or the Blue Sky Brewery with its many, many different beers. That or a 'party bus', which we managed to both win tickets to and get onto despite it being apparently sold out. Funny what you can wangle in a town full of backpackers.

To aid our socialising, we met up with various people we had run into all along the coast, not the least of whom was an old school friend I ran into as we walked into Gilligan's on that first raining evening. What a very, very small world it is. Cairns is the inevitable meeting point, starting point and departing point for almost all travellers that come to the East Coast of Australia. It's position as the last serious town, with a burgeoning night life and back packer scene, not to mention geographical location, makes it ideal for these sorts of rendez-vous. One can hardly turn a corner without tripping over someone you met in a hostel in Surfer's Paradise many weeks ago. Owing to the transient nature of the relationships one forms, however, they are always quickly and solidly bound, so the delight in seeing a new/old friend is always palpable.

So, having indulged our inner party animal extensively, we decided we wanted to do something else. So, we rounded up a few other travellers who were interested, hired a car and set off in search of the Innisfail Waterfall Circuit, which, though you may not realise it, is famous for the Millaa Millaa. They feature in Peter Andre's 'Mysterious Girl' video. (Two further points of information 1. he must have been absolutely bloody freezing under there as the water in the pool and waterfall was, well... bloody freezing and 2. in the aboriginal language, I am reliably informed, repetition is used for emphasis, so Millaa Millaa means plenty of water... surprisingly)

The Millaa Millaa Waterfalls, complete with idiots.

Aside from the Millaa Millaa Waterfalls, there are many others on the very pleasant Waterfalls Circuit and come the end of the day we had definitely been soaked through, gotten cold, warmed up in the car and then with the day winding down, driven back up to Cairns following the edge of the rainforest that covers the surrounding area.

Back in Cairns we decided to venture further up the coast, meet our missing two travellers and then head on up to Cape Tribulation, the first point that Captain Cook came across when he discovered Australia for Britain. We booked ourselves onto what turned out to be, essentially, a coach trip, complete with rather patronising guide and itinerary and a group of other, less adventurous, travellers. Regardless, we made the journey up to Cape Tribulation, through the indubitably tropical rainforest right along the very edge of the coast. This is in fact one of the very few places in the world where rainforest meets reef and within the space of quite literally metres, one can go from snorkelling along a reef to tramping through the undergrowth of the rainforest. While not the most adventurous or exciting of trips, it was interesting to have done it and to spend the night in a log cabin, in the heart of the rainforest before heading back to Cairns the following day.

Once back in Cairns, we once more hopped onto the Party Bus and had another night filled with ridiculous drinking games, excessive drinking and plenty more ridiculous antics, including a strip tease from one of our number, for the benefit of all the revellers at the Wool Shed, in failed pursuit of the much-coveted 'Mr. Backpacker' award. Having recovered the following day, we decided to book ourselves onto a trip out to Michaelmas Cay, which on the surface appears to be nothing more than a tiny sandy island used largely as a bird colony in the middle of the Pacific Ocean (alright, about 30km off the coast of Australia, if I'm honest), but bellow the surface hides some of the best snorkelling in the world, with coral of every possible colour imaginable and fishes in the same rage to boot. Not to mention the odd turtle, shark (the harmless kind) or stingray (again, harmless). Having had a thoroughly enjoyable and utterly relaxing journey out to Michaelmas Cay in the glorious sunshine and absolute tranquility of the Ocean, we arrived at Michaelmas Cay. Our boat came equipped with its own semi-submersible vehicle complete with submerged glass bottom, from which we were able to see even more of the beautiful aquamarine seas and the hugely varied life it held.

Michaelmas Cay in its entirety.

Having spent the entire day larking about on the boat, island or in the water we finally departed Michaelmas Cay, with a sense of really having seen and done something special. This insignificant spec in the middle of blue nowhere really had something special about it, even if it was a little overcrowded and as with much of the Antipodean part of the world makes one wonder what it must have been like to discover it.

That was pretty much the end of our Cairns adventure and so we bid farewell to our friends, new and old-ish and headed out to the airport, where we spent quite a few hours on the floor before boarding out flight for Adelaide, the Great Ocean Road and Melbourne. As well as everything along the way!

Much, much more to tell.

Joe

xxx