Demolitiondebbie

Well....it's all over. What can I say? This will be my last entry on this blog - it's been almost 8 months and what an amazing time I've had! I've done many things I only ever dreamed of - skydiving, holding a koala, seeing Uluru at sunset. I've made some of the best friends I could ever hope to have, met some amazing people, and I've found that I have something in common with practically everyone I've met. There have been ups, downs, crazy times and times where I've thought "What am I doing?!". But it's all been worth it, and I wouldn't change a thing. It was sad saying goodbye - the end of an era. It's been carefree. I've learned so much about who I am, I've changed the way I think, and hopefully ... read more

I flew from Darwin last night, arriving in Sydney this morning. It's all....wrong. My life is here now - how can it suddenly stop and I have to go home? The past few days in Darwin have been getting cooler - still hot, just not quite as bright and scorching. Heather has been working a lot, so I've been playing a lot of pool in the bar with Katie, and just sitting chatting to randoms. That's what I like about The Cav - people just sit around by the pool and you end up making new friends. It's been a great 4 weeks in Darwin. So yesterday was the final day. I feel like I've been counting down for the last week, but it still didn't seem that real. Heather and Katie both said it didn't ... read more

I just can't believe I'm leaving Darwin in 3 days....flying to Sydney for a few days and then home. I'll save the reflection for when I'm home I guess....or maybe the last day. Anyway - so it's been the usual here - lazing by the pool, playing shithead (card game) with Rachel and Katie, wandering around the shops etc. Went to Casuarina yesterday on my own which was nice. On Tuesday 20th, we went to the Vic for Libby and Dean's last night. It was supposed to be a quiet night, just on the Diet Coke, but we decided to get a jug of beer, and tequila shots were on offer. Next thing, we had the chance to win some free beer by making the longest line of clothing, by taking off what we were wearing....agghhhh. ... read more

Yes, on Saturday 17th May I jumped out of an aeroplane at 12,000 feet! Heather, Simone, Clare, Mike, Jamie, Darren and Oli have already done a dive, so i figured I was the only one left of the original team 8 to go! I got myself to Darwin airport on the shuttle bus, and met Mel, who meets the skydivers on the beach with a big purple flag when they land. She let me go with her to watch the earlier group jump, which made me see how less scary it was than I had thought! I had been nervous all week, but as soon as I got there I was fine! The other person jumping with me was a guy called Brendan - his instructor was called Ash and mine was Coey. We harnessed up ... read more

Yes, my favourite friend turned 24 yesterday - (hurrah, she has caught me up a year). We started off the celebrations the night before, ready for midnight. Heather, Emily, Mike, Clare, Oli, Libby and Dean had a wine and cheese night (for me it was Twix and Coke!). Libby, Dean, Rachel, Katie and I decided to sneak off into the room to go play cards and leave the others sitting outside, so we could take the opportunity to blow up balloons and hang up a birthday banner. It was going well until some of the balloons burst, making us all scream and surely give things away! We managed to keep Heather out of the room until midnight with a ton of lies about how Dean had been to the toilet and nobody should now go in ... read more

Currently at Cavenagh's hostel. It's better than the YHA in many ways (better pool, better people) but the staff aren't as friendly. We're in a 12 bed dorm, but it isn't as bad as I'd thought. Ear plugs are a great invention! Emily and Heather have been job hunting most days, and they have had an interview which they got (yay) so it's just waiting to start the job now for them. (2 weeks away I think). I've been spending a lot of time with Katie which is cool cos she's very chilled out and just lets me carry on being hectic haha. Rachel is here now too, so the numbers are gradually increasing! It's great to have so many nice people around. I've been pretty good with my money the last week (mainly because I ... read more

We had a few days in the YHA in Darwin until we left for Kakadu. Mainly we lazed around the pool, wandered into town and went on a few nights out. On May 5th we left for Kakadu National Park. When I was originally told about it, I was under the impression Crocodile Dundee was filmed around this area, but it wasn't mentioned on the trip so now I'm not sure! We started off that morning with a jumping crocodile cruise. There are hundreds of crocodiles just lurking in the river, and they came right up to our boat (as in, they were a meter away from our open window!). The guy at the top of the boat dangles buffalo meat on a rope down to the crocs and they jump for it whilst everyone takes ... read more

The rest of our time in Alice Springs was mainly spent lazing around the pool. The night before we left for our trip up to Darwin, Emily and the others got drunk and Em left her flip flops, so had to leave the hostel barefoot on to the bus, lol. The trip didn't start off well, with Heather and Em being put on a different bus from Clare, Oli, Mike and I. But our guide, Emma, was pretty sweet (though a bit scatty!) and so she sorted it all for us. And so we were off, on the way to Darwin. The first day (the 29th April) we stopped off at Barrow Creek, where Peter Falconio was allegedly murdered. I thought it would be a dirt road, middle of nowhere place, but it was just like ... read more

Continuing with update... Weds 23rd April - We had to get up at 4.30am - yuck!!! We left Parachilna and drove to a big salt lake which looked like a white beach - of course, we had to lick the salt just to check! We ended up in Coober Pedy early afternoon and had a tour around the town. Our guide was called Natalie and was so enthusiastic! Coober Pedy is an underground town - everyone lives in dugouts which is weird! I was freaked out, but it was ok because most of the houses were normal ground level, but with hills over the top. We did a tour down an old opal mine, which was a bit scary! We also watched a movie about opal mining, in the underground cinema! And, we got a tour ... read more

Again, another overview of the past week or so....(Currently in Alice Springs after arriving here yesterday). Saturday 19th April - Went to a chocolate factory, hurrah! Free samples were good of course. Looked a bit too much like Colbo for me (packing room, white suits!) but was nice to kill some time and do something which was free! That night, all of us from our tour group went out to the Dog and Duck which was a fantastic night. Got to know Rachel (Essex) tons better which is fab cos she's now one of my best friends here and I'll defo stay in touch with her. Sunday 20th April - spent the morning walking around Adelaide with Rach, trying to recover from the night before with a Boost Juice (note to anyone english - if you ... read more