---

We could barely sleep the night of the 14th April. Philipp was due to leave for the airport and catch his plane at 5:00. We spent most of the night chatting about the things we'd seen, people we'd met and the experiences we'd had, both together and seperately, whilst being in Australia. When the alarm finally went off at 4:30am, I got up and had a shower. There were still other travellers up, sitting watching TV and having a drink. We had a final check of the dorm room and made our way to reception to check out for the final time. The hostel was an important part of my trip to Australia. The dining room is where I met some of my best friends whilst travelling, and the bar was where it all began for me and Philipp (no suprises there). It was really strange to leave the place (again). It didn't hit me until later in the day that I wouldn't be coming back to this place. The reception area was busy with other people checking out, so I left Philipp with our room keys and headed over to Maccas to get us some coffee. We trudged up to Spencer Street Bus Terminal to get the airport bus and just sat next to each other, making small talk until we arrived at the airport. Philipp checked in his luggage and we headed outside for a smoke. The airport was busy - people pulling up in taxis, coaches, buses - even getting their grandparents to give them a lift! For a lot of people, it seemed like they were just begining on their adventure - going somewhere unknown for the first time. Other people, like Philipp, were heading home after experiencing life in a different country. Outside, the air was chilly. It made my cheeks pink and stung my eyes. We stood together, not talking, not knowing what to say. It was just like leaving home all over again.

After Philipp left to catch his flight, I looked at my watch and wondered what I would do for the next two and a half hours before my flight left. I spent the time having another coffee in Maccas and writing in my journal. I also spent a large chunk of time bawling my eyes out and wishing Philipp would come back. I must have looked like a lunatic! The flight over from Melbourne to Adelaide was uneventful. It was an early morning flight so I was wedged between two men dressed in business suits, looking very important with their laptop bags and Blackberry's. I was shattered from having not slept, and promptly fell asleep just as we were taking off. I must have snored or dribbled a little as the two guys gave me a strange look when I disembarked the plane. Adelaide wasexactly the same as I remebered it. It was warmer than I expected and I ended up stripping off in the Bus station. Paying $15 for airport transfers was really starting to get me down. I was just sorting through all my 10c coins to see how much money I had when the bus pulled up. I asked the driver how much the fare would be to my friends suburb. "$2.70" he replied. I nearly died of shock! Two dollars and seventy cents?! This guy had quite clearly misheard me or the shuttle buses in the bigger cities were making mega money from scamming travellers. I happily paid the fare and sat down. I arrived at my friends house around 11:00am and promptly fell asleep after being given "my" room back. It felt like I'd never left! It was really good to see everyone and I had so many stories to share and pictures to show them all.

My days in Adelaide have gone both slowly and quickly. It feels like I've barely done anything and yet the time has gone by. I managed to meet up with Malte before he left for Melbourne (to fly to New Zealand). He'd had an amazing time driving up the West Coast and had hundred of photos to show me. Some of his pictures were breathtaking (I'm still envious of his panoramic setting on his fantastic camera). He had an absolute blast with his friends and looked really well. We hung out for while; swapping stories and reminiscing about our three week adventure. It was really good to see him again before we both left Australia. Other than that, I really haven't done much. Some family relatives came around at the weekend so I got to meet them - we had a nice lunch and I listened as they all swapped stories about each other. It was a really lovely day and I was happy to meet them. I watched the Formula 1 (annoying girl no where in sight - yes!) and was pleased at the Maclaren 1-2 finish.

Over the last few days, I've been feeling a bit run down and seem to have caught "man-flu" from one of the guys. I am currently dosed up on cold/flu tablets and the distinct scent of menthol seems to follow me wherever I go. Today I felt well enough to have a walk over to the Plaza to get some of Betty Crockers famous Cup Cake mix. Now I have twelve lovely chocolate cupcakes to eat! Although, I probably should share them!

---