Australia Day!

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Day 305 (26.1.08)

Happy Australia Day! Something we’ve learnt since being in Australia is that if there’s an excuse for having a public holiday then they’ll go for it - do you know they even have day off for the Queen’s birthday? Even in England we don’t get that! Anyway, since Australia day fell on a Saturday this year, Monday would be a day off for all - nice!

We started the day with a bit of house hunting as we had an appointment to view a flat. On arrival at the flat it soon dawned on us that it was extremely unlikely that we’d get it, about 40 people were waiting in an orderly queue to view the flat, such is the rental situation in Melbourne at the moment. The flat was pretty cool but the agent was doubtful we’d stand a chance as we only needed a 6 month rental even though we said we could pay for all 6 months up front if necessary. It wasn’t looking good for us but there was nothing else we could do until Tuesday so we headed back to the campsite to enjoy the gorgeous weather that Melbourne had put on especially for Australia Day.

In the afternoon we were joined by Tiana, Ash and Tiana’s sister and her friend, Sharelle and Emma for a barbecue dinner and some relaxation time by the pool. To celebrate the occasion there was a fireworks display planned for the evening in the centre of Melbourne so we made the trip into town and arrived just in time to catch a fantastic show over the Botanical Gardens. They certainly know how to do fireworks in Oz! A coffee in a cute little place in St Kilda rounded off a good day.

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