PeteB

Our intentions on leaving family in Greytown were to jump on a train to Wellington and then get a ferry over to Picton, hire a car and then see as much of the West coast as possible during our remaining few days. We'd also put another ad on gumtree and had arranged to meet Nina (yet another traveller from Germany!) en route. We were dropped at the nearby railway station, said our goodbyes to Mum and Dad and were soon on our way, arriving at Wellington in plenty of time to catch the ferry. Except this was Thursday morning and there were no empty ferries until late Saturday afternoon. We had been assured there was no need to book ahead but stupidly failed to take the Easter Weekend into consideration. As our time on the South ... read more

I spent the last 2 days in Tasmania catching up with sleep and packing all my stuff. After 3 months in one place it felt a bit strange to be moving on. I must say thank you once again to Jennii and Jonathan for putting up with me for so long, i really appreciate it. I left Tasmania early on the 28th knowing that i was meeting my sister the next day and we'd have very little time to squeeze in all the stuff we wanted to do. Arriving in Sydney at around 8am i found a hostel, dumped my belongings and headed straight for the harbour. After experiencing relatively cool weather compared to what i have become used to, i was pleased to find clear skies and temperatures close to 30degrees. I spent the morning ... read more

It's now March 11th and i have only 2 and a half weeks left in Tassie before heading to Sydney and completing the final 3 weeks of my trip. Since my last blog i have been working hard, watching all 180 episodes of Seinfeld on DVD (there's little else to do in my spare time without a vehicle and Aussie TV is really that bad), and still getting out and doing some sight-seeing where possible. I gave up on trying to get a job at Dominoes Pizza (8 weeks later and i am still waiting for their call so perhaps i'll still get a chance to work there once my trousers arrive) and instead ventured across the road to Mcdonald's. Again, i had to apply online but this time i immediately got a reply and was ... read more

I got a taxi to the airport and before long i was boarding my flight, and before long i was dis-embarking my flight. It was only 1 hour from Melbourne to Hobart and the majority of that time was spent either ascending or descending. I was met at the airport by Jen and was given a lift to Midway Point (about 20km east of Hobart). I will be staying with Jen and Jonathan and must start to look for work in an attempt to replenish my fast dwindling funds. Their house is really cool, as i have my own room and they have a big TV!! Midway Point is ironically enough, about midway between two places, so it is very quiet here. This is ideal for me as it takes away the temptations of wasting money. ... read more

From Ballina we arrived in another small seaside town called Nambucca Heads. We found a motel here offering fantastic views over the bay below, and as it was another hot day Nancy set about sunbathing by the pool and i went wandering down to find the beaches. I under-estimated the heat of the sun and as i got a bit lost on my way back (i did have a map, but in my defence Australians tend to pick and choose which roads to have signs for), feared i'd die of sunstroke. In the end i got away with just a really burnt face. On my travels i stumbled across a graffiti wall. A place where people come to paint their messages and leave a mark on the place. They should try this on Canvey Island, ... read more