Heading home

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So here we are at last. After 2 hangovers (pretty good I think!), 7 capital cities, 8 flights (and 2 more to go), 35 beds, 87 days, 1322 photos and more money than I'd like to consider, I'm finally heading home. The airport shuttle comes to pick me up in 4 hours, and from then it's a mere 25 hours until I land at Heathrow!

I thought I'd use this final entry to list the highlights of what's been an absolutely amazing trip. Everyone who comes to these two beautiful countries will have their own list of must-dos and must-sees, but this is my personal list of moments that I'll always remember. I've listed them in chronological order.

- Swimming under waterfalls in the Northern Territory
- Drinking wine and eating nibbles as the sun set over Uluru
- Climbing Kings Canyon
- Holding a koala and travelling on the Skyrail at Kuranda
- Snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef
- Swimming in Lake Mackenzie on Fraser Island
- Dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe in Surfers Paradise (hangover number one)
- Climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge and drinking champagne at Sydney Opera House that evening
- Visiting the Blue Mountains and walking in the Jamieson Valley
- Driving down the Great Ocean Road
- Wine tasting in the Yarra Valley
- Jet boating at the Huka Falls
- Ladies night at Blend bar in Wellington (hangover number two)
- Whale and dolphin watching at Kaikoura
- Helihiking on the Fox Glacier
- Hang gliding over Queenstown

As I said above, I've had an absolutely wonderful time on this trip and would recommend travelling alone to anyone who's considering it - if you're not sure that you can do it, my answer is yes you can! Now that it's time to go home, however, I can't wait to get back to England. I'm so glad I've had my adventure, but I'm ready to come back to my family and friends, and the fabulous country I call home. I know many people will ask me if I want to be one of the many who goes back to Australia and never leaves, and the answer is a definite no. I want to travel the world, but each time I go away I want to come home to the country I love - a land of tea, queues, rain, rubbish public transport, the BBC, history, architecture and so many other things that just aren't the same anywhere else. It truly is a jewel set in the silver sea, and I'm so excited to be coming back! I'll see you all very soon...

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