Latest news - part 1

Quite a time it has been since I last sat down and wrote an update!! Lots of new stories to tell because of it too. So I'm being sensible for your sake and mine and I'm breaking it up into two parts!! Part one will include the latest stuff from Adelaide and my awesome roadtrip to Melbourne through the Grampians and along the Great Ocean Road. So let's start!!

In my last update I mentioned I was about to perform at an open mic at the Path Party on campus, and I did!! It was very scary but very awesome at the same time and a big step for me towards overcoming my "oh my god there's people listening" fear. I played two songs - one of my own and one of Missy Higgins - and I got people applauding and walking up to me afterwards with positive feedback, so my shaky voice and my trembling hands must not have made me sound too awful :) It was a good feeling though to have done it. I'm just taking it one step at a time...

The rest of the party was fun too, just hanging out with people from campus. It ended in a midnight visit to Maccas - as you do - and a movie with Amera, Lutien, Janneke and Madeline. Lovely night :)

The week that followed was a pretty full-on week, especially the start of it. Some stuff going on and at the same time essays to write/research and keeping up the campus social life with some going out and having dinners here and there with people :) As my NZ plans had definitely fallen through on the weekend, I was also busy making other plans for my mid-semester break. On the Monday Charlotte told me about the trip she and some other people from campus were doing to Melbourne. I was now planning to go to Melbourne anyway, so I thought I might as well join them on their backpackers tour through the Grampians and along the Great Ocean Road!! Was very much looking forward to that the moment I booked it :) Monday night we also had Alex coming over to our unit as she wanted to move into our empty room. So she dropped by to check with us if that was okay, which of course it was.

And then finally mid-semester break started!! Two blissful weeks of no lectures or tutes. After dinner at Janneke's on the Monday it was time for me to pack for the week and a half that lay ahead. My alarm was set for 4.30 the next morning as we had an early pick-up in Glenelg for our road trip, which eventually meant I only got 2 hours of sleep, if that. Not the most perfect way to start an intense trip like that!! But the trip was awesome. Nothing beats the feeling of being on the road :) The group of 20 people was a lot of fun, our tour-guide was great and the scenery just beautiful. First day we did a lot of driving from Adelaide, seeing lots of kangaroos and stopping at Mt Arapiles and MacKenzie Falls along the way before arriving at The Grampians and seeing the sun set over them. Beautiful!!

Second day we did an early morning walk in the Grampians called the Pinnacle walk. It meant going up, up, up. Walks like that always remind me of how unfit I actually am, but it was a great walk to do and the view from the top was worth it all :) Next up was a quick visit to the cultural centre before getting back on the road towards the Great Ocean Road. Unfortunately the sun had disappeared behind clouds by the time we got to the Bay of Martyrs and The Grotto - our first stops along the GOR - late in the afternoon. It also made the sunset over the Twelve Apostles less spectacular than hoped, but it was still good to see it all again :) Spent another fun night at a hostel in Port Campbell... lots of stories going around, so also plenty of laughs :) Great fun!!

Last day we continued along the Great Ocean Road. The sun still hadn't come out from behind the clouds as we visited London Bridge and Loch Ard Gorge. That only happened as we were walking through the lovely Otway National Park temperate rainforest. And after that the weather only got better!! By the time we arrived in Apollo Bay for a Fish & Chips lunch it was already a blue-sky day :) It made the views over the ocean from the bus as we continued on our way through Lorne, past Bells beach and on to Torquay very very awesome. I'll just let the photos do the talking :) We also spotted quite a few koalas along the way and saw the lighthouse from "Around the Twist" (does anyone else remember that TV show?? I used to love it!!) Then all that was left was the driving to Melbourne!! Arrived there around 6.30 pm, said goodbye to my fellow travellers and made my way to the Eastern suburbs. Lovely as always to see my family again :)

All in all it was a very awesome roadtrip down to Melbourne. Lots of beautiful scenery and lots of fun with the people I was with. Part two will be more of that, but different scenery and different people. To be continued :) Hope you're all doing well. My love to all of you.
xxx