anna's travel blog

my last nite in aus - i wanna stay!! *launches into childlike hissy fit, stamps feet and bangs fists against the floor*

yup, thats right folks, i got end of holiday blues! had a good last day tho', went to St Kilda which is like Melbourne's answer to Brighton i spose, very cool but the weather was absolutely shite so me n jude holed up in the "espy" - some grotty but boss pub that any band whos any band in australia have played in.

T'was a lotta fun, got pissed and stoned at Jude's expense and got talking to these two middle aged hippies who spoke the biggest loada shite ive ever heard. Typical bloody half arsed philosophy bollocks that made
me want to throw up and shake the nobheads just for being so "ooh, i've got it all sorted but ain't life a bitch". grrrr

anyway, besides that it was fun! got back and packed - which wasnt. an now im sat here... i hate this bit, where yr just sorta waiting for a plane and you know u gotta go so the shine is totally gone. besides that they r playin craig david (not proper bo, i tell thee.can i get a ree-wind?!)

jude's sound tho', she has many mad stories about sex with one-armed men, working as a hostess in greek bars, meeting fatboy slim and doing coke with new order etc etc...she went travelling at the age of 17, got kicked off the kibbutz she was working on after two days and travelled the world for a year and a half on 500 quid fer fucks'sakes... hope im like that when i grow up (k, maybe not the drugs but yer get the gist) i keep winding her up, she'll say "o yeah, that was 1980" an ill be like, yeah i wasnt even conceived then! Lol!

anyway gotta go... farewell australia, i will be back! this is anna, signing out and being sad. take care y'all and ill see you in a matter of days! xxxx

got this email from anna the other day, god i want to go with her!!!

k have already decided i'm coming back here next year for twelve months but i'm looking to do some travelling round the east as well, u know thailand and the like?

trouble is i dont wanna do Asia on ma own so if u know any1, or are someone who would fancy coming along and seriously think you might, let me know, u have 12 months notice!

well i'm having a ball and really dont wanna come back! but needs must an it'll be great to see y'all... we are going out on 6th sept and are supposedly meeting in the hanover about 8ish i think so plz come down!

anna.xx

and heres the most recent entry, and probably the last before she comes home!!!

melbourne is so cool it hurts...

seriously i found a shop today that was dedicated to plastic jewellery, funky cuffs and the like etc etc... It was one among many funky little shop/boutique type things that this place's shopping is made up of - its boss, sept i have no money to spend, grr!

seriously thinking this is going to be my long term stop when i come back next year - i'll do the major places i havent seen yet and then come and settle here for a good few months - that's how much i like it. Everything here is just fantastically creative and inspiring, from the street art and graffiti to the national gallery of Victoria which is just over the road from where im staying... http://www.federationsquare.com.au - its all fantastic. Paulo, u would love that place, the whole design and content etc is all incredibly precise and thought out and blah... its awesome...

Also, havent been out and explored the nightlife much due to lack of funds and energy but the bar scene here seems incredibly diverse, with a major emphasis being on live bands. So boys, get your arses over here! Really, u would think i worked for the tourist board or something! Seriously tho, the individualism and creativity of everyone and everything has really put me in a good frame of mind to get home and get my teeth into a couple of projects i've been meaning to sort for aaaaages!

all of this is being viewed thru the most hideous PMT ever as well, so u can imagine how boss it is now can't ya?

Despite all of this i think i'll be glad to get home, just due to lack of funds and a need to get my life on track and realise all the little conclusions i've come to over here. And there is of course u lot!However u will have to wait until i become firmly re-acquainted with my bed and my own room coz im fookin knackered! So yeah, this will probably be my last post before i'm home now and i s'pose thats a good thing... theres loadsa shit thats happened that i havent had half a chance to put up on here that im sure u will all be bored shitless listening to within an hour of my return! there is also no less than TWELVE rolls of film to be developed (looks like i spoke too soon at the beginning when i said i had nothing to take fotos of!) so prepare yourselves and stock up on earplugs and gags! i cant wait!xxx

having a fucking boss time and i really cant remember what the fuck i posted and when so you're just going to get a very quick recap of everything...

well i've moved hostels for a start - i'm now in greenhouse backpackers slap bang in the centre of melbourne and as soon as i checked in i bumped into two women off the great ocean road adelaide to melbourne trip (which was boss by the way!) Have since been bumbling around with them... the other hostel was shit, and to top it all off i had killer pmt all day sunday AND a hangover so i didnt leave my room except for the free pancakes. We had been to the casino the night before, we being me, lizzie and stuart the couple i met on the afore mentioned trip and also the three german boys who were on it. Twas an ok nite, drank lots of beer, got lost, got the piss ripped out of me for being a scouser (i had done all week) and watched various rich chinese men win a fortune at blackjack...

but the highlight of the week was by far last nite when we ended a disappointing trip to ramsey street with a neighbours trivia nite. in all honesty the nite was a load of bollocks and reminded me of freshers week and all that shite, but i ended up with fotos of me and harold bishop, joe scully and karl kennedy along with a sign which i held by their heads exclaiming "i am a cunt!". i hope you're still laughing and immensely proud of me coz i am (sorry mum!). isn't it reassuring to know a trip this far and this long hasnt changed me in the slightest in that respect!!? anyway im buggering off now so take care and i cant believe i'll be home soon!

this email came yesterday. i put it in my own blog by mistake *oops*
hey chicken i'm having a ball and i cant believe i've gotta come home soon, the only thing thats keeping me going is seeing u lot again the 6th should be boss...

had the most amazing few days and took tons of fotos which i'll be uploading as soon as they r developed if helen gives me the help i'll no doubt need?(thats a question along with a statement!!)

anyway gotta go but should be in a hostel with free internet access this time tomorrow so will type a huge post then. take care.xxx

and this is todays email :o)


hello chicken missing you all loads

have had a very wierd day... started off absolutely amazing and i got to the point where i was on the fone to my mum and i just really didnt want to come home, but thats changed a little bit now an i think the timings working out all good. i dunno, it probably has to do with the fact that i'm absolutely knackered and i'm in a major city with not a cent to my name but thats just how it is i s'pose. If theres one thing this trip's taught me it's that the rough comes hand in hand with the smooth and there's nothing you can do but make the most of it, which is what i intend to do. i find it amazing how much your perspective changes whats going on around you and i'm really understanding the whole rose-coloured glasses type idea at the moment, although i dont think its a bad view to have as long as you keep your feet on the ground.

the trip from adelaide to Melbourne was just beautiful and i was on the bus with nine other people who i got on with really well, its very comforting when u can be yourself with complete strangers, kinda gives you a feeling of reasssurance, like you're not hiding anything and that you're happy with who you are. I realize im getting increasingly more reflective now that its time to come home but to me thats not a bad thing. I'm happy and i'm getting to be very comfortable in my own skin so how can it be... These last two months have flown by but they've done for me what i intended them to, as well as giving me an overwhelming thirst for more. Its wierd, i dont feel like im coming home the same person and i know my priorities have shifted along with my views on everything and the show aint even over yet!!

Anyway gotta go coz the woman who was supposed to be on the pooter now has just turned up. Before i go i just wanna say "Helen, thankyou sooo much for sorting all this for me. It means a lot an im incredibly grateful ill return the favour as soon as possible, luvz yaow.xx"

well im here in the city of Adelaide and have been for almost two days but i'm still fucking knackered!! The last day or so of the trip was a lotta fun and more of the same (if u read the last blog you'll know thats a good thing)

The last night we stayed in a town called streaky bay above a pub and although the night started quietly it didnt stay that way i tell thee! All i remember is putting my selection on the jukebox when an old guy gives me four dollars and tells me to "put some more of that noise on" this of course led to me asking all the local girls if they had any requests and in turn making some new acquaintances... one guy looked like the sherminator and they were all about 18 thats about as much as i remember....

The pub closed at two at which point i briefly considered going up to bed as i was already absolutely wasted and we had to be on the road for seven the next morning... the locals had other ideas however as the sherminator and a girl called priscilla invited us to the "aftershow party" at a guy called pig's house up in the village. I was seriously wondering if they were taking the piss with the names but who am i to laugh?!

around two minutes later we arrived at a house only to be told the owner was locked out but we were welcome to have a party in the garden shed... yeah thats what i thort but the shed actually turned out to be pretty cool!! it was filled with questionably clean couches and millions of empty jim beam bottles - a few of the not so empty ones being passed around and shared along with the major beer over here, get this - PALE ALE! The music was also pretty cool, and i kid you not when i tell you it all came from the sound system of a ute!!

However the fun started shortly after a bong was produced and the beer and beam run out... i asked if i could use the toilet only to be told to help myself to any shady spot of the garden i could find, hmm! Luckily my communication skills kicked in (notice how they do that so much better when yr pissed?!) and somewhere in my hazy memory i recalled talking to a rather cute neighbour called Brett, a sheep shearer... he led me to their bog, which was outside yuk!anyway i got off not long after that and only vaguely remember getting into bed. i awoke the next morning an hour late to find the bus driver knocking on my door!

We set off THREE hours late to Adelaide after she managed to get the other guy outta bed and onto the bus. He had turned out to be a bit of a prick tho... he launched this big attack on how he didnt see the point of arts degrees, or in fact any degrees if the student didnt know what they wanted to do with it, and branded any participant (ie-me and the bus driver) an education waster...

yes it became glaringly obvious at this point that he hadnt been to uni in his life and was full of his own self importance thanks to what appeared to be merely a rather comfortable middle class existence down south. It freaked me out to be honest, all week i'd felt like i was the one who wasnt communicating in the same way as always and therefore the one with the problem, but it became stupidly obvious at this point that it was him all along. Life lesson to be learned there people! its NOT ALWAYS MY FAULT! i'm feeling quite content with myself at the moment as a person and he kinda knocked me for six but my faith has been restored - i am halfway to normal!!!

Adelaide seems like a cool place. The city seems to have loadsa character and my hostels cool - its full of londoners who seem to do nothing but drink and watch vids which has been fun, but its wierd coz i csnt settle totally knowing i'm leaving on Wednesday morning an all. Foned up to confirm my trip booking and theres ten ppl booked on to this one so it should be a bit livelier thank god!!

going to a chocolate factory tomorrow - u get free samples an everything!! and today i've been to the migration museum which was pretty interesting and quite educational... believe it or not they can go together!!

Anyway dunno what i'll be up to tonite, may be going out but dunno yet im shattered an the moolah's running low... but i'm getting off the pooter thats for sure. Next update will prolly be from melbourne in about a week... and then its only like another week before im home!!cant wait to see you all but i wanna do more travelling as soon as poss...

my honorary birthday night out is on the sixth september for those that dont already know... take care and i'll see you very soon.xxx

p.s. mr flump take care. been reading your blog an its cool, i agree with a lot of what you say but its worrying how wound up u seem to get!! make sure u r out on the sixth!


just to reinforce what anna said, on the 6th september theres gonna be a night out for a belated birthday and welcome home celebration :o) more details coming soon. just make sure you keep it free :o)

this entry is from yesterday

hello all! am having a cool time in Adelaide, i'm absolutely knackered but my hostel, Backpacker Oz, seems cool and the city seems to have a good atmosphere and character etc so its all good. i'd planned top do all my little farty emails before my big blog one and now it looks like ive run out of time as the two girls i've come to the internet cafe with have just got off and ordered us coffee... so this one is short and sweet yet again but i'll mail soon and tell you all the tales of parties in sheds with the locals etc... take care and i love you all - cant believe i'll be back in a couple of weeks - cant wait to see you all. xxxx

k have got all of 5 mins left here so this is brief, but im telling you now im having a fantastic time.... this last week has absolutely flew by but ive seen southern right whales in their natural habitat, swam in an underground desert cave by candlelight and been squid fishing under a rising full moon. And these are a few highlights amongst many.

i must look like ms potato head in the van driving along - theres a big fat smile an a pair of sunglasses permanently wedged on my face... i really feel like ive arrived at some really important part of my life....i know that the beauty of everyday is in the experience and appreciation of minor things but at the moment everything here is to be infatuated by, im just sooo thankful that im fortunate enough to be out here and to have this outlook. i do believe im on what they call a natural high!!

anyway im going back to the fan now, we are going to a sea lion colony and then on to have lunch at a very pretty beach... will be getting to Adelaide tomorrow, its flown over this week. Just one last thing tho, the rainbows. A couple of weeks ago i mentioned how significant they were to me as a kid and that id seen a few, well now ive seen billions, at least one everyday and they still astound me... whatever their significance, its definitely good.

Take care and enjoy EVERYTHING, even if you don't know how.xxxxx

nice big post from anna today, also i've added some links for places she'll be visited

I'm on the road...YAAAAY!!!!!

Its F**KING boss being out here, feel really alive. dont get me wrong its been lovely staying with my family and i had a lotta time to get things into perspective there but im really SEEING stuff now an its all good!

so theres loads to tell in that case! well, yeah but in limited time... the last few days in Perth were cool, went on a river cruise an saw the most amazing views of the city and like millionnaire's row or something - the place where i'd love to live with amazing views of the river etc. Then on the friday nite me and kim went to the Pig again an got ABSOLUTELY trashed... we drank like a bottle of Southern Comfort an several shooters that go by the name of cocksucking cowboys... i'll leave yr imagination to wander there!

the following day we took a really scenic and beautiful drive into the city and went for our tea in a place called...wait for it... BOBBY DAZZLERS!!! the food was really good an i tried Kangaroo steak and pumpkin which were both fab!! We then went for a quick stroll round the late night bookshops, which u all KNOW i would have loved, before the family dropped me at the Backpacker hostel i was staying the night in, a whole other story ensued....

when i got there i couldnt understand a word the asian woman behind the desk was saying, which was slightly disorientating!! But i soon found my room which was, how do i put it? A SHITHOLE... but the girl i was sharing it was cool, her name was Claire, she was 18 an canadian. We sat in the lounge for a while talking to the irish guys that were also staying there were we came into contact with the resident wierdo - an aussie girl who giggled spontaneously an bore holes into yr face with her wierd glares... after enduring that for a short while we decided to wander into the city.It was a fantastic nite - everyone was sooo friendly and willing to talk, we got sooooo pissed yet again and didnt get home till 430!

After two hours sleep i awoke at seven to realise the tour guide was sposd to be picking me up 15 minutes ago... i wandered out of the door after slipping into my jeans to find her pulling up the drive, phew! A hideously hungover Anna wandered out an we began our magical mystery tour... I hadnt even checked out of the hostel, just left the key in the dorm, oops!

mid morning we stopped off in the historic town of York, it was really quaint an we had breakfast in a little bakery before continuing to a strange little place by the name of Corrigin where they hold the world record for
the largest amount of dog's in the back of ute's at one time!!! it was bizarre a tell thee!

We stopped over for the night in Hopetoun where we stayed in a caravan park just by a really tranquil beach, i was knackered by then!

Both Diane the tour guide and Corey are cool. they're both in their late 20's and have done loadsa travelling so the journey's never dull with all their tales of the wierd and wonderful from around the world... There's also the many horrid cases of roadkill to keep me morbidly fascinated - we've seen several roo's an a good few birds so far coz there's loadsa wild animals either side of the dirt roads we're following. Its amazing, being out in the bush gives you a real oppurtunity to appreciate the weather whatever it is, you can see it coming from miles ahead and im fascinated by the rain clouds in the distance.

We left around 8 this morning and stopped not much further at Fitzgerald River National Park where we took a barren walk right up a huuugggee quartz rock. The views from the top were astounding and i was very glad i didnt give up along the way, which was very tempting believe me! Im now in a town called Esperance and have just come to the end of my time on the internet...

hope u r all good, ill post again from Adelaide but until then, take care,
Anna.xxx

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA!!!!!!!!!! *BIGGEST HUG EVER*

just foned to confirm the booking for my first tour an it seems theres only me an one other guy, someone named Corey, booked on the trip... well itll be a quiet one then! just hope him, me an the tour guide Diane get on well, but im pretty sure we will.

the guy on the fone was really apologetic over it, but it doesnt seem like such a bad thing to me, after all, it gives us tons of flexibility to do and go see the things that we want too, an think of all the room we'll have on the bus! every cloud has a silver lining an all that... going to stay in backpackers city and surf on saturday night where im hoping ill meet others an go out for the night, although i dont want to be out too late, theyre pickin me up at 645 am on Sunday! Been lookin at hostels an the like in Adelaide an Melbourne an both places look fantastic with loads to do etc..

Well i'm officially twenTEEN today an im buggering off now to go out for my tea an get pissed, take care y'all

BY the way Mr Flump,its boss here so scowl away! (just rubbing salt in the wound!)an thanx for sending me that get-to-knw-yr-friends thing FOUR times!

well its been pretty quiet in this life this week.... Dont get me wrong, i've done loads an its all been good so i spose its ME thats been quiet (yes believe it or not!) but its just been a very introspective time.

going to the mint last week was tres cool - the gold pour was just something else an i got pound signs flashing up in my enchanted eyes! as for the safari park, that was also a boss day except for nearly getting ate by a goat! saw all the traditional aussie animals which was somethin i think everyone has to do!

on monday i went for lunch with my uncle's ex-wife. it was so lovely to see her and she seems very happy which im glad about. she was always very close to our family an im so pleased that things have worked out for the best all round. I saw yet ANOTHER rainbow on the way home too, it was amazing.

Watched Amelie at the weekend too. What a beautiful film... very me what with the co-incidental/chaos side of it. Devine, it tied in with our mad conversations a couple of years ago about people having fotos of us that we are unaware of.

Dont know what im going to do for the rest of the week. going out for a meal an to get pissed tomorrow, what with it being my birthday an all! gonna miss y'all loads then especially. You all gotta promise tocome on my honorary birthday nite out when i get back too. An ami, i want a can of tusk!

well im goin travellin on saturday so thats when the tales will really be really be worth listening to im sure! but no doubt the entries will thin out... have changed my itenerary so that i get to stay in Adelaide for 3 days an will hopefully get to go on a day trip to the Barossa valley. Then its on to Melbourne for a week as Kim's son is having to go away for a while to work so its not really feasible to go to Bright. Everything happens for a reason... an im dying to go on the tour round the neighbours set anyhoo! love to all.xxx



well its a very wierd time for two reasons... tomorrow i turn 20 and im EXACTLY half way thru my trip, two things that are gonna change me forever and hopefully for the better... so im a bit freaked at the mo... but in a good way most definitely. Looking at my life its really good at this point, i have the most amazing group of friends and family and i could ask for nothing more. Im really appreciating just how good my life is at the moment, im a very happy bunny and i know no matter what, im gonna be in this place for a while. In the words of Bruce Almighty "s'goood!"

been a bit slack with posting lately, i'll be back on form soon

havent been on here for a while but everything's hopefully sorted now & we've just had a scanner & printer fitted so i'm gonna send u some fotos soon. also going to a nature park thing this week, so should see my first kangaroo & koala! gonna christen them helen and lady h!

had a really good week, its hard to believe ive been here for nearly three already! spent the day on the beach on monday and it was amazing, weather wise and everything!the whole place was deserted and its a drop from the road so i hought what the hey, so ive forgot my bathers, im going in anyhow-in my knickers and bra!!!it was exhilarating if nothing else...i loved it!sat there for ages reading my book and had a big long walk right down the front...it was beautiful, part of what i came for!!

have seen three rainbows since ive been here...when i was a kid rainbows were hugely significant to me and they still are,it was amazing,put a big lump in my throat and really re-inforced the feeling that i belong over here right now.

forgot to tell u about my night "out" on saturday! paul and kim who im staying with were going to a party first and said theyd be back for 11 when we'd all go to the pub so i spent a good hour pampering meself,dried my hair, perfected my make up and got all dressed up etc...so they gets back and we foned a cab, however in typical saturday nite style it took an hour to show up so by this time it was midnight, we got in and told the driver we were going to the swinging pig and he took pleasure in telling us that their license had been changed not so long ago and the place closed at 12....grrr!

this place being like florida making u very car dependant theres not another bar that it wouldnt cost a small fortune in a cab to get to!!!so that was the end of my night out!! i didnt mind too much as we'd been out allday an i was pretty knackered by then anyway.... just means ive got loads of catching up to do now!!!

have got loads planned for this weekend, going to a nature reserve and a miniature village which both sound boss.also planning to take a drive up to new norcia at some point,if anyone's seen the leaving of liverpool they'll know about the place...it was a village and monastery set up by benedictine monks and back in the olden days liverpool orphans were sent there where they helped to build up the area before sometimes being adopted out,so that should be very cool too

also going to the perth mint where all the gold is kept, u get to see them work with it, melting it down and shaping etc... anyone who knows my fascination with jewellery will know how cooll ill find that!

anyway today doesnt hold much in store, im feeling all PMT like and whatever so i've made friends with the couch!mite pop up the shops later for some mega chocolate supplies and put some films in so i can send y'all some fotos... also gotta post some stuff home.bye now, luvz yaowz.xxxx