Albany and the Start of Winter???

Well, its official, the clocks went back this morning so i suppose winter has arrived!! And with the temperatures set not to drop below 28 degrees this week, i like winter here!!

As im not prone to 'doing' winter these days its probably a good thing that i only have 4 days left in Australia, oh my god, 4 days!!! After 5 months i cant believe that when i get on the plane i will be actually leaving Australia, its taking some time getting used to! I am however very excited about the next couple of weeks, which will see me visit Singapore, Borneo and Thailand which will be a great way to end my trip.

This week, flying solo again, i headed down to Albany, about 500km or so south of Perth for the week. I got the coach, my first coach trip since the east coast and with no one to talk to, the six hours dragged a little, thank god for i-pods!! I am really pleased i went down there, it was very beautiful and reminded me a lot of New Zealand, the town is situated on the coast inbetween rolling hills and the temperature is a bit cooler as well! Although 21 degrees wasnt as cold as i expected it to be, although it was the first time i used a duvet in about 3 months, hehe!!

I didnt really get up to much, just went on lots of walks and enjoyed the spectactular scenery. On Thursday i hired a bike and cycled along the coast which was lots of fun and hard work too, did i mention it was hilly!! Although it was a beautiful day and every now and then i stopped at the next deserted beach to sit and read my book! Life is hard! I also had a very bizzare experience, i was just getting to cycle bike and looked up and a kangaroo was hopping straight for me! You might think, awww how cute, i can assure they are not! They are pretty massive animals and very powerful, they could knock you flying in a second! I could see visions of bikes going flying and arms being broken, so decided to stand very still as it bounced past at an incrediable speed, the power vibrating through the ground! It was at this moment, i decided that i really have had an incrediable time here and it is time to move on.....one more step along the world i go!!

I am enjoying this time to myself, the hostel is packed out every night and there is always somebody to talk to, if you want, but its nice just having some time to myself. It has been a very luxurious morning as everybody in my room has checked out and so i have the room to myself until 1pm! I decided it was a good opportunity to sort out my stuff and the pile for the post office is getting higher and higher!!

Yesterday, after wondering around town in the morning i decided it was probably hot enough to brave the beach, a mere 28!! And within the hour i was catching the last few summer rays! Perth is great like that, it can cater for a number of moods! This afternoon i am off out to check out the art gallery and hopefully catch the Grand Prix too!

Hope you are all having a gd weekend! xxx