Melbourne 7th Nov

I have finally arrived in Melbourne. I flew in yesterday after over a week of staying in Sydney. To be honest I couldn't wait to get out of Sydney. The hostel I was in was good enough but everyone in it was in work or looking for work and the whole place was a bit too clicky for my liking. It didn't help that my Knee was playing up so I couldn't really do anything except hobble up to the pub or go on a wine tasting tour.

I have a far better feel about both Melbourne and my current hostel. I am staying in a cosy backpackers in Collingwood which has only got about 30 people staying in it - mostly Irish! I am in a 8 bed dorm but at the moment there is just myself and one other guy who was sleeping off a bottle of brandy when I arrived. He turned out to be a punk from Nottingham England - complete with mohawk and countless ear piercings who had arrived straight from England that day to go to his cousins wedding. When he did eventually surface I discovered that he was a youth care worker who was on his way to Cambodia to volunteer in an orphanage for 7 months - so never judge anyone by what they look like - oh and he is gay.

I haven't actually seen anything of Melbourne yet as I arrived late yesterday afternoon and today, guess what, its raining! Apparently its been the driest winter Melbourne has had in living memory but today it is pouring down - which is why I am sitting here updating my blog. If I only knew earlier I would have came here quicker - with my rain clouds!

I am intending on using Melbourne as a base for the next 2 months while I explore the south of Australia. I have also decided that life is too short to worry about money and I am going to start doing more sightseeing and paid conservation work. I was too bored in Perth and Sydney by thinking about expenses! I have already booked myself onto a mammal trapping trip in the grampian mountains just west of Melbourne which starts on Sunday. Hopefully it will have stopped raining by then!



Glossary update:
G
Goon: Noun: Very cheap and nasty boxed wine which is used by backpackers to get drunk. I figure if I ever have to resort to drinking it then its time to go home!