I am still alive!

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I posted anything. As you could probably guess, I just haven't had much time to use the internet, or I've been in places away from any internet access at all. If you've emailed me in the past few weeks and I haven't replied, I'm sorry I haven't written, but I have read my email at least and I am happy to hear from people. I promise a reply, even if it doesn't come until I'm back in NL. =)

Yeah, the 3 weeks or so since I last wrote have seemed very long because I've been so busy. In that time I drove on from Melbourne to Adelaide, toured Tasmania for 6 days, and then toured the Outback for 6 days. I am now in Alice Springs, in the center of Australia, the only "city" of any size in the Outback, about 27,000 people. It's damn hot, 40 degrees C, which is a bit over 100 degrees F. I imagine it's sort of similar here to Arizona or other places in the SW in the summer, a dry-ish baking heat that makes you feel like you're walking around in an oven. I plan to spend the afternoons anywhere air conditioned, it's horrible to try to do anything outside after about 11 or 12 until the sun goes down.

Of course I have many stories from the past few weeks, which I don't have time to write now. It'll all come eventually and if I do it from home I can add photos and videos. So look forward to all of that! I've had a great time though, though it's been trying sometimes with some of the long walks I've done and with the heat and many hours trapped in a bus that was desperately trying to cool us with the airco, but it's hard fighting that kind of heat pounding against all the windows. Tasmania was definitely a different story, much cooler and wetter and I actually had to drag out my jeans and rain jacket and long sleeved stuff for a couple of days. In the Outback, the only time I got out my sweatshirt was to use it as a pillow when we were camping outside. Tasmania was beautiful though, it is so full of amazing nature, temperate rainforests and rivers (that aren't dry!) and waterfalls and white sand beaches. It felt very similar to New Zealand and I liked it in the same way. It's not very populated either and has lots of tiny towns scattered around the island, quite a few of which we popped into for toilet breaks or to fill up the bus with gas. Humourous sometimes to see small town life.

On both tours I met a lot of great people and it's sad I'll probably never see them again. We had a happy little group though for a few days and I'm sure we all will fondly remember the trips.

My time in Australia is nearly over, which I hate to think about. This is likely the last time I'll post from down here. I am not looking forward to leaving Australia, but I am looking forward to seeing everyone back in NL and sharing stories. I hope to see those of you back there soon!