I had 36 hours to explore Alice Springs. It was not remotely like the picture I had imagined in my head. Managing dinner and drinks with my tour group with live music and a lot of duck related banter, I then had a most amazing sleep in a very comfy bed! Upon awakening, my wandering feet found church singers, the first hospital in Central Australia and some funky coloured walls. Wanting to be up high and get some perspective, my feet took me up Anzac Hill. A bench let them rest a while. The notes of live music floating from below, I went to find the source. The NT music festival in full swing, I relaxed and enjoyed some impressive desert diva’s for a while. Heading on, with the tinge of sunset in the air, Anzac Hill was host to my feet for the second time that day. It might just be one of my favourite Australian sunsets so far…

The backpack repacked, I headed on my way. Opting for a window seat, finding someone in my seat yet again, I sat down and was faced with a Boeing 717-200 safety instruction card. It worryingly informed me it was ‘revision 002…!’ Space for a hundred revisions…?! Go figure… I watched out my window. The pilot informed us that we were about to fly over Ayers Rock… Lo and behold I was on the wrong side of the plane…! Never mind… If you are doing the same journey, sit on the left hand side of the plane and you’ll get a better view! On reaching Perth (incidentally only GMT+7), in search of onward transportation the heavens decided to open. Smiling, I walked through it. It was the first proper rain I’ve seen in 3 months…! Everyone else under shelter, I was the only one in it. Amazing!

Reaching my hostel, I opened the door to my room to find all of my roommates still in bed… It was 1pm…! Relieved of the heavy backpack, I headed out to get a feel for the city :-). Only spending 8 hours exploring Perth, I love it already :-). Maybe just a well chosen path, I walked through the hustle and bustle of student life (making me feel like a student again!); some tall skyscrapers reminded of Melbourne and the one way, pedestrianised streets lined with shops, to a background of a cool, cloudy, wet day made me feel like I was walking through Glasgow in Scotland…! 🙂 Sourcing my first sushi in a fair wee while, I went crazy and bought 16 pieces costing me $30…! It was delicious :-). Unfortunately leaving my leftovers in McDonalds of all places (McDonald’s free wifi in Perth is the best yet!), I headed back to my hostel and enjoyed some late night banter with my roommates :-). Not achieving a lot of sleep, up early for the onward journey south, a very clean train and bus ride later, I reached my new farm. Straight into work, after dinner, with a power cut leaving us in darkness, I crawled into bed and promptly fell asleep at an unprecedented 8.30pm…! Granted 10pm NT time, it is still very impressive for me!!! Perhaps farmwork the only way to keep me in normal rhythm, we’ll see if I manage to maintain this earlyness!