This week has been another action packed week filled with more surfing, travelling and reunions with old friends. The weather has been unbelieveable, just how I had imagined the weather would be like in Australia. There has been a heat wave in Sydney for the last week and I've been smack bang in the middle of it. Over the last week I have realised just how much I am enjoying my time here and I'm making the most of every second!

At the start of this week I was still in Spot X living the life of a surfer. Everything about that place, I thought, was brilliant. The location, the people, the way of life, the beach, the waves, the food, the evenings around the campfire, the laid back attitude...EVERYTHING! It was hard to leave as I could have easily stayed there alot longer and I was even offered a position to work for my accomodation and food plus free surf hire! However it was time to move on and make my way down to Sydney where I had arranged to stay with some friends in their flat in Bondi Beach (a suburb of Sydney). So early on sunday the 30/01/11 I got back on the Oz experiencee bus and made the final leg of the journey down to Sydney. It only felt like yesterday when I was booking the bus pass and now I was using for the last time. It was quite a long journey down to Sydney, 8 hours to be exact, but I actually quite enjoy the buss journeys beacuse it's a great way to see Australia. The amount of different toraine that you pass through is incredible and there's never a boring scene outside your window. Mountains, rivers, deserts, forests, the ocean you see it all. Someone told me that the best way to travel Australia is by bus or train not by flying becuase you see Australia in the flesh that way. They where right.

When I was dropped off in Sydney I felt comfortable and relaxed as I had been there before and knew my way around and where I was going. The time before this when I was dropped off in Sydney I felt completley the opposite. The last time I felt small, lost and slightly anxious as I had no idea where I was or where I was going. But that's what travelling is all about especially when your're on your own, exploring the unknown and venturing to new places. My confidence and mental strength to deal with these sorts of scenarios has grown tremendiously through my experiences in Australia and they continue to grow.

It was great to see my friends again as it had been quite a while since we had last seen each other. They had kindly let me stay there for 5 nights before I once again move on. There are 7 of us in this flat, which is sitiuated in Bondi Beach. I think it's a great little place especially for back packer travellers like ourselves. Although it's only a 3 man flat we manage just fine and it's actually quite fun. Everyone gets on so well and we really enjoy each others company. It's fun beacuse we cook together, eat together, clean, wash up, walk down to the beach etc. After meeting these people in my first few weeks, I was a bit gutted that I wouldn't be able to do something like this with them and now I have. It's been a little highlight of my trip and something I shall remember when I go back home. As everyone has different jobs, different people are off on different days and so I've been able to spend alot of time with each of them, catching up on past storries and things we've seen.

As we've been so close to the beach and it's been a heat wave there was only one thing to do and that was to spend as much time on the beach as possible. Over the last few days, i've been doing lots of coastal walks around the suburbs of Sydney and spending time on the beach. Before these last 2 weeks I didn't feel like I had spent any time on the beach, I think i've put that right now.

I'm looking forward to my 2nd placement in Canberra and can't wait to meet the other volunteers. This time I hope to get into the work a lot quicker than last time!