Sandwell Goes Down Under (and we're not talking women here!!)

Ok, a bit of background first! I've been writing to these two very dear friends of mine (Lisa and Kylie) for many years now, and I'd been meaning to go over there for a while, without actually making it (for one reason or another). However in early June, my girlfriend at the time (Helen) decided to break up with me, and, for one reason or another, I figured that this was exactly the right time to get away from it all and go visit!

It was a very short-notice trip; I bought my tickets ten days before travelling, and there were very few flights left available. But after checking the prices, it seemed clear that I either had to go now, or wait until September. If I'd waited until July to go, it would have cost upward of £300 extra!

While on holiday I wrote a travel diary, detailing where I'd been and what I'd been thinking; also I took along with me my video camcorder so I ended up taking lots and lots of photographs, not necessarily great quality but good enough for online.

If you want to follow my progress, Lisa lives in Nambour on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, an hour north of Brisbane, whilst Kylie lives in the small country town of Hamilton, in Victoria, sort-of between Melbourne and Adelaide. And I never once referred to it as the middle of nowhere!!

So without further ado, here we go!



Days 00 - Welcome To Hell, Please Enjoy Your Visit

Day 01 - In The Bleak Mid-Winter

Day 02 - Normal Service Has Been Resumed

Day 03 - Weather With You

Day 04 - In Rememberance of Alberto the Frog

Day 05 - If You See Steve, Say "Hi"

Day 06 - Kentucky Fried Chicken And A Pizza Hut

Day 07 - Bob The Circus Performer

Day 08 - Make Cake Not War

Day 09 - Electric Dreams Are Never Real

Day 10 - Oops I Did It Again [Edited}

Day 11 - Hail To The Scottish Tourist Board

Day 12 - The Great Ticket Hunt

Day 13 - Daylight Saving Time



Pages and images (c) Ian Oliver 2003. Many thanks to Lisa Johnson for typing all the early entries (to Day 06) while I dictated them, and to James Kruger for letting me spend so much of my time on his computer typing up most of the remainder!


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