Just Another Smith...

After a few fantastic tours, I found myself in Adelaide with a lot of free time. The weather wasn't great, much like a British summer with temperamental rainfall and sunny spells. I visited a few touristy places; the Botanical Gardens, Glenelg, Adelaide Zoo, and Port Adelaide. I walked, a lot, and even hired a bike for the day. I then decided I wanted to see a little more of South Australia and do something a little different. This was how I found myself googling "volunteer work, SA". The first "job" that popped up was helping on a tourist park on Kangaroo Island, just south of the Adelaide coastline. They asked for help with general maintenance and cleaning of the property, and assistance in running the cafe/kitchen. How hard could it be? I applied and heard back later that day, asking if I could arrive on the Friday. That I could manage, and I agreed to work for a week. I booked my Sealink ferry ticket and connecting shuttle buses. It was a little more expe...

I was up bright and early, ready to be picked up at 6.30am. I saw Belinda and Michael (from the Mulgas tour) at breakfast and we realised we were on the same tour. From the Haven hostel there was us, and a group of eight Australasians. I was welcomed by Con as he took my bag off of me and I found a seat near the back of the bus. We had two more quick pick ups, and soon we had everyone. There was thirteen of us in total; three Germans, one from Hong Kong, the eight Australasians, and me. I think this is the first tour where I've been the only Brit! I had to do my country proud and represent. There would be tea, and lots of it. We all had our introductions, where we learned that nine of the group were studying at/just graduated from University of Queensland, in Brisbane. It was Con's first tour and he was both excited and nervous, we assured him he'd be fine. The worst part, in my opinion, would be all the driving. As an ex-truck driver, I'm sure that was actually th...

It was a 6am pickup this morning. Luckily I didn't have to go too far, only down to reception. I was up at 5.15 and was amazed to find the other two girls in my room awake not long after. I knew one of them was working in construction, but the other just couldn't sleep. She had a tour today too, it didn't start until 8am, but she was nervous to sleep too long! It was much easier to organise myself without having to creep around in the dark. I was downstairs and ready by 5.40, I knew I was really rather early so I chatted to reception for 10mins or so. I saw the Mulgas bus pull up and took myself outside to meet it. Ben was to be our guide for the next two days, he was very bright and cheerful considering the time! We had a full bus by 6am, every seat had a bum on it, bar the one next to Ben. The trailer was so full, it was a squeeze to shut the door. Ben spoke a little about himself and the drive, over 1700km, and then gave us a good hour to catch up on some sleep. I d...

The fireworks went on all night, some rather loud... They sounded so close! I slept better than I thought I would though, and was awake before my alarm. I think I was nervous to miss it, having not had to be awake so early for a while. I was dressed, packed and ready to go by 6.20am. Didn't have time for a cup of tea, unfortunately. The walk to Mitchell Street was longer than I had envisaged and I had a small panic that I would be late. Luckily not, I arrived to see a small cluster of youths outside the front of the YHA. There was still a slight whiff in the air, like that really nice smell when you blow birthday candles out. Mitchell Street had probably been 'lit' last night, in more ways than one. I'd been there mere minutes when a monstrous 4x4 bus pulled up. "Tess" would be our ride for the next few days, with Hayden as our guide. We all threw our bags in the trailer and climbed aboard. I grabbed the front seat, and was surprised to find I had it all ...