Chapter 2 : An Elephant I'll Never Forget

So I have left the Elephant Backpacker hostel of Woolloomooloo to continue my adventures without the threat of ridiculous price hikes over December (all the hostels do it, and it just creates another reason to dislike Christmas)

Of course on Sunday a small collective of us went out to have a few farewell beers at Shady Pines and have a quick play with my balls,

Kindly given to me by Matteo.

Obligatory.

Never gets old.

The next day I awoke in 311 for the last time, went to get my hair cut and replace my camera which I found out had broken sometime between Saturday and Sunday. Then back to the hostel to finish the last of my beers and try out my new camera.

Although I will hold some very fond memories of Sydney, I have felt for a while that it's time to move on and the $500 for one week price tag for a hostel bed was the big sign that I had to go and live elsewhere. So at 2:30 I was picked up and on the way to Wollombi, way out in the wild lands of the Hunter Valley....

More placid than wild, but whatever it's better than the traffic and horns of Sydney.

And much better than the hostel.

My hosts for this chapter of my Adventure are Lesley and her 2 year old girl, Ruby, plus the dog, Banjo. On Monday we got back late as we stopped off at various fruit and veg places and had to pick up, then drop off, Julia who lives a bit down the road, but not before we stopped off at the wine bar to have a quick cider and meet some local Thespians, who happen to have just finished their run of 'Street-Car Named Desire'. So not much doing on Monday, just getting here took long enough.

Today, Tuesday, I awoke to the sounds of various song birds and crickets along with my alarm. Later I had a quick tour of the various water pumps and fruit and veg gardens before mucking out the horse pen. Later on I'd find myself mulching a plum tree and having a bit of spare time to take some photos of the other guests around the place.

This guy is quite impressive, but bloody hard to capture on camera!

I have seen a few roos and wallabies hopping about, and even a turtle, but I'm yet to capture those on camera, I'm in no hurry as there's plenty of time for that, and hurrying isn't the way around here! Plus I need to practice some more picture taking with my new camera.

And there's a lot here to practice on.

So here begins the next chapter of my Aussie Adventure in which I begin to work on farms and such and begin to start seeing more than just Sydney! Until next time, friends, keep it real!