King of the Road

Having mastered this driving on the left thing, I have decided that the best way to see Australia is by car. This place is too damn big for anything else (unless you are a super cycling type, but I am waaaay to lazy for that).

I left Perth yesterday and stumbled upon an outdoor shop that was having a sale. $163 later I had a dodgy tent and a not so dodgy sleeping bag, so now I will never be homeless! Also the lack of privacy in the hostels and the 19 year olds stumbling home drunk every night were starting to annoy me. I slept on the bank of the Blackwater River near Bridgetown after a driving through Margeret River and tiny Nannup. I am currently in Albany and am making a big loop of the Southwest. I have to be back in Margeret River tomorrow for a bushtucker tour down river. It's raining right now so I will probably sleep in the car because I am cheap (it's a Corrolla so I think there should be room). Hopefully it doesn't rain tomorrow. Bushtucker, for those who don't know is traditional bush food consumed by aboriginees and bush men when on walkabout... I think. My vocabulary is expanding by leaps and bounds- ask me later what a "budgie smuggler" is (hint: think of tight skimpy clothing and water).

I dread returning the car on Thursday and once again being trapped in the city. I am quickly falling in love with the Australian countryside- and I have only seen one tiny corner so far. I think instead of looking for camper van to purchase when I get a job, I am just going to go for an old Toyota Landcruiser. There's tons of them around and I can go just about anywhere; I do have a tent after all. At my campsite last night I met a young couple named Kelly and Will. Will was a mechanic and gave me some good tips on purchase price and the like. Kelly lent me a mattress to sleep on for my tent (one of the things I overlooked). Aussies rule!