welcome to melbourne!  i was a little out of sorts after being on the train for almost 12 hours, but i was smart enough (for once) to book a hostel just down the street from the train station. 

of course, i get there and its a huge place with tons of groups of backpackers, which makes it hard to make friends, but thats not really a problem for me.  im kind of a solitary being for the most part.  so i paid for a bed in a 10-person dorm and its got these truly frightening bunk beds that weave and wobble and screech when you climb into them.  and when i say climb, i really mean climb.  you have to shimmy up the side like a monkey up a drainpipe and then pray that the whole thing doesnt come down on top of you if theres no one in the bottom. 

then im laying in bed, planning the next day when i realize that the exposed pipes- painted in red to stand out from the white walls- are actually the pipes from the bathroom and you can hear every time someone flushes.  i couldnt stop laughing at the hilarity of the situation.  the austrian girls did not think it was so funny which made it worse. of course.

i decided that im going to be walking along the great ocean road, starting sunday when the weather clears up.  my time this morning was split between reading in a coffeeshop and walking around for a camping store.  i finally found it in the form of an army surplus store and it was glorious. 

the guy alternately laughed at my ignorance and helped me find what i needed (including a map.  who knew?!).  on a sidenote, he looked at me funny when i said that bear grylls was an asshole and i was like, "omg im so sorry i said 'asshole'".  he said, "oh its not that, its your accent when you said 'asshole'".  i also informed him i already had a couple of knives on me when he suggested that i buy one, and he looked at me like i fulfilled all his expectations of americans as trigger-happy lunatics.  amazeballs.

so i picked up a stove, tent, pots, flashlight, maps, and an extra towel for the low, low price of $200.  i figure that i should be saving a little money- or breaking even- because most of the campsites ill be staying at are free.  i might regret not getting a sleeping pad, now that i think about it...  oh well. 

on to adventure!
taryn