So, after the emotional goodbyes, Gwen and I headed back to Chris and Peta's and planned our activites for the next day. Again, i had no intention of imposing on the Hyde family once Mat had left and was quite happy to check in to a hostel and consider my next move... however, the Hyde's being as fab as they are, wouldn't let me.. they said i was welcome to stay. I checked with Mat that they weren't just being polite and if he minded me staying after he'd gone and was told not to be so silly so I found myself there for the rest of the week, along with Gwen - my new partner in fun! 
As, in the 3 days I'd been there with Mat, I hadn't seen much Melbourne we decided we'd do the sights the next day.. with Gwen as my tour guide - and a very good one at that! So, Wednesday morning we headed into town - first stop the Casino for a bit of gambling (we didn't win anything!!) ;0( but i was highly amused to be asked for ID by the security guard for entry into the casino... i nearly hugged the guy and was only too happy to show him my ID, especially when he expressed surprise at my age (whether he was lying or not, who cares!!) The place is amazing, it's huge and entirely possible to get lost in it. After some hard work gambling we decided we needed a well deserved drink so stopped for a cheeky G&T and Vanilla Vodka (of the finest quality obviously) in the plush casino bar! We naturally fitted in beautifully, didn't we Gwen!! ;0) 
After our little daliance into 'how the other half live' we headed out for a walk along the river down to Federation Square where we stopped for a late lunch and gossiped in the sunshine. After filling our bellies and setting the world to rights we went on the tourist tram, an old fashioned tram that does a circuit of Melbourne city centre with commentary for all the sights. A bit like London's Big Bus - only free!! After that, thanks to a late start, the day was nearly over, so we headed back to Chris and Peta's for dinner. They had some friends coming over with their new little puppy, a gorgeous little thing named Sass, she too won me over straight away..anyone'd think i was starting to like dogs!!
For Thursday we'd decided on a trip to the Yarra Valley, where there are hundreds of vineyards and lots of winetasting to be taken advantage of.. tough life eh! 
We started the day however at the Healsville Animal Sanctuary where I got to see Koala's, stroke a Kangaroo and see all sorts of other cool animals (thankfully i didn't get as close to a snake as in Kakadu though). 
Once we'd exhausted ourselves at the sanctuary we headed back to Rochford Vineyard.. as recommended by Mat, where we did a little winetasting and bought a lovely bottle of Rose wine for Peta (thanks to be being a backpacker I couldn't buy lots for myself so thought i'd treat Peta) who, bless her, was only to happy to crack it open and share a glass with me that evening. 
Another lovely day over, we chilled out at home with Chris and Peta and waited for Mat's Aunt, Uncle & cousins to arrive (Jen, Al, Jess and Mitch) who were coming down to stay for a few days. They arrived about 9pm after long day's drive and were lovely. It was, again, great to meet more of Mat's family and I was once again, welcomed easily by them all, I can't get over how lovely his family have been, Mum - I'm being very well looked after. x
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