Neighbours makes me sick!

Having got our early night on Friday, we got up at the crack of dawn on Saturday for breakfast (about 6.30ish, ready for brekkie at 7)... we had our last breakfast in St Kilda and then headed off to the bus stop ready to be picked up by our Neighbours tour bus at 8.05. I was pleasantly surprised when we got to the stop and discovered 2 other people waiting, who were Aussies!! I knew there had to be some Australians who liked the show!

The bus arrived and we headed into the city to collect the rest of the tour group (and seize the opportunity to buy a CD for the car journey - Dr Karl's band, Waiting Room, live at the Elephant & Wheelbarrow pub).

This tour was a bit more special than when I went with Louisa last time (sorry Lou!) as we actually got to meet a cast member (past or present) and see some of the set rather than just visit the street. Once we'd picked up the rest of the people for the tour we headed for Pin Oak Court, otherwise known as Ramsay Street.

We took lots of cheesy pictures in front of all the houses, and I educated Chris a bit more on who resided where.

After the street, we drove past 'Erinsbrough High' which is just another local school. Turns out the Neighbours tour is no longer allowed to stop outside because there were complaints from local residents! Plus, at the weekend it apparently gets used for Dog training classes which were just as fun to watch.

After the street, we headed to the studios. I was beginning to feel a little car-sick by this time though so had to have a little sit down and make Chris take lots of pictures for me. I actually felt like I could've been sick in the Lassiters grounds, but luckily I managed to hold back!

We then got back on the bus to head for our final stop, back at St Kilda, to meet the Neighbours 'star'. I think the actors must have something written into their contract to say that they have to come back and do various meet & greets with fans even after they've left, as we had Stuart on Monday, and then on the tour we met Janelle. Shame I was too ill to appreciate it really so I got an autograph but no cheesy picture. The reason? I'd just thrown up on the Neighbours tour bus 10 minutes before meeting her! And can you believe she accused me of having a big night out the night before!? I was almost ashamed to admit it was just motion sickness, but it did make me appreciate our car so much more - we were only on the bus tour a few hours in total, imagine how rubbish I'd have been on a proper Australian bus tour this time round!

There's nothing better to make you feel well again than a massive Chinese meal, so we headed back to China Town, to a different Chinese, and tried to order a slightly smaller meal than last time. We failed, but I still felt better for it!

We finally got our car and headed for Phillip Island, home of the Little Penguins (who also live all along the south coast of Australia). This particular place is all named after the IOW and has Penguin Parade (in Ventnor) - I did this last time I came to Australia too, but it was well worth repeating the trip. Especially as it wasn't raining this time round so I got to stay dry! The little penguins came up the beach as expected (I wonder if they've ever had a night where the penguins haven't 'performed'?) and after a while we went and watched them on the Board Walks. We watched what I think was a little family setting up home - Daddy making the nest, baby wandering off all over the place, and mummy beating the kid up to get it to tow the line and stay in one place!!

After this we headed back to our new YHA hostel, where we'd been upgraded to a Cabin (ooh, swish) and I had a really good night's sleep, ready for our long drive the next day.