2 weeks in Adelaide

I can't believe our time in Adelaide is nearly over! Daves foot is finally healing with stitches out, the team all seem recouped, and the only thing that isnt ready to hit the road is the vans, which we will sort tomorrow on our last day in Adelaide. So much has happpened, so i'll try and fit it all in as briefly as possible!

Firstly I want to say a massive welcome to the team to Laura Hatwell - someone who has proven her dedication and love of BoardFree - and shes flying out on my birthday which is one hell of a present! Congrats Darl - cant wait to have an extra pair of hands on the Fundraising team!

Just before we got to Adelaide we went of the main road and up into the Clare valley to visit Ken and Yvonne, who we met on the Nularbor. They welcomed us into their home, along with the Clare Lions Club, and we had a wonderful evening, with some wonderful wine, and great company - thank you!

Our time in Adelaide started slightly rocky, with problems with two of our vehicles. Thankfully, we managed to get these sorted out relatively quickly. Accommodation was given to us courtesy of John at Sunny's backpackers on Franklin St - Its an awesome Hostel and I would recommend it to anyone staying in Adelaide!

We've done plenty of Fundraising in the city, and the whole team have been onboard and shaking the buckets, and we have raised around $1200 aussie dollars (500 quid to you pommes) which we are very proud of! The girls have had their fairy wings on and the guys went out with silly hats and flower garlands which was really amusing!

Adelaide has been awesome for the team - after 7 gruelling hard weeks on the road with no time off we we're all in need of a break. It has given us all the oppurtunity to refresh ourselves and get back on the ball. It also gave us the opurtunity to enjoy ourselves too - a couple of great nights out, (a big thank you to the Kimmy and Micheal @The Edinburgh Castle on Currie St and PJ O'Brians), a trip to the zoo, a girly trip up to the mountains to cuddle some Koalas, and a go on the pedalows in Adelaide, not to mention Daves Birthday...

Today Dave turns 27 - you wouldnt have thought so, as today we have spent the day at a place called the beach house, which had arcade games, waterslides, dodgems, bumber boats, and amazing ice cream! We all got soaking wet, but we had a ball, including breakfast baugels in the city and buying some toys for the beach.


I spoke to loads of people yesterday on msn. I spoke to my Mum on the phone. Life continues back in the UK, and i'm feeling quite home sick. We have been welcomed in Adelaide by the wonderful hospitality of Diedre and Bob Shahinger, who have let us use their wonderful home as if it were our own, and for that I can't thank them enough.

BoardFree rolls on despite the hard times that have hit us, with dodgy vehicles, accidents, and other complications, we are all still smiling. Media has been truely amazing thanks to all the hard work that Kate has put in, most of Adelaide knows who Dave is. Photo's and films have had tremendous feedback thanks to Dim, Si and Holly. Fundraising and the day to to day running of BoardFree continues to tick over thanks to Dan and Bev's efforts. And Dave as always, has continued with the website, the sponsorship and the massive amount of work that it takes to keep this project rolling. Somebody told me a couple of weeks back that we were a very cohesive team, despite living in such close poroximities - I thought that was a real compliment.

The charities total is creeping up, which is awesome. The highlight of being in Adelaide is meeting the people connected with Sailability, and knowing we can make a difference to them. W have donated $AUS1000 to Sailability Adelaide, which is awesome.

This is probably the longest Blog i've written since being in Aus, so hope I haven't bored you all too much!

Don't forget - you can check out the website www.boardfree.co.uk and make a donation!

Its been so long!

So much has happened since I last blogged, so your best bet is to take a look at all the fab vids and pics on www.boardfree.co.uk

However - here is a list of my highlights just for all you keen viewers!

• Going up in a plane to see the nullabor desert and some whales!
• Whale watching form the cliffs at the Head of the bight
• Playing in some massive sand dunes!
• Swimming in the sea where it was really rough and there could have been sharks
• Seeing Dave hit 2000km - we're one third of the way to Brisbane
• Seeing Bev record the Boardfree song (check out the latest video)
• Getting to the end of the nullabor and arriving at Ceduna
• Having 2 rest days at ceduna oysterfest - eating oysters and raising heaps of money!
• Having problems with the vans and then finding really nice guys to help us fix problems
• Meeting tonnes of lovely nice people on the road
• Seeing dave complete 102km in one day
• The wildlife - emus, roos, snakes, spiders, whales, lizards, skinks, a dead wombat, dolphins, seals, eagles, parrots, budgies, galahs and cockatoos
• Seeing the girls enter tug of war - (read hollys blog for a great discription)
• Seeing Kate do an amzing job with the media and have people saying they read about us/ saw us on tv/ heard us on radio
• Laura Hatwell (our very own scottish skater girl) completed her 25 mile journey and raise 450 quid
• Raising heaps of money
• Staying with loads of great people and getting some awesome free accommodation.

Sorry its so brief - but my blog cant do this place justice. Im having the time of my life - its hard work, but worth every second. Missing home loads - but the team and I are having fun and promoting BoardFree big style - Australia loves it.

Much love

Becs

xxx