You know those moments in life, when you just sit and think - of course this happened to me. That basically happened continuously on my journey to Australia. 

It started nicely. We stopped in a nice American Diner on the 303 and ate hotdogs and drank coffee. I was nervous but excited. 

We arrived at Heathrow, London at around 3pm - a nice 5 hours early because I thought I was super organised. As I got out the car, I got that horrible sinking feeling in my stomach as I realised I had forgotten my handbag. It's not quite as bad as it sounds. My passport and money were all in my hand luggage - my handbag just contained my phone charger, physio kit, and the bigger problem - my driving licence. 

*Cue the airport melt down*

Normally it wouldn't really be a problem, however with a camper van rental a week away, a driving licence is quite important. Instantly my trip had started badly. I was SO annoyed with myself. I had been planning this all year, and writing packing lists for months and I still forget something so important. 

Hollie - my travelling partner, arrived at about 5.30pm and as my luggage was checked in at 0.6kg below the limit - result, we said our family goodbyes (obviously a bit more crying at this point - this was actually just me. Crying. Again.) and headed into the departure lounge in the search of a new handbag. 

Apparently Heathrow Terminal 4 only caters for the rich though, and my £50 budget could have potentially bought me a zip. I genuinely found a bag that was perfect, and it was priced at £49.99 and as I was heading to the counter to make a purchase I realised I would literally just be buying the keyring attached to it. (Note: Don't worry, I got a handbag in Melbourne).

As we boarded the plane, all was good. Our seats were good - well they weren't first class or anything, but good for economy. We headed off on time, and were told our flight time would be shorter than expected - excellent start. 

The first journey seemed really draining. I'm not sure if this is because I was already emotionally ruined, or because we were flying at night. I watched Four Weddings and a Funeral - because at 26 years old I hadn't actually seen it. And as the tiredness kicked in, this turned into Friends episodes because I completely didn't need to concentrate on them. 

I started to feel a bit weird as we landed at Abu Dhabi airport, but I put it down to tiredness - it probably was genuinely tiredness but who knows. About an hour into the flight mid-snooze I suddenly woke up with horrendous stomach ache feeling like I was about to be sick, and I was dripping with sweat (sorry for the gory deets) I headed to the back to ask the cabin crew for some water and they looked at me like I was an alien. To be fair, I had my eye mask on top of my head so my hair was sticking upright, and I possibly looked like I was melting. They gave me a huge bottle of water and told me that if I was ill they would have to 'report me to Australia'. Cool. Was I about to end up in quarantine with the dogs? 

So I went back to my seat and basically died for 7 hours.

When I woke up I had somehow made a miraculous recovery (well, that's what I told the cabin crew). I ate some vanilla bread and watched Three Billboards (which was actually pretty good - disappointing ending though). I got a bit stroppy because the kids behind me were constantly crying and kicking my seat - but all was fine. Another 5 hours had passed - this time with the help of Meredith Grey, and finally we had arrived in Melbourne. 

This was really great, until my brand new suitcase finally turned up broken, with a massive crack and a nice dent in it. 

.......

Shout out to Etihad/Heathrow/Abu Dhabi for their top notch baggage handling.

The happy ending of this story is that when we arrived at our hotel (1 bus and a 20 min uphill walk with a 22.4kg case), 6 hours early, the guy took one look at me, and let us check in early. 

I went straight to bed.

I had been putting off my application for a while, as once it is granted, you only have 12 months to enter the country. My goal is to head abroad next February, but I have been allowing myself time incase of any delays. Like a car failing its MOT and costing a fortune to fix...oh wait that actually did happen...

I couldn't wait any longer though, I needed to know if my application was to be accepted, so I brought my STA appointment forward and headed to Exeter to get started.

The appointment was not the full application process. At this time they ask you a few simple questions - Did I have any criminal convictions? no. Had I ever been deported from a country? no. Was I in the correct age bracket? yes. They also took a payment of £175 + a cheeky credit card fee of 2% - but hey, air miles!

Straight away, I received an email from STA with a link. This link asked me some further questions. This time more personal questions, such as passport number and health check.

The health check was the part I had been concerned about. Due to a small chest condition I have, I wasn't sure if they would require extra evidence to prove I was well enough to enter the country. This would have likely come with an extra cost, as doctors seem to charge ridiculous amounts of money just to sign a bit of paper these days.

Thankfully, the only health questions asked - Did I have cancer/heart disease/mental disorder/pregnancy? Or did I have any condition that would hospitalise me - which was a no. I just cough more than the normal person. Although saying that, my doctor is an angel compared to some. Some of the stories I heard from other people in America about their medical forms were crazy! Mine only charged me £20!

Once I had submitted these questions, I was greeted with a message saying I would find out the outcome within the next 4 weeks....

In my case it was 4 days! 

I received an email and a text telling me my visa had been granted. AMAZING.

The email explains that I am now on the system so when I get to the airport, they will know I have a visa. I will not require any paper or passport inserts like I did when I went to America. 

Whilst visiting STA I asked about the Australian Visa. I only intend on visiting Oz as a tourist at the moment. I was told that this was a simple application form on line and was free to apply for. So I will apply for that when I have decided on my departure date. 

So now all thats left to do is to crack on with my planning!