Second week
By the  second week  I was running round Perth like a local , getting on buses and trains with no problems. Until I was running for a train and......pop .... Something went ping in my leg and it was extremely  painful.
I hobbled back into Perth and found a medical centre where the medic told me I had torn a calf muscle. He said it would take two weeks to heal. Imagine my joy! . Again, colleagues in Perth were amazing , they came to pick me up and gave me lifts to meetings, so I didn't miss anything .
I had quite a difficult few meetings with police, the culture is so different from the UK. I found it all a little upsetting. But I am learning to change my interview style ,I thought I was being helpful telling them how we supported victims in the UK but soon realised that they are not really interested in how or what we do. I had to remember that I'm not here to change the world. So in future I will try to only ask questions and do lots of listening.
I had the pleasure of meeting up with Pip Brennan, a survivor  and author,  she has been working for years trying to improve services for survivors of SV in Perth. I have to admire her persistence.
I wasn't sad to be leaving Perth, although I had met some great people who I'm sure I will keep in touch with.
On Friday I   took an overnight flight to Brisbane. Trying to pick up my hire car at 5 in the morning was a little challenging, but by 7am I was in the car heading for Brisbane. Well,  only I could manage to arrive in Brisbane in the middle of the G20. Police everywhere, roads closed , diversions , traffic jams, helicopters, the works.... Me and all the world leaders converging on Brisbane at the same time.  Needless to say, it took quite a while to find my hotel and I was starting to feel the effects of  the lack of sleep on the overnight flight,but I got there eventually and was presently surprised at how nice the hotel was and the added bonus, it has a pool ...
I've had a chance to do a little exploring and Brisbane seems like a lovely place. I'm here till Friday. I am only meeting third sector organisations , most of them quite a long drive from Brisbane.  I  think this will be a better week, not so challenging I think. And the weather is amazing.  Also my leg is much better and I,m managing to walk ok now.