Natasha Wilson Boland, team member: We had a lovely last night in Alexandra; Kyla’s host family, Noel and John, had everyone over for a BBQ with lamb, fish, and sausage, plus a large assortment of salads and desserts. We enjoyed everyone’s company and were sad to leave Alex!

We left in the rain this morning to transfer to Benalla. Benalla is a gorgeous little town of about 14,000 people. We met our new hosts over tea at a “pub” (hotel/restaurant) halfway between Alexandra and Benalla. Today is a day of rest for us, and tomorrow we’ll be busy again getting oriented to Benalla and seeing all the sights.

I saw my first redback spider today after settling in with my new host family - their son discovered it while cleaning off the BBQ. I was terrified to get close to it as they’re poisonous and apparently their bites hurt very badly, but it was old hat to my hosts and they handled it with ease. I also saw my first kangaroos in the “wild’, hanging out on the golf course; there were hoards of them sitting under the trees on the course, which is apparently a favorite hang-out for them!