A Week in Review: Fiji

Bula everybody!! After being overseas for a year, and spending so much money to get over to this side of the world, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit another country on my way back home. The two main tropical choices for a week’s vacation from Oz were Bali and Fiji. I ended up choosing Fiji after a few recommendations and comparing prices. Little did I know that my time spent in Fiji would become one of my most treasured memories of all.

I booked my tour with Feejee Experience; the Whole Hula package provided me with a 4-day tour of Viti Levu, Fiji’s main island. I misunderstood and thought that the tour included all meals when in actual fact, it only included breakfasts for each day. Oops. The Fijian dollar is pretty low, so meals weren’t necessarily expensive. But when you’ve already taken out a certain amount to spend, Fijian dollars seem just as high as every other dollar. I therefore also thought all my meals were included on the island I visited for 3 days, Robinson Crusoe. Although technically they are included, but what I either failed to hear, or my agent failed to tell me, was that there was a $65/day compulsory meal plan. Hoo boy. All of a sudden, my cheap vacation in Fiji is becoming more expensive than expected. Does any of this matter? No. Have I already spent a fortune in Australia and not regretted it? Yes. Do I do the same while in Fiji? Yes. Definitely yes. If I had any idea what Fiji was going to be like, I may have cut my trip in Australia short, just to spend more time exploring these wonderful islands.

The 3 nights/4 days spent around Viti Levu was a wonderful way to soak up some Fijian culture. A few short stops in Nadi town (pronounced Nan-di), sand dunes, Natadola beach, and Mango Bay were the prelude to some of the best days you could ask for. Following the Qaranigio River via jungle trekking through mud and river and more mud was awesome. You’re joined by 4 other guides from one of the local villages and they point out and explain the various flora until you reach a beautiful, 3-tiered waterfall. I may have fallen into the pool a bit hard a couple of times, but I had an amazing time. The water was the perfect temperature and the river cruise back to the bus was peaceful and serene. Back on the bus, we were taken to Uprising Resort, the best of the 3 I stayed at. The beach was beautiful and they had free wifi! The next day was the best day though; the lunch/cultural stop in Wailotua Village. Here, you paid $10 and received a traditional Fijian lunch (some of the foods I can’t quite remember, but I do remember the fish tasting extremely good.) They performed a traditional kava ceremony for us. Kava is a drink make from a pepper plant root mixed with water and although they say it’s normally drank at ceremonies, most Fijians drink it on a daily basis. Yes, it tastes a bit like dirty water, it certainly looks the part, but I found myself really enjoying it. After a bit of lunch, you’re taken on a walk to the local school where the children perform songs and dances for you, rush all around to get your address and hopefully a picture, and exchange their address with you. After the school visit, they take you down to the river and give you a ride on a bilibili, a raft made of bamboo. It seems as though all Fijian men are built like barns, and you soon find out why. Trying to paddle that bilibili with 4 people on it isn’t the easiest thing in the world. You’re already wet by the time you get to the other end of the river, so jumping in was really neither here nor there. After quite a lot of kava that night, and a great night’s sleep (that’s what kava does to you- makes you very very lazy and helps you sleep like a log!) we made our way about 1.5 hours down the road to a traditional Indian lunch at a local’s house. Another 1.5 hours (or 2x 45 minutes as we liked to say) brought us to the Sabeto Valley mud pools and hot springs. The mud pools were… interesting. It was pretty chunky. We have similar pools back home, but you certainly wouldn’t voluntarily jump into them. The hot spring was really nice though. The main spring reached anywhere from 70 to 80 Celsius, so the pool was probably around 60 or 65 degrees.

After another night in Nadi, me and Michaela, an English girl I met on tour, eventually got picked up and made our way to the ferry to Robinson Crusoe island. We stayed for 2 nights but that really wasn’t enough. I have found my new home. The remote island requires trips back to the main land to pick up supplies, food, and drinking water. Once you’re dropped off on the island, we made our way to our dorm and found out what was going on around the island. Various activities throughout the day included snorkelling, coconut hunting & tasting, jewellery making, beach volleyball, bush walks, among other things. Or you can decide to do nothing and lay on the beach with a cocktail. The staff was the most friendly group of people you could ever meet. All Fijians are friendly, but these guys were above the rest. At least with us girls they were. 😉 “Residents” on the island included a Canadian family- mother (Gizelle), father (Casey), and 3 sons; Talon (8), Radik (10), and Blake (16.) They had been travelling the world for 4 years and had landed on Robinson Crusoe with the intention to stay for 2 weeks. Three months later, they finally left the island on the same day as me. The fire shows that are performed on Saturday and Wednesday evenings are beyond awesome and I don’t think you could ever get bored of watching them. I’d be willing to learn all of the dance steps if I meant I could stay!

There are multiple reasons you want to stay in Fiji. The weather’s great, most of the time, the islands (although I didn’t get to the Yasawas so I can only assume at this point) are beautiful, and the main island is surrounded by mountains and lush green jungle, resulting in spectacular views no matter which way you look. But the main reason is the people. So kind, so genuinely nice, you can’t help but fall in love with all of them. Once you’ve been properly introduced by joining in a kava ceremony, you are automatically part of their family, and they don’t hesitate to make you feel that way every day. And it helps that all the men have striking voices and are handsome to boot! Fiji is most definitely on the list of countries to revisit, and if anyone is considering a tropical island trip, spend the extra cash and go to Fiji. You’ll hear plenty of “Vinaka vaka levu” (thank you very much) if you do. If I haven’t given you enough reasons already, I’m sure I’ll gather more next time I make my way down.

A Year in Review: Australia

Here I am, one year after arriving in Australia, getting ready to pack everything up and move back to Canada. I am taking my time in doing so, however- spending 9 days in Fiji and 3 weeks in Houston visiting with my best friend and her newborn baby girl (and hubby too!) But with some downtime, I wanted to write a review of my time spent in Oz. After travelling over 19,000 kms, there’s a lot to look back on. I also want to take this time to thank those of you who have diligently followed me around the island continent via this online blog. Either because you had nothing better to read, or you wanted to live vicariously through me, I’m hoping you enjoyed the few entries I was able to post and I appreciate all the comments that you have left for me. It’s not really worth writing something on a public blog if no one’s going to read it.

The last few days in Canada before leaving for my year-long working holiday were filled with emotions, the extremes being excitement, sadness, and fear.  The reception upon entering the country and having a wonderful hostess like Marsha greet me at the airport was all I needed to calm my nerves and make me feel welcome. One thing she told me would happen as I began travelling is that you’re never really alone- you will make friends along the way and they will become your new family. I only realize now, when I have to leave them, how true that statement was.

I met wonderful people with every new place I set foot in. Along with Marsha and her family in Perth, I was also introduced to Louise, a friend of Marsha’s and a truly genuine person. We had some very good, long chats and I hope that I was able to offer some friendly advice and encouragement for her wellbeing. Very kind hearted and generous, she only ever made me feel welcome in her and her family’s home and I can’t thank her enough for that.

 Once I’d arrived in Adelaide, it was only a few short days before I met Ailish, my Irish friend who was in the same travel boat as me. Starting in Perth, travelling alone and feeling like you just needed someone to have a physical chat with, we hit it off right away. Although our plans to travel together may have fallen, it was easy to pick up the pieces when we met again in Darwin. I’m convinced that our paths will cross again at some point in our lifetimes.

It was inevitable that I would meet a ton of people in Sydney; the city is massive and I stayed there for 1/3 of my trip. Aside from the wonderful sleuth of people I met while working for the Office of the Registrar, I made some lifelong friends in my hostel, my home. There are a few that deserve honourable mention: Andrea- who’da thunk you’d meet an American at a war memorial, have dinner with the next day and convince to go to a Sting concert with you? That meet up was meant to be. Abi- my homesick English friend who did her level best to enjoy her last few weeks in Sydney when all she wanted to do was fly home. Becky- the beautiful, sweet girl who provided hours of drama-filled conversations at lunch and in the parks. Kristen- the first Dutch person I met who introduced me to Dutch Queen’s Day and let me play therapist a few times when needed. Clare, who came and went and then came again! The who-knew chef and everything-English-tv extraordinaire, I have plans to visit her in England and only watch BBC for a couple weeks. Collene- my Aussie receptionist who gave me free internet, plenty of “punch” and lots of laughs. Since she is expecting, one can only hope that she will one day find herself on a family vacation to Canada. And last but not least, Josee- the fellow Canadian who shares my hatred for Australian bacon and love for A&W Root Beer. I have such wonderful memories with all of these people. I only hope that my memory doesn’t fade any worse as I get older because losing them would be devastating.

The east coast provided a bit of unplanned luck as far as friends were concerned. Meeting up with the two German girls, Suzzane and Stefi, was completely random. Starting with a trip to Fraser Island together, I was so fortunate that my Whitsundays trip was cancelled and I ended up on their boat instead. It was a real treat to be able to continue my east coast adventure with those two wonderful ladies. Germany is now high on the list of countries to visit when I reach Europe.

It was also quite nice to meet another fellow Canadian in Cairns. His name was Graham, and his friends Ross and George, are the most Canadian English people I’ve ever met. It was a pleasure to watch the Canucks vs. Bruins Stanley Cup final with them.

Darwin introduced me to some Northern Territorians, who are as crazy and awesome as you could hope for in a group of co-workers. Lear, Blondie, Jenna, Choni, and Heidi were a treat to work with and provided some much needed breaks and fun away from the crazy drunks of Skycity. After those long closing shifts, I was lucky enough to have someone like Ambrosia, another Canuck, who liked eating breakfast a bit later in the day and was always up for a chat. I’m so thrilled I eventually talked to her as I realized we share a lot of the same views concerning, well, practically everything. We even grocery shop in the same manner! We were able to meet up again in Melbourne for a one-week camping trip on the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians and I couldn’t think of a better way I could have seen that side of Victoria. My only real “road trip” in Australia was amazing and she and her boyfriend, Aaron, are who I can thank for that. I miss her terribly but am comforted in the fact that she lives just a drive away from Ottawa. Now all we need to do is get Steve, our English, fact-driven friend, to come visit with us and it’ll feel like Banyan all over again!- without the heat.

My west coast trip was long but amazing, and I was able to share those amazing moments with some pretty great people. One who enjoyed the trip as much as me, and also didn’t want the trip to end, was Zelda, my Geordie friend who although would hardly ever laugh, always made sure you did. Her brash nature provided fine entertainment for the rest of us and it’s nice to know that she will remember that trip in the same way I will.

Although most of my time in Melbourne was spent either on the road with Ambrosia or in the hostel with a very interesting and sometimes rowdy group of Irish/Scottish/English, one day that stands out above the rest was my last day in Oz. Not because it was my last day, but because I finally got to meet Carolyn, a birthday buddy I’ve known through the interwebs for about 5 years. Could be more, could be less, no one knows for sure. She was everything I imagined her to be; lovely, kind, hilarious, and generous, and only a bit taller than expected. I’m so glad I began my trip meeting one online friend and ended it with meeting another. It was a very special day for me, even if we only sat around and talked each other’s ears off. I didn’t want to leave! But I think we all know I can be quite the talker, and apparently, so could she! 😉

Apart from the friends I’ve made, I am going to miss a few things about this country. First and foremost, I’m going to miss the southern sky. No longer will I be able to point out the Southern Cross to people and explain how to find true south. No longer will Orion’s belt look like a saucepan. Seeing their beautiful night sky only strengthens my need for continual education in astronomy. I am disappointed that access to a lush, coral reef system will now be a lot more than a couple hundred miles away. It saddens me that Tim Tams will not be available anytime I want them. The Gibb River Road provided some of the most spectacular hikes and sights I will ever see in my life. Absolutely gorgeous and always an adventure, I will miss the Kimberley and will now have to construct my own swag for night time star gazing.

I do regret a few things about my trip. I regret not doing any farm work and therefore not even giving myself the possibility of doing a second year in Oz. I regret not spending the money on a dive course because I did love snorkelling and can only imagine how many more spectacular sights I could have seen had I gone down a bit further. I regret not getting to Melbourne sooner and spending more time with Carolyn because one day was certainly not enough. On the other hand, I do not regret spending as much time in Sydney as I did, or arriving in Darwin when I did, or spent the money I did in order to see what I saw. Every decision you make in life has a positive and a negative reaction, and it’s important to remember that you should only focus on the positive. Although I’m six feet under with debt up to my eyeballs, I will not look upon this year as a negative, because it was anything but. I’m very grateful that I got to spend a year away, seeing things that other people only wish they could see. But in some cases, for some people, it shouldn’t be just a wish. Depending on your situation, it doesn’t need to be just a dream; make it a reality! I did, and look at all the memories I have that will last a lifetime. I would urge anyone who is even considering travelling to do so. Travelling has taught me that you don’t need to settle for anything. If you want to make a change in your life and you have the capacity to do so, then go for it. You’ll only have yourself to blame if you don’t. It will enrich your life and you’ll never regret it. I didn’t find my dropbear; maybe he doesn’t exist, or maybe I just didn’t look hard enough. That can just be added to the list of reasons why I have to go back to Australia, some day.

Stay tuned! Coming soon will be a review of my time spent in tropical, wonderful, Fijiland!! Bula & Vinaka vaka levu!!

Melbourne- the little big city!

I’ve only been in Melbourne for week and already I’ve fallen in love with this city. When I came out of the Kimberley, the last thing I wanted to do was go back to a city. I wanted to stay out in the wilderness and watch the sky and exchange my hostel beds for a swag of my own. Now that I’ve made it to Melbourne, I’ve already asked how much it costs to own a house in the city. Luckily for my friends and family, it’s one of the most expensive cities to live in, in the world.

 What do I like about Melbourne? The architecture-both young and old- first and foremost. I love old architecture mixed with new and I find Melbourne’s done a good job blending the two together. I also like all the coffee shops. There are so many to choose from and the coffee is awesome! I mean, I love Starbucks, but I promised Marsha that while I was in Melbourne I wouldn’t go into any Starbucks. There’s good coffee around and when I can support a great, small shop, I will. The other great small shops are the clothing stores. I probably won’t be able to actually buy anything from them but the stuff is very interesting. And these were just the shops in the city center. I’ve got to get my butt out to Brunswick Street in Fitzroy, apparently. I’ve been told the shops on that street are particularly awesome.

The streets are something else I love. Not the actual streets, but the grid system that they’ve set up. It’s so easy to get around the city, and it’s small enough that you can’t get lost and it doesn’t take ages, or multiple bus transfers, to see everything. The very opposite to Sydney. Melbourne has a great, big city feel to it, what with all the shops and theatres and parks, but is still very small. Perth felt much larger, especially when you included all the suburbs around the CBD. I have yet to venture out to any of the suburbs in Melbourne, but I know the trains at Flinders St. station will take me anywhere I need to go.

There’s a lot to do while in Victoria. There are the Grampians, a national park just a couple hours out of the city, the Dandenong Ranges– Victoria’s mountain range, the Great Ocean Road (something I was admittedly going to skip and have been told I can’t,) Crown Casino, among many other things. I’m only here until the 30th, and I was actually hoping to find some work while I was here. I have sent out my resume to a few places but hiring someone for only 2-3 weeks just doesn’t sound like something that’s going to happen. On the plus side, I do have some cash from my Australian taxes and I will have to do them again for this tax year, so I’m not completely out of money, but I do need to pay for these trips somehow! Can’t get them on smiles alone!

However, I have already paid for my flight to Fiji, my tour while in Fiji, and my flight to Houston. I leave Australia on October 30th and will be spending a lovely 9 days in Fiji. Afterward, I fly to Houston via LA and Pheonix. I’m still unsure how long I’ll be staying in Houston, depends on how long Meagan and Mike can stand having me in the house, I guess! Somewhere around a week later I’ll make my way home. I’m far from finished my journey but it has been an amazing one! I’ll be sad to see it end, but excited for the holiday season as soon as I get home. I have equally mixed feelings about the weather too. I do miss the cold weather, but I think I’m going to freeze as soon as I step off the plane in Halifax. Better make sure my winter coat is greeting me at the door!

West is Best, so says I!

Hello everyone! Some of you may be wondering where this update has been hiding. I meant to write one a bit sooner, but as you may have seen in my last post, I’ve been pretty busy the last month or so. I’ve been gallivanting all over this wonderful country and I’ve had a fantastic time doing it too!

So, you want to know if Uluru is as beautiful and awe inspiring as I expected it to be? Well, not exactly. Was I still mesmerised by the size of it? Yes. Am I still extremely happy I made it out there? Of course! But that wasn’t the highlight of the trip; King’s Canyon was beyond beautiful and Kata Tjuta may just sit there quietly while big brother Uluru gets all the attention, but she deserves just as much. The hikes through the canyon and Kata Tjuta were just amazing.  King’s Canyon provided some pretty awesome scenery for some pretty special pictures and Kata Tjuta brings you to these wonderful views of valleys and rock that were really one-of-a-kind. Uluru is special because it is one giant monolith; and, to make it even bigger, it actually goes into the ground for another… 7km? Pretty sure that’s correct. Kata Tjuta is special because it’s a bunch of big rocks, and when lined up in front of a sunset, it really does make it a photographer’s dream. I am slightly disappointed that I didn’t feel anything stronger when I got to Uluru, but King’s Canyon more than made up for it.

Alice Springs was basically exactly what I pictured. A very small town with a lot of Aborigines, I definitely only needed a couple of days to see basically the whole town. The trip to and from Darwin on the Ghan was pretty awesome though. On the way to Alice, I made friends with some of the staff on the train and hung around them for most of the night/day. On the way back, I met a very nice couple from Vancouver who had been living in China for the last 4 years and were travelling Australia before heading home. So I chatted with them for a bit in the Red Class Lounge. When I got back that evening, I put on some make-up and headed over to the casino to drop some cash on the blackjack tables, just because I CAN! But of course, I didn’t win.

Kakadu National Park was the agenda for the next 3 days. Our guide, Gandar, was one of the best guides I’ve run into on my travels. Being Aboriginal himself, and basically devoting his whole life to Kakadu and its awesomeness, he knew everything there was to know about the land. Although he grew up on an island just north of Arnham Land, he learned everything there was to learn about Kakadu and its spirituality and plant and animal life. He provided some amazing insight into the lives of Aboriginals- how they lived off the land, how they communicated, how they developed their own communities and the laws therein. It was a treat to just sit there and listen to him go on about the people from Kakadu (I’m sorry, I cannot remember tribe names for the life of me) and how they lived and worked together as a family. And the scenery in this place too! Stunning would be the proper word to describe it, I think. So many amazing waterholes and waterfalls and small but awesome plant life! Did it suck that I had the worst cold I’ve had in maybe 10 years? Yes, but it didn’t stop me from doing all the hikes and getting just as excited as everyone else. The only difference is I didn’t end up drinking any of my beers. Oh well, it was only Toohey’s New, in a can, anyway.

Leaving Darwin was a bit crappy, only because I had met such wonderful people there. I’m not going to miss working at the casino, but I am going to miss the people I met while working there, the travellers from the hostel and Ailish, who I didn’t really spend as much time with in Darwin as I would have liked. But that’s what happens when you’re both constantly working- no time for a real social life! But leaving Darwin meant the beginning of my 21-day tour to Perth, and what turned out to be the best thing you could think to spend $3000 on.

I don’t quite know how to describe the Kimberley. Rugged, comes to mind. So does vast, void, huge, wonderful, amazing, and absolutely breathtaking. And it’s not just the gorges. Holy moly, the gorges! Gorgeous, of course, but there are so many! It’s quite easy to lose track of which ones you went to on which day. And what they were all called. Luckily the camera records the date and the other travellers remember the names. No, it’s not just that. It’s as soon as you hit Gibb River Road you realize you’re in for an adventure. The road is constantly bumpy, 50kms takes an hour to drive, there are bush fires everywhere you look, and then suddenly, there are cattle in the middle of the road. Where did they come from? Nestled inside the Kimberley are a ton of small Aboriginal communities, most of which you are not allowed to enter unless you have permission. I thought that there was really nothing in the Kimberley, which compared to most other places there isn’t, but there are plenty of campgrounds and plenty of road houses that offer $10 bagged ice and $1.95/L petrol. So you won’t DIE if you run out of food or petrol or water, but you will pay dearly to live. Luckily for me though, I already paid for it. Phil, our wonderful and surprisingly outback-y guide was a master chef. He cooked up a roast lamb, some grilled barramundi, made chocolate cakes inside an orange shell, all on the campfire. He picked up some kangaroo tails in Kununurra. I think I have now tried kangaroo every way it can be tried. The group we had was pretty special too. There was a good mix of nationalities and everyone got along. We did a mixture of campground camping and bush camping, and all were complete with a swag and campfire (except for one place where it was too windy.) Our last bush camp was extra special. It took nearly 2 hours to drive there but Phil promised it was worth the wait. And he wasn’t kidding. It was spectacular. In the middle of a sea of 3.5 million year old coral reef, we sat around the campfire listening to Phil tell us the story of Jandamarra, an Aboriginal who led a war against the police in the 1890’s. It really is a fantastic story and I recommend you read it. The story began in the place where we camping that night and finished in the place we went to the next day- Tunnel Creek. We didn’t see everything there is to see in the Kimberley (the downfall of going on a tour and not on your own.) There is still so much in the Kimberley that has yet to be explored; I can only imagine what other gems are laying within it.

Once we got into Broome, we had a couple of days to explore the pearl infested town. We had a group dinner at Som Thai Restaurant (great place, and BYO so it got a little crazy!) and we stayed at Cable Beach Backpackers. Cable Beach was lovely and the sunsets were striking. Adrian, one of the guys on our tour, followed behind the bus through the Kimberley on his dirt bike. I had the chance the ride with him for about 30km to one of our campgrounds and then when I found out you can drive on a part of Cable Beach, I had to get another ride. Watching the sun set with its beautiful red, orange and blue lighting was awesome, but on the back of the bike it was thrilling! That has to be my favourite sunset of all time.

A couple days later, we left early to continue our tour. Only 7 out of the 17 of us actually continued on the west coast but we picked up 3 others in Broome. We also had a new guide, Kimberley (not a typo, she spells it with an e.) I wasn’t sure if I was really going to like her at first; she’s a bit harsh and bit loud, completely the opposite to Phil. But after a couple of days sitting in the front with her, we really clicked and enjoyed each other’s company. She had a family emergency during the trip and I hope I was able to help her just by being there to vent to when she couldn’t get a hold of her partner or family due to poor reception. The trip from Broome to Perth is filled with a bunch of sweet little places like Denham and Kalbarri, but the main attractions were Karijini National Park and Coral Bay. While in Karijini, I decided to splurge a bit on an added extra trip and went canyoning in Knox, Red, and Hancock Gorges. Every gorge has a class number of hikes and the higher the classification, the harder and more dangerous the hike/climb becomes. This trip gave me all the proper safety equipment to do the class 6 hikes, the highest of the classes. Fully strapped into a harness with my wet suit, shoes, paddles, karabiners, and rubber tube, I was ready to take the plunge into the gorges that you can only see from this style of trip. There were no lookouts where we were going and there weren’t any other people around, doing the same trip. It made you feel so small in such massive gorges, and a bit cold! Lunch was amazing because it didn’t consist of sandwiches and the “center of the earth” in Hancock Gorge was a sight to behold. Ab- sailing and rock climbing and tubing is definitely the best way to see any gorge. Exmouth was the next stop and we had our first view and snorkel on the Ningaloo reef. Now, I know the Great Barrier is better known, and it is great because of the sheer size of it, but Ningaloo was much livelier to me. I saw more wildlife in a shorter amount of time and it helped that the weather was fantastic. I would have gone on the Manta Ray tour, but after having spent a nice chunk of cash at Karijini, I wasn’t ready to drop another in Coral Bay, so I went with the much cheaper- but still awesome!- glass-bottom boat tour. I got some amazing turtle pictures (at least, I think they’re amazing) and I saw a reef shark! That night, there was a huge party at the hostel because it was Kim’s last night, and Simon, a guide that was on holiday on the same Kimberley trip as me, was finishing up work for his trip to Canada. Shenanigans ensued and I ended up getting thrown in the pool. And found out my shitty $20 watch can withstand a bit of water damage.

The rest of the tour after Coral Bay went on a slight decline. The gorge in Kalbarri National Park was superb, but after seeing 50 billion gorges in the Kimberley and Karijini, and being on a bus for 20 days, it’s just another gorge. I did get to do some sandboarding on my last day, which was pretty cool, and then we went to the Pinnacles before heading into Perth. Not very exciting for me, since I’d already been.

I’m leaving Perth tonight and heading into Melbourne, which I am excited about. Melbourne has been described to me as a great city and I’m sure I will think no differently. It seems like I’ve been ignoring it this whole time, but I haven’t. The way the traveller moves about the country is sometimes a little haphazard and disjointed and that’s just the way it goes. I am disappointed that I won’t really have the opportunity to really “live” in Melbourne (although I do intend to get some work while there) but I think it’s actually a great way to end the trip because I’ll finally get to meet Carolyn. I start the trip with meeting one friend and end it with meeting another!

I was asked by one of the girls on the trip what I was going to miss most about the whole 3 weeks. There are so many memories formed on that trip that it’s hard to pick just one, but if I had to, I would have to say the night sky. That is true for all of the trips I’ve made around Australia. I reckon, and I’ve said this before, that the southern sky is more star-filled and brighter than the north. But I guess if I had to pick one specific to the tour, I would say the amazing bush camp on the last night in the Kimberley. It was just too perfect. My pictures do not do justice to the intensity of that place. And combined with the campfire, the group, the swags, and the sky, that was my favourite night in Australia, hands down. If I had anyone ask me what to do or see in Australia for 3 weeks or a month, I would tell them to see the west coast. It really is the best coast.

One way to spend a month in Outback Australia

Here it is, folks! My itinerary for my travels around the Northern Territory and Western Australia! It’s going to be jam packed with loads of camping and ground transportation! Many many kilometers to travel and many many things to see!!

Aug 28- Last day of work at Skycity! Woop!! I will miss the crazy bars crew!
Aug 31- Overnight train, the Ghan, to Alice Springs.
Sept 1- One night in Alice at Toddy’s.
Sept 2- Travel out to Uluru, spend a night swagging near the rock to see the sunset.
Sept 3- Up early to see the sunrise on Uluru, go see Kata Tjuta, and spend the night at Kings Canyon.
Sept 4- Back to Alice and another night in Toddy’s.
Sept 5- Back on the Ghan overnight to Darwin. I’m not leaving until 6pm, therefore I’ll have some time to see more of Alice.
Sept 6- Spending one more night in Darwin.
Sept 7 & 8- Up early for the trip out to Kakadu. Spending 2 nights in Kakadu (I thought it was going to be 3 nights/4 days, but I guess I read it wrong) and as I said in my last post, I’ll be seeing Jim Jim and Twin Falls and also going on a river cruise, along with a lot of hiking.
Sept 9 & 10- Two more days in Darwin. Lucky for me, there’s a movie I wanted to see at the Deckchair that’s starting on the 9th; it’s called The Trip and it’s a comedy starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. Good timing!
Sept 11- Oct 1- An early 6:30am start to my 21 days/ 20 nights down through the Kimberley and the West Coast on to Perth. I arrive in Perth on the evening of the 1st and I have yet to book my flight over to Melbourne.

I had considered only staying in Melbourne for a week or so and going back to Sydney where I know I can get office work, but there are 2 reasons why I want to stay in Melbourne longer: I haven’t been yet and feel like I owe this city more than just a week, and I have a friend that I need to visit. And I don’t mean a quick, “Hey, let’s meet in the city for dinner one night.” No no, I mean visit with. I want to see the house she calls home and see where she grew up and meet the doggies!! And you know, I’m sure I won’t have too much trouble finding an office job in Melbourne. If I can get something for 3 weeks, that’ll give me plenty of time to explore the city during the week, see Carolyn during the weekends, and I could still take a quick bus or train to Sydney for a few days before leaving for Fiji/Houston/home. It’ll all work out in the end, but right now, I just need to finish these last 5 shifts at the casino and get to the museum and botanical gardens in Darwin. I can start getting excited for my trips at the end of the week.

Oh, after asking around, I’ve been told it’ll probably be too hot in the outback for the dropbears. Maybe they’ll come out during the cold evenings in the desert, but I’ll have to keep my eyes and ears open for that. Although I think I may have spotted one already…..

Damn you NT/Northern WA and your exciting, but very expensive, tours!

Some of you may have been wondering what I’ve been up to. Those of you who talk to me on a regular basis will know that it’s been basically nothing but work. Work has sort of taken over my life for the last month. I’m getting great hours; 5 days per week and putting in anywhere between 40-45 hours per week.  The work’s not that bad but I’ve been getting all closing shifts (4:30am-5:30am) and that gets really tiring. Waking up at 12 or 1 is crappy no matter how much sleep you’ve gotten. On the other hand, it’s a good thing I’m getting the hours because every trip outside of Darwin is going to cost me the equivalent of a 2-week paycheque.

All of the big things I wanted to tick off my list- Uluru, Kimberleys, Kakadu- are all trips I will be taking from Darwin. But because this is Australia’s remote area, you’re paying to cover the kilometers. For instance, it’s a 1500km trip from Darwin to Alice Springs. That’s driving to Halifax from Yarmouth 5 times! And, as I have recently found out, most of these trips are one-way only. Most people would take a trip through the Kimberleys, land in Broome, and then move on. Or take a trip down to Uluru and move on from Alice Springs. Not me though. I want the price I see to include transportation back to Darwin. So instead of moving on to Perth, Adelaide, or the East Coast, I have to pay extra to get back to Darwin or move on to Melbourne.

I’ve already booked my trips to Uluru and Kakadu and that cost me about $1000. In order to do Kakadu half-way properly, I’m spending 3 days camping out in the national park. I’ll be going on a river cruise, swimming in plenty of billabongs, seeing Jim Jim and Twin Falls, eating plenty of good food and having a real camping experience. The trip is privately run by an Aboriginal guide and I’ve been told he provides the best Kakadu experience. To get myself to Alice Springs, I need to take a 24-hour train ride down there. One night in Alice, and then a 3-day tour of Uluru and its surroundings: not only do you see the sun set and rise at the rock, you do a hike around Kata Tjuta (Olgas) and Kings Canyon. Then it’s back to Alice for a night and hop on the 24-hour train back to Darwin. Two trips that I’m sure I will not regret paying the price for! It’s after these trips that I run into the problem of how to cheaply do the Kimberleys and make my over to Melbourne. I am considering the following trip:

It’s through Western Xposure and it’s a 21-day Darwin–>Perth tour that would bring me through the Kimberley and down the west coast- a coast to rival the east with a reef that supposedly has better snorkelling than the Great Barrier. Now that I would like to see. But to see all of this splendour will cost me near as makes no difference to $3100. That is a lot to pay for 3 weeks of travelling. But let’s bear in mind exactly what that includes: a knowledgeable guide the entire way to Perth (more importantly, someone who will not let me die in the Kimberley,) food for almost the full 3 weeks, “accommodation” each night (I might be doing a lot of swagging, but that’s all part of the adventure!), and transportation of 4040kms. When you sit back and realize just how far you’ll have gone, you can understand why it’s one of the most expensive trips I’ll be taking. You just need to get over the fact that it costs the same to get a return ticket to Canada. Also, how awesome would it be to be able to see Marsha, Dan, the kids, and everyone in Perth again?

Australia is big in a different way than Canada. Canada has a lot of land, but most of it you wouldn’t necessarily go to. Either it’s too cold or there’s nothing but forest out there. But here, there’s plenty of things to do and places to see and the coastline is where you rack up the kilometers.  And that’s what you need to think about when booking epic trips like this one. You have to think about how much money it really costs to upkeep and run a 4WD, provide meals for everyone on board, and which remote areas you actually get to see. I’m not saying that it’s bad value for what you get; I think it would be totally worth it, it’s spending that large chunk of change on one trip. I have to somehow trick my mind into thinking that it’s actually a steal, but we know that I’m not very good at doing that. I’m very disciplined when it comes to spending money, and this trip is really testing my ability to turn off that part of my brain that screams “That’s money that should be going on your credit card!!” I need my brain to start thinking “This is the only time in your life when you’ll be able to do this! Take advantage NOW!” At least I know this though. It should be easier to make the decision when the time comes. And until that time comes, I’ll just have to keep on truckin’ with the 40-45 hour work weeks.

My resume is going to be a smorgasbord of experience!

I’ve been in Darwin for nearly 5 weeks. I was looking for work for 3 of those and have worked for the other two. I am now a member of the Skycity Darwin team, serving drinks to our table games customers. One of the downfalls to working for the casino is of course that I can’t gamble. The other downfall is that generally speaking, the clientele is not always made up of the nicest people. That is very generally speaking, and when I compare it to working as a dealer at a casino, the customers are much friendlier. You see, I may take some money from them, but they’re getting something in return; alcohol. As a dealer, if you take their money, you’re also making their chances of coming out ahead a lot worse. And they don’t like that.

I don’t really hate my job or the customers though. The job itself is pretty easy- take a drink order, go to the bar and make it, then deliver it. I get to make my own drinks and we are the only department in the casino who are allowed to accept tips. And the hourly wage is great. But I think I’ve definitely come to realize that I do not want to work at a bar when I get back. It never runs smoothly and the hours are pretty shitty. Mind you, if I were working in an office, I wouldn’t be writing this blog right now. Ups and downs- what real life is all about!

Working this much hasn’t given me much free time to do any kind of sightseeing, not that Darwin has a whole lot to offer. I still haven’t gone to the museum in Fannie Bay and I haven’t visited the Botanical Gardens, but I was able to catch Barney’s Version at the Deckchair Cinema and that was fantastic! That is definitely the best way to watch a movie. They provide the deckchairs, pillows, water, and mosquito repellent. And, if you haven’t eaten, they have a very reasonably priced dinner plate from one of the local restaurants. They’re licenced so you can even enjoy your movie with a nice glass of wine or beer, or you can bring in your own picnic (no BYOB though, as they are a licenced venue.) The fact that the movie was brilliant just made the night even better. I will definitely be going back.

You may have noticed that I haven’t posted many pictures lately. That would be because anything that I would normally take pictures of is on a tour outside of Darwin; Litchfield and Kakadu National Parks, Arnhem Land, Uluru, Katherine Gorge, and of course, the Kimberley (where I’m SURE to find a dropbear!) Some of these are more expensive than others and all of them take time, something I don’t have a lot of right now. A day tour of Katherine and Arhnem Land will be doable, but everything else will have to wait until I finish work.

Then it will be on to Melbourne! I’m excited to visit Melbourne for two reasons: I’ve been told I’ll really enjoy the city and what it has to offer, and I will finally get to meet Carolyn, an Aussie I’ve known online for about 4 years or so, maybe more. It’s a shame I wasn’t able to be there for our birthday (we share the same birthday) but Melbourne is cold in July, and Darwin is not. And I will get plenty of cold once I get home in November.

My visa expires in less than 4 months. I have already finished 2/3 of my adventure, and honestly, I can’t wait to get home. I’ve been having an amazing time and I’m excited for this last third of my trip, but the life of a traveller is starting to wear a little thin. Having my own room, knowing that you have the proper utensils in a kitchen that works, having room in the fridge for whatever you want to put in it, bacon that tastes right, not sharing a bathroom with strangers, the list could go on for a long time. But before all of that, my plan is to take a short stop in (probably) Fiji and then hopping over to Houston to see Meagan and meet the newest addition to her family, Parker. By the time I make it home, it’ll probably be mid-late November. And that’ll feel good. Then we’ll see how long it’ll take for me to get bored of Yarmouth again. Right now though, Yarmouth and it’s familiarities sound great. Not only will it be wonderful to see family and friends again, but I just can’t wait to get back to Canada. It turns out travelling around another country is a great way to really appreciate your own. Road trip across Canada anyone? I’d be up for it!

I’ve lost my luck in the smallest city in Oz

I’m sitting here, in the Northern Territory library, absolutely dreading the fact that I have to go online and apply for more jobs. As I’ve already sent my resume to maybe 25 places and only heard back from 2, this process is becoming painful. I think I really just struck it lucky in Sydney. Mind you, in Sydney I was little more stressed out about it since I had already spent two weeks in Adelaide not working. So if you look at it that way, it’s like I’ve still got a couple weeks before I can start to really freak out.

The two places I did hear back from were Toll and the casino. Toll was going to be a 4-month contract doing general admin stuff. After talking myself into going to the interview to see what the company was like and how much I was going to get paid- because it would have to be significant in order for me to spend the rest of my visa here- I didn’t even get the job. Not because I wasn’t suitable for the position, but because the office I would be working in was somewhere public transport just didn’t go out to. And I’m sorry, but having to walk 4.5kms to and from the closest bus stop is just not worth it. So that sucked. That same night I went for my table test at the casino. Once again, I was completely capable of doing the job, but I would have to pay $110 for my criminal check (which would take about a month to clear) and my licencing (which they would reimburse to me after working for them for a year.) As you can see, that wasn’t going to work for me. So here we are, back in the library, back at square one.

 Other than the job hunting, Darwin’s been pretty decent. I love the city, with its free wi-fi all over the place and its wonderful, dry heat. I went to the V8 Supercar races and had a great time! Other than the V8s there were Classic Car, V8 Utes, and Formula 3 races. The V8 Supercar track is not an oval like you have with Nascar. It’s a proper track, with corners and straights, therefore I wasn’t able to see the whole track at all times. I watched most of the race on the big screen across the track, but heard the whole thing at all times. I even got to see a crash! The Holden “Fair Dinkum” car ran off the track into the tire wall in front of me. After about 3 minutes (which in motorsport is about a lifetime) he got back on the track and finished the race. I decided to cheer for Holden over Ford and I picked one of the cars that was out in front at the start of the race. After 69 laps, or something like 200kms, he ended up in 12^th. And a Ford won. Oh well, it was still great fun. I need to watch more motorsport. I will be looking into the F1 races that go to Montreal.

After the races, Andy and I (a guy that I met in my hostel that was going to the races) went down to the Mindle Beach markets. Every Thursday and Sunday night in the dry season the beach comes alive with wonderful and various smells from the all the food, plenty of crafts, and talented buskers. One of the best didgeridoo players I’ve ever heard plays down there. He mixes the didgeridoo with a drum set and produces some drum & bass stuff that you can only describe as well done. I think seeing him play is much more entertaining than it would be to just listen to his CD. Anyway, I haven’t been down to the markets since then because I’m waiting to get a bit of cash. I do have a part-time (6 hrs per week. Woo!) dishwashing job at Hot Rock where Ailish works. Hot Rock’s speciality is serving your meat uncooked to you on a, well, hot rock- a 400 degree volcanic rock to be exact. This rock cooks your food right in front of you. Best part about this; your food never goes cold! A very interesting and very fun eating experience.

Hopefully next time I feel like updating this blog, I’ll have better news on the job front. But in the meantime, it’s back to Seek/Gumtree/Jobseekers.com to find some kind of work. I’ll ask you to cross your fingers for me once again.

Mandy’s Great Big East Coast Adventure

For the last 3 weeks, I have been travelling up the East Coast, visiting cities, towns, and islands. I’ve gone camping, sailing, and have ridden in a Greyhound bus for 2639kms. The four months I spent in Sydney, and more specifically the 3 months I spent working, were for this trip, so when I arrived at Peterpan’s and asked them to book me a tour that had certain stops along the way, I was not surprised at the price. So long as the trip was going to be worth it. I’m here to tell you that this ride was well worth the admission price. Go grab a sandwich and when you’re ready, we’ll get started cuz it’s going to be a long one…

Brisbane (May 25-27)

It turns out that you need to devote as many hours as possible at the zoo (9am-4:30pm is still not enough) and be prepared for an early rise, because it takes an hour and a half to get there. So when I went to buy my ticket for the train and the park entry on my first day in the city, the nice man at the information desk advised me to do it the next day, when I could catch the early bus. So that meant I had that day free to roam the city. From the tiny bit that I saw, it was a charming city. I visited the art galleries, the museum, and the library (because they had a cool light exhibition on display, which unfortunately didn’t let you take any pictures.)

 The Australia Zoo was fantastic! Anyone who loves Steve Irwin would love that place. Anyone who loves animals would love that place. And anyone who loves crocs, would definitely love that place. They run shows every couple of hours or so, dedicated to certain animals- turtles, crocs, elephants, etc. The zookeepers are well informed and more than willing to share that information with anyone who shows that little bit of extra interest. If you just wanted more Steve, his Crocodile Hunter series was playing on any available screen and the stores were jam packed with more merchandise than you could shake a stick at. Unfortunately, the complete DVD set of The Crocodile Hunter was $300 and wouldn’t have played in my Canadian DVD player anyway. Surprisingly enough, the food was not as astronomically priced as I would have expected it to be. They probably make up the difference in the entry price.

 

Rainbow Beach/ Fraser Island (May 28- June 1)    

Rainbow Beach is a very cute and extremely small town that you would only stop into as a gateway to Fraser Island, but I was lucky enough to have had a free dolphin feeding thrown into my trip. So my first day involved another early rise, as the dolphins were fed at 8am- on the nose. At 6:45am, we piled into the van and headed out for Tin Can Bay. The dolphins that we were feeding were wild, Indo-Pacific Humpback dolphins. This voluntary feeding started back in the 50’s when a man accidently hit a dolphin with his boat (these types of dolphins like the shallow waters near the shore) so he took him in and nursed him back to health. Since that incident, that family of dolphins have been returning to Tin Can Bay. Mystique, the lead male, is the third generation of dolphins around the bay and he will sometimes bring his family along for the feed. They only feed the dolphins 3 kilos of fish, about 10% of their daily need, so they don’t come to the feed for the food. They come to make people happy.

On the way back, I talked to Dave, the manager of Dolphin Ferry Cruise and told him about my travels. I was going to spend the day trekking up the beach to the sand dunes, but he was kind and offered me a drive. That drive turned into a practice drive on Rainbow Beach and a trip across to Fraser Island for a “sneak peek”. Because we didn’t actually make it to the sand dunes, he offered to pick me up after my Fraser Island briefing to go up and see them. I agreed and went back to the hostel for the briefing. I met two German girls in my room that recognised me from the art gallery in Brisbane (small world!) and started chatting with them. Turns out we were going to be in the same car on the Fraser trip so we started chatting some more and shared the cost of one box of goon (we assumed that would be enough for the 2 days. Silly, I know.) I told them I was going for a drive up to the sand dunes and of course, they were welcome to tag along. We made our way up the sand dunes and what a view! We stayed until sunset and then Dave invited us all over for dinner with him and his daughter. We went back to his place for a great BBQ, XXXX (or Fourex) Bitter beers, and heaps more stories and laughs. As if this wasn’t enough hospitality on his part, he said that after our trip to Fraser, he would be happy to have us over for dinner again on the day we get back to try some whiting, a fish I was told I had to try. So after the camping trip, we made our way back to his and had fresh whiting (so tasty!) caught that day by Dave himself! He also gave us some complimentary passes to go to the dolphin feeding the next morning before we had to be back to catch the 12:30 bus (the girls were getting on the same bus as me as well.) Rainbow Beach would have been a big bore had it not been for Dave and his wonderful hospitality, and I hope he knows how much it was appreciated.

Fraser Island is the world’s largest sand island and is 65 miles long. You can’t swim in the ocean because 1) the rip tides will take you out to sea, and 2) then the sharks will eat you. But no fear, because the island is loaded with plenty of lakes and creeks to fulfill your swimming needs. Dingoes roam wild on the island and you need to ignore any impulse you may have to want to play with them or call them over. We were put into 4 teams, my team’s car being driven by the guide, Luke. Luke was a happy guy- just genuinely happy. And he made sure, in every speech he gave, that you remembered that you were on vacation in paradise. He didn’t want any complaints about “the water being too wet or the sand being too sandy.” Him, combined with the phenomenal scenery, made this one hell of trip. We had to cook our own food, did some proper camping (ie. sleeping in a tent in a sleeping bag) but everything was provided for us. I even tried a “pippy”, a mussle-like creature found on the beach that would normally be used for bait for fishing. Once you throw them on the grill and pour some goon over it, and was careful not to eat the sack, the tongue bit kinda tasted like chicken. A weird, sea-like chicken, but not that bad. Me and the girls were a little stupid and decided to drink the full 4-litres of goon in one night, which proved to be a bad choice. I ended up “feeding the dingoes” while one of the other girls made her way to the beach at night, and was found with a couple of dingoes giving her a little kiss on the cheek. She doesn’t remember it, but I think it’s a funny story. The sites we visited were Lake Wabby, Eli Creek, the Maheno shipwreck, the Champagne Pools, Indian Head (where I ran up the hill barefoot to try and see some whales that we had seen from the beach), and Lake McKenzie. Fraser Island is an absolutely gorgeous place and will definitely be one of my best memories from this trip.

Airlie Beach/The Whitsundays (June 3-5)  

After an overnight, 17-hour bus ride (including a 3-hour stopover in Hervey Bay) I fell into Airlie Beach, a sweet little sea-side town with one main street and a gorgeous view. Straight off the bus and on to the Whitsundays booking company, I checked in for my 2 night/3 day trip out to the Whitsundays- a compilation of 74 separate islands. I believe there is actually something like 110 out there, but only 74 of them make up the “Whitsundays.” They were discovered by James Cook and the name is “whit” for the religious day of whit (look that up for me, because I have no idea what day that is) and “Sunday” for the day of the week, obviously.

The particular cruise I signed up for was actually cancelled because there weren’t enough people to take the trip. The two German girls who I met on my Fraser Island trip, Steffi and Susanne, were going to the islands on the same day as me, and I was able to get on their boat, which was pretty great. The boat was called the Boomerang; 83ft long, 20ft wide with a mast of 110ft tall, and I got to help sail it! Yes, they only put us on the grinders, and that job was hard enough, but still! The accommodations on the boat were pretty good. A mattress with a pillow is already better than camping in tent and the food was spectacular! We did 3 snorkels, all of them on the Great Barrier Reef. The reef wasn’t quite as colourful as I expected it to be, but it was still pretty cool. The tropical fish were everywhere! Saw some fox-faced rabbit fish and a napoleon fish named Elvis. This was my first real chance to test out the underwater feature on my camera, and it worked great! I got some good videos and photos. We also visited Whitehaven Beach, where the sand is 99% silica. So fine, it can be used to clean watch faces, exfoliate your skin, and really ruin your camera. I think there’s some stat about the NASA telescope’s glass being made from this sand. The beach was beautiful, but the skies were a bit grey, so the pictures didn’t turn out quite as nice as you’d hope. The nights on the boat were a lot warmer than expected and the sky… I’m gonna put it out there right now that the southern sky is a lot brighter than the northern sky. At least, from what I can remember from Quinan life, it is. I wasn’t able to find Orion, but I was able to find the Big Dipper, which of course, was upside-down. It’s the little things like that that remind you you’re in a totally different part of the world.

Mission Beach (June 6)

The real reason you stop over at Mission Beach is to do a sky dive. It’s the only place in Australia where you actually get to land on the beach and because of that, it is the most popular place to do it. I would have signed up for it if I had an extra $250, but because I didn’t, I just stopped in for one night. I stayed at Scotty’s Beach House and it was super cute. They had a small dog, whose name I can’t remember, as their “lifeguard” by the pool and a huge cat named Batman. It didn’t seem like there was much to do in Mission Beach since the town was hit by Cyclone Yasi back in February, so the one night was enough.

Cairns (June 7-15)

I spent a week in Cairns and from what I’d gathered, the city is pretty quiet. There is a downtown core, but it’s not very big. Bigger than Adelaide, but for some reason, I never really took a shine to the place. Luckily though, I had two trips booked within that week: a reef dive day trip and an overnight trip to Cape Tribulation, in the Daintree Rainforest.

The reef dive started out kind of crappy, since the weather was cloudy and always threatening rain, which made the boat ride out a little bumpy. We made our way to Upolu Cay. A “cay” is a small sand island, inhabited only by birds. Eventually, once the water stops covering the island, the birds will poop on the island and germinate vegetation, which will transform the small sand dune into a proper island. Maybe that isn’t the exact scientific way that these islands are formed, but you can check that out. There were wet suits available, but as soon as the crew mentioned that the water temperature was a comfortable, 22 celcius, I decided that I wouldn’t need one. And I was right. I’m the biggest baby when it comes to getting into cold water, and this water was far from cold. I was the only one who didn’t take the wetsuit! There were fish and coral aplenty, but I wasn’t any more fascinated by the reef as I was in the Whitsundays. We then made our way over to the “Wonder Wall” for our second snorkel. This was a much larger reef and there were many more tropical fish to see. I found Nemo! And Gil! We went back on board for lunch, which was pretty good, then made our way over to our last dive spot, which I can’t remember the name of. But, I got to see a sea turtle at this one!! That was very exciting, so I made sure to get as good a video of him, or her, as I could. Seeing one in the wild made that trip completely worth it, even if the sun didn’t want to shine.

If there is one place to locate a dropbear, the Daintree Rainforest would have been it! Cape Tribulation is actually an area within the Daintree rainforest- where the rainforest meets the reef. It only takes about a half an hour by boat to get out to the reef. The Daintree rainforest is said to be the oldest rainforest in the world. The first day started out with a river cruise where we spotted a 5-6 meter long saltwater crocodile. I stayed at the Ferntree Lodge, and it was quite nice, but there isn’t much to do around the area. I went to a boardwalk and was able to spot some little rainforest critters, but no cassowaries. The cassowary is Australia’s second largest land bird. It’s endangered, and although there are signs posted everywhere along the road in the Daintree, I wasn’t able to spot one in the wild. I did spot some other bird, a type of fowl I believe, and some small lizards, small turtles, and some fish, but otherwise, it was all about the 1000 different species of trees in the rainforest, one more beautiful than the next. I heard the white-lipped frogs, but wasn’t able to spot them in the mess of trees. I chatted with a nice lady that I met in the hostel, and she and I took a drive out to the beach and a couple boardwalks. On the second day, we stopped off at a wildlife zoo, where they take in injured animals and eventually release them back into the wild, if possible. They had a few “salties”, some cassowaries, kangaroos, even some squirrel gliders. I could have avoided spending an extra $20 if I would have taken the day tour (and would have been provided a lunch) but I got some decent pictures from my free time at Ferntree, so I guess it wasn’t a total loss.

 

And now, the great, big East Coast trip has come to an end. I will be on my way to Darwin, king of the Northern Territory. I haven’t booked my ticket to the V8 races yet, but I presume I will be able to buy my ticket at the door. If not, I will find out all the information I need (including transportation) when I get to Darwin. I will be staying at The Cavenagh, at $25/night. Darwin is not cheap, so let’s all hope that I find a job really, really soon. My credit card is going to be in for another beating. But at least the last 3 weeks made it worth it!

Where’s Mandy now??

Ok folks, I’ve finally moved on from Sydney and am currently sitting on the floor of my hostel in Brisbane (it was the only place where they had a free outlet), enjoying the lovely internets while I can. My next few weeks are completely jam packed, but just so that those who worry about me don’t, I will post my schedule of where I’ll be each day. Once the trip is over, you’ll hear the stories about the adventures that I’m sure are coming my way! Anyway, here’s a glimpse of where I’m gonna be from now until June 15:

Friday, May 27- Brisbane (more specifically, the Australian Zoo)
Saturday, May 28- Rainbow Beach
Sunday, May 29- Dolphin Feeding- Rainbow Beach
Monday, May 30- Fraser Island
Tuesday, May 31- Fraser Island
Wednesday, June 1- Fraser Island/ Rainbow Beach
Thursday, June 2- overnight bus to Airlie Beach
Friday, June 3- Whitsundays
Saturday, June 4- Whitsundays
Sunday, June 5- Whitsundays/ Airlie Beach
Monday, June 6- Mission Beach
Tuesday, June 7- Cairns
Wednesday, June 8- Cairns
Thursday, June 9- Cairns
Friday, June 10- Reef Dive/ Cairns
Saturday, June 11- Cairns
Sunday, June 12- Cape Tribulation
Monday, June 13- Cape Tribulation/ Cairns
Tuesday, June 14- Cairns
Wednesday, June 15- Fly to Darwin

How awesome does that look? I know, pretty freakin’ awesome! And all I have to do is make sure to catch my bus on time, book into my tours on time, and somehow stay awake for the whole thing! 🙂

My first day here in Brisbane was going to be spent at the Australian Zoo, but the very helpful information centre guy at the train station advised that I should get there nice and early to be able to experience the zoo the way it should be experienced- throw in as many shows as you possibly can and enjoy everything the zoo has to offer. And at $60 a ticket, I can’t blame him for saying that. So instead, I will be travelling at 7:30AM on the 1.5 hour bus ride to get to the zoo and staying until 4:45PM when the bus leaves. Heck yeah, that’s a lot of zoo!! I’m feeling better about buying that extra camera battery, that’s for sure.

I spent my day today in Brisbane’s culture centre, enjoying the Modern Art and “regular” art galleries, museum, and even a cool display in the state library. Although I didn’t get many pictures (lack of food does crazy things to you) I had a nice afternoon. From what I can gather, Brisbane’s a cute city. It’s small enough to get around quite easily and it wouldn’t take too long to see it all, much like Adelaide. But if I wanted to spend a week in every place I visit, a second working holiday visa would be in order. And I’m too excited to go home at the end of these 6 months to be applying for sort of craziness.

So for now, I’ll leave you with that schedule. Chances are you’ll hear from me again once I settle into Cairns. Queensland (the whole of it) will be cheaper than Darwin, so I’ll try to get some pictures posted and an update of my trip once I get there. I’m currently acquiring my missing episodes of 30 Rock while I have the net at my fingertips, so I’ll be plenty prepared for all the long bus rides and (possible) quiet hostel nights ahead. And hopefully, if the weather co-operates, the next time you see pictures of me, the tan will be back!