Australia Recap

A sad but bittersweet post, the Australia sector of this journey has come to an end.  4 months ago I was on a plane headed down under all by myself, no set travel plan, and nothing more than 4 nights booked in a hostel.  That plane trip from the states was very exciting yet scary at the same time.  Leaving all my family and friends behind and heading to a place that truly was foreign to me, all on my own.  Today I have four great months of memories and friendships that will last a lifetime. Crikey what a trip!  It isn't till I step back a bit and think about what I've accomplished till I really feel how awesome and unbelievable this trip was. Yes, I had a bit of aid in the groundwork with the trip as far as getting my visa and such, but it was me in the end that really made everything happen.  I secured my first job in another country, something not many Americans, especially my age, can say that they've done. I went solo, maybe the best call of this entire journey.  Yes, in some places having a friend from back home to share some great memories would have been cool, but honestly, travelling the world is all about meeting new people and learning about yourself.  Thanks to the heaps of international travelers and a very well laid out backpacking network in Australia, meeting new people was not difficult if you just made a simple effort.  Travelling solo forces you to be outgoing. This trip would not have been the same without the heaps of great people I've met along the way. Meeting new people and hearing their stories is just as mesmorizing as some of the most beautiful Australian destination. I have made contacts from all over the world and will eventually see them all again, whether showing them around the great state of California or in their respective countries. My friends from England, Sweden, Germany, Italy, and Holland have all invited me to their countries and offered accomodation.  I will undoubtedly take them up on their offers when I do eventually make it back over to Europe.

Maybe the best part of this trip is that I absolutely have no regrets.  I would not do anything different on the trip.  My time in Sydney, my travel itinerary, etc. For the time I had in Australia and the funds available, I did everything I wanted to do and that is the important part.

Working in Australia was quite the experience.  Although it was in the travel and transportation industry and (hopefully) quite the deviation from a future career path, my job at Gate Gourmet was a memorable one.  It really shows that I can excel at anything I put effort into.  Well even if I didn't "excel" like the fast moving Koreans, I still never got fired and I think thats a plus in anyones work career.  Learning the ins and out of airline catering was fascinating and is something I will always remember on any flight I board.  And yes, I will still eat the airline food, regardless of packing thousands of trays, tray after tray and seeing how it all comes together.

Things Learned

Well travelling around with international people you see and learn things about the world. I learned some aussie words, but definitely picked up on some common/slang German, Swedish and English(UK) words.

Also, and I got a feel for this in Europe almost 3 years ago, Americans don't have the greatest reputation among outsiders.  I think this may all be due to bad media and terrible stereotypes that sometimes can lead to be true. Europeans are fascinated about Obama, that had to be the most common question I recieved, "what do you think of Obama." Did get a bit annoyed after awhile with that question.  But yes, I think American movies, TV shows and just our modern culture can sometimes lead to false accusation of American lifestyle.  Another common topic was gangs. Whenever LA was brought up, the topics of gangs and Compton always came along. I always told people you can't talk anything if you have never actually visited a place.

As far as things learned about myself, well heaps.  This has been a great individual experience.  I've never been one for horoscopes or star signs but it is right on.  I've seen on this trip, that my Aquarius personality is right on.  Aquarians are usually pretty independant and adventurous.  I wouldn't really have classified myself as adventurous before this trip, but now I would. Maybe it is due to the fact that this is the first time I truly have been on my own, and I think that is where my adventurous self comes out.  I constantly find myself always trying to explore new places and never wanting to miss out on an opportunity and will make the extra effort to make it happen.  This trip has improved my lifestyle.  I can't even remember the last time I slept past 10 oclock in the morning. (actually yes I can, when I was working). Let me rephrase that a bit. WHEN I AM TRAVELLING, I wake up early so I can make the most of my time, no matter how tired I am or how big of a night I had the night before.  I can't afford to piss days away when there is so much do to. I think travelling has made me healthier.  Let me first make clear that I am in no means in shape.  BUT, I would say I am far more active than usual while travelling. I have walked hundreds of miles of the past 4 months and I feel pretty good.  I am thankful that I never got sick at all during this part of the trip, especially in my one month travelling the coast and Melbourne. I think being sick while backpacking would be the worst possible thing that can happen.  So I must have treated my body pretty well never to feel under the weather, with the exception of a hangover here or there.  My eating habits over the past 4 months have been suprisingly pretty good. Thinking back on it, I probably ate better on this trip than I did any year in college (except for freshman year in the dorms).  I found myself eating almost 1-2 pieces of fruit everyday and eating breakfast, lunch, dinner almost every day of the weak. Yea, being on a pretty strict budget I couldn't afford 5 star meals every night with every ingredient possible, but I made the most of it. I also discovered I am taking less of the things I don't like out of my food and eating them.  Mostly vegetables.  Things I never used to eat I have started eating, and I dont really know why.  They include mushrooms, capsicums, cucumbers, and tomatoes.  Out of these 4, tomatoes have made way into my taste buds the most.  At times I still don't like eating them but sometimes they can be quite tasty and can really improve a certain meal, sandwhich, or salad.

Highlights of the trip

Here will be a quick rundown of some of my favorite things/nights/travel spots on the Trip

- Spending time relaxing at my favorite Sydney destinations, Manly Beach, Coogee Beach, Darling Harbour, Sydney Harbour, The Botanical Gardens

- Losing my debit card in the first weeks of being in Sydney and finding it without any harm done
- Newtown Festival the second week in Sydney
- Working at Gate Gourmet
- Pearl Jam and Ben Harper Concert at Sydney Football Stadium
- Living at Home Backpackers in Sydney and meeting new people outside on the deck every night, the best night was Wednesday, Free Wine and Cheese Night
- That 1 night I got kicked out of Scruffy Murphy's bar for my "swaying" dance moves
- Times out at the Sydney bars with my favorite friends
- New Years Eve overlooking Sydney's Harbour and a multimillion dollar firework show

- Taking the long Greyhound bus rides and listening to some epic playlists on my Ipod, favorites were The Grateful Dead, Bob Marley, and Creedence Clearwater Revival.
- Byron Bay
- Meeting up with my German girlfriends in Brisbane and cooking and eating that great dinner at the hostel
- Noosa National Park Bush Walk
- Day trip to Croc Hunter's Australia Zoo
- Fraser Island 4 wheel trip beach camping trip.

- When I urinated on a guys leg after he got stung by a blue bottle jellyfish
- Australian Day and partying and dancing in the rain on Magnetic Island
- The Magnetic Island bush walk in the pouring rain
- The Great Barrier Reef snorkel trip
- The hot wings and Blue Sky brewery in Cairns
- Kuranda adventure bushwalk and Barron Falls

- Great Ocean Road trip out of Melbourne
- Returning to Sydney, seeing all my friends for one last time

2 downsides of the trip

Well these are the two, and I think if these are the worst of it, it shows I didn't have to bad of a time.

-Night and morning in Surfers paradise after that one unknown strawberry shot before the pub crawl that put me down for the count and made my life and bus ride a living hell.

- This next one has been bottled up by me for the past 2 months.  I hate to think about it, but it happened.  I was involved in a large backpacker scam with 6 other of my roomates while I was staying at my apartment in Surry Hills, Sydney. None of us received our $300 dollar security bond back.  We all got played by our shady and shitty landlord.  This is something that I saw coming, I never signed a contract or anything. Like most of the time, I am partially to blame.  But anyhow what happened to me and my roomates is a very common thing in Sydney. These shady apartment renters taking advantage of backpackers.  I was given constant excuses that the owner was out of the country and couldn't get my money back till he came back.  My other roomates were told to give them their bank details and it would be transfered to them. Well those promises were never followed thru. We all got shafted.  Moving On, this was obviously right before I was taking off for my east coast trip, always having money on my mind.  $300 backpacking goes a long way but I did my best to not think about it.  I couldnt let something ruin my time.  Yes it sucks now, it sucked then, and it was worth about 1 and a half weeks accomodation, but I tell myself this.  Come a couple months I will hopefully have a job, that $300 dollars will be about 1 - 3 days work...no need to ruin a trip over 3 days work, just not worth it. Yes, extremely unfortunate it happened and yes I tried to put up a bit of a fight but got nowhere and eventually it wasn't worth my time, stress or effort.

Thats it, and I always try to look at the bright side of life. Im alive, I am travelling the world, I am healthy and am right where I want to be.  Just another learning experience in my life and a warning to other backpackers, be aware.

Final Thoughts

Despite the above, everything on this trip was flawless.  Some of the most memorable 4 months of my life and proud of myself I made it happen. I always wondered what Australia would be like and it always interested me.  Well I conquered it, well not all of it, but a good chunk. Pretty big country.  I like the fact that I have travelled more around Australia than I have travelled the in the States.  The world is where its at, there is so much to see and learn from it. New cultures, new places, new food, who wouldn't want to experience it? I see this trip as a 5th year in college, because to be honest, I think you can learn just as much in the outside world than in a classroom or textbook, if not more.

It's been a great one Australia, hope to see you again someday mate.

Byron Bay

My 3 days in Byron Bay are probably gonna rate as the best 3 days in this east coast tour.  It was a destination that I was looking forward to and it delivered everything I expected and more.

I think part of my great experience had to do mainly with my accomodation, The Arts Factory Lodge.  My research for this trip has been top notch, with not a single housing accomodation or tour destination being a mistake.  The Arts Factory was a bit out from the center of the town, where it was tranquilly placed in the middle of the wetlands.  A few buildings, a pool and the rest just pure nature.  The Arts Factory is a very fitting name.  I stayed in a dorm, but you had the option of staying in a tipee, camp out in a tent, or a mini bungalow in the swamp area.  It was a pretty special place.

The Arts Factory "Backyard"

Day 1

I had taken an 11 hr overnight bus from Newcastle to Byron Bay. I got in to Byron at around 9 am on Saturday morning. I had some comfort issues on the bus, it was either not enough leg room or a cramped neck, anyhow ended up getting around 3-4 hours of sleep. It was just enough as the rest of my energy came from the pure thought of exploring a new town.  The weather as I got off the bus was quite hot...I think for all three days it was around 90 degrees, humid and very sweaty.  I quickly checked to my hostel and headed straight into town to give it a gander.  Byron is not the largest of towns but its main street sure is packed and can provide entertainment for people of all backgrounds.  After strolling the main drag for a bit, I continued onward to the beaches.  Ooo the beaches, may be my favorite so far here in Oz...if not a tie with Manly in Sydney.  Before even stepping on the sand or feeling the water, I decided to embark on the walk/hike up to Cape Byron and the Lighthouse.

It was about a 4 hour round trip walk and provided great views of several of Byron's beaches.  The path eventually started to incline, as the lighthouse is situated on a large hill, and in the intense heat you can imagine the great workout that I endured.

View of Byron's Beaches

Cape Byron Lighthouse

Wategos Beach

At one point in my trek up to the lighthouse was the most eastern point of the Australia Coast..I was standing right there....felt great.

I am East Australia

Cape Byron Lighthouse

After reaching my destination and soaking in the view of Byron (and soaking in my sweat) for several minutes, I started the hike back down with one thing on my mind....get on the beach and in the water.  About 40 minutes later, I was there....swimming graciously and gliding with the waves in one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever witnessed.  I wish I had a water camera to capture the view I had from in the ocean.  It was the closest thing to paradise I think I have seen.  Surrounded by turquoise blue water, white sand, and lush green tropical palm trees and flora.  The water was also pretty warm.   It was great...all that was missing was a 6 pack of Coronas and a swedish super model, but I am quickly working on that.

Not having much sleep I quickly fell asleep on the beach, tough not to in such a relaxing atmosphere.  I then headed back to the hostel to clean up and shower. I then headed out back into town to explore the evening night life.  Byron is known for having a great music scene, and it sure was evident. Nearly every restauraunt or cafe had life music going on, and every one I enjoyed as I walked past.  My favorite was when I got down to the beach end, sunrise had just occured and there were a group of guys in a drum circle.  They were absolutely jammin, bongos, djembe drums, and a tambourine.  With the great beat to an absolutely stunning background of the beach and ocean, it was hard not to get into it.  After that I headed back to the hostel, but stopped at the local favorite Byron Noodle Box before making it back home. It was tasty.

When I got back to the hostel I met Tyson and Shane, two guys from Ireland that were staying in my dorm room.  We decided to go accross the street to the hostels bar, The Buddha Bar.  There we sat down and enjoyed some great beer, coupled with great live music by this folk/jazz/jam band.  I tried 2 new beers that night. Pure Blonde and Byron Bay Premium Ale....both very refreshing after a long day of travelling, sightseeing and beach going.  I was pretty tired and headed to bed around 1130.

Day 2

Day 2 in Byron marked my first adventure tour. The destination....Nimbin.  Nimbin is a town about 1.5 hrs into the hills. Basically it was a town that hippies decided to have a large festival, The Aquarius Festival, in 1973. They liked the town so much they decided to stay. The hippie, alternative scene is still very much in tact today.  The tour company was called Grasshoppers, and meant for backpackers.  It picked me up right at the hostel..it was a huge tour bus...completely filled with around 70 backpackers.  It was a Nimbin tour, but there were loads of extras including. The first stop was at the local bottle shop.  The driver encouraged everyone to pick out some of their favorite beer and put it in the "esky" (ice cooler) for the remainder of the trip. Ended up splitting a 6 pack of Coopers with a lad from London. Well the first beer was opened around 11am on the bus and the party bus atmosphere came alive. These tours are also known for the great music on the way to Nimbin.  We were cruisin to the sounds of Creedence, The Beatles, Sublime, and The Doors..it made the trip all the better.  Stop 2 was a secret waterfall/swimming hole somewhere in the hills. It was a great stop.  There was a cliff jump but I wasn't feelin it and just hung out down in the pool..which was super warm and refreshing in yet another 90 degree scorching day. On that note, it is always funny to see what some people will go to on group trips to impress other people in the groups.  This cliff jump was no exception. There were about 3 to 4 guys that thought they were so cool doing backflips and acrobatics off the cliff jump. There is always those type of people. Anyhow, they had some pretty bad landings in the water, I can immagine they stung a bit and I got a laugh from down below.

Swimming Hole and Falls

Next stop on the tour were the markets. These markets take place every week but vary location. For example, next week they are in Byron Bay.  On this sunday they were in a town called Channon, up in the hills somewhere. It felt like being in the middle of nowhere but were amazed at the amount of people that were there in attendance.  The stalls consisted of kid entertainment, arts and crafts, great food and other specialties.

After the markets we stopped at the local Channon pub where we were given our free bbq lunch.  The aussie burgers, sausages and salad never tasted so good.

After our lunch we finally made way to Nimbin.  When we arrived I was amazed how small the town was.  I think I covered the entire downtown in 5 minutes walking town. That was something that was not expected.  Anyhow, we headed into the Nimbin museum were we were given a history of the town, and info on the hippie and the legalization movements. We were offered weed several times throughout the streets as Nimbin is also known for its marijuana market, even though it is illegal in New South Wales and has been the main attention of several large drug raids in the past several years.

After about an hour in the small town and one great chocolate shake at the rainbow cafe later, we were back on the bus headed back to Byron Bay.  Everyone had a great time and enjoyed the remainder of their beers as we rolled to the music and had one quick stop on the way back to lookout over Byron Bay.

When I got back into town it was around 7 oclock.  Not being in the water all day and it still being really hot, I headed for the beach to hit the waves for a sunset sesh.  It was great. Rested on the beach a bit rocking out to some tunes and decided to head back. On my way back, little did I know there was going to be a firedance show. Right place at the right time. The fire dancers were real good and they were backed up with the best didgeridoo player I have heard thus far in Sydney. It was quite enjoyable.

Exhausted from the day, I headed back to the hostel and just hung out near the swamp and called it a night

Day 3

My last full day in Byron, I was going to take advantage of every minute of it...because I knew the second I left the town I would miss it.  I woke up pretty early and headed out. I made way for one of Byron's best kept secrets, Cumbebin Wetlands.  Once again my superb travel research came into play.  I did have quite the adventure finding the place but finally did about 40 minutes later.  When I found the entrance, I could tell why it was a hidden secret.  I felt pretty special because I honestly think I was one of the few backpackers that had ever entered the wetlands, not even sure if all the locals have heard of this place.  Yes i didn't see the bats, fish or tropical snails as I was supposed to but it was still pretty sweet.  One of my first wilderness walks here and it was quite eerie. It was a shorter walk than expected but glad I checked it out.

After the wetlands adventure, headed right for the beach where I stayed for the next 5 hours.  I was blessed with another great day of beach weather and soaked in the rays and ocean.

Closest Thing to Paradise, Stoked !

Well the beach day came to an end and headed back to the hostel for what I wanted to be one last great night in Byron.  There was a ping pong tournament going on at the Buddha Bar so I decided to go check it out.  It also conveniently was happy hour were they had 3 dollar schooners of Byron Bay Ale.  The pong tourney was pretty official and I didnt want to waste an entire night playin pong but was able to play a few pick up games against a guy. He was decent ill admit, lost to him 2 games to 1.  All very close tho.  Anyway, once happy hour ended I headed back to the hostel. There I met Sam, great guy from England and informed him I was looking to split a box of goon with someone and hit the town.  The Arts Factory was putting on a talent show as well, it was great.  Live acts from the hostel residents...people of all talents and it was a great way to start the night, great friends and goon.  From there I got in contact with two girlfriends that I had met in Sydney, Olivia and Lindsay.  They were in Byron and were also looking to go out. My buddy Sam never made it out after the talent show so I headed out solo to meet up with the girls.  We ended up meeting on the beach and I had brought the remainder of my goon.  I knew about a possible meteor shower that was going to take place so we went on the sand and looked up at the beautiful stars. Well no meteor shower happened, think we missed it.  Anyway the view was still amazing.  We originally had the intention to head to Cheeky Monkeys, the main backpacker bar in town, well after 3 or 4 hours drinkin on the beach and enjoying the surroundings, its was safe to say we weren't going out to any big nightclub.  Having heard mixed reviews of cheekys and there being long lines to get in, staying on the beach was a memorable night and would never take it away. I had a great time with my old Sydney friends and took in what Byron Bay was really all about, relaxing, being on the beach, and L.I.V.I.N. the good life.