Oct 2008

Do me a favor and get out an Australian map. Now find the Northern Territory. Do you see Darwin and Alice Springs on the map? Good. In case you’re still uncertain of the distance, there are about 1500 kilometers between Darwin and Alice Springs (over 900 miles). Imagine a tour bus with 21 people traveling that distance, plus more with detours, in three days. Ok, got that in your head? Not too bad yet, right? Now...imagine me on that bus with only one book.

Aaaa!!!

Without a doubt, the point of these three days has been to get us from Point A to Point B and keep us from going stir crazy with a few stops along the way. Still…those stops were pretty entertaining.

First day, some of us went canoeing at Katherine Gorge. (In the canoe with me is Christina, my new friend from Austria.) The gorge was beautiful, though we didn’t have time to canoe the entire length of it. Apparently, it’s quite long, with thirteen gorges including rapids and falls.

That night we wanted to take full advantage of our campsite by building a campfire. Unfortunately, it was so hot, every few minutes everyone would stand up and move the benches further away from the fire. But we played some campfire games and enjoyed it all the same.

The second day we stopped at the Mataranka thermal pools for swimming, followed by lunch at Daly Waters, the oldest pub in the Northern Territory. (It also happens to be in the middle of nowhere and the home of Australia’s most remote traffic light…which doesn’t actually work.) If you ever make it there, check out the walls – they’re covered with money, underwear, shirts, license plates, and pretty much anything you can think of, all left behind by visitors from over the years.

Daly Waters even has a “thong tree” in the backyard where visitors are encouraged to give their flip flops a good home. Unfortunately, I love my flip flops too much and couldn’t bring myself to part with them, even for so great a cause as Daly Waters’ Thong Tree.

Apparently while in the middle of nowhere, aka the Australian Outback, movie theatres and bookstores are scarce. I um…think people are expected to…er, entertain themselves! *gasp* Fortunately, I’m pretty easily amused. Julie and I found some boxes with bowling pins and balls and lugged them out to a little-used road to play a few games while waiting for lunch. And I got a strike!

First stop on day three: Devils Marbles! Apparently some Aussie bloke lost a fair amount of cattle there, which for some random reason he blamed on the huge granite boulders balancing precariously on top of each other…hence their name. Turns out the cattle just ate some poisonous weeds. But at the risk of sounding callous to history, we all cared more about the great photo possibilities.

Meet some of my tour buddies!

Oh! And most importantly, I found a bookstore in Alice Springs! I’ve got plenty more driving through the Outback up ahead as I journey from Alice Springs to Adelaide in six days. Joy of joys, I now have TWO books to read!

Life is good.

I love camping, though admittedly I haven’t gone but a handful of times in the past ten years. It’s fun, it’s memorable, and it’s even better when there’s indoor plumbing within walking distance.

The first three days of my tour consisted of a camping trip to Litchfield and Kakadu National Parks. It was hot, humid, and there were spiders and flies. And yet, not only did I survive, I saw some of the most amazing waterfalls and went on some of the most memorable hikes of my young life! And by “hike,” I’m not talking about a breezy jaunt on a gravel path; I’m talking about climbs over boulders, through gorges, and past “Danger: Crocodiles” signs. I sweat more in three days than I my poor memory can recall ever sweating before, and I proudly gave up on modern conveniences without having much time to get around to missing them.

I met several more friends on our tour, most notably Rieneke from Holland, Julie from Belgium, Nell from England, and Christina from Austria, all of whom are about my age and traveling alone through Australia. After only a few hours, I felt like I was on a camping trip with old friends!

We slept in two-person tents each night, so my new friend Rieneke and I shared a tent for all three nights. Now, to anyone who knows me and is reading this, it will come as no surprise that I have zero love for spiders. So after finding a great big spider in our tent and realizing that I wasn’t the only one screaming and running outside in terror, I knew that I’d found a kindred spirit in Rieneke. From then on, it became a ritual to perform thorough nightly flashlight checks in our tents. I’m so glad I have Rieneke to be a big ol’ wimp alongside me!!!

Here are some pictures from the trip:

After learning about the iconic Australian termite mounds the first day, we stopped at Buley Rockhole for a swim. So refreshing!

The next waterfall we saw was Florence Falls, first from a lookout and then for a swim after walking down to the plunge pool.

Last stop of the first day was a wildlife spotting cruise on Mary River.

The second day, we swam in Barramundi Gorge (Maguk).

In the afternoon, we hiked to a lookout at Ubirr, where we saw and learned about Aboriginal cave paintings along the way.

Day three was mostly a travel day, but we made it to two waterfalls, Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls. Jim Jim only flows during the wet season, but since it wasn’t flowing, we were able to go right up to the plunge pool and swim with the freshwater crocodiles! (Don’t panic, mom, I still have my arms. And at least one leg…)

I did wonder what happened to this tourist…

Stay tuned for the next leg of my trip, driving through the Outback on Stuart Highway to Alice Springs!

People in Australia like to reassure visitors about the harmlessness of the wildlife and landscape while at the same time warning of its dangers. It comes out as a strange mix, leaving you unsure whether you should be relaxing during your swim or fearing for your life. Variations I have heard:

“Don’t worry while you’re snorkeling/diving: reef sharks are mostly harmless.”

“Stingrays are like pancakes with tails: they won’t hurt you. Just…don’t get too close.”

“Go ahead and swim with the freshwater crocodiles. They don’t hurt people…at least, most of the time.”

“Spiders? Ah, spiders won’t hurt you! They don’t even bite. Well, except for that one. Oh, and (insert list). But otherwise, harmless.”

“Hold this snake! It might bite, but it doesn’t look venomous, so that’s okay.”

“Kangaroos won’t hurt you. Well, unless they kick you in the head. Then you’re pretty much dead.”

Oh, and did you know that koalas, despite appearances, aren’t exactly cute and cuddly creatures? They can actually get pretty nasty, which is why it’s more difficult than you might think to find a place that will let you hold them.

I will either leave Australia with a healthy respect for animals or with plenty of fodder for nightmares. Though seeing as how I have already gone swimming with reef sharks, stingrays and crocodiles, I think I’ll be okay. I even like holding snakes, though I do prefer reassurances that it won’t bite me, even in a non-lethal way. Spiders are where I draw the line. I’m fairly certain my arachnophobia is incurable, and I’ve no plans to change in that respect.

Never fear though, I'll leave you on a good note with the cutest Aussie critter I've seen yet:

I left Arizona in the middle of July – just in time to escape the bulk of the summer heat. That was pretty smart of me, wasn’t it? Yeah, I thought so. Then I voluntarily traveled through one of the hottest (and most humid) places in Australia…during its hottest time of the year. Not so smart of me, was it? No, I didn’t think so.

That pretty well follows my train of thought when I stepped foot off my plane in Darwin (Northern Territory) in jeans and a sweater. At least I wasn’t the only one going through a minor shock. It’s amusing people-watching at the Darwin airport. There will always be someone to walk outside, come to a sudden halt, run back in, shed as much clothing as possible, take a deep breath, and walk back out to what you can tell they think may be their impending doom. I wonder if people go through that process at Sky Harbor (the Phoenix airport). I’ve never thought to notice.

So why, you may ask, did I come to Darwin? Well, you see… After three months, I have experienced life in the city, working on the beach, and living out of a backpack on the East Coast. But the important thing missing from my trip to Australia thus far is, of course, the OUTBACK! From Darwin, I am joining up with my Adventure Tours group to see the Australian Outback with total strangers. Yeah mate! Since I’m on my own, I decided to go with a group in the hope of meeting some friends from all over the globe to travel with. As luck would have it, I sat next to a Dutch girl, Rieneke, on the shuttle bus from the airport, and as we got to talking, we realized we were going to be on the same tour! To celebrate our newfound instant friendship, we trekked to the Darwin markets together and watched the sunset at the beach.

Over the next few weeks, follow with me as I travel the Stuart Highway from Darwin to Adelaide, stopping for sights such as Litchfield, Kakadu, Devils Marbles, Kings Canyon, Uluru, Coober Pedy, barren and beautiful landscapes, wild roos and crocs, and pit stops in the middle of nowhere.

Now that I’ve a plan and a friend, watch out, Outback – here I come!

We’ve all heard it said that a picture is worth a thousand words. I don’t know...I love words. But let’s test the theory anyhow and limit the rest of this entry to pictures I took while snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef:

Friday, 3 October 2008 – Scuba Dive Class…or not

I don’t get colds incredibly often. When I do, they’re not fun, but in general I tend to be pretty healthy. So I should have known that my body would conspire against me to get sick the very week I was signed up for a 5-day PADI learn to dive course on the Great Barrier Reef. I took a chance in attending my first class, knowing that they conduct a medical to ensure your level of fitness prior to taking the course. And I got a clean bill of health too…until the doctor failed my medical because she thought I’d have trouble equalizing due to my cold. They gave me no choice but to drop the class, thankfully giving me a full refund, and I suddenly found myself with 5 unplanned days in Cairns. Needless to say, I had an instant craving for chai tea and some travel brochures.

Yes, I’m a little bummed at the lost opportunity to scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef. Who wouldn’t be? But at least due to the change in plans, I have some downtime to get over my cold. And anyway, I don’t think I’ll have a problem finding something to occupy myself…I’ve already found three bookstores within a block of my hostel.

Oh really, come on, folks – do you really think I would spend my entire time in a foreign country holed up in a bookstore? Of course not! …Just an hour or so each day will suffice...

Saturday, 4 October 2008 – Skyrail, Kuranda, and Scenic Train

I have seen the light at the end of the tunnel! Of course, it was an actual light at the end of an actual tunnel. Hey, if reality is all I can find, I’ll take what I can get. But before we get to that, let’s rewind to the beginning:

After my dive trip plans were canceled, I signed myself up for a day trip to Kuranda, a quaint village in the rainforests. I took the Skyrail to get there, which used to be the longest in the world until they outdid it in some place I might remember the name of if I had been listening to the guide more closely. It was a little scary to be hanging from one bar attached to one cable high above the treetops! It also occurred to me as my ears were popping that it was a fitting sort of revenge to go up to the highest elevation I could find the day after I was told I couldn’t handle the sea elevation. Take that, dive doctor! Never let it be said that a cold got the best of Melanie! *cackle, cackle*

Oh, and a funny thing happened on the way to the Skyrail – I ran into my German friend Maike from my Jillaroo week in August! We hadn’t seen each other since Tamworth, so imagined how surprised we were to run across each other all the way in Cairns, and on the same daytrip, at that! I joined up with her and her three guy friends (also from Germany) for the day of sightseeing.

Pictures: That’s Maike in the middle of the first picture. You can see a portion of the Skyrail cables and cars in the second.

Kuranda was cute and there was quite a bit of Aboriginal art and shopping, plus beautiful jungle walks, but really we only needed a few hours to see all there was to see.

Pictures: Me at the entrance of Kuranda Village / My German entourage / A jungle view

The best part of the trip was the several-hours train ride back on the Kuranda Scenic Train. Gooooorgeous views! We learned quite a bit about its history, which I’ll not bore you with, except that it wasn’t originally built as the tourist attraction it mainly is today. The relaxing rocking of the train, with the breeze from the open window and the countryside rolling by, was a perfect end to the day. The train even stopped for 10 minutes by Barron Falls to let all the passengers get out, stretch their legs and take pictures of the beautiful sight.

Pictures: Me on the train / Barron Falls / The train in motion / View of the countryside

Okay, now wait for it…

Wait for it…

It’s the light at the end of the tunnel!!!

Stay tuned! Next stop, more of the Great Barrier Reef…with some better pictures this time around!

My first view of the Great Barrier Reef came from an airplane as I approached a landing in Cairns (pronounced “cans”). At first I thought the reefs were little islands dotting the coast, but as I got closer, I could see that most of those “islands” were under the water. Megan and I both could hardly wait to go snorkeling the next day and I could hardly wait to go scuba diving later in the week!

Monday, 30 September 2008 – Great Barrier Reef

My first day on the reef. Wow. My first thought, admittedly, was “my mask is too big for my face.” But my second thought was “and I thought God was creative on dry land!” I can’t even begin to describe how amazing the ocean floor is. But snorkeling from a boat so far out that all you can see around you is blue sky and blue water, then viewing the amazing coral and fish and learning how they all interact together to form a complete working system…well, I am simply amazed at God’s handiwork.

My disposable camera didn’t take as nice pictures as I would have liked, so I’ll try again later in the week with a better camera. For now, look at the pretty fish that swam past us!

Tuesday, 1 October 2008 – Rainforests

Our daytrip to the rainforests was packed full of adventure, not least of which was our Aussie guide’s um…enthusiastic driving on the narrow, windy roads. All in one day, we visited the Rainforest Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary, Mossman Gorge, Coconut Beach (beautiful!), and a Daintree River wildlife cruise to spot crocodiles! And yes, we did spot one or two.

See the pretty pictures of (in order) Coconut Beach, Mossman Gorge, the Daintree River, and our crocodile friend:

Wednesday, 2 October 2008 – Jungle Swinging

As Wednesday was Megan’s last day in Cairns, we decided we had to do something extra special. We thought about doing jungle surfing canopy tours (where you’re connected to a zip line and “surf” through the jungle), but we decided on jungle swinging. Instead of floating softly through the trees, we went what I like to call “bungy jumping light.” Basically, we were strapped into harnesses and dropped from 45 meters (approx 150 feet) high down to 1 meter in 3 seconds. The cables caught us so that we swung back and forth through the trees…just like Tarzan and George!

Here we are, starting to slow down:

Unfortunately, this day marked the end of Megan’s time in Cairns, and here is where we parted ways. Megan left for Sydney to spend Australia’s Labour Day weekend before returning to the States. Meanwhile, my plans involve staying on in Cairns one more week to take a scuba dive certification class and dive trip before continuing on to Darwin.

Farewell, Megan! You’ve been an awesome travel companion these past months. See you in November!

Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to roll down an Australian hill in a giant plastic bubble? Maybe go bowling for cows while you’re at it? Or am I the only one?

No? Um, oh… I feel a little conspicuous all of a sudden.

This past week, I started my trip up the east coast of Australia, beginning with a brief 2-day stop in Byron Bay, a cute little coastal town. After flying in Saturday, I spent the afternoon strolling around the quaint shops and basking in the ocean breezes. Megan arrived a few days before me, so after meeting up with her at the hostel, we did the first thing on our agenda and really the main reason we decided we just HAD to stop in Byron Bay:

ZORBING!

In case you didn’t gather from my question above, zorbing involves being strapped into a large plastic bubble, surrounded on every side by walls of air, and rolled down a potentially bumpy hill. Here – in case you can’t picture it, I’ve included some pictures and a video.

Disclaimer: Yes, Megan and I are inside this very bubble. No, we were not aiming for the cow, so no animal activist complaints.

Hehe, we rolled down that hill in style, didn’t we? The ride was a little bumpy, and both our feet fell out of the straps and were flopping every which way around the bubble, but it was an experience we’ll not soon forget.

That night and the following day, we took it easy – girl talk at the beach, a couple of sushi rolls and ice cream cones, and massages at a day spa. Isn’t that just how life’s meant to be lived? This time you can answer “yes.”

Stay tuned as I continue my travels up to Cairns and Cape Tribulation to see the Great Barrier Reef and rainforests!

It has been about three weeks since my last blog post. Three weeks! So for those of you who may have wondered: I have not been eaten by sharks, stranded on a desert island, or run off to Fiji with Wentworth Miller. I have, however, completed the portion of my trip where I live and work in Sydney! That’s right, friends and family, my trip is approaching its last month and I have begun my travels around the country. I have heaps to tell you about my adventures the past few days, but first allow me to give you a rundown on my time in Sydney:

Last Days in Sydney

Since I returned from my Jillaroo experience, life has become…well, life. Sure, I am living in a foreign city, meeting people from all over the globe, and not noticing the melting pot of accents so much as I did initially, but for a while now I have not had any grand adventures or new sightseeing. It’s just me, an apron, and a job near the beach. I’ve loved almost every minute of it, but due to how Americanized Australia is, I have had a hard time truly believing that I am living in another country. Sydney itself…well, it’s difficult to explain how much I can love a city and at the same time not want to make my stay here long term. It’s like New York on a smaller scale. Downside: dirty, crammed with people, impersonal. Upside: no shortage of shopping and basic non-necessities, short distance to the beach and beautiful sights. But even though I will never move here, I hope to visit again and a part of myself will always consider Sydney as a home.

Working at the Beach

I don’t think I’ll ever find a job more suited to me than working as a runner at Gertrude & Alice, a café/used bookstore on Bondi Beach. Essentially, I get paid to work on the beach, eat free food, borrow books at my leisure, and serve what has been voted as “the best chai tea in Bondi.” How I found such a perfect travel job for me, I’ll never know. But perfect it was – and I made some pretty awesome friends from all over the world while working there!

Australian Money

In my young life, I have worked my fair share of cash registers. But until now, they have all been in United States currency. While taking money and making change in Australian dollars took a bit of getting used to, it is quite a bit easier here. Firstly, Aussies don’t have 1-cent pieces. All costs in Australia are in increments of 5. Second, Aussie taxes are required to be included in the published prices. If a drink is $2.50, then you will pay $2.50. Period. I love this – it makes things so much easier when you don’t have to worry about tax! Third, no tipping. Certainly, you may tip if you receive exceptional service, but it is not expected, and you will not be starting an international courtesy war should you not tip your waiter. It makes things so much easier when you go out to a restaurant and know that since tax and tip are not a factor, what you see on the price list is exactly what you are expected to pay.

Canadian or American?

Working in a café/bookstore is a good way to meet people, particularly the locals. I have begun to recognize people by name, and many more by face, and they are coming to know me as well. Many people have struck up conversations with me due to my accent, most by asking me first if I am Canadian. (Some have been more reluctant to guess and simply ask me, “States or Canada?”) When I asked two people why most people guessed I was from Canada, one responded that Sydney attracts more Canadians. The other said I sounded more Canadian because of my speech and word choices. Huh. Who knew? Guess I gotta get me more American slang, yo! Um, or not…eh?

Response to Poll

Thank you Karen, April, Lisa, John & Nathan for your votes on what I should do during my trip! So far zorbing, scuba diving, and jungle swinging have made my list. Unless time, money and bravery allow, I'll probably skip the skydiving, shark diving and ballooning. Stay tuned - I'll be posting updates shortly on my first trip to the Great Barrier Reef and rainforests!

Meet some of my new friends!

These are a few of the ladies I worked with at Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore.