Oh Australia, How I love you.

Day 139: December 3, 2010.

Wow, it’s so weird it has only been one day since I last blogged. I am currently on the plane From Sydney, Australia to Christchurch, New Zealand. It’s quite nice actually, I can see the sunset finally and it’s an array of pink, yellow, orange and blue colors. It’s very lovely and good news, I was feeling sick before I got on the plane, but then I bought a powerade and now I feel so much better. This might sound weird, but I think I needed electrolytes, yep.

I have done so much in just this past 24 hours, it’s a bit insane actually. At least I think it will sound a bit insane to you reading this. I had to dig into my New Zealand fund and use $250 US dollars that was ment for New Zealand here in Australia. I realized this when I was in Cairns and well, I was pretty upset about that. It lead me to the decision that I was going to go from Brisbane to Sydney by hitchhiking basically. I could have bought a greyhound ticket for around $100 straight from Brisbane to Sydney, but I really wanted to stop at Byron Bay, so I did (you probably read that earlier in my blog).

I have had very good luck with a side of bad luck. I have had good luck because I had some friends here in Australia that I met when they were on holiday in Fiji. Two of which drove me from Brisbane to Byron (Thank you Marty & Roscoe, Bill, I know you were there in spirit). These guys were such a good bunch, I met them out on qamea which is by Taveuni and they were there to surf. They had been surfing their whole lives it sounded like and they just loved to surf. They even let me go on a surfing trip with them one day, it was not a good idea (the wave kidnapped me and Roscoes surfboard and took us far far away), but overall, it was so fun. It was so nice of them to help me out in transportation, I am very very thankful to them for driving me and well, just being soo cool.

Next stop, Byron Bay, I met this kid, Daniel who was from Sydney and was just traveling around this lovely country he is from. Luckily, he was one of few social people at the backpackers I stayed at. We chitchatted awhile and then the next day I ran into him up at the lighthouse. I was saying how I did not have a plan as to where I need to stay cause I budgeted badly and he offered his car for me to sleep in. It was a joke at the time, I think, but well, I ended up taking up that offer. I searched around town that day as well to hopefully find someone, anyone who was heading either to Sydney or close to Sydney. After about 40-50 people I asked, I finally found one. He was working an event for the schoolies (high school students big party thing at byron bay for end of year). Luckily he was heading back the next day, which lead me to finding Daniel again and asking if I could really sleep in his car.

After walking the long trek to the Arts Factory Backpackers, I found him. Lucky I did too, or else, it mighta been a cold night, I did not have money for a backpackers and getting back to Sydney. I had about $50 dollars left and I was not going to dig into my New Zealand fund again unless it was a life or death situation, I’m stubborn like that I guess, but I really could not dig into it again.. I am pretty sure I will be going through something similar towards the end of New Zealands time as well. Pretty sure I will run out of money. Luckily I do have a place to stay free of charge in Auckland and couch surfers so I think I will make it safe and sound J.

Where was I, I started going off subject again, that happens a lot lately when I am telling stories. Oh yes, So I ran into my new amigo Daniel and then he said I could stay in his car. We went and got my luggage, he checked into the backpackers resort, because he was staying there because it’s a super super cool backpackers, no joke, its soo awesome and then well, we thought we should go to nimdin, so we did.

Probably the best idea ever, It was such a nice town, hippies, ganja, and the most interesting and unique shops you will ever find. I just love that town it was so nice and probably the most I have ever laughed. If you go to the museum and sit and watch the enchanted movie, you will probably get some kind of level of high, no joke. Pretty crazy how that happened, I have never smoked or anything, but I know enough about to know that I was not feeling any sort of normal. I was in a funk, I was hungry, I was happy, I was sleepy, and for a couple moments, my belly was not aching. Now that is what I call, one crazy funkkkkk, dude.

Anywaysssss… I’m still trying to get to what has happened in the past 24 hours, I guess I just feel like writing things in paragraph form instead of numbering like I usually do. Anyways…. So I slept in Daniel’s car and it rained. Lucky I had shelter ehh. Next day, I pick up all my stuff, since for the night the car was my home and headed to meet my next new friend.. Stacey was his name-o.

Lucky for me, he was headed towards Sydney. Lucky for me again, I did not have to pay for fuel and neither did he, because his work was. That is two luckies in less that a second. Also lucky, that he was not a creep.. but the luckiest thing was that he had a ukulele and during the car drive I played my tambourine with my foot and the ukulele with my hands. I want to be musical.. high school musical.. haha psyche.

So maybe it was a bit dodgy to get in a car with a total stranger for about a ten hour drive to mainland, which was just before New Castle, but for me, it was a good idea because I could not dig into my NZ fund because it is already too low as is. Fact is, I am safe now right. I’m on the plane going to my Dream land New Zealand. It may not be snowing here, but hey, they have glaciers and you know that glaciers were snow at one point, just snow that turned hard, you know, into ice and stuff aka a glacier.

Anyways, there I go off subject again. So after I got dropped off in Mainland at the train station. I got on a train to Hamilton (about an hour ride), then I got on another train to Sydney (about a three hour ride). I did not get to the station until about 9 at night and I ended up getting to Sydney just before 1 AM today. That’s when the next lucky comes around.

My beachhouse surfer bum friend, Chris (it’s a good thing to be called that Chris) was nice enough to stay up and pick me up late at the Central train station in Sydney. Then we drove over to Manly (which is also part of Sydney, the part that is connected to the harbour bridge) to his home. Lucky again, so I asked him about 2 months ago if I could stay on his floor, he made me a bed, with a mattress, nicest bed I have had in sooo long. I’m sooooooo glad that I have met all these people whether I met them while I was in Fiji or just here in Australia. They are all sooooo nice and .. they think I’m funny.. sometimes. Okay so I made that up, kind of, but I think deep down, it’s true.

I took the ferry ride to the train station to get a train to the airport. The ferry ride was soo nice. It gave such a good view of the Opera house and the Harbour Bridge. It was really nice. I also went and chilled out at a beach this morning in Manly. It was soo nice.. reminded me of Kauai, just a stronger current. It was absolutely beautiful and well, it felt really good to relax for a change because I have been sick and on the go go go mode for a while now. It gets a bit exhausting. It’s fun, but so exhausting.

Basically to sum this all up, I have gone all the way from Cairns to Sydney in 9 days. That is covering a lot of ground there just to let you know.. If you drove it, it would take about 45-50 hours of driving. So yeah, you get the jist of it right, it’s a long distance. I went scuba diving on the great barrier reef, I went to the Daintree, I went to Byron Bay, and I went to Nimdin. Those were the main things I wanted to accomplish while here in Australia and I did it, I did everything I came here to do and I will come back here in the future to do more. It has been absolutely amazing and a bit of a roller coaster. I have been sick basically the whole time, but as I sit here now, I see that I did not give up even though I felt sick, I kept on moving, basically cause I had too and I did not curl up in a ball feeling sick and go home early, I kept on going and now, here I am, feeling good thanks to my $4 powerade and maybe other things, and on a plane to New Zealand. The place I really wanted to end up in. My ultimate destination, a country with mountains and ocean within a close range, a place where they call people kewis (who are from there), a place that I have dreamt about for the past 3 years, a place where I will feel cold again. I need that bitter frost on my nose right about now.

If numbering makes it easier to read here is what I did in number form.

1. Hitchhiked from Byron bay to Mainland with this guy named Stacey.

2. Took two trains to get to Sydney and finally arrived at one in the morning.

3. My friend Chris picked me up and I went to his house and slept on his floor in the living room. Which was actually a nice bed that he made for me, but I had every intention of sleeping on the floor cause that is what I asked him when I met him in Fiji.

4. Got a little sleep on the train, then more once I got to Chris’s house.

5. Then went surfing, well, I wanted to, but I did not feel well enough, so chris went surfing and I went and chilled on the beach and played a little in the water. Just a bit of a relaxing day at the beach for me, I need a chill pill, because I have been on the move for the past two weeks.

6. I attempted to pack my stuff for the flight tonight, it worked out eventually.

7. Then we tried to hurry to the ferry, I even ran to it with my backpack and stuff, but I missed it. Yes Chris I missed it! my fault though, I was on fiji time when I was packing. The ferry was still there, but they would not let me get on.

8. I got on the next ferry, enjoyed the ride then rushed to the train so I could get one to the airport.

9. Made it to the airport on time, got checked in, no baggage issues! The only thing was that they threw away my scissors, sad day.

10. Here I am on the plane, it’s dark now and I’m tired.

11. Pretty sure I will be sleeping the Christchurch airport once I get to NZ at 12 am.. I have no place to go at that time of night and no way am I paying for a taxi, I hate taxis.