Precisely one year ago today, I landed in Sydney, beginning what would be the most unpredictable year of my life. You’ve read all about my adventures, but here was my year by the numbers.
Days traveled: 317
States/territories visited: 6- New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, Northern Territory. I missed Western Australia and Tasmania!
Books read: 34 (see What I Read in 2011)
Hostels stayed in: 22
Photographs taken: 2,724
Islands visited: 5- Kangaroo, Fraser, Whitsunday, Magnetic, Cockatoo
Nights spent camping: 6 times too many
Buses: 14, not including city buses
Planes: 12, including the ones to and from Australia
Boats: 6, including ferries
Miles by bus: 3,042 kilometers, 1,890 miles from Sydney to Cairns
Miles by car: 3,359 kilometers, 2,087 miles from Sydney to Adelaide and back
Best tour: Scooteroo- A tough call, considering all the tours I went on, but I went back and forth about it for a few days and I was so glad I did it. I was in no rush to get to Airlie Beach, so I spent an extra day in Agnes Water being scared shitless on the back of a 50cc motorbike. It is the best way to see the adorable Queensland town, complete with riding gear, kangaroo sightings and a spot to watch the sunset in the Town of 1770.
Worst tour: Sealink Kangaroo Island- It’s not that I didn’t enjoy this tour. I really did, but I found the other tours I went on to be better, not to mention a better value for my money. I felt that we only stopped at the tourist stops and only one of them really interested me, the Remarkable Rocks. We did, though, have a terrific guide who was a native of the island.
Best hostel: Bungalow Bay, Backpack Oz, Ozzie Pozzie, Banana Benders, Scotty’s Beach House- I found a lot of hostels that I loved and the thing most of them had in common was that they were family run. Bungalow Bay, the exception, is a YHA with an in-house animal sanctuary. Backpack Oz, Ozzie Pozzie, Banana Benders and Scotty’s Beach House were all great because you saw the owners present every day, planning nightly events, organizing tours and in some instances, drinking with you.
Worst hostel: Cairns Beach House, Adventurer’s Townsville- Adventurer’s was very run down, far from town and had terrible beds, but the nice staff and events made up for it. Cairns Beach House, however, had nothing going for it. Rude staff, far from town, terrible meals, slow Internet, cold showers, etc. You name it, CBH did not have it. Stay far away!
Meat pies consumed: 7 and this is probably an underestimate!
Native animals eaten: 2- kangaroo, crocodile
Vegemite eaten: 0, but one small spoonful of Promite was enough to put me off it!
“Big” items seen: 5- Merino, Banana, Cassowary, Mango, Prawn
Life List items crossed off: 12- Numbers 22, 27, 70, 25, 1, 40, 5, 6, 7, 20, 42, 63
UNESCO World Heritage sites visited: 7- Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Greater Blue Mountains Area, Sydney Opera House, Australian Convict Sites, Fraser Island, Great Barrier Reef, Wet Tropics of Queensland
Beds slept in: 26 (see Where I Slept in Oz)
Twitter friends met IRL: 14
Most overrated: Uluru, Cairns- Uluru is great and all, but I found Kata Tjuta to be more impressive. Uluru is pretty much exactly how you think it’s going to be. And Cairns isn’t much to look at, just a whole lot of backpacker bars.
Most underrated: Kata Tjuta, Brisbane, Magnetic Island- Like I said above, Kata Tjuta is really the better looking twin. Brisbane is a beautiful city on the river with great bars and an art scene. And Magnetic Island is lovely because it’s not party-centric like the rest of the East Coast.
Best sunrise: Kata Tjuta- As miserable as I was to wake up this early, I must admit that the sunrise here was amazing, especially since you could also see the sun rising over Uluru to the east.
Best sunset: Uluru and Whitsundays- This one is a tie because at the Uluru sunset, my travel companions and I opened a beer and watched the rock change colors. In the Whitsundays, I sat by myself on a rock, away from the rest of the group, and enjoyed a rare moment of solitude.
Favorite beer: James Squire Sundown, Vale Ale- James Squire is a Sydney-based but Brisbane-owned brewery with a lot of beers in the more American craft style. Vale Ale is a wheat beer made by a winery in the McClaren Vale wine region of South Australia.
Least favorite beer: Victoria Bitter- Do I really need to explain this one? I’ll take PBR over VB any day.
Most expensive city: Kangaroo Island- While technically not a city, our day tour there cost significantly more than we spent in any other destination.
Cheapest city: Coffs Harbour- There are lots of variables in determining cheapest and most expensive, especially since I spent more in cities I enjoyed. But Coffs Harbour didn’t have much to do and it rained the whole time, so it was easy not to spend money.
Total amount spent on visas: $270
Total amount spent: $19,223.15
So what am I doing today? My dear Aussie boy, one of the main reasons I started this adventure, is spending a few weeks with me in America. I’ve been working my seasonal temp job that I do twice a year so I can save up for this trip and future ones and possibly to settle down with an apartment for a little while. Other than that, you’ll just have to keep reading. Thanks for following along with my Australian Adventure.
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