The Australian Adventure: One Year Later

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.

Related Reading:

• The Australian Adventure: One Month In
• The Australian Adventure: Three Months In
• The Australian Adventure: Six Months In
• The Australian Adventure: Nine Months In

January 25, 2012 | Categories: Australia, backpacking | 4 Comments »

2011: My Year in Review

How do I even begin to describe this year? I’m still processing it myself, so this post will serve as a Cliffs Notes version of my year, in case you missed it. I will be getting into what’s next for me in future notes, but for now, sit back, relax and relive my year Down Under!

January: I spent most of the month working and counting down the days until my departure. I celebrated my father’s 50th birthday with friends and family while also saying goodbye. I left on January 20th to spend a few days in Los Angeles before the long-haul flight to Australia. I spent my first night at USA Hostels in Hollywood before couchsurfing with a girl in La Brea. In my few days there, I had a tweetup with Jade and Bob of Vagabond 3 and Rebecca of Travels at 88 MPH and took a film noir tour of the city with Esotouric Tours. I landed in Sydney on January 25th, overwhelmed by a new country and a new relationship. I celebrated my first Australia Day nonchalantly, by lying in the pool all day to avoid the unbearable heat. I went to my first Travel Massive, where I met the people who would give me advice on adjusting to life in Australia. Tommy took me to the Blue Mountains to see the Three Sisters and get out of the city for the day.

February: Tommy and I left for a whirlwind tour of southeastern Australia. From Sydney, we stopped in Canberra for a few days to catch up with friends we met in Europe, soak up the capital and break up the long drive to Melbourne. I was excited about Melbourne, but our stay there was not what you could call pleasant after our hostel and car got flooded, stranding us without power and a way out of town for a week. Thankfully, friends of Tommy let us stay with them until his car could be fixed, which meant we got to see more of Melbourne than originally planned.  Once the car situation was sorted out, we decided to continue on to the Great Ocean Road, which I heard was the best part of the country and I wasn’t disappointed. Since we had come this far, we threw Adelaide into the itinerary and our visit coincided with the annual Fringe Festival, where we got the chance to see one of the performances. From there, we took a day trip to Kangaroo Island, where we didn’t actually see any kangaroos.

March: After too much time freeloading off Tommy and his dad, I started handing out resumes all over town and signed up for my RSA course, a requirement to work in bars and restaurants in Australia. Within an hour of getting my certificate, I had landed myself an interview at what would become my job for the next six months and where I would make some of my best friends. I witnessed the insanity of Sydney Mardi Gras. I celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with my American expat mates. I also moved into my apartment in Marrickville with my two Aussie flatmates.

April: I settled into a routine, becoming a regular at cafes in Newtown and Marrickville and reading the travel sections in the newspaper over a cup of tea. I went on a day tour of the Hunter Valley, which covered Ku Ring Gai Chase National Park as well as a few vineyards in the valley. Tommy took me to my first AFL game, Sydney Swans vs. Geelong Cats, and I still can’t say I fully understand the sport. I just barely survived working ANZAC Day, also known as Australia’s biggest drinking holiday.

May: We took a few day trips, including one to Palm Beach, the filming location for Home and Away. I came down with dysentery in a “developed” country, go figure. I saw my idol, Anthony Bourdain, at the Sydney Writers Festival.

June: I flew to Hawaii to meet up with my sisters and mom for my youngest sister’s sixteenth birthday trip. We spent two weeks catching up, eating, drinking, hiking and tanning all over Hawaii, Oahu and Kauai. Tommy and I took a day trip to the southern coastal town of Kiama, known for tasty fish and chips and the blowhole.

July: I celebrated American Independence Day with more American expats at a bar in the city, complete with Miller beers and authentic New Orleans-style gumbo. I celebrated my 23rd birthday by working for 12 hours and going for drinks with my coworkers. Christine and Joey, two of my best (and recently engaged!) friends visited me in Sydney for a few days and I got to show them around.

August: I spent time with my friend in Coogee, discovering new cafes in Erskineville and generally working entirely too much.

September: I worked an event for the Australian team in the Rugby World Cup, but I couldn’t tell you who any of the players were. I said goodbye to my job before I went traveling. I stayed with my friend in Coogee before I left for my Outback trip. My Groovy Grape tour took me from Alice Springs through Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon before looping down through Coober Pedy to Adelaide. After a week recovering in Sydney, I took the Greyhound bus to Newcastle and Port Macquarie.

October: What was supposed to be warm and sunny on the New South Wales coast was instead rainy and cold. Maybe that’s why I didn’t fall for Coffs Harbour, but I did have a great surf lesson there. Byron Bay and neighboring Nimbin were next, full of hippies  and Surfers Paradise was not my idea of paradise, but might be if you’re into Jersey Shore/bachelor parties/spring break-style shenanigans. I felt at home in Brisbane and could have spent more than a week there. Noosa didn’t have quite as much to offer, nor did Rainbow Beach, but I enjoyed my time in both towns. Fraser Island was far from my favorite stop of the trip, as you already know, but that’s the way traveling goes. You’re not going to love everything. Agnes Water and the Town of 1770, however, were a pleasant surprise, with cheap surfing, nice beaches and the Scooteroo tours. The night bus from Agnes Water to Airlie Beach nearly killed me, leaving at 9 p.m. and arriving at 7 a.m. I was finally in the tropical climate, leaving the hoodie I needed in New South Wales at the bottom of my backpack. The Whitsundays were surreal, with the most blue waters I’ve ever seen. Every day was eat, drink, snorkel, sleep. Townsville wasn’t much to look at to an outsider, but I was lucky enough to have a local show me around and I had one of the craziest Halloweens of my life, which is saying a lot, considering the holiday is like a religion back home.

November: Magnetic Island was one of the only places I planned on going the entire trip. I knew I wanted to stay at the Bungalow Bay Koala Village and get to hold my spirit animal, which I did. I also scootered around the island and went for a few swims without getting stung by any jellyfish. I stopped in Mission Beach on the way to Cairns because I sensed I wasn’t quite ready for the city’s party reputation. I spent three days in the hurricane-ravaged town cooking myself proper meals, catching up on blog posts and making a new feline friend. Cairns was even hotter than I expected and I stayed in quite possibly, the worst hostel I’ve ever seen. I got out of there as soon as I could with an overnight trip to Cape Tribulation, where it rained on and off the entire time. I did see crocodiles, kangaroos, emus and cassowaries up close, though. Back in Cairns, I took a scuba diving course and went on the ill-fated pub crawl. The icing on the cake was bungy jumping on my final day in town. I got back to Sydney sunburnt, broke and exhausted. Thankfully, I still had time for a day at Cronulla, dinner with friends, a costume party with work mates, Christmas shopping, a trip to Cockatoo Island, one final Travel Massive, the Bridge Climb, a tour of the Sydney Opera House and a painful goodbye with Tommy.

December: I never thought I’d make it home but after two delayed flights and over 20 hours on a plane, I crashed in my newly painted room and slept for most of a day. I caught up with friends and family and started working part time the next week to save up for future travels. My family and I visited Boone, North Carolina for my sister’s college graduation. It feels like I was just in her position. I’m now trying to figure out what’s next for me.

So until I figure that out, enjoy this video, with even more photos from my year. You didn’t think this was it, right? :)

December 31, 2011 | Categories: Australia, backpacking | 5 Comments »

Lessons in Space

Blue Patagonia dress. Black New Balance trainers. Knockoff Swiss Army knife. I can name every item I currently own, mostly because two months ago I was packing it all into my purple 65 liter backpack to spend the year working and traveling in Australia.

A year earlier, I was living in a spacious apartment in Charleston, with enough room to contain all the stuff I had acquired over the last four years. I say “stuff” because I’m not even sure why I had most of it or how it ended up there. I think I just added more to fill the empty voids in my walls and my life. After graduating from college, I had to take the same amount of said “stuff,” with the exception of the items I sold or donated to Goodwill, and fit it into my old room at my parents’ house in Atlanta. A room half the size of my previous one, mind you.

When I moved into this house when I was 15, I didn’t mind having the smallest room, since I would be moving away in a few years’ time. I hadn’t, however, planned on having to come back. But what college graduate does? I fit what I could into storage, but there just wasn’t enough room. My complaints were constant, especially when I saw the large room of my younger sister, who had since vacated it to go to college herself.

But when I decided to come to Australia, I knew I would have to adjust my thinking. Everything in my possession would fit into one of three bags, which would be constantly unpacked and repacked as I went from city to city. This was the plan, at least. Instead, I traveled for 2 weeks, came back to Sydney to start work, as my budget was blown during my brief jaunt, and ideally finding an apartment so I wouldn’t have to couchsurf with my boyfriend and his dad anymore.

I found an apartment on Gumtree in nearby Marrickville. It said it was small, but I didn’t care, as long as I had my own room. I had looked at a few filthy backpacker share houses and knew they weren’t for me. But this one was different. I had my own bed, shelf and wardrobe. It was sparse and small, as they mentioned, but it was as close to home as I’d felt since arriving in Australia. Even after emptying the contents of my backpack, I had room to spare.

It’s funny to think back on my temper tantrums about not having enough space. Now I’m nesting here, putting up pictures from home in a room the size of my former bathroom. Even though I won’t be here for too long, I’m glad to have found my space.

And I’ve never been happier, despite my lack of “stuff.”

April 27, 2011 | Categories: Australia, backpacking | 10 Comments »