New Zealand: South Island!!

After a three and a half hour ferry we reached the South Island of New Zealand.  We filed off the large boat and made our way to our new bus driven (again) by Sandfly.  We had picked up a few new people out of Wellington, and along with most of the old crew, we filled up our big orange bus.

Our next stop was to be Abel Tasman National Park, which was a beautiful spot along the north-west coastline of the island.  We stayed at a camp called Old MacDonald’s Farm, which featured a shared kitchen/common room and small cabins that were spaced out in a green field dominated by a hilly terrain in the background.   A bunch of us were excited to try the famous Fat Tui burgers featured at the nearby burger stand, however there were too many of us and the stand was not prepared to deal with us all.

Along with five others, I decided to embark the next day on a hike along this coast to Anchorage, a small camping point 11.8 kilometres away.  Taking off at 10:30am, our group walked through forest paths and lounged on beaches and in coves.  We leisured along, taking our time, and we arrived at Anchorage at 3:10pm.  After a short beach rest, we realized that we needed to book it back in order not to arrive in the dark.  So in went the headphones and on went my playlist.  We made it back to camp in a record one hour and fifty minutes.

The next day we were on the road again, stopping at a place called Punakaiki or ‘the Pancake Rocks’.  After checking out this geologic feature, we filed back onto the bus and as I was the last one on, I was given the Batman costume to wear!  I played the role well, having a bit of fun hanging upside-down from the bus.  And since the next day was Halloween, I asked Sandfly if I could keep it for the festivities.  He generously agreed.

We carried on to our wilderness lodge where we would spend the night.  However, due to complaints from neighbours, the Stray bus was not allowed to pull up to the hostel.  So we had to pull up on the side of the road outside of the hostel area and carry our bags through ten minutes of forested path.  It didn’t help that it was raining at this time.  We reach the hostel reception pretty drenched and are greeted by one of the staff members.  But instead of quickly ushering us into rooms, she makes us wait around as she has odd conversations with random people and generally takes a slow time to get around to offering us shelter.  So obviously I take the first room I can get my hands on.  Her behaviour was a mystery to me, and it sent grumbles through the crowd.

Regardless of that, the lodge was decent accommodation.  I was in a room with three others and we all had our own single bed.  There was a common room and a kitchen in each lodge and I found myself at a neighboring one, cooking up some pasta with friends.

The next day began with ham and eggs.  Hmmmmm ham and eggssss. 

We got back on the bus again after a short walk through the forest and drove on towards the town of Franz Josef, where the famous glacier (of the same name) is located.  The bus had an auxiliary cord attachment which meant that we could play our music through the speakers.  My music had been well received in the past so I whipped up a ‘Stray’ playlist and plugged it in.  I decided to sit in the seat up front by the driver, and Sandfly and I talked for a little while.  It was nice to get a better idea of who he was and what he had done.

We were still talking when he began pulling over to the side of the road.  Confused, I looked at him and he replied that there was a police car flashing its lights at us.  So he pulled over, unfortunately a little too much.  The front wheel found its way off the road and slid into the ditch, sending the bus slightly on a diagonal and the other passengers scrambling for stability as they felt the lurch.

Toppled!!

We were stuck, so Sandfly opened the front door and we all hopped out onto the road, observing our poor disabled bus.  Luckily (or unluckily depending how you view the timeline of events) there was a police car behind us!  So help was called, and we filed off to a nearby café to await our rescue.

It took about half an hour before the bus was pulled out and we were cleared to continue.  It was never clear what the police was originally pulling us over for, but to my knowledge, we were never in any violation of any laws or practices.

We soon made it to Franz Josef where we wasted no time getting to our rooms and began getting ready for Halloween night.  I roomed with Holly, Dionne, Katelyn, Laura and Graham in a nice cabin conveniently located by the hot tub.  We began our predrinks as we geared up for the night, using face paint and other costume accessories.  As mentioned before, I was ready to go as Batman!

The night erupted with festivities at the lodge bar and we all danced the night away in a costumed frenzy.

Franz Josef!!

The next morning saw an early rise as we embarked on our glacier climb.  Franz Josef glacier glistened in the background of the town as we made our way to the tour operator.  There were two options waiting for us.  The first being the Ice Explorer option where a guide would take us around the glacier and show us a bunch of interesting features.  The second option was an altered Ice Explorer that included a bunch of ice climbing!  I was interested in trying my hand at ice climbing so I signed up for option number two.

We were led to an equipment shed, where they geared us up with jackets, boots, gloves, hats and crampons.  These crampons attached to our boots and featured spikes that would be responsible for maintaining our grip on the ice as well as the walls of ice and snow that we would be climbing.

We were then taken to the helipad where a short helicopter ride took us to the terminus of the glacier.  This flight reminded me of my time in the Yukon, as I had constantly been in a helicopter in order to get to my work areas.  The view that greeted us as we left the helicopter was beautiful.  We were treated to the sights of the valley bellow and the blue glacier above.

After a short walk up the glacier we made it to our first ice climb.  The guides laid out three climbing ropes and secured them to ice blocks above.  After some practice with the ice picks, I began my first climb.  I struck my ice picks into the wall, and moved the corresponding leg up, jamming the front of my boot and spike of my crampon into the ice.  It was a very difficult process and I felt my muscles cramping as I made my way up, secured of course by a harness and rope.  My legs were shaking as I zeroes in on the top.  My picks made several futile attempts at landing in the ice and I was afraid that I would have to give up.  But I made it.  I was exhausted as I stood on top of the wall, looking at my fellow climbers below.

My second climb on that wall went much better than the first.  I just needed time for my muscles to become adjusted to this sport.  We then moved onto another location with a near vertical ice wall.  Surprisingly, I found this climb to be much easier.  I was one of the first climbers to complete that wall and one of our guides beckoned me and two others to join him.  He mentioned that he had found a Moulin (a large hole in the ice) and wanted to send us down to explore it.  So he brought us over to this hole in the blue ice that sank into the darkness and depths of the glacier.  He hoisted me up first, securing my harness to his rope and lowered me down.  I was abseiling down a Moulin!  I descended into darkness and after a few short seconds of uncertainty, was rewarded with the sensation of my feet touching ground.  I unclipped myself and made my way out of the tunnel of ice which reflected an eerie electric blue.

After our group all had a chance to abseil the moulin, we helicoptered back to camp and to a night of food and good company.

The next day took us to Wanaka, a small town located beside a beautiful lake.  We stayed at a Base hostel where the Kiwi Experience bus crew was staying.  Hence, bus wars began.  These were games set up at night, including a pool tourney, musical chairs and some questionable activities with hands and pants.

Katelyn and I woke early the next day to check out Puzzle World, a logic and pattern amusement building of sorts.  We were challenged by their maze and crazy puzzles!

We then drove on towards the AJ Hackett Bungy jump centre where I would jump the Nevis!  The Nevis Bungy jump is New Zealand’s highest bungy at 134 metres and is located in the middle of a huge canyon.  This jump was gonna be terrifying!  But we needed something special to mark the occasion, so three of us convinced Sandfly to let us wear the superhero costumes.  Dominick got Spiderman, Sebastian received Superman and I got Batman!  So we took the cart across to the bungy, as the rest of the bus watched from the platform.  I was not the first to jump so I got to watch as the others leapt of the edge, screaming their faces off!

 

And then it was my turn.  I hopped on the chair and had all the necessary ropes and gadgets attached to me.  My legs were secured in a brace around the ankles and I was led in a concrete-shoes type manner to the edge.  I looked down into the canyon below, noting the small river that would be of no help to me if things took a turn for the worse.  I was given the go ahead signal and after a countdown from three, I dove.

With both hands clasped in front of me like I was diving into a pool, my body descended into the canyon, my mind trying to make sense of my flashing peripherals and the ever closer ground coming up to meet me.  The bungy stretched to its weighted limit and then yanked me back up into the air, my heart pounding and my lungs screaming!  I completed another bounce before I was pulled back up into the compartment.  I had just survived the Nevis Bungy jump!!

After a few other travelers took the jump, including Graham, we returned to road where we traveled on to Queenstown, the party and adventure capital of New Zealand.  Queenstown has a reputation of being the perfect party place for backpackers and is the source of many a crazy tale.

We check into the Base hostel, and Graham and I decide to go for dinner at Fergburger.  This is a famous burger restaurant in New Zealand, known for cooking up huge burgers!  So we checked it out and it did not disappoint.  Definitely worth a visit!

The next two nights included lots of partying with the crew where we checked out what Queenstown’s nightlife had to offer.  Teapots.  Lots of teapots.

The next day our group chilled out, and Laura and I went to see Thor 2: The Dark World in a cinema.  Brilliant movie!

We decided to check out some of Queenstown’s nature the next day, and hiked up a mountain.  This mountain had a gondola which could have taken us up, but we were in the mood for some exercise.  And for our perseverance we were treated to spectacular views of the area.  The lake the town bordered looked beautiful and the surrounding mountains and hills completed the picturesque scene.

Our small crew had a BBQ by the lake later that afternoon.  It was a nice shared experience between a group of travelers that considered each other friends. 

On our walk back to the hostel, we saw that a new Stray bus had arrived.  It was the crew that we had left behind in Wellington!  Freya, Sarah, and Alex stepped off the bus, along with many others, and we were excited to all see each other again.  Of course we had to party.

The next morning would mark a separation from the crew I had been hanging out with.  I was to embark on a two day tour of the deep South which included Milford Sound and Stewart Island.  The good news is that I would have company, Sarah and Freya were along for the ride as well as other travelers that I knew.  There would also be a change in drivers, I would no longer be traveling with Sandfly.  Instead our new driver was a kiwi nicknamed Carlin, and we would be traveling in a smaller, white bus.

Our first stop was Milford Sound where we boarded a boat and cruised along the waters, checking out the fjord.  We saw beautiful waterfalls and amazing cliff landscapes that were almost vertical, allowing the boat to come perilously close to the mountain edge and drenching us all in water from the above waterfall.  We were even lucky to see some penguins and seals!

The next morning we drove towards Invercargill, dropping off the people who wanted to travel to Stewart Island along the way.  I chose not to take the ferry to Stewart Island as the ferry was expensive and I had heard that the island was more of a bird sanctuary, which although interesting, was not my cup of tea at the time.

So the rest of us drive on to Invercargill where burgers were made and fish and chips were had!

And then it was back to Queenstown!

After three nights of partying and a round of Frisbee-golf, my time in Queenstown was up.  I bid farewell to much of the crew and boarded the bus to Mount Cook, along with Dionne, Holly, Katelyn, Graham and Johanna.

A new bus and a new driver emerged. Posty was his name and our bus was back to being big and orange!

We left Queenstown and made towards Mount Cook.  The spectacular mountain range greeted us as we drove towards our hostel, located conveniently in the middle of the green, luscious valley.  We embarked on a hike along the bottom of the range and towards a large glacial lake.  Graham dared to do some ice hopping, while Dan (an Englishman) decided to wade into the freezing water!

 

We only stayed at Mount Cook one night and were off again on the road.  We were now heading north, up the east coast of the south island and back to the north island. 

We stopped the next day at Ratitata, a nice camp where some went rafting and which featured triple-decker bunk beds, and then dropped some travelers off at the Christchurch airport.  Stray no longer went in to Christchurch and this made sense as the city was levelled by an earthquake a few years back.  There isn’t much to do there now during their reconstruction phase.  This is where we would say goodbye to Graham, Holly and Dionne.  It was sad to see them leave but we were all happy to have met each other.

Kaikoura was up next where we stayed at a hostel called the Lazy Shag and explored the coast line.  I also got to meet some other Canadians!

Seal Pup!!

We were treated to a nice surprise the next morning when Posty dropped us off at a small river.  Seal pups!  There were two or three of them and they leapt along rocks and into the stream.  I got somewhat close to take pictures of the pups and one of them leapt right by me, inches from my face!

And then it was back on the ferry as we crossed over to the North Island and stayed in Wellington for the night.  Of course we partied here!

The next day I bid farewell to Katelyn and Johanna at the national park.  Katelyn was set to meet up with a friend from home and Johanna would be completing the Tongariro crossing.

Due to picking other people up at the national park, we had a full bus.  Unfortunately Posty had left it to the last minute to arrange accommodation for us in Auckland and there were no spots available in the usual hostels when he rang ahead!  So this sent us all into a scramble.  I managed to secure two beds for Dan and I, while an effort was led by another traveler named Martjin to arrange beds for everyone else.  Thanks to his efforts, we arrived in Auckland with everyone secured a bed.  A crisis had been averted.

As this would be our last night together, we partied it up beginning at the Base hostel bar, where I had a won a $20 bar tab! 

Hobitssssusss!!

Now, during my NZ trip I had wanted to check out Hobbiton, the movie set for the shire in the Lord of the Rings movies.  I was afraid that I had missed my chance as a tour from Auckland was quite expensive.  However, there were two Australian girls on the bus and they wanted to rent a car and check it out for the day.  So along with a girl from Brazil, we sped along the next day to Hobbiton where we were treated to a green shire, a beautiful river and preserved hobbit houses!  We also partook in a beer at the Green Dragon Pub!

The Green Dragon!!

And then we were back in Auckland, where I packed up and made my arrangements for the airport the next day.  I took a walk around the city the next morning, staring up at the Skytower that dominated Auckland’s skyline.  New Zealand had been an insane month and I wish I had given it more time.  It is a fantastic country with spectacular natural marvels that should be kept safe for generations to come.

I made my way to the airport to board my plane back to Brisbane where a new challenge awaited me.  My sister Laura and her friend Stephanie would be traveling Australia for a month and I would travel with them!




Check out Australia Adventure: Phase I!
Australia Adventure: Phase II!
Australia Adventure: Phase III!
Australia Adventure: West Coast Story Pt 1
Australia Adventure: West Coast Story Pt 2
Australia Adventure: Darwin and Kakadu National Park
Australia Adventure: Down the Track and to the Rock!
Australia Adventure: Onwards to Adelaide! 
Australia Adventure: Once Upon a Time in Adelaide 
Australia Adventure: Crazy in Cairns!!

Australia Adventure: Down the Queensland Coast!!

Australia Adventure: Good Ol' Brizzy!!
New Zealand: North Island!!


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New Zealand: North Island!

It was an early 6am train that took me from my pseudo home in Fortitude Valley to the Airport. 

Too early.

I was excited to catch my flight to New Zealand that morning; however I was also incredibly tired.  What should have been a two-thousand-three-hundred and sixty-five kilometre flight of pure sleep turned into a two-thousand-three-hundred and sixty-five kilometre flight of Fast and Furious 6. 

At least the film didn’t disappoint.

I reached the northern-most city of Auckland (NZ’s most populous) late in the afternoon and caught the bus downtown to the Nomads hostel where I would be staying the night.  Bunk Backpackers was also a Nomads affiliated hostel so I decided to give it a try in Auckland.

Down the street was the ‘Stray’ office where I needed to go to plan my month long trip.  Now, I had purchased a ticket on a backpacker bus known as Stray.  This company would take you and a whole bunch of other backpackers around NZ and plan out all your activities.  There was also another such company, Kiwi Experience (both tours owned by the same guy; talk about cornering the market!), but it was known for obnoxious English ‘lads’ and I didn’t particularly want to spend my time drowned out.

So I chose Stray.  It also had its fair share of craziness and the occasional lad, but it was full of people who wanted to enjoy the natural views of New Zealand while still being able to party.

The attendant at the office was a great help to me and planned my entire trip.  It was here that I realized that one month was not nearly enough.  I was to cover both the North and South Islands and I was cutting it close.

I caught the Stray bus early the next morning.  It was a big orange beast of a vehicle, seating at least forty people.  Our driver was a Kiwi named Sandfly (nicknamed as such for reasons best left unsaid) who quickly got to work having us introduce ourselves.  It was a nice icebreaker and a great way to spend the time as we drove towards Raglan where we would be staying at Karioi Surf school for the night.  As we drove down gravel roads, we were surrounded by green, rolling hills that stretched on for as far as the eye could see.  And the amount of sheep there!  It’s no wonder why they call Kiwis sheep-shaggers!

It was in Raglan where we had our first bonding session.  We spent the night playing cards, joking with each other and checking out the glow worms that hid in the bushes around the school.  My roommates were two cool girls, Laura from England and Yana from Russia.  They both had lived in London and had traveled here together.

Raglan was also where I was trying to negotiate my next geology job.  I had received word from my university professor that a Lakehead alumni (now a senior geologist) was looking for a young geologist to join the team at a gold exploration camp in the country of Myanmar. 

This would be perfect for me!  It would be cool to work in South-East Asia and I pounced at the opportunity.  However, I was having trouble organizing an interview.  The contact at the company was in Vancouver!  And on top of the time difference, I was on a bus every day!  So we tried to organize a time to call, but due to a lack of phone signal, I was out of luck.  I was on the bus on the way to the next location when my phone popped into service and I received a call.  It was the Myanmar contact and he wanted to have the interview on the bus!  So we talked about the project and about my previous experience and what he would expect from someone working there.  The cellular reception cut in and out a few times, but after a few calls we had finished the interview.  Now I just had to wait.

I was in an excited mood when we pulled into the parking lot of the Waitomo Caves.  We would be doing spelunking here!  So we got on our wetsuits and harnesses and made our way into the darkness.  The caves were limestone and as such were full of stalagmites and stalactites.  Our team consisted of Alex (an American girl), Graham from Alberta, and Yana, and we were led by our guide who lowered us each down alongside waterfalls and large limestone caverns.  It took us over an hour to make it out, but we emerged, dirty and wet but with smiles on our faces.

After a nice hot shower, we made our way towards Mourea where we would spend the night at a Maori cultural centre, actually sleeping in their temple.  Now, the Maori were New Zealand’s first inhabitants.  They are of the Polynesian islands and traveled to NZ by boats.  We were greeted at the centre by the elders and, as it is their custom, we touched noses twice.  I don’t believe it was supposed to happen, but we all began our touching noses together, so we went through the entire line of until we had all touched noses with each other.  Talk about getting acquainted!

The evening unfolded with a traditional Maori ceremony and a generous dinner spread.  It was at dinner that I met Katelyn, another American traveler.  Afterwards we were all treated to a show of dances by the Maori, and we were fortunate enough to take part ourselves.  They split up the group by gender; the girls would learn the Poi and the guys would learn the Huka.  It was a lot of fun going through the actions, especially the part where we make our most grimacing face!  We performed the dances for each other and all had a good laugh at our attempts.

We returned to the temple where sleeping bags and mattresses had been laid out for us.  We were gonna spend the night together!  As we readied ourselves for sleep, we were treated to interesting stories of Maori legends .

We woke with an anticipation of the day.  Two adrenaline-packed activities were lined up for us.  First, we would go white-water rafting down rapids and waterfalls, and then later that day we would reach Lake Taupo where we would skydive!

We geared up for rafting, slipping into wetsuits and helmets.  Our guide, Drax, led us into the boat and down the river.  I was in the front of the raft with another Canadian as we cascaded down our first waterfall, water surging up and drenching us all.  We all stood up on the raft at one point and Drax signalled to a few passengers to push someone out of the raft.  The other Canadian acted quickly and I found myself falling backwards out of the boat only to be saved by pure luck!  My foot had been in the foot sleeve up front and as I fell backwards into the water, I bounced back into the raft.  Needless to say, it was a miraculous save.

 

Once back on land, we continued our drive toward Lake Taupo and our next activity.  We were met at our hostel by a sleek, black limo which would take us to our plane in style.  I shared the ride with Katelyn, Graham, and Holly and Dionne (two girls from Britain).

We watched the safety videos, picked our skydive packages and got suited up.  We looked mighty fine in our jumpsuits!  The three girls had picked the twelve-thousand foot skydive, but I opted for fifteen-thousand feet, as high as this company could go tandem!  I met my guide Joe who I would be jumping with and we stepped into the pink plane that would take us into the clouds and to an uncertain fate.

My mind was swirling as we ascended.  Two-thousand feet, five-thousand feet, ten-thousand feet.  Finally we reached twelve-thousand and the door opened.  I watched as Holly, Dionne and Katelyn disappeared off the edge, into the sky where I would soon follow.

I was not nervous as Joe nudged us closer to the edge.  I can only say I was anxious to jump, just to see what would happen!

The door opened for us at fifteen-thousand feet, the blue sky greeting us with litters of clouds below.  My camera man jumped first, waving as he casually fell out of the plane. 

Joe swung our feet over the edge, hovering there a few seconds before letting go.

As we somersaulted out of the plane, my stomach churned and I experienced a sudden stab of fear.  I remember mouthing the words, “OH SHIT” as the plane became a distant memory and an impossible route of escape.  There was no going back now.

But fear gave way to instant excitement and awe, and we freefell for nearly a whole minute.  My mind was racing, unable to take in this insane new sensation.  It was amazing.

The clouds passed us by as we fell, offering an unparalleled view of the globe and the surrounding blue sky.  We spun, dove and posed on the way down.  And then Joe pulled the chute.  The sudden action pulled us back up and slowed our descent.  The cameraman disappeared into cloud cover below as we floated down. 

 

We made it through the clouds too (which strangely don’t really feel like anything) and were greeted by the sight of a sparkling Lake Taupo and the town below.  It was a fantastic vantage point.

My heart was still pounding when Joe raised a concern.  It turned out our parachute was a little tangled and he needed my help.  He directed me to extend my arm out, assumingly to alter the air flow around us.  It didn’t work.

So this is how it would all end.  That was the thought that shot into my head. 

He asked me to extend my arm again, and we got it!  So we descended, gracefully gliding onto the field below for a solid landing.

I had just skydived and lived to tell the tale!!

We returned to the hostel in quite the partying mood.  We didn’t want to let go of our high!

The next day provided us a relaxing opportunity at Blue Duck Lodge at Whakahoro (pronounced Fuckawhoro).  I chilled in the lodge with two other English girls, Freya and Sarah and we traded stories and photos of our journeys so far.  The day ended with some claybird shooting and a warm campfire.

The next day we were treated with a Lord of the Rings experience.  We rolled into Tongariro National Park, staring up at Mount Ngauruhoe aka Mount Doom!

We were going to complete the Tongariro crossing and it was going to be chilly up there.  The hiking outfit provided us with gloves, boots, jackets and a hat and we set off.  There were twenty of us on the hike, but we split into smaller groups varying due to pace and stamina. 

The six hour hike took us up through the craggy volcanic mountains offering spectacular views of the valley below, known to LOTR fans as Mordor.  We passed by hot sulphur pipes with smoke clouds, and past beautiful emerald lakes.

 

We were pretty tuckered out by the time we reached the parking lot, but we were rewarded for our efforts with a cold Tui beer. 

A hot tub awaited us back at our lodge, and I enjoyed the movie Kill Bill with Freya and Sarah that night.

Back on the bus in the morning, Sandfly decided that it was time to bring out the superhero costumes.  Whenever we got off at a stop, he announced that the last person back on the bus would have to wear a suit for the rest of the day.  Daphne (from the Netherlands) was awarded the batsuit, Andrew (from Scotland) chose Superman and Freya was given Spiderman. 

I’m sure they made for quite an interesting spectacle as we disembarked in Wellington!  This was the second biggest city in NZ, and we made haste to explore as most of us were only going to be here for one night.  We made a trip to the free museum and decided on a $5 Dominoes pizza for dinner!

About ten people were leaving our bus to have an extended stay in Wellington, and this included Alex, Freya and Sarah.  So we celebrated our time together at our hostel bar.  It was a fantastic night.

The next day marked a new leg of our trip.  We were now going to leave the North Island, and travel by ferry to the South Island.  A whole different type of adventures awaited us there.

 We left our bus behind and boarded the gigantic ferry, excited to find out what was destined for us on the other side.

Check out Australia Adventure: Phase I!
                 Australia Adventure: Phase II!
                 Australia Adventure: Phase III!
                 Australia Adventure: West Coast Story Pt 1
                 Australia Adventure: West Coast Story Pt 2
                 Australia Adventure: To the Top End!
                 Australia Adventure: Darwin and Kakadu National Park
                 Australia Adventure: Down the Track and to the Rock! 
                 Australia Adventure: Onwards to Adelaide!
                 Australia Adventure: Once Upon a Time in Adelaide

                 Australia Adventure: Crazy in Cairns!!

                 Australia Adventure: Down the Queensland Coast!!

                 Australia Adventure: Good Ol' Brizzy!!


Join the Facebook Group!

Australia Adventure: Good Ol' Brizzy!!

Over the two and a half months I spent in Brisbane, the city came to mean many things to me. But at the immediate time of my arrival, it meant a pause in my adventures.

I had been traveling non-stop for exactly three months now and I was tired of being on the road. It didn’t help that my bank account was also diminished. So I decided that Brizzy would be where I settle down for some time and make some cash.

Brizzy Baby!!

But we had just arrived after travelling the Queensland Coast! Guillaume and Jean-Michel would be sticking around for a week so we decided to keep on partying!

Bunk Backpackers (the hostel we were at) had an attached bar named Birdies, which is where we usually ended up after a quick round of predrinks. Brisbane had a varied nightlife and we had a taste of it while the Quebecois were here.

And during the day we explored the city! Brisbane had a river that separated the city from the beautiful South Bank. It was the arts and entertainment sector of the city which also featured a man-made lagoon where we spent countless hours lying in the sand soaking in the rays.

Southbank!

It also featured an arts and history museum which were free to check out so we made sure to go there. And just like most large cities, Brisbane featured a botanic garden complete with a pond filled with fish and lizards!

The three of us spent our last weekend together playing some frisbee and taking part in a dumpling eating competition! I couldn’t eat more than four, but Jean-Michel made it to the full ten!

We spent the remainder of the weekend with some new friends we had made there, including Lisa from England and Anouchka from France. Lisa immediately referred to me as Canada, and as she was from the Jersey Islands in the UK, I decided to call her Jersey!! This would be the case for our entire time together!

Story Bridge!

And then the day came that we had to say our goodbyes. I walked with the Quebecois to the Greyhound bus terminal where they would be traveling down to Sydney. It had been an amazing three weeks and we resolved to meet up again in Canada.

Just as they were loading up their bags, another bus pulls up and who steps out but Fenna, Sarah and Jasmine from the Whitsundays! They will be staying in Brisbane for a few days before going down the coast.

We all bid farewell to Guillaume and Jean-Michel, and then separate as the girls are staying at a different hostel. We arrange to meet up the next day.

Arriving back at Bunk, I decided to begin my job search. I pulled up my resume and began retooling it for all kinds of jobs. Café jobs, bar jobs, any job! But before I could begin a proper job search, Gemma from Mission Beach arrived in Brisbane!

So naturally we partied.

I spent the next week chilling and partying with new friends and old, and made very little progress on my job search. There was actually an icecream shop called Nitrogenie that I became partial to working at, and I made a lot of effort trying to get employment there. I guess that may sound strange to some readers but it actually made a lot of sense in my head.

This was no average icecream shop. They used liquid nitrogen to freeze the icecream and the vibe of the store was pretty cool. Neon lights and electro music constantly pulsed from the inside. It was also located in Southbank and right next to the lagoon, so I was pulling pretty hard for a chance to work here.

But alas it was not to be.

It was now two weeks since I arrived in Brisbane and I was no closer to finding a job than when I had arrived there. I began to panic. I realized that the time I legally had left in Australia was ticking down. Every day that lapsed was another day that I was losing money. This culminated in a panic attack one night.

I’ve experienced a few in my life, and this one left me sleepless. I was unsure if I was going to be able to find work here. Would I be left to watch my bank account drain while I drowned in a sea of uncertainty and anxiety?

The next morning I met my roommate in the bed above me. We began talking and I mentioned that I was looking for work. It turned out his employer was hiring! His name was Justin and he worked for a company called BioSolar as a door knocker. He gave me a number to call.

I was persistent with calling and was rewarded when I got a call back late in the afternoon. It turned out that they were doing a group interview the next day and invited me to come along.

The next morning I got everything together and figured out a bus route to take. But the bus was late and I realised that I would be late for the interview so I hailed a taxi and made my way to the office in the suburb of Woolloongabba.

There was a group of about twenty of us waiting in the lobby and we were soon led to a larger area to get started. This was my first group interview and I was unsure how it would proceed. They started by breaking us into groups and having us sell an item to them. My group had a yellow hula hoop so we decided to pitch it as a portable solar sun.

The next task was to describe ourselves in thirty seconds. And then it was over. I left the interview unsure of how I did. They said they would let us know today so I waited for the call.

The phone rang a few hours later. I had got the job!! I would be starting two days from now.

I was ecstatic!! I no longer had to worry about draining funds or uncertainty. I was here to work.

Thursday morning I was ready to go in for training. But before I left, I had to say goodbye to Jersey. She was off to go work on a farm for a month! Jersey and I spent a lot more time together during the past few weeks than I have written about, usually over drinks at night and the lagoon during the day! So I bid goodbye to her, knowing that we would meet back up after her month away.

I felt great as I walked through the door at Biosolar. I was now going to work for the first time in three and a half months! We spent the day being trained by Chris, a Canadian who had made the move to Australia. I would be working as a door knocker for the company. Basically, my day would consist of being dropped off a suburb close to Brisbane and walking assigned neighbourhoods, knocking on doors and convincing people to sign up for a free consultation for solar panels. I was happy doing this as I didn’t have to sell anything and it was a product that I felt comfortable talking up.

It was at training that I met Tracey and Cliona, two Irish girls who I would spend a lot of time with during my stay in Brisbane.

The next day we were separated into our teams. Biosolar was employing quite a few backpackers and my assigned team had a fair few as well as a couple of Australians, Sebastian and Mark. My team leader was Jack, an Australian, who knocked with me my first day as I learned the ropes.

The next day I knocked by myself and signed up three customers! We had a small work party that night and I went back to the hostel to drink with some other friends Lucy and Dean before going back out with my work crew. But I passed out from the day and never made it out!

Quentin and Mark!

Over the next few weeks I continued with the job. We traveled to neighbourhoods all over North Brisbane and I was doing moderately well. Enough to keep my job anyway! I was being paid an hourly wage with the possibility of commission if I hit it, and our days were from Tuesday to Saturday. I also took up a bit of exercise, running along the river bank and getting a gym membership.

One week a friend from Perth arrived in Brisbane. Her name was Andrea and she was a fellow Canadian. We spent a few nights together checking out the Brisbane festival along with the crew that I now hung out with; Anouchka, Cliona, Tracey, Lucy and Dean. We also learned that Anja from Perth was working at the festival so we spent some time with her also.

And then Jersey came back! She had enjoyed her time on the farm but decided to come back to Brisbane. Along came the partying.

Brsibane Festival Light Show!

And then came another Canadian friend from Perth! Ruth, along with her sister, came to visit and we checked out a cool acrobatic show at the festival.

Work was still going ok, but I started to see my number slide. I was worried that I may get fired soon, but Jack took me aside and gave me some critical advice on my sales pitch. He told me to include an impulse factor to make people feel like they needed to set that appointment. So I ran with it and saw a great increase in my sign ups!

I was now the end of September in Brisbane and my visa was soon to expire on the twenty fourth of October. I still had the rest of the East coast of Australia to see and the only way to do that now was to get a visitor visa, but I needed to apply for that outside of the country.

So I decided to plan a trip to New Zealand!!

The land of the hobbits was somewhere I had wanted to check out for a while now, so I made the necessary arrangements and booked my flights!

Full Moon Party!!

I had one more month left in Brisbane and I decided to use it to my full advantage. I partied with my friends on the weekend, always enjoying a night out with Cliona, Tracey, Jersey and Anouchka. We hit up a Full Moon party at Birdies one weekend, enjoying the glow paint and music of the night.

I worked all the way up till the nineteenth of October, and spent my last few night with the crew, including some new English guys who were my roommates. We had a BBQ the day before at Lucy and Dean’s apartment and I enjoyed chilling with people I had come to call friends.

I ditched the suitcase I had bought in Adelaide and bought a seventy-five litre backpack from Kathmandu. It would be far easier to travel New Zealand with a backpack rather than a suitcase.

And then the morning of October twenty-first came and I left for the airport. My two and a half months in Brisbane were fantastic and it is impossible for me to do justice to this experience in my writings here. It would take a novel to compile the highs and lows, the wins and losses, the excitement, the fear, the heartbreak and the relationships built over my time in Brizzy. And for these experiences I am incredibly thankful to the people whom I shared them with.

But it was now time to wave goodbye to it all. I was on my way to New Zealand!

Check out Australia Adventure: Phase I!
                 Australia Adventure: Phase II!
                 Australia Adventure: Phase III!
                 Australia Adventure: West Coast Story Pt 1
                 Australia Adventure: West Coast Story Pt 2
                 Australia Adventure: To the Top End!
                 Australia Adventure: Darwin and Kakadu National Park
                 Australia Adventure: Down the Track and to the Rock! 
                 Australia Adventure: Onwards to Adelaide!
                 Australia Adventure: Once Upon a Time in Adelaide

                 Australia Adventure: Crazy in Cairns!!

                 Australia Adventure: Down the Queensland Coast!!


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