East Coast Escapades!!

It was a warm afternoon the day I arrived back in Brisbane.  My sister Laura and her friend Stephanie were due to arrive the next morning, and I had booked us all into Bunk Backpackers.  We were about to undertake a furious month of travel from Brisbane down the coast to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and then finally up to Cairns.

I met them at the Fortitude Valley train station, heavy suitcases in hands and all smiles.  They had made it to Australia!  To tell the truth, it was surreal to see them in front of me.  It had been thirteen months since I had physically seen either of them, just keeping in touch via Skype and Facebook.  And now here they were!  It was rather cool!

I whipped them over to Bunk, as they marvelled at the heat of the beating sun and the beauty of the city that I had spent a fair amount of time in.  Their awe quickly turned to astonishment as I showed them the room they would be staying in.  They were not impressed with the hostel lifestyle.  To be fair, it was their first time experiencing this type of living.  I had been used to similar and worse situations prior to arriving in Australia as I had lived in bush camps for many weeks at a time.

But I promised them that they would get used to it and would even come to love the backpacker way of life.

We quickly dumped their belongings in the room and made our way to the most logical place in the city: the lagoon!  I guided them down to the river where we caught a ferry over to Southbank.  It was the perfect way to travel as it gave the girls an amazing view of the city.

Laura and Steph wasted no time donning bikinis and appreciating the warmth of the sun and the comfort of the sand. 

The next day I decided that the girls needed to see some wildlife.  We took a tour to the summit of Mt. Cootha (offering a spectacular view of Brisbane) and then on to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary!  It was here that they had the opportunity see the docile creatures and even got to hold one! And then it was over to the kangaroo pen where we got to feed them as they lounged in the shade.  We even caught a bird show where Laura was fortunate enough to interact with a Snowy Owl.  They certainly got a fair introduction to Australian wildlife that day as we continued on, seeing dingo’s, crocodiles, lizards, snakes, and even a Cassowary!

Sup Joey!

We awoke the next morning at 6am to the sound of the war siren fire alarm.  No, it was a fire alarm but it seriously felt like we were being warned of an impending blitzkrieg!  We filed out, all of us in sleep wear, where we awaited the fire brigade.  It was here that I spotted Dan from New Zealand.  It seems he had arrived last night and would be embarking to Sydney over the next few days, just in time to catch Stereosonic.  It seemed we were on the same path so we agreed to catch up in the city.

So after the alarm was declared to be of no concern, (some backpacker had unwittingly set it off ) we returned  to our rooms.  The girls and I were due to catch a Greyhound bus before noon to the Gold Coast, so instead of sleeping, we took the chance to take one last look at Brisbane and ready ourselves for the trip.

The sun was still blazing and high in the sky when we rolled into Surfer’s Paradise, checking in at the Nomad’s Islander Hotel.  It seemed like a great hostel, aside from the emergency stairway that smelled of piss, booze and poor life choices. 

Surfers Paradise!

Chucking our luggage inside, we quickly made it to the beach!  It was the first real Australian beach the girls got to experience and it did not disappoint.  Surfer’s Paradise was one of many cities along the Gold Coast and it was a spectacular sight.  Towering skyscrapers lined the coastline, giving the city a Miami-like feeling.  The beach itself was superb.  The sand was golden and the water was warm and welcoming. 

We spent three days on the beach of Surfer’s Paradise.  We decided to go out our last night with a few Canadians who I was rooming with.   SP offered a variety of bars and clubs to check out, but there was just one drawback.  We had arrived smack-dab in the middle of Schoolies.  This was the equivalent of our Spring Break, where teenagers finishing high school would flock to the Gold Coast to party and get ridiculously wasted.

The clubs were littered with them.  I couldn’t step two feet without bumping into an underage girl grinding away at the nearest available guy who had two hands and a mouth.  We jumped around to a few clubs, before I called it a night and the girls stayed up to catch their first Australian sun rise.

We bussed it further south the next day, arriving in Byron Bay.  This place was Hippie central!  Laura and Steph were perplexed by the vans that littered the streets, home to many a traveler.  It seemed pretty normal to me, seeing as it wasn’t too long ago when I had driven the West coast and centre of Australia, sleeping in vans and tents.

The hostel we stayed at was called the Arts Factory, a hippie experiment of sorts that expanded to be one of the most well-known and interesting hostels on the East coast.  We explored the beach the next day, kicking over beached jellyfish and making our way to a spectacular lookout.  We retreated to the comfort of our hostel pool where we met a few English travelers, who we hung out with that night.

Laura and Steph decided to go bead shopping the next day, leaving me to the comfort of our room and the joy of some new Breaking Bad episodes!  I had pinched the last season of another backpacker and chipped away at the episodes, until I had arrived at the final one only to realize that I was one short!  I would have to catch the finale of Breaking Bad another day.  We ended our last day in Byron Bay with a Bush Tucker walk, where our guide showed us how to survive in the wilderness by knowing what was good to eat, and what you could make from the plants and trees.

The Greyhound bus rolled up at 9pm, and we boarded it ready for a fifteen hour drive to Sydney!  At least it was a night bus and we could sleep through it.

We arrived in Sydney the next morning at 10am and walked the short distance to our hostel, Maze Backpackers.  We began our day in the city with a walk around the markets and to Darling Harbour.  The city was alive with people.  Everyone was walking or biking, and the harbour was decorated in accordance with the holiday season.  Sydney was huge, and I mean huge!  It was a beautiful city, but the skyscrapers felt domineering and foreboding.  The city was built up upon itself, feeling like they had swept several cities into one, pushing building on top of building.

After a wonderful taco dinner prepared by Laura and Steph, we went next door to Maloney’s bar for a few drinks.  I had learned that Laura from New Zealand was in Sydney at the hostel right next door, so she came and joined us.

The next day we travelled to a natural landmark of the Sydney area, Bondi Beach (Bon-dye).  We disembarked the bus and walked over to the edge of the railing, where we were greeted by a stunning sight.  Bondi lay before us, its sand beach forming a perfect crescent with the water lapping at its edges.  The waves rolled forward as blue and white swells, carrying surfers along their crests.  In the background were rows of townhouses, villas, and condominiums that gave off a Mediterranean vibe, surrounding the natural cliff side.

We descended upon the beach and lounged in the sun for most of the day.

Bondi Baby!!

It was later when I caught up with two other travelers from my New Zealand experience, Freya and Sarah! We chilled over drinks, promising to meet up again after the weekend.

And then it was Stereosonic!  The big weekend had arrived.  I had caught the concert back in Perth the year prior, but this time would be drastically different.  First of all, we were in Sydney, the most populous city in Australia.  Also, the festival was now a two day event and would run all the way till 11pm.  Sixty thousand people were expected to attend.  This was going to be insane!

Laura, Steph and I caught a packed and energized train and made our way towards the Olympic Stadium where Stereosonic was set to unfold.  We arrived in the afternoon, surrounded by throngs of EDM fans, and quickly made our way to the main stage.  This was where the nights entertainment was to impress.  We danced through a few sets, including Zedd’s who looked like he was having an amazing time rocking the main stage as he was on a smaller one the previous year.  We then explored the rest of the showground and that’s where we ran into the English crowd from Byron!  We stuck with them for the rest of the night, taking in the sights and sounds of Calvin Harris and David Guetta.  Calvin Harris set the crowd on fire, providing pure EDM gold to the masses.

And after a good nights sleep, it was Stereosonic day two!  But before we left, I met up with Cliona from Brisbane!  She had just wrapped up a tour of the Northern Territory and Cairns and was now in Sydney to begin work at the Biosolar chapter down there.  It was good to catch up with her and we decided to chill more the next night.

We caught the same train again for Stereosonic, sneaking in a few of our own beverages to make sure we were appropriately energized for the concert.  It was a great line up and we enjoyed the sounds of Above and Beyond and Empire of the Sun.  We decided to go out that night to Kings Cross with a few of our hostel friends.  Kings Cross is known as the party and bar scene of Sydney but it also has an infamous reputation of being a drug and murder hotspot.  So maybe we were fortunate that our night only consisted of an impromptu visit to a strip club with non-alcoholic beer and substandard dancers.

After two days of EDM and partying, we thought it would be nice to hit up the beach!  So we decided to catch a ferry over to Manly!  And along for the ride came Freya and Sarah, and then Dan later on.  Manly was a nice beach to spend the day on, and we enjoyed a meal of fish and chips before catching a ferry back. 

The next day, Laura, Steph and I had booked a Blue Mountain tour.  It took about an hour of travel from Sydney, but we were transported for the day to a beautiful region, full of trees and marvellous mountain heights. 

We met up with Erica Tropea later that night, a fellow T-Bay’er who had been in Australia for school.  We made our way across the city to the Sydney Opera House, the crown jewel of the city.  It cut an impressive figure against the backdrop of the river and the Harbour Bridge.  The building itself is assuredly an architectural wonder, and its aesthetics are validated from every angle.

And so our time in Sydney came to an end.  Next stop was Melbourne!

Our first view of Melbourne as we flew in was a city drenched by rain, plagued by the shrouds of grey cloud hovering above.  Needless to say, it was a good day to relax in our hostel, Melbourne City Backpackers.

The next day, Laura and Steph embarked on a Great Ocean Road tour.  I had previously taken this tour during my visit to Melbourne in February so I remained in the city.

Eureka!

The girls enjoyed their day trip down the GOR, and the next day I led them into the city for a tour of all the beautiful sights Melbourne had to offer, including the Eureka Tower.  This skyscraper is the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere and we decided to ascend its height. 

We took an incredibly fast elevator ride to the eighty-eighth floor where we were treated to an unparalleled view of the city.  Laura was terrified!  But we managed to convince her to come with us on the Edge, a glass box that suspended us three metres out from the building.  It was an incredible view.

Later that night, I received word that Dan was in the city along with the two Australian girls that I had gone to Hobbiton with in NZ.  We embarked on a quest to find them and spent a fair amount of the night dancing away.

We spent our last day in Melbourne at St Kilda beach.  While not being the most visually inspiring beach, it was still nice to lay out in the sun. 

And then it was off to Adelaide! 

We were to meet up with our family here, the same ones that I had visited this past June.  Jim picked us up at the airport and we returned to his home where Laura and Steph got to meet the rest of the family, Jim’s wife Maree, daughter Jamie and son Martin.  It was great for me to reconnect with the Byrnes, and even greater for Laura and Steph to meet them for the first time. 

We spent two days in the city and thoroughly enjoyed our time with Jim and the family!

And just like my last visit to Adelaide, I flew once again to Cairns!  The three of us stayed at a hostel called Global Central, and after dumping all of our gear we headed straight to the lagoon.

It was in Cairns that a previous travel mate, Kate, was staying.  We had spent a great deal of time in Darwin and Kakadu together and it was great to see my friend again.  We lounged at the lagoon, catching up on the last six months.

Laura and Steph took their last week in Australia to do some amazing activities.  They went white water rafting, took a trip to the Daintree Rainforest and went skydiving over the Great Barrier Reef.  The three of us and Kate also took off on a GBR tour where we spent the day snorkelling and diving around the magnificent natural wonder, marvelling at its corals and fish.

And before we knew it, the month had come and gone.  We left Cairns for Brisbane, where we shared in some last-night drinks with a few mates that were still in the city.

And then it was off on a flight home.  The past fourteen months had been an amazing experience.  I have shared many of my stories and adventures on this blog, but truth be told, there were far too many experiences for me to include them all, and there are some stories that are better not told, at least not here. 

I left Brisbane international airport exhausted, not just because of the early flight, but because Australia itself was the most stimulating “event” I have ever experienced and I was now leaving it all behind. 

In retrospect, it seems like a dream.  It feels like a distant memory that makes me wonder if it all truly happened.  It only takes a quick look at my photos and blog posts to remind myself of how real this past year was. I often wonder if I appreciated my time over there as much as I should have. 

I can tell you that I absolutely did. 

I remember breathing it all in; every experience, the highs, the lows, every road trip, every night out, every sunrise, and every sunset.  I will be back to visit Australia again, and that is a promise. 

I met many people over my travels, and claim a great deal of them as friends.  It would be amazing to see them again one day and catch up on our diverging lives.

Being home again was certainly a weird experience, but what was great was finally having my friends and family with me.  It was like picking up right where we left off and I love them all for that. 

However, the Northern-Ontario winter killed me!

I didn’t have much time to relax in Thunder Bay as another adventure was about to unfold.  I had accepted a role as a geologist in Myanmar and I was to start January 15th!

I am currently on the job site and cannot wait to share my experience with you.  

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!!
New Zealand: South Island!!

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