25 and Under...and 23...and 22

Movie Time: McKenzie Falls

dazey311 — Thu, 7 Feb 2008 11:30:00 GMT

Movie Time: Crystal and Jeff

dazey311 — Thu, 7 Feb 2008 11:30:00 GMT

Movie Time: Danger, no jumping!

dazey311 — Thu, 7 Feb 2008 11:29:00 GMT

Movie Time: 1850s Bowling

dazey311 — Thu, 7 Feb 2008 11:28:00 GMT

Movie Time: Koalas in Great Otway National Park

dazey311 — Thu, 7 Feb 2008 11:27:00 GMT

Movie Time: The National Anthem on Squeaky Beach

dazey311 — Thu, 7 Feb 2008 11:26:00 GMT

Movie Time: Sandboarding 101

dazey311 — Thu, 7 Feb 2008 00:16:00 GMT

Gallery: ...and Back Down

dazey311 — Wed, 6 Feb 2008 11:56:00 GMT

From Coffs to Sydney

Our tasty, cheesey, winey, chocolatey end

dazey311 — Wed, 6 Feb 2008 11:49:00 GMT

Day 29

It’s still raining on Day 29 and I have a sneaking suspicion it will be until I drop Nomalita off at Traveller’s Autobarn.

It doesn’t matter today though — we’re going winetasting.

Daniel goes for a swim and a sauna in the morning while I get my fill of morning cartoons (Futurama, love it). At 11 a.m. the Wine Rover bus picks us up in front of the YHA and we’re off to our first (and only) Hunter Valley olive tasting. As we walk in The Hunter Olive Centre, the aroma of olive oil pleases and overwhelms. We’ve joined the group late, so we pull off a bit of a speed-tasting, grabbing bread and oils as fast as we can. I could have stayed for an hour at least, but in five minutes I decide I love the chilli olive oil and make a purchase. This might (uh, will) be an expensive day.

Our next stop is the Rosemount Winery. Rosemount is a premiere Australian winery; they export all over the world, mostly based on the strength of their chardonnay. We were ushered into a gorgeous tasting room to sample a selection of whites and reds only available at the cellar. I’ve got a thing for wine, probably because of my dad, who gave me sips of his reds from as far back as I can remember. I like the drys — the sauvignon blanc and the shiraz — you can have your merlot and chardonnay. My favorite Rosemount was the Diamond Pinot Grigio and the girlie, sweet and sparkling Moscato, appropriately named Juliet. Boys, if you ever need a gift…

Soon enough, we hopped on the Rover once again and arrived at the Golden Grape for our first and only liquor tasting. The Golden Grape is home of Dragon’s Breath Chilli Schnapps, the spiciest liquor I’ve ever had. As the others choked and grabbed for water after our shot, I smiled — I love spicy food and it was delicious. We also tried Butterscotch Schnapps, essentially candy in liquor form. I bought (another) few gifts, of course.

Lunchtime brought us to the Hunter Valley Gardens; in other words, a well-manicured outdoor shopping center. We snacked on fudge and spinach rolls until our first afternoon wine tasting at Kevin Sobels wines. I tried almost all 14 wines at Sobels, but unfortunately my stomach was beginning to turn. There’s only so much I can take after spinach rolls, fudge, liquor and wine. But I wouldn’t give up — the next stop was the Hunter Valley Smelly Cheese Shop, and you better believe I’d buck up to eat some cheese. I’m happy to say I found bliss in the pesto feta spread.

Our last tasting of the day brought us to my favorite cellar of the day, Mistletoe. They were the boutique belle of the valley; last year Sydney’s leading wine critic gave the winery stellar reviews. I bought the 94/100 rated reserve Shiraz for my birthday in March — and relished the thought that I’d be drinking it a world away in Texas.

Exhausted (me and my wallet) we jumped off the Wine Rover back at the YHA and promptly passed out until dinner.

Our last full day on the road…tomorrow it would be back to Sydney, back to craziness, back to life.

Day 30

Try to picture it: the birds are chirping, the distant buzz of a lawnmower hums from a mile away, a slight breeze flutters the plastic bread bag on the table in front of me and all I can see for miles is green, sunny vineyards.

Yes, the sun has decided to shine on our last day with Nomalita. I’m reluctant to leave the Hunter Valley, especially now that it’s looking like this. I can’t imagine a more peaceful setting. Even at the beach, the waves are always crashing; threatening you with their nasty fate.

I’m sitting here trying to suss out if I achieved my original goal of this trip. When I applied, I wrote an essay about jealousy. I have always listened with awe and envy to travelers — those who drop everything to explore the world and in doing so explore themselves. Stories of far away India and Thailand seemed so exotic and untouchable. Most importantly, though, they were inspiring. So much so that I gave up everything I knew to travel down under for six months. Now, sitting half a world away in a paddock in the middle of Australia I realize that lust will never really be quelled. There are always those who have been further, farther — and I will always want to follow — but I have my own stories now. I can make someone else jealous with my stories of kangaroos, awe inspiring sunsets, camping in the bush and everything else.

And in doing so — I hope — inspire.

I'm SUPER thanks for asking!

dazey311 — Wed, 6 Feb 2008 11:45:00 GMT

Day 27

I confess we didn’t want to leave suburbia behind. Scott’s bathroom was bigger than my bedroom in New York City, nevermind Nomalita. But it wasn’t just the amenities that made our two days in Coffs so nice, it was the comfort that came with suburbia. I’m a city girl through and through, but with the ability to do everything comes the responsibility to do everything, and the guilt if you don’t. In Sydney, if I wasn’t out discovering a new bar, going to a gig or attending one of the gazillion festivals and free events the city puts on I always got the feeling I was missing something. Same thing in New York, and funny enough, same thing camping. Instead of events and gigs, it’s bush-walking trails, undiscovered beaches, elusive wildlife and all the other amazing things you’d most certainly miss if you spent the morning playing computer games in the van.

So with Coffs came the ability to lie on the couch with a movie and waste a day at the mall totally guilt free. I won’t get another weekend like that until I visit my parents on Long Island.

So we s t r e t c h e d the morning of Day 27. Took long showers (thanks Scott!),read the American Democratic Primary debates on CNN.com, played more video games — even watched one of my favorite movies: Lost in Translation. Rain: what an enabler. But by 4 p.m. we had to bid the comforts behind and hit the road. We were losing light and we needed to make some serious headway back to Sydney.

Daniel, Ricky, Steve, Karl and I arrived in Crowdy Bay National Park at 6:30 p.m. Stray hitchhikers, you ask? Not exactly. Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington are the masterminds behind the greatest comedy podcast of all time: The Ricky Gervais Show. They accompanied us through the rain, keeping me in fits of laughter and entertaining Daniel enough to help him stay awake on the road. Rickygervais.com or Itunes — you’ll thank me in time.

Crowdy Bay was indeed, crowdy, and not just with humans. We joined throngs of other campers and a herd of roos at the rainsoaked campsite. It was beautiful though; mist covered the tops of the mountains jutting out from the sea, and the green bluegray waves crashed up on jagged rockpiles to our left. It felt very Mists of Avalon, and I half-expected the Lady of the Water to appear out of the clouds. We made like kids and played with shells and rocks for an hour before heading back to the van to make dinner and hit the hay. We needed to be up early Monday…Superbowl Monday!

Day 28

“How long is the game,” Daniel asked.

“Oh, you know, long,” I answered.

“How long?” he asks, not giving up.

“Maybe three hours? About three hours,” I answer, lying through my teeth. I know the the last two minutes will take a half hour alone.

We’re back in Forster, and my first Superbowl Monday is upon me. (It’s Sunday, always, at home.) Superbowl XLII New York Giants vs. New England Patriots; Daniel’s first Superbowl ever. Normally I wouldn’t make such a big deal about watching but after Jeff came over ranting and raving about the come-from-behind Giants and their almost-win over the New England Patriots, I had to watch. This was New York vs. Boston, after all, and no matter how many miles away I may be, I still want to kick Beantown’s bum.

So we settled in for the long haul at a pub in the lakeside town of Forster. It was 10 a.m (and little did he know he’d be there ‘til 2). I’ll spare you the details of the game, but suffice it to say it was one of the best football games I’d ever watched, a real nailbiter, and the underdog Giants pulled through. 17-14 — a game that will go down in NY history.

With me giddy and Daniel satiated, we hit the road once more, and this time for my final destination: the Hunter Valley. I’d been looking forward to wine tasting for a month, and it was finally time. A full day of wine, cheese and chocolate? This is pretty much my heaven. We were a ways away, and finally made it to the Hunter Valley YHA around 6 p.m.

There are things rain does to a van, namely get it very, very dirty. So when Michael, the owner of the fabulous (and built from the ground up, I might add) YHA, offered us an ensuite room we gratefully accepted. Less a hostel, more a retreat, the hostel was a lesson in rustic perfection. A handbuilt wooden sauna and full-on pool area beckoned to the left, an old barn housing laundry and a living room-like bar loomed on the right, and in front of us stretched a glorious, house surrounded by a gorgeous continuous porch. The place was packed from the atmospheric wooden picnic tables on the porch to the cozy couches in the bar, with fruit pickers here to pick grapes at the vineyards. They were here for the harvest and would be until March. I was impressed, to say the least — it had been pouring for a few days now, and soaking wet shoes and wellies lined the porch to prove it.

We spent the evening in the bar for the hostel-sponsored pool competition. Winners won a case of VB and $20 — not bad! I’m proud to say Daniel and his teammate Alex made it to the final. Superbowl day indeed — wins in both football and pool!

I’d say we both went to bed happy :)

Gallery: Suburbia!

dazey311 — Sun, 3 Feb 2008 15:08:00 GMT

Hanging in Coffs

A Rainy Day in Coffs Harbour

dazey311 — Sun, 3 Feb 2008 00:35:00 GMT

Day 25

When traveling, it’s rare to experience a slice of “normal” life. You’re exploring a new city and seeing the sights, soaking up the sun on magnificent beaches, exploring ancient ruins or discovering the great outdoors. What you’re not doing, at least in most cases, is playing video games at your friend’s apartment, going to the movies and ordering in pizza.

But somehow, this weekend I’ve entered a life of suburban normalcy. After leaving Port Macquarie, Daniel and I drove up to the coastal town of Coffs Harbour to meet a few of his former co-workers. He’d worked with this office remotely, but had never spent a decent amount of face time with those living in Coffs. We figured we’d pay them a visit, grab a drink or two and make it our final northern destination. Byron Bay was a pipe dream — way too much driving — but Coffs we could do.

The guys were at work until 5 p.m., but no worries: we had kitsch to see. Coffs Harbour is home to the “Big Banana,” only one of the numerous “big” things in Australia. So far I’ve seen a Big Shrimp, a Big Cassowary, a Big Worm and a Big Koala. I do not know why Australia has this obsession with “big” things, but I do know they make excellent time-killers.

Daniel and I perused various banana memorabilia before settling on a big banana sticker for the van, purchased two chocolate covered frozen banana, then drove down the street to see the super-kistchy Clog Barn. Again, for reasons I am unable to understand, Coffs Harbour is also home to a miniature Dutch village with a large barn that sells clogs. I tried some on, took the photo opportunity and requested Daniel call his friends. I was officially kitsched out.

So by 4:30 p.m. we were cooling off in an air-conditioned office playing on the computers, and by 5:30 p.m. we were at the pub across the street having a few with the post-work crowd. It was decided we’d spent the night in Scott’s driveway (guaranteed shower, wahoo!), hence the rest of the night was spent eating, drinking and watching stupid movies like Billy Madison. It felt kind of like being on Long Island, and for some odd reason, I couldn’t have been happier.

Besides, tomorrow we’d be back to camping, sightseeing and the like…right?

Wrong.

Day 26
Daniel and I woke up the next day to the deafening sound of splattering raindrops on Nomalita’s roof. It was the kind of rain you knew would stick around, and for that matter, why shouldn’t we? The morning drifted by as I played on the internet and Daniel and Scott played some sort of racing game where you get out of the car and run people over. Thing Grand Theft Auto, but not. Lunchtime became a trip to the pub and an excursion to the mall. A typical suburban Saturday.

And I finally found the van gift I’ve been looking for at Target — a boogie board. I can’t count the number of times Jeff said, “Wow, these waves would be awesome with a boogie board,” so I decided to gift one to the van. (After Jeff had left of course, sorry lil bro.)

With that done, we drove under grey skies and more rain so the boys could play video games (again) at the house. We ended our Saturday evening at the most obvious of suburban attractions: the movies. (Sidenote: Juno rocks, go see it!)

I can’t say it was expected, but it was welcome, nonetheless. Whether it’s Long Island or Coffs Harbour, we all have the ability to waste a rainy Saturday on video games, movies and pizza.

And hey, I’m not complaining!

Big Rocks and Port Muh-Quarry

dazey311 — Fri, 1 Feb 2008 22:57:00 GMT

Day 24

It seems like not that long ago I was walking down Macleay Street in Potts Point, Sydney, popping into gourmet cafes and swanky bookstores. Now I’m sitting in Kempsey, NSW, on the Macleay river popping into the van. Only 300 K away and a world of difference.

It’s almost 7 p.m. and the temperature has finally dropped. The scorching upper 20 degree heat has been menacing all day and the AC has been getting quite a work out.

So today. Today was a driving day. We started off from Nelson Bay early in the morning, heading for the Myall Lakes. According to Lonely Planet, the Myall Lakes form the largest natural freshwater system in NSW. I’d seen plenty of ocean on this trip so far, but as far as lakes go, nada. It took a bit of convincing, but I got my way. Lake day it would be.

But first, we stopped at the LP recommended Rock Roadhouse. Essentially a huge replica of Uluru with a gas station and fast food. Brilliant. In fact, it was so brilliant, that I got out my newly charged camera battery and chucked it in my camera. Hit the “On” button and…nothing. Tried again. Nothing. “Please come back to me, please come back,” I silently begged. Nothing. Sigh. To Canon it would go.

Soon enough, we were on the Lakes Way, surrounded by huge, shimmering blue-green lakes to our left and dunes leading to the ocean on our right. We stopped for lunch at a picturesque spot on the banks of Lake Wallis.

Now extremely unhappy and annoyed about my non-functioning camera, I looked up in surprise as three kookaburras and two magpies joined us for the meal. We watched intently as the kookaburras tried to shoo the magpies away. Laughing, squawking, whatever you want to call it, they seemed to say “These are our scraps! Out!” One particularly eager one even hopped on the table and stared me down as I cut up red pepper for our chicken sandwiches. I shrieked, and he flew back up to his tree. That’s right birdie, “My sandwich!”

By afternoon we reached Port Macquarie. I opted for a 50 cent Micky D’s soft serve; Daniel went for a tandoori pie, and soon enough we were off once more. Port is the kind of town you live in. We were ready to get somewhere more off the beaten track…

Which has now somehow brought us to the Macleay River in Kempsey. Most notable thing about Kempsey? It’s the home of the famous Akubra hat (says LP, of course), which, is that Aussie hat. The Crocodile Dundee, Aussie swaggering Aussie hat. You know the one.

Tomorrow we’ll get to our final Northward destination of this journey: Coffs Harbour. Home to beaches galore and the Big Banana, but more importantly, home to the other half of Daniel’s IT team, with whom he has worked with remotely from Sydney for 8 months but never met in person.

Scott, Will, here we come! Hope you don't mind a huge van parked in your driveway...

Looking for the ideal retirement town? This is it.

dazey311 — Fri, 1 Feb 2008 22:53:00 GMT

Day 22

Day 22. It began with waves crashing softly on the Putty Beach shores only 20 meters to our right. I woke up not to roommates stumbling in drunk at 6 a.m. but to fisherman pulling in to set up camp for the day. Other than one highly amusing argument at 2 a.m. (“If I had my license I would keep driving! But I don’t! So why don’t you just get in the car and we’ll go!”) it was pure peace and quiet.

With the mania of Sydney 100 Ks behind, Daniel and I felt the stress of previous day’s adventures melt away. Today’s agenda: Drive to Newcastle, get our Internet fix, do laundry, see the Lonely Planet recommended “Giant Penis” (really a tall lookout tower on the wharf) and get to Port Stephens to camp.

We made good on our entire agenda, I’m proud to say — and we even got gas and water!

First stop, Newcastle. To get out of the windy, maze-like peninsula of Woy Woy, Terrigal and numerous other teeny lake-towns, we drove in circles to find out way to the Pacific Highway. This was fine however, because it was some of the most stunning scenery I’ve seen in Australia. Huge mountainous hills rising out of the water, wildlife everywhere and more sailboats than cars. We drove, quiet except for a “left” or a “right” — mesmerized by the scenery. So much so that Daniel actual coined a word for the quality of scenery on the road. Scenocity, my friends, works on a scale of 1-20. Around the Gosford area, we were up to about an 18, which unfortunately dropped to 13 after hopping on the PH to get up to Newcastle.

Good thing it only took an hour. Before we knew it we were surrounded by city once more, only this time our only agenda was to relax, find the beach and eat lunch. First stop, the information center. If you ever plan to travel Australia, I highly recommend them. You can grab every map around the region, get local knowledge (as in, where the hot showers are if you’re campervanning a la Nomalita) and sign up for tours or whatever else you want to do. In our case, I needed to find a Laundromat and Internet, stat. Lucky us, the entirety of Beaumont Street in Hamilton, a boho area Newcastle, had wireless internet. And a Laundromat.

But first, the Penis. According to Lonely Planet, this is what Newcastle locals call the giant 180 step viewing structure at the Queen’s Wharf. Well, this I had to see. We drove down, promptly booked it up the 180 steps and gazed out on Newcastle. “Now you can say you’ve been in a giant penis Daniel, isn’t that cool?” Nervous laughs…yeah, OK fine, but I’m telling my friends when I get home from Australia.

180 steps down later, we jumped back in the van and drove to Nobbys beach. The thing I love most about Sydney is the fact that its beaches are only 15 minutes out of town. Forget 15 minutes. In Newcastle, the beach was practically in city center. Maybe a 10 minute walk, at most. We ate looking out on the beach; and noted, not for the first time this week, that everyone else was at work. Sorry guys.

I did have errands to do though, so after lunch we headed over to Beaumont Street. Just as the brochure advertised, free wireless on the entire street. I threw my laundry in, popped over to the café and got comfortable with my computer and an iced-tea.

I probably could have stayed there all day sipping drinks and playing online, but we had things to do and places to see so by 4:30 we were on the road again to Port Stephens. And a good thing LP instructs to follow the signs for Nelson Bay, otherwise we’d be halfway up the coast by now with no idea where the place was. Turns out it’s actually an entire peninsula jutting off into the sea. Bays, mountains and inlets dot the area, which is actually made up of the towns of Nelson Bay, Salamander Bay, Anna Bay, Shoal Bay and Fingal Bay. We were here mostly because of the dunes. 32 Ks of Arabian Nights-style sand dunes go from here all the way back to Newcastle. We were going to sandboard them.

We spent the evening driving around the peninsula in circles — getting oriented, right? Eventually we stumbled upon Inner Light (how cool a name is that?), the coast guard station. We climbed up to find one of the volunteers working the radios. Only 15 minutes before he’d called the police because one of the boaters was a half hour past his scheduled docking time. The boater was fine, and it was pretty interesting to see him at work. Not to mention, the place had the best view of Port Stephens.

Pooped and ready to chill, we grabbed a $4.95 large pizza from Eagle Boys (cheapy Tuesdays, I love em!) and settled into our spot. I spent the waning sunlight hour sitting on the beach reading Lonely Planet until a local guy came up to chat. He pointed to the water and asked, “Have you seen any dolphins yet?” “No, unfortunately.” I’d just read Port Stephens has a community of 120 Bottlenose dolphins, and I was keeping my eyes open. “Ah,” he said. “I’ve got a friend in there.” Last year, whenever this guy went for a swim, a female dolphin would swim with him all the way to the end of his route and back. He left the area for a while in winter, but when he returned this summer, she was still there, this time with a baby. They all swam together, his first time back in. Out of all the local stories I’ve heard in Australia, I’d say that comes in at #1.

Day 23

There are some places you just don’t want to leave. After seeing the little bit of Port Stephens we had the night before, we decided to make it a day. It was too beautiful a place to leave.

First things first: sandboarding. We drove over to Port Stephens 4WD Tours to sign up for their shuttle from Anna Bay. By 11 a.m. we were driving over Sahara-like dunes in a bright red 4WD Toyota bus. When we arrived at the “hill” (sand mountain, if you ask me) our driver and guide, Warren, showed us how to wax up the black board, hop on and race down the hill dragging our hands behind. Now, like all kids, I’m a huge fan of sledding, but only of the ride down, of course. Coming back up? Not so much. I trudged up p..a…n…t…i…n…g in the blazing Australian heat. “I feel bad for the people coming at 3:30,” Warren said. It was going to be a hot one. Four rides later, we soon discovered it was equally as fun to ride down the teeny hill (on the opposite side of the big one) standing up (*although they don’t recommend doing this, so, you know, do so at your own risk and all) without the huge walk up from the bottom. Half an hour later, I did one last big one, ate sand, and promptly jumped in the bus to get back to the beach. We spent the next 40 minutes splashing in the ocean, doing all we could to get the sand out of…well, everything.

By 1 p.m. we were starving and I’d read in Lonely Planet that one of the coast’s top Aussie pie places was right in Nelson Bay. Red Ned’s Gourmet Pies makes all sorts of homemade pies, including Kangaroo Teriyaki and Lobster, Prawn and Barrimundi with Coconut Sauce, both of which we tried. It was a tough choice between the Beef Stroganoff, but I was happy. Definitely worth a stop, even if just for the incredibly tasty sesame seed covered crust!

Satiated and curious, we gave the teeny town of Nelson Bay a walk-around. I loved every shop — tons of funky Australian clothes and homegoods — I could have stayed all day. Daniel finally managed to drag me away to go for a swim down at Shoal Bay. If you can picture it (not that you have to, because I’m posting pictures but—) Shoal Bay is a huge body of water surrounded by one small strip of blinding white sand and clear green water. We joined some young Aussie vacationers jumping off the jetty and made like crazy 16-year-olds for most of the afternoon.

Thanks to a tip from an awesome local at the Nelson Bay info center, our next stop was the public pool in Salamander Bay. The warm pool water felt clean and refreshing after the salty bay…so good, in fact, it actually inspired me to spend some time doing laps. 20 cents for a hot shower too, thank you!

As night fell we walked up the Tomaree Head trail up to the old gun emplacements built during WWII. We squinted for dolphins out in the bay and finally made our way down as the sun finally set.

As I’m sitting here writing this, I finally realize why the local I met last night came for a holiday and stayed for years. Port Stephens is seriously a place you just don’t want to leave. But tomorrow we would — to Port Macquarie we would go.

Gallery: Back up...

dazey311 — Fri, 1 Feb 2008 22:48:00 GMT

Nelson Bay, etc.

Gallery: Australia Day Weekend -> Newcastle

dazey311 — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 15:40:00 GMT

Leaving Sydney...Again

dazey311 — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 15:09:00 GMT

Day 19

Short day….

July 4 is my favorite holiday at home. Summer barbeques, beach parties, free music, fireworks — you can’t beat it. Yeah, I was pretty sure I’d like Australia Day.

Exhausted from Big Day Out, I took my time getting out for the day. Not the best idea. By the time I got to the Triple J Hottest 100 countdown party in The Domain they were down to #8 and the place was packed. I did make it just in time to see Daniel Johns come out right before Silverchair nabbed the #2 spot. Wayfarers on; of course. Despite all the talk of Silverchair for #1, Muse took the spot. The Domain cleared out pretty soon afterward, and by 8 p.m. I was somehow on a train to Cronulla for a raging beach party.

To my later regret, I had no clue where Cronulla was. Little did I know, it was about an hour’s drive from Sydney, even longer on the train. We made it to the party, which was actually raging, but of course missed the last train back to the city.

Purely thanks to an extremely nice Sutherlander who drove us to said town to catch a taxi, we made it home 3 hours later at 4 a.m. I promptly passed out and slept until 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Not bad for a first Australia Day, I’d say!

Day 20

So, again, exhausted from Big Day Out and now even more so from my Australia Day adventure to Cronulla the night before, I knew today would be a day of rest. That’s exactly why I decided to head down to the beach for a quiet get together with a few friends from Sydney.

What I didn’t know was the Beach Road Hotel was having the biggest party in Bondi. What can I say, what was supposed to be a quiet evening turned into another huge night and I made it home sometime in the early morning hours.
I felt like a good Australian, but heck, the city was taking it out of me.

Tomorrow I’d be on the road once more…

Day 21

And now here I sit, on the road, in Nomalita, next to another gorgeous beach in New South Wales. We’re in Bouddhi National Park (I had to come purely because it was called Booty Park), and I’m now in the van with one of my first and best friends here, Kiwi Daniel. I met Daniel way back when in October, at the Scary Canary bar in Sydney. We met because I’m 5’ and he’s 6’5’’ and I happily stood on a chair to talk to him. Even during my Two months away traveling, we always kept in touch, and now he’s here to drive the last 9 days with me and the van.

No idea where the road will take us…just North for now!

Our BIG Day Out

dazey311 — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 14:56:00 GMT

Day 18

Back in February when I decided to come to Australia, one of the first things I did was look up who would be playing Big Day Out. It wasn’t posted all the way back then, but either way, I decided I’d be going some way, some how.

Then in July a good friend of mine in the music industry told me he’d be touring with a band for Big Day Out. He asked if I’d like to go... obviously. Fast forward to Thursday, literally the day before the show — three tickets were magically waiting for me at a hotel in Sydney. My friend, you rock.

You may remember we made a quick pit stop in the Sydney Olympic Park before getting into Sydney for the first time. It was an hour detour, all to use the bathroom at some café there, because other than a beautiful park and sports grounds, there’s not much to see. An hour later, frustrated, tired and cranky, we finally got to the city. So it was with great irony that when I looked up where Big Day Out was — wait for it — of course: Olympic Park. It’s almost as if the place didn’t want to leave us with bad memories. Suffice it to say, it most certainly did not.

We arrived at the site around 3:30 p.m. Towering carnival rides whirred and clanged around us, food stalls beckoned with munchies galore and the music was pumping from all around. My heaven, pretty much. First stop, the free water stations. American music festivals take note: You do not have to charge $2 for water!

First stop, Spoon, where a very overeager security guard got way too excited about his ability to spray water on the crowd. It was early, it wasn’t that hot — we weren’t having it. Bottles were thrown, the crowd was getting feisty and we were all waiting for a full-on water war to begin. After tight versions of “Small Stakes” “Jonathan Fisk” and “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb” an increasingly frustrated Britt Daniel turned to the power-tripping guard and said, “Dude, stop spraying them.” He didn’t. Britt, again, “They’re throwing water bottles at you because they want you to stop spraying them. Stop.” He didn’t. “Asshole. Stop.” One last spray…one last word from Britt: “Dipshit.” Other than the stellar set from Arcade Fire, I’d say that was the highlight of my Big Day Out.

Next up, new Australian wonder Pnau. I’d heard a bit about him from Sydney music mags 3Dworld and The Brag, but I wanted to see for myself. I ditched Jeff and Crystal at Billy Bragg and headed to the dancetastic Boiler Room. Minutes later I was in a massive hangar surrounded by the club kids of Sydney. It felt like 4 a.m. — and we danced like it too.

After the set and now full from delicious, greasy Turkish Pide sammies, we emerged into the main stage area where Aussie rock gods Silverchair were about to start. Daniel Johns emerged minutes later, half-naked, Wayfarers on, as always. Unfortunately we spent the set waiting to get into the front partition to get a good spot for Arcade Fire.

It was worth it. By the time Win Butler and Co. took the stage we were one row back from the front. When the “Wake Up” chants started the crowd lurched forward into pure frenzy and I ceased to stand on my own. Soon enough, Crystal and I both went up on Jeff’s shoulders. I sang my heart out to “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels),” and by “Rebellion (Lies)” (the set-ender) my voice was happily gone.

We stayed for three Rage Against the Machine songs — when else am I going to see them — then rocked off to New Yorker LCD Soundsystem. I danced my butt off again, regained my voice just enough to sing along to set ender “New York I Love You” and went home happy.

Pretty good last day in Australia for Crystal and Jeff, I’d say. By 6 a.m. they were headed to the airport, and I was on my own for Australia Day weekend.

Gallery: Big Day Out

dazey311 — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 15:31:00 GMT

What the name says

Interlude in the City

dazey311 — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 14:29:00 GMT

Day 16

One thing about staying in the mountains is that it’s fuh-reaking cold! The Australian sun is brutal, but when it sets up there the warmth rushes from the air like dirt up a vacuum.

I woke up shivering to cloudy skies and a damp mountain floor. After a few various grunts and “ehs” to my proposition of a bushwalk, we finally decided the course of the day.

To Bondi Beach we would go.

Well, the beach Gods must have been shining down on us, because as we finally reached the end of Bondi Road two hours later there was nothing but blue skies overhead and deep blue sea below. The temperature was a perfect 25 degrees— just enough to get hot and run headfirst into the crashing waves barreling into shore.

At one point, bikini-clad Crystal looked over to me and said, “It could be snowing in Albany right now. They were leaving in 3 days. “I hope I don’t have to shovel my car out,” she continued. I looked out at the ocean, incredulous that anyone could leave that to go back to snow and cold. “Hey, you could always change your flight!” Unfortunately grad school applications can’t wait any longer, and today would be her last beach day until summer in New York.

We left around 4 p.m. to check into the NOMADS Maze Backpackers in the center of town. The perfect place for Crystal and Jeff’s last two days of Australian debauchery. We made like backpackers, ate the last of our pasta and joined in for quiz night. I’m proud to say I recognized Hillary Swank in Boys Don’t Cry and Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie for the bonus round. The capital of Latvia? Not so much. (It’s Riga, by the way. Oh well.)

Post-trivia it was on to Sidebar for the 2 for 1 special, then on to Opera Bar to meet friends. Beach, beds and beer: all in all, a perfect Sydney day.

Day 17

It’s one thing to wake up at 8 a.m. when you’re going to bed not long after sunset. It’s another thing to wake up that early in Sydney after closing down the Opera Bar. Yet we did, and dragged ourselves out of bed bright and early to enjoy our only full city day.

After spending the early hours ogling shoes on Sydney’s famed Pitt Street mall, I happily dragged Crystal to my favorite shopping street in Sydney: Crown Street. Packed with vintage stores, boutiques and tiny cafes, it’s a city girl’s dream. I once spent an entire day walking up and down Crown Street, then making my way down Oxford Street to Paddington, another huge shopping district. I can most decidedly say that was one of my favorite days in Australia, and I’ve got the receipts to prove it. Today Crystal would have the fun. She bought the perfect little festival dress (in preparation for Big Day Out!) at Felt, quite possibly my favorite store in Sydney. Nothing over $30! I highly recommend ladies.

A few receipts and a lot of walking later, we took a break at Kawa, a small café on Crown. The place is surrounded by a white picket fence, wooden tables and vintage chairs, and populated with hipsters galore. What can I say, it was love at first sight. We settled in with quiche and fresh smoothies, and waited for Jeff to come join us from his solo adventure.

Minutes later — and starving — he arrived and promptly scoffed at my suggestion to stay for the organic sandwiches and juices, and instead we hightailed it down to Darlinghurst for the lunch special at Urban Thai. What a find! For $6.50 we got full on Thai meals. Delicious. An hour later we stood at Mrs. Macquarie’s chair, taking in the view of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Exhausted, I headed back to the hostel to shower before my first opera ever, thankyouverymuch, while Crystal and Jeff trekked on to walk the bridge.

Back to that opera thing. When Crystal first decided to come to Australia, the first thing she did after buying her plane ticket was buy tickets for the opening night of Carmen at the Opera House — for all three of us! It was a day I’d been looking forward to for months. I’d been to the symphony there, which was fantastic, but to see an opera at the Opera House, that was something else.

For once, we shunned our flip-flops and sweat pants and broke out the little dresses. By 7:30 p.m. we were seated, watching the curtain rise on the French opera. The show was fabulous, and though I’m embarrassed to say this after taking French for six years, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it nearly as much without the subtitles!

We were asleep by midnight; tomorrow would be a big one. A Big Day Out…