January 16 - 28
I’m finally sitting down to write a little update about my Australia trip! It has been a blast so far.
The plane trip was very long. It was 14 hours from Vancouver to Hong Kong, and then another 9 and a half to Sydney. I left at about noon from Vancouver and got to Sydney at the same time, but two days later. Weird! Anyways, the flight was mostly good. I sat beside Loling, this really nice lady from Taiwan who is living in Burnaby. She and I chatted for hours (literally, except for two bathroom breaks, I didn’t do anything for the first 9 hours of the first flight except talk with Loling). We talked all about our personal and professional lives. I learned a lot about her mother in law (of whom Loling is not particularly fond). She also gave me a bunch of great advice on things like the cheapest ways to transfer money abroad, and where to travel to in Asia. She even taught me how to play Majong (a game with tiles) that we played on the in-flight entertainment system. And at the end, she invited me to come visit her when we’re both back in Canada. So that’s fun--I made my first travel friend on the plane! She also turned out to be a life-saver. Because she travels so much through Hong Kong, she new her way around the airport, and so she was able to show me to my gate. Hong Kong is so big that without her I probably would have gotten lost.
The flight to sydney was fine too, except that I was a bit sick. This meant that my ears when we were landing didn’t “pop” as easily as they normally do, and so I had a major headache when we landed (and couldn’t hear that well that day and the next). All in all it was a very long flight. It occurred to me that perhaps part of the reason that everyone says they like Australia is because after spending 30 hours traveling, you’ll be in love with anywhere that isn’t a plane.
I met my friend Joni, Luke (her boyfriend), and Jeremy (their friend and roommate) immediately after getting through customs and quarantine. It was so nice to be welcomed! After the flight I felt so out of it, that it would have been brutal to find my way to a hostel, navigate the train system, and all that. Having people meet me at the airport was amazing. And they even had flowers for me! We went home, and I had my first meal in Australia, Vegemite on toast. Very Appropriate. That night we didn’t do much… we made dinner from a recipe book I brought (Thanks Cara-Lee!) and played taboo. I never really felt jet lagged, and I think it might be because I stayed awake for the rest of the day here, and went to bed at a normal time.
The next day we got all packed up and went on a mini road-trip to Jeremy’s family cabin in the Blue Mountains. The Blue mountains are west of Sydney, and I think they are a popular vacationing place for residents of Sydney. They also get snow in the winter, and so people go there to snowboard sometimes (one of the few places in Australia). Last time I was in Sydney we went to Katoomba, and did a bunch of hiking there. Anyways, Jeremy’s Cabin was close to a town called Oberon, and it was about a 3 hour drive. It was really nice. They have a bit of a hobby farm, so they had some cattle and horses and things. They’re situated sort of in rolling hills with gum tree forests bordering their land. It’s probably as far into the wilderness as I’ll go. On the way up Jeremy warned us that snakes were quite a real threat, and what to do if we see one. Basically they have a garden hoe that they take with them when they walk places, and bang it on the ground. The snakes can feel the vibrations, and so they stay away. I was a little concerned that our lives depended on banging garden tools on the ground, but no one else seemed worried. And then because all the snakes are poisonous, we were given instructions on what to do if we’re bitten. I sort of forget now, but I remember you aren’t supposed to suck out the poison (that only works in City Slickers apparently). Instead you are supposed to tie something below the bite and then above the bite (I think so that you still allow blood to the wound, but slow it from coming back from the wound? I can’t remember). It was when Joni and I started showing each other where our travel insurance cards were that I became worried. And then I met Jeremy’s mother, and one of the first things she said was how big of a worry snakes are up in the mountains. But of course the warnings are classically australian; they’re nonchalant and yet very graphic all at the same time. They’ll say, “No, don’t worry about it. You’ll probably never see them. But if you do, and they bite you, remember to look at the colour of the snake, so that you know if you’ll die right away or not.” Or, my favourite, “They usually leave people alone. They’re afraid of you. Except the black ones--they’ll go after you. But you probably won’t die from those ones. You’ll just get really sick and be in a lot of pain. Not to worry.” Anyways I was freaked the whole time. It’s a good thing you don’t have to worry about them in the city!
The other wildlife was quite cool though. There is a river (it’s actually a creek) that runs through their land, and they call part of it that’s quite accessible from their house the Platypus Pool, because there is a Platypus there. We didn’t see one this time (it’s very unusual to see them in the wild) but Joni said she saw one last time. Just as a side-note, platypuses are also poisonous. They have spurs on their back feet that have enough venom to kill several people. It seems like everything here is deadly. We saw an Echidna which was quite cool. Echidna’s are kind of like Hedgehogs except bigger. We actually went and petted it, because when they get scared of something they try to burrow, and then stay still. I must say that of the Australian wildlife that I’ve been told about, that is the defense Mechanism that I like the best. And of course we saw lots of Kangaroos (which are not poisonous. Instead they have massive claws on their incredibly powerful back legs. So one should still be careful, “They’re usually quite harmless, but don’t make any sudden moves. They could gut you in one swipe! Here is some bread, would you like to feed one?”)
Besides exploring the Wilderness, we didn’t do a whole lot. It was kind of like camping: or days mostly revolved around food. And wine (Joni and Jeremy introduced me to the 4 dollar box of wine). We lounged in the sun quite a bit, watched some Australian television, played a lot of Settlers of Catan (a board Game), monopoly, lots of cards, read, and so on. Took rides on the dirt bike. Fed the cows. Took lots of naps. It was a real vacation. We were up at Oberon for about 5 days.
I’ve also spent some time hanging around Sydney. Luke, Joni, and Jeremy live in a suburb called Alexandria, three train stops from the downtown. They also live right beside the University of Sydney campus. I’ve explored around their house quite a bit (mostly as a result of trying to find this market thing one morning, getting lost, and then spending about 3 hours trying to get back to somewhere I knew). Joni and I also have taken a few trips into the city, seeing the opera house, the Harbour bridge, and the other really touristy stuff. We also found this company that does bridge climbs, where you can take a tour up to the top of the harbour bridge. It was a great idea until we found out that it costs between 200 and 400 dollars for one person to go up. Crazy! Anyway, we probably won’t do that.
I also have met Luke’s family here. His sister’s husband’s birthday was a couple days ago, and he had a big James Bond themed party which I went to. It was pretty fun, and I was glad I brought my dress clothes (though I hadn’t brought my shoes, and so I ended up wearing flip flops with dress pants. Stuff like that goes over in Australia.). The next day I helped Luke’s same sister and husband move. It was actually pretty fun. Luke’s Dad is very cool (he was a professor of economics at Sydney University, but has moved into working more with the education system itself, trying to make it better) and we had lots of good chats. I think that is sort of the secret to good traveling: meeting the locals. The moving was also really good exercise, and so I was glad for that. And there was free food! Win.
The 26th was Australia day! we spent it at the beach (like pretty much everyone else in the city), which was fantastic. It was super hot (like 43 degrees or something). Luckily it was also dry. Apparently when it’s humid it’s unbearable, and you pretty much have to stay inside. As it was, it was alright, although I’ve never just sweat while lying in one place before. That’s a first for me I guess. The water was amazing too--warm but still refreshing. The highlight was probably lunch--fresh bread with avocado and brie, olives, crackers, and wine. It was amazing! After the beach we went back to the house and met up with some friends, and had a bit of a party. And a bit too much to drink. It was a good first Australia day.
And now I’m getting ready to do some traveling! I’m going first to Tasmania (the little Island at the bottom). I should be there for about 3 days. I’ll then go to Perth (the westernmost city) where I’ll spend about a week. I’ve organized this like day volunteering thing doing something with wetlands for three of the days I am there. We’ll see what happens. And then after that I’ll go to Adelaide for a bit (it’s in southern Australia on the coast). After that I’ll pass through Sydney again for one night to get my stuff, and then head to Melbourne to get ready for Orientation!
