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FNQ - The Tropical North

15-19 April, 2007
I arrived back in Cairns on a rainy night. We had waited around all Saturday to get a ride, thinking we'd leave early afternoon, but no, we got in to town around 21.30. The place I planned on staying was closed til morning and I had no where to go. No worries as I found another place quick enough (my guess is that there is always a spare bed somewhere in Cairns). Aubrey and I immediately went to the bottle-o and after quickly polishing off the sixer we headed off for the bars with the rest of his travel mates, after I borrowed a pair of pants. This was the first time in a long time that I gone out for a big drinking session, over a month infact! Don't remember much about the bar... only that I talked to some cute Finnish girls cause I was wearing the Suomi shirt... or was it my good looks? Hours later I found myself falling into bed. Before my head hit the pillow I knew I would not be looking forward to morn... zzzz and I was out. Checkout was at 10; usually hostels will charge a fee or another night if you aren't out by then. I was able to get out of bed at 9.45 and get myself organized. Problem was, during the night after coming into the room and before falling asleep, I had misplaced my wallet and hostel key, as you do. I was in that hungover-panic mode. Not a good operating mode to be in whilst attempting to check out. I didn't know what to do. By sheer luck I found them stuffed deep down in my big backpack. What drove me to put them there?! Alcohol! I decided that would be the end of my big nights out in Australia.

With the check out sorted, I waited at the bus stop for the shuttle to take me to my preferred hostel. As I waited the other hostels' shuttles would come and go. Wouldn't ya know it but that cute Finnish girl went by in the back of one. She saw me hungover, unshowered and straight outta bed and into dirty clothes and gave the "oh my god was that really the guy I was talking to last night? I was sooooo drunk" look. I'm sure I looked like a complete wreck. I shot back with the "I remember you too" nod-smile-and-wave and returned to my lounging at the bus stop. When I am at the bar talking to girls I always think it's OK and not such a bad thing. Upon reflection of the previous night the next day I find the whole charade to be.... just that. Well anyways, I got to Tropic Days and found that it was chock o'block. Fortunately since I was sleeping outside it didn't really matter. As long as I could fit myself in the back yard area I could stay there. Success! The goal for that day was to sort out my journey back to Sydney - I was going home in 6 days.

There it hit me, it was as though I was back in London with little time to spare and too much to do. I knew I wanted to do a Cape Tribulation and Daintree tour, and also I wanted to go out to the Great Barrier Reef. The only problem was picking a tour operator. For every activity possible in Cairns, there are as many operators to choose from for each tour. The hostel doubled as a travel agency so I had them sort it all out. I told them what I wanted to do and when and they told me where to go. Within a few hours I had the rest of my time in Queensland planned and a flight back to Sydney - somehow Qantas was the cheapest.

The next morning I was off to Port Douglas, Mossman, Cape Trib and the Daintree. The drive up north from Cairs was simply stunning, no doubt one of the best in Australia. I'm sure it rivals the Great Ocean Road, but I wouldn't know cause I didn't go (harumph) but this drive was a great alternative. All day long was filled with wildlife, rainforests, mountains, rivers, hiking, mangroves and beaches. I saw a tree snake, crocodiles, a cassowary and more wallabies (or wallabus). I also got to see the location of where Steve Irwin died. It has been a while, but you can still tell that Australia is taking his death pretty hard. I was well shattered on arrival back to my hostel. I did a bit of journalling as I had lots to catch up from all the WWOOFing and called it an early night. I had to get up early the next day as well. After the Daintree it was time for the Great Barrier Reef! We set sail (literally) and motored out bright and early. It's a two hour ride out to Michaelmas Cay. I hadn't been snorkelling in ages so I opted for just about everything I could get my hands on. Due to extreme laziness I wore this big yellow floater belt. None of that water treading for me. I wasn't sure of what to expect, but the reef itself is rather, how do I say... dull? The corals I saw were more brown/gray/white/orange. Every now and then a red or purple or other brightly colored coral would come into view. I have a feeling that a lot of this is due to the huge amount of tourists going out to the reef in conjunction with rising ocean temperatures. I've read from a couple of sources that the reef could be completely dead in as quick as a decade. So if you want to see the reef, hurry up!

So here I am, snorkelling on the reef on a gorgeous day. Swimming around with hundreds of species of brightly colored fish, turtles, sting rays and all the other marine life. I get back on the boat and think OK, ready to go back now. That sensation of marvelous awe was no longer sticking to me. I realised I had started to burn out on travelling. Ever since then the whole "what do I do next" question has been on my mind. For my last day in Cairns I had to choose between relax in the sun or go bungy jumping. Since I wasn't feeling the exhileration anymore (and because it cost 100 bucks) I passed on the jump. I want to do it in NZ anyways. A quick flight down to Sydney and it was goodbyes to all my mates. After loading up on ginger beer and tim tams it was time to leave.

I really want to go back to Australia. I can easily spend another two months there and want to road trip around the continent. I even have the route planned out and know what I want to do. It's a great country to travel. Finally! The end of the Australia blogging. And there is so much more that isn't scribed here.

Dogs Bark, People WWOOF

1-18 April, 2007
The tropical north! Rain, rain forests, reef and a relaxed life. I spent a couple of days wandering around the city, shirtless, shoeless and clueless. I had an idea of what I wanted to do -Cairns is the activity centre of Australia. Bungee jumping, sky diving, white-water rafting, SCUBA and snorkeling on the reef, Daintree tours, tablelands tours, Kuranda skyrail, 4WD tours up to the tip of Cape York and crocodile tours. This list is by no means exhaustive. All of it could wait though; the reason I came up to Far North Queensland was to work on an organic farm. I picked up a WWOOF (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) membership for a number of reasons: educational, financial, logistical and of plain curiosity. My method of picking a farm/WWOOF host was of the close-your-eyes-and-point variety. Your membership is a book with a description of 1200+ organic farms in Australia. If the one I pointed at had a good description, I decided to call the place and see if I could start immediately. The first person I called was keen so I arranged to head up the next day and that is when disaster struck: I got sick! In between arranging my stay and hopping on the bus I came down with the flu or some similar illness. I postponed my arrival and spent the day lying in bed, useless and miserable.

When I woke up next morning I was only slightly less sick than the day before. I decided to get outta the hostel and make my way to the bus stop and get to Atherton. I had 5 hours to kill so I slept on the grass in the park a few blocks down. Along with the Ghan train ride from a few weeks before, this was another low point. I rarely get sick -once every few years- but when I do it is harsh... I go down for the count. Waiting to board the bus a random comes up and asks me: "Are you Eric?" Slightly baffled, I failed to respond so he repeated himself. The wheels in my head slowly turned and it all came to light. Turns out because I had asked to come up to the farm a day later, another WWOOFer would be joining me, that way Bood (our host) could pick us up in Atherton together. Enter Aubrey from Blackpool. I would be able to review my northern England slang and pronunciations for the next two weeks! A slightly dramatic bus ride popped us out around dinner time at the bus stop in Atherton. No one was there, so we waited a while. No worries as Bood, Julia and Grace (Another WWOOFer from Germany and her 7 week old baby!) took us on a grocery shopping trip and then out to dinner. It would have been a great start to things, had I still not been sick as a dog. 48 hours of consuming nothing but a little bit of water had left my stomach unaccustomed to standard fare. I was not exactly up to the task of eating Malaysian at the restaurant he had booked us in to. Nonetheless I ordered, took about 6 bites and gave up. I forgot to take the food with me! I felt pretty bad (Bood paid) but I pushed it behind me and just hoped I would feel better the next day when I had to start earning my keep.

This bug I had would just not go away! It lingered for about 4 or 5 days, giving me headaches, muscle aches and the like. The work routine went something like this: wake up about 09.00 and have brekkie, work from 10.00 - 12.30ish, eat a delicious lunch Julia had prepared for us and spend the afternoon lounging about on the Veranda, another two hour session in the field and head in for the night. Dinner was done on a rota basis, which kept things interesting. The only way I was able to motivate myself into the fields was by popping pills ( I really hate having to do this, I avoid OTC drugs at all costs). Boods farm operated as such: he bought the land some years back and agisted it for a few. A couple years ago he started re-foresting. 100 different species - 8,000 trees - 82 hectares. Our job as WWOOFers was to walk the rows of small trees, weed them, pull up the encroaching grasses and use that grass as compost. There was also some planting but most had already been done as well as the re-planting from Cyclone Larry the previous year. When I say "grasses" don't think of your lawn or the local park. Think deep-rooted, head-high praire grasses. So anyways, because I needed all the drugs to get through the sessions, halfway through my stay Bood asked if I wanted to do something else. I said sure... I wasn't going to object really, he was feeding and sheltering me! I spent the rest of my time cleaning the houses and watching his 5 and 7 year old kids. Huh..... I thought it was only going to be for a day, but then Julia left with her partner so there was no one to watch the kids. They were too young to come out in the paddocks with us and couldn't stay inside on their own. So I guess I got that job. I found myself wanting off that farm rather quickly when I got this job, but I stuck it out to hang around with Aubrey, get a free ride to Cairns, relax in what truly is a beautiful part of Australia and not spend money.

This may be a bit of an oxymoron, but even though I went in to this WWOOFing deal with no expectations, it didn't exactly meet my expectations. I do have reason to feel grateful (for getting put on domestic duties) though. When Aubrey would come in from a session, I had just spent the last few hours in a clean and dry house. He had been getting rained on, getting his hands dirty and attacked by bloodsuckers which had been "the most soulsucking work ever." I guess I got to sample both sides of farm life: outside and in. Weird though, as here this experience was seemingly a bit of a let down but not in the most important aspect for myself. The main reason was to get an idea of what organic farming was. Bood was awesome at educating about organics and so much more. I learned heaps about farming in general, organics, bio-dynamic growing, permaculture, holistic farm management, global food supply problems and astrology. Also, I really appreciate what he is doing, based on his vision and what he sees as the coming problems in the world. The goal for the farm is to be self-sustainable. His trees will produce bush tucker, timber and other products to generate revenues. He has cattle. He has a creek on his property that supplies all the water (completely unfiltered, and is some of the best I have tasted). Eventually, a hydro power generator will be constructed so he can go completely off the grid. He is building himself a lifeboat. I wish I could climb aboard. By 20-something (2050?) the Atherton Tablelands and the Kimberly in WA are expected to be the only two places left in Australia that will be able to support traditional agriculture due to effects of climate change. Read that again, it is shocking. Food, water, electricity and shelter - sustainably. Plus he has this game from NZ called Cathedral that's sweet as! All the entertainment you need is right there, as long as you have an opponent.

Bood also had a lot of what I would call conspiracy theories to share, though to him I've no doubt they are gospel. Just to tick off a couple: Arnott's brand timtams are dodgy, "global dimming" and climate change is probably not caused by human co2 emmissions. There were also some claims about China, Democrats and Peter Garrett that I found intriguing. Very rarely would I directly challenge him on his beliefs. Unless I have all the facts and know I can make a persuasive case to potentially change someones mind, I am happy to let them believe whatever they want. If I challenge someone without facts and logic the argument usually ends up getting emotional and you can't fight those with your own opinions. Either way I found it amusing and interesting to listen to and it stirred up lots of good conversation. Lastly, I don't know what I would have done if Aubrey and the other WWOOFers wouldn't have been there. If it were just Bood and I for the first few days before his kids came up during school holidays, it would have been well awkward! I'd definitely WWOOF again, and in other countries as well! You get the chance to see a side of the country you normally wouldn't have as a tourist and meet some fair dinkum Aussies while you're at it.

From Peaceful Mountains to Footy Madness

23-31 March, 2007
I already noted my arrival into Melbourne (b-o-u-r-n-e does not sound like "born") when I actually arrived in Melbs. To be honest, there wasn't much going on so I shipped out two days after getting in. Well, there was heaps going on, but I wasn't interested. I took a train, a bus and then a smaller bus to Halls Gap, Victoria. This is the town for the tourist centre of the Grampians, the southern end of the great dividing range, which starts in Far North Queensland. Halls Gap has a single road running through it, with one grocery store, one bakery, one petrol station, one...well you get the idea.

I had read about the hostel I wanted to stay at in my guidebook as this "eco-lodge." It had solar power and water conservation practices in place. This place turned out to be one of the best hostels I've ever been to, and not only that but is probably one of the best places of accomodation as well. Solar power heats the water and provides electricity (not completely off the grid though) and a first of its kind water recycling system re-uses the gray water from sinks and showers to flush the toilets. There are free range chickens roaming the hostel grounds so every morning we get fresh eggs to use. There is an herb garden. The owners put out baked goods. The facilities are first rate. There are bicycles available for free use. What pushed me over the top for this place was when I showed up without a booking and there were no dorm beds left, the owner opened up one of the family rooms so I was able to have a bed, at the cost of a dorm, and I wound up with the room to myself and a double bed. This place, Grampians YHA Eco-Hostel is first rate, and I'm done plugging for it.

The point of going to the Grampians was to do more bushwalking. Little did I know that a massive bushfire from the previous summer burnt out all the trails. So much for that. I hiked all the trails that I could in one day and set off to camp for the night about 9km south of Halls Gap. Since the trails had all burnt out I walked along the side of the highway. Fun times.... After camping out I wandered down a 4WD track in hopes of finding a new way back to Halls Gap. It didn't happen, however, I did have a huge group of Emus run right infront of me on this expedition. That was pretty cool. There were also some large animals hopping around in the forest. I'm pretty sure they were kangaroos, but the fur was black, and I never got a very good look at the whole animal. Maybe it was a rock wallaby? I don't even know what those look like. Either way they scared the shit out of me because they would only hop away if you walked right past them, and they weren't quiet about it. I also saw lots of colorful birds and had great views from the mountain tops.

After 4 days in the Grampians I was ready to get back to Melbourne, AFL season was about to start after all! The only reason I went to Melbourne in the first place was to see an Aussie rules match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Here are the basics: started in 1858 as a way to keep cricket players in shape during the winter. My how it has evolved! Football, or footy, is an ambiguous term in Australia. In New South Wales and Queensland it refers to Rugby (usually leage, the NRL) In Victoria, South and Western Australia and Tasmania it refers to AFL. There are 16 teams and most of these are located in and around Melbourne, specifically the suburbs. It is a major sport in terms of attendance, but not on a global scale. Gaelic football is the only sport that is similar- hence the International Rules matches played between Ireland and Australia. It consistently draws 30,000+ people to matches, putting up it there with English/European Football Leagues and American Football. It's life for a lot of people in Victoria. As a spectator sport I would rank it as one of the best. There is a reason it has the nickname Aerial Ping-Pong. I won't go through all the rules and scoring system so I'll say that watching the footy match while eating a 4 and 20 pie and drinking a Carlton made me feel very Australian, or at least Victorian. What I like about AFL most is that you are immediately pulled into barracking (rooting, just don't say that) for a team. It makes the entire game exciting, and understanding the rules and what makes a play spectacular (a spekkie) is even better. I saw two games: The Melbourne Demons v. the St. Kilda Saints and the North Melbourne Kangaroos v. the Collingwood Magpies. Both games were very intense and each team kept going ahead of the other. AFL and the trams are probably the only things that would draw me to live in Melbourne.

I saw my second match on saturday afternoon and afterwards went straight to the airport to fly up to Cairns. I didn't arrive in the city centre until about 1 am and seriously considered sleeping in the park. As it was a new city to me I decided against, though in hindsight it wouldn't have been a problem. I had just gone from the state most affected by drought to a tropical rainforest where it would bucket at the drop of a hat, and sometime for days on end. Cairns and the Atherton tablelands are coming up.

Adelaide to Uluru and Watarka

15-23 March, 2007
After Tasmania and the Overland Track I flew to Adelaide. Almost everyone I met in Sydney takes the piss out of Adelaide but I found it's a pretty nice town. It is a lot smaller -SA only has about a million people whereas Sydney alone as 4 million- so there is an older feel to the city. Shops close earlier on the weekdays and aren't open much on the weekend, Thursday night shopping is more pronounced, pizza and kebab shops haven't replaced the bakeries and markets. On the weekends though, the students (there are two major universities) and the rest of the local populace come out and the city goes crazy. People spill out of restaurants and bars and eventually meet in the streets. It's a nicer atmosphere than Sydney where if people are on the streets they are either passed out, drunk or fighting or on their way to do any of those things. It's less chaotic.

The one reason I went to Adelaide was to drink wine straight from Australia's most famous wine region, the Barossa. From what I remember the tour guide telling us, the grape vines here are actually some of the oldest in the world: around 150 years. European and North American vine stocks were devestated by phyloxera years back and had to replant. Our first stop of the day was a giant rocking horse. I didn't pay any attention to it and made a bee line for the animal thingy. Not a zoo, not a cage. Not really sure what it was. Anyways, I pet some roos and talked to some talking birds (parakeets?) Our first winery was Wolf Blass (started by Wolfgang Blass!), probably the only name on the tour you might recognise. We stopped at 4 wineries in total and tried whites, rosés, reds, tawny ports, muscat ports, late harvests and sparklings at just about every one. We were all pretty trashed by the 3rd winery and all I remember about the last one was drinking this frozen port concoction, like a slushy. On our way back to Adelaide we stopped at this dam (it even had water behind it!) that allowed you to talk to people at the other end of the dam without the use of electronics or a cup-and-string setup. It was pretty cool to have conversations with people 150 metres away in a voice you'd use with people a few feet away. All the red wine made it easy to sleep on the way home and that made me glad I wasn't driving. One of the funny/sad (take it how you will) bits of the tour is that half hour after petting the kangaroo, I was eating one for lunch. Well tasty!

It was finally time to catch my train out of Adelaide to the centre of the continent. They run all of twice a week, which leads to lots of waiting around time and explains why I was in Adelaide for three whole days, rather than only the one that I needed. The train I took is called the Ghan, named after the Afghan camel trains that first went out into the deserts when whitefellas were exploring the country. I remember reading in Bill Bryson's book about the rediculous amounts of supplies hauled into the desert: hundreds of pounds of flour, etc. During the train ride I longed for British or Swiss Rail. This was the worst train ride I've ever had in my life. The only good things were the sunrise and sunset. It was the most bumpy, bouncy and loud journey I've ever had. At 2am a woman two seats infront of me started throwing up from motion sickness! This section of train is billed as one of the great journeys through the desert on rail. Now I think I know what riding a mechanical bull is all about. The strange thing is that it seems to be isolated to only the stretch between Adelaide and Alice Springs. I talked to my mates in Sydney who had done the Indian Pacific (Sydney to Perth in three days) and they had none of the problems or conditions I did.

I stumbled bleary-eyed off the train into the blast furnace that is central Australia the next afternoon. In half an hour I was maneuvering a right hand drive standard shift vehicle down the wrong side of the road. 400 kilometres and 3 oncoming cars later and I was camping at Curtin Springs Roadhouse. Towns in the Northern Territory amount to a dirt paking lot, petrol station, motel, general store and bar. The next morning I got up early to get to Uluru (Ayers Rock) to beat the heat (even though I figured I'd be hiking all day). I drove and drove, thinking I'd see it from a distance but the sand dunes that cover the red centre prevent you from seeing very far. It was not as flat as I thought it would be. I gave up after a while and focused on driving and not killing kangaroos. Even though they are nocturnal, roos are still pretty active through midmorning. Then I saw it: a glowing red lump in the distance! I practically drove off the road as the sight of what is just a rock blew my mind. I can't really describe what it looked like at 8am sunlight and never did find a photo that puts my memory onto a photograph. Though if I tried, it would resemble a glowing lump of ember from a campfire. The color was simply extaordinary and it looked like nothing else. After driving for hours and hours through desert I was stumped as to how a glowing red rock can exist in a sea of sand dunes. I spent the morning walking through Kata-Tjuta (the Olgas), which is another rock formation as brilliant as Uluru. The afternoon was spent circumnavigating the rock. I opted not to climb because 1) it was closed. 2) I chose not to out of respect and 3) didn't see the point. Think about it, 35 people have died climbing this rock! Most of them due to bad hearts and high temperatures (the climb is now closed on days with temps forecast over 36ºC or rain), and for what. You climb over 1,000 feet to see.... nothing! Flat desert! More importantly, I learned in my guidebook and during my stop at the cultural centre that climbing the rock is disrespectful to the local Aboriginal people, the Anangu. It is the equivalent of climbing the alter and other sacred places of a church. You also are known as a "Mingu" by the Anangu: when lots of people climb the rock, from a distance it looks like ants marching up their hill. By the time I was almost done with my 10K walk around the base, it began pouring! It was great, I experienced heavy rain in the desert of a country in a severe drought. I drove around the rock while it rained and watched as the rain formed waterfalls. The water also brought out lots of very subtle features you don't notice in dry weather. The clouds hung around during sunset, destroying my chance of the über-touristy sunset viewing. The clouds hung around all night yet again blocking out the stars! Since I landed in Sydney I heard the best part about being in the outback was being able to look up at the stars with zero pollution or interference. Turned out everynight I was out there the clouds blocked my view. The rainclouds/poor view trade-off was worth it though.

The next morning I woke up pre-dawn to catch the sunrise viewing but the clouds managed to stuff that up as well, so I took off to Watarka (King's Canyon), about 6 hours drive north of Uluru/Kata-Tjuta. When I arrived I prepared for the rim walk around the canyon: 3 litres of water, hat, camera, sunscreen, protective clothing, etc. At the start of the track a shaded thermometre read 40ºC. Bloody Hot. I set out and climbed to the top of the canyon and two hours later found myself in the garden of eden. In two days I went from a low point (the ghan) to a another high point in my travels. Some geological fluke causes all the water to accumulate at the top of the canyon and form a billabong where you can swim and cool off. This is one of my best swimming experiences in Australia. Fresh, cool water in 100+º heat and you can swim over to the waterfall that looks out and down the canyon. Pretty spectacular.

The only bit of excitement I had on the 7 drive back to Alice was going around the corner and having two kangaroos leap infront of me! Finally. After 5 months in Australia, I got to see a kangaroo in the wild. And I almost killed them, but not really. It's as if I had a curse of kangaroo sighting, but now that it had been broken, I started seeing them all over the place. I spent a day in Alice before taking off to Melbourne catching up on the internets, journalling and sleeping in a bed. It was really expensive for me to get out to the middle of the country and transport myself around. I reckon I spent well over US$ 1,000 on those 5 days of travel. I probably could have done it for a lot less, but at the expense of the freedoms I had: rental car, open schedule, my own itinerary. Every now and again that freedom is worth the higher price paid.

The last month in Australia

Melbourne - Grampians - Melbourne - Cairns - Atherton - Cairns - Sydney. Los Angeles. Plus Catch up from Adelaide. There is a lot of blogging to be done. And to be honest I've been lazy with my time in L.A. I slept in every day so far, rarely weeking up before noon. I'm sure I needed it with the wild time and day changes. I go home to Minneapolis tomorrow and I am looking forward to it. I started writing a mass email to basically everyone I know in the slightest, but when I got into it I didn't know what to say. I thought there might be some meta/grandiose moral of the story I could type out that was a culmination of the last year and a half but I am having a hard time thinking of something that isn't really corny. So maybe I will or maybe I won't finish and send it out. It will be nice to go home for an indefinite amount of time but to be honest, there is nothing there I miss that much that would stop me from continuing the travels, if I had the resources. Sure I miss people and things while I'm on the other side of the world, but they won't be anywhere I can't get to when I get home. For now though, I'm stopping.

I probably won't go work in Vancouver, but if anyone is up for a roadtrip I'd head that way, then south. I have a 3-5 year plan in my head that is very susceptible to change at the moment. You can ask me about that when I see you. For the next 3-5 months I look forward to: summer in Minneapolis (one of the greatest combinations ever), playing ultimate (because they'd rather get pissed in Sydney), catching up on world news and politics, resuming my studies/rantings on peak oil calamities and catching up with everyone.