It's been a while since my last post, I understand. But to be frank, nothing TOO exciting has been going on. I'll catch you up to speed.
First of all, I managed to find a job. Two jobs to be exact. Even turned down a third. So all the resume' shuffling turned out alright. The first of these shenanigans of jobs was at a car park. I managed to hear about this opening through a girl that lived with me here at the hostel. She suggested I give her manager a call, thus I did and ended up landing a trial run of the position. After an hour long man hunt, trying to find my 'scheduled' ride which would take me to this lady, I found myself about 20 minutes outside of Sydney in an industrial park. This job was to be a valet for a car park of employees for this industrial park. Valet, doesn't sound too bad. Driving other people's flash around a lot of barriers and concrete could be entertaining. The money it-self was also at $15 an hour cash, which would make any American job seekers eyes light up. The promising 50 hour week would also make for some good cash flow in the long run.
But this sounds too good to be true. This place wasn't very busy, I was going to be averaging 10 cars through a 10 hour day. Just doing the trial for 2 hours made me want to rip out my eye balls. Just sitting and waiting for something fun to happen would make me miserable. So after my two hours I turned to the lady and said thanks, but I'm not coming back. It's ironic how I'm to the point in my travels now that I'm actually picky with what jobs I want to take. Even the money aspect of this job wasn't very good in my opinion. Australia has absolutely spoiled me with their 18 dollar an hour minimum, including the potential to work on any given Sunday for close to $26. ( I'll explain wages, loadings, super annuation, taxes, categorised workers, weekend pay, etc little later. )
But my luck was in, as I was leaving the car park that evening I received a call from Movenpick, a fancy Swiss ice cream shop in Darling Harbour. They wanted a trial from me the following day. So I went in the shop and blow away the nontraditional trial (which only lasted 20 minutes). Needless to say, I landed me a job scooping ice cream. It's a neat little place offering our beloved customers 15 different flavours to choose from including shakes, smoothies, made to order desserts such as pancakes, waffles, banasplits, etc. This sounded much more my style of work, but unfortunately with a little less pay. Earning a whole dollar less than the valet... yet still cash in hand. I've been putting in 25ish hours a week at this place, which is a livable wage.
You may be thinking "Your a mad man for turning down a simple, valet job, that a monkey could do... for less money... scooping ice cream." But at the end of the day, my sanity and need for social attention would far out way the daily bludging I'd get away with at the car park.
Like I said, absolutely spoiled I am. $14 an hour and I'm still unhappy and feel the need to make more money, so I continue to hand out resumes to the extend I landed a third trial at a bar only metres out the door of my hostel. Kings Cross Hotel was my third place that offered me employment, and I gladly took it. Knowing bar jobs easily pay the best money for backpackers. For example, last week I worked 20 hours and got $430, a huge chuck of change for a guy that eats 10c noodles daily.
Between both jobs,coning ice cream and pouring booze, I'm trying to rack up the hours and cash to save up for some more traveling. I've made enough so far to book a 10 day motor home rental in New Zealand, airfare included (Motor home? Yea, a motor home....AWESOME). That's planned for late August, so I have something to look forward to before coming home.
OK, something about Australia I haven't touched on so far is the way jobs, wages, etc work over here. It's something that I'm still learning as I go, because it's far more regulated and geared to protect the workers against greedy employers. For starters, there's three different types of employment, full-time, part-time, and casual.
By law, full-time is as it sounds and is a stable job that comes with holiday/sick pay, has a two week notice reciprocation on leaving/firing of the position, etc. Yet this pay can be lower by law because of the stability of it and in the long run, employees will be getting the upper hand as opposed to a causal worker.
Part-time is basically the same as full-time, just with slightly less perks in the holiday/sick pay and obviously only a limited amount of weekly hours.
Finally causal jobs are those that can come and go, weekly, daily, or hourly. You can be hired and fired in the same sitting. It's the nature of the job to be disposable and only used in positions where turnover is high, or amount of work is flexible. Which is why the law puts the minimal wage for causal positions at about $18 hourly, with loadings.
Loadings: (in layman's terms) Is an extra percentage of wage added to your base pay for working in certain times, days, or conditions. Example. In a bar, you work late night hours, which requires a loading on top of the $18. Working weekends is a loading penalty, especially Sundays where loadings can be almost 50% of your hourly wage. Loadings and penalty's are set in place by Australia to make sure employees aren't taken advantage of and are properly paid the correct wages. The best part of the law, is if your one of the lucky ones who can find work on a public holiday, your looking at double time and a half for the day. That's right, 2.5 times your hourly rate. That puts $18 hourly to $45 hourly. Not bad. Christmas is even better, with it being 3x hourly rate.
But don't worry, with all the potential money you can make here in Australia, it goes right back out just as fast. With average joe meals at average joe restaurants being 15 dollars, a case of 24 cheap beers being $40, and a 375ml (12.7oz) can of coke from the vending machine being $2.50 a pop, my money is only a short lived number in my bank account.
www.picasaweb.google.com/joshhorton12
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Day 197
Happy Easter all. Hope the big furry animal visited you all. Sydney has been good so far. Hanging out at the hostel, searching for jobs, and wandering around the city is what entails of my daily activities. I've been frantically searching for a job since it seems my funds are getting on the lower side of safe. But I have been making the most of it. It's awesome to see another part of Australia and to finally see the amazing Sydney Opera house and Bridge. The city itself is large with a tremendous amount of concrete and tall buildings (nothing like NYC), that house the criss crossing streets. Its actually not big enough to get lost in, yet filled with outlying suburbs that make up much of the cheaper housing for the city.
Weather has been grand so far. Has only rained once for a short bit, but fairly sunny otherwise. Opposite to you folks back home, the weather is finally starting to cool off. As I'm writing, I'm having to close the drafty window from spewing in 17'c weather (yes, that would be Celsius).
After a few days of being here and passing out resumes like a door-to-door vendor, I've landed a job. After going through what I'd guess was an interview and job offering, I turned down a $15/hr parking garage valet for a position in a ice cream shop. Yea, easy decision, I thought so too. The ice cream shop is called Movenpick and sells Swiss ice cream and desserts. Fancy I know, and the prices reflect just that. So until I can find something that potentially suits me a little better, the ice cream shop will provide perfect employment for me.
Since being here in Sydney I've been living in a hostel. I know that half of you out there don't even know what a hostel is (Besides being the 2005 horror flick with a progressively gory and fast past plot). So I'll explain. Think of a college dorm room, only slightly larger and filled with 4, 6, 8, or even 10 beds. Each person pays for a bed per night, which includes the use of the community kitchen, lounge room, and bathrooms. It's a place that's aimed to providing lodging for a younger crowd with no strings attached. No rules, no quiet hours, no neighbors banging on the wall to shut the music off...it's just the lifestyle of a hostel. You meet heaps of new people, almost daily, who come then go.
So I've been living in this one hostel since I got here, and it hasn't been too bad. The place claims to be one of the cleanest places (which seams pretty accurate seeing how I'm sharing a bathroom with 60 others) where they host many nights out on the town with free drinks and entry to clubs. But the best part is the great weekly deal they have going now, which includes breakfast in the morning and a "dinner" at night. Both not anything that would "WOW" you, but to a traveler, food is food and I'll take all I can get.
Today is April 4. My scheduled flight back is May 18. That's less than a month to finish seeing all I can in this enormously wonderful country. Have I missed home? Sure I have. Am I excited to get back and see all my family and friends? Absolutely. Do I desperately want to hear some good ole' country music again? Please please please, yes.
But....
Am I looking forwards to returning to an 8 dollar an hour job? No way. Am I ready to finally face the world that most college graduates face? Not at all. Am I ready to get home after cutting my visa short by leaving in May? No...which is why I'm not. I'm not doing it, I'm not coming back in May. I've thought long and hard about it and have decided to stay. I've rebooked my flight until September, giving me an extra 4 months here and the opportunity to use the year long visa I was granted.
So I say to all you unfortunate souls who read this, I'll be here trying to scrounge up more trouble and entertainment for your eyes for another 5 months. After that, I will be forced to leave the country.
My pictures thus far. www.picasaweb.google.com/joshhorton12
Weather has been grand so far. Has only rained once for a short bit, but fairly sunny otherwise. Opposite to you folks back home, the weather is finally starting to cool off. As I'm writing, I'm having to close the drafty window from spewing in 17'c weather (yes, that would be Celsius).
After a few days of being here and passing out resumes like a door-to-door vendor, I've landed a job. After going through what I'd guess was an interview and job offering, I turned down a $15/hr parking garage valet for a position in a ice cream shop. Yea, easy decision, I thought so too. The ice cream shop is called Movenpick and sells Swiss ice cream and desserts. Fancy I know, and the prices reflect just that. So until I can find something that potentially suits me a little better, the ice cream shop will provide perfect employment for me.
Since being here in Sydney I've been living in a hostel. I know that half of you out there don't even know what a hostel is (Besides being the 2005 horror flick with a progressively gory and fast past plot). So I'll explain. Think of a college dorm room, only slightly larger and filled with 4, 6, 8, or even 10 beds. Each person pays for a bed per night, which includes the use of the community kitchen, lounge room, and bathrooms. It's a place that's aimed to providing lodging for a younger crowd with no strings attached. No rules, no quiet hours, no neighbors banging on the wall to shut the music off...it's just the lifestyle of a hostel. You meet heaps of new people, almost daily, who come then go.
So I've been living in this one hostel since I got here, and it hasn't been too bad. The place claims to be one of the cleanest places (which seams pretty accurate seeing how I'm sharing a bathroom with 60 others) where they host many nights out on the town with free drinks and entry to clubs. But the best part is the great weekly deal they have going now, which includes breakfast in the morning and a "dinner" at night. Both not anything that would "WOW" you, but to a traveler, food is food and I'll take all I can get.
Today is April 4. My scheduled flight back is May 18. That's less than a month to finish seeing all I can in this enormously wonderful country. Have I missed home? Sure I have. Am I excited to get back and see all my family and friends? Absolutely. Do I desperately want to hear some good ole' country music again? Please please please, yes.
But....
Am I looking forwards to returning to an 8 dollar an hour job? No way. Am I ready to finally face the world that most college graduates face? Not at all. Am I ready to get home after cutting my visa short by leaving in May? No...which is why I'm not. I'm not doing it, I'm not coming back in May. I've thought long and hard about it and have decided to stay. I've rebooked my flight until September, giving me an extra 4 months here and the opportunity to use the year long visa I was granted.
So I say to all you unfortunate souls who read this, I'll be here trying to scrounge up more trouble and entertainment for your eyes for another 5 months. After that, I will be forced to leave the country.
My pictures thus far. www.picasaweb.google.com/joshhorton12
Friday, March 26, 2010
Sydney
I did it. I started my next new excited leg of my Australian journey. I left the Gold Coast last night and arrived smack dab in the hustle of Sydney.
"What have I been doing all this time on the Gold Coast and why'd it take so long to get to Sydney?"
It took me 6 months of being in this country to leave the northeast region. Theoretically I have spent more time than necessarily to see the sights I've seen. But I digress I have made the most of the past 6 months and wouldn't change a single minute of it. Charmaine helped me see the best parts of southeastern coast of Queensland. She was a truly wonderful host with a big heart.
"What did I learn since being back on the Goldy???"
Meat pies are addicting, even some that come frozen in a box. I have been making sangas (sandwiches) all wrong my whole life, avocado and a bakery roll is the key. Roulette and Blackjack can be your best friend one night, and then ruin your night the next. Indians (from India, not our Indians) know what there doing when they made curry, but only the spicy kind. Sushi places have trains that go in circles around the tables, and on these trains are plates of sushi, you pick up a plate and eat (you pay by the color of plate the food is on). Australia's 8 states average 8.3 percent of their land mass to be classified as National Parks, and that industry makes over 5 billion dollars annually, so you can only image the facilities/condition of these beautiful places I've been seeing.
Before leaving for Sydney, Charmaine and I took one last camping trip that took us 4 days via 600km and 5 hours southwest of the Gold Coast. It was a great camping trip. We explored the long, winding, apply named Waterfall Way. The route took us through many small farm towns with homie people and unmatched views.
We saw roughly around 8 waterfalls, climbed a giant rock mountain, saw two huge gorges, and made friends with local possums. To the most exciting part first...the possums. We made a cake one night and obviously couldn't eat the whole thing, so after tossing it out in the woods, we later discovered a friendly possum had made his way down from the trees to eat the rest. He looked lonely, so we got in closer for a look. The closer we got, the more relaxed he seamed to get. He never once glared, hissed or snarled at us. He was friendly to the point where we were petting this wild possum and hand feeding him the rest of the cake. I know that a possum may not be on the top of some peoples lists for "Animals to pet in life" but seeing as he was wild and obviously loved my handmade chocolate cake, I liked the little fella.
The water falls were not your average stream trickling over some rocks, these waterfall has height and power. Unfortunately we were not able to get up close and personal to many seeing as they were in remote places, but they all were still very cool.
We also hiked up, what only can be described as a 'rock mountain.' Simply its a large mountain that's completely rock, not just a pile of smaller rocks, but these thing was one solid mass. It was unbelievable. At the top there were some giant boulders doing amazing balancing acts on each other. The whole surrounding area was actually very rock infested and created a very Celtic feeling.
Another great part of the trip was seeing two MASSIVE gorges. If I had a guess at what the Grand Canyon roughly looked like, I'd say this was it. The lookouts we were on literately hung over the sides of the wall, where we were able to get the true feeling of just how deep these suckers were. In one of the gorges was two waterfalls that looked miniscule from the distance we were seeing them, but in fact were in the top 3 of tallest waterfalls in Australia (over 200 metres)
Should be posting pictures from the trip over the next day or two, so check on my pictures page to see them.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joshhorton12
Going to Sydney meant for me to book my first domestic flight here. I found the flights to be extremely cheap, Allegiant Air cheap. Ended on landing a $39 flight from the Gold Coast to Sydney. When traveling to Vanuatu, we went through the standard security and identification check that seamed a little lax in my opinion, but I figured it was just the whole third world country thing. When arriving at the Gold Coast airport, I had the missing feeling of 'hurry-up' since we arrived only an hour before take off. The whole airport seemed to be a bit placid.
As we walked up to the security check, the first thing I noticed was the visual difference between American security checks and Australians. There were no large borders, signs, guard rails, or guide paths that kept people out of the terminal. There was only a hand full of "officers" that kept order. Most were older women that simply just watched you walk through the metal detector and assisted you in loading and unloading the bag screen. There was ID check at this point, there was no ticket check, there was no liquids check, there was no taking-off-the-shoes and hat check. I know that because we did every one of those things including taking 2 bottles of water, not taking off our shoes and hat, and Charmaine even walked through behind me without having a ticket nor showing any indication of boarding a plane. Yet as I was walking towards the gate, I was stopped for a 'random' bomb check were the friendly technician with "the sorry, but its my job to do this" look simply swiped my bag and clothes with a strip of paper and ran it through a machine.
We arrived, parked, checked-in, went through security and were sitting waiting to board all within 20 minutes MAX! Nothing at all like the States.
So here I am, sitting in my hostel named Asylum, looking for a job, back to eating peanut butter and baked beans. Hoping to embrace the cool weather this city has to offer and enjoy the remaining 7 weeks until my scheduled flight home...'scheduled' flight home. Nothings ever final.
Joshua
http://picasaweb.google.com/joshhorton12
My pictures
"What have I been doing all this time on the Gold Coast and why'd it take so long to get to Sydney?"
It took me 6 months of being in this country to leave the northeast region. Theoretically I have spent more time than necessarily to see the sights I've seen. But I digress I have made the most of the past 6 months and wouldn't change a single minute of it. Charmaine helped me see the best parts of southeastern coast of Queensland. She was a truly wonderful host with a big heart.
"What did I learn since being back on the Goldy???"
Meat pies are addicting, even some that come frozen in a box. I have been making sangas (sandwiches) all wrong my whole life, avocado and a bakery roll is the key. Roulette and Blackjack can be your best friend one night, and then ruin your night the next. Indians (from India, not our Indians) know what there doing when they made curry, but only the spicy kind. Sushi places have trains that go in circles around the tables, and on these trains are plates of sushi, you pick up a plate and eat (you pay by the color of plate the food is on). Australia's 8 states average 8.3 percent of their land mass to be classified as National Parks, and that industry makes over 5 billion dollars annually, so you can only image the facilities/condition of these beautiful places I've been seeing.
Before leaving for Sydney, Charmaine and I took one last camping trip that took us 4 days via 600km and 5 hours southwest of the Gold Coast. It was a great camping trip. We explored the long, winding, apply named Waterfall Way. The route took us through many small farm towns with homie people and unmatched views.
We saw roughly around 8 waterfalls, climbed a giant rock mountain, saw two huge gorges, and made friends with local possums. To the most exciting part first...the possums. We made a cake one night and obviously couldn't eat the whole thing, so after tossing it out in the woods, we later discovered a friendly possum had made his way down from the trees to eat the rest. He looked lonely, so we got in closer for a look. The closer we got, the more relaxed he seamed to get. He never once glared, hissed or snarled at us. He was friendly to the point where we were petting this wild possum and hand feeding him the rest of the cake. I know that a possum may not be on the top of some peoples lists for "Animals to pet in life" but seeing as he was wild and obviously loved my handmade chocolate cake, I liked the little fella.
The water falls were not your average stream trickling over some rocks, these waterfall has height and power. Unfortunately we were not able to get up close and personal to many seeing as they were in remote places, but they all were still very cool.
We also hiked up, what only can be described as a 'rock mountain.' Simply its a large mountain that's completely rock, not just a pile of smaller rocks, but these thing was one solid mass. It was unbelievable. At the top there were some giant boulders doing amazing balancing acts on each other. The whole surrounding area was actually very rock infested and created a very Celtic feeling.
Another great part of the trip was seeing two MASSIVE gorges. If I had a guess at what the Grand Canyon roughly looked like, I'd say this was it. The lookouts we were on literately hung over the sides of the wall, where we were able to get the true feeling of just how deep these suckers were. In one of the gorges was two waterfalls that looked miniscule from the distance we were seeing them, but in fact were in the top 3 of tallest waterfalls in Australia (over 200 metres)
Should be posting pictures from the trip over the next day or two, so check on my pictures page to see them.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joshhorton12
Going to Sydney meant for me to book my first domestic flight here. I found the flights to be extremely cheap, Allegiant Air cheap. Ended on landing a $39 flight from the Gold Coast to Sydney. When traveling to Vanuatu, we went through the standard security and identification check that seamed a little lax in my opinion, but I figured it was just the whole third world country thing. When arriving at the Gold Coast airport, I had the missing feeling of 'hurry-up' since we arrived only an hour before take off. The whole airport seemed to be a bit placid.
As we walked up to the security check, the first thing I noticed was the visual difference between American security checks and Australians. There were no large borders, signs, guard rails, or guide paths that kept people out of the terminal. There was only a hand full of "officers" that kept order. Most were older women that simply just watched you walk through the metal detector and assisted you in loading and unloading the bag screen. There was ID check at this point, there was no ticket check, there was no liquids check, there was no taking-off-the-shoes and hat check. I know that because we did every one of those things including taking 2 bottles of water, not taking off our shoes and hat, and Charmaine even walked through behind me without having a ticket nor showing any indication of boarding a plane. Yet as I was walking towards the gate, I was stopped for a 'random' bomb check were the friendly technician with "the sorry, but its my job to do this" look simply swiped my bag and clothes with a strip of paper and ran it through a machine.
We arrived, parked, checked-in, went through security and were sitting waiting to board all within 20 minutes MAX! Nothing at all like the States.
So here I am, sitting in my hostel named Asylum, looking for a job, back to eating peanut butter and baked beans. Hoping to embrace the cool weather this city has to offer and enjoy the remaining 7 weeks until my scheduled flight home...'scheduled' flight home. Nothings ever final.
Joshua
http://picasaweb.google.com/joshhorton12
My pictures
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Vanuatu
During my 'working holiday' here in Australia, I just recently took a mini vacation to the lovely islands of Vanuatu. I'm sure many of you remember Vanuatu as being the location for one of the many "Survivor" seasons. If your unsure of where these groups of islands are located, google it. Their located in the south pacific and about a 3 hour plane ride north east of Brisbane, Australia.
After having a slight deja vu of being back in the airport since my arrival, my first task was to explore the possibilities of the duty free shop. I never understood this whole duty free thing until I arrived in Australia and found that the prices of things were so much higher. Yet in the duty free shops in the airport, I'm able to purchase things as a much cheaper price.
We loaded up on goodies for the trip and sailed over New Caledonia and couple other land masses that could be seen from my window, to Port Villa, Vanuatu. After literally stepping out of the plane while still on the runway, I imminently realized just how underdeveloped this country was. The airport itself was only as big as small rec center, with a very simple design and a poster that read "Vanuatu...voted the most happiest country."
We were met by a 10 man string bad of locals with brilliantly flowered shirts that radiated a jolliness only these people could pull off. Their lifestyle was very much influenced by Jamaica and their music showed it. I must be honest, I loved the sounds that were created from, what appeared to be, homemade instruments and untrained high pitch vocal accompaniment.
After declaring our bags and going through a brief eye check in customs we made our way to our resort. This place was much better than what I was expecting. We stayed on a small island a couple of football fields away from the mainland. We were taxied over via a small, half sinking vessel of sorts through the crystal clear blue water.
Charmaine and I spent our first couple days snorkeling and checking out the local markets. Right across the bay from us was the local markets where all sorts of food were sold. These foods didn't resemble the foods the same ones you'd find at your home Winn-Dixie, these were hand grown, 'organic', fruits and vegetables. They didn't look as pretty as we're use too because of the lack of pesticides and Miracle Grow that doesn't seem to make it on the shipping barge. There even some different looking foods that we gave a try anyway. We even made a friend at the market who cooks home Vanuatu dish's and ate her food for a couple meals. We even convinced her to cook us a gigantic coconut crab meal on our last night (Yes, coconut crabs may be close to extinction, that's why we felt the need to eat one while we still could).
The country, like other third world countries, relies completely on tourism to keep their economy alive. Tourist drive the surrounding prices up, but outside the 'tourism district' prices fall to normal levels to keep locals from bankruptcy. I was surprised that we didn't see more tourists than we did, it must have been their low season. Maybe it was the complete lack sovereignty that I felt while walking through the streets. Yet at the same time, I couldn't have felt more at home. Every one we passed, whether it was in a village or through the main streets was very friendly, helpful, and was always seen with a smile on their face. They weren't lying when they said this was the happiest country on earth.
The snorkeling was amazing, I know with my experience that I don't have much to compare it too, but the amount of fish I saw was astounding. I really felt like I was in an aquarium. The fish were colorful like the ones in the Great Barrier Reef, only some new ones I hadn't seen before. Occasionally I found a boring single color fish, and boy did he look ugly. Times like these I had wished I invested in the underwater version of my camera. One major difference about this snorkeling than that of Australian snorkeling is the existence of deadly marine creatures. We were told by many that the waters had no sharks or jelly fish in them. We took their word for it, and as far as we could tell, there were none. I did get the chance to post a postcard from the worlds first underwater post office. That's right, one of the snorkeling places we visit had a little drop box about 3 metres down were you could deposit a waterproof post card. Yet I'm still unsure if my mail has been delivered, the idea of it is very cool.
Vanuatu in general was lacking completely in dangerous animals. Everyone we asked told us the same thing, there isn't a single creature in these jungles and waters that are capable of killing you. No poisonous snakes, spiders, sharks, tigers...maybe the random wild hog that's looks to jab you with his tusks, but no carnivorous animals looking for its next meal.
On one of our last days, we hired a Vanuatu 'bus' (a guy driving a van) with another couple to take us around the entire island we were on. The trip took all day and covered about 300km. We saw some very neat and original Vanuatu sights, including some old WW2 tanks that were rusted in the ocean. Along with an old American airstrip that was used in Vanuatu. I believe I heard that up to 10,000 troops had been stationed there at one point. When we were there during the war, the soldiers had built up a massive mounds of dirt and grass that spelt out USA when flown over by aircraft. Only the U and parts of the S were still standing today, but to see these iconic war articles were very rewarding to me. We even stopped in a little hut that a native had built that was dedicated to old war scraps and parts he has found over the years. He had a quite big stash, considering all he was doing was sifting through the beach. He had airplane wings, bullet casing, helmets, meal trays, etc. But one cool thing he has was old Coca-Cola bottles. On the bottom of these bottles were the location of origin date manufactured, and surprisingly one of the bottles I found had "Charleston, SC" stamped on the bottom of it.
The 'round the island tour' also took us to a place called Blue Lagoon. A brackish water lagoon that fed into the ocean. The lagoon definitely lived up to its name. It was crystal clear, blue, crisp water. Including an awesome rope swing. We splashed around that watering hole for an hour or so and then jetted to the ocean where there was large coral out of the water where the ocean ran free around them. It created perfect little pools of clear water where we were able to spot a large, colorful, intact shell that we snagged as a souvenir.
We also visit what is called Mele Cascade waterfalls. If you look at the pictures you'll see its a very high water fall that drops off into tiny rock pools at the bottom. The water was clear and the rock was silky smooth. The vegetation surrounding the place made it feel like we we're truly living out something you only see in a movie.
Vanuatu is a very 'Homey' place in my opinion. But the people is what made the visit. There everlasting smiles and generosity to help in any way they could really made our visit there spectacular.
Take a look at the pictures from Vanuatu and the rest of my Aussie adventures so far here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joshhorton12
I'm constanly updating and adding so keep checking back to see more!
After having a slight deja vu of being back in the airport since my arrival, my first task was to explore the possibilities of the duty free shop. I never understood this whole duty free thing until I arrived in Australia and found that the prices of things were so much higher. Yet in the duty free shops in the airport, I'm able to purchase things as a much cheaper price.
We loaded up on goodies for the trip and sailed over New Caledonia and couple other land masses that could be seen from my window, to Port Villa, Vanuatu. After literally stepping out of the plane while still on the runway, I imminently realized just how underdeveloped this country was. The airport itself was only as big as small rec center, with a very simple design and a poster that read "Vanuatu...voted the most happiest country."
We were met by a 10 man string bad of locals with brilliantly flowered shirts that radiated a jolliness only these people could pull off. Their lifestyle was very much influenced by Jamaica and their music showed it. I must be honest, I loved the sounds that were created from, what appeared to be, homemade instruments and untrained high pitch vocal accompaniment.
After declaring our bags and going through a brief eye check in customs we made our way to our resort. This place was much better than what I was expecting. We stayed on a small island a couple of football fields away from the mainland. We were taxied over via a small, half sinking vessel of sorts through the crystal clear blue water.
Charmaine and I spent our first couple days snorkeling and checking out the local markets. Right across the bay from us was the local markets where all sorts of food were sold. These foods didn't resemble the foods the same ones you'd find at your home Winn-Dixie, these were hand grown, 'organic', fruits and vegetables. They didn't look as pretty as we're use too because of the lack of pesticides and Miracle Grow that doesn't seem to make it on the shipping barge. There even some different looking foods that we gave a try anyway. We even made a friend at the market who cooks home Vanuatu dish's and ate her food for a couple meals. We even convinced her to cook us a gigantic coconut crab meal on our last night (Yes, coconut crabs may be close to extinction, that's why we felt the need to eat one while we still could).
The country, like other third world countries, relies completely on tourism to keep their economy alive. Tourist drive the surrounding prices up, but outside the 'tourism district' prices fall to normal levels to keep locals from bankruptcy. I was surprised that we didn't see more tourists than we did, it must have been their low season. Maybe it was the complete lack sovereignty that I felt while walking through the streets. Yet at the same time, I couldn't have felt more at home. Every one we passed, whether it was in a village or through the main streets was very friendly, helpful, and was always seen with a smile on their face. They weren't lying when they said this was the happiest country on earth.
The snorkeling was amazing, I know with my experience that I don't have much to compare it too, but the amount of fish I saw was astounding. I really felt like I was in an aquarium. The fish were colorful like the ones in the Great Barrier Reef, only some new ones I hadn't seen before. Occasionally I found a boring single color fish, and boy did he look ugly. Times like these I had wished I invested in the underwater version of my camera. One major difference about this snorkeling than that of Australian snorkeling is the existence of deadly marine creatures. We were told by many that the waters had no sharks or jelly fish in them. We took their word for it, and as far as we could tell, there were none. I did get the chance to post a postcard from the worlds first underwater post office. That's right, one of the snorkeling places we visit had a little drop box about 3 metres down were you could deposit a waterproof post card. Yet I'm still unsure if my mail has been delivered, the idea of it is very cool.
Vanuatu in general was lacking completely in dangerous animals. Everyone we asked told us the same thing, there isn't a single creature in these jungles and waters that are capable of killing you. No poisonous snakes, spiders, sharks, tigers...maybe the random wild hog that's looks to jab you with his tusks, but no carnivorous animals looking for its next meal.
On one of our last days, we hired a Vanuatu 'bus' (a guy driving a van) with another couple to take us around the entire island we were on. The trip took all day and covered about 300km. We saw some very neat and original Vanuatu sights, including some old WW2 tanks that were rusted in the ocean. Along with an old American airstrip that was used in Vanuatu. I believe I heard that up to 10,000 troops had been stationed there at one point. When we were there during the war, the soldiers had built up a massive mounds of dirt and grass that spelt out USA when flown over by aircraft. Only the U and parts of the S were still standing today, but to see these iconic war articles were very rewarding to me. We even stopped in a little hut that a native had built that was dedicated to old war scraps and parts he has found over the years. He had a quite big stash, considering all he was doing was sifting through the beach. He had airplane wings, bullet casing, helmets, meal trays, etc. But one cool thing he has was old Coca-Cola bottles. On the bottom of these bottles were the location of origin date manufactured, and surprisingly one of the bottles I found had "Charleston, SC" stamped on the bottom of it.
The 'round the island tour' also took us to a place called Blue Lagoon. A brackish water lagoon that fed into the ocean. The lagoon definitely lived up to its name. It was crystal clear, blue, crisp water. Including an awesome rope swing. We splashed around that watering hole for an hour or so and then jetted to the ocean where there was large coral out of the water where the ocean ran free around them. It created perfect little pools of clear water where we were able to spot a large, colorful, intact shell that we snagged as a souvenir.
We also visit what is called Mele Cascade waterfalls. If you look at the pictures you'll see its a very high water fall that drops off into tiny rock pools at the bottom. The water was clear and the rock was silky smooth. The vegetation surrounding the place made it feel like we we're truly living out something you only see in a movie.
Vanuatu is a very 'Homey' place in my opinion. But the people is what made the visit. There everlasting smiles and generosity to help in any way they could really made our visit there spectacular.
Take a look at the pictures from Vanuatu and the rest of my Aussie adventures so far here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joshhorton12
I'm constanly updating and adding so keep checking back to see more!
Friday, March 19, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
I'm back, by popular demand...
Sorry I've been quite slack with updating on here, but with the time constraints I have with laying on the beach and eating delicious home cooked meals, I can't seem to find ANY time.
Yet on I go, back on the Gold Coast as I left you all last. Ahhh, the Gold coast life again, it's been extremely cruzie (relaxing) so far. Its great to be back and see my old stomping ground again. Yet I'm seeing it from a different perspective. I'm actually visiting all the things that I never got around to seeing...plus some.
I've made day trips to famous Byron Bay, seen waterfalls and mountain ranges, and amazing cliffs at the waters edge. Seen a bunch of great views that I was unfortunately unable to take photos of, but all have definitely rated in my top best views I've seen. Views from Byron, Lennox Head, and a couple different camping locations have all be crossed off my 'To Do' list.
Byron Bay, the most easterly point of mainland Australia, has a surrounding area with winding, hilly roads leads up to a terrific old lighthouse. The lighthouse is on a point that over looks the beach down below. The sunset from here was amazing. It's really astonishing just how much I DIDN'T do while I was here 5 months ago. It seems that I missed a lot of the good stuff...good thing I came back.
Visited my first Australian Zoo a couple weeks back, the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. It was a smaller zoo, but still had a good line up of Aussie animals. Saw my first Koala, Wallaby, Wombat, Tasmanian Devil, and even got to pet a Kangaroo...which was obviously one of my main adjectives when coming over here.
The roos were large animals, with a slight zoo stench. There must have been close to a hundred in this large walk thru pin. The roos were everywhere, some were sun bathing, some were laying completely sprawled out on their backs, others were just straight chillin', staring right at us. Even saw a mama roo layin on her side with a little joey taking a siesta in her pouch. That was a cool sight.
Koalas are very lazy animals. They remind me of a sloth, only better looking. The big fuzzy, cuddly animals were in planted tree tops snacking away at the surrounding foliage. I was told that this was quite a sight to see so much movement out of Koalas, seeing how their big bludgers (lazy).
Been trying out more local and foreign cuisine since I've been back. Trying to cook new foods, old foods with new recipes, and simply just throwing some things together to see how it turns out. For starters I can say that I've successfully made a handful of cheesecakes. I didn't think I even liked cheesecakes until I learned to make one. With a little help from the master chef Charmaine, I concocted some delicious ones.
The food here is much like that of the states, only with a few staples that can't go unnoticed. The typical Aussie meal is something called a meat pie. That's right, it's exactly as it sounds, a pie filled with meat. When I first got here and heard about this meat pie deal, I didn't find it too appealing. As most Americans, I've always thought of pies as sweet dessert items, but not here. The most common of these pies are small, enough for just one person, and usually filled with steak and gravy. Yet they do come with all different stuffing's including chicken, curry, mushrooms, veggies, etc. etc. Don't get this famous meal confused with a sort of quiche, it looks and feels exactly like an apple pie, just with meat. I tried my first one not too long ago, and since then I've been craving meat pies. That is something I'm definitely bringing back to the states!
I've got some catching up to do on here, so I'll try to follow up some more stories over the next few weeks. Stay tuned.
For the sake of my sanity and wallet, I'm no longer going to try to upload pictures onto the blog, it takes me hours to simply load a handful of pictures. So I've uploaded almost every picture I have onto a web album, so that way everyone can see all of my photos. I'll post that URL when its ready! So be on the look out for that.
Yet on I go, back on the Gold Coast as I left you all last. Ahhh, the Gold coast life again, it's been extremely cruzie (relaxing) so far. Its great to be back and see my old stomping ground again. Yet I'm seeing it from a different perspective. I'm actually visiting all the things that I never got around to seeing...plus some.
I've made day trips to famous Byron Bay, seen waterfalls and mountain ranges, and amazing cliffs at the waters edge. Seen a bunch of great views that I was unfortunately unable to take photos of, but all have definitely rated in my top best views I've seen. Views from Byron, Lennox Head, and a couple different camping locations have all be crossed off my 'To Do' list.
Byron Bay, the most easterly point of mainland Australia, has a surrounding area with winding, hilly roads leads up to a terrific old lighthouse. The lighthouse is on a point that over looks the beach down below. The sunset from here was amazing. It's really astonishing just how much I DIDN'T do while I was here 5 months ago. It seems that I missed a lot of the good stuff...good thing I came back.
Visited my first Australian Zoo a couple weeks back, the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. It was a smaller zoo, but still had a good line up of Aussie animals. Saw my first Koala, Wallaby, Wombat, Tasmanian Devil, and even got to pet a Kangaroo...which was obviously one of my main adjectives when coming over here.
The roos were large animals, with a slight zoo stench. There must have been close to a hundred in this large walk thru pin. The roos were everywhere, some were sun bathing, some were laying completely sprawled out on their backs, others were just straight chillin', staring right at us. Even saw a mama roo layin on her side with a little joey taking a siesta in her pouch. That was a cool sight.
Koalas are very lazy animals. They remind me of a sloth, only better looking. The big fuzzy, cuddly animals were in planted tree tops snacking away at the surrounding foliage. I was told that this was quite a sight to see so much movement out of Koalas, seeing how their big bludgers (lazy).
Been trying out more local and foreign cuisine since I've been back. Trying to cook new foods, old foods with new recipes, and simply just throwing some things together to see how it turns out. For starters I can say that I've successfully made a handful of cheesecakes. I didn't think I even liked cheesecakes until I learned to make one. With a little help from the master chef Charmaine, I concocted some delicious ones.
The food here is much like that of the states, only with a few staples that can't go unnoticed. The typical Aussie meal is something called a meat pie. That's right, it's exactly as it sounds, a pie filled with meat. When I first got here and heard about this meat pie deal, I didn't find it too appealing. As most Americans, I've always thought of pies as sweet dessert items, but not here. The most common of these pies are small, enough for just one person, and usually filled with steak and gravy. Yet they do come with all different stuffing's including chicken, curry, mushrooms, veggies, etc. etc. Don't get this famous meal confused with a sort of quiche, it looks and feels exactly like an apple pie, just with meat. I tried my first one not too long ago, and since then I've been craving meat pies. That is something I'm definitely bringing back to the states!
I've got some catching up to do on here, so I'll try to follow up some more stories over the next few weeks. Stay tuned.
For the sake of my sanity and wallet, I'm no longer going to try to upload pictures onto the blog, it takes me hours to simply load a handful of pictures. So I've uploaded almost every picture I have onto a web album, so that way everyone can see all of my photos. I'll post that URL when its ready! So be on the look out for that.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
The ten of us "Gypsie Travelers", as we call ourselves, took the next 4 days after leaving Hervey Bay to travel down south and explore some mountain ranges and lookout points. We saw some really beautiful mountains, but the weather was awful for us the whole time.
Sleeping at night was the worst really. I spent the whole week after leaving the island sleeping either on the floor of a tent or in the back seat of the truck. Either way, when your tired, you'll sleep anywhere. But definitely was in a slightly cranky mood with the whole poor sleeping bit. Either way, we all made sure that we didn't miss a beat.
After a week of camping and traveling, we eventually made our way down to Brisbane where it was time to for all of us to split up. Some wanted to stay in Brisbane, some wanted to keep truckin' it down to Melbourne, and Gerby and I were headed to the Gold Coast. I found myself back where I started my whole Australian adventure...Nobby Beach!
It's funny how the closer we got, the more excited I was to return here. Honestly didn't think I'd be back, not this soon anyway. Things are still the same as when I left here, my bakery is still pumping out savory scrolls and the waves are still filled with surfers.
Had my first actual Krispy Kreme Doughnuts fight. Not just a cute one or two doughnuts being thrown around either, I'm talking we had 8 boxes of doughnuts and a whole beach, lit up with moon, to crush these puppies at each other. Even brought out a mallet for a throw-and-toss fashion of detonating doughnuts. For the record, chocolate covered custard DOES NOT taste good when you're wearing it.
That was quickly topped two days later by a custard battle. This one was however, not planned. For some reason we had an extremely large amount of custard in the fridge, and one thing let to another...next thing you know, the house walls are covered in chocolate custard and were on the beach again smashing handfuls of custard across the sand. Again...custard ON YOU, isn't as good as eating it outright.
Waterfall sliding
doughnut bashing
artsy fartsy picture i took at Pt. Danger
Custard fight
Sleeping at night was the worst really. I spent the whole week after leaving the island sleeping either on the floor of a tent or in the back seat of the truck. Either way, when your tired, you'll sleep anywhere. But definitely was in a slightly cranky mood with the whole poor sleeping bit. Either way, we all made sure that we didn't miss a beat.
After a week of camping and traveling, we eventually made our way down to Brisbane where it was time to for all of us to split up. Some wanted to stay in Brisbane, some wanted to keep truckin' it down to Melbourne, and Gerby and I were headed to the Gold Coast. I found myself back where I started my whole Australian adventure...Nobby Beach!
It's funny how the closer we got, the more excited I was to return here. Honestly didn't think I'd be back, not this soon anyway. Things are still the same as when I left here, my bakery is still pumping out savory scrolls and the waves are still filled with surfers.
Had my first actual Krispy Kreme Doughnuts fight. Not just a cute one or two doughnuts being thrown around either, I'm talking we had 8 boxes of doughnuts and a whole beach, lit up with moon, to crush these puppies at each other. Even brought out a mallet for a throw-and-toss fashion of detonating doughnuts. For the record, chocolate covered custard DOES NOT taste good when you're wearing it.
That was quickly topped two days later by a custard battle. This one was however, not planned. For some reason we had an extremely large amount of custard in the fridge, and one thing let to another...next thing you know, the house walls are covered in chocolate custard and were on the beach again smashing handfuls of custard across the sand. Again...custard ON YOU, isn't as good as eating it outright.
Waterfall sliding
doughnut bashing
artsy fartsy picture i took at Pt. Danger
Custard fight
Friday, February 5, 2010
Hervey Bay
After two days of driving and one night camping off the side of the highway, we've arrived to our first destination...Hervey Bay. The town is about 400km north of Brisbane and is the direct mainland across from Fraser Island. Couple of my buddies that are traveling with us lived here for a few months, so we decided to spend some time here for them catch up and show us around.
It was definitely a fun stop. We camped in our tents in a caravan park on the ocean. It's a really fancy place with clean showers and toilets (sometimes they can be quite gross, but this one is in good condition.) I seemed to somehow make friends with the owners, a really friendly Irish and British couple who can talk your ears off, they ended up giving us a fantastic deal for the 9 of us. Right up the road is everything we needed, grocery store, bottle shop, and bakery. The local circus had just came to town also, so there were heaps of things to explore. There is even a fancy water park up the road that is free for public use.
All across Australia, especially along the coast, there are always parks and playgrounds built for the tax payers. And these areas are done very nicely. People take care of them too, unlike my idea of Americans and our parks, Australians seem to understand how awesome of facilities they have and don't seem to abuse them too much. Most major areas have nice boardwalks that run alongside the ocean, and some even have outdoor exercise equipment to promote healthy lifestyles. There's always free toilets, showers, gas grills, and open areas that we can post up some tents for the night. I think it's a such a great convenience, especially for us travelers to have these amenities at most major stops.
One of my buddies that's with us had a friend who ran a extra tiny fun park. When I say tiny, I mean it has a very simplistic 18 hole putt-putt and a giant water slide...that's it. It may be small, but getting free rides down the water slide provides hours of entertainment for a poor traveler. We spent a couple of hours there each day, just continually going down this one giant twisty water slide...I felt like a nine year old, and yet I totally enjoyed it! It wore all the skin on my elbows and feet away, but I'll chalk that up to the sign of a good, fast, water slide.
Well mama, close your ears for this one...had my first run in the cops here in Australia. I knew it would eventually come, and while we were in our last night in Hervey Bay, it happened. We all decided to go out on the town the last night we were there, so we had a local friend show us around. It was fun, not too many people were out, but all of us together for the last time was a fun event.
When we left, we took a short walk to the Macca's (McDonald's) up the road, where then we had the issue of figuring out the best way to get home. There was 6 of us, and a cab was too expensive for our wallets at the time. So we lucky had Ash's (a friend who lives in Hervey Bay) mum come pick us up.
Here lies the 'problem', Ash drove a little hatchback civic looking thing and there was 6 of us, plus her mum driving.
Yet we convince her to let all of us squeeze in, so we all crammed in, 4 in the back seat with Gerby (my Dutch island roommate) and his bag of Macca's in the boot (trunk). Her mom was a saint for coming to get us, she even offered to stop at a local bakery that was baking fresh pies at that hour of the morning. I can't say no to a fresh bakery. So we pulled a U'ey and went to the bakery. Soon as we pull into the spot, here comes the paddy wagon with his red lights on.
Wonderful. The coppers came from behind us and must of seen us doing a U-turn and needed to investigate. I could hear a pin drop...we all knew that we were breaking the law with none of us buckled up and all the bodies that were intertwined inside. We all immediately jump out the back seat, hoping to pull a fast one on the fuzz.. But the two officers walked up immediately and counted heads. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 he one of the officers counted. Gerby, the guy in the boot, didn't get out. Luckily he kept his head down so they wouldn't be able to see him easily.
He breathalizes our driver and asks her the standard questions..."I think we're going to get away with Gerby in the trunk", I thought to myself! The second officer obviously was bored so he decides to walk about the car with his flash light...shinning it in the windows, searching for something that our faces were telling him. I watch him closely as he does a double take in the rear windows.
"Can you let the bloke outta of the boot please" He sternly commands. My heart sank...no idea how this was going to go over...we're caught...our friends mom is about to get hit with a nice fat ticket..not to mention maybe Gerby as well.
I pop the truck open to let him out...soon as the door's lifted, I can here the cop give this huge cheeky laugh. Gerby, laying like a contortionist, had a half eatin cheeseburger in one had, and a coke in the other. He looked right at the officer with his food filled cheeks and gave a Dutch sounding "GOOD MORNING".
Hahaha, we all starting laughing..definitely lightened the mood.
In the end, the comedy show and the cooperativeness of everyone helped ease the hit of the ticket. My first run in with the Australian Law ended up being no sweat, another bullet dodged, and another comical moment in this adventure.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Off the island...
Well I did it....I left the island. It was kind of a sudden decision but I think it was time. I have saved up a fair bit of money that should last me at least a month. And I'm itching to travel again. I realized that now I only have 3 and a half months left to see this whole country and yet I still feel like I haven't seen anything yet.
Five of us left the island together, which didn't go over too well with management for obvious reasons, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity that was offered to me. I had two friends from the island that where on there way down south from Cairns. They each bought car and are planning to drive south to Melbourne, the exact plans I had. I could easily jump in and only split gas until I reach the location I want to hope off. This was definitely the cheapest and most adventurous opportunity for me. So I'm no longer there...and the last 3 days as an islander was ruined by heavy rain...so getting to explore the island one last time wasn't in the plans. I didn't quite get to finish all the walks that were on the island but did the main ones and loved every minute of it. Sure, I will definitely miss that place...the easy living and the life that was classed as "Paradise" but traveling again and getting back on task of exploring Australia is now back to the for-front of my plans.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola came to the island back early last year and filmed this commercial. From what I understand it was a one day shoot that costs in the ballpark of 3 million dollars. They even used some of the island employees as a few extras in the commercial...just missed out on that!
Click on the link to open up YouTube to check it out!
Coca-Cola Australian Summer Commercial
Click on the link to open up YouTube to check it out!
Coca-Cola Australian Summer Commercial
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Whitehaven Beach
Been in the Whitsunday for the past two months and I haven't even seen what it has to offer. I've been on this island and haven't been to any others yet. Which is sorta sad. But that changed last week when I had a good friend of mine come visit from the Gold Coast. Charmaine came up when she had time off from work and we went on a boat to the great barrier reef where we snorkeled amongst the corral and played on the beach of Whitehaven, which is one of the most renowned beaches in the world.
We left Abel Point Marina at 8am for an all day adventure that started with a glass botton boat ride over some of the reef. The reef was such a great sight. It was far different from when I went off the jetty on my island. These reefs were like the ones in the movies, all different colors surrounded by fish that looked like Nemo. The boat ride was cool and I got my first glimpse of the beautifully famous Great Barrier Reef. We then headed to a spot where we were given stinger suit and snorkels to explore on our own. This was very neat. Charmaine was a pro at this. She was dipping and diving everywhere like a freaking dolphin while I was choking on water that got in my snorkel.
But in the end I did spot the only turtle out of the whole group. This bugger was big with a large shell on his back and giant flipper arms that propelled him through the water. I dove down underwater with him and swam directly on top of him, but he wasn't having any of it...he quickly gave me a looking that was nothing short of an "F YOU".
The fish that we saw while snorkeling were amazing. There were hundreds of them all swimming amongst us, blue ones, green ones, stripped, neon...all types. The guides where throwing bread in the water only inches in front of our snorkel, so we honestly got an up close look at them. I tried to snatch a couple but my quick hands were no match for there slimmy scales.
We ate a buffet lunch that I found extremely filling...filling enough to not eat another single thing for the rest of the day. We ate lunch while we drove to Whitehaven beach. Unfortunately, I didn't take many photos, I had this sinking feeling that my brand new camerae was going to take a dive in the water or the sand if I brought it off the boat. But Google "Whitehaven Beach" and take a look at the photos. It's gorgeous. It reminded me a lot of Lake MacKenzie on Fraser Island with the white silicon sand and the clear blue water. We hung out at Whitehaven for a couple hours and watched planes and helicopters shuffle tourists on private excursions. One day I'll have my own sea plane that'll take me to remote beaches...one day.
We ended our trip with a visit to Long Island, another island in the cluster of 74 in the Whitsundays group. We didn't spend much time there, but it was good to see another resort that compares to mine.
I still feel like I didn't see everything there was to see throughout the area of islands, but this trip sure helped me see the main attractions. Charmaine was a wonderful guest to have along, and with her being Australian, I didn't quite feel like every other tourist on the trip. I felt like I had my own personal guide. One day I'll be back to explore many more of the islands, but in the mean time, I like knowing that the sights I saw everyday while working in the Whitsundays will be just as memorable.
We left Abel Point Marina at 8am for an all day adventure that started with a glass botton boat ride over some of the reef. The reef was such a great sight. It was far different from when I went off the jetty on my island. These reefs were like the ones in the movies, all different colors surrounded by fish that looked like Nemo. The boat ride was cool and I got my first glimpse of the beautifully famous Great Barrier Reef. We then headed to a spot where we were given stinger suit and snorkels to explore on our own. This was very neat. Charmaine was a pro at this. She was dipping and diving everywhere like a freaking dolphin while I was choking on water that got in my snorkel.
But in the end I did spot the only turtle out of the whole group. This bugger was big with a large shell on his back and giant flipper arms that propelled him through the water. I dove down underwater with him and swam directly on top of him, but he wasn't having any of it...he quickly gave me a looking that was nothing short of an "F YOU".
The fish that we saw while snorkeling were amazing. There were hundreds of them all swimming amongst us, blue ones, green ones, stripped, neon...all types. The guides where throwing bread in the water only inches in front of our snorkel, so we honestly got an up close look at them. I tried to snatch a couple but my quick hands were no match for there slimmy scales.
We ate a buffet lunch that I found extremely filling...filling enough to not eat another single thing for the rest of the day. We ate lunch while we drove to Whitehaven beach. Unfortunately, I didn't take many photos, I had this sinking feeling that my brand new camerae was going to take a dive in the water or the sand if I brought it off the boat. But Google "Whitehaven Beach" and take a look at the photos. It's gorgeous. It reminded me a lot of Lake MacKenzie on Fraser Island with the white silicon sand and the clear blue water. We hung out at Whitehaven for a couple hours and watched planes and helicopters shuffle tourists on private excursions. One day I'll have my own sea plane that'll take me to remote beaches...one day.
We ended our trip with a visit to Long Island, another island in the cluster of 74 in the Whitsundays group. We didn't spend much time there, but it was good to see another resort that compares to mine.
I still feel like I didn't see everything there was to see throughout the area of islands, but this trip sure helped me see the main attractions. Charmaine was a wonderful guest to have along, and with her being Australian, I didn't quite feel like every other tourist on the trip. I felt like I had my own personal guide. One day I'll be back to explore many more of the islands, but in the mean time, I like knowing that the sights I saw everyday while working in the Whitsundays will be just as memorable.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Still working
A little update on my current affairs:
I believe the last thing yall heard is that I was on the island, working the bar. Well, I've been working the bar...and the cafe'...and marketing....and porter. In the past couple weeks we've lost around 5 more staff members and brought in 2. We're very short handed, which means Superman (me) has to fill in where others have left. Been putting in a lot of hours and saving heaps of money.
It's been a blast though. I absolutely love the bar, because usually its just me working, and to get a sip of alcohol on this island they have to come to me. I get to know all the guests as I attempt to show off with some bar flare. Guests average 2-3 nights here and about 50 people come and go every time. Being behind the bar is an instant conversation starter, usually consisting of me make fun of guys that order pina colodas, and filling jugs of beer with inches of head to rude customers. I've met so many interesting, funny, and friendly people none-the-less.
I'm also in charge of the music that's playing. We have this great big system with thousands and thousands of songs on it to chose from. When people drink they like to request their favorite music. I had a Swedish chick ask if we had any Swedish music (apparently she wanted Swedish lyrics and everything), I had a girl from New York ask for Biggie Smalls and Tupac, I had an Irish couple want some classic rock. It's great to see what genres of music different people like.
When I work the bar, I usually take care of the music, games, and drinks, which keeps me pretty busy. One of the more interesting moments I have is when I'm doing games for guests.When it comes time for me to play games with the guests some of the funniest moments happen. I never thought that being the MC for the Clemson games would ever help me out, but it has definitely given me the confidence to take the microphone and lead a crowd of strangers to a good time. When I'm running a game, often times I will see flashes come from different areas of the bar. The flashes are cameras going off...I'm actually being photographed. I can't explain the feeling of accomplishment when people are having so much fun playing the games, that they decide to document the event by taking pictures. Like this one time I was standing on a picnic table outside the bar playing drinking games with close to 70 guests, all the while they were taking pictures of 'their host' creating this atmosphere. I know it sounds really egocentric to say that their taking pictures of me personally, but to know that I'm apart of peoples adventures and travels gives me so much gratification in what I'm doing.
I'm also in charge of the music that's playing. We have this great big system with thousands and thousands of songs on it to chose from. When people drink they like to request their favorite music. I had a Swedish chick ask if we had any Swedish music (apparently she wanted Swedish lyrics and everything), I had a girl from New York ask for Biggie Smalls and Tupac, I had an Irish couple want some classic rock. It's great to see what genres of music different people like.
When I work the bar, I usually take care of the music, games, and drinks, which keeps me pretty busy. One of the more interesting moments I have is when I'm doing games for guests.When it comes time for me to play games with the guests some of the funniest moments happen. I never thought that being the MC for the Clemson games would ever help me out, but it has definitely given me the confidence to take the microphone and lead a crowd of strangers to a good time. When I'm running a game, often times I will see flashes come from different areas of the bar. The flashes are cameras going off...I'm actually being photographed. I can't explain the feeling of accomplishment when people are having so much fun playing the games, that they decide to document the event by taking pictures. Like this one time I was standing on a picnic table outside the bar playing drinking games with close to 70 guests, all the while they were taking pictures of 'their host' creating this atmosphere. I know it sounds really egocentric to say that their taking pictures of me personally, but to know that I'm apart of peoples adventures and travels gives me so much gratification in what I'm doing.
As much as I love this place, I'm ready to go. Ready to travel...see more. By the time February hits, I'll only have 3 and a half months until my plane leaves...unless I change my flight.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Last of Fraser..
To finish up my summary of Fraser Island:
After leaving Lake MacKenzie and making our way out of the inlet tracks alive, we spotted some of our first Dingo's (wild dog looking things) of the trip. Dingos are known to be dangerous and have been known to attack in the name of food. The little fellas were running along the beach near our truck. Never did get a decent picture of one because they weren't as eager to get close to us as we were with it.
We continued driving north until we arrived at the Maheno shipwreck. This 10 ton hunk of rust is an actual large ship that has been beached on the island since 1935. It was an old war ship that had been declared unusable and was being towed to Japan for scrap metal, when a cyclone took the ship ashore where it now resides. This thing is as massive and cool as it looks in the photos. Its completely rusted throughout with about half it filled with sand. Blue crabs seemed to have made it their home, because everywhere I turned I them crawling all over it. We stuck around for about an hour, just walking around taking pictures and unlawfully climbing on the ship to get closer looks. The sun was beginning to set and we left to our next camp sight; Camp K'Gari.
K'Gari is an aboriginal ran camp site that's known for approachable dingos, unruly campers, and aboriginal dancing performances. The spirit of the aboriginal culture is in full force on this camp ground. The resident aboriginals dressed up in their paint and preformed a cabaret for us. The 60ish camp guests all joined in the body painting and dancing around the fire. I even volunteered to do some sort of dance in front of everyone to show my good spirit. Haha, I'm completely sure I looked absolutely ridiculous...but hey, who can say they've danced a sacred aboriginal dance before? I can. The next morning, we were all slightly miserable because of the late night rain that fell. Most of us and our gear was completely soaked, but we had to suck it up and keep going to finish our last day. By this time, a fair amount of us were still wearing the same clothes we left in and were running on three days shower less.
Our final stop of the trip was to Eli Creek, a fresh water creek that led straight into the ocean. Man this water felt amazing that day. The clear blue water was freezing cold and gave us the shock we needed to wake us all up. The creek was about 2 feet deep and just perfect to halfway float down to the ocean opening.
Heading back down the beach 60km to our barge wasn't the best ride. Some of us were getting slightly cranky and the swaying truck didn't ease the nerves any. We'd done such a great job at not getting stuck yet during our trip. Which was very surprising seeing how we'd frequently pass trucks that were scary deep in the sand. Trying to leave Eli Creek was our first hiccup, we were stuck. Not bad though. I had everyone get out and give a slight push while I put the bad boy in 4low and used my Mario Andretti skills to get us out of the rut.
Remembering that the first part of our drive when landing on the island was easily the roughest and most dangerous part, we had to make a decision to make a go for that route and try to beat the tide, or to take the inlet road 18km to the ferry. We were told the inlet road was very rough and that it'd "Rattle the fillings outta ya teeth." To much discussion and debate, we chose the safe bet and took the inlet road, avoiding the beach drive for the last 18km. Getting stuck on beach on this last bit as the tide was almost fully in would result in the truck literally being washed away to sea. Well perfect, not a worry in the world...not a chance for us to get stuck or washed away into the ocean, it's all smooth sailing for here I thought. By this time everyone was pretty sick of the terrible driving that took place for the day and I ended up back in the driver seat for the last bit. And wouldn't you know, just as I'm leaving the beach where the sand was soft and waiting for another victim to get stuck, I pull up to the point where the beach meets the inlet road and BAM. I'm stuck. Perfect. I'm such an idiot. I tried to get the truck unstuck, but I just dug us deeper and deeper until almost the entire front tires were under the sand and the engine block was siting on the ground. This could be awful. We may not see another passing car for hours since the tide is rising up. Yet luckily a Toyota pulled up and offered to help us out. Such a saint this guy was. He had his tow straps and was very friendly and helpful. He got about a 3 metre head start until the rope got taught and completely jerked us out of the sand. I was very close to loosing control and taking a terrible skid in the rock wall to our left, but luck was on my side. Our only big stuck of the trip and it was easily corrected by a random Australian who was on the island for a fishing trip.
Our last battle of the trip was after we arrived back the mainland and had to cross the beach to the bitumen (pavement). Right ahead of us were two trucks stuck...and stuck deep. We weren't going anywhere. They had the entrance blocked up. So while they were digging thereselves out, we all got out and made lunch and watched. Haha, maybe not the most friendliest thing to do. But this was nothing compared to what we next did. You have to note that this was the same truck that only a day ago Angel and I mooned while they were stuck in the inlet tracks. So they already weren't impressed with our cocky attitudes. They all had long angry faces that screamed "GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
Our time started running out and we had to get the truck back to the hostel before we got penalized. There was one little opening next to the two axel-deep stuck trucks that we could shoot through if we felt like we could make it. Why not. So I hopped into the drivers seat and we all buckled up tight cause I put the sucker in 4wd high and picked up speed. I was planning on NOT getting stuck this time, and in the mean time show the other trucks how America does things. We were getting closer and we were all anxious and excited to see what would happen when we hit the soft sand. I started laughing and yelling out "COME OOOON! COOOOOMMMMEE ONN!!!" Everyone else joins in and starts hollering. The other trucks can hear us yelling and carrying on as we get closer. Our engine is roaring loudly close to redline. I hit the soft sand and immediantly lose about 15km/h and begin to bog down. But we are all still chanting and giving the truck the moral support it needs. Next thing I know we're about half way through the deep sand and I can see the bituman ahead. I look out the window at the stuck trucks and taunt them as i'm inching my way through the sand to the end. We only BARELY make it out of the sand...but we made it out without getting suck. Everyone cheers and laughs. We couldn't help ourselfs. We knew we had the best car with the best passangers.
We arrived back to the hostel and returned the vehicle where it luckily passed the mechanics inspection, so we all received our bonds back. The trip was officially a success. Fraser island was conquered.
After leaving Lake MacKenzie and making our way out of the inlet tracks alive, we spotted some of our first Dingo's (wild dog looking things) of the trip. Dingos are known to be dangerous and have been known to attack in the name of food. The little fellas were running along the beach near our truck. Never did get a decent picture of one because they weren't as eager to get close to us as we were with it.
We continued driving north until we arrived at the Maheno shipwreck. This 10 ton hunk of rust is an actual large ship that has been beached on the island since 1935. It was an old war ship that had been declared unusable and was being towed to Japan for scrap metal, when a cyclone took the ship ashore where it now resides. This thing is as massive and cool as it looks in the photos. Its completely rusted throughout with about half it filled with sand. Blue crabs seemed to have made it their home, because everywhere I turned I them crawling all over it. We stuck around for about an hour, just walking around taking pictures and unlawfully climbing on the ship to get closer looks. The sun was beginning to set and we left to our next camp sight; Camp K'Gari.
K'Gari is an aboriginal ran camp site that's known for approachable dingos, unruly campers, and aboriginal dancing performances. The spirit of the aboriginal culture is in full force on this camp ground. The resident aboriginals dressed up in their paint and preformed a cabaret for us. The 60ish camp guests all joined in the body painting and dancing around the fire. I even volunteered to do some sort of dance in front of everyone to show my good spirit. Haha, I'm completely sure I looked absolutely ridiculous...but hey, who can say they've danced a sacred aboriginal dance before? I can. The next morning, we were all slightly miserable because of the late night rain that fell. Most of us and our gear was completely soaked, but we had to suck it up and keep going to finish our last day. By this time, a fair amount of us were still wearing the same clothes we left in and were running on three days shower less.
Our final stop of the trip was to Eli Creek, a fresh water creek that led straight into the ocean. Man this water felt amazing that day. The clear blue water was freezing cold and gave us the shock we needed to wake us all up. The creek was about 2 feet deep and just perfect to halfway float down to the ocean opening.
Heading back down the beach 60km to our barge wasn't the best ride. Some of us were getting slightly cranky and the swaying truck didn't ease the nerves any. We'd done such a great job at not getting stuck yet during our trip. Which was very surprising seeing how we'd frequently pass trucks that were scary deep in the sand. Trying to leave Eli Creek was our first hiccup, we were stuck. Not bad though. I had everyone get out and give a slight push while I put the bad boy in 4low and used my Mario Andretti skills to get us out of the rut.
Remembering that the first part of our drive when landing on the island was easily the roughest and most dangerous part, we had to make a decision to make a go for that route and try to beat the tide, or to take the inlet road 18km to the ferry. We were told the inlet road was very rough and that it'd "Rattle the fillings outta ya teeth." To much discussion and debate, we chose the safe bet and took the inlet road, avoiding the beach drive for the last 18km. Getting stuck on beach on this last bit as the tide was almost fully in would result in the truck literally being washed away to sea. Well perfect, not a worry in the world...not a chance for us to get stuck or washed away into the ocean, it's all smooth sailing for here I thought. By this time everyone was pretty sick of the terrible driving that took place for the day and I ended up back in the driver seat for the last bit. And wouldn't you know, just as I'm leaving the beach where the sand was soft and waiting for another victim to get stuck, I pull up to the point where the beach meets the inlet road and BAM. I'm stuck. Perfect. I'm such an idiot. I tried to get the truck unstuck, but I just dug us deeper and deeper until almost the entire front tires were under the sand and the engine block was siting on the ground. This could be awful. We may not see another passing car for hours since the tide is rising up. Yet luckily a Toyota pulled up and offered to help us out. Such a saint this guy was. He had his tow straps and was very friendly and helpful. He got about a 3 metre head start until the rope got taught and completely jerked us out of the sand. I was very close to loosing control and taking a terrible skid in the rock wall to our left, but luck was on my side. Our only big stuck of the trip and it was easily corrected by a random Australian who was on the island for a fishing trip.
Our last battle of the trip was after we arrived back the mainland and had to cross the beach to the bitumen (pavement). Right ahead of us were two trucks stuck...and stuck deep. We weren't going anywhere. They had the entrance blocked up. So while they were digging thereselves out, we all got out and made lunch and watched. Haha, maybe not the most friendliest thing to do. But this was nothing compared to what we next did. You have to note that this was the same truck that only a day ago Angel and I mooned while they were stuck in the inlet tracks. So they already weren't impressed with our cocky attitudes. They all had long angry faces that screamed "GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
Our time started running out and we had to get the truck back to the hostel before we got penalized. There was one little opening next to the two axel-deep stuck trucks that we could shoot through if we felt like we could make it. Why not. So I hopped into the drivers seat and we all buckled up tight cause I put the sucker in 4wd high and picked up speed. I was planning on NOT getting stuck this time, and in the mean time show the other trucks how America does things. We were getting closer and we were all anxious and excited to see what would happen when we hit the soft sand. I started laughing and yelling out "COME OOOON! COOOOOMMMMEE ONN!!!" Everyone else joins in and starts hollering. The other trucks can hear us yelling and carrying on as we get closer. Our engine is roaring loudly close to redline. I hit the soft sand and immediantly lose about 15km/h and begin to bog down. But we are all still chanting and giving the truck the moral support it needs. Next thing I know we're about half way through the deep sand and I can see the bituman ahead. I look out the window at the stuck trucks and taunt them as i'm inching my way through the sand to the end. We only BARELY make it out of the sand...but we made it out without getting suck. Everyone cheers and laughs. We couldn't help ourselfs. We knew we had the best car with the best passangers.
We arrived back to the hostel and returned the vehicle where it luckily passed the mechanics inspection, so we all received our bonds back. The trip was officially a success. Fraser island was conquered.
Fraser Pictures 2
On the Ferry.
The Ferry.
Gettin yanked out of getting stuck.
Us getting stuck trying to get on the inlet road to leave the island.
Our slight hiccup at Eli Creek.
Eli Creek
Our camp site at Camp K'Gari
A close up of our Aboriginal friends.Fraser Pictures
Happy faces by all.
Haha Sissi ruined this picture.
Katelyn and Andree walking through the inlet tracks. Note the large rock walls on either side.
Lake Wobby's large dunes that led down to the lake.
While passing stuck motorists, Angel and I decided to give them a little insult to injury. Haha. We had too much fun.
Lake MacKenzie flips.
More views of the very treacherous inlet tracks.
Flipping down the dunes into Lake Wobby.
Making awesome pictures.
The top of Eli Creek, about to float down.
Posing with the Aboriginals. I fit right in.
My special Aboriginal dance I performed.
The four men of the trip with the Maheno.
All of us at Lake MacKenzie
Taking a break from driving after we emerged from the inlet tracks.
The Aboriginals.
Us before getting on the ferry to take us across to the island.
The Maheno.
Us at the Maheno.
Underwater at Lake MacKenzie
Lake Mackenzie
Debating crossing the sand dunes at Lake Wobby
The beach terrain...one of the smoother parts.
Me rocking out behind the wheel.
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