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Oh well, I have to write this again because something went wrong with the last blog.
So I guess I've left NZ now, and I remember feeling pretty bad about that. I made a lot of friends while I was there and there were so many beautiful places to see there and cool things to do. So I grudgingly made my way to OZ where I was sure I would not enjoy myself as much.
We flew into Melbourne on the 11th January and made or way to the city centre where our hostel was. Tempretures were around the 40 degree mark...it was unreal. It felt even hotter than Fiji. It turns out we were lucky enough to arrive at a good time though. The Poker millions tournament was on in the casino, just 5 minutes from our hostel, so we spent a few days there, watching some of the best players in the world, only inches away from us. Daniel Negraneu, Kathy Liebert, Phil Ivy, Chris Ferguson and my boy Gus Hanson (who ended up winning). There were also some celebrity players there like Shane Warne, Michael Greco and Sannon Elizabeth (who Baz got to stand beside, lucky git).
We also went to see the Tennis Aussie Open which was on. We choose to go and see Andy Murray play and got decent seats after a long, long wait in the queue. We also saw Tommy Haas afterwards. Now, I'm not much of a tennis fan, but it was good to get a couple of games in at a major event like that. I also kept up the sporting theme by going to see the Melbourne Victory play soccer. It wasn't a bad game...but not the highest of standards. However, the Victory won, so that kept all the local hoons happy.
Melbourne is a great city....definitely in my top 3 cities I've visited so far. There is always something to do, something to see, places to visit. If you get bored in Melbourne, I reckon you must be a boring person! As it happens, Joanna Willatts was in town with her new man Stuart. It was good to see her again and we went out together quite a few times and played golf with Stuart. We also watched the tennis in Federation Square before going to a pub to see Andy Murray getting beaten by Rafael Nadal.
Because the weather was so nice, we took advantage of the open air cinema in one of the parks. They inflate a huge screen and people lie on a grassy slope with a blanket or beanbag and watch whatever movie is shown that night. It tuned out to be pretty cold at night, so I was glad I'd rocked up with just shorts and T-Shirt the first time. The second time I forked out for a beanbag, plus I had my breeks on, a jacket, tammy hat and a blanket. It was also cool seeing massive bats flying over our heads in the darkness. It was at the open air cinema that we met the bloke from Little Britain in the line for Hot Dogs...Matt Lucas. So I got my picture taken with him.
We then tried to get a flat in Melbourne but I soon decided that I wasn't wanting to commit to spending my whole time in Australia by signing a six month housing lease, so I organised for us to go and visit my friend Hannah up near Byron Bay. So we flew up there and met her and her boyfriend Dean...one of the coolest guys ever. We stayed at their house for a week and did the things that people do when in Byron...like go to the beach, party, go to the beach, party, go to the beach, party....you know how it goes. Anyways...Nimbin is the most famous drugs town the country....so we went there....but we never tried anything because we are good boys.....we just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Strange place though...maybe you have to be stoned to fully appreciate it. The thing I'll remember most about being in Byron though was jumping off the cliff at Dalwood falls. The locals reckon it's over 50 foot...and before I'd even seen it, I'd bet Hannah I would jump. So thats just what I did. I have some quality pics on my album of it too. Having said that...I couldn't turn my neck for a week because I landed funny...but it was worth it for the thrill.
I also did my first bit of hitchhiking ever while I was there. Hannah lived about 20 minutes drive away from Byron, and we had missed the last bus into town, so Me and Baz decided to hitch a lift (well, I decided, Baz just came along). We waited about 10 or 15 minutes on the main highway, and nobody stopped for us, so Baz said "There's no way anybodys ever gonna stop for us". Two minutes later a bloke stopped for us, so off we went into town...sweet.
After Byron I had decided I was going to go to Perth on the West Coast. So I said my cheerios to Hannah and Dean, then to Chris and Baz, and struck out west to get a job in the mines. But when I arrived in Perth, I found out that I had to do safety courses and this that and the next thing to get into the mines. So I took the easy option, signed up to an agency and got a job working in an air conditioned office instead. By this time, Joanna and Stuart had moved over to Perth for work as well....so I spent quite a bit of time with them. Then, Hannah and Dean decided to move to Perth as well...far out!!! So I ended up having a bunch of great friends with me in Perth, while I was making decent money....and all the time Chris and Baz were struggling for money and jobs in Melbourne....funny how things work out isn't it? Hannah and Dean lived in Osborne Park and when I met their neighbours Matt and Margaeux, they offered for me to move into their spare room....sweet! So I ended up living with a cool young couple and had my good friends Hannah and Dean next door...things were going well!
I then started work in the Liver Transplant Clinic at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (Charlies). It was just working as a ward clerk, but it was busy busy busy...I never had a chance to relax during the day....ever! But it was good fun working there and I managed to negotiate my wage up to a very healthy figure. The staff were very nice too and made it an enjoyable working environment. I managed to save up several thousand dollars for my Asian leg of the journey, which was a lot more than either Chris or Baz managed on the east coast!
I also managed to get tickets to see the West Coast Eagles play at their home ground, the Subiaco Oval. That was pretty cool. Turns out the Eagles are the current champions and I got to see them beat the Western Bulldogs. Matt and Margaeux came with me and it was a great day. Now, Aussie Rules Football (AFL) has always looked a bit daft to me, played by a bunch of blokes who dress like they maybe aren't sure of their sexuality.....but when you are in Australia, and you like sports, it's almost impossible not to get caught up in the hype of the game. Every newspaper or T.V report has something to do with one of the teams, and when you understand the rules...it's quite a good game to watch. Anyways....West Coast are my team now. Chris and Baz chose to support St. Kilda from Melbourne (but they are rubbish and never even made the playoffs).
I guess that working every day and having a regular 'home' to go back to made me settle into the old way of life. But it I still got up to a bunch of decent things with the guys. For instance, one day the 5 of us (me, Hannah & Dean and Matt & Margaeux) all went down to Margaret River for the weekend. That was a lot of fun. This is a beautiful wine growing area of the West Coast where there are umpteen vineyards all selling their own brand wines. There are also some great beaches down here and a vide that attracts a lot of surfers and partygoers to the area. On one day we all went on a wine tour . Matt was feeling pretty crook so he had to take it easy...but the rest of us enjoyed the drinking of free wine from various spots on the trip. In truth, Dean and I just wanted to get as much down our neck as possible, but some of those places were a little stingey with their portions and refills. Anyways....it was a fun weekend and we all returned to Perth feeling absolutley knackered.
Me, Hannah and Dean also went to Rottnest Island, off the coast of Perth with some annoying English chick who was staying with Hannah. This is a beautiful, and well known island which is always popluar with tourists. We took a ferry out there and hired bicycles for the day. Me and Dean wanted to go off and explore the island, while the girls decided to find a nice beach. So off we went. We found some wild Quokkas there, which is a marsupial that lives in Western Australia, but most famously on Rottnest Island. Original European settlers thought that they were like large rats, so called the Island Ratnest, which later became known as Rottnest. Anyways, they were cute little things...I reckon they'd make a nice pet, or a nice pair of slippers.
Eventually, Hannah and Deans spare room became free, so I packed my bags and moved next door to live with them. Matt is a great cook, but so is Hannah, and she loved to make loads of food for us. I must have put on loads of weight in that month....every meal was a monster and there always had to be pudding afterwards! But after a month of living there I had to leave to meet the boys over in Cairns on the East coast again. I was excited about going to Japan, but at the same time I was sad to be leaving my friends, both at work and in Perth. One of the best things about travelling for me is that you meet so many new people and make friendships, some of which you know will last a lifetime (Hannah and Dean in this case). But equally, the downside of travelling is that we have to say goodbye to those friends...and sometimes it hurts, because you know it could be years before you see some people again. In this case though, I felt sure I'd see both of them again because I was planning on returning to Perth in October.
Now, about 1 week before I went to Cairns, by sheer coincidence of timing, I found Tom Gange's e-mail address, which had been hiding in the bottom of my bag for the past 8 months. Tom was the lunatic we met in San Francisco and came cycling over the Golden Gate Bridge with us. Anyways....I emailed him asking what he was up to after all this time. His reply? "I'm gonna be in Cairns next week...will be there about a week before flying to Thailand". Haha......amazing...you couldn't have planned it better. So we arranged to meet up in Cairns and when I got over there I met him in the pub and had a great time catching up with him. Chris and Baz joined us the next day and the four of us had a blast for the following week. It was funny on his last night when we went to the casino. Tom had drunk a little too much and thought it would be a good idea to play roulette. After about $200 dollars left his pocket we were all pleading with him to stop playing, but Tom reckoned he could win it all back. So after another hour or two we were all standing outside the casino, except Tom, who was sitting on the pavement with his head in his hands, after dropping $500......basically his whole spending money for Thailand. It was dead funny...typical Tom. He never really let it bother him though...he just jumped into a bush and laughed about the situation all the way home. He's another guy I'd love to meet up with again....what a laugh!
Before I forget....the flight to Cairns also made a stop at Ayres Rock for a wee while...which was nice.....but I was glad I never spent 3 days driving to get to it. It's a red rock, set apart from some other red rocks nearby. Thats it. Thats all it is. Apparently it's nice at sunset. So is the beach, and the beach doesn't take 3 days to drive to (unless you are at Ayres Rock, of course). Not all it's cracked up to be I reckon.
Well, that kinda concludes the longest stint of this trip. We were in Oz a total of 6 months, 4 of which I spent working. I never really saw as much of it as I wanted, but as people say, you could spend 6 months sightseeing, with all the money in the world at your disposal, and still not see it all. So I'm not really disappointed...it gives me stuff to do and see if I ever return. Cheerie!
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