Transcending Borders With Seeds in Our Hands

Hahaha…yeah, Australians call flip-flops “thongs”. I absolutely cannot get used to it. My friend, Jayd, says that “thong” singular usually means the undergarment but plural is the footwear. They also call cotton candy “fairy floss” and Burger King is “Hungry Jacks”. Another thing I cannot get used to is the metric system!!! I see 27 km on a map and I have to look the back of my guidebook and actually do math. The metric system makes the English (US) system look completely ridiculous. When an Australian is telling you a number, they will say “double-five” if there are two fives in a row. A lot of things over here just plain make more sense.

Once I got to Point Lookout, I walked the gorge walk which was incredible. It was on this trail that I saw my first wild kangaroos!! They are so interesting to watch–I was not expecting that. I thought they would be just like deer, but they itch themselves with their paws and when they hop around you are just entranced. I saw a joey, who was right in the middle of the path until I came closer, and 3 older ones. I stopped to watch them with a bunch of English people and ended up getting their contact details for if I ever want to stay with them. I have to say, I have been so fortunate to meet so many hospitable people in my travels, and once they figure out that you aren’t here to take a few trophy pictures and get back on a bus to go back to your 4 star resort, they treat you like a friend (or “mate” here). Anyway, I continued on the path and saw some sea turtles who were stuck in a channel due to the current. The actual gorge was impressive, having been carved out by the water over time. The trail looped back around to the Main beach which was one of two beaches that you could actually swim on because the waters were kinda treacherous that day. By that time I had accumulated so much sand in my sneakers that I had to stop and dump it out. I swam for a time in the (warm!) water and then got out and hiked it to the bus stop to catch the bus.

I headed back into Brisbane to have dinner with my new friend, Jayd, who I met on the plane from Sydney. On the train ride back a large group of kindergarteners got on the train in their little school uniforms and hats (don’t worry, I have pictures). One of the boys who sat next to me stood up while the train was moving and when the teacher said to him “Sit down” he went to do it, but the chair was one that folded up so he fell right onto the floor of the train. I helped him back up and as I did, one of the boys yelled “haha! Cameron almos’ los’ ‘is fruuuuuiit!!.” Then they started playing the game where someone says “I spy with my little eye something that starts with…” and the letter was “F”. We stopped at one of the stations and these two guys got on and immediately saw the kids and took another car. One of the teachers leaned over and said, “…its their reaction when they saw all these kids on the train!!”

I eventually found Jayd’s house after calling a few times because some of the main streets are not marked at all the intersections in the suburbs. We had steaks and kangaroo sausages, which were quite good once you put barbeque sauce on them! We hung out a bit and he gave me all kinds of advice on which tour companies to take here in Australia and where to go in general. I ended up booking two days in Byron Bay, which he said is not to be missed. So I head out there tomorrow. After that, it’s time to head up to the Whitsunday Islands to find some work and stop all this goofing around…at least for a bit. : P

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