Transcending Borders With Seeds in Our Hands

I feel like such a doof–I was crossing the street this morning and I almost bit it on the curb. I didn’t step up far enough and with my backpack on, I almost did a faceplant. Then I went to use the drinking fountain. I pushed the button and just as I did, a gust of ocean air blew the entire stream of water all over the front of my shorts. It definitely looked like I didn’t make it to the little bloke’s room in time. Oh well. No worries. The sun is out and it’s gorgeous! Tomorrow I head out for Fraser Island! Because of my bus schedule I’m going to miss the morning briefing so I am just going to hop onto the 4×4 without a clue as to what is going on. I won’t be driving anyway because it is a standard and apparently Fraser is infamous for being difficult to drive on. The vehicle gets stuck in the sand and everyone has to use shovels to dig it out. Hopefully, the person who drives will be smart enough to safely navigate. And hopefully they speak English so that they can respond to my backseat driver instructions.

Today I went surfing and had a blast! The sun finally came out just before I headed out of my hostel to meet the surfing bus (it had rained koalas and wallabies all night and into morning). A van pulled up to the entrance with a driver that had dried out long blonde hair. He was on the cell phone but motioned with that surfer signal (thumb and pinky out) to get into the back. He got off the phone and said “Hey MATE! Howeryagoin’?!,” which, by now, I’ve figured means “how are you?”. He introduced his dog, Spot, who accompanies him on every surf lesson. We pulled back out into the drive and flew around and picked up 6 more people. The driver told us we had better start talking and being louder or else he would force us to play a ridiculous game that involved dancing. Prompted by the example moves he did, we all started talking and I found out that two girls were from Brazil, one guy was from Australia, one from England, and a couple from the Netherlands. We arrived at Lennox Point which is known for its sick waves.

We unloaded from the bus and I immediately started slathering on the sunscreen, not wanting to join the thousands and thousands of Australians who have skin cancer–they have highest rate in the world! We got into our wetsuits after lots of wincing and squirming. If you ever want to know how a sausage must feel, try one out. We went down to the beach and I could see that the water was quite rough…and I’m not an expert. The stretching routine started and then we did a jog, then held hands and skipped and then stretched some more. We learned about rips and currents and how to handle the board and how not to drown and how to fall. Matt (the teacher and driver, conveniently) held up a jellyfish and I assumed it was a fake one that he uses everytime but no–he was like “you build immunity to them after being around them for years and years, but if you guys get stung, it will just kill for about 20 minutes until I can get some hot water on it.” They were called blue bottle jellyfish because, surprise of all surprises, they look like little blue bottles when floating on the water. Matt taught us the five steps to getting up on the surf board. PADDLE, PADDLE, PADDLE, hands in, push up, rear foot up, twist and stand with front arm out. It was pretty easy, despite the long description, and we all got the hang of it after tens of times.

We headed out into the water and Matt came around to us one by one and helped us get turned around. If the wave wasn’t right, he would yell “take a breath” and then on the next one he’d say “READYYYYYYY…PADDLE PADDLE PADDLE. UP!”. And on the first one, I got up. I was up for a few seconds and then fell backwards, the safest way to fall. My butt hit the bottom and I got back out into the waves and rode quite a few. Everything was going well but then the waves started getting more frequent and tall. I got pulled under twice and I don’t think I have ever swallowed so much ocean water. My eyes stung a little and I felt like I had just downed a salt shaker. We headed in because it was so rough and we ate oranges on the beach. We showered off our wetsuits and then unpeeled them from our clamy bodies. The photographer, who captured all the highs and lows of our surfing training, showed us a slideshow and then told us the CD of pictures would be $25 dollars. I said “no thanks” although some of my pictures were priceless!

Yesterday I was kind of in limbo all day because I left Jayd’s house and had booked a bus to Byron Bay for the next day. So I walked around the South Bank of Brisbane which is a boardwalk that goes around the edge of the river and affords spectacular views of downtown. They don’t use the phrase “downtown” over here but instead call it CBD (central business district). So I always get strange looks when I mention “downtown.” I walked…and walked…and walked until I finally got to Fortitude Valley, which is where most of the good restaurants and nightlife are in Brisbane. I decided to stay at a place called Bunk and it was AWESOME! I was clean and new and you could tell they actually thought things through when designing the dorm rooms. Each bed had its own light and each set of bunk beds is surrounded by walls so that you don’t bother other sleepers. All the beds on the one side of the wall had been taken, which was good because they were right by the door to the hallway and the bathroom. So I went to the other side and there was a bunk above this guy who was from England. James is a pre-med student who is doing a residency-type program over here. He had just come from American Samoa the week before which he said was unlike anything he had ever seen as far as medical provision.

I left to try to find a turkish restaurant that was highly recommended in my guidebook but I could not find it…I kept calling but no one would answer the phone. I knew the address but it seems that it is only visible from the street with x-ray goggles or something. I headed back to the hostel because I remembered that there were food specials at Birdee Num Num, the bar that is attached to the hostel. There were two Scottish guys in the otherwise empty bar and they were pestering the bartender girl and filling their glasses themselves whenever she left the bar area. I showed the girl my room key which got me two meals for $8 which is really cheap here since dinner is usually at least $15. I ate both of them being the piggy I am (hey–I walked A LOT that day). It was a beef stew made with red wine that was put on top of mashed potatoes. I left to head back into the hostel to watch tv but noticed that the two guys who were raising cain in the bar were outside yelling around at some manager from the hostel, calling him fatty and …so on. Apparently they were staying at the hostel but were not being allowed in because they were so beligerant. They ended up calling the cops and they came and arrested them. They were idiots–they could have just left and cooled down a bit but they stood around and refused to leave.

I was looking at travel brochures and James came up and asked if I’d “fancy a game of pool.” I didn’t understand what he was saying at first but then I figured it out and we headed back to Birdee to play. We talked about American politics and entertainment (and how we had noticed how centered Australia is on the US). That is always my favorite thing to do over here–talking to people from other countries because you not only learn about their country, but you also see yours in a completely different way. I suppose that is the thing that is supposed to happen when you travel. James told me he is heading up north (to the Great Barrier Reef area, just like me) and then on to Thailand and Dubai before heading back to Manchester, England.

I had to get up pretty early to catch the bus so I headed up to bed pretty early. It only took two hours to get to Byron Bay from Brisbane. Unfortunately it is rainy today but I guess I can’t complain since it has been pretty good weather the whole time I’ve been here. Rainy weather is actually better for surfing so no worries if it continues! I’ll be taking surfing lessons tomorrow. I booked it today and it was only 46 USD for 4 hours worth of lessons/riding, board rental, wetsuit, and lunch! And they’ll pick me up right at my hostel. Which reminds me–the hostel I’m staying at is great! Definitely one of the better ones so far. It is new and super clean. The dorm rooms are two stories and have dark wood finishes and wooden beams going across the ceiling. They make meals every night for $8.50 and tonight is bolognese pasta night!! : P I’m heading out to check out the town and the beach a bit right now, so I’ll post tomorrow about my surfing experience!

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

I arrived on North Stradbroke Island (“Straddie” they call it) on Monday evening. I took a train, which took an hour, then a bus, which took 5 minutes, then a ferry which took 40 minutes. It was a long way out of the city but it was the break that I needed. We arrived at an unimpressive pier on an unimpressive beach and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I waited and waited for a bus, walking up to a small clump of buildings and into a pharmacy to ask when I should expect one. The lady told me it would be about another 10 minutes.

Finally, the Stradbroke Island bus pulled up and I boarded and said that I was going to Point Lookout (on the otherside of the island) and the bus driver, who looked like a strung out Clint Eastwood was like, “well WHERE in Point Lookout?”. I was surprised and I said, “Oh, wherever you usually drop people off.” And he was like “Well, there’s about 20 stops,” in an agitated tone. At last, perhaps prompted by my lack of words, he told me that he would drop me off at the backpackers (hostel in Australian lingo). So I settled into the back of the bus and not 5 minutes into the bus ride, he pulled over at the depot and a new driver got on. I’m thinking, “GREAT. He made such a big deal and now this driver isn’t even going to know where I need to be dropped”. I kept watching out the window for Moolooba St, which was where the place that was in my guidebook was located. I saw a sign that said it, thinking that the road intersected the main road we were on, so I got off at the top of a hill where there were no buildings, just an overlook for the beach below. As the bus scurried on I figured out that we had BEEN on Moolooba St. (and later I would find out that the name of the street changes when you get to Point Lookout). So I started hiking it in what I thought was the general direction of town, thinking I would eventually see some hostels and shops and restaurants. …No. I walked up and down hills only seeing a few houses every now and then. Finally I made it to a pizza shop so I went in to ask for directions. They told me that the hostel had closed and that the nearest one was quite a hike……back to about where I got dropped off in the first place. Luckily, the owner of the shop, a friendly Irishman, said he would give me a lift there, so I climbed into a little Volkswagen and headed for the Manta Lodge. Again, there were no people or street lamps (and by this time it was barely light out) and when I walked into the hostel I thought I might be walking into a person’s house. A guy finally appeared and I checked in. The lodge was really nice. I had a whole dorm room to myself. I went downstairs to meet the other people who were there and I met 2 Canadians and 4 people from Denmark. We watched Shanghai Noon (again…Hollywood’s influence is much wider than you’d think) and I went to sleep because I planned on watching the sunrise on the beach in the morning.

I woke up to the sound of about 3 or 4 birds fighting right outside my window. They do that a lot here. Almost every morning, no matter where I am, that has been my wakeup call. I guess it’s better than being dive-bombed by bats on steroids though. Anyhow, the sunrise was incredible. The sun was a bright yellow and there were big, billowy clouds framing it and mist was rising from the white-sand shores. The water would gravel its way to my feet and recede, leaving the sand looking like it was covered in glass. I wandered WAYY up the beach and finally found a beautiful hotel that overlooked the water and served breakfast. I had scrambled eggs with island toast, served with a side of this really interesting tomato relish. It was almost like a marmelade but it had some kind of exotic spices in it. They don’t serve what we would call “just coffee”. They only have powdered coffee or espresso, which is fine by me because the powdered kind has a better, richer flavor and I cannot turn down espresso. I finished, soaked in the view a bit more and then headed to “town”

I was walking out of my hostel accommodations early this morning and as I was walking up the street, I heard this bird making interesting noises somewhere up in the distance. I thought to myself, “Oh…maybe it’s a Kookaburra!!!”. I walked closer and I kept hearing it and then all of a sudden, two HUGE bats swooped down out of the trees within a few feet of me. They are brown and furry with about a 3 or 4 foot wingspan. They hang onto the tree branches with their large claws that somehow protrude out of the top of their wings. In any case, it was quite the wake-up call.

Brisbane is a fantastic city. I know I’ll probably keep saying and thinking this over and over, but oh well–it reminds me of Southern California. It is laidback, the people are friendly (I think it’s because it is always so sunny and balmy) and they eat lots of seafood : P. It is very busy, apparently earning the knickname of BrisVegas and Brisneyland over here. I went to the Riverfire the other night, which is a festival celebrating the coming of spring/summer. It was an awe-inspiring show, with 4 or 5 barges sitting out in the middle of the river, all the way along its length, shooting of syncronized fireworks. They blasted music that matched the fireworks display and there was a really loud jet that flew by and did a “dump and burn” which basically means he dumps a mixture of gas and glycerine (?) as he flies low to the ground. The South bank, from which I watched the display was PACKED with people. The shot fireworks off of the skyscrapers, off of the bridges that crossed the river, and they had this awesome firework I had never seen that created a continuously-firing rainbow. It was awesome!

Right now, I’m heading to North Stradbroke Island to do some swimming, hiking, and maybe snorkeling. They have 4WDing too, but I might wait to do that on Fraser Island (which is the largest sand island in the world). I have to catch a train, then a ferry, then a bus, then a taxi, so I better get going. I’ll update later tonight if I can. And tomorrow–if all things work out, I should be able to post pictures!!!

G’day! I have to update you on what happened on my second day in the Sydney area. I took the bus to Bondi Beach, which is a world famous beach just outside Sydney. It certainly lived up to all the hype. The beach was huge and because it is still “wintery” it was largely unoccupied. I got off the bus way too many stops away from the town center because I was going to go to Bronte Beach (which is two beaches up from Bondi) and then take the walking trail along the coast and end up at Bondi, but I became disoriented and didn’t realize that we had gone past both Bronte and Tamarama. It was all good though…”no worries” as they keep saying here (even in lieu of “you’re welcome”) because I was up in the residential area which is situated up on several large hills with absolutely breathtaking views of both the Sydney harbor area and Bondi Beach. I wound my way down the back streets, trying to remember the general direction of the beach. I stopped in a coffee shop both to ask directions and get a little something to eat and drink. The prices are quite inflated here. I thought that the dollar would be strong and that the prices would be about the same in the states, but a “frosted” (frozen) coffee was A$5.50 and a piece of banana bread was A$4.50. Oh! I have to tell you about the banana bread. It apparently is an Australian thing to have banana bread toasted and slathered with butter and sprinkled with powered sugar. This was all new to me because, as you know, we eat our banana bread untoasted and quite plain. It was AMAZING! They put it on the sandwich griddle and it got all golden brown and just like french toast. I met a girl who was working there and she said that she was from Iceland and that she was over here studying. She had an American accented English, so we talked quite a bit about Icelandic and American things : P. She had just come from Bombay where she was in a Bollywood film. She must be an aspiring model because she was about my height and had that kind of bone structure. She said that they are always casting white people for the films but that Bombay is WAY too crowded and dirty and the people are destitute. And I said, as a terrible American, isn’t all of India that way?

I eventually made it to the beach, thanks to her scribbled directions on the back of my receipt, and I just sat down on the cold sand and took in the view. The water was beautiful, a fantastic shade of green in certain areas and bright blue in the other ares (I don’t know why it is like that). After that, I walked up on the trail that hugs the cliffs and leads to Tamarama and Bronte beach which were just as awesome as Bondi but completely without a soul on them. I thought to myself, how can these beaches not always have someone laying on them, enjoying them?

I came back around to Bondi Beach and stopped at the Bondi Icebergs Bar, which is a very famous bar/cafe/restaurant/fitness center. It has a pool that hangs out over the ocean and the waves come crashing up, and with the spray you loose track of where the edge of the pool is exactly. I noticed that there were a bunch of stylish people hanging out by the pool and they were wearing feather shoulder wrap things and stillettos. I also saw somekind of screen that was covered with fabric all around and a couple people holding cameras. I knew I was going to see something pretty out-of-the-ordinary. So, I stuck around on the second level, thinking that any moment Tyra Banks or Heidi Klum was going to emerge from the Icebergs and start posing. Neither of those two appeared, but guess who did? Eva Mendes. She was dressed to the hilt and she went over to the edge of the pool where it meets the ocean and they started taking pictures of her as she bended like gumby into awkward stances, walked towards them while looking out on the ocean, etc. Once, she almost got hit with the spray of the ocean which I thought was quite funny because at that moment she “lost her sexy” and sqwaked. There were several paparrazzi guys swarming around and I felt like one of them as I just started snapping photos left and right. They kept yelling “Hey Eva!” and sometimes she would turn and look at us and say “hiiiii!” in that little model-like voice. After about 10 minutes, Eva left to go back inside and everyone started packing up. I left to catch a bus back to Sydney with my invaluable Eva photos in tow.

On the bus I met a lively bunch of ladies from Melbourne and they gave me all kinds of tips on what to do and what to avoid when I am in the southern part of Australia. It was their first time coming to Sydney and I was like, “You’re kidding, right?”. Nope. They were country folk who were coming in for a girls weekend out. They were hilarious and I suppose we made quite the entertaining group for the other transit passengers. I headed back to my hostel, musing at how everyone was wearing scarves and coats like it was freezing out and I was quite comfortable in a tee shirt.

It took so long to get here its ridiculous…and I didn’t even have any long layovers. When they call it the “land down under” I now know for sure why they call it that.

First of all, I shared two plane rides with the designer guy from Extreme Home Makeover. He just filmed a show in Geneva, NY. I didn’t get to meet him, but I know he likes to read celebrity gossip magazines.

I had a six hour layover in Nadi, Fiji. We arrived at 5:00 in the morning. Since I was so sick of being on planes and in airports, I decided to take a taxi into Nadi town. Before I could get out of the airport four taxi drivers swarmed around me and started asking where I was going, what hotel I was staying in, and if I wanted a ride. I was kind of surprised by this because usually the person who wants a taxi has to take the initiative, right? I said that I was going to be on the island for a few hours and wanted a ride into Nadi (which was pronounced Nan-dee but in the kind of way that a foreigner can never absolutely get it absolutely right). They told me that everything in town was closed, which I assume was correct, and that one of the drivers knew a beach that is great for watching the sunrise. He told me it would be $50. We settled on $40. I got into a cab that seemed to hold the totality of all the odors of a burning Indian village. I had never smelled anything quite like it before and at five in the morning with a little grogginess it was an unwelcome shock.

The cab driver introduced himself as Veejay and I told him my name. Everytime I asked him a question about Fijian life, he would end his answer with “Brandon”. It was completely black outside and I was disoriented from being on the left side of the car and the smell of his cab. Every once in a while a man would walk by holding a bucket, probably full of fish, or a woman would walk by and wave. The roads were absolutely terrible–huge potholes and uneven pavement. After about 20 minutes we arrived at a beach resort and Veejay told me to take my time and that he would be waiting in the parking lot. I got out and could immediately smell the tropical flowers being heated by the rising sun. I went out onto a point where they must do weddings, as it was raised and there were tropical grasses planted in a circle around it. I could see the other Fijian islands in the distance and they were very mountainous. I watched the sunrise but because I was on the west side of the island it was not spectacular. Still, it was really neat to hear all the birds starting to chirp. I decided to head back to the airport sooner rather than later, judging by the road conditions and the likelihood that we might hit an animal or person on the way. I got back to the taxi and the driver was sleeping in my seat. I knocked on the window twice and he sat up and his eyes were all red. We pulled out and started heading back to the airport and by now it was light so I could see how beautiful the island really is. There was TONS of sugar cane, which is the main source of income for the Fijians outside of tourism. They hack the stalks and then bundle them together and load them onto a small rail cart system that takes them to the processing plant. The rail system goes all through the island and it is always full. When the cane has been harvested, the farmers burn the field to prepare the soil for replanting. Since it is tropical, the planting and harvesting cycle never stops. We came upon a mountain range and the sun was just coming up behind it, lighting the lush greenery and mist that covered it. Veejay kept asking, “You want take pick-sha?”. We would drive by some villages with huts and he would again say, “You want take pick-sha?”. I felt like I would be offending him if I didn’t want to take pictures of the half-naked children playing some variety of football in the streets. We eventually got to the airport after numerous photo-ops. I handed him the money, not even wanting to know how much I just overpaid him, and said goodbye.

I arrived in Sydney at 11:40 am. I was surprised by the ease with which I went through customs. They asked me no questions and I told them no lies : P I wanted to get to the hostel as soon as possible because, I know its terrible, but I wanted to get out of the clothes that smelled like a burning Indian village and take a shower. Hey, I had been traveling for 29 hours, so I had that reason too. But mainly the smell.

I got to Kings Cross, which is like the backpacking district of Sydney. I checked in at Eva’s, which I could already tell was going to be a great place to stay. I went to my room and opened the door and saw two people sleeping in two of the bottom bunks. Out of instinct, I quickly shut the door, but the door was SO freaking loud–it creaked and squeeked–so I just decided that I might as well go in now. I got settled in and showered and then I decided to head out and see the classic sights. I went to the botanical gardens, which were amazing and very botanical indeed. There were HUMONGOUS fruit bats in some of the palm trees and they kept stretching out their wings and screeching at each other. I tried to take a picture, but they were too high up. I went to the opera house, which is just as impressive, if not more so, than they make it out to be. I walked the entire perimeter and took way too many pictures. I sat on the steps and looked out of the harbor then walked to a cafe that looked out on the bay and the harbor bridge. I drank a huge orange gatorade because I was so dehydrated from being on planes so long. I asked for a cup with ice in it and they looked at me funny. I found out later that, like Europe, Australians don’t really like to put drinks over ice. They just chill them. After that, I walked around Cirular Quay (which is pronounced “Kay”…weird) which is the main hub of transportation for ferrys and buses and trains into and out of Sydney. I almost got run over a couple of times because I forgot to look LEFT when crossing the street instead of right. It was funny (and I didn’t notice right away)…they had “<–Look Left” painted on the curb of every crossing because, apparently many more unlucky people like me had gone before and met their end. I got back to my hostel and went to bed quite early because I was a little jetlagged. The time change was not terrible AT ALL though because I basically went to sleep from LAX to Fiji and I had a whole row of seats to myself (since the plane was about half-empty). So, it was just like I went to bed and woke up in Australia.

I’m still adjusting to a lot of stuff like the fact that I still forget to look left when crossing the street or that peanut butter here does not equal peanut butter from home. And yes, I opted for peanut butter on my toast this morning instead of Vegemite. I’ll get around to that later I suppose!

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