Sydney to Cairns and back

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  Sydney, Australia
Saturday, April 15, 2006

I apologize for the delay in getting these updates posted - I am going to have to cheat a bit and condense my entire month in Australia into a single posting. Oh, the pressure...

* * * * *

Leaving New Zealand for Sydney was like traveling to a whole other planet. I was back amongst tall buildings, city lights, dueling taxis, and people meeting for drinks at the corner pubs. It was late when I arrived and so I took a taxi to my hostel through the city, peering through the dirty windows, soaking up the vibrant nightlife. I realized quickly that the hostel I had selected was in the red-light district of Kings Cross which used to be where the drug deals went down, but they have cleaned it up and now it is full of restaurants and clubs and, well..

Another World

. as I was getting to the hostel, I was passed by a man that asked if I was 'working'. I wondered what kind of a call-girl carried a backpack, but some things are better left unknown.

Heike (Hi-ka) was one of my roommates, a young German woman who had done Social Work back home and was in Australia for a much needed break. She had a great sense of humor and we hit it off immediately. She had been to Sydney previously and had lots of suggestions of things we could do. Jeff had planned to meet me in Sydney and I promised that I would save the main attractions for when he arrived. So Heike and I decided that we should take a walk along the coast, making a great back drop for the Easter photos that we had planned to send to the family. We spent an entire day walking along the coast from Bondi Beach north all the way to, well, we really didn't know where we were at, but we were enjoying the beautiful Australian coast line, and we got our Easter photo complete with an Easter Bunny, or two.

I had seen a flyer for a music festival to take place over Easter weekend, so I picked up the local newspaper to get the details. It was a three-day festival called the Great Escape which included seven stages and featured some great local bands as well as an open-air market, Cirque du Soliel performers, a carnival, and some of the best people-watching I have experienced to date

Happy Easter!

. Heike and I spread out the blue sheet that we had 'borrowed' from our hostel, and enjoyed the picnic we had prepared before moving on to the next stage, and the next, and the next. Around ten o'clock we had decided that it was getting cold and we had not brought enough warm clothing to get us to the last band which started playing at one-thirty. We decided to head back early when Heike pointed out a building where folks were singing karioke. She wanted to go listen, and I reluctantly followed - we had just heard some amazing music, and the thought of having to endure karioke did not appeal to me at all. When we walked in there was a woman singing, she was awful, and I gave Heike the 'Are you ready to leave now?' look. She asked that we stay for one more performance and I again reluctantly agreed. An twenty-something Asian kid took the stage with an air of confidence, asking everyone if they were enjoying their weekend at the festival. And then he broke into a rendition of Footloose that rivals the Will & Grace episode with Kevin Bacon. I honestly can't remember when I have laughed so hard, and Heike and I continued to laugh about it for days. If this guy only knew the treat he has given me.

Over the next few days Heike and I found things to do off the main sightseeing lists. We walked through the botanical gardens and looked at some of the eight thousand flying fruit bats that had taken up residence there, and toured the downtown and Chinatown areas, eating our way from one end of Sydney to the other

I will feed him, and take care of him, and...

. We spent an entire day at the beach playing volleyball with a hacky sack - it was Germany vs. USA. Heike would fly the blue sheet behind her, claiming victory for Germany after each win, but at the end of the day we were tied and both were happy for it.

I had to say goodbye to Heike as she continued her travels around Australia in her ex-boyfriend's van (another story for another day) and I went to the airport to pick up Jeff. It was so good to see his smiling face as he came down the gateway. Now with Jeff in town, my experiences became a little more luxurious. No more staying in hostels, no more wearing shoes in the shower, no more shopping, cooking, or hunting down internet service. We stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel overlooking the Sydney Opera House and the Harbor. It was high-class all the way and I was afraid that I would not want to return to the life of a backpacker.

We started the tourist circuit. Our first stop was, of course, a tour of the Sydney Opera House (the story behind the building of the opera house is filled with drama - the architect never seeing his project to completion after being banished from Australia for busting the budget and schedule so badly). And no tour of Sydney would be complete without actually seeing a performance in the Opera House, so we bought tickets for the ballet that evening, and we both promptly fell asleep during the performance - but I am sure it was excellent!

Over the next few days we packed in as much as we could, touring the harbor, heading to a wildlife reserve, wine tasting in Hunter Valley, but probably the highlight of our non-stop adventure was the half-marathon/10k we decided to run

Jeff and Tony

. We had contacted the race director and he had given us directions to the race start. Coordinating a last minute taxi to pick us up at 6 a.m. was a little tricky, and the concierge at the Intercontinental was happy to obligate his uncle to drive us to the start of the race. On our way there, we were a little lost and Jeff saw a guy running down the street and said, 'Hey, this guy looks like he knows what he is doing, maybe he is going to the race...', so we pulled over and rolled down the window to ask for directions, and the guy responded, 'You are my angels, coming to take me to the race.' and he hopped in. The man's name was Tony and he was warming up by running from his hotel to the start of the race - a 6k warm-up! He seemed very happy to be getting a ride and we learned that he had been invited to run the New York Marathon but he needed to supply a qualifying time to be able to participate, and had chosen this race. We were able to find our way to the race together and arrived with plenty of time to spare. The race was a small one, very intimate and friendly. It started with the marathon and half-marathon and Jeff and Tony made their way to the starting line. My race started 30 minutes later. The course was pretty flat with some rolling hills thrown in and it wound through the city streets. I was surprised, I'm not sure why, to see Tony in the lead. I saw him on a couple of different laps and he was always up front, making running look easy, offering support each time we passed. Tony ended up winning his race and easily qualifying for New York

Kate and Jo and Me

. Jeff ranked in the top as well. I was just glad to cross the finish line.

Of the things that I have always wanted to do (you know those lists we all have), one that sits near the top is to go diving on the Great Barrier Reef. So a few hours after the race, we checked out of the Intercontinental and were on our way to Cairns and The Reef. Cairns is a small surfing town, surviving off diving trips, but I like my small towns and was very happy to be in the laid-back atmosphere. Before our scheduled dive trip, Jeff and I decided to take a quick lesson in marine biology from an organization called Reef Teach. The guy giving the course could have had his own children's television show, and his Mr Rogers approach seemed more distracting than educational, but I was glad to learn a bit about the fish and the corals that I was about to see. The next morning we boarded a shuttle that drove us to Port Douglas and then onto a 90-foot catamaran which would take us to the very outer edge of the reef and the Agincourt ribbon reefs in the Coral Sea. The size of the boat and the advertised 'ride control system' should have guaranteed a smooth ride, but traveling at speeds of 32 knots (whatever that means - all I know is it was fast), you pretty much just need to hang with both hands and pray. Several people were hanging off the back of the boat, trying to get as much of their breakfast into the little white bags as possible, but even that seemed to be a challenge

Little Fish, Big Fish

. Finally, finally, the boat came to a stop and anchored just off the reef. Jeff was looking pale and I continued to feel the bucking even though I knew it was all in my ears. On the ride over, we had been given the safety talk and instructions on how to properly use the diving gear. Jeff and I both were going for our introductory dive and we would be accompanied by an instructor. I was a little nervous but super excited and I felt well prepared as I donned my tank and flippers and jumped into the teal green water. However, nothing could have prepared me for the feeling of absolute joy being underwater, swimming with sheets of silvery fish coming from every direction, my mind teetering on the line between wonder and terror. Colors from every corner of the earth, electric blue, silver with yellow spots, yellow with red spots, orange, purple, green, striped, silver, and transparent... swimming all different speeds and directions, some darting some lingering, some in large groups, others in pairs... Fish so small they were only visible in their sheer numbers, creating lightning quick silver 'vapor', and schools of Barracuda, lurking though the waters showing their teeth... Once I got used to the feeling of being in the water, with nothing separating me and these strange new creatures, a feeling of childlike delight took over. I completely lost myself in this melting pot of trigger, surgeon, wrasse, and damsel... I found myself chasing schools of fish, swimming in their masses, trying to keep up with their changing directions, water coming into my mask with every uncontrollable smile or laugh

Mmmmmm.....

. The dive instructor motioned for me to come back to him, pointing out the other interesting parts of the reef itself; corals with names like needle, honeycomb, bouquet, and brain. The reef was a giant vegetable garden of coral in every shape and size; yellow lettuces, pink cauliflowers, violet cabbages, and lime-green broccoli... housing millions of microscopic plants and animals that feed the fish living there. I went on three separate dives that day, I just couldn't get enough. The underwater world is a remarkable place, and I plan on visiting as often as I can. Jeff was still looking a little pale from the boat ride over, but he enjoyed the diving as much as I did. We did not see any sharks or turtles, which I was really hoping for, but that is just an excuse to get back into the water, like I need an excuse... I couldn't help but think of my friends Mary and Scott 'Scooter' who I know would have loved this trip as much as I did.

With our dive trip over, Jeff and I spent the next couple of days lazily exploring Cairns, eating great food on our hotel balcony and finishing off the many bottles of wine we had purchased in Hunter Valley. Jeff's trip to Australia was coming to an end and I was sad to see him go, but glad that we were able to share such adventures. He headed for the airport and I was, once again, a lowly backpacker.

I spent the next couple of weeks traveling by bus down the East coast - Brisbane to Byron Bay, Port Macquarie, and Sydney. My roommates in Byron Bay turned out to be two young girls from England who studied at university together and were now traveling large sections of the world together. Jo and Kate both had a very quick wits and didn't waste any time putting me in my place - I was instantly in love with them

Music Festival

. And they taught me all sorts of English slang, mostly referring to cute boys, like 'fit', and 'phwoar', which both mean 'hottie' in American speak. We spent the next weeks traveling, exploring, and laughing together - or at each other - I'm not sure which.

Byron Bay started as an old hippie surf town but has changed a bit with the number of tourists and young punk surfers that have inundated the beaches. But it still had that laid-back atmosphere and the streets were lined with cool little surf shops. I decided to do what everyone else in Byron Bay does - go surfing. My brother had taken me surfing before, and I knew that I at least needed a refresher lesson. I headed to Mojo Surf Shop and signed up for a full day class thinking that I could take this refresher course and then rent boards in all the little surf towns, basically surfing my way down the East coast. A girl can dream, can't she? James, our instructor, drove eight of us to the beach where we were going to be 'catching some waves'. After the initial lesson on land, I grabbed my board and headed out to sea. James eyed a nice wave and told me to lay on my board. I got on, no problem, the wave came, James pushed me in front of the wave, I slid along in front of the wave and stood up. I rode the wave for a couple of seconds and then fell into the salty water. I thought - oh, this is going to be a fun day

Nemo!

! I thought I would try to grab the next wave myself. I grabbed my board and headed back out. Another wave was coming... It looked good (like I know a good wave from a bad one...), and I climbed on board. I looked back and started paddling. The wave caught me and pushed me forward, and I was sliding quickly along the surface of the water. I grabbed the sides of the board and started to stand up. The nose of the board disappeared under the water and I found myself tumbling, choking, and grasping for air. I spent the rest of the day like this... into the sea, on the board, gliding, starting to stand, and then being dumped, tossed and left for dead... swallowing water, sand, and small fish... I did this over and over until my head hurt and my sinuses burned.. I finally caught one wave, the last one of the day, and I stayed on top of it for three or four seconds, but it was enough to make the day of pain worthwhile. However, I did not surf my way down the coast - I took the bus.

I finally made it all the way back to Sydney and met up with my friend Jenn. She took me out for a nice dinner and we spent the evening reminiscing about our adventures in New Zealand. It was good to catch up with her and spend the evening laughing. Our night was cut short as I had to pack for Singapore the next day but I was excited to be getting on with my journey into strange new adventures in Asia.

My trip to Australia was too short - there is so much land to cover and so many cool things to see. My one regret is that I did not make it to the outback. One day I will return to Australia and I will see the parts that I missed on this trip, and then I will have seen the true beauty of the land of Oz.

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Opera House	Pleeeeeeeease... can I keep him???	Ready to go again!	Red Fish, Blue Fish
The Germans Win Again	The Reef	WWF Champ

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