~ Across the Nullarbor ~

When Emily and I first decided to move to Melbourne, I purchased Bill Bryson’s book In a Sunburned Country. Of course, I had great intentions to read it’s entirety before leaving….but as usual, life gets in the way – I skimmed a few pages about Melbourne and was off to this distant continent. Now, stretched out on my sofa bed (in only what I can describe as a house on wheels), and with 3700 km ahead of me, I once again opened up this book. In our 6 day adventure I found myself not only reading it, but starting to write notes, blot down facts, and bore the heck out of my friends with my new found trivia. I felt like I was in history class and LOVED it! How have I never learned the full history of this country? Let me entice you with some of Bill’s knowledge:

- The Nullarbor Plains (Latin term for “no trees”) is an area four times the size of Belgium without one scrap of shade. It is one of the most forbidding expanses on earth….dun dun dunnn

- The vast, desolate landscape in Australia is much due to an old English bloke in 1859, who decided to bring over 24 rabbits for entertainment. Before this idiot, much of the land was rather lush and flowers would spring back after drought….but thanks Sir Blah Blah Blah, the wild rabbits mated (well, like rabbits) and devastated the land. Now, up to 300 million are running all over the place.

- Year 1956: “Foreign cuisine” basically meant spaghetti from a can and Perth was still just at the end of a very long dirt road.

- Australia is the only place in the world where one-humped camels exist…huh, who knew??

- This guy explained Mossys (mosquitoes) to a KEY. “Flies are of course irksome, but the Australian variety distinguishes itself with its very particular persistence. If an Australian fly wants to be up your nose or in your ear, there is no discouraging him. Flick at him you will and each time he will jump out of range and come straight back.” I can brag and say I killed a few flies during our trip through the Nullarbor, but I’d be lying if I said it was due to my swiftness rather than the fly’s sheer laziness to not leave my arm.

- In 1949 there was no such thing as Australian citizenship…whaatttttt

- Australia holds just 14 species of serious lethal snakes, one of which is the taipan – the world’s most poisonous snake. Mildura, a town in the Nullarbor, (aka a clutter of houses and a gas station with a local pub attached) is somehow the only town on record to have a fatal attack by this 5 foot long, venomous snake. I read this the morning we stopped at this town for gas. Let’s just say I didn’t leave the campervan.

Leaving the bright, vibrant city of Melbourne, I was surprised at how quickly I felt everything disappearing around us. At first, the big buildings, then homes become more sparse, trees become thinner and finally the only thing in sight for miles was literally simply brown/green grass, bushes and a random eucalyptus tree here and there. After a day or two, as much as we progressed, the vanishing point ahead of us always stayed in the same place. There were signs every few hundred kilometers saying, “Stay alive, revive” and black posts every so often indicating a place where a car crashed and someone passed away. It was a weird sense of isolation.

The six day trek from Melbourne, Victoria to Perth, Western Australia is something I would never take back. The four of us found ourselves one night just lying in the middle of the road to stare at the stars….I think I was the only one who couldn’t fully enjoy the moment because of the utter creepiness of how quite it was! The hilarity of some of our situations is something only I think Chris, Emily and Josh can truly share with me – running into gas stations like it was Christmas morning to see if they had meat pies or chips, “plugging” into campervan sites, basically getting forced to party with the entire town of Wirrulla since the only gas pump closed at 7pm, spotting Emus….thrilled to once again entire society as we strolled into the remote city of Perth.

Chapter 3 of my adventures in Australia: Perth, Western Australia

The Life of a Bogan - part 2

January 1^st – January 4^th, 2010. Frazer Island. Getting up at 9 am on the 1^st of January for a 14 hour drive isn’t as hard as you think – well if the circumstances include the fact that you didn’t go to bed until after 3 am and you and your best friend can continue to sleep while the two boys are being responsible in the front. We arrived to Rainbow Beach after our long journey at nearly 1am, were shown to our hostel room by the attractive Frenchmen “Fransico” and passed out before waking up again at 6:15 am for our 7am briefing before the safari. Let’s just say it wasn’t the smoothest of mornings. I woke everyone up, teary eyed and shaking, to shower and pack their one small garbage bag full of belongings for the next 3 days. As we loaded the car with the rest of our packs, Emily and Jim Beam had a bit of a fight as he fell out of the car and cut her hand open. In the midst of Emily in shock and finding a nurse, we find out that it was actually only 6am!!! I forgot to set my clock ahead for the time change in Queensland and got everyone up an hour early at 5:15am....whoooops. Despite a few set backs, we met Murry, our safari driver, and the rest of our team and headed off to Frazer. Think of Jurassic Park – dirty Jeeps filled with sand, food and camping gear speeding down the beach and roughing it through the rain forest. The “biblical” rain going on in Queensland had just ended and we lucked out with 3 days of gorgeous weather. We had 2 nights and 3 days of camping, swimming in freshwater lakes and champagne pools, climbing sand dunes, exploring a 75 year old shipwreck, scaring off dingos from our tent….and all and all being bogan. Never have I ever had been told to grab the shovel if I had to go the bathroom, shower in a lake, wash my dirty dishes in the ocean, or sleep in a tent by the beach….also never have I ever thought I would laugh and smile away through all these things, hike through a sand dune to discover a magical lagoon, climb to the edge of a cliff overlooking the clear ocean, eat a live pippy (mussel), or catch up on the beach with both old and new friends while holding a beer, dodging bats and swapping at mossys, looking up at the vast Milky Way. I could not be more content with life.

January 5^th-January 8th, 2010 - I returned to Rainbow beach from Frazer Island dirty, smelly, tired and never more thrilled in my life to relax and take a warm shower. Little did we know, another BIG bump in our travel plans was coming. This “biblical rain” had caused so much flooding that the 3 major highways leading up north to Airlie beach were closed off. Basically, all of Australia between where we were headed and where we needed to be is underwater. As the boys enjoyed their naps and Em and I began to compulsively shake from lack of sleep and sheer panic – we went on a limb, hoped for the best and booked the cheapest flights out of Brisbane up to a town north of Airlie. It was an unexpected cost, but in the end – it was the best decision we made the entire trip. Our Whitsunday sailing trip on the Clipper was my favorite part of our 3 week adventure. We arrived to Airlie beach in surprisingly beautiful weather, in much contrast to the flooding just a few hours south of us. And the biggest surprise?? “Cousin” Josh flew up from Melbourne to meet us! We all celebrated our reunion that night, packed our garbage bags for the next 3 days and headed to the boat. The ONLY time it really rained on our trip convenieltley happened during our 20 minute walk to the harbor….so here come the 3 extremely loud Americans in singlets, an English guy heaving slabs of beer and an obnoxious Canadian very late and SOAKED as we walked up to the rest of the passengers. Good first impression, huh? The only way to describe the Whitsundays is paradise. During the day we went out to a deserted island and swam in the clear blue water amongst jellies. At night, we could watch dolphins come play by the boat and feed on fish. You think that being in the ocean in the middle of sharks and other wildlife the crew would be a bit strick…..but no, we’re in Australia here. We partied by night with the crew and snorkled/scuba dived by day. I wasn’t going to pay the extra money to scuba because I’m a slight bogan and on a budget…but at the last minute Kyle and I decided it was a chance in a lifetime that we just couldn’t give up. So on the last day of the trip, I emptied my wallet and went to talk to Rizza, the scuba instructor. Rizza looked at me, slightly hungover, and said “no worries, mate!” No sooner was I strapped in a 50 pound tank with weights, waddling my way to a small boat with Kyle looking at me nervously as I could easily fall into the water and drown right then and there. In the States, you have to pay a couple hundred dollars to take lessons in a shallow pool before even making it into a real body of water. In Australia, strap on a tank in the Great Barrier Reef, get to the beach and have a 10 minute briefing. I couldn’t stop laughing on the beach about our bizarre situation - I didn’t even know what thing to breathe out of and Kyle was freaking out that his oxygen was leaking. No worries though – I ended up learning that Rizza will be in National Geographic next year for scuba diving 2 straight weeks from Melbourne to Tasmania with only 10 minute breaks above water for food supplements – I was in good hands! The dive was absolutely unreal. As soon as I was comfortable, I took off and was exploring caves, touching coral, and trying to ride a fish as big as me – little did I know Rizza kept signaling for me to come back! I made it alive though, dived 10 meters and can’t wait to have another go.

Sunday January 9^th, 2011 – On the Ferry to Hamilton Island to take us back to Melbourne. I’m sad to leave and more depressed to say goodbye to those I’ve met. I have little to no money left to my name. I have to live out of my garbage bag for yet another week while our next apartment is getting fixed up. I’m currently unemployed as I try to get myself out of hospitality work and into nutrition. On the other hand, I couldn’t be more happy with my life and I couldn’t be more lucky to have my bogan family right by my side to share it with. It's the life of a bogan - I may hate goodbyes, but will never regret these past 3 weeks that have forever altered my life and where I may be headed.

The Life of a Bogan - part 1

Sunday January 9^th, 2011. I was sitting on top of a ferry to the Great Barrier Reef airport, looking at the deep blue water reflecting from the sky across the Whitsunday Islands, reminiscing on the past 3 weeks. As I was sulking about the end of a great adventure, one of my best friends turned to me and put it in perspective for me.

“You know – the last 3 weeks I could have been sitting on my couch, playing video games and relaxing from the hell of finals. And you know what – I’d be completely content with that. But instead, here I am with you – in this gorgeous paradise – sad that I’m probably never going to see any of these people again. But what’s better - Being content because I’m completely unaware of what I’m missing out on? Or completely broken up about the fact that I have to say goodbye to this wonderful place? I say the latter. And that’s just what you have to deal with, Patty, it’s the life of a bogan. You have the highs where you get to experience things completely unfathomable to other people, but you have to deal with the lows as well. It’s the life of a traveler, you always have to say goodbye.”

I can’t begin to describe the last 3 weeks of my life. Honestly, I think the only people that will ever truly understand my experiences will be the people I traveled with – but I’ll do the best to tell you the highlights. Dave Matthews has a good lyric “Turns out it’s not where, but who you are with that really matters”. I love this quote, however I really think I got the best of both worlds on this trip. Chris, Kyle, Em and I began our road trip on a 7 hour drive to Mount Kosciusko in New South Wales. It was Boxing Day and we were already thoroughly worn out from our 3 day Christmas extravaganza together. Its funny how close you can come to people from sharing a holiday away from home together – we had already become a family and were sad to leave one of our members behind, “Cousin Josh”. Despite our bodies already telling us noooo, we were in great spirits. I’m not known to enjoy car rides, but I have to say that this trip up the east coast of Australia was an unforgettable one and I don't regret one minute of the 32 hours of driving.

December 28^th – 30^th, 2010. It’s sad to say the only kangaroos I saw this trip were road kill. Ya bummer....but other than this slightly depressing site, the views up this mountain were breathtaking. If in the states, the last 2 hour drive to Thredbo probably would have been cut in half by a big road carved up the middle of the mountain. The Aussies, however, are known in many aspects to appreciate the environment and keep it in it’s natural beauty – soooo instead of a nice drive, we trusted our lives to Chris as he did multiple 180s up the winding narrow paths through the dark woods. It’s currently summertime, but as we were driving into “the largest ski resort in Australia” (aka tiny mountain town with one street) I could imagine the winter village it turns into during the cold snowy months. Cabins set among the creeks, cobble stones lined with Christmas lights…it was the Christmas wonderland I’d been waiting for! The next day was spent climbing one of the 7 summits of the world!!! The scenery was nothing I’d seen before – very peaceful with rock pools everywhere and no animals in sight. I felt like I was in the Lion King after Mufasa had died, a quiet safari but beautiful at the same time. Climbing the highest summit in Australia, check that off my bucket list!

December 30^th – January 1^st, 2010. Sydney, Australia. The ride into Sydney was a pretty easy one until about 20 minutes outside the city and wait – Em left her wallet back at Macca's almost 2 hours ago. We weren’t all too thrilled about the 4 hour detour, but ONLY in Australia would a person spot a girl crying in the parking lot, make the connection about Kyle Melling walking down the side of the highway in desperate search and stop their car to help them out. Emily had left her wallet on top of the car, so as we drove out of the fast food place onto the on-ramp her wallet and all of her belongings flew into the air. An Australian woman spotted the wallet has she drove past. She stopped and pointed Kyle to the right direction 1oo feet away. Em’s wallet (although run over and “slightly” torn) and all of her money/credit cards were found after a quite amusing Easter egg hunt along the highway. Success. We finally got into Sydney and met our jet lagged friend Jeff at his cousin’s gorgeous condo overlooking the harbor. We had a fun night relaxing and dancing on the beach of Bondi Bay before calling it a night to rest for the next days festivities. How can I describe my NYE in Sydney? – really only by my constant feeling of “wow, where the heck am I?!” Sydney was unbelievable. Throughout the day, Kyle kept putting it nicely – “OH.MY.GOD. I just went to the bathroom in the SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE. I POOPED in the opera house!!” “OHHH.MY.GOD. I’m drinking by the Sydney harbor bridge. I have a BEER by the Sydney harbor bridge!!” We explored the city all day, amongst many pub crawls and beers in the park, and somehow made it to a point under the bridge to watch the midnight fireworks. Popping a bottle of champagne with 3 best friends at midnight on NYE in one of the coolest places in the world, doesn’t get better than that :)

*Off the Coast of Somewhere Beautiful*

I apologize for this very much overdue blog. The past few weeks I've been struggling with incorporating my old life back home into my new life in Australia...and communication with family and friends has been lacking because of it. I've always been the "organized" one of the group - I have my color coded planner outlining study schedules, tasks that MUST be done, tasks that SHOULD be done and even day to day activities. My god, one day I almost caught myself writing down: "things to do: shower!" I know....completely embarrassing. I like to make plans and know where things are heading. Well, last year in Columbus this type of lifestyle finally got a little too boring for me. I spent more time throughout my dietetic internship stressing about my studies and where my life was heading than actually enjoying the fact that I lived in a fabulous apartment downtown, right around the corner from my family and friends that I love. I'm 23, why should I feel old or bored when really - my life is just beginning!!

I'm also an over thinker...surprise surprise. When I was accepted into my internship in Columbus verses my other hopeful prospects in Boston or Charleston...I was constantly thinking "well how does this change things? what would my life have been like in Boston?" What if. What if. What if. Luckily enough, I had my best friend come along for the ride in Columbus. Em and I are in many ways complete opposites - which is why our friendship remains so strong. Last year, when I was stressing about my internship and had the idea in the back of my mind to move abroad....I had a best friend living with me that simply came home one day and was like "hey, I'm doing this". If it wasn't for both her spontaneous and fearless personality, I don't think I'd ever have the courage to do this....and look where I've ended up!! Christa just sent Emily and I both a card that read, "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone." This couldn't be more true. Life is a complete adventure for me right now. I look back on my quick conversations to my mom...as I'm literally sprinting to work...and they're absolutely hilarious. The "how are you going" question (yes, in Australia it is 'going' not 'doing') turns into "well I ran out of clothes so I need to go to the laundry mat, a homeless man took my package - don't worry just the food not the necklace, the landlord yelled at me 5 times about my overdue rent, my Swedish roommates won't stop playing Madonna downstairs, there's a new mouse in my kitchen....but no worries mom, everything's great! - going out with friends after work - can't talk!" This lifestyle couldn't be MORE different from my comfortable, day to day lifestyle back in Columbus.

Emily's last blog was called Sliding Doors, titled after one of my favorite movies. We were talking about this movie the other day because I felt like I had reenacted one of the opening scenes. I was SPRINTING down Southern Cross Station to catch a tram to meet a dietitian. Let me preface this - the week before I completely forgot about our coffee date and stood this woman up...who was going out of HER way to meet me. Fail. She for some reason, very kindly decided to reschedule. I couldn't miss this train. I literally jumped off the escalator onto the platform and squeezed into the doors as the were sliding shut. Phew, I made it. The movie is based on the question people ask themselves, "what if". What if Emily didn't move to Columbus? What if I didn't come to Australia? The over thinker in me could go mad by constantly disputing which decisions would lead me where...which brings me back to my first apology for lack of updates. For once, I'm trying to not think about the "what if" and instead, live in the 'now'. I'm running around like crazy, still attempting to be my organized self, but also trying to live in the moment and enjoy my life in the present.

Two weekends ago, Emily and I traveled up to Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. We went to visit our friend, Corey, who we met on the plane ride over to Australia. Random right?! Who knew that a random coincidence of sitting next to an 24 year old Aussie on the plane would lead to great friendships and a weekend of experiences that would never have occurred otherwise. To sum up: I learned "the proper" way to eat Vegemite; watched Corey, his friends and world champion wake boarders compete; stayed in a penthouse suite overlooking the Sunshine Coast; drove to Somerset dam in the middle of what looked like the"safari" of Victoria; boated until the engine burst; rope swung into water full of dead fish; played more Jenga than I ever have in my life; saw an owl and learned how to wake board!

One month ago I could have given you a deadline of when I'm coming back home. Now, I have no idea. Honestly, I don't even want to be bothered thinking about it. The decision will eventually come soon enough - and for now I am enjoying this beautiful place with the great friends I'm able to share it with. If I could give any advice to friends and family, it would be to step out of your comfort zone and take a chance. It might be a scary, confusing path...but you never know where it might lead or who it might lead you to!

Missing everyone back home, oh and see you in one week :)