Aussie, Aussie, Aussie.... Oi! Oi! Oi!

Oi mate, I reckon you've got your sunnies and boardies in your pack and can't wait to land in Aussie. Bloody ace! Before you arrive, make sure you read up on the strine and useful tips so that the fair dinkum Aussie's don't take the piss. Have a sweet as time mate!

Understand all of that? Good, you are a step ahead of most tourists. While Australia is more "Westernized" than the rest of the Southern hemisphere, it's still a world away from home. Here is some knowledge that you may find extremely helpful before setting out on your adventure in the land down under.

1. Australians speak English, but it's an entirely different form than we Canadians or Americans are used to. I could write an entire blog just on the terminology and slang, but I'll let you google that yourself. Basically, shorten everything you say, add "ies" to the end of words, and you are set.

For example:

Beverages = Bevies

Mosquitos = Mozzies

You'll get the hang of it. Also, male or female, best friends or strangers... everybody is your mate when you are in Australia.

2. It's not always sunshine and tropical paradise. Trust me on this one. I cluelessly arrived in Australia dreaming of spending every day lazing on the beach, not a cloud in the sky. And then I moved to Cairns. I hadn't done my research and I soon discovered that in Far North Queensland, there are 2 season... wet, and dry. As luck would have it, I arrived in the wet season. When it rains, it pours... for 4 months. Within minutes the streets would be flooded with water up to my knees. The heat almost reached the point of unbearable, with temperatures soaring to 40 degrees, with the humidity factor on top of that. Winter was another story. Year round summer? Not really. While the winter temperatures were similar to late spring/early autumn in Canada, it still was colder than most tourists anticipated. In Sydney, the daily highs can be less than 10 degrees, and the further south, the colder. Some places even get snow. Go to Cairns in the winter.

3. Wear sunscreen. Wear lots of it. The higher the SPF, the better. You'll still get a tan, I promise. Australia suffers from the effects of ozone depletion, and residents have one of the highest skin cancer rates in the world. Usually one agonizing sunburn is enough to pursuade a tourist to "Slip, slop, slap", as the Aussie's would say. Slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen, and slap on a hat!

4. Protect your camera. I just had to throw this one in because I had terrible luck with cameras during my trip. The humidity in the north led to the demise of my first camera. When I splurged on a new one, I was ridiculously irresponsible and left it sitting on a bench at a bus stop. I was so lucky to have it returned to me, only to bring it to the Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. Sand and cameras, do not mix. I worked on that island for 2 1/2 months, and nearly every day I saw at least one broken camera. Trust me, you need a camera in this country.

5. Take ginger tablets, avoid seasickness. There is nothing worse than heading out on a boat to see the Great Barrier Reef, only to find yourself lying on the floor with a paper bag. I don't speak from personal experience, but on one of my reef trips, I'd say 50% of the passengers were too sick to get in the water. There goes $200, and your dreams of finding Nemo. The crew will offer you the tablets at the start of the trip. If you aren't used to being on a boat in rough waters, don't risk it. Ginger tablets!

6. Australian wildlife is dangerous! Even the ocean can be crocodile infested if you go far enough north. In the summer, you'll need to wear a stinger suit or stay out of the water. Jellyfish stings can kill you in minutes. Sharks like to eat surfers for brekky. 7 of the 10 most deadly snakes in the world inhabit the country, and don't even get me started on the spiders. Should you cancel your travel plans because of this? No, because chances of you seeing any of these creatures is relatively low if you are smart enough not to swim in areas marked unsafe to do so, and stay on the trails in the national parks. Do, however, beware of the kangaroos. Super cute, and fun to feed, but if you run out of those little bags of food that the zoos provide, watch out. Kangaroos don't take no for an answer. I have a scar on my wrist to prove it.

7. Goon hangovers are the worst, ever. Chances are, if you are backpacking Oz, you'll soon discover that boxed wine, A.K.A. "Goon" is the cheapest way to intoxication. At $8 for a 4L box, you can't go wrong. Sure, it tastes terrible, but as a backpacker that's the least of your concerns. Use caution when drinking with Irish travelers, as they often expect you to keep up with their rate of drinking. Be sneaky, add some Sprite (referred to as Lemonade in Australia) to make it less potent... but don't let them catch you.

8. Free meals are everywhere. If you are on a tight budget, keep an eye out for hostels offering free dinner vouchers. The portions are usually small, and you will get sick of pasta, but take advantage of these vouchers, you'll need all of the extra cash you can get.

9. Max out your credit card. Good advice? Maybe not so much. However, Australia is an amazing country with so many incredible places to see. Don't let money hold you back, because I promise you'll regret it. Climb the Harbour Bridge, skydive over the reef, and camp Fraser Island. You came this far, don't leave without the full experience.

I'll add to this list as more comes to mind. In all honesty, tips like these are great, but isn't half of the fun figuring out things on your own? (Well, maybe not the deadly animals... take my advice on that one.)

Oh, A Backpacking Life is the Life for Me!

Backpacking is an amazing, economical, and adventurous way to travel for those up to the challenge. When I say challenge, I'm not exaggerating. Backpacking isn't for everybody. Before you set off on your around the world trip with nothing but your backpack and a stack of Lonely Planet books, please do yourself a favour and consider the following:

1. This ain't no luxury resort. You'll be sleeping in hostels on squeaky bunkbeds with flimsy mattresses, possibly home to the ever so irritating bed bugs. Cleanliness will become a distant memory as you wear flip flops (also known as thongs, jandles, sandals... depending on your nationality) in the shower and wash your dishes with cloths that look dirtier than the plate itself. You'll wait an hour to use the shower, stove, or to wash a load of laundry. You'll sit on the floor of the common areas because that one guy with ridiculously foul smelling feet is taking up the entire couch.
2. Privacy is thing of the past, and a decent sleep is nearly impossible. If you can't sleep in a room filled with strangers, maybe you should reconsider backpacking. You'll encounter every type of personality imaginable. Some will snore, others will come home drunk at 6 am and mistake your bed for their own. If you stink up the bathroom, that entire room is going to know it, and yes, they will judge you for it. You will more than likely be in the same room as 2 people engaging in sexual activity. Every conversation you have will be listened to unless you have the advantage of speaking a language that they don't understand.
3. You can't bring everything. As hard as it may be to leave your beloved shoes at home, keep in mind that everything that goes into your backpack has to be carried. The less you bring, the better. Your back will ache, and those bunk beds will only add to the pain. Most backpackers who are in it for the long haul end up throwing away items as they move from hostel to hostel... anything to make it weigh less!
4. Backpackers are a lower class. Yes, there is a difference between "tourists" and "backpackers". At least that's how you'll be treated. I remember an airport shuttle picking me up from my hostel... at each hotel he'd get out and help load suitcases into the back, but when it came to me, the little backpacker girl, he simply pointed to the luggage racks. You'll have slower service at bars and restaurants, and the locals will curse your existence.

Despite all of what I just said, please, do not rule out backpacking completely. It's by far the greatest way to meet other travelers, particularly if you are traveling solo. You'll make friends that you'll keep in touch with long after the vacation is over. You'll save so much money that you'll be able to stay much longer than you could had you stayed in a hotel. You'll learn so much able about other people, their cultures and countries, and you'll get to know yourself a lot better. There are advantages and disadvantages to this type of travel, but trust me, the good outweighs the bad. So pack your backpack, and start traveling. It just may change your life.

In the End

This evening I found a journal entry that I didn't even realize I'd written. Written in messy handwriting after 30 hours on a plane, plagued with jet lag....It's probably my favorite entry so far... words can't even convey the emotions.

It's approximately 3:26 am as I sit wide awake in the San Francisco airport. 30 hours on 2 planes from Australia, to Singapore, to Hong Kong, and I'm finally back in North America. Why can't I sleep? Well, for starters, it's only 8:26 am in Australia. Then there's the fact that after a year away, I'm finally going home tomorrow. Only a select group of people know that I'm coming home early, and they only know because I need their help surprising everybody else. My mom doesn't even know... how awesome will that be??

Despite my initial sadness over the "Leaving my freedom and backpacker life in the tropics" thing, I'm quite excited to go home now and finally see everybody. And have Tim Hortons. And perogies. And dill pickles.

Perhaps you are wondering why I am still at the airport despite having an 18 hour layover in San Fran? Well, as you may be aware, I'm flat out broke. No money. Okay, so I have enough for a hostel, but after transport I wouldn't have enough money for food, so really there was no debating. Besides, clearly I'd just be lying there in a bunkbed wide awake. Oh, and my camera is broken so I can't even go take pretty pictures like I'd initially planned on doing.

Wow, there are so many people sleeping here, sprawled out on the chairs waiting for morning. I wish I was tired.

So, anyways... here is my attempt at summing up my trip, although I couldn't possibly come close to mentioning everything amazing that I've experienced. It's been one incredible year.

It all began in Thailand. I slept in jungle huts, fed monkeys, and because a huge fan of pad thai. Then on to Singapore... I baked in the glorious heat of a country located 1 degree from the equator. I window shopped in stores that the celebrities shop in and ate the most amazing meal of my life. After months of saving and planning, I finally arrived in Australia.

I spent my trip navigating the beautiful east coast. I encountered giant spiders, watched the incredible New Years celebrations in Sydney, and met family I hadn't even known existed. I spent 3 months in Cairns, the gateway to the Great Barrier Reer, where i found Nemo and giant sea turtles. To fund my trip, I worked as a bartender at a really cool place called Apres. They serve 125 beers from around the world, and I hate beer. I sailed the Whitsunday Islands, camped on Fraser Island, and then moved back to work at a resort as a restaurant supervisor for 2 months. I went crazy on that island, secluded from civilization, surrounded by dingoes. I lived with my cousin in Brisbane, working at a cafe for a very short time to save for a trip to Fiji, where I lived the dream for awhile... island hopping, drinking cocktails, and watching many brilliant sunsets.

As cliche as it is to say this, this trip taught me so much about myself... The things that matter most to me, and who I know will always be there for me. I stopped taking so much for granted, stopped worrying about what others think, and learn to appreciate the little things like taking the time to sit and drink a great cup of coffee. I missed my family and friends like I'd never thought possible. I learnt to sleep through even the loudest snorers, phone calls, and drunken Irish men coming home from the pub. I went through 3 phones, 8 pairs of flip flops, 2 cameras, and thousands of dollars. I disposed of all of my warm clothing, which I can imagine I'll regret come tomorrow. I made many, many friends from around the world, doubling my Facebook friends list... I seem extra cool now. I learnt that you CAN survive on 2 minutes noodles and that you can't survive without sunscreen. When I set out on this journey, I was determined to prove not only to myself, but to everybody else that I was independent and capable of lasting a year on my own. I'll admit, there was a time or 2 when I under-budgeted, or my credit card was stolen and my mom or grandma came to my rescue, freeing me from starvation and homelessness. Other than that, I think I did quite well at accomplishing my goal. 4 countries (7 if you count stopovers, which of course, I do) later, and I'm finally ready to go home.

Here Comes the Rain...

I pride myself on being spontaneous; capable of landing in a foreign country with no plan or pre-travel knowledge. So when I randomly decided to move from Sydney to Cairns in January, I had no idea what to expect. Cairns was a tropical oasis from what I'd heard, and I was excited to spend my days baking in the sun. Immediately after I'd booked flights, I began to get the response "Cairns in the WET season?! You are crazy." Okay, so perhaps I should have looked into that one before booking flights and therefore leaving it set in stone. Oh well, I thought, the rain will be a nice relief from the +40 heat.

I arrived in Cairns on January 11, and the moment I stepped out of the plane I felt a rush of humidity and intense heat. I was in love with the place from that moment. I spent the first 2 weeks of my time in Cairns lying by the giant man made lagoon (the ocean is full of crocodiles and therefore no swim-land) soaking up the sun, swimming, and overall living the dream. This rain that everybody had spoke of seemed non-existent.

One day in February, it started raining. By raining, I mean pouring, and by pouring, I mean flash floods, wicked lightning shows, and general cyclone-ish weather. I would soon come to the harsh reality that the wet season had officially arrived.

It seemed as though it would never end. It was hard to believe that only weeks before, there was not a cloud to be seen. It stayed hot. Going outside was often a better plan than relying on the hostel showers for warm water. I invested in an umbrella, which did little to shield me from the constant water pouring from the sky. Cairns became some what of a ghost town, inhabited by locals and other insane backpackers such as myself. At the time, I was working, so the rain didn't bother me all that much. In fact, had the sun been shining every day I think going to work would have been a lot harder, considering the bar I worked at was along the main town strip, where everybody walked down en route to the lagoon. About once every 2 weeks, the skies would clear and the sun would peak out for an afternoon, only to shatter our hopes by disappearing for another 14 days. I saw many weary tourists pass through during my time in Cairns, disappointed about the visabilty on the Great Barrier Reef, or upset that their skydiving trip had been postponed. One week the town was cut off to the outside world. The roads surrounding it were flooded and inaccessabile. You could neither leave, nor enter.

It wasn't all bad, I must add. I learnt to enjoy, or at least deal with the wet season, and make the most of it. There is nothing quite like dancing in the warm rain. Not to mention the white water rafting. The flooding and constant flow of water had rendered the rapids on the Tully River as class 5. I spent a day riding down the river, flying through the rapids and underneath waterfalls in a deep valley surrounded by limestone cliffs. One of the first things our guide said, after introducing herself was "People have died on this river in similar circumstances". It didn't exactly make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, but at the end of the day I was glad I'd decided to go through with it. It rained constantly for nearly 2 months. We'd go swimming in our clothes that were already soaked, playing in the streets where the water reached our knees, and fall asleep to the sound of rain pounding on the tin roof. It became a part of our life, and although I missed the lazy lagoon days, the hot days in the rain beat the bitter cold winter I'd left behind.

Would I do things differently on my next trip?? Absolutely. I'd soak up all of the sun I could and plot out where to go based on the climate for that time of year. That said, I don't regret spending the summer in Cairns. I met amazing friends, made amazing memories, and I'm proud to say that I survived the North Queensland wet season... not many non-locals can say that.

Rafting In The Rain - Tully, Australia

And I'm Free Falling...

February 23, 2008

While living in Cairns, I befriended a fellow backpacker by the name of Brad. Brad was from Camrose, Alberta, which is quite close to home, so we got along quite well simply talking about Tim Hortons and various other Canadian-ish things. On February 23, Brad was celebrating his 21st birthday. Seeing as how he was on the other side of the world, he was determined to make it his best birthday he'd experienced yet. As a big fan of birthdays and any excuse for celebration, I opted to help brainstorm ideas to make it an unforgettable day for my Camrose friend.

The night before the big day, we were both still clueless as to what to do.

Then it hit me.

"Let's go skydiving!", I said. I could hear the words coming from my mouth and I couldn't stop them. I think I was half joking, but I saw a glimmer of excitement wash across Brad's face and knew at that point, that there was no taking that sentence back.

I guess I just assumed that there would be no space for us... who tries booking skydiving with 12 hours notice? Tours fill up fast in Far North Queensland, I guess we would just be out of luck. I was never expecting the tour sales lady to say "Okay, everything is confirmed", and before I knew it, I was reaching for my credit card.

I'd just like to point out that I'm not brave. Not by a long shot. I'm scared of spiders, snakes, thunderstorms, the dark... even the Easter Bunny freaks me out. So to make the decision to jump out of a plane and fall through the sky, is very untypical of me. There we were, staring at our tour tickets, wondering how traveling to Australia was capable of making us do such crazy things. Clearly, we'd been getting too much sun.

Later that night, my friend Jake booked his jump as well, and the next morning the 3 of us woke up bright and early and hopped onto a bus bound for Mission Beach, 3 hours south of Cairns.

On our bus, we met our fellow daredevils for the day. 2 Koreans (One named David Beckham!) 2 guys and 1 girl from Vancouver. Everybody seemed so relaxed the entire ride, and I couldn't help but to wonder if we would all be returning to Cairns later that afternoon.

We finally arrived at beautiful Mission Beach, where I met my tandem partner, Sinno, and signed several forms to acknowledge that I was aware that "Skydiving is a dangerous sport that has the potential to result in death or serious injury". Our guides strapped us in to our harnesses and gave us directions for exiting the plane. I tried to listen, I really did, but I couldn't focus on anything at that point.

Jake went up in the first plane. I stood on the beach, taking pictures as he came closer and closer to the ground. When he landed, he rushed towards me, unable to communicate just how incredible the past 20 minutes had been, but trying his best to explain anyways.

And then, it was my turn.

We headed off to the airport, where Sinno told me we'd be second to jump. Birthday boy Brad was first up. We hopped into our tiny plane with our tandem partners and the eager Koreans, and took off. As we climbed in altitude, you could see the ground getting further and further away through the giant hole where a door would normally belong. As the first jumper, Brad got the pleasure of sitting beside the non-existent door and got paler with each second that passed.

I can't quite explain what was going through my mind at that point. I wasn't afraid, or excited... I think it was all too surreal to have just one emotion, so I just put on a brave face and gave a thumbs up to the camera.

When we reached 14,000 feet, it was cold and windy in the plane, and Sinno give me the signal to let me know it was time to go. I watched as Brad jumped, and it looked as though he'd just been vacuum sucked out the side of the plane. Immediately after him, we shuffled towards the door, I looked down, and it was at that moment that I changed my mind. I'm in a perfectly good airplane, why would I get out in the middle of the sky?! But it was too late. I felt myself as if in slow motion falling away from the plane. There I was, freefalling over the Great Barrier Reef.

It was incredible.

It didn't feel like falling. It really didn't t feel like much, besides an overwhelming rush of adrenaline and the wind blowing in my face. We were freefalling for an entire 60 seconds, falling 10,000 feet before Sinno pulled the parachute. I don't think I remembered to breathe the entire time, but it felt as though only 10 seconds had passed by. I breathed a sigh of relief that our parachute had been in good working order and that we were still alive, and tried to take it all in. I looked down in awe of the beautiful islands and reefs below us as we slowly floated back towards the Earth. I didn't want to land. I'd never felt such an amazing high in my life.

Sinno briefed me on how to land safely... stand up right away. As we approached the beach, we landed, I stood up, and immediately collapsed to my knees. I wasn't able to stand up yet, I was in a completely different state of mind and everything was a blur of excitement.

Brad and Jake met me on the beach and we all excitely chattered about how amazing the feeling was, but we all knew that there was no describing it. It's just something you have to do.

We headed back to Cairns more giddy than we knew we were ever capable of being.

Skydiving is rumoured to be the best natural high that a person can experience, and it didn't wear off for the remainder of that day.

Mission accomplished.

Brad had the best birthday of his life, and I felt like if I could jump out of a plane, I was capable of doing absolutely anything in life.

I'd like to add that in Spring of 2009 I'm planning on organizing a skydiving day, in Central Alberta. I can't stress enough how amazing it is. One of the best ways to conquer your fears and feel complete freedom. If you'd like to join us, let me know and I'll figure out the prices, dates, etc. It sounds scary, but I promise you, if I'm capable, anybody is. It's the best thing you'll ever do.

Paradise and an Open Bar...

After 9 incredible days in the beautiful islands of Fiji, I had sadly reached my last day before heading back to Australia. Fiji was an exact replica of my idea of Paradise. The beautiful crystal clear waters dotted with tiny islands covered in palm trees and huts, combined with the friendliest locals I've met among my travels made this country very difficult to say goodbye to. I knew I should have accepted the proposal of a young Fijian man I'd met who'd offered to marry me so that I could stay in Paradise forever, but apparently I was not thinking clearly at that time.

So there I was, faced with the sadness of knowing that the next day I'd board a plane and bid farewell to my new favorite place on Earth, but at the same time excited for what the final day had in store for me. I was traveling with my cousin Jay, and we'd agreed that there was no better way to spend our last day than to go out to the islands and take in all of the sunshiny amazingness we could before we headed back to Brisbane. We were booked on a tour called "Whale's Tale", which consisted of sailing, snorkeling, general lazing around Schooner Island, and most importantly, an open bar, all day.

At 7 am we lazily dragged ourselves to the Denarau Marina to check in.

As we boarded our boat, the crew introduced themselves and then directed us to the dining area, where we were handed a glass of champagne (yes, 7:30 am) and offered a buffet breakfast.
It was a good start to a perfect day.

After breakfast we set sail through the Mamanuca group of islands, a beautiful group of idyllic islands surrounded by incredible coral reef systems. One of these islands was Monuriki, the island where Castaway was filmed. You can leave me stranded there for 4 years, I promise, I'll be okay.We lounged on the deck, took in the sheer beauty of the surroundings and found ourselves being handed a new drink whenever our current one reached the half-full point.

Eventually, we anchored just off the shore of Schooner Island, which would be our home base for the majority of the day. Upon arrival, we were invited to a traditional Kava ceremony. Kava is the official Fijian drink, made from the roots of the kava plant and is a mild drug/sedative. We began the ceremony by clapping our hands twice and saying "Bula!", and then proceeded to drink our kava, clap more, and say some other random Fijian words that I can no longer recall. Soon after drinking it from a coconut bowl, my tongue was tingly and numb, and there was an aftertaste in my mouth that was something like what I'd expect eating dirt to taste like. Despite this, the Fijians love their kava and drank what the cautious tourists left behind.

After the ceremony, we simply relaxed on the beach, forgetting about any troubles in our lives if only for a day. We went reef fishing, where to my pride and amazement, I caught a fish for the first time in my life. It was ugly and I was too creeped out to touch it, but I caught it nonetheless.

Lunch was amazing. I've never ate so much fresh fruit in my life. I couldn't stop myself.

I washed it down with more vodka, to the delight of our crew who promised that their only goal was to make sure we got our money's worth, by forcing excess alcohol consumption. Job well done, I must say.

After a full day of sailing and lying on the beach, it was time to head back to Nadi, where we were staying. We were sad to go, but at the same time completely satisfied with the perfect day we'd had. The vodka didn't stop pouring until we'd reached the marina.

As we slowly made our way towards the main island, we were in a state of pure bliss. The awesome crew added to my happiness as they sang us a farewell song. It's these moments that I'd dreamt of, and here I was living the dream. For a girl from small town Alberta, making it to Fiji was a pretty huge deal. If you want something bad enough, reach out and grab it, because dreams are meant to come true.