I got burnt. I’m burnt now.
As the encroachment of finals, Christmas shopping, and making more realistic New Year’s resolutions comes closer, let me take some of the pressure off you all, as a holiday gift, because you’re probably not going to get a real one from me, unless you’re me, because I bought myself a lot of stuff. So stop telling yourself you are going to lose 20 pounds next year. Just tell yourself you will go to the gym once a week, grab yourself a back of M&M’s, sit back, relax, and enjoy reading one of my final Australian blogs…
Last week, on Jay-Z’s birthday, more commonly referred to as December 4th, six guys set out on a journey to travel south from Brisbane, Australia, highlighting points of particular interest along the eastern coast of the vast country, with the intent of seeing Australia’s biggest city: Sydney. They rented an RV in Brisbane from a company widely known as Apollo. The vehicle, which I will name Seymour, for the purpose of this blog, since it facilitated in us “seeing more of Australia,” came fully equipped with sleeping accommodation for six people, air conditioning, a sink, a refrigerator, a microwave, a TV, and more. The whole nine yards, or meters, or “metres,” whatever.
If any of you have read some of my previous entries, you may know that the Aus
tralian countryside has provided a more than generous setting for our travels to take place, however, it may be helpful for me to make you more familiar with the cast of this week-long hiatus.
-Me: the tannest, most physically fit, and wittiest person, not only on this trip, but also, the world. Hometown: Holyoke, Massachusetts (frequently made obvious by that one shirt I brought to Australia)
-Iain: my formerly bearded friend (he is still my friend, just not bearded); we have often been told we could pass as brothers… we’re not though; also one of our drivers, you may have seen Iain’s artwork, he specializes in drawing the tough stuff: sand dunes, rocks, ligh
tning bolts, and subway foot-long sandwiches. Hometown: Traverse City, Michigan
-Dennis: haling from New Jersey, he is an avid surfer who wakes up really early, and rarely frequents the luxury of a shower; the second driver, as well as a great crossword puzzle teammate. Hometown: Facebook says Compton, California, but somewhere in New Jersey
-Marc: born in 1990 (I know) and a fellow ginger, Marc finished in second place in most hours of sleep accumulated, and only kicked me in the face once the whole week. Hometown: also somewhere in New Jersey
-Tilman: with the metabolism of something that has a really fast metabolism, this German was no stranger to week-long starvation every 20 minutes; world record holder in cigarette rolling speed competition. Hometown: Berlin, Germany
-Fabian: often referred to as Sleepy, Sleeping Beauty, Garfield, and Rip Van Winkle, Fabian’s talents include sleeping, eating, sleeping, smoking, and sleeping. Hometown: somewhere in Germany
Day #1: Friday, December 4, 2009
Route: Robina > Brisbane > Robina > Ballina > Coff’s Harbour
At 8am last Friday morning, I trekked my way over to Iain’s apartment. Drenched in sweat by 8:01, we awaited the arrival of Dennis and Marc, so we could begin our trip in Dennis’ car to get the RV rental squared away. We had to drive to Brisbane to make the final payments on our RV for the week, which was when we were introduced to Seymour. Clean as a whistle and as top heavy as Morticia, Sey
mour was a real trooper all week. By about 2pm, we had packed the RV back in Robina and picked up the German folk and were headed due south. Having been in the area before, Iain and Dennis made the decision to make our first stop in Ballina, not for the night, just to explore, fish, and catch some waves. While the two captains were surfing, Marc fished for a little while, while the Germans frolicked in the waves for about an hour. I got a chance to see some dolphins in the meantime. After board shorts were dried, surfboards were neatly stowed away, and the sun was set, we pulled in to Woolworth’s four our first of many trips to grocery stores. We made our first gas refuel and passed the world’s largest banana (it is probably not the world’s but it sounds better when I say it that way) before we pulled in to a secluded area known as Coff’s Harbour for the night. We stood at the ocean water’s edge and relished in the opportunity to witness a good old-fashioned thunderstorm a few miles out on the Pacific Ocean. Day #1 was already over… Distance traveled according to GoogleMaps: 485km (301.4 miles)
Day #2: Saturday, December 5, 2009
Route: Coff’s Harbour > South West Rocks > Crescent Head > Forster
Sleeping arrangements went as follows: Iain and Dennis spooned in the overhead bunk above the cockpit; Marc and I went head-to-toe with a didgeridoo as a divider just below them next to the door, and the Germans were seen canoodling in the back. We all awoke reasonably early to clear skies with scant clouds and superfluous sun. Dennis’ fancy was tickled as he wip
ed the sleep from his eyes to find out that there was a free surf board demo that day. What a co-winky-dink (I contemplated putting that word in here for about five minutes, but I went for it; I went for it, and I’m so glad I did). While Fabian needed some time to catch up on some sleep, having been up for a whole hour, the rest of us explored the area. We took a path up the north side of Coff’s Harbour’s beach and climbed our way over the rocks that formed the beach. Tilman and I ended our journey early, however, because I decided I wanted to live to see my 22nd birthday. Iain, Dennis, and Marc soldiered on to the next jetty. They say it was great; I’ll take their word for it. As I was wearing my lifeguard shirt, I couldn’t help but keep making references to the Germans about Baywatch and how all Germans love David Hasselhoff. Once Seymour was made travel-safe, we were back on the road again. The next stop we made was in a small town called South West Rocks. We didn’t do much here other than watch Tilman get perhaps too angry while waiting for a burger. This was also when we learned that in addition to David Hasselhoff, all Germans love to put mayonnaise on their fries. Like they love it. Perhaps more than a normal person should love anything. As another short thunderstorm swooped in, we drove down a road we were not sure would take us anywhere. I’ll tell you where it did take us though; it took us to a secluded beach no more than 50 meters long that was accompanied by few wild kangaroos. Iain and Dennis tried to surf, but it turns out that warning sign the size of a large truck was right, the currents were a little too strong, and I’m sure the thunderstorm that had just passed wasn’t helping anyone’s cause. I was still wearing my lifeguard shirt though for safety purposes, and because I didn’t change from the day before. After we departed South West Rocks, we drove until we arrived at Crescent Head, a surfing reserve. As the sun was setting, the captains grabbed their boards again and we all took the opportunity to have our first TBE of the week. I’m not explaining what that is to you. I will tell you that it is not a drug though, it’s totally legal. I explored the area on my own for some me-time while the Germans kicked around the Toys ‘R Us soccer ball. After a short stay in Crescent Head we drove some ways up the side of a mountain in Forster (where our Australian friend Tim is actually from) to catch some Z’s. Day #2 was already over… Distance traveled according to GoogleMaps: 319km (198.3 miles); Total overall distance traveled: 804km (499.7 miles)
Day #3: Sunday, December 6, 2009
Route: Forster (Booti Booti National Park/One Mile Beach) > Newcastle > The Entrance
Another early morning in the hot Australian sun showed us that our illegally parked RV was safe. Nestled at the base of a walking trail to the summit of Booti Booti National Park, all six of us climbed to the 420 meter summit. It was like real rock climbing, with benches. The views at the summit were spectacular. Yeah, I said that word, big whoop, wanna fight about it? As we sauntered back to the RV, we realized that they key we did have was the wrong one. We were locked out of our own illegally parked vehicle, and all of our cell phones were inside. Luckily, Dennis was agile and skinny enough to shimmy into the RV through one of the small windows on the roof. Obstacle averted. As we slowly rolled the RV down the face of the mountain, we rummaged through the streets of Forster until we stumbled upon One Mile Beach. It was a unanimous decision that this piece of sandy heaven and crystal clear waters was the best beach we have seen in Australia. The waves were the biggest I have seen and the sand dunes provided a beachgoer with a recreational option other than the standard water activities. Only applying sun screen once that day, my first Australian sunburn had been spawned. I had made it through 97 days without a make out session with the sun, and on December 6, 2009, my streak ended and my sweat capacity was instantly doubled. After a few hours at One Mile Beach, the lot of us grabbed some seat in the RV and merged back on to the black river of asphalt. After a few hours of driving, my sunburn was really starting to show. Once I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I
was sure I was going to peel if I didn’t get some aloe all up in mah face. We stopped for a New York minute in the San Franciscan city of Newcastle. Set on a rolling hill, the city itself was in an expected Sunday daze, but the views were awesome. We were back on the road as soon as our drivers could pee on a bush and wolf down a mango or two. Our final stop of the day was at The Entrance. That’s the name of the city. Whatever. We finally got a chance to use a powered camp site as well. Pictures were uploaded, iPods were charged, showers were had, and yes, air conditioning. I went to the campground’s convenience store to get some aloe only to find out that it was closed. I asked one of the owners where I could get some aloe nearby, and when she looked up from watering her flowers and saw that I looked like Two Face from Batman, she opened the convenience store for me to remedy my facial leprosy. The soothing feeling of the gel and its kiwi scent kept me addicted to its application. As the sun set, Iain and Dennis headed to the beach for a short-lived surf. Dennis’ sixth sense was at work. In the river flowing in from the ocean there were fishermen. Fishermen fish for small fish. Big fish and sharks eat small fish. So, by the transitive property, surfing was nipped in the bud that night. After some of us finally made use of the small kitchen in our RV, and I got some pictures of Christmas trees because I’m a nerd, day #3 was already over on Jewfish Alley (where the Germans could sleep soundly)… Distance traveled according to GoogleMaps: 228km (141.7 miles); Total overall distance traveled: 1,032km (641.4 miles)
Day #4: Monday, December 7, 2009 (Happy Birthday, Stephen William!)
Route: The Entrance > Bondi Beach > Sydney > Coogee Beach
Sleeping in until 9am on this trip was a luxury that did not go unnoticed in my eyes. As Tracy Jordan would say on 30 Rock: “Did you know in the morning they got food, TV, almost everything. It’s pretty good.” We finally had arrived in Sydney. I was so excited to be there. We pulled in to Bondi Beach, one of Australia’s most iconic beaches. It was the birthplace of surf-lifesaving over a century ago, when over 250 people were saved after three massive rogue waves slammed in the Bondi’s coastline. We parked the RV and strolled down to the wat
erfront that was covered with people from jetty to jetty, even some 57s. Iain met up with one of his friends who was vacationing with his family and Dennis met up with one of his buddies who had just finished his semester studying in Sydney. The Germans and I headed across the street for a bite to eat. In my own natural fashion, I saw a massive tree in the median of the road and couldn’t help but walk directly into it. My TBOS shirt is ripped and I lightly lacerated my torso. I loved that shirt; I’m going to make it work somehow. We soon followed Dennis’ mate around as we hopped on a bus to Bondi Junction, where we transferred to the train to Martin Place. As we disembarked the train, we walked through the hustle and bustle of the Sydney city streets until we arrived at the lavish, harbor-side Royal Botanical Gardens. Contrary to most other publically beautified areas that are similar, the signs of the garden exclaim, “Please walk on the grass. We also invite you to smell the roses, hug the trees, talk to the birds, and picnic on the lawns.” Hippies. As we exited the Royal Botanical Gardens and saw the harbor, I knew that just around the bend was the prestige of the Sydney Opera House and the awe-inspiring masterpiece known as the Sydney Harbour Bridge. These pieces of iconic Australian architecture are truly too perfect to event attempt to describe. I was left speechless and sweaty the whole time. Whoever said a picture is worth 1,000 words was apparently too lazy to write a few more zeros. Did I just contradict myself? Get over it. I took a picture every five feet I walked. After too short of a stay and a quick beverage at the swanky bar adjacent to the Opera House, we trudged back to the train station and to our RV. As everyone sort of did their own thing for a little while, I explored the Bondi coast by myself for a little bit. I found the pool where Dawn Fraser used to train that is liteallt part of the rocks on the side of Bondi Beach. There are still rocks at the bottom of the pool and waves sometimes cave over the lanes… someth
ing to think about for next year’s training trip. Since we couldn’t legally park in the area we had left the RV, we took our whip over a few hills to Coogee Beach (pronounced Could-Gee). We grabbed some dinner at Subway (and maybe also McDonald’s an hour later) and settled in. Iain had a paper that was due the next day. Having trouble reaching 1,000 words, I helped him out a little bit. Never underestimate the power of unnecessary prepositional phrases. After Dennis had passed out, Marc, Iain, the Germans, and I headed to the top of the rocks at Coogee Beach to take some pictures and have some laughs. We passed a memorial for the 2002 Bali bombings as well. On a lighter note, Monday night was the night that Fabian introduced us to his understanding of Christmas. He suggested that Santa comes back every year for his son Jesus’ birthday party. They used to spend their time trying to fix the refrigerator in our RV, and eventually Jesus built the rest of the world around that refrigerator, but never got around to fixing it. At least not yet. I guess that’s how Christmas is done in Germany. Day #4 was already over… Distance traveled according to GoogleMaps: 132km (82 miles); Total overall distance traveled: 1,164km (732.4 miles)
Day #5: Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Route: Coogee Beach > Bondi Beach > Sydney > Forster (One Mile Beach)
Ya know how sometimes you smell something really, really bad and it kinda goes away after two or three whiffs? Well, 8am on December 8th is apparently Coogee Beach’s annual public septic tank cleaning day. Supposedly, advent is the perfect time to clear the bowels of an ent
ire city. We literally couldn’t sit there for another second. We left Coogee Beach in a jiffy and parked the RV right in Bondi Beach where we had left it the day before. Fabian, Tilman, Marc, and I decided to take the city of Sydney by storm, while Iain and Dennis supposedly spent the better part of three hours scouring suburban Sydney for some internet access. The remaining four of us took the train back into the heart of the cosmopolitan city and began our day of walking. Our first stop was at the panoramic Sydney Tower. The building was high enough to slightly sway with the harbor’s winds, but the views from atop the building were worth the price of a clean pair of boxers. The views of the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, metropolitan Sydney, and the Sydney Olympic Stadium were so perfect. A mere $20 student discount provided us with some priceless pictures. Once we landed back on earth, we grabbed a quick lunch and headed over towards Darling Harbour, where The Real World Sydney was. The house is gone though. The Sydney skyline was a picturesque collection of skyscrapers that shot out of the ground immediately juxtaposed to the ins and outs of Darling Harbour. Christmas decorations were everywhere. Maybe it’s bred in the bone, but a little bit of Bing Crosby and a lot bit of holiday garland is just a little piece of heaven for me. The bands along the edges of the water were orchestrating to the tunes of “Eye of the Tiger,” as I captured some pictures of massive ships, Olympic paraphernalia, and Asians taking pictures of other Asians (one of my favorite pastimes). We slowly walked across the bridge towards the city where we weaved through the streets of Sydney to find the Opera House from the opposite site as the day before. In our travels, we passed the building that apparently was the setting for a number of scenes from The Matrix, some historical landmarks from the first fleets that came to Australia, and what I think
was a Detour in one of the previous seasons of The Amazing Race. I’m still researching that though. We passed a few Aboriginal performers and arrived at the other side of the Opera House. I sought out another Christmas tree as well. The tree seen here is made out of over 7,000 recycled soft drink bottles ‘rejected by the packaging company Visy before they were delivered to Coca-Cola Amatil.’ The tree stands about 8 meters tall and it is lit each night by GreenPower renewable energy. The four of us continued on to cross the Harbour Bridge. This architectural structure absolutely fascinates me. It is so big, and it provided me with some of the best views of any city I have ever seen in my entire life. After crossing the bridge, we boarded the train to go meet Iain and Dennis back at the RV in Bondi Beach. Wasting very little time, we unfortunately had to switch directions from south to north now, and traveled back to One Mile Beach in Forster. Day #5 was already over… Distance traveled according to GoogleMaps: 335km (208.2 miles); Total overall distance traveled: 1,499km (931.6 miles)
Day #6: Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Route: Forster (One Mile Beach) > Yamba
Our sixth day in the RV was not a glamorous as previous ones. We awoke from our slumber right outside of One Mile Beach. Surfing was once again on the agenda for some, while other tried some sand boarding down the massive dunes at the beach. As noon encroached, the overcast skies provided us with an opportunity to get a good chunk of our driving done in the direction of school. However, before we left, Tilman couldn’t pass up a chance to shower in the outdoor shower of the One Mile Beach parking lot, completely naked, with familes pulling in for
a day at the beach, a golf course no more than 100 meters away, and houses immediately across the street. We were headed for Yamba, just under two hours outside of school, in an attempt to soften the blow of having to drive too far on our last day. We pulled in to Yamba just as dusk was upon us. Another powered site meant another night with air conditioning. Before the night ended, we looked through all of the week’s pictures, and the Germans, Iain, and I played some soccer slash golf slash bocce type game. This was when we found some crazy space alien frog. It was pretty sweet and possibly poisonous but maybe probably not except if you sorta kinda licked it. I didn’t lick a frog. It was a temptation that was hard to resist, but I managed. Some of us laid out under the stars for another hour or so and discussed the previous week and life after Australia before hitting the hay. Day #6 was already over and only one day left… Distance traveled according to GoogleMaps: 396km (246.1 miles); Total overall distance traveled: 1,895km (1,177.8 miles)
Day #7: Thursday, December 10, 2009 (Happy Birthday, K8!)
Route: Yamba > Robina > Brisbane > Robina
Perhaps the most lackluster day of our holiday, was the final one. We got an early start on the drive back to Robina, knowing cleaning the RV and restoring it back to the condition in which it was given to us was a task that could not be neglected. We were back at University Place by around noon and after Dennis swept the floor to a spotless shine, we cleaned everything else, and had to sweep it again. Sorr
y, Dennis. I understand and appreciate your hard work. Day #7 and the week was over as Iain and Dennis returned the RV back to Brisbane later that afternoon… Distance traveled according to GoogleMaps: 367km (228 miles); Grand total overall distance traveled: 2,262km (1,405.8 miles)
As much fun as I had on this trip, a good part of me was in ecstasy when I walked back in to my cave on campus, where I can use air conditioning and electricity at my own disposal. This week was such a great vacation. I had an awesome time. It was the perfect cherry on top of an already awesome Australian experience. I still have just over a week left in Australia, so I am making the most of it, by primarily completely neglecting my finals and taking advantage of having the room to myself for the rest of the time here. I have pushed my roommate’s bed and mine together to make a super bed and I love it. Keep in touch friends! I miss you all and I will see you very soon!!!
-Brendan/Sully/Dangy/Buddha/Bren/$
This is the final blog entry from my past four month stint deep in the heart of the South Pacific. Since September 1, 2009, I have traveled to three new countries, on twelve different flights, over a grand total of 29,314 miles (including the road trip to Sydney; 27,908 miles in the air). Despite those daunting numbers and cumulative count of over 78 hours aboard various aircrafts, it feels as if I have only been gone for a mere weekend trek around the globe. Looking back on my once-in-a-lifetime experience, all I can see is a massive blur of picturesque landscapes, crystal clear waters, mullets, Mohawks, rattails, and blue skies. From the pool of people I knew before this epic journey, very few have been lucky enough to feast their eyes on the Australian countryside, even less have seen the beauty of the islands of New Zealand, and barely a handful have buried their feet in the cools sands of a Fijian beach. The appreciation I have for the past four months of my life is unprecedented, and will never go forgotten. As this is my final blog, I would like any of you who have been interested in my travels to pat yourself on the back as a thank you from me to you for your support and interest. Some of you may be familiar with my hopes of attaining my dream job of getting hired for a job that allows me to travel to distant corners of the globe while documenting my progress. I have self-diagnosed myself with the travel bug, and your support could someday be a key factor on my résumé in acquiring my dream job, and I thank you for your following.
hat tickles your fancy is irrelevant. What I’m saying is that you need to do something in your life that is going to make you happy. Mine was studying abroad for four months. I just got back to America with zero dollars, chapped lips, and no work opportunities, but what I did was something I wanted to do. I am so happy I did it, I regret nothing, and I strongly encourage anyone who wants to experience another country, or even another state to do it. It will very likely set you back a pretty penny, but the connections you will make, the people you will meet, and the résumé lines you will have when you walk away for this experience will greatly make up for the expenses. I have come home from Australia with friends from all over not only the United States, but also the world. I have really great friends from coast to coast of the continental United States, some in Australia and even some from Germany. Just as MasterCard would argue, there are certain things that are priceless, and the connections I have made with some of these people are just that. There is a certain time frame in between graduating from high school and entering the real world that everyone has to be a kid and an adult at the same time. You are old enough to make your own decisions, but young enough to have a carefree experience. When I was a sophomore in high school, my sister studied in Galway, Ireland, and when I was a freshman in college, my brother lived in Madrid, Spain for a year. Both of them urged me to experience the world, and warned me of certain regret if I didn’t grab the opportunity by the horns and just do it. The amount of money does affect the experience, but that money can be replaced in time, the experience never can. I realize that this address may seem I am smiting some people, but I am certainly not. I just don’t agree with the closed-mindedness of some people and their beliefs that oppose alternative forms of education like studying abroad. I’m getting deep, I know.
t my mom LOVES it. I am certainly not arguing that I did not love Australia, I did. There is so much to do, so here is some real advice…
cessarily easy, so get any credit you can. Go to all of the classes you are available to go to.
