A story long overdue
How it all started

Work and Travel Australia

Preparation

It was in early 2015, some time before the Abitur - the final exams of the German Gymnasium. I was stressed and bored. I could not imagine continuing this lifestile of learning useless things that I would have forgotten two weeks later and not doing anything! Something had to change.

At some point I made a decision. Not a well planned decision. I had no idea what I was signing up for. But I decided to go to Australia as soon as possible, for a year.

I very well remember the evening when I told my father: By the way, I'll be going to Australia by the end of this year and will probably stay there for a year.

There was not much he could do about it (not that he wanted to, he thought it would be a great idea), and the rest of family took it likewise.

The only thing they were not very happy about was my plan to cut off all contact back home to see if I could make it on my own, without any advice or help from the recources that I usually had at my disposal. But there was no arguing with me.

So after the exams, the period of preparation started. I worked in a factory. I startet tutoring math. I gave a Youtube channel a try (which failed). I got my visa and my ticket. I got equipment. I was very busy, but happy. After a long time I was working on something I was passionate about. And then came the big day...

 

Arrival

I left Germany at the end of September 2015. At the airport I had had some final texts with friends and family. Some time before bording I took out my SIM-card and logged off social media, including WhatsApp. Silence. I was on my own. Then I got on the first of three planes which would take me half-way across the globe. To Sydney - Australia.

I had no idea what to expect. I was going on an adventure. I did not know about quality of life in Australia. Not even if I could buy any familiar stuff in supermarkets. I had no idea about how to use public transport. I had no place to stay. I started at the airport in Sydney, phone in hand, searching for a GPS-signal to use my offline-map.

In Hongkong I had put a post on a group on Facebook, saying I was looking for somebody who could give me advice on how to live in Australia and on where to stay. Some girl called Jen, whom I later met, had answered with the hostel's adress she was staying at. That was my destination.

GPS was lagging. It just worked good enough to roughly navigate. For some reason, for the first days in Australia it was always off by 20 meters or so, which is a lot if you have to find the right crossing to take! I was headed to Maze Backpackers, 417 Pitt Street; Haymarket NSW 2000; Australia, some 6,5 km from the airport, with a giant backpack to carry. No worries. It hardly took me 3 hours...

Everything was new to me. The weather was warm. Different plants everywhere. The air was feeling different. The sight of an Ibis defintely showed me that I had entered a whole new world, full of strange things!

So, as mentioned before, some 3 hours after my landing in Down Under I arrived at the hostel, where I happened to check into that same room where Jen was residing.

At that place, another new world revealed itself to me! The world of hostels. Of those places, that are hubs for long-term low-budged travellers. For true adventurers. For untireing party-makers. For weed-smokers. For free spirits! I was stunned by the interior of the place, never having seen something the like before. I was suprised by the friendlyness of the people. At the end of my first day, a conversation between a few travellers took place in my room. They were talking about their travels and their jobs. Beautiful stories of opportunities that made my heart go quicker. Apart from the fact that I learned that everybody liked to call 18-year olds babies (which I understood later) I loved it from the beginning. Well, at least for a while...

 

Desperation in Sydney

I always say that I had the worst and the best times of my life in Australia, and that, overall, I'd definetly recommend doing it. That worst time I had in Sydney, even though it was by far not everything bad. But let me explain:

As I said, I was very excited! For the first few days I kept running around the city, looking at all the great places around there. I particularly enjoyed the Royal Botanic Gardens. I kept shooting videos for my later-to-fail Youtube project and started looking for jobs immediatly. But at that time of the year, being spring, Sydney was a lot colder and windyer than I had expected. So after a few days I caught a cold that tied me to my bed for a good four days.

After I had recovered things were still not going as well as I had hoped, for my lack of work experience really made it hard to get a job. Also, people had recommended that, since I was planning to work, I should not live in a hostel but a quieter place, like a shared apartment. Seemed reasonable. So I ended up somewhere on Railway St./Rockdale, a shared apartment inhabited by students, which cost me 160 dollars per week. It was a nice apartment. But there was no social life. The others were hardly ever at home. I had no one to talk to. I ended up visiting the guys from the hostel quite often.

In addition to that, I had finally managed to find work. I was working as a construction labourer for a guy who paid me 20 dollars cash, whilst the usual minimum for that kind of job was about 25 dollars. I had to pay no tax, so I safed some money there, but that guy was a mean dickhead who repeatedly tried to rip me off and not pay me as much as I deserved. I could never be sure if I'd get my money at the end of the week whilst at the same time I had to pay for my own food, rent and transport, which I never had to do before. So I ate cheap shit and lived on the absolute minimum, but still, the numbers on my bank account grew smaller and smaller. Well, I did make some money, so after a while they did not anymore, but at the rate the were increasing I figured I'd never make enough money to go traveling for a longer time. Essentially, I was not sure if I was doing the right thing.

So, add all this together and maybe you can get an idea of how I felt. Actually, I don't think you can. I was spending most of the time of each day at work, with a boss I didn't trust. And the work was not easy. Coming home I had to prepare food or go shopping. Usually, there would be no one to talk to. I had no contact back home. I spent most of my precious free time watching Shameless on Netflix. I was so stressed and exhausted that from the moment I went to bed in the evening I started sweating. All night long. I'd wake up in a bathtub. I had to change my sheets at least once a week. It was bad!

After a while I decided it could not continue this way and that I needed to change both job and homebase. Now having at least some experience in construction I managed to sign up with an agency, which I hadn't tried before. I moved back into a hostel in Glebe, the Rooftop Travellers Lodge which is a place that offers exceptional rates to long term residents by cutting costs through their policy that those have to clean their rooms themselves. Depending which room you get it is quite disgusting, but I was rather fortunate in that regard. It still was a working and not a party hostel, so not quite as social, especially for a person like me, since back then I still was quite introverted. But both improvements significantly changed my situation for the better.

At this point I should mention that most of the problems I had can rather easily be avoided by proper planning and accepting people's advice, but for me it was part of the deal to go through the dirt and make it without help. I would certainly not do it again in that manner, but I still think that, at the time, it was good and I am absolutely sure that it taught me a lot! I don't regret it!

Life was still not easy. Sydney is a beautiful place! If I had the chance I would go back there instantaneously! You can have great nightlife and beautiful beaches! As I found out later, finding work in construction is, compared to other places in Australia, quite easy, especially if you don't have a car (meaning that it is very hard to find work without a car in other places). But it all came like a shock and I didn't know how to handle it! I had lived most of my life in small towns, had hardly ever been to a larger city for more than an afternoon. I loved to venture out in the nature, enjoying the peace and silence. If you have ever been to Syndey, you'll know it's huge! If you want to get out of it it'll take you about an hour by train! I felt caught up in there, having no way to do what I was used to for my liking and not knowing how to enjoy all the good stuff in a place like that. It took me a lot longer to figure that out.

Also, I started to feel a little used by the Australian government. I still was not able to safe a lot of money, for things were expensive and I had to pay a lot of tax. There was a lot of unclearity whether I would be able to claim that back, especially since there was talk of new laws being planned that would keep us backpackers from doing just that. I also felt that backpackers were being pushed to do their 3 months of farmwork, which I had no intention to do. I felt like Australia strongly depended on the thousands of backpackers that do many of the hard jobs which many Aussies would not care to do, yet not appreciate that but take away from us whatever they could. That's how I felt, it doesn't mean I'm right.

Some time after new year two friends of mine were coming to Cairns in Northern Queensland for a months holiday and another month of english courses for one of them. So I decided that I would meet them there. I planned to look for a job there, but don't put too much energy into the project. If I wouldn't find anything I'd just enjoy the time, relax and leave for Europe a month or two later. I didn't expect to find work there. I was ready to go home. But it would come different...

 

Living a fantastic dream of freedom, excitement and adventure in Cairns

Cairns started out nicely. It was great from the beginning. Of cource, there were some parts that could have been better, but I (had) learned to live with them.

One of the things that could be better in Cairns is public transport to and from the airport. Well, it could not be BETTER, it could be THERE AT ALL. Of course, as you can imagine, I was not content with paying 16 dollars to get on an airport shuttle. Instead, I started walking from the airport (again). Actually, I did that twice, but we'll come to that later. The road would have been about four kilometers. In heat and humidity. Cairns is that hot at the time of the year, that you will start sweating as you just start moving outside. Also, there is no footpath to the city. Instead, you have to walk at the side of the road. I probably looked so desperate walking there, that both times friendly people picked me up and delivered me to the city in their airconditioned cars. Thank you, strangers!

The first time I came to town this way, the guy who drove me also gave me tips on where to stay. He recommended Gilligan's hostel. It would be a bit pricyer, but definetly best in town. He made special remarks on the beautiful girls there :D.

Having worked hard I figured that I had earned some luxury and checked in there at least for the beginning. And even though it does cost some 5 to 7 dollars more than the cheapest places, I ended up staying there a full three months! Whilst Cairns is a party haven itself, I dare say that Gilligan's is the heart of it, followed by the Woolshed. In retrospective I regret it, especially since I'm writing about it now, but I've never been to the latter. That is because Gilligan's simply offers you the allround-package. I'm usually not a great party person, but there I enjoyed myself a lot! And if you're sceptical, I'm not getting paid to write this! Whilst the music downstairs in the club is blasting, especially during the weekend, you can feel your bed vibrate to the tact in some rooms. Don't let that scare you, if you ask for a quiet room at the reception you are very likely to get one. Never failed me, after I had learned the trick. The rooms might be loud, and there will often be people playing drinking games in the rooms (which officially is against the rules), but they are clean! Much cleaner than in many other places. That was actually one of the main reasons for me to stay there that long. Also, they offer discounts for people staying for about 5 nights. If you're a guest at Gilligan's you usually enjoy free entry to the club before a certain time of the night and get to enjoy very cheap prices for small portions of the restaurant's dishes once a day. Of course, alcohol is as expensive as everywhere. And because it is a party place, I enjoyed the company of incredibly many diverse people who shared their rooms with me over the time, and since I was a long termer I always had good advice for them on what to do and when and how! But enough about the hostel now...

I had a week or two before my friends would arrive from Germany. So, as planned, I searched the Internet for jobs and walked about restaurants and hotels to ask for vacancies, even though I had no experience whatsoever. But what was I gonna do?! There's hardly much construction work going on there. So, as to be expected, I did not get a job. Not even as a glassie, the guy who picks up empty glasses in bars. But that didn't keep me from doing even crazier things. Alright, I said, let's reach for the stars. Cairns, you must know, has maybe the densest cumulation of diving and snorkeling tour conductors in the world. The harbour is filled with large catamaran speed boats that take people out up to 50 kilometers off shore, to the greatest places on the Great Barrier Reef. Guess what, I wanted to go there, too. More than once, if possible. But at 150 to 220 dollars for that day trip you can't really do it that often. Solution: Work on a boat. How? Spend three days at the harbour, talking to every person you meet and ask them where to enquire for a job. Then find someone who tells you that their company's german-speaker has just left. E-Mail that company about it. Have your trial-shift one week later. Bäm! (yeah, got a german keyboard ;P). I was now a German Speaking Cruise Attendant on the Great Barrier Reef! Who would have seen that coming? Let me tell you, I was very, very happy!

Then my friends Marvin G and Tim W arrived and we started exploring the possibilities around town. Meaning we booked tours. That's just what you do in Cairns, if you can afford it by any means. It's all expensive, but more importantly, it's fuckin' worth it! Even if you have your own car, the Uncle Brian's Waterfall tour is worth its price just for their crazy guides and the company of the other participants. Again, no one pays me to write, by any means. We also went snorkelling and diving, both sea and sky with a skydiving company at mission beach. I just forgot their name. We spent two nights at Cape Tribulation, an isolated beach where you can live in small huts. A place where the coral sea meets the supposedly oldest rainforest in the world. Be aware of jellyfish, crocodiles and web spiders larger than your hand. I'm not sure if it was a joke, but one of the guides said they'd jump at you if you annoyed them. He also recommended only using your buddy's finger instead of your own to poke at things. Simply hurts less that way.
I also went bungee jumping with AJ Hackett and they visited Townsville down south, where I couldn't join them for I had to work. Another great thing about Cairns is its Esplanade with the Lagoon, a public pool accessible for free during the day. Note that you can't swim off the shore due to the high likelyhood of being killed by one of the close-to-shore sea-inhabitants.

Cairns is an outdoor adventure place where you can stimulate your senses in just about any way you want!

So what do you do if you stay there for three months? I'll tell you what I did: JUST WHATEVER I LIKED EVERYDAY and sometimes just nothing. It was always warm, even when it rained, which it did not often since I had picked one of the dryest wet seasons in years. There are sport facilities along the Esplanade, like in many 'Strayan cities. As said, bars and clubs everywhere. One can go hiking in the rainforest. There's a botanical garden. Obviously, I also worked about half the days. And after a months trial, I could go out on the sea for as little as 20 dollars on my days off, given that the boat was not fully booked, which unfortunately (for me) happened often. Judging by their reactions, they had never had an employee who made use of that policy as often as I did. I even got reduced drinks on board, for the way back. And then at some point I was bound to get my PADI's diver's certificate, so I did that.

Unfortunately, in this kind of job you don't make a fortune. It was just enough to live. So I STILL did not have enough money to go traveling, as my objective at that time was still to come back to Germany with at least as much money as I had left with. Stupid, I know now. So I was still planning to leave after three months, going back to Germany and start a cycling tour or something the like. I just wanted to do a stop-over in Indonesia - Komodo National Park. This place is not only famous for its dragons, but also for its great sealife and particularly manta rays, which I had spotted once whilst making the semi-professional comments on a semi-submersible glass bottom boat tour at work. I wanted to see them again. So I had planned a two week Indonesia trip before returning to my motherland. It was not my destiny to do that, though, for just two weeks before I left for Indonesia I got to know one of my female colleagues better. She was a girl from Taiwan, very friendly, open and beautiful, and we became a couple in no time! But after the heat of a passionate affair that had lasted just two weeks at the time, I was not able to tell if it would last much longer and whether it would be worth breaking with all my plans, for I had grand things in mind. So I left for Indonesia, thinking this would be it between me and the first love of my life...

 

Great diving, annoying people and a scary adventure in Indonesia

My trip to Indonesia was divided into two parts: First a week on the island of Flores, close to the Komodo National Park, then a week in Bali, which is extremely famous amongst Australian tourists. Let's begin with the first one.

Labuan Bajo and the Komodo National Park

As I always do, I used the first two days in Flores to get used to the new environment and to check out the best tour options, since diving was my major objective. Labuan Bajo, which is the town I stayed in, had not much to offer. It is very poor, drinking water must be bought in bottles and the water that came out of my so called shower had a stale stink. Also I got pestered by cab drivers all the time. There are no supermarkets comparable to the ones I was used to, and I was not smart enough to find the famous good-and-cheap places to eat. Also, there was a great conflict in my mind, for I had come there for cheap prices and to live as money-saving as possible, but the people around me had so little that I felt almost compelled to let them rip me off a little with for this environment unreasonable prices for things. To my astonishment (I believe) that only happened once, when unlucky me went into one of the tourist-only restaurants to get something to eat. It would have been a reasonable price in Australia, but not there. Also, diving was much more expensive than I had expected, but then I could have looked that up beforehand.

I booked a 3 day 2 night live aboard diving trip that also included a trip to one of the islands where the Komodo Dragons live. Let me warn you, they're boring as fuck. They simply don't move a muscle. The underwaterworld on the other hand was amazing. It beat the Great Barrier Reef. The water was incredibly clear and boasting with an enormous diversity of fish! There is not much to tell about it though, you have to see pictures which I will include here as soon as I can. For some reason though, I got a massive headache during/after each of the 3 one hour long dives per day. I could not figure out the reason. No one else had the problem. Maybe I did not breathe enough to safe my air, for I was a newbie amongst experienced divers. Apparently diving there is considered quite challenging, for many spots have moderate to strong currents. So after 3 days I was done with the world and you would not have gotten me into the water once more!

After those three days were over, I had another two, which I spent driving about the island on a rented motorbike that by far exceeded what my licence allowed me to drive, yet was definetly not made for some of the roads (try stony tracks) I took it on. It's nice to do that, but without a destination one day would have been enough.

I was by myself most of these two days and had a lot of time to think. Also, I videochatted with Rita back in Australia. And I decided that whatever was waiting for me in Europe was not worth giving up my relationship with her. I dare say that I was absolutely right. So I planned my way back to Cairns, but allowed the time to see Bali, because I had heard so much great stuff about it.

Bali

Arriving in Bali I took my backpack and my trolly and made my way towards the city of Denpasar, fighting off large numbers of cab drivers who did not want to leave me walking off alone. I had looked up a hostel beforehand which was quite close to the airport, so I didn't have to walk too far. It was a cheap place and filled with a moldy stench. Also, at some point, the toilet got blocked. Well, not really blocked. The water and whatever swam in it startet to leak out between toilet and tiled floor. Not very nice.

Let me try to remember my first impression of the city: No supermarkets. The best I found were small 7-Elevens spread out across the place. The major roads were always blocked. The majority of people rode motorbikes. Along the major roads were tons of people trying to sell shit to me. Do you want flip-flops? Just 20 cents! One gigantic shopping mall that sold nothing that was useful. Many hotels.At first I could not find a place to get something to eat that did not look like a tourist-trap. I lived on Oreos and banana bread from 7-Eleven most of the time. OK, try to remember something good. The weather was great! Interesting statues of whatever religion they believe in everywhere. I apologize for my ignorance...

Bottom line, I hated the city.

That is why I rented a motorbike again and drove off, following my nose. I remember going north-west. After a while I got out of the city, the towns grew scarcer and smaller and I arrived at the countryside. At first I did not see much special, except for a beach with almost black sand. Just the road and farmland. But after an hour or so I had made it into some mountains. I had no idea where I was, actually. If you had given me a map I could not have shown you where I was! But finally there were some wild forests, and while my bike gave its very best to slowly ascend the steep road, the air grew colder and a little foggy. Quite a relief after the heat of the past weeks! From time to time I'd come through small villages, not at all commercialized. A quieter world where people still lived in traditional ways. I think, if I'd ever go to Bali again, I'd look for a place to stay around there. I regret that I didn't make up my mind back then and spent the rest of my time there instead of going back to my stinky hostel. I think I drove around there for another hour before I slowly turned my way back to the south, out of the mountains and back home. There were some spectacular rice terasses to be seen.

OK, let's cut to the interesting stuff.

I've told this story many times, so I'll just do it here as I've always done it. Even back in Australia, people had told me about the volcano Mount Agung on Bali. They had told me that people would go there to hike to the top early in the morning to see the sunrise and that it was very beautiful and that I should definetly do it! I was picturing a group of middle-aged people wandering up a curvy road to a larger hill, covered by the leaves of large jungle vegetation and watching monkeys pass their way. I never googled the thing. If I had, my impression would have changed. A lot.

At some point later, it must have already been in Indonesia, I either heard from someone or read somewhere that this mountain was considered a holy place and that therefore (or maybe for the money!?) one is not allowed to climb it by themselves but instead has to go with a guide. Appearently, if you didn't follow the rules, there was a chance to get beat up by the locals.

Not a big deal, I thought, I'll check it out anyway and then see what I'll do. So the next day I got on my motorbike and drove toward the volcano. First thing I did when I saw it? Yes, google it. Aha. 3031 meters high. One starts hiking at a monestry at about 950 meters. So just a little more than 2 k to go. Easy. I thought. It was later that remembered people proudly speaking of their ascend on the Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain at 2962 meters. Climbing mount Agung would be more than an easy stroll!

On the way to the mountain there was literally ONE car amongst all the motorbikes that I saw. When it drove past me the driver opened the window, since he had promptly identified me as prey. He was one of the tour guides on the mountain (what might possibly have been the reason that he could afford a car?). He very gently explained his occupation to me and that I could join him on the next day's ascend. While cursing him in my mind I very gently replied that I would think about it and let him drive his way, the only car amongst hundreds of motorbikes.

In the end, the road got steeper and I rode the rest of the 950 meters up the street to the monestry, where I was friendly greeted by two young local fellas, who explained to me where I was and that I needed to wear a special piece of clothing to enter (the area around) this holiest monestry of Bali. Renting it would be a mere 10 dollars, in a country where I had gotten from the airport into Labuan Bajo in a cab for 5. Upon request they also explained to me that the next tour to the mountain's peak would go the next day and that this would cost no more than 50 dollars. People pay 200 to go on an all inclusive snorkel trip to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and I wanted to climb a mountain in Indonesia. I let them know that I would consider it while feverishly thinking about the risk and possibility to sneak around them.

Some few hundred meters down the road I had spotted a tiny little track leading off the road into the jungle, and whilst I considered my chances minescule, I decided to investigate it more thouroughly. I drove down there, hid my bike in a side road. Then I snuck into the rainforest, just to stop shortly after and google if there were any large preying cats living on the island. I was relieved (in that instant) to read that the Balinese tiger was believed to be extinct for a couple of years by the time and went on.

Against all odds the way actually continued up the mountain and after a while the monestry came into sight. I was not very happy about that. I was afraid they could see me. But it proved to me that I was on the right track. Btw. note that it was already noon. After quite some time of walking through the jungle the plants seized to grow along the track and soon after I found myself exposed on the side of a rocky and very steep mountain. Plus, there was not really a track anymore. From some point onwards, I wast just crawling on solidified lava streams, hoping it would be the right way. It was damn strenuous, especially because the air pressure notably decreased. I had to take more and more breaks at which I could drink some water and eat from my banana bread. It was pure willpower that kept me going! And then, when the sun was already half way down, I reached the top. While the crater was pretty boring, the view was amazing. There were a few clouds, but since the rest of the island is mostly flat, one can see very far. So I rested there for a while and then started my way back down on hard lava streams and loose rocks. 2000 meters to go, hoping that no agressive local had spotted me on the way and waited for me with his friends to explain in a more compelling way that one has to book a tour to see the view.

After a while and me slipping on the rocks, falling down an edge for about a meter, landing on my feet and just getting a few scatches on my arms, a dog started barking somewhere beneath me. Do you like adrenaline? If so, that would have been a great situation for you! At just that moment I was not too happy. Instead, I picked up two large rocks and got ready to defend my life against an angry gang of rouges setting their dog on me. I continued walking toward the constantly barking creature for some 20 minutes when I finally spotted it, alone and 200 meters from my path. I was relieved, but not for too long, the next problem was following straight after. Sunset. And I was not even half way down. It looked nice, but it happened too fast. I certainly have a talent of getting stuck in the wilderness at night. A few minutes later there was hardly enough light left to see where I was stepping at and I did not dare use the LED of my phone since that would have made it very easy for people to see me on this forbidden terrain. So I walked nearly blind, hoping not to slip and not to step on a snake. A long time later I finally reached the jungle and soon it was thick enough for me to safely use my phones torch. In this dim light I walked the remaining distance to the road where I encountered another straying dog who luckily did not pay too much interest in me. My motorbike was still at the spot where I had left it and I was able to drive home, happy that I was alive...

That was pretty much it. I had some days left which I spend I don't remember how doing not very interesting things before I'd fly back to Cairns.

 

Roadtripping the East Coast

Once I had arrived back in Cairns, the first thing I did was - guess what - walk back to the city from the airport. That was the second time I got picked up by a friendly soul and comfortably brought into the city, where I could drop off all my belongings at Rita's. She had been working that day and I had to wait for her to finish. Of course, all my former colleagues had heard from her that I'd be coming back for her. So I was waiting for her to leave the pier after the daily cleaning of the RM3. But there were lots of tourists around and she must have been in such a hurry to get to me that she actually walked past me without me noticing her. So the first person I spotted jumping up and down and waving at me turned out to be not her but my former boss (who could occasionally be a pain in the ass, but eventually turned into a friend anyways). Everybody was quite excited to see me, and shortly after I found Rita some hundred meters ahead of us. We were both very happy to see each other again.

I did not check back into a hostel but moved into Rita's small room in her shared apartment, hoping her landlord would not find out that that single, un-airconditioned room with the small bed was actually occupied by two people. And even though, or maybe because ;), we were quite cramped together I really liked the place. Her house-mates were all very friendly and didn't mind the situation plus the whole thing really felt like a home, which I hadn't had in about six months.

Unfortunately nothing lasts forever and my mind started making important decisions again. Major problem: I had no work. Second major problem: I felt like my pay at Reef Magic hadn't been enough, so I did not want to go back there. What I thought was a smart solution but really was just rather stupid: Move to Melbourne, because it's winter there so most backpackers will leave so there will be many job-opportunities. Truth: There are less jobs to be done during winter, too. Smart or not smart, we decided to head south. And since all the world was moving north at the time we got an excellent rate for a campervan, which was 25$ per day, if you're interested. Note that we took the risk instead of the insurance, though. Oliver, a friend of Rita's, whose real (chinese/taiwanese) name I don't remember, joined us for the first half of the trip. And so, about two weeks after I came back to 'Straya, Rita had quit her job on short notice, which I felt a little guilty about, Oliver had joined us, we had booked several tours along the East Coast and the next chapter of my trip began. Single life and absolute freedom ended, a wonderful relationship, life with my first love, responsibility and care for and a lot of fun with each other started. I switched from one extreme to the other in virtually no time. I got to experience another kind of magical life in my personal paradise. I am still very grateful for all that.

It seems reasonable to split my recollections of the road trip into two parts, because so would I do it with the East Coast. You'll see, why...

Wild and fun party desert above Brisbane

Here's what you get told about the Australian Outback: Beware of the heat!, Beware of bringing not enough water!, Beware of venomenous snakes!. Here's what really matters: BEWARE OF THE FUCKING MOSQUITOES!

Larger city's are scarce above Brisbane. The main road along the coast has two lanes, one in each direction. Often you will see acres full of eihter bananas or sugar cane next to the road. Or just grassy planes. So there are not too many people around, it is not overcrowded and most of the time you're just being left alone. And the cities that do exist are often heavily influenced by tourism. Cairns being the best example. I haven't spend any time in Townsville, so I can't tell you anything about that, but it's the same again down in Airlie Beach by the Whitsundays. That was the place where our first trip started. Since our time was limited we had decided against one of the famous two to three day sailing trips around the islands, but for a one day cruise on small motorboats along the islands, which would also take us to the great Whitehaven Beach, which is supposed to be the most photographed spot in Queensland and definetly one of the most beautiful beaches in the world! But again, a picture can say more than a thousand words and I'll add one here eventually. So let me just add that we could see the stingrays searching for food in the water whilst standing on the beach!

After this great trip we continued southbound, our next major destination being Fraser Island, a large Island made almost entirely of sand. To get there, you have to cross a national park that is already full of dunes covered with vegetation. Beware if you easily get car-sick. But this place, too, is very beautiful with all the white sand everywhere. Anyways, once you've made it through the national park you end up in a small village. There's a hostel there that also organizes tours in 4 WDs to the island. Since our trip would only start a day after, we got permission (a ticket) to spend the night at a campground. Well, it's basically a beach with a toilet. We almost got stuck in the soft ground with our van, but with the help of some other campers we managed to break free again. And then, the next day, our three day adventure began with a meeting of all participants at the hostel. We'd be split up into groups of five who'd share a car. Unfortunately they don't let you drive unless you're at least 21 years old. There I was again, the baby.

So, at first, we had to take a ferry to the island. Then we'd drive along the beach until we'd reach a camp, where we'd spend the nights and from where we'd go on expidtions. Now, people, if you're planning to go on the same trip, here's some advice: You probably already know that there are shops (I do not dare call 'em supermarkets) on the island. You probably also know that they are incredibly expensive. So you may be already considering to buy booze beforehand. Do that. Also, you might feel quite relieved that you don't have to bring food, since it's all inclusive. Haha. You'd better not believe that! They do serve food, there, no doubt. They just don't do it very often or in large quantities. Whilst I recollect breakfast and dinner as being sufficient, lunch never was. Think about that: You're on tour, not just sitting around. So you will be rather active when not sitting in the car. So yes, you will get hungry BEFORE lunchtime. But lunch will be at lunchtime. Happy time waiting. And then, once lunch is served, 20 to 25 hungry mouths will jump at it. We got served wraps. Three times in three days. They were delicious, but we had them three times. At least, by the third time we had learned to be quick in line, because otherwise you will not get a second serve. So people, do yourself a favor and bring lots and lots of snacks.

The best thing on Fraser Island is, in my opinion, Lake McKenzie. I've never seen a lake with such crystal clear water! It is amazing! And if you're interested in flora, look out for tiny litte red plants of Sundew growing in the sand and sparkling in the sunshine. The water is really refreshing (it's fresh water) and you easily spend a whole day there. Unfortunately we did not have that much time.

In the evenings everybody came together to drink, talk and party. Naturally, everybody is superfriendly and just happy to be, but with Rita and I being the only couple we stayed a little bit in the background and just enjoyed our time together. For example we had a nice walk along the beach, armed with sticks and on the lookout for Dingoes, of course. And then, two days later and after visiting the Champain Poos, Eli Creek and more, we were heading back to the mainland, many experiences and impressions richer.

 

Industrialized pain-in-the-ass-for-campers street-network from Brisbane down south

If you wanna check out the East Coast south of Brisbane, you have two options: Don't do it with a campervan or do it in a car that does NOT look like a campervan. Why? Because you will not find a SINGLE parking spot that doesn't have sign saying No overnight stays. Not even on RESTstations along the highway. I don't know how bad the sitation really is. I know some people really behave like it doesn't matter at all what a place looks like after they leave it. But to justify the behaviour of some locals, and the attitude of the authorities towards people in campervans they'd have to be a real pest. I'm not talking slightly annoying. I'm talking major problem. Of course, the official reason you're not allowed to spend the night ANYWHERE where you don't pay is for your own safety, but that is probably bullshit and definetly none of whoevermakestheselaws's business.

There are many towns along the east-coast that are very famous amongst backpackers. Unfortunately, we did not have the time to see enough of each of these places. Most visits were limited to a day trips, which is certainly not enough to experience a city. So if you're looking for information about Rockhampton, Seventeenseventy, Bundaberg, the Sunshine Coast, Byron Bay, Coffs Harbour or Newcastle, you'll have to look for other sources. The place that struck me the most "special" was Port Maquarie! It seems that all 'Strayans above seventy relocate to that place! It is known to be a sort of retirement town. I've never before and never after seen anything similar! On the streets: Old people. In the supermarkets: Old people. Everywhere: Old people. And not just many old people, almost exclusively old people! So strange...

So after Brisbane, where I came down with a heavy tonsillitis that made me extremely glad that antibiotics exist even though I hardly ever used any before, and where Oliver left us, we visited Sydney again, where we stayed for a while and visited some of Rita's friends and got to see some amazing lightshows around the city center that take place there once a year. From there, we left the coastline and drove west, which took us into the amazing Blue Mountains and beyond. From here, the nights became very cold. Especially after one night in the mountains we woke up in the morning to find that a cup of tea that we had forgotten in the evening had frozen over during the night. For Rita, who had never experienced such temperatures, that was quite and adventure. Luckily, I, as a German, was still quite comfortable and knew how to handle such temperatures. Most Australians start complaining about freezing temperatures when I'm almost still wearing a t-shirt. In anticipation of low temperatures I had covered us for the night in all sorts of textiles I could find around the campervan, and so both of us stayed comfortably warm. Still, it was a relief to turn on the engine the next morning and feel how within five to ten minutes the car heated up to 20°C. So that was actually a very nice experience and after a good breakfast we started out to our destination of the day, the Jenolan Caves. They are definetly a place worth visiting, though nothing out of the ordinary if you have visited other caves before. The best experience of the day happened by chance as we were just walking about the area waiting for our tour to start. There is a small lake around there with amazing blue water. So we were standing there enjoying the scenerie when suddenly, just before us, one of the most elusive and saught after creatures of Australia paddled to the surface: A platypus!!! I could count myself lucky to have seen one before, on the Uncle Brian's tour in Cairns, but only for a few brief moments from quite far away and in a place we had driven to just to see this animal. But here was one, hardly three meters from us! Look out, a platypus, I said to Rita. She wouldn't believe me at first, and it was gone as quickly as it had appeared! But we stood still and after a short while it popped back up to surface, paddled along there a little, and gone it was again. But we could watch it do that for quite a while and also see it seek out food on the bottom of the lake. Quite remarkable :).

From there to Melbourne nothing stood out as much as to be mentioned here. A lot of driving through empty country. A few farms and nice landscapes. And then we arrived in Melbourne

Melbourne

It was winter when we arrived in Melbourne. We were looking for jobs. As I mentioned before, we were not very lucky with that. So there is not too much good stuff to tell about Melbourne. We had to find a place to live again. We started in a hostel, as always, until we found a shared apartment. At first, it seemed like both of us could get a job very soon after our arrival. But then we never heard from the guy who had offered it again. Very disappointing. My advice for anyone trying to find casual work in Australia: Never stop looking for jobs until you signed a contract, no matter what people might tell you. You can never be sure! We were basically living in the living room of the shared apartment. Actually, we were more people living there than allowed by the landlord. There was an inspection once, so we had to move all our belongings into other rooms before that and be gone for the day, but that was not a problem, since we had plans anyways. The people there were super friendly and due to the somewhat awkward (and slightly illegal) living arrangements we could live there for an extremely reasonable price!

We were quite busy and our not being able to find jobs led to some tension between us, too. Still, we made a point of exploring the city to some degree and make the best of it. Rita would find all kinds of events to attend, mostly food markets or the like all over town, that we would visit. There is a beach where penguins live. They're not afraid of you, so you can go there in the evening and watch them. I remember the library very well. It's an amazing place, with all sorts of ancient books on display and an atmosphere that somewhat reminded me of Hogwarts from Harry Potter. I started reading A brief history of time by Steven Hawking there, but I never got to finish it. We met our former boss Jenna from Reef Magic who was on vacation there in a Cafe. I worked in a Stadion for about five days. It didn't last long, but it was the best paid job I've ever had and most of the time I wasn't really doing much (hard) work. We had a lot of time to ourselves. But since we were slowly running out of money and it was fairly cool around there, after a month or so we decided that my genious planto find work in Melbourne had failed and decided to move back up north to Brisbane, which we had visited before and found quite hospitable

Brisbane

Being back in warm weather was a relief! Many people find Brisbane not too special, but I liked it a lot. It's not as huge as Sydney or Melbourne, but still has the atmosphere of a large city. It lacks beaches, but there is a river flowing through it. It's got lots of vegetation. I found it to be a perfect place to relax. One of the strangest things that happened was when Pokemon Go became popular. Places that we'd seen just a few weeks before relatively empty were suddenly covered with people staring into their phones! It was almost scary! Definetly the strangest social phenomenon I've ever witnessed. But then I believe that wasn't limited to Brisbane or Australia, but happened all over the world! Shame it turned out to be such a disappointment in the long run. Of course, we tried to find jobs again. For me, it was most important that Rita would find one since my visa was expiring about two months before hers and she'd have to live on her own afterwards whereas I was just going back home to live at my father's. And eventually she got lucky and found a job! She was to start immediatly, and since it was to be done during nighttime it created a lot of urgency to find a place to live nearby ASAP since puplic transport didn't run at that hour. I was very lucky to find the perfect (and only) place around there the next day, I think, and in no time we were living in a shared apartment, again. Unfortunately, I was still unable to find a job, which was likely to be due to my visa that didn't last much longer, and also to my not having a car. So Rita was doing hard work (fruit sorting) during the nights while I spent my time idly doing hardly anything. Actually, I think I've never slept that much in my life, which also was an interesting experience. Given the circumstances Rita slept most of the day and then got up at about two in the night, while I more or less was active during the days. But often I picked Rita up from work. We'd have lunch or dinner or whatever name for a meal is appropriate in such a situation. Maybe go shopping or do something else and then Rita would go to bed very early. Usually I'd go to bed with her, with the intention to resume my day after she fell asleep. But her laying next to me was so comfortable and relaxing for myself that I'd fall asleep as well! Then we'd wake up in the middle of the night, I'd often walk her the few hundred meters to her workplace, return home and go to sleep again! Then I'd wake up around her lunchtime, sometimes ready to bring something to her and then do just whatever I was doing. So yes, I slept incredibly much! Of course, that wasn't easy on us again. I felt bad, because I had nothing to do while she was working so hard. That's partly the reason why I started writing computer programs (well, one program) and started getting into altering the operating system on my phone again, and just try to find anything useful to keep me busy for the time. Maybe I got into that too much, because Rita started feeling a little left alone, especially when I was working during her few hours she'd spent at home and awake. After some time I started to realize that we had quite different ideas of life when we were not busy with exciting things all the time, and also I felt that I was losing a lot of money and time staying in Australia while accomplishing nothing that would bring me any further in life. That was the reason why we finally decided to break up while we were still on good terms, instead of sitting it out and getting into fights more and more often. Three days after that decision and eleven months after my arrival in Australia, a time that has shaped me as much as ten years in Germany probably couldn't have, I was sitting in a plane headed for Germany, leaving Rita, Australia and the most amazing people and lifestyle I've ever known, behind, in order to continue my career.

Conclusion

If I had to summarize my time in Australia in one sentence, I'd say the following:

I had the best and the worst time of my life in Australia, and over all it was absolutely worth it and I would recommend it to everybody!

Many people, especially in Germany, see Work and Travel in Australia as almost mainstream because so many people do it. I do not agree. My time in Australia was not mainstream. Also, it was not a Gap Year. It was the single most important and best choice I've made in my life. It was a time that taught me what it means to live as an adult. It has shown me so many different ways of life, so many amazing people, and so much beauty, both in people and in nature as I could never have found in any other way. Work and Travel is not a thing. Work and Travel is nothing more but something you can do on a certain type of visa. A visa that allows you to stay in Australia for a year, and to work there for as long as you want but no longer than six months for a single company. Within these parameters, one can have all kinds of very different experiences. There are people who go there, work one year without interruption and come back home with an incredible amount of money. There are a lot of 18 year olds who get sponsered by there parents, work their way through the popular hotspots and hardly stay sober for a day, probably coming back home with liver damage. There are people there who get a car or van and explore the wild, the outback, secluded beaches and take amazing pictures of the night sky. And there are people like me, trying to test themselves, to grow up, to live on their own, to work and to have fun. There are so many opportunites that you could never explore them all! There are so many things I'd still love to do down there, so much I have missed. There's one thing I'd like you to know if you should go to Australia as well: Do not let yourself be influenced too much by what other people tell you what you should do! Take their advice, consider it, but do just what you really like. You will learn many things and get to know many people who's intellectual and spiritual makeup will be totally different than yours. Allow yourself to be challenged by other opinions. Let people open your eyes to the world. Try to find yourself and your dreams. Dream big! And most importantly: Enjoy every second! Enjoy the challenges and the good times! Enjoy getting drunk with strangers and smoking joints with weirdos. Enjoy working hard and enjoy relaxing on the beach. Make experiences. Live!

I hope you enjoyed reading this

Your Matthias vom Bruch
known in Australia as
Jack