We made really good time on the way back to Sydney and hit Central Station by 7:30pm. I walked to the hostel with my pack, checked in, called about Air tickets, but there wasn’t an answer. I decided to just go for it and bought a metro ticket down to Circular Quay and jogged from there to the Opera House. It was 8:15 by the time I got there. They had shut the ticket window as I was coming up the stairs, but will call was still open. The lady at the window was so cool. She said that they had a few tickets still and that I’d just missed part of the opening band. And then she was like “I’m going to give you really good seats.” I ended up in the 8th row, front and center! Cool beans! Air came on about 30 minutes later. Definitely a $99.95 AUD well spent. Loved, loved, loved it. It was also the chillest show of all time, which is good for at the Opera House. And they were both wearing white, they’re so French, lol. The skinnier one (I don’t know their names) played guitar and used the distortion mic, while the other one looked smuggly out at the crowd, over his keyboard. They played most from Moon Safari and Talkie Walkie and then came back out for a 5 song encore. This was the perfect ending to Sydney and Australia. Absolutely perfect and surreal.

I did a search on YouTube for videos from the show. Here are a few:

See you in the land of the long white cloud (New Zealand).

We cut the afternoon short and headed to the local bar. Not much surfing lessons today, more like “you girls stand like ballerinas on your boards.” I felt like smacking him in the head with my board! The one thing I was doing right was my stance. I actually told the old codger that I snowboard, and that shut him up a little bit. :)

Hot showers are so amazing after a day of surfing, so is food. The basic necessities of life, I guess. After dinner we chatted around the “campfire” and Rosco played guitar. He learned “Country Road” for me, so I was forced to sing it. Oh and I learned that Kyle is 36. I guessed his age at exactly 36 and I thought he was going to fall off the picnic table in shock. I’m not sure why it’s so hard for people to guess ages, you just have to look at their face and eyes, (please note: wearing a beanie and surfing doesn’t make you look 25).

It seems like everyone who isn’t American has seen “Team America: World Police.” It’s a funny movie, (although a very typical Matt Stone and Trey Parker creation). So my nickname here is “America,” as in the line from the movie: “America, F%$K yeah.” So every time I catch a wave Kyle’s fists are in the air and he’s shouting “America, F$#K yeah!” Anyway, I was really proud of my efforts this afternoon. I even picked out my own wave, instead of just waiting for the “go now, go, go” yells.

By five o’clock we were all exhausted and headed back to camp for showers and dinner.

I’m glad I chose the “non-camping” surf camp. After being in the water, I just wanted a warm shower. Dinner was in the building outside, but there’s a roof, so it’s more of a pavilion. There was a vegetarian option and Rosco, the chef, is a decent cook. After dinner, we sat around the picnic tables and chatted with the other surf group who is leaving tomorrow (well two of the guys are joining our group). Ladies, please note: The male/female ratio at surf camp is about 2:1.

• Walking over the Harbour Bridge. Sydney is such a gorgeous port city. The view from the bridge was great. However, the Sydney Opera House looks bigger on TV. ;)
• Circular Quay (pronounced ‘key’) and the harbour ferries.
• The Sydney Opera House at night. The Opera House bar, which is right on the harbor, is open to the public and great for people watching and views of the harbour front.
• Exploring The Rocks neighborhood at night and grabbing a drink (and a bite of kangaroo pizza!) at one the oldest cafes in Sydney.
• Spontaneous fireworks over the Opera House (no one knew what the occasion was).
• Sydney shopping. After traveling and wearing the same clothes for a month, it’s nice to feel girly again! I bought nail polish, splurged on Body Shop Honey Shampoo and Conditioner and bought a new tank top.
• Darling Harbour restaurants and park.
• Sydney Public Transport is so easy to use. I bought the Daytripper travel pass one day and used it for the bus, train and ferries.
• The Toronga Zoo is quite possibly the coolest zoo ever. Finally, I get to see all the Aussie animals I haven’t seen in the wild. I saw dingos, kangaroo, and koalas.
• I caught the ferry to Manly Beach, had lunch and found the perfect black Billabong bikini and boardies.
• Trying to stifle the comment, “The dingo stole my baby!”

I was expecting Sydney to be much more expensive, but it’s actually not that hard to budget travel in Sydney. My hostel was $22, and if you stay in a more central location (like the CBD) you can walk everywhere, which cuts down on transportation costs.

Day 1 starts out overcast and rainy. I chose one of the guided trips, instead of the self-drive option, after hearing about other backpacker’s trips all the way down the coast. The self-drive sounds fun, but if you’re traveling alone you just get put with any group, and I’m only going to be here for one night anyway. We met our guide at the island and loaded into the truck/van/4×4 wonder. Now I’m really glad I didn’t choose a self-drive/camping trip with this weather. We started the day by hiking to a lake and then hiking through a rain forest area to picnic for lunch. It’s gorgeous here, and parts of it remind me of the pacific Northwest. After lunch we drove to Lake McKenzie to swim and exfoliate with the silica sand. The sand is like a scrub so we did facials while swimming. It started to warm up in the afternoon, but is still overcast. The cabins at the King Fisher Resort are great! It’s almost like a 3 star hotel! ;) After hosteling it’s so nice when towels are provided. Classy! Dinner was good, especially after a long day of hiking and swimming. I love tours that feed you well. After dinner we sat on the porch and chatted. Then, ‘America-basher’ came over. Some Canadians, eh? Time for my weekly travel complaint… Things I dislike: girls who talk about being naked all the time, “I love being nude” or “well there’s nothing better than being naked.” Seriously? Grow up, and say something of value! While I’m on this rant about backpackers… another thing that irks me is guys who say they work in engineering or economics and then won’t answer any further questions about their ‘careers.’ It makes me think they deliver coffee at an engineering or financial firm. It’s enough to make me turn snobby and start throwing around my “comma, MBA”!

Day 2 starts with a yummy breakfast. This place really knows how to do food! I quite possibly am overeating here. After breakfast we headed out to 75 Mile Beach, which in fact is only 60 miles. The driver (our guide) tells a lot of funny anecdotal stories and island trivia. Yesterday, he was late picking us up after our hike because a self-drive group ran into a tree and were blocking traffic. I’m glad I’m not splitting that insurance deposit. Whew! After stopping at a few creeks and shore areas, we hiked up to the top of some cliffs. It reminded me a lot of some spots on the Oregon coast and Hawaii (Oh no, I’m that girl now). We could see tiger sharks down in the water, really close to shore. Note to self: don’t swim after lunch. Actually, they have signs on the beach that say not to, but we did go wading. After lunch, we headed to the Champagne Pools. It was so gorgeous! It’s right off the coast and the waves crash over rocks that form a pool, so it looks like champagne. High tide was chasing us on the way back, so he drove like a mad-man on the way back down 75 mile beach, before the coast was undrivable. There is reason they have seat belts. Good times! When we got back, we got to use the resort pool area. I found a pond with lounge chairs on the other side of the pool, where I chilled and watched the sunset. Sometimes I just have to give in to my antisocial tendencies and take a break from people. :) After dinner, all of us on the shorter trip took the ferry back to Hervey Bay.

Overall, I would put Fraser Island as a “must-see” for Australia. It’s a natural wonderland, with hundreds of freshwater lakes and cool things to see. And it’s the largest sand island in the world! It’s also a prime dingo-spotting destination. I however didn’t see any dingos in the wild, so I’ll be photographing them at the zoo in Sydney.

After checking in for the trip, I grabbed some horrible Mexican food. I really need to just forget about Mexican food until June. There’s a reason Aussies hate Mexican food, they’ve never had good Mexican food, because it doesn’t exist here. ;) As I was packing a day pack for my sailing trip, I happened to meet our neighbors at the hostel. I’ve now officially met people from the Outback. They’re the Aussie equivalent of rednecks, complete with the Crocodile Dundee hats. I hadn’t laughed that hard since I got to Australia. Good times.

Sailing Day 1
I arrived at the wrong dock at the marina. So I ended up asking some old fishermen if they knew where the Oz Sailing dock was and they said (Aussie accents please), “well what’s the name of your boat”, I replied, “I don’t remember, but it sounded dirty”, they all burst out at once “Ahhh, SPANK me”, me: “yep, that’s the one.” Yes, the boat’s name is ‘Spank Me’. It used to be a racing yacht, (which by the end of the day is very evident). There are about 20+ other backpackers onboard, all around 18-23, on Easter break from uni, (except one 25 year old). I think I might be the oldest person on the boat. The good news is that since I’m traveling by myself, I get a double bunk instead of a single! We stopped for the night near Whitehaven Beach.

Sailing Day 2
I woke up at 5:45am. I love waking up on a boat and being the only person on-deck. I ate a tangerine and a granola bar and watched the sun come up. After breakfast, we shuttled over to the island, hiked up to the lookout spot and then relaxed on the beach and waded in the water for a few hours. After lunch, I got to do my included introductory SCUBA dive. We started out from the beach instead of straight off the boat. I’ve always wanted to learn to SCUBA dive, but I was suddenly nervous because I didn’t feel like I had enough information. We did a test dive in shallow waters, clearing our masks and re-inserting our respirators. I still felt totally panic-y, (which I wasn’t expecting at all), and then we were off, following Tane through the water. After I was completely submersed I immediately relaxed. I was breathing underwater and it was amazing! It was so much easier than snorkeling too. I loved it! After our dive we went back to the boat and had snacks. Sailing is incredible! I should really stop gushing about sailing, but I won’t. The sunsets are unbelievable, the food is good, open water as far as the eye can see, and even good music! I may have a crush on someone’s iPod.

Sailing Day 3
I really need to wash my hair. I think I’m growing saltwater dreads. Back to my “morning routine” of watching the sun come up. I could totally get used to this. Last night we sailed out to the Reef (the Great Barrier Reef extends all the way down here by the Whitsunday Islands). This morning we all snorkeled off the boat (and those who have PADI dive certs SCUBA-ed). We were supposed to stay in groups of snorkelers, but in my exuberance for snorkeling, I may have wandered off… oops… ;) I swam over a reef shark and I’m sure they could hear me all the way back at the boat, blubbering through my snorkel about a shark. But after reminding myself that they’re harmless, I kept swimming and I found a turtle. A huge turtle! I selfishly “forgot” to wave to everyone, so I had it all to myself and ended up following the turtle around for about 20 minutes. Nature is amazing. I’m really liking Australia now. After snorkeling, I spent the whole afternoon hiding from the sun, with my new sunburn, reading the ‘The Kite Runner’.

Sailing Day 4
Today is the last day! Yes, I’d really like to take a regular shower, but I’d also really like to stay on the boat. I could totally live on a boat. Maybe I need to find a guy who sails. Anyway, we arrived back at the marina around noon. My bus to Fraser Island leaves tonight, so I didn’t have a hostel to check into to shower! Thankfully, I remembered that marinas usually have showers, so I got to use the showers for free. My hair feels 1000 times better. I walked back into Airlie Beach, had some lunch, grabbed my pack, and bought some boardies (Aussie slang for board shorts, they can’t not shorten words.) that I found on sale, before heading to the bus station.

Culture Shock! Wow, I miss Japan. ;) The flight to Cairns wasn’t too bad, but I got snagged out of the Customs line for questioning. Do I really look like a hippy backpacker? Anyway, they wanted to know why I didn’t have a flight out of Australia already booked if I only plan to be here for a few weeks. I finally convinced them that I wasn’t interested in working a minimum wage job in Australia and they let me through.

I don’t have a lot of positive things to say about Cairns. I spent a lot of time planning the rest of my time in Australia and priority #1: buying a plane ticket out of this country. OK, I’m being too hard on Australia. So far, it’s full of young British kids on their gap year and it just feels crowded. It’s not all bad, I’d just rather be in Hawaii. It exists for the Great Barrier Reef. However, it was a good base to get my planning out of the way, do laundry, book flights, bus tickets and tours. So after several days of errands, I’m back on the fun track. This morning I woke up early and headed to the marina for my snorkel trip on The Great Barrier Reef. I picked a smaller sail boat instead of the pontoon options that carry hundreds of people. Great choice, it was so much fun. Today was a turning point for my opinions on Australia. I really should have done something fun the first day I arrived in Cairns!

I officially love to sail! I snorkeled off the boat for an hour of so, before checking out Green Island. There is a crocodile zoo on the island. Oddly, I was the only one walking around, and it’s somehow creepier to come across a crocodile (even in a zoo) when you’re alone. After watching the crocodiles I walked around the perimeter of the island, which was really fun, hopping across rocks and wading in the water (while trying to not think about crocodiles)! The boat came and picked us up around 2pm. The crew are relentlessly flirty, but hey, it’s their job! On the way back to Cairns we picked up a ton of speed, the side of the boat was almost horizontal with the water and you’re just sitting there holding on to a rope, and if you let go you would splash straight into the water. It’s an amazing feeling. Love it!

Traveling for a long period of time is more like “real” life than a typical vacation, since you have your up days and your down days.