I remember when I first landed in Melbourne and was shocked by the amount of people and the heat. Turns out it was an abnormally hot day. But still, I encountered people and heat in varying degrees (no pun) on my journey down under.
The cities were big and spread out and had distinct subsections of culture.
I learned what it was like to live either barefoot or in thongs (flip flops). I learned the capital wasn’t Sydney. I learned that there were many breathtaking sunrises and sunsets to be seen.
Initially, I had concerns about all of the dangerous wildlife. Thankfully, I was never stung, bitten or clawed by any of those animals. I never even saw a snake in the wild. Did I? I don’t think so. I did see a few spiders and jellyfish, but nothing that threatened immediate harm.
At first, I had a hard time finding my rhythm. It’s difficult to pinpoint why. It’s not like I had to make a major adjustment or anything. Regardless, I don’t think I really settled in until I was almost a month into my time in Australia. That’s when I understood what was on offer. Traveling up the east coast was mainly about enjoying the beaches and water.
Indian Head Views
I was adopted into a large friend group of ex-pats in Sydney. They were welcoming and generous and gave me a sense of community. It was a kind of security blanket to fall back on if I ever needed it.
Speaking of people, my two marquee experiences were on tour groups. Actually, the main difference between having an awesome time in Australia vs. New Zealand came down to people. In NZ, I had plenty of fun just walking in nature. In Oz, fast friendships made the biggest impact. An interpersonal connection can easily add more value to an adventure. Since I consider myself a low-key extrovert, bonding with a few different groups of people really elevated whatever I was doing. I was fortunate enough to enjoy this on a few occasions.
There will always be something drawing me back to Australia. Part of it will be to visit the central and western areas of the country. The other part…I’m not exactly sure. To sky dive? Maybe. Either that, the crystal blue water or the gorgeous women.
It’s certainly not Vegemite.
“Awe, yeah?” “Yeah, right.”
By the Numbers
Days in Australia: 56 Days at Workaways: 16 Nights in Hostels: 31 Multi-day Tours: 2 Hours in Transit (Bus or Train): ~60 AUD Spent: ~$4,342.18 USD Spent: ~$3,192.78 (Avg conversion rate of roughly 1.36)
For those interested in visiting one day, here’s a list of where I went and how I ranked stuff: (click the top left button of the map to expand the list view)
Favorite Places: 1. Fraser Island 2. Melbourne 3. Whitsundays 4. Byron Bay 5. Brisbane
If I was feeling a bit old after my sailing trip on the Whitsundays, it was quelled somewhat by the guy who sat next to me on my bus ride up to Magnetic Island.
Dave was a 55+ guy from Phoenix. He told me how he recently sold his business and his house to long-term travel. We were on similar trajectories but in different phases of life. And traveling in different ways as well. He wasn’t doing the hostel thing yet. “Private rooms,” he said, “with the occasional house sit.” I’m keeping my eye on that game because like Workaway, it’s a great opportunity to extend that budget.
We parted ways when I got off in Townsville to catch the ferry over to the island. I was once again playing it by ear at this destination. I’d done basically no research about what there was to do. I reserved a hostel based on the recommendation of someone from my Fraser trip, but that’s about it. I heard it was a very chill spot without all that much going on.
I got off the ferry and realized I had to catch a bus to the other side of the island. I expected everything to be in walking distance but not quite.
On the bus ride, I could see why a lot of people suggest making the trip over. It was an island that had a lot of mountains that opened themselves up into beautiful bays. And it seemed like people were scarce wherever you went. Not bad.
Geoffrey Bay
My hostel was a collection of cozy cabins around a relaxing pool and bar, with a wildlife center on the grounds as well.
The cabins didn’t look like anything special from the outside but they were pretty comfortable on the inside.
On my first full day, I wanted to go for a long walk. I found a trail up to an old Fort site that I believe was used in WWII. The soldiers had pretty sick views while they were there, that’s for sure. Although it must have sucked to transport all of the building material up there. I saw a handful of koalas sleeping up in the trees on my way down too.
I kept up the walk on a bush trail that cut inland for a ways. I was the only one on it and anxiously waiting to cross paths with a snake or a rock wallaby. Surprisingly, no such encounters. It was insanely hot though. The sun was taking no prisoners on this day.
I got to an area called Arcadia and took a break to cool down and grab a bite to eat. I grubbed on a toastie and some chips until I stopped actively sweating. An hour later, I continued along a coastal path.
Eventually, I made it to Nelly Bay, which was the main settlement on the island. It’s where the grocery store (yes, ‘the’) and the ferry terminal are. I think there were a few bars/restaurants but I didn’t see all that much.
After pausing for another sweat break, I retraced my steps back to the hostel and b-lined it for the pool. All in all, I walked for around 4 or 5 hours, maybe 15kms or so. It was nice. I was feeling deficient in exercise so it was good to get a wander in.
The next day I went for another stroll to explore the northeast part of the island. The nearest area to the hostel was called Horseshoe Bay and was a popular swimming spot since they had a stinger net set up.
I found another bush trail that would take me to two other pretty isolated bays. I went up and down a small mountain to get to Radical Bay. I figured there would be a smattering of people enjoying the sun and water. I got there to find just one family on the other side of the bay. Presumably they belonged to the sailboat that was moored just a bit off shore. Still, that was it. Two adults and a child. Not too shabby.
I climbed back up the mountain and down a different path to the neighboring Balding Bay. The signs advertised it as the nudist spot. Again, I was anticipating several beach towels under pairs of old balls and leathery skin. I passed an unfit man on the way down and felt ok that he was leaving. Good timing.
I stepped off the path and onto the sand to find literally no one. Not a soul in this small, secluded bay.
I made my mind up that I was going to participate in the nudeness just to see what the experience was all about. Plus, my ghostly thighs could benefit from a few rays.
The emptiness made it a little anticlimactic. At the same time it was kind of exhilarating to have the whole place to myself. Then I realized that there was a couple over yonder as one of them uncamouflaged and went into the water. Then some dude kept walking 3 steps off the path to take pictures. I’m sure he was trying to get a sick snap of the serenity for Insta but I couldn’t help but feel it was a faux pas to spend that much time on your camera at the nudist beach.
I left after a half hour or so as to not lobsterify the private bits. I passed a couple and a family right as I was getting back on the path. Close call, kids.
That evening I hung out in Horseshoe to watch a setting sun disappear over the protruding land that comprised the left side of the shoe’s U.
Sunset at Horseshoe Bay #2
It was definitely a chill time on the island. There were a fair share of palm trees that gave it a tropical feel, juxtaposed by the rocky inner hills and mountains.
The following day I caught the ferry back to the mainland and rode a 6 hour bus up to Cairns. This would be my last stop in Australia, and I had 3 big excursions planned to finish it off on a high note.
The first day I was up at 6am to catch a fishing charter. It was an inlet trip that had 5 other people on it.
I had high hopes of hooking some bigguns until we spent the first hour watching the captain unsuccessfully throw out a net to catch some live bait. Seriously, we went to like 5 different spots and looked on helplessly as he kept saying, “You just never know where they’re gonna be,” and pulled up an empty net. “Nope. Nobody home.”
Finally, he motored us out to the first spot where we were able to get our lines in the water.
Two people caught finger marks that were too small to keep. Two creepy looking eels were also landed. Or at least reeled in to where we could see em and then cut the line. The one in the video below is the smaller one. The big boy was probably about 3 times its size, which is nuts. My phone was too scared to record it.
At the second spot, I caught a small basic fish. I was surprised because the bait seemed too big for this thing to be snacking on. A short while later, somebody caught a modest catfish. The most exciting thing that happened was a monster strike. The sad part is that it was likely a sting ray because it booked it and was so heavy that the line snapped.
We went to two more spots where not much more was caught. It kind of felt like the skipper was moderately inept. It’s also possible that I had this feeling because I was bitter we didn’t have a stronger day. I understand that’s the nature of fishing, but I felt like we could’ve been set up for more success. It was at least cool to get out and cast a few lines again. It had been so long.
I was back to the hostel by 1pm so I got some lunch and hung around to socialize. I ended up running into Janina from the Whitsundays trip. We hung out for a while and chatted with some random people from the hostel. She went to some ladies night event and I decided to turn in.
The next morning I geared up for a “fun and falls” tour in the tablelands/rainforest. The company was called Uncle Brian’s and came recommended by Stephany. I gathered outside with a few others and boarded a full bus of some 20 people.
Our guide, Adam, was a hilarious and energetic dude. He wore a set of fake hillbilly teeth when he went around to pick everyone up. I was curious about em and glad they were a joke.
He told some pretty good stories and gave us good background on various Australian enigmas on our way out to the first stop.
By the time we got there, we were getting the full effects of the rainforest. It was pissing outside but we still took a walk to see the Babinda Boulders, which were a series of rocks that have been hollowed out by running water.
Next, we went to Josephine Falls which had a rock slide and swimming pool from mountain runoff. Initially, Adam was wondering if we’d even be able to swim because there was so much rain that the river’s whitewater could be too powerful, making the conditions unsafe.
When we got to the spot it was all good. He did a demonstration run and then let the group go for it. There were a few unconfident swimmers that stayed ashore and watched the rest of us get our slide on.
The water was running with a pretty strong current and it was difficult to swim in certain spots. The rocks were also super slippery, so I could see how it could be risky.
That actually ended up coming into play when it was time to go. We’d been there for about an hour and the water level probably rose about 6 inches to the no-swim line. However, there were several group members that still had to make it across the pool back to the safe side.
There was particularly one girl that wasn’t a good swimmer and made a few unsuccessful attempts before she started to panic. Adam and another guide had to jump in and throw some ropes to get her to land.
In getting himself back across, Adam was swimming and missed his mark. He almost went down a grinding section of river. He was literally hanging onto a rock by his fingernails before another guide went out to help him get a strong enough footing. It was real dicey and after that point it was clear no other groups would be allowed in.
We were able to steady our nerves with some lunch before heading to another waterfall. Millaa Milllaa Falls is a picturesque waterfall where people take one of a few iconic Australian photos. It’s an Herbal Essence-type hair flick, capturing the arch of the water trail perfectly with the falls in the background. They really shot a commercial there once. A lot of people in the group nailed it, even some of the guys. Unfortunately, we will never see the evidence because Adam misplaced the camera at the end of the trip so we weren’t able to get the images. A pretty big bummer because I wasn’t using my own camera since it was raining so much. Maybe it will turn up at some point. Fingers crossed.
En route to the next spot, he instigated a sing-along/jam session by busting out some percussive instruments and a bubble machine. The highly amateur cymbal and tambourine playing got grating real fast but somehow the bubbles made it ok. A nice group of fellow tour-goers kept spirits high throughout the day even though we had brutal weather.
We stopped at a freshwater lake that had a crocodile in it (that we didn’t see) and a gnarly fig tree before heading back to Cairns. It was a decent little trip in the end that could’ve only been made better by some sun and some photos of the experience.
That evening I did a free booze circuit by winning trivia at the hostel (free shot), going to a hostel-hosted event (free mixed drink), and going to an Uncle Brian’s after party at another bar (free pitchers). I need to exploit this train more often.
For my last full day, it was time to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef.
I boarded the SeaQuest at 8am and watched the rain clouds swirl into Cairns. As we departed the harbor and got our safety briefing, it began to pour. Seemed like it was going to be rough weather yet again.
After cruising out to sea for a little over an hour some of the clouds parted ways and it was looking like maybe we’d be able to avoid the serious rain.
There were more divers than snorkelers on board so they went out to prepare first. Then the 6 of us top water folk were able to jump in. I was paired with an older gentlemen since all of the other people were coupled up. Buddy system and all that.
At the Reef
Firstly, I was surprised by the setting. I thought we’d be in really shallow, crystal blue water with panoramic views of the reef. It kinda looked like we were just in the middle of the ocean near a barge and two other ships. The overcast day may have played a part in that.
Anyhow, we got in the water and immediately saw a ton of fish loitering around our boat. We swam out a little ways and found the reef. It was a lot more vibrant and lively than any of the reefs I snorkeled in the Whitsundays. Conditions-wise, it was a lot more turbulent being the ocean and whatnot. It was funny because whenever I got pushed around by a wave, I could see the same happen to all the fish a few feet below. Interesting that I thought they wouldn’t be affected.
The reef ranged from 3-30ft deep, roughly, so it was cool to see the difference in aquatic life at those two depths. We saw one turtle and of course a million different varieties of fish.
We were called back to the boat after what felt like 20 minutes but was actually an hour and a half. Time for lunch and to move the boat.
After we grubbed, we were given another hour and a half in the water. My elderly partner took a nap after lunch, so I was finning it somewhat solo out there.
The boat didn’t move all that far but it was enough to see a different section of reef. There were a few moments where I was being stalked by some mammoth fish off in the distance. I kept turning my head to see it looking at me, then it would move on a little bit and be on my 6 a few minutes later. It looked pretty gnarly too. Like some dark prehistoric thing with large fins and a thin stinger at the bottom or something. It never came close enough to be a real problem, but it was unsettling. I also saw a black tip reef shark at one point. It was swimming slowly along near the bottom, like 20ft down so I wasn’t able to get a great look at it.
Fish Stalker
I returned to the boat just in time to beat a heavy rain that moved in quickly. The whole GBR snorkeling experience went by in a flash. It would’ve been cool to have a little more sun to make the colors of the reef stand out more but it was still righteous. I was also hoping for a few more marquee species, but I’ll take what I can get.
We sailed back to the marina and that was that. All of my notable Australian adventures had come to a close (for this time around).
The only thing left to do was repack my things and shuttle to the airport for my flight to Bali the next day.
It’s hard to believe that another few months have elapsed. There were some highs and lows in there without question. I’ll throw together a little summary of Australia post in the next few days to wrap up all of my thoughts.
