And where would it be easier to make some money than back in good old Tully…so I went back to the Bananas for a month. I couldn’t make up my mind where to go next, I still wanted to see the West and South of Australia but I was just not ready to leave the Tropics yet. I decides to go back to Townsville for a few weeks. I got a job as a kitchen hand, I met really nice people and I liked Townsville more and more. But it is to early to settle so I needed to keep going…

Destiny led me to Magnetic Island, a beautiful tropical island just 20 minutes from the Townsville coast. I’ ve been there quite a few times before, for diving, Full Moon Partys and things like that but I never thought about looking for a job over there. Well it just happened that they were looking for a kitchen hand/waitress and housekeeper at Bungalow Bay Koala Village (http://www.bungalowbay.com.au/). It was just perfect! I lived in paradise for the next 5 weeks. My bungalow in the middle of a tropcal garden with palm trees, lorikeets, koalas, cockatoos, wallabies, swimming pool, hammocks, Reggae music and just the most chilled out atmosphere. I did three hours housekeeping in the mornings for free accommodation, food and drinks and night shifts in the restaurant for saving money. I hardly had any expenses but a great lifestyle. I dreamed about spending Christmas and New Years in the sun at the beach all my life and finally after 26 years I made it happen! It was just great. I love the people I worked with, we were like a big family, I didn’t feel lonely during the holidays (what I was a littel bit afraid of) even though of course I miss my family and friends in Germany!

It was so hard to leave Paradise but again Australia is a big country, I had to keep going if I wanted to see it all. My New Years resolution was to make a plan for the rest of my time over here. And I did, after 9 month of living from one day to another I actually planned the last 3 month. And the plan is: Tully for one more month (…money…), Cairns for a couple of days to catch up with friends, flying to Perth (West Coast) on February 17th where I meet my friend Daniela who’s coming over from Germany and then we have 2 month to travel along the south coast from Perth to Sydney. Depending on how much time we spend in Perth, Adeleide, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and all the other places in between and how much money we have left in the end we might do some more travelling to other countries/islands before we fly back to Germany mid of April. If I manage to fulfil my plan by the end of my trip I’ve seen all four coasts, the center, all six territories, all big cities, all kinds of seasons, climates and weather and then I will be ready to come home…

Starting the trip from Townsville (QLD) towards Alice Springs (NT) in the center of Australia (2.500 km) we passed quite a few little towns like Hughenden, Cloncurry, Mount Isa and Tennant Creek, saw the first famous rocks – the Devil’s Marbles – and lots of wildlife like bugs, birds, cattle, camels and kangaroos (dead or alife…).

 

From Alice Springs we traveled  1.500 km in a triangle to Ayers Rock (Uluru), the Olgas (Kata Tjuta) and Kings Canyon (Watarrka)….

 

…and from there head north another 1.500 km on Stuart Highway along Aileron, Daly Waters,Mataranka and Kathine up to Darwin. 

On the journey we put up our tent in the most beautiful National Parks like Elsey and Nitmiluk (except of Kakadu National Park which was the most disapointing Park ever!!!)  

All together it was lots of driving, lots of dust, lots of Aboriginals and lots of nothing but it was also lots of experience, lots of fun and definitely worth it!!!

20.06.08: I’m here for 3 weeks now. Farm work is getting better…I’m outside most of the time. Sometimes I drive the tractor and most of the time I’m stringing, that means I tie the banana trees together so that they don’t fall over, because they get to heavy if they get a new bunch. I learned a lot on the farm – lots of knots and driving big vehicles – so it’s not boring anymore and if it’s not raining it’s even fun at work. I also started a bar job. Work 70 hours a week. I’ll see if I can do this for a couple more weeks. On one hand because it’s good money and on the other hand for my second visa. If I do farmwork for 3 month I can apply for a second visa ( 1 more year). I’m not sure yet if I’m really going to do that, but so far I really enjoy my life in this beautiful country. Australia makes me happy:-) So for all of you who miss me, you should plan holidays over here…

Made a trip this weekend (250 km south of Tully). Met a security guy called Jimy at the Full Moon Party on Magnetic Island and ever since then we stayed in contact. He lives in Townsville with his girlfirend Kelli and his two kids ( 7 month and 16). He invited me to come over and meet his family, so I did, even though it felt weird because I only met him this one night before…But it was awesome! We became really close already and I think I met friends for lifetime!

We went out to nightclubs, saw “Sex and the city” at the movies, went to a horse race and on a hill to watch the city lights by night. I’m looking forward to meet with them again, I even think about staying with them for a while and working in Townsville. I don’t know what to do since there are so many options right now… I met people who go to the red center by car and invited me to join, I like Tully because I make lot s of money, I could go back to Magnetic Island where I have an offer to work my next diving cetificate off, I could go to a job interview on a 5 star resort on Hayman Island (Whitsundays) or I could just follow my original plan and go all the way up the east cost and then fly to Dawin in the north. Well, I hope destiny will help me because I really can’t make any decision right now….

26.07. – 30.07.:

Went to Townsville fort he weekend again. Jana Helena and me got dressed up for the Townsville Horse Races, a big event in Queensland.

I also went fishing and pig hunting which was an experience I don’t want to miss but I don’t really need to see that again…

 

Shit! Can’t get worse… (it’s my 13th place I went to, maybe this number really means bad luck…)!!!

Things look better now. Start working tomorrow. This man knocked on my door last night…he got me a job at a banana farm and also at the hostel bar (never seen this man before?!?!)

The Asian invasion here still sucks. I explain: Everywhere else in Australian hostels you cook your dinner (usually just for yourself the first night), sit down on a table and within the next couple minutes someone will ask if he/she/they can sit with you…Here it’s different! The Asians don’t ask if they can sit down, they ask if they can have the chair from your table and take it away. One after another. So you sit there with 5 empty chairs around you starting to eat and within 10 minutes there’s only the chair left you sit on (if you forgot sth. in the kitchen and leave your seat only for one minute, even this chair will be gone…). But that’s ok! I don’t want to eat with them anyway! They make this noises while eating – I hate “mouth sounds” during eating! And they only eat rice – for brakfast, lunch, dinner and in between…

29.05.08: Worked the first day today. Was exhausting but good. Had to seperate good bananas from bad bananas. Started at 5:30 am. What a great job – good that I went to university. hahah!!! No, for real I like to do this kind of jobs for a while, at least then I know that it was right to go to school for so many years!

03.06.08: I’m working here for a week now. Did sorting (die Guten ins Toepfchen, die schlechten ins Kroepfchen), breaking (make little bunches out of a big bunch), packing (put the bananas in boxes for sale) and repairing the irrigation plants outsides in he fields. It’s pretty exhausting to do 8 hour of labour work if you are used to an office job, but at least here I feel like I’ve really done something at the end of the day and that is very satisfying!

If everything works out on plan I’ll stay here until the end of the month and save some money for the next travelling period…

22.05.2008: Today my diving course started. Will take 4 days to do my diving license. We started with theorie and practical training in the pool. The water was really cold and we all got blue lips after 2 hours under water not moving a lot. But it was fun and I’m looking forward to the first dive in the ocean. The course is every day from 9 am to 5 pm and we also have homework and a exam at the end (feels like back in school) but it’s only 4 days till “graduation”, so I can live with that!

Now I’m a licensed SSI diver which means I can go diving without an instructor. They asked me to do an internship there which would basically mean I only pay for the material and stuff and work my training of. Would take 80 days then I’d be an diving instructor assistant. Would love to do that, but in this time I would not be able to earn money or travel… I think about it, but first I’ll go a little bit further north to Tully, where I’ll try to find a job. It’s supposed to be a good place for fruit picking.

Last night in Magnetic had to be good, because it was my last night with Robin:-( She is not looking for work so she will go on travelling… Of course the night was big! We drunk a lot and stayed up all night with the nice guys from the bar – payback next day of course! Had to catch the bus at 7:45 am…puked at the first break (at least not in the bus). Felt better afterwards.

Saling between 74 islands with a huge white catamaran from ‘White Heaven Beach’ to ‘Blue Pearl Bay’, 30 degrees, perfect blue sky during the day (the most crazy colors sometimes), milky way during the night, rainbows, best sunrises and sunsets ever, snorkeling in the turquoise sea with turtles, corals and lot’s of fish…that’s the WHITSUNDAYS.

Food was awesome too, had a cook on board. Alcohol was cheap and plenty. Just perfect 3 days!

Back in Airlie Beach we had one more night to meet with the crew ( 25 people on the boat) for the aftershow party. And the next morning I left to the next place called Magnetic Island where I’m going to do my SSI diving license.

Was an 11 hours drive to Airlie Beach where I’ll stay for one night before I go on my Whitsundays sailing trip.

We had a few difficulties with our car/group – first we lost the car keys in the supermarket before we even started the trip, then on the first day the car made weird noises, one of the girls wanted to leave the island because she was claustrophobic and last but not least it rained during the night and the “waterproof” tents had holes…Next day didn’t start better…We forgot to lock the garbagebags in the cars before going to bed, so the Dingos came at night…While we were cleaning up the whole area from our dispersed garbage and getting all the equipment together it was raining alot. Of course as soon as we were done the sun came out… And then it was just perfect! We saw some of the best places ever. The variety was awesome! A ship wrack, cliffs from where we could see dolphines, rainforest and desert, lakes and creeks in unbelieveble colors…

We also invented a new drinking game which we should get a patent for! The name is: hot potato hot potato! The Rules: Take a well cooked potato out from boiling water, throw it to somebody in the circle as fast as possible (you will anyway because it’s very hot) and if the person you throw it to doesn’t catch it or smashes it while catching he/she has to drink. Of course it has to be dark!!!

The days before and after the trip I stayed in Hervey Bay. We were busy with washing cloth (the sand was everywhere…)changeing room because we had bedbucks and spending some more time with the group.