Sydney, on expenses. And other stuff.

Ha, just when you thought this was all about my musings on Wellington and whatnot, I’ve gone and got a new passport and already a couple of stamps in it. Work was calling this time, not wanderlust but it was good. I had to go to Sydney for some training, but had enough free time to explore a little too – see old friends, eat Sichuan fish in Chinatown, wander round Northern Beaches, and all that. I started this little ol’ blog from Sydney (I spent six months there a few moons ago) and it was interesting to return. I thought I enjoyed my time there well enough at the time, but with the benefit of hindsight, don’t really think I did. And though the five days over there lately were all good, my impressions and distrust of that city were re-affirmed. I think the problem is that I don’t really like the beach that much, and without loving that, what else is there to love? Urban sprawl, less friends, and extra job opportunities? Meh. But I do get to go back for another look on another training next month for a third chance. And in a new example of the ongoing saga of my hypocrisy, I have gone so far from my plan early this year of not flying that I’ve just payed $50 to join AirNZ airpoints. And then they put me on Qantas anyway. Sigh.

Back in the real world, I’m rediscovering the joys of couchsurfing after a few months away. Just hosted the first guest since those heady days and crowded floors of Leytonstone, and been meeting a few other CS peoples at and about the endless summer festivals of Wellington. (If only the summer could be as endless.) Good times indeed. It is the cliché of couchsurfing hosting, but hanging around travellers really is the next best thing to being sur le route itself.

The Top End

Darwin was very, very wet for the first few days. Apparently the wet season has carried on a bit longer than usual this year (climate change anyone?) One of the reasons I wanted to visit this part of the world was to see the nearby Kakadu National Park, but the main access road was flooded and most of its famous attractions were inaccessible. So instead I mooched around Darwin for a few days, got a bit of cabin fever because of the rain, and saw some nice sunsets.

From Darwin I headed down the track to Katherine, the next town with more than one shop, 350km away and after a few lazy days returned on The Ghan. The Ghan is the train that runs through the desert from Adelaide to Darwin – a very long way. It’s named after the Afghanis who pioneered the route on camels many years ago. I’m not sure why it stops in Katherine since there’s really nothing there, but it does. Anyway the trip is nice, it’s much better watching the scenery go past when you have leg room and can move around and talk to the people around you. Trains are good.

I spent my last day doing a tour to see the local crocodiles and the Lichfield National Park. The crocs were cool… you go out on a boat and they ‘fish’ for them using lumps of meat. They jump out of the water to catch it. And the park was beautiful – all rivers and gorges and trees and termite hills. We ate the termites. The small black ones taste like pepper; the larger green ones like lime. Really.

That night I went to the pub with some of the tour group then flew on to Singapore. I learnt an important lesson: It’s not funny waiting in long airport queues and going through immigration at 2am when you’re halfway between drunk and hungover and need to go to sleep.

Gone bush

My 6 months working in Sydney has come to an end. I had a good time there, but the same wanderlust that brought me has now carried me away. The next few months promise to be very exciting and I’ll try and use this blog to post stories and photos.

The main plan is a 6-8 week, hundreds of kilometer tramp with Cam and Tony across Crete (an island in Greece). I’ve got a few weeks to kill before we meet over there so stopped off briefly in the top end of Oz last week and now for a few weeks in SE Asia. After Crete I’ll be travelling and working in Europe… I have no return ticket so will just see what happens. (all the best plans end by fading out into uncertainty).

So, keep watching this blog to see what I’m up to.