day 7 and 8 of 24 - untouched

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day 6 ended up beautifully. We were in a beautiful spot over looking the yarra and downtown melbourne and the mcg/arena/lexas centre. We had a large group of people, and were surrounded by other park go-ers. The weather was a delight. Sunny, moderate temperature. cold beer, huge barbie of chicken, snags and burgers. the best salad i've ever tasted. We spent about 7 hrs on that river bank.

We ended up walking back through federation square. There was a huge thai festival going on. The aroma's were painfully heavenly. We settle down on to the lower wharf docs. none of this was developed 3 years ago, and now just looked simply stunning. We all grabbed a beer and nestled into one of the veranda's overlooking the river and st kilda bridge. The air was festive. The sun was setting on the city.

There was a moment when i separated from the group, and made my way to the rivers edge. A stone docking under the bridge that framed the melbourne cityscape so lovely. A contrast between the old world, and the new. I reflect upon how much the city is changing. how clean and happy people look. There's a lot of money in this place now. The women seem prettier and more numerous. The opportunities to acccumulate wealth and solve half of my worries seem so attractive. This sunset seems so brilliant. Could i come back here? I think to myself. maybe for a year...maybe 6months? maybe just 3... apart of me is afraid. Afraid that if i did, i may never get out. afraid if i did i would become some happy deluded moron, with the hot girl, the nice car, and clothes that would make a gay man jealous. And i would settle on some halfward sense of contentment, stay stagnant from any real development of the soul, and make the world happy with what i had done. I wouldn't have to live anywhere near home, i could settle on the beach, or in some other pretencious neighbourhood....and live the dream. With all of my other stonewalled dreamer friends. And a little piece of my soul might die. sacrificed for ease. for smooth sailing. for others. forsaking something actually purely good.

I sit looking at that bridge. melt the quandry away. And admire the beauty. Wishing that beauty were next to me. Seeing what i see. It would all seem perfect with her. No other soul around. I guess feeling really is first. I wonder of god. And i thank him for it all.

Before too long we are on our way to melbourne airport (yet again). We have become professionals at this commute. Aj's sister drives us and we have a good 'ol banter on the way. her feminine aussieness seems so familiar. It was interesting to me why this characteristic seems so prevelant amongst the women here. why it seems so homogenious. so almost alien. and why it bothers me. Yet she's a great addition to the group and the trip is fun and over before we know it.

It's a shed. The new terminal built for our $17 flight to northern australia. We go to check-in. by this stage all three of us have been drinking aussie brew for half the day and are a comedic force dejour. We leave checkin after having our clerk and including us all laughing in tears over the themes that are not clean enough to mention here. Basically we should have all been detained by the quality of our jovial ways. And i remember how fun and good-humoured aussies can be. and i miss that. Before long we are boarding the plane. a brand new gleaming affair with a huge tiger prowling the sides of its shiny fuselage. After a few minutes of shananigans and aj's constant, but amusingly prowling eyes on the hostesses, we are on our way on the 4 hrs flight north.

day 7. We arrive at 2am local time. (3.30am melbourne time). We disembark and already we feel a blast of that thick warm tropical air. All of us are worthless. All that drinking and the terribly uncomfortable plane trip have left us scraggy and unpleasant. We get our bags and settle on an airport shuttle which is reportedly cheaper than a taxi. I have budgeted only 350$ for the next 2 weeks, and know this will not go very far. If i can save money. i will take it.

We finally arrive at the hostel. There's a young blonde girl also waiting. I find out she's from canada, despite her strange accent that makes her seem german, and has come back here after a breif stint in thailand. We have a few laughs and then we all say goodbye's and our hopes to run into one another soon. We finally make our way to our rooms. Sherri, the canadian, turns out to be next door to us. and we all have a good laugh, forcibly. Its about 4am now, and we have to get up at 7.30 to figure out what we will do in the morning.

Morning arrives. Darwin seems a little larger than i thought. But more like a large beach town then we expected. We talk to the desk and they recommend some tours. We get some breakfast and decide that it would be better if we can hire a car and do our own thing: our way. As we sit there enjoying our morning coffee, aj and i both admire how numerous and attractive most of the local women seem. We'd expected bushpigs and indiginous people. Aj says he could visit here again....he's a funny bastard.

We find a car rental place, and set about the 2hr trip to lichfield national park. There's suppose to be some beautiful scenery and waterfalls there. Northern australia has had some wicked rain in the past few days. most people have been telling us its a dangerous time to go. But of course, we ignore caution and defer to the hope of good fortune. The trip is colourful. The landscape is what we all grew up seeing in paintings, on tv, and hearing in stories as children growing up in this country. Aj and i are city boys, and although this landscape is known to us, it's the first time we're actually seeing it. We get further and further away from civilization and this really starts to feel like a raw australia. the kind of raw australia that non-australian's imagine. The kind of raw australia we imagine this place being in the early days of white settlement. It sure is good to be in an airconditioned car though.

After a few walking treks and giant termite mounds, i hear the distant roar of water. This is what i was looking forward to. As we approach there are signs everywhere. DO NOT SWIM. WATER TOO DANGEROUS. We make our way about a kilometer into a small ravene. The roar is louder now, and we come accross a large brook. I know we're getting closer. As we make our way towards the sound, suddenly the bush opens up into a clearing. There are cliffs on 3 sides, and 2 giant streams of white water pouring into a pool before us. We all smile. Ignore the signs that tell us to be sensible. We unclothe our sweaty bodies and climb our way in. It's amazing. It's soothing. They couldn't make a sign big enough to deter us away from this pure joy. I feel infinately satisfied, as though i can pack up and leave now...and i would be completly justified. I can't imagine the trip hitting a higher point than this. We're the only ones out here. We have a slice of heaven to ourselves, and we don't need any shred of civility. Not that there is any that could possibly offer this degree of joy. I think about waco, and how much i wish they were all here. And of course one more than them.

After leaving this watering hole, and a few other sites around the park, we make our way back to darwin. We don't know quite what we want to do with ourselves, but we have a car. And thats freedom. The boys are tired, and so we figure going back to the hostel would be a chance to change, rest and collect our thoughts about a game plan. When we get back, aaron and aj jump into their bunks as though they were seeking a nap. I go to the supermarket next door and get a 6pack of meet pies (economic and aussie), and head back to make myself some late lunch. I pop 3 into the microwave and take a seat while i wait. Sherri comes by and sits with me and we start to talk about the day. She hasn't done anything too exciting, and i almost wish we had invited her out today. Shortly, aaron and aj appear out of nowhere. they were unable to sleep, and feel the company and meatpie would make for a good concillation. We decide to visit port cullen with what little day light and vehicle time we have left, and sherri decides to join us.

We drive around the city. Aj is a hopeless navigator and we have a hilarious lost time looking for a place we have no idea how to get too. We end up on some jetty that allows vehicel exit, and we all get out for a photo opp and a smoke. We consult a map and resolve some determination to actually finding the port. the boys had wanted to get some dinner down there, but i was happy enough with the meatpie i had eaten earlier. We finally find the area and drive around. There are boat races and all sorts of local activity. It's clean and pretty, and full of young women to the endless delight and photographing inappropriateness of our aussie friend.

We finally locate the port. There's a few restraunts and bars, but by all accounts the area is almost a ghost town. We find a peer and look at the view of the port. It's pretty, and the sun is coming down low now. I walk down the peer and the others follow, we sit on the docks edge, joke around, and watch the sun set. Sherri seems at surprising ease in our company. We make fun of each other out of sport and into her endless laughter. We discuss what we wanted to do tonight. I had run into a pub promoter earlier in the day who had given me four free meal cards to his pub, and told us about a trivia night they were holding. We all decide its a grea idea, especially because its a thrifty form of entertainment, and we head back to the downtown area. We park and walk the several blocks to the pub. The food is suprisingly delicious, and to aaron's delight, jugs of beer are only $7 for the local brew. We sit, eat, joke and drink for awhile. More and more people pour in, and more apparantly as we get onto the 4th jug, it looks like this will be a big part of the night.

The majority of the patrons are obviously backpackers...like us. Prodominately from europe and especially the UK. The games start and we are all into it - aaron especially so since he seems to be the most affected by the grog, and quite possibly fanciful of our new canadian friend. We don't do very well at trivia. We are the smallest team. We come about 5th place, but its not a bad effort. Some of the games included the procurement of mens and ladies underwear which proved the most hilarious for the night. Sherri provided a bra, but neither aj or myself were willing to provide our underdaks. Probably because we saw scores of drunk englishmen so keenly remove there pants and expose themselves, and neither of us were drunk enough to be the laughing point of the rest of the pubs patrons. It was hilarious though.
We heard earlier that the pub at our hostel was having a karaoke night. Aaron adores karaoke. And convinces us to leave after the last jug goes dry. It's good with us since we left about 20 beers back in the room.

As we approach the hostel it become apparent that aaron is quite beligerant and almost foul tempered in his drunkeness. Aj and i go to the room to get some beers. aaron disappears into the pub, draggin sherri with him. We go back to the room and have a couple of beers and talk about the night. Suddenly we hear the door handle rattle and aaron stumbles inside. he demands that we come to the pub as he's singing soon, and wants an audience. Begrugingly we agree to join him there shortly. The continuity of the night seems strained at this stage, and the fun is quickly eroding. We go downstairs and join sherri and aaron at a table. It's loud and there's a lot of older men in the club. Sherri is still in good spirits. Aaron finally sings. It's awful. he's tone death. It's a tragic irony. he loves karaoke so much. he returns and after a few inconsiderate comments, places his head on the table, shoves his beer in my face, and proclaims he is done. Thankgod.

We all come back to the room. Sherri stands in the doorway and says she thinks she going to go to her room. She scribble on a piece of paper (with her number) and offers it to us. She looks at me. Aaron quickly confiscates the paper. She retreats. We joke around a bit, kind of fed up with his horseplay. Jokingly i say that i'm going to call sherri. Aaron gets defensive and tells me to go to sleep. I get up to retrieve the paper with her number - but its gone. Aaron has hidden it. Aj and i chuckle. Realise its a good idea to get some rest. i turn off the lights.

We have to wake up at 9. We need to return the car and checkout by 10. Aj disappears to take care of the car. I go to the kitchen to make a meatpie breakfast. Aaron is still asleep, naturally. After 30mins i come back to the room. Aaron and aj are packing up their things so i follow suit. shortly we're making our way to the counter to check out. I remember that i left my pies in the kitchen, and so make a hurried flight upstairs to retrieve them. When i arrive, sherri is at a table eating noodles by herself. I grab my pies and greet her. She ask me how my night was, and i told her it was an okay sleep. I ask her politely in return. She exclaims that she didn't care for it so much and she wished she didn't have to sleep alone last night. She said it in away that took me by surprise and somewhat flattery. I told her we were checking out and that it was fun meeting her and spending time with yesterday, wishing her all the luck for the future. Then i left.

the boys were waiting for me and told me they were eager to get some breakfast at the cafe next door. i told them i would meet up with them shortly. i wanted to get some water for the day at the nearby supermarket. Upon my return to the cafe, i noticed that sherri had joined them. it was funny to me, but in this travelling mode it always seems good to congregate in numbers. after they eat and we talk, we decide to go to the local government library. We walk south, and enter the gardens beholding a brilliant white building. Government buildings always looks so nice in this country. This one especially. Sherri knows exactly what she's doing, and obviously has been through this procedure before. We make our way to the free internet kiosk, and after a shortwhile each obtain computer access. And here i am. The others are waiting for me now back at the hostel. They left me an hour or two ago. Sherri gave us her number and wants to join us later. Our flight doesn't leave until 2am tonight. So we have a lot of time to kill. Aj wants to ride some bikes. I just want to read, write, and spend some time alone today. But sometimes you have to hang out with the group, despite what you want.

She wrote to me briefly. She wished she loved jesus. I wonder what motivates the want. i wonder what it means that there's a desire there. I wish i could gift it to her. Take my arm or leg or something. Never see her again. But grant it.

Tomorrow i will be in brisbane. We are renting a car, and aaron is finally getting his lost luggage back. i have done this leg of the trip before, and so am not super excited about it as i have been with this first portion of the trip. My money is already running low, and i hope God will provide the means for me to continue. There's a view of the bay from the library that is simply stunning, and i'm not to sad to leave this computer terminall now, light up a smoke, and drink in her beauty.

See ya on the gold coast, friends!

Uroo,
Douglas.

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