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Published: November 11th 2010
Sadly my time in this country has come to end and although I have a strong connection to this land and its easy way of life I feel like my time to leave has been long overdue. I am ready for a new adventure, to see new things. I have since flown to Darwin where I peruse these dull streets looking for something to photograph. I am literally counting the hours until my flight. Cheap food, long sticky bus rides, peculiar traditions and strange cultures await me on the populated island of Java, Indonesia.
After my epic adventure up the west coast four weeks ago I flew to Cairns, Queensland’s second largest city 3000km removed on the east coast. One of my original goals in Australia was to spend a winter in cairns working on a dive boat in exchange for free dives on the glorious ‘Barrier Reef’. After so many hiccups along the way through unreliable jobs and lack of finances, I finally hit tropical tarmac in early October. To my excitement my old friend Som, whom I met in Ireland, was home in Cairns for his birthday. After some catch up in his welcoming family home and a
Swinging from Tree's
A great day out with Som and Kate to the local creek.tour of the regions delights, I was ready to pursue my Australian dream.
A few hours of searching on a sun drenched Saturday afternoon yielded the ‘Cairns Dive Centre’. An overweight, grim-faced manager explained that if you booked a tour through their company, a week onboard their vessel as a volunteer was yours. The deal at the time seemed a little one sided; you have to show some green before you start to clean. Nevertheless, my childish enthusiasm to dive for free overwhelmed me and I signed on the dotted line. Unlike other ‘volunteers’ I conveniently booked my ‘Stress and Rescue’ course with the budget dive centre. After my service I would then go on a course to learn how to rescue panicking Japanese snorkelers and such. Beautiful!
Volunteering aboard the ‘Kangaroo Explorer’ was an experience in itself. Seven days aboard an ageing vessel; this old girl had seen betters days. Lionel Ricthie’s naff curls must have been around in these days I thought while head deep in caked Lasagne dishes. The ‘vollies’ job (yes the Ozzies love to shorten every possible word) was basically to wash all kitchenware from the kitchen and cutlery from some 50 customers
over the three meals a day. At the end of the day the kitchen needed a thorough cleaning and the dreaded kitchen mats had to be scrubbed to perfection.
The first few days were quite a shock. With three dives a day at 6am, 11am and 4pm, a ‘vollie’ would be quite exhausted not to mention scrubbing dirty pots for an hour or two after each dive. The experience however proved to be invaluable. Diving the barrier reef is incredibly expensive and to put away 23 free logged dives over seven days not only helped my diving career but soothed my ailing bank account. Unfortunately, much of the senior staff treated volunteers like slaves and many lacked any sort of politeness. “No bother” I thought, at the end of the day us ‘dishpigs’ just cleaned our pots, ticked off our dives and took the proverbial piss when backs were turned.
After an exhausting week with the comedic ‘Cairns Dive Centre’, I was glad to be back on level ground and resting my weary bones. However my respite, as short lived as a fart in the wind, was up and soon I had another volunteering position in my sights.
Diving with Turtles
Luckily we hired a camera one of the few times we found turtles! After a two days of cairns sightseeing and a remarkable white water rafting experience down the Tully River, I was back on the reef diving my little socks off!
My second experience working in the dive industry proved to be more exhausting than imagined. Aboard the luxurious ‘OceanQuest’ from the more professional ‘Deep Sea Divers Den’, volunteers crammed four dives into a working day, starting at 6am and finishing at 9pm. If you weren’t to be found swimming with turtles and sharks or chilling with Nemo and friends you were cleaning bathrooms, changing bedsheets, scrubbing dishes and vacuum cleaning. This professional and efficient company were much more enjoyable to work for however. Staff socialised with us ‘free loaders’ and many cold beers were shared after long days working at sea.
To be honest I could write a whole account on the dive boat lifestyle and how I am now a full convert. My aim, after my ‘Rescue’ course, is to become a certified divemaster. With this qualification one can work in the dive industry, guiding tourists into pristine waters, not a pot in sight. After my two trips as a slave to the sink it was time to
become the customer. I shipped back out on the ‘Kangaroo Explorer’ and completed my three day ‘Stress and Rescue’ course. I am now (seemingly) qualified to aid/rescue divers and snorkelers in distress. To be honest I think you may have better luck getting an apology from the pope than being rescued by yours sincerely (ouch!). After a quick scare with a suspected perforated ear drum, I returned to land, nerves shot but full of health and 48 October dives in my logbook. Score!
Looking back I have come to realise that the ‘Ozzies’ are truly wonderful people. Many backpackers leave this country with a sense that the locals can be quite haughty, annoying and loud. I firmly believe that when you get to know these vegemite fiends that they are an amicable, welcoming bunch who will in many cases step out of their way to make you feel at home. Beers are offered on arrival, BBQs are sparked at the drop of a hat and similar to the Irish, Ozzies love a good chat and a decent night out. Since backpackers inhabit every street and laneways in her cities and towns its no wonder that Australians can be discourteous
and at times quite impolite to them. However I have much sympathy for some locals and especially employers who deal with unreliable opportunistic backpackers out to make a quick buck with total disregard to human courtesy. (This is particularly evident on the streets of Melbourne where a many large employers will not entertain your two-minute noodle-stained white K-Mart shirt). However in some cases this opportunism is reciprocal and backpackers can be without shifts or hours quicker than they can say ‘mi-goreng’
The history of this vast land is quite a sensitive subject with the locals, in particular the older generation. On my travels I have heard much of the plight of the indigenous Aboriginal population. The relationship between the two peoples on this continent is quite strained. While many travellers say that locals are down right racist to Indigenous people, you can help but feel the locals are misrepresented. I have read that the subject is ongoing in government halls to this day. For only in 2008 did the popular Prime Minister Kevin Rudd issue an official apology to the ‘Stolen Generations’ for their “profound grief, suffering and loss”. Since then the government now throw money at the situation.
Fancy computer systems are sent to ill-equipped schools in the Northern Territory. Thousand of dollars a year are sheepishly given to ‘traditional owners’ for their lost land. And costly community projects relocate large indigenous groups to city suburbs causing severe social tension. The jury is, and always will be out regarding this matter and it has become quite a sad mark on a country that has risen to be a top economic contender on the world stage. (Australia breezed through the global financial whatcha-ma-hoozle and the Ozzie dollar is now stronger than ever)
Although the people have made my adventure down under something special, my favourite memories of this country will always be of its nature; the wide open spaces, expansive forests and parks, beaches, the never ending arid ‘bush’ and awe inspiring outback. The world’s sixth largest country is home to a plethora of national parks, Unesco heritage sights and some of the worlds natural wonders. The more time you spend in this place the more you realise you have not seen anything. The west coast in particular intrigues the adventurous traveller and begs exploring. Buying a four wheel drive and traversing the Kimberly region to the Savannah Way across the unreserved plains of northern Australia, is still on my to-do list for some future adventure. To begin to fathom the adventures awaiting you in this nation full of ‘roads less travelled’, boggles the mind. Its no wonder that so many retiree’s I have spoken to, slowly circle this land every year and always find something new to inspire the zest for travel. These people of the road I admire. Travelling, because they can!
With fond memories I look back on the last 22 months in Australia, the lifelong friends I have made, the great times I had living with people from all over the world and the things that I have seen that will stay with me forever; From long sweaty days of manda-madness in the rural outpost of Gayndah to working twenty stories up for a prominent stock brokerage overlooking Brisbane’s mighty skyline. The insatiable laughter and joy of living with 26 brothers and sisters at the big Wellington house in Melbourne to the experience of working at a lively bar in Perth. Meeting the incredible Laura and traversing the west coast on one memorable road trip and exploring the world’s biggest marine park over 15 fantastic days of diving in Cairns. Good times.
I am now ready for a new adventure, to see a new land.
So long Oz…
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Chris Franks
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Your mar.....
A great end to a well written series of blogs, congrats Bar. What a country - can't wait to get back out there. See you On The Road soon dude