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Published: March 22nd 2010
Sydney
One last look at Sydney!Friday November 27, 2010 was the last day of our Australian tour. To think that the only thing that stood between us and home at this point would be 37 hours of flights and and airports. What a strange feeling.
10 months had zipped by. Less than a year ago we had flown the 8 hours from Toronto to London. As pointed out on several occasions, this was the long way around the world to Sydney. But getting to Australia was just part of the fun. We enjoyed a full 12 hours on the ground in London, and were soon off again for another 12 hours of flying to Thailand. We had a great time enjoying the warm weather in Bangkok and Phuket, instead of our typical Canadian weather. Once the week was over, we were back on the plane for another 12 hours to Sydney. And that was just the beginning.
Sydney was our starting point. We gathered our thoughts and made plans on how to proceed. This early in the trip, we weren’t even sure we’d have enough money to stay longer than 4 months, let alone a year! We decided the first chunk of our adventure
Airport
Feels weird to be back in an airport. should be the east coast. Easily accessible, heavily populated and popular for backpackers. It was easy. We were in Cairns before we knew it. But where to go from there? We’d have to start working soon if we wanted to stay. So we started considering a circuit around the country, starting and finishing in Sydney. But where to go next, and where to work? Alice Springs was our next big destination.
Hillary and I took our first 24-hour bus ride into the Red Centre. We arrived in Alice Springs to a whole new world. It was awesome, but did we want to live here for months while we topped up our bank accounts? Not really. So up to Darwin, or down to Adelaide? Well, at this point April was ending and it was getting chilly in the southern half of the country. We didn’t leave Canada to be cold, so up to Darwin we went. Within weeks of arriving, we hit gold! We both found jobs and a great place to live. The next 4 months in Darwin were amazing, and one of the best experiences Hillary and I had ever had. We were proud to call it home.
Plane
There's our ride home. September showed up in no time, and we had worked enough to cover another 3 months of travel. We continued with our plan and traveled down the west coast. Not very popular with backpackers. And to be frank, there wasn’t much there. But we found a few gems, which made the long trip to Perth well worth it.
The south west corner of the country was quite different than everywhere else. Very green, cool weather and very “west coast”ish, if that makes any sense. What a place to explore and we were now ¾ of the way around the country. The end was within sight, much to our chagrin. We took the train to Adelaide (the first time not traveling by coach bus), and started really going “all out” with some guided tours. Then to Melbourne, with an amazing week in Tasmania. The only state/territory left was the ACT (Australian Capital Territory) and we made sure to spend a couple of days there on our way back to Sydney.
10 months summed up in five paragraphs. Not too shabby. And like I said earlier, all we had left was 37 hours of flying or sitting around in
Entertainment
Personal touch-screen tvs are great, until people bang on the screen that's attached to the back of your seat! airports.
The flight home was an odd one. We left around 5pm Sydney time. It was soon dark during our flight. And we’d soon find out that it would be dark for quite a bit longer. Our first stop was in Bangkok at 3am. But rather it was midnight. We gained 3 hours in the air. 3 hours of darkness. By the time we landed in London, it was 5pm back in Sydney. But guess what time it was in London. 7am! We’d been flying in the dark for almost 22 hours! We fell asleep while it was dark, enjoyed breakfast in the dark, had lunch in the dark, and saw the sunrise during dinner. If that doesn’t mess with your internal clock, I don’t know what would.
In London though, we had the pleasure of meeting our good friend Keith again, and had the chance to meet his lovely wife Linda. They met us at the airport at 7am, which meant that must have gotten up much earlier than that! How many people do you know would go to the airport that early in the morning just to catch up for a cup of coffee at Heathrow?
Air
Soon we'll have left the country completely. Not many I’d say. We had a great time during our 5 hour layover, but it couldn’t last forever. We were soon back on the plane off for Toronto.
For me, this was the easiest section of our flights. I simply slept through the whole 8 hour flight! The other two flights were spent listening to podcasts, watching movies, and snacking on junk food. Hill did much the same, but had it a bit tougher. Being tall may look great, but not so much on a plane. Even worse when you’re trying to sleep. And those personal touch screen tvs may seem like an amazing idea, until you have an old lady behind you that thinks ramming her finger into the screen will make it work faster, rather than just make it feel like someone’s kicking the back of your head. From London to Toronto, she tried to sleep but it was now noon (instead of 10pm), and sleeping during daylight hours does not come easy to her. When I woke up at the end of the flight, I made the mistake of exclaiming “Wow, we’re already home?!” I then turned to Hill who glared at me muttering “I
Heathrow
One huge airport! can’t believe you slept the whole way”.
Once off the plane, we were home! Bilingual signs everywhere, grey and dreary skies, and lots of line ups. Nothing like going through customs, and then waiting a half hour for your bag to come off the plane. Could have been worse I suppose. It could have gotten lost somewhere between Toronto and Sydney. Lol
In the end, it really was the trip of a lifetime. What made it so great was that it wasn’t all go, go, go. We found time to just let it all sink in. Australia wasn’t just a destination, it became a second home. This was our first big trip abroad, and it went swimmingly. Australia is a great starter country for new backpackers. But now we’re experienced, so maybe it’s time for something a little more challenging? Only time will tell!
Thanks for reading, and hopefully this isn’t the last you’ll read about us!
Kevin
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