Picking & Partying Queensland Style


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Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Brisbane » Fortitude Valley
July 16th 2007
Published: July 16th 2007
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G'day to all, suppose I better keep you all up to date on what I’ve being doing over the last month or so. So sit back relax and enjoy this 4th edition of the blog.
Well we'll start from the beginning. I decided while in Melbourne that it was time to head up North and see some more of Australia, that and the fact the weather down in Melbourne made me feel more like I was at home. So I flew to Brisbane just wearing shorts and t-shirt to find it was absolutely pissing it down, I reckon the locals could spot the tourist a mile off. So I headed across to the coach station were I had my nine hour bus journey to Bundaberg to catch, as you can imagine I was really looking forward to that. So I’m sat there when a coach pulls up with xxxx state of origin all over the side of it, with a sign saying official Queensland team coach and parks right next to me. I couldn't believe it, so I start raking through my bag in a hurry trying get my camera only to realise nobody got off, then I look to my left and see Greg Inglis(best young player in the world), Cameron Smith(best hooker in the world) and Dallas Johnson(best loose-forward in the world) coming towards the coach. They was a real good set of lads, I ended up getting a couple of great photos and had a good chat about Hull FC and the Super league. So my time in Queensland had started perfectly.
So I arrived in Bundaberg and checked in to a dodgy looking hostel called bundy backpackers lodge. I was here to do some farm work so I got my name down straight away and within a couple of days I was working on a broccoli farm. The first day was shocking cold damp morning after all the rain and trampling through knee deep mud up the paddock picking the broccoli and to cap it off I sliced my finger open with the sharpest knife ever(that's not a knife this is a knife!) that we were using to cut the crop. Anyway I stuck to it and ended up having a really good time there, mainly because of the group I was working with. Team broccoli consisted off me, 2 English girls from Southampton, an ex marine from London and 2 French Canadians guys, so as you can imagine there was plenty of stories to be told between us. I also did a bit of work on sweet potato farms(back breaking stuff) and a sweetcorn farm. The sweetcorn farm was true Australia, walking along the field in the sun with a group of kangaroos lazing around watching us all day that was the type of thing I came to see.
So that was the work I’ve being doing but other than that I’ve met some great people while staying in the hostel. The hostel was kind of like 1 big family because everyone was staying there for a long period to work so everybody knew each other and we had some great nights out in the local pubs. I have to give a mention to a few of the people so a big hello to:

Dupree (Deano)
Sting ray Steve Davies
Lee the cottney wide boy
Manchester Matt
Rob
Big Man
Big kev (MJ)
The Canadian Crew
Bristol and Girlfriend
Koji (the craziest Japanese guy I’ve ever met)
Benny Boy
Leeds Lads
Tika
team broccoli
the Irish girls
The English girls
Team Sweden
Toothpick


Hope I didn't miss anyone there, hello if I did. Keep up the good work everyone and it was great meeting you all.
The three guys at the top of the list travelled with me down to Brisbane, but we've lost Deano he's had to return to Sydney to start his swashbuckling cricket career again.
So Bundaberg as a place, well the locals hated us backpackers because they think we steal all there jobs but we didn't care about that when it came to a night out. There was a few bars we did the rounds in but the two main ones were central and the Queenslander, The Queenslander I ended up working in for a night basically to pay off my whiskey debts(my grandad will be proud of me). To cut a long story short after a night out in the bar I some how ended up in a lock in with the owner. The only thing was I didn't have any money on me so I drank all his whiskey and ended up paying him back by working the next day. Well after the lock in I got a bit of a name for myself at the hostel, because apparently I climbed over the second floor balcony by stacking benches on top of each other to get in. I didn't no at the time that everybody was getting up for work and was watching me do it. Another great day was when I was introduced to a game called beer darts, by the Canadians. What a great game, basically you take a slab of beer and a few chairs to the park. Team Canada sat on one side and team Britain sat on the other facing each other. Then you have to shake a can up and place it between your feet and the other team has 3 darts to try and hit your can, as soon as they hit it and it starts to explode all over you've got to move the dart and down the whole can so it gets a bit messy eventually when you're throwing darts half gone. Well there were lots of other great nights out but I won't bore you too much.
So We all had done some work and were getting a bit bored of bundy so we decided to head to Brisbane. The first day we got in Brisbane was state of origin day. This is a huge game of rugby for the Queenslanders and the city was ram packed with Queensland fans. So we tried to get a ticket but just missed out, so to the bar it was. What a quality night it turned out to be great game, great atmosphere around the city and cheap beers, fantastic. This wetted the lad’s appetites for the rugby so I got them all to go to the next Brisbane game v the gold coast. The game turned out to be one of the best games I have ever seen, Brisbane won by one point in extra time and the drop goal that won it hit both posts before bounces over to a huge raw from the 50,000 Brisbane supporters, what a finish. Other things I’ve done so far in Brisbane are a tour down the river at night, a tour of the city and a couple of nights out.
I've also just started working, I worked at the Brisbane exhibition center laying carpets and I've signed up to work at a music festival for a month as a stage constructer. I also am about to start work for a furniture removal company in the city so there’s plenty of work to be done. Anyway the plan now is to work a bit and head north to see the great barrier reef and Whitsunday islands, so I’ll get my head down and do some graft again.
Good to see the mighty black and whites stick it to the rovers scum, come on u ullla
Hope you all are updated now got to go cos I’m in the library and my times up
seeya you all soon.


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23rd July 2007

Perfect weather for bathing!
Shorts and tee shirts! don't need them , perfect weather for spedo's and bikini's here, swimming pools everywhere you look! The worm is turning cookey no more!
25th July 2007

Wish we were there
Sounds great and all this work experience !! Keep safe, enjoy xx

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