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Published: February 4th 2015
G'day everyone,
After 6.5 great weeks in Australia it was time to leave. It was a pleasure to catch up with some many friends and acquaintances again, people who I really appreciate and I usually hated to say goodbye when I had to move on. I left the country with mixed feelings, but that's how it goes when you travel. You have to move on! I'm sure I'll see many of them again in the near future. It's a pity that Australia is SO far! Meeting so many great people and staying in touch is definitely one of the greatest things about travelling!
After Sydney I flew to Melbourne for about 9 days where, again, I met with friends I haven't seen in a long time.
Melbourne is the capital of Victoria and the second largest city in Australia with about 4.5 million people. The city is considered as Sydney's "rival", as people always discuss whether Sydney or Melbourne is better. In my opinion, Melbourne is better as a city but I'd choose Sydney above Melbourne because of the climate, the scenery and the beaches! It was very hot when I arrived in Melbourne, around 37°C. First
I stayed a few days with Jeff, who I hosted in Curaçao about 3 years ago through Couchsurfing. He was among my first five surfers. He was one of those with who it clicked straight away and it seemed like we knew each other for a long time already. Of course we spoke a lot about travels, abbout what we've done during the last 3 years and about possible (travel-) plans for the future. We didn't do too much, the weather didn't let us either...mostly chilled and watch movies, play video-games and hang out at the pool. We wandered around St. Kilda and went to South Melbourne Market. During my stay I also met with Carlos, a Colombian who was living in the same hostel where I used to live in 2008. He's married with kids now and is a permanent resident. Good on him! I also met with Tom, one of the Australians I met in Tonga, and his girlfriend Jennifer. We had dinner and spent the evening playing cards, Casino of course. In Tonga I taught them how to play Casino and they loved it! I stayed most of my days with Jackson, who I met in Darwin
in 2008 together with Andrew and George. One late afternoon all four of us met at a pub for dinner and some beers. It was really cool to catch up with these guys again after more than 6.5 years. Jackson picked me up from Jeff's place and we went to his parents' place first, where we had a barbecue with his family, his girlfriend and Andrew. That same night we went out in the city because it was one of his friends' birthday. During the day I went for a bit of a stroll in Melbourne by myself and on another day I went with Jackson and we visited the Immigration Museum. It was a very interesting experience to read and see so much about the immigration history in Australia. Since the British settlers arrived in 1788, Australia has been an immigration country and that will always be the case! When reading about the "White Australia Policy" of course I thought: "What the **** were they thinking"? Same with the fact that the Aboriginal population wasn't included in the census until after 1967. So basically, they were not considered "humans" before 1967, wow! The Australian prime minister, Toni Abbott, said
that Sydney was "nothing but bush" when the British arrived in 1788, therefore actually supporting the idea that Australia was "Terra Nullius". Of course he was heavily criticized, what a moron! Anyway, enough of that.
I also met with my mate Micheal, who I know from Darwin end 2007 and I got to know Pam and Grant through him. I met him, his girlfriend Toni and kids but it was for very short. But I'd meet them later on in Tasmania again. My last night in Melbourne I spent at Manny's place, the guy I used to work back in 2008 doing floor sanding and helping in construction. He's been through some turbulent times but he's doing great now. I was happy to see his son who was nearly 2 years old when I saw him for the last time, and also his daughter who wasn't born yet when I was there in 2008.
After a great couple of days in Melbourne I flew to
Launceston, where my mate Andrew was living with his girlfriend Kate. Launceston is Tasmania's second largest city after Hobart and has around 100 000 people. After arrival I had to get
used to the "cold". It was around 12°C which is a big difference compared to what I was used to in Brisbane, Darwin, Sydney and Melbourne before flying to Launceston. But during the day the temperatures rose to just above 20. I've been to Launceston in 2008 but for a very short stay, so this time I was able to see a bit more. The city has some nice, colourful buildings but there isn't too much to see. We went to the market on Saturday where we had some breakfast and Andrew had to buy some other stuff too. We went for a hike around Cataract Gorge, which is basically "in" the city but once you're there it seems like you're far away from the city. It's part of the South Esk River and as you walk further, you'll get to the former hydro-electric power station called "Duck Reach". The main building is still there and it's like a small museum now. Another day we went for a hike towards the beautiful Liffey Falls. The hiking path goes through a fairly dense rain-forest and several water streams where you could spot the fish, mostly trouts. After the hike we had
some lunch and went to have a look at Pine Lake, which lies at a higher elevation and it was quite cold so we didn't stay too long there. I spent my last night in Launceston at Micheal's place. He just arrived back from Melbourne by ferry that day and picked me up. Once home, Toni had finished cooking and we all had dinner and spent the rest of the night talking and watching tv.
The next day I flew back to
Sydney and went to Newport, located at the Northern beaches of Sydney. There I stayed with Eliane and Nick, who I hosted about 2.5 years ago in Curaçao. I had to catch a ferry from Sydney CBD to Manly, where I met with them. We had some lunch and wandered around Manly before going to Newport, where we had a small barbecue in the evening. The next day we did a part of the Bicentennial Walk along the coast around Turimetta Head, a walk which takes you along several beaches this area is well-known for. The next day Eliane had to work so Nick took me to Barrenjoey Headland, where we hiked up a hill
with a lighthouse. I enjoyed the stunning view from the top, looking down on Palm Beach, where we went for a swim afterwards. Of course I enjoyed catching some waves again. In the evening, after Eliane came back from work, we went to a place which had pizza nights for AU$ 5 and then we went out at this pub full of youngsters, but it was fun!
I left Newport and went to the city, where I left my stuff at Nydia's place and we went to see Francesca but it was for a short period of time. In the evening I had to go to Mt. Druitt train-station, where Raymond picked me up. Ray saw my profile on a former website called CuracaoNetwork, which was especially for Curaçaoans living abroad. I made the profile when I was in Darwin in 2008. Ray obviously saw that there is a Curaçaoan in Darwin and he contacted me, but I already left the country when he did. But since then we always kept in touch and I met him, his wife Mimi and their kids when they visited Curaçao 4 years ago. He invited me to stay for a few days
at his place and at first I was going to stay only for 3 nights but ended up staying 7 nights! I had a great time with them, especially the kids: Giordan, Khianna and Joshua! The oldest son Giordan (15) is DJ and plays at a public pool on Saturdays when the weather is hot. Ray and I went in the morning to set-up everything for him. Giordan came later with one of his mates and played music for 3 hours, while Ray and I just hung around the pool and swam. The other day we had a small Curaçao get-together and barbecue. Nydia was there and also Ray's brother, Vernon, and his wife Desiree (also from Curaçao) and their two daughters. It was a fun day of eating, speaking Papiamentu and listening to Curaçaoan music. The other days I stayed there, I'd just chill with the kids, played some video-games with them, did a little work out, relax in the pool, read a book called "Wanderlust", do some travel research online and twice I went to the city on my own. One of those times I met with a former-colleague from Darwin called Thomas, who I used to work
with at a bakery I was often sent to by an employment agency. When I left Sydney, Ray, Mimi, and the kids came to the airport to say goodbye which was really, really nice (except for Giordan because he had to work). Yeah, I'm missing them for sure hahah!!
I didn't go back to Sunshine Coast as my mate Jacob was too busy with work and was planning a short trip to NZ.
Right now I'm in Bangkok, Thailand and without my passport. I had to leave it at an embassy in order to obtain a visa to visit this particular country. Visa's are a pain in the ass, OMG!!! They couldn't have made it more complicated, damn it! Anyway, more about that in the next blog!
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Saying good bye
It is great that you got to spend a nice amount of time with your friends but saying goodbye is always hard. It is amazing how you can click with some people and feel like you've known them forever. Our time in Tasmania was short but we loved it and hope to return. Some visas are tough. Good luck. Have fun and keep the blogs coming.