At this point I’m about 1/3 of the way through with my working visa. Time flies. I had no real plans after touching down and while I can’t claim things have gone seamlessly with this strategy, I still like to believe everything happens for a reason. I’ve gotten somewhat stuck in Darwin again, this time for work. But after losing my phone and breaking my computer, I really didn’t think the best decision for me was to head into the unknown with very little money and zero technology. So, I hit up a friend I’d made before that failed sailing trip and begged for a job, hopped a plane from the east coast and made it back to Darwin ( Thanks Lee) . I honestly don’t know how well things would have gone if I didn’t also meet someone in Bali willing to let me stay in his apartment for free while he was on holiday ( Thanks Nigel) . And now, I’m situated in a 5 bedroom house, a stones throw away from work and headed off on an epic road trip with two people I’m excited to adventure with.
I guess what I’m getting at is that, Darwin isn’t so bad. I hated it at first, hated waiting around for a sailing trip, hated the fact that I got on board with a narcissist and had to hire a seaplane to take me back to Darwin. I’ve been spending the last four months back and fourth from a place I wasn’t too keen about to begin with. But, as life will have it, I think I found some things I needed along the way. Now I’m actually glad I’ve spent so much time in the Outback. I’ve made great friends and I’ve been to places that a lot of backpackers don’t get to. I’ve met people who were willing to give me a job, use their house rent free, two who want to split a car and road trip the east coast together and, one who wanted to travel to Bali. More than once in these last four months I’ve felt down trodden and over budget. But I’m not done yet. I figure this was a good time to remind myself, and whoever reads this, what I’ve been up to. Because while I feel like I’ve “just” been back and fourth to Darwin, I’ve still squeezed in some good exploring.
So, the adventure started in June. What I thought would be an easy flight path turned into yelling at LAX employees and a free night in a California airport hotel. When I finally made it to Sydney, I messed up my hostel booking and needed to immediately find a place to stay. Once I did, I did the whole making hostel friends thing, visited cafes and saw all the classic Sydney landmarks I’d had in mind. While I was in Sydney was also when I got in touch with Peter, the captain of the catamaran I eventually boarded and Kevin, the farmer of the farm I’d eventually make my way to sans cellphone.
After getting in touch with Peter, I found a cheap flight to Darwin and within a few days my Northern Territory adventure had begun. It was probably a little under three weeks I spent in Darwin before getting on the boat. It felt like much longer though. I met Melissa and a few others, we pissed away too much money trying to find things to do. When I finally got the call the boat was back in Darwin. I met Ellie, and we found out that the boat was broken and we would not be sailing immediately but staying anchored, in Darwin for another week while the captain’s daughters were on board. So Ellie and I pissed away too much money in Darwin, trying to find wifi and things to do. At this point I was living on a boat in front of the sailing club that I’m now employed at.
When the girls left and the sail was fixed, we finally set sail to the Kimberley’s. We bought heaps of snacks and supplies, thinking that we would be on the boat for the better part of two months. It was a two day sail to the first river of the Kimberleys, Berkley River. The captain had not grown on me and his girlfriend never wore any clothes. I think it was day 5 I finally said out loud to Ellie that I wished I never got on board. Maybe it was day 6 she mirrored the same thoughts back to me. We hoped it would get better. But Ellie and I would go to our bedroom after dinner every night and whisper and gossip about each days antics. Long story short, we started to plot our escape. When it was all said and done, Peter thought it was his idea and we weren’t going to be trapped on a boat for much longer. We sailed to King George’s River and watched as our rescue seaplane landed next to the boat. That plane ride was probably the best part of the sailing trip… leaving. Oh and, we saw two crocodiles. But back to Darwin it was.
After the five hundred dollar unexpected expense in the seaplane, Ellie and I mutually agreed that we wanted to go somewhere where we could stretch our pennies. So, Bali it was. We caught the first plane out of Darwin to Bali. I’ll skip the story about how we had to pay $160 AUD each to check our baggage, this blog can’t just be about me losing money, after all.
Bali was magic. I almost don’t have the words. It was the first time I actually felt good about the travel decisions I had made. We saw everything we could in the three weeks+ we were there. I spent a week learning to SCUBA dive in the exact area of the volcano that is right now, waiting to erupt. I’m thankful that I’m not there during the crisis, but worried about this place that I’ve fallen in love with. So yeah, I may have rode a motor bike off a ledge, and I may have thought I broke a rib while surfing, I MAY HAVE broke my computer and lost my phone but I would go back and repeat everything in Bali again. I met incredible people. My eyes were open and my heart was full. I’m praying for the safety of the Balinese people during this time.
If you’ve been reading recent posts..you know about the turmoil I caused myself when I left Bali, but not about the farm. I landed in Newcastle airport and waited for the CountryLink bus to get there. I was told that I could just ask the bus driver to take me to “Kevin’s Farm” and he would know the way. To my surprise, that’s exactly what happened. Considering the journey I’d had to get there, I was incredibly relieved when I finally met Kevin, my host, and his son Jo. I was eager to experience life on this 2,000 hectare cattle farm. The first morning I hopped on the back of Kevin’s motor bike and we drove around herding cattle. I think when I look back I’ll cherish the time I spent on this farm. It takes a little bit of time to get used to the pace of the country but it’s such a different way of life than I’ve ever experienced. Kevin and I got along really well. He was part farmer, part geode collector, expert mechanic, expert carpenter, amateur legal expert and a man who raised three kids on his own. His friends who stopped by were characters, to say the least. On the farm, I learned how to cook steak and how to drive a stick shift (while maneuvering around massive piles of cow dung). On my last day, I had the pleasure of herding a bull all by myself. Kevin let me take home a cow skull, which I carried right onto the plane to took back to (you guessed it) Darwin. Right now, I’m preparing to send that baby home to America. I’m going to have this cow skull for the rest of my life and I’ll always be able to look back at my time on Kevin’s Farm and in Australia. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take the wallaby skull we found. I’d need some fancy permits to ship it to America. Bummer…
That brings me to where I am now. Gainfully employed at the Darwin Sailing Club and saving every penny I make for the road trip I’m starting in about a week. Ellie sent me my iPhone from Malaysia. Finger’s crossed that it passes customs and gets back to me, never to be left behind again. I’ve been spoiled since I got back to Darwin for the third time. I have a job, spent a month with basically my own apartment and now I’m in a house with amazing people. Occasionally we have parties with strobe lights and saxophones. I’ve had the best spaghetti carbonara of my life and eaten kangaroo. So while, I thought Darwin was exactly what I didn’t want out of my time in Australia, it turns out that I was just what I needed. Go figure. Thanks Darwin. I’m still buzzing to get the hell out of here but it’s been real. It’s off to the East Coast for God only knows what kind of debauchery ahead.