I have a feeling I’ll be reminding myself throughout this trip that it’s “all about the journey”. Nothing like a failed, long awaited, sailing trip to remind you of that. We did, eventually, set sail to the Kimberley’s. Before the ranting begins I should mention, I do not regret waiting for this boat trip, I’m just bummed it wasn’t the kind of adventure I was seeking.
I’m sure I’ll never make it back to the Kimberly’s again. It’s beautiful but incredibly remote. I can say I’ve sailed down the west coast of Australia, visited Berkley and King George’s River. We trudged through the Bush, saw not one, but two elusive salties ( that’s salt water crocodiles in Australian), and stumbled upon 20,000+ year old Aboriginal cave paintings. It goes with out saying this was an experience like no other. But what’s an adventure with out some rocky waters?
The unfortunate part was that our captain began a new relationship shortly before we set sail. Eli and I found ourselves on what felt like, some one else’s honeymoon. When there’s 5 people sharing a very small space, you don’t need the boat to be rocking during dinner time (if you catch my drift). Don’t get me wrong, if someone wants to pay me to be a personal chef on their private boat for their honey moon.. sure, kinda weird, but sure. But I was working for free, on what I thought would be a very active journey. There was no escape. Swimming off the boat was entirely impossible due do the aggressive animals lurking in the merky blue waters, and our captain was preoccupied with the new love he’s found. There was one outing a day off the boat. Bushwalking to the top of the waterfalls, where hopefully we could find some croc free fresh water to swim in. Peter & Co would run off. Our fearless leader had no intention of leading or creating any type of group dynamic. It was a bummer. Thankfully, the three people left on the boat ( Eli, Gonzo and I ) who were not involved in a hot and heavy relationship, got along great. We mutually felt that what was supposed to be a six week adventure was not going to happen. We had to get out of there.
Flash forward to a four seater sea plane picking us up, Uber style in the middle of a gorge. We set the plan to leave in motion, thanks to one Satellite phone, the only possible way you’re getting service in west bumfuck, where we were located. We couldn’t wait to get out of there. I don’t want to seem ungrateful, because I am not. It was an incredible opportunity, and one that many people will not experience in their lifetime. We were spoiled, having entire gorges and waterfalls to ourselves. The entire time we saw two other boats. This, was the Outback.
Workaway hasn’t been ruined for me. There will be hosts who actually like me, willing to provide positive experiences for a little bit of elbow grease. But this sailing trip challenged parts of me that are hard to suppress. I bit my tongue and kept on with my duties even when I felt I was at my wits end. At the end of the day, I was on a free sailing trip. Some things aren’t worth the battle.
I’m understanding why people love to plan out their holidays. I’ve got so many ideas and you’d think a year would be a sufficient amount of time to complete at least, some of them. I guess, I’m having the best type of problems. I’m wondering what’s ahead as I’m traveling on a Greyhound bus back to…… DARWIN!!
Never thought I’d be excited to head back to this place but it will be the most civilization I’ve seen in a few weeks. The sea plane dropped us off in a poe-dunk town called Kununara. Darwin is a ten hour trip away and the closest city from there. Eli and I have made plans to fly to Bali at the end of the week. We both thought we’d be sailing for another four weeks, without spending money so we thought, why not go somewhere cheaper than Australia? Sigh.. Bali it is.
Stay Tuned.
LET ME LIVE YOUR LIFE!