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Flight

In two days I'm going to get on a plane and fly back home.

I landed in Australia Sept. 7 of last year, and so have managed to miss the one year mark by a week. Not bad.

Opportunity

When I left to Australia I had three goals: 1) was to get to Australia, so really that one just did itself. 2) was to buy a camper van and live in it for a while, which I did four months ago when I decided to leave Darwin. 3) was to leave with more money that I came with.

Discovery

When I get home and pay off my credit card I will have exactly $37.50 Australian, $2.38 Canadian, 53 cents American, 20 cents New Zealand and 1000 Columbian Pesos.

Passion

Duty

Beauty

I'll probably spend the Australian dollars on Haribos in the airport anyway so basically I did not manage to complete my 3rd goal. Or did I.

Extacy

When I first came over to Australia, a naive boy with $10,000 in my bank account, I told myself I wanted to make more money than I came with, that had been my goal. But, after ups and downs, loves and heart breaks, friends and enemies, solitude and cramped hostels, tears and smiles, passions and hopeless ventures, I think it is safe to reword my goal.

Innocence

I didn't want to come back with more money, I wanted to come back richer.

I left Montreal a 19 year old English boy who'd spent half his life growing up in French Canada with no idea where he belonged or where his home was. Depressed and alone, surrounded by symbols of alienation of his own creation. Lost.

So I landed terrified. With nothing to be scared of. Judged by no one but myself.

But a trip across a nation has taught me many lessons that, funnily enough, lead back to old proverbs.

"Home is where the heart is"

A truth I never recognized until I flew half a world away from everyone I knew. 

Home is not a place, but I feeling. It's a warmth that steals the chill of loneliness and replaces it with the comfort of acceptance. Anywhere can be home.

I've spoken to many people on my travels. From the drunken hostel dweller to the small town Australian who sees no need to leave his island. I've heard countless prejudices, encountered incomprehensible personalities and done things I would never once have thought myself capable. 

Awe

And from that I've learned that everyone is insecure. Behind the facades of smooth talking assholes, made up party girls, chilled out junkies, elitist intellectuals, Old self made men and washed up dole workers, there is an inherent insecurity. And it is human. 

So, after realizing that, what can you do. Fight it, well that never worked before. Ignore it, nah that never helps. I've accepted it.

In Montreal, everyone seemed to know what they were doing and I never seemed a part of it. It made me feel homeless and unwanted. But no one knew what they were doing, they were all as lost as me. 

I left Montreal a poor 19 year old boy, lonely, with $10,000 dollars in the bank. I will return a 20 year old man, back to the smiles and love that had always been there, to the bright days and warm nights of family, to the laughter and excitement of friends and to the opportunity and good life I could never recognize. But most of all I will return home with $0 in my bank, the richest man I know.  

Revelation

My blog ends here. Thanks for reading

- James

Ilona the girl from France

Ilona

So I'll finally let everyone off the massive tension from my "fire dancing in a park" cliffhanger from last post and tell you what the eff happened.

I was fire dancing in a park in Cairns just to practice and this girl came up to me and was all like "Where can I get one of those," so I was all like "In my pants," (just kidding) I was actually like "Juggleart" and then we were instantaneously friends.

Her name is Ilona and she does fire dancing too although she juggles more. We decided that we should go on some adventures together so the next day we drove up to the butterfly sanctuary in Kuranda. It was cool and she was all like, "Someone from my old Helpx said this was the best butterfly sanctuary in the world," Little did I know at the time that this old Helpx was the bees knees (foreshadowing!)

Anyway we butterflied it up and here's some pics.

Butterfly!

Butterfly!

Butterfly!

Multiple Butterflies!

Butterfly Porn!

Butterfly!

Butterflies!

Wow, amazing. Then that night we totally went down to the beach and fire danced with two other girls I met on couchsurfing. Damn I'm such a playa.

Me and Ilona hung out for the next day and she told me about this place called Parrots in Paradise which is an exotic bird sanctuary just north of Brisbane. It sounds far out, or rad, or whatever word you want that means good.

I asked her to call and she did and they said they could take me on as long as I came in my van. So suddenly I had an awesome back up plan and place to go in a month.

I said bye to Ilona then went to pick up the German girls from before so we could go work on a herb farm. We got the job the weekend before and decided to drive down together. Up the mountain and over to Mareeba we went. It took all the vans power.

We got there and were quickly pushed off to the side to camp. I was all like WTF and so were they because the woman didn't even say hello. We talked to the backpackers and found out the pay was 35c and bunch of herbs. We were like okay doesn't sound good. Then the next morning we got up early and did 2 hours work, worked out our pay then realized this was not cool. At all. So we left.

This pictures going here damn you Blogger!

Wow fire!

Wow cool!

I ended up in Mareeba with the girls living at a free campsite, farm hoping and employment agency hoping everyday. Out of the blue we landed a gig at the Laura Rodeo doing the catering. It was cool to get a free ride to the rodeo and $240 for two days of work. But, it literally was two days of work minus sleep hours so really the play wasn't good. The girls decided to stick around for more and I decided to GTFO cause nothing was happening.

So, where should I go. Parrots in motherf**king paradise (sorry mum). So yeh, I drove three straight days alone down the East coast until I hit the Glasshouse mountains. I got some free feed from an Aussie and Kiwi and picked up a French hitchhiker who gave me some organic banana bread. :)

Then I got to Parrots in Paradise. Basically I've been here for about 3 weeks and it's awesome. I'm working with exotic birds like Ecleptus parrots and because they need a super media make over I'm doing a website, videos and the photography for the place. It's not for profit and is doing well to stay afloat.

I've linked my video underneath. Hope you guys get a good look at the place. Anyway, I'll write another blog post eventually. See ya.

- James

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR1jgctjGRE (I can't upload it for some reason)

Finally, the second half of the road

King's Canyon

After Kings Canyon, my road trip turned North towards Cairns. We began by trying to cut through an unsealed road that led to the West MacDonald ranges just north of Alice Springs, but a few minutes of intense rattling made me realize that there was no way the car would survive 100 km of it. So we turned around and took a fruit with us, which we later drew a face on and named Wilson.

I don't have a picture. It looks like a melon. Just imagine.

Anyway. we spent two days in Alice Spring where I bought two bush bags from the Salvation army for $15 which is a really good price for too full garbage bags of clothes. After my fashion show, we realized that half the stuff was XXXXXXXL size so I re donated it. Then we hit the road and headed up towards Cairns.

The road was probably less interesting going the other way, but Antonia drove once or twice and I got a good sleep. The next day we quickly arrived at Devil's Marbles.

The Marbles

Magnetic Island

According to the sign, Aboriginals believed that ghostly figures wandered Devil's Marbles beckoning to those alone among the rocks. Apparently if they asked you to follow you couldn't say no and would walk off with them never to be seen again. Naturally we all decided to go off in different directions exploring the rocks.

We moved on, and the road was desolate all the way to Townsville.

Now before we move on I just want to say, what kind of a name is Townsville for a town. They're not very creative these English settlers are they. It's like calling a road Streets road or a river Streams river. Thing is further North there is a town called Ingham. So in England there's Birmingham and Nottingham, but whoever came over on a ship couldn't thing of a prefix so called the town Ingham.

Anyway, we took Roads street to Townsville and then took Boats ferry to Magnetic Island with a tent and some supplies. Captain Cook thought the island was magnetic because when he sailed by his compass went haywire.

Sunset on the North side of Magnetic Island

I got a lot of good shots on the island, but then again it's hard to take a bad picture of a sunset. I think the best thing about the place was how small it was.

Jana on the Island

It was covered in the most beautiful beaches I've seen in Australia so far. Most people tell me that the West coast is the place to go for beautiful scenery but I haven't been there so I was still stunned.

There was a hostel on the island that hires people to work for free accommodation. It's an awesome place to hang out but I don't think I would have done it. Hostels are just full of people partying and getting drunk. That's fine if you want to do that but that's not why I came to Australia. Buying a van was the best choice I made.

We spent two days on the island before we headed back. Before we went, the car next to us had been broken into. Someone had thrown a brick though the window and I was hoping my van was still intact.  Luckily everything was fine and we all moved on and began our drive up the East Coast.

Sunset on the island

  After the island, we didn't really stop anywhere else. We went up into a mountain somewhere. There was a big swinging vine that everyone had a good time trying to get on and swing around. That was honestly the highlight of the drive. Then we arrived in Cairns: The city where everyone has so much to do and absolutely nothing gets done.

The Bug

I wasn't too happy to be back really, plus everyone parted ways and Antonia had to go home. So I was left alone in the van doing absolutely nothing for a little while. I needed to find a job, but only found a little bug. But that was when Antonia was still around. 

Three days alone and it started to get unbearable, then I decided to fire dance in a park. Then everything changed.

I'll continue later.

- James

From Darwin to the Centre

After 30 days of silence I've finally regained my voice and have a lot to tell everyone.

So, after purchasing a camper van in Darwin, I posted adds on Gumtree and to get people to come along. I ended up with two German passengers, Jana and Paola, when I finally hit the road.

Jana tenting

Paola eating 

The first few days were a little hard. I wasn't used to being alone and the two girls I was taking were hard to talk to. Conversations didn't come to easily and I felt a bit like a taxi driver. It didn't matter though, cause I distracted myself with all the places I was seeing.

Common road breakfast

We went through Litchfield national park and spent two days seeing waterfalls and all kinds of stuff. My favorite part was Edith falls. We camped there one night then got in the morning to swim in the falls. It was a beautiful place where you could climb to the top of the waterfall and look over the edge. I even found a spot where the water was flowing on either side of me.

other waterfall

Edith falls

Because of the water I didn't take my camera everywhere and honestly lugging it around was sometimes annoying. It was often better just to experience things then bring the camera
when it was entirely necessary. I'm going to invest in a tough all terrain camera in the future.

The road

Anyway, once we hit Katherine the road suddenly became far more desolate. Where we had once seen signs every half an hour or so for an historical site or a track to a natural beauty, now the road just stretched on for hours without so much as a WW2 historical site. The brown government signs were replaced by blue truck stop and free camp signs.

Free campsite

Somewhere before Alice

In Litchfield I was almost trampled by this pigs mum

Despite the desolation, there was always a spot on the side of the road made for free camping. There were often toilets and water and somewhere to sit

with a roof. Actually, when we pulled up to free camps we wondered if the population of the camp was more than most of the towns we were passing.

In the 1200 km between Katherine and Alice Springs I think we passed one or two bundles of houses that I would really describe as a town. The rest were like encampments with a permanent petrol station.

Also the gas prices rose sharply until we got to Alice. In Darwin we were paying 1.55 a litre. On the road it quickly hit 1.80. The cost seemed to make the girls stressed along the way. I had explained they would pay for gas and food because I provided the van, but I don't think any of us had anticipated the trip to cost so much.

The girls

Antonia and me

Anyway, Alice Springs finally sprung up among the mountains and with it the gas prices dropped. Not all the way though. We booked a hostel for one night and refilled our water bottles and containers. We stayed in a hostel and had a well deserved shower.

Before I'd left from Darwin, I'd put an ad on gumtree looking for people to come along with me. In the add I mentioned that I found voodoo dolls in the back and was a bit afraid. A few days later I was texted by someone telling me I didn't have to be afraid because I have to tell them my worries.

I'd thought nothing of the text, and texted back thank you. I asked why she'd looked at my add and if she wanted a ride, but the girl told me she was in New South Wales but wanted to see Uluru. We started talking and I found out her name was Antonia, and she was from Germany. Somehow after a marathon of messages Antonia asked if she could join us in the van. I told her to meet us in Alice Springs.

Antonia and me again

So the day after my shower and my shave I drove to the airport and went to meet her. I was excited and so I parked up in the parking lot of the airport. I waited first and told her where I was then, then I thought she wouldn't get the message and so I went in, then I thought maybe she left already so I went back to the car. I saw a girl walking towards the parking lot and then she turned around for some reason.

The flies!

She looked at me with that "Is that him?" look and I guess I must have given the same stare. I don't remember what she was wearing although I think she was wearing a her hat. I can't remember what we said, but I can remember her smile and the way she laughed. I'd known her words for so long, and heard her voice once when we called, but suddenly I had a face to match to it all. She was beautiful.

loved our eyes

Anyway we got in the car, I embarrassed myself by trying to leave and forgetting to pay the ticket. We went back into Alice Springs and picked up the girls. The trip suddenly seemed like it was going to be a lot better. I think from that point on I haven't disliked a minute of my time on the road.

We all set off for Uluru Jana and Paola confronted me about the money. They wanted me to pay for the gas too, but I said no. I said I had paid for the van so they could pay for the gas and stuff. I think and still think it was fair, but they didn't think so. This created a bitter air for the next little while. The girls would ignore me and I didn't really do anything to help the situation. They ate alone.

We got to Uluru and the everything remained the same. On the first night Antonia and I watched the stars for a while, which are far more clear than at home. We saw many shooting stars.

Uluru!

Uluru at sunset

Kata Tjuta

Uluru under cloud

We moved on the next day, arrived at Uluru and went into the national park. We bought our pass, something like 3 days for $25 and then went on many of the trails. The weather was really bad, I remember how cold the nights and the days were. I hadn't bought warm clothes thinking the temperature in the day would be 30 degrees plus. It must have averaged around 16.

So the sunset on the first day was covered by clouds and we drove out 30 km from the national park to sleep. That night there were many other backpackers in vans. Some had made a fire.

Uluru next to girls

Aboriginal wacking stick (not to be
confused with the digging stick
or music stick)

We visited Uluru again and this time walked all the way around. It's a really big rock. It took hours. It also rained. Which didn't seem that cool right away, but when it rains the big red rock turns white and this day a massive low altitude cloud covered the top. It was different to what I had expected to see. There were waterfalls everywhere.

Antonia looking over kings Canyon

Lost white people

Another night at the campsite then we saw Kata Tjuta. We got up pretty late and had breakfast. Antonia talked to me about the girls and how they weren't enjoying the trip. I said if they don't talk to me and just be passive aggressive I can't do anything about it. We talked about it, then I decided to do something.

I don't know why I did, because I still think I was totally in the right to have them pay for gas when I provided a van and drove them everywhere. But, I decided that it wasn't money I wanted right now at this point in my life. Paola and Jana were nice girls and if they couldn't see passed the money and neither could I, then the whole trip would be bitter. So, I decided that from that point on we would split the gas until we got to Cairns.

Wanderers of Kings Canyon

I pulled them aside and talked to them about everything. At first I was reluctant, before Kata Tjuta I explained my point of view. We talked and got everything off our chest. It was after we left and drove to Kings Canyon that I decided to split the cost. This seemed to solve every problem. Suddenly the trip was much happier and the girls and I were on our way to being friends.

Hiking

We drove through to Kings Canyon. It was massive and the walk took us over a massive gorge. It was cold again, but we just dealt with it. There was a place in the canyon called the Garden of Eden where Antonia decided to swim like Adam and Eve. It was cold, and we had no towels. I think I was shaking the rest of the walk.

We got some good shots then stayed at the resort near the site. It was expensive but we didn't have a choice. We filled up with gas there. It was 2.30 per litre.

The stairs from the Garden of Eden
(I have a panaramic of the garden)

The next step was to get to Alice Springs again. There was one way, a 100 km unpaved track that would take us through the MacDonald ranges. We tried it but after 200 meters we turned back. The van would have fallen apart. Our effort wasn't in vain however. There are melon like fruits on the side of the road and so Paola jumped out and cut one off. He has been adopted to the family. His name is Wilson.

Kings Canyon

White people still lost

We had to turn back and go on a 500 km detour to get back to Alice Springs. Things were happier on the way back. We stopped at a campsite one night and I made a fire. I had to drag a massive bundle of wood out of the bush but I made it. The fire attracted some other campers, an older Taiwanese woman and an Aussie man. He told us he was a Buddist and talked to us for a bit then came over with a bottle of wine. He said someone had done a good deed for him that day and so he was doing a good deed for us. Good man. We used him as a character in famous heads on the remaining drive.

Wood gathering

The road back to Alice wasn't filled with much. Just more desert and roadkill. But that was only half the journey. We still needed to get to Cairns.

I'll tell the rest later.

Took ages

 -James