I loved wandering through Darling Harbour or taking the ferry to Manly Beach in Sydney, exploring the great cafés and night spots in Melbourne, and hitting some of the fantastic museums in Canberra.

In the Northern Territory, I got a taste of what I’ve always imagined to be ‘real’ Australia (not that the cities are any less real) in the Outback. I walked around Ayers Rock and ran under its waterfalls after the rain, trekked through the Valley of the Winds in Kata Tjuta, and hiked around the rim of Kings Canyon. I drove past herds of wild camels, slowly backed away from a Western Brown Snake (one of the deadliest in the world), and evicted various lethal spiders that had found their way indoors.

On the coast, I got to see some music legends at the Byron Bay Bluesfest before heading up to the Whitsundays for a spot of sailing among these beautiful islands. I walked across pure white sand on Whitehaven Beach, and went snorkeling around the most amazing reef I’ve ever seen. The Great Barrier Reef isn’t world famous for nothing after all.

And finally I got to explore the famous Fraser Island – the largest sand island in the world, with its stunning freshwater lakes and abundant dingo population.

My list of Australian memories could go on, but the list of things I still want to see is even longer. It is almost impossible to really convey how fantastically huge and diverse this country is. I’m glad I got to see what I did, and I can’t wait for my chance to see more. The plane ride has never been more worthwhile.

I met up with the Fraser Island group (the ones that got stuck sorting out the 4×4s and doing the grocery shopping) and hopped into the back of our truck to head to the largest sand island in the world.

After navigating the bumpy (huge understatement) trails, and getting just a tiny bit lost, we found Lake Wabbe. Actually, we found a trail and a towering sand hill that promised to have a lake on the other side. I wasn’t so convinced. But we’d come all that way, so we started to trek up the sand. The steep, slippery, hot sand. When we finally made it to the top, it was totally worth the sweat. The view was fantastic, and luckily there was indeed a lake. Good thing because getting hot and sweaty after a shower free few days is not so nice… A family that had beat us there had boogie boards and the kids were surfing down the sand hill into the lake which made us all incredibly jealous. But we still all barrelled down and collapsed into the cool water. Definitely worth taking a boogie board if you’re going though.

By the way – don’t touch the catfish. They’ll swim around you and act all friendly, but according to our Australian friend, they were armed with poisonous barbs. No thanks. According to the same man, Lake Wabby also has crocodiles. Apparently they’re only baby crocodiles, but then my question is, where the mama? Just sayin…

Every day in Fraser Island was spent speeding down endless white beaches, finding fresh water lakes, champagne pools and breathtaking lookouts, then firing up the barbeques and camping out in dingo-safe circles. The dingoes still got in, but they didn’t cause us any trouble. No babies being eaten here. We saw rays, dolphins, dingos, and the most postcard perfect places I’ve seen in awhile. An island paradise if there ever was one.

Even though I left Fraser with a slightly bruised bum, camping on this stunning island was the best thing I could have done for my last few days in Australia. After this it was on to Sydney for one night before heading back to London town. Oh yea, and I showered once back on the mainland again. Best. Shower. Ever. Although my five days shower free were pretty unforgettable.

After that, me and all the other backpackers were split into groups to go into the 4×4s. Then we were told about our chores for the morning. Go to the garage. Pick up the 4×4s. Inspect them. Pack the camping gear. Go to the supermarket and plan our meals. Fun. Times… Or…….

After we got our safety lesson, a man came in and gave us another option. I was way too tired to know what was going on and getting out of the morning chores sounded good so I raised my hand…and volunteered to jump out of a plane. Ummm what?

I’d always wanted to go skydiving, but it’s an expensive adventure and I never felt like I could justify the cost. But on this particular morning, I had less than a week left in Australia, and no time to lose. So there I was sitting there with my hand up taking one of four spots to get into a plane and fly over one of the most beautiful scenes

I didn’t really have any time to think about any fears I might have, which is probably best anyway. I got into the tiniest tin can of a plane with my instructor and one other jumping couple. Then before I knew it, a door was opened, a massive gush of wind hit my face, and two people were falling out of the plane.

A voice in my ear was saying “right, okay, left leg over, right leg over, cross your arms, let’s go!” Thank GOODNESS I had no time to pause (the man tightly strapped to my back wasn’t exactly going to stop moving no matter what I did) otherwise who knows what would have happened. But what did happen. Was amazing.

That first second of panic quickly passed on to sheer joy and excitement. It was unreal, and hard to describe, but now I can say that I jumped out of a plane, AND I got to skip the morning chores. Success.

Next, it was off to Fraser Island for three days of camping and swimming in rivers. I was starting to get used to this whole not showering thing,..

Let me explain. In those less-than-clean days, I went sailing on a professional racing yacht, traveled hundreds of miles on an overnight bus, jumped out of a plane, and slept on an island covered in dingos. Not much time for showering.

After landing at Proserpine Airport, I grabbed my bags and boarded the bus to Magnums Backpackers. On the way, for the one and only time while I was in Australia, I passed a group of wild kangaroos! It was early and I was tired, but wild kangaroos in Australia, it would seem, are harder to come by than you’d first expect so I was pretty happy. During my one night at Magnums I took what I already knew would be my last shower for days. I did my best to appreciate every drop of soap, promise.

The next morning started Day One of what we’ll call the Back to Nature Period. It began on a boat. A 75 foot Maxi boat to be precise, called Hammer, that competed in a lot of huge racing events including the famous Sydney to Hobart races. I packed on board with a group of like-minded backpackers ready to finally see part of the Great Barrier Reef in the Whitsundays.

Unfortunately it didn’t start off exactly as planned since the first day was spent cowering in the pouring rain cutting through the waves. Luckily the sky cleared up enough for us to check out Whitsunday Island though, and its amazing beach. The sand here is pristine. Apparently, it’s so pure (98% silica) it was used to make the lenses for the Hubble Space Telescope. Other than that use, it’s illegal to take the sand away from the beach as the whole area is protected. Pretty neat, huh? Oh yea, and I went swimming in the ocean, naturally, as my shower-substitute for the day.

Then it was more cold and more rain, but as backpackers do, we kept in good spirits. The good thing about rain is it makes for great sunsets. Our skipper hung a canopy over the boom to create a shelter and a group of us slept on deck since 20+ people cramped into a very small indoor space makes for one hot, uncomfortable night.

Day Two, it was time to don the snorkels and flippers (and all-in-one stinger suits) and check out why this Barrier Reef is such a big deal. It’s true that I wasn’t at the outer reef, but this place is pretty fantastic. I’ve never seen such huge coral formations, full of colour and ENORMOUS fish and clams! It was truly breathtaking. After stopping at a couple of different spots around the islands and swimming around as much as possible since, of course, this was my ’shower’ for the day, we raced another boat into harbour. And won. Oh yeah.

The Whitsundays were stunning, it was the perfect start to my Back to Nature days.

Next it was on to the overnight bus (after a bit of a deodorant application) and on to Hervey Bay where my morning plans were scuppered by a persuasive man with a parachute on his back…

My friend Gareth and I rented a car, and after a delayed start, found the road to Kings. Okay, it is the only road out of Yulara, so I guess it wasn’t that hard.

In two months living in the desert, I never got sick of it. It takes your breath away every time you get a real chance to see it – to see how truly vast this place is. Our first stop was Gareth suddenly pulling over on to the shoulder to see the herd of wild camels that were loitering by the side of the road. I always expected to see kangaroos around here and there are a few, but mostly we get camels by the dozen. They eventually ran off after I tried getting a little too close.

We eventually arrived and headed to the pub. Kings is a much smaller community than Yulara  and we quickly identified the staff table. Gareth found a friend who had transferred from the Rock to here, so after enjoying a few we headed off to bed a bit later than intended as we wanted an early start for our hike around the canyon.

We had good intentions, but nothing ever happens as planned, especially when it’s early in the morning, so we headed off around midday. We stopped by reception to get a map and guide, and all the staff insisted that we were starting too late; the sun was at its height by now of course and the climb was going to be too hard in the heat. Thing is, we were leaving the next day and gambling on the fact that we were going to be able to get up early again would have been pretty stupid considering our failure that day.

After thinking about it, we decided to go for it anyway and just load up on water. The hardest part about the Kings Canyon climb is the very beginning. Before you get anywhere, the first thing you have to do is get up to the top, since the walk starts in the valley. No easy staircase here – this was Heartbreak Hill. After being appalled at my own fitness level, we made it to the top eventually. The walk around the rim is stunning. Simply stunning. Unlike the Rock, Kings isn’t a sacred site for the Aboriginal tribes around here, so there’s no controversy connected with walking around. Climbing around the edge, and sitting on a ledge hundreds of feet above the ground – unreal. If I’m honest, while I love the Rock, the scenery you get on the Kings rim walk is far superior – it is NOT worth missing if you head to the middle. We checked out the domes, created naturally over years by erosion, and sat by the water in the Garden of Eden. I can’t emphasize enough how fantastic the hike was; we were definitely pleased to have decided to go for it. Especially the next morning…

We woke up the next day to rain. It rarely rains in the Outback (it is a desert…) but when it does, it really does. It poured. I was the lucky driver, so I had to navigate roads that were completely flooded since the ground here hardly absorbs anything. A small comfort was the fact that even if I hydro-planed off the road, there wasn’t exactly much in the way for me to hit. I didn’t though. I did have to drive off road around a herd of cows that didn’t feel like moving however.

We stopped at Curtin Springs on the way there and back – a huge cattle station with a tiny pub and guesthouse that owns another fantastic wonder – Mount Connor. The Rock has become famous because of its historical significance to the Aboriginal people, but the fact is that just about everything else around here is far more impressive, visually. The Olgas, Kings Canyon and Mount Connor are all a lot more fantastic. Sorry to disappoint if you all thought that Ayers Rock was the greatest thing around these parts. Not the case. Kings Canyon flooded that day and closed down.

Later on in the day, Kat, Danny and I went to meet Tribali which was great. We also met Nick Kickstand who gave me his CD after he jammed out on his bongos with the band.

After the energy of Tribali, we couldn’t help ourselves, so we headed back to the Narasito Pan Pipers yet again and jumped around to the pan-piping/blues singing bunch.

At night, we camped ourselves at main stage, seeing Blue King Brown, Fat Freddys Drop and Crowded House to round off the night. Blue King Brown sang their heart out – they were a band to make Bob Marley proud. A soul, a purpose, a message, and definitely some music you could sway and nod your head to. You know the kind.

After them it was Fat Freddys Drop. I hadn’t heard of them before, I have to admit, but Kat had assured me I’d love them. She was right. The highlight was probably the trombonist who came out looking FINE in an all white suit and an energy he seemed to have a lot of trouble controlling. In fact, he had a lot of trouble controlling the suit too… he ended up in a vest top and boxer shorts by the end, but to say he enjoyed himself would be an understatement. His enthusiasm definitely rubbed off. I’ll thank Kat for that one.

Finally was Crowded House. Ahh my last act. Another one I wasn’t too familiar with – they’re homegrown Australian. Although I did recognise “Four Seasons in One Day” and “Fall At Your Feet.”  My old boss from Longitude, Tapa, had recommended them so I thought I had to check them out. They were a great band, definitely of a different generation I have to admit, but I was just enjoying the time with my friends at my last day here before heading off for more East Coast fun. And I enjoyed it just as I wanted to.

So that was it, the Byron Bay Bluesfest was over for me. An epic four days in one of my favourite Australian towns. Even if I didn’t spend much time IN the town…small detail.

I was pretty excited about my interview – Bela Fleck is arguably one of the best banjo players in the world, and had recently done a tour around various parts of Africa, studying the banjos origins and playing with local orchestras and village kids as he traveled. I saw Bela Fleck live back in Maryland when I was about 15, so I was really excited about the prospect of getting to meet him in person. I know he isn’t the most high profile musician of the week – but any interview was great for me, and this was a blast back to my high school days, plus I couldn’t wait to talk about his travels in Africa.

I was duly escorted backstage and shown to a table to wait patiently for the man to arrive. Delay after delay after delay later, it started to become pretty clear that it wasn’t happening. Mr. Fleck was running late and ran out of time before he had to get on stage. It was disappointing to have been missing so much good music in the meantime, but the silver lining was Poor Man’s Whiskey did a little improv jam session backstage after one of their interviews. So at least I got to see a little music, and hey, can’t complain about a more or less private backstage show, right?

After that, I finally made my way back into the festivals and located my friends again. I had time to briefly check out a bit of Bela’s set before we headed to the Mojo Stage to stake out our spots for the night. First one was the Buena Vista Social Club – a great latin orchestra that makes you wish you knew how to salsa. The problem I had with them was, that while they are GREAT musicians, and their music is top quality, it isn’t the type of music I particularly enjoy listening to for a full hour. They sing in Spanish, eliminating any chance of singing along, and maybe it’s my ignorance, but I simply cannot enjoy that chilled Latin beat for more than a few songs before I want something a little different.

Obviously this is a personal taste – and there were plenty of people in the crowd that would have vehemently disagreed with me. Unfortunately for us, everyone in front of us was there for the same reasons we were – to get as close as possible to the stage before the headliner. Jack Johnson. Yes, I know, I know, I’ve already seen him play once this week, but how can you say no to seeing him twice?? He was just as great the second time around too.

I was definitely getting used to festival life.

Martinez Trio

Chilean band, the Martinez Trio are a father and sons group led by Victor Martinez. I have to say I didn’t know that when I saw them performing on the Apra Stage at Bluesfest, but it makes a lot of sense. It was clear that they were purely loving their time together on stage, completely wrapped up in their music.

The three men seemed to be improvising the entire performance, although I can’t believe this was anything but a well rehearsed show. I’m not a musician, but even I understand that for three individuals to play together so seamlessly at the sheer pace that these guys were playing at is damn well difficult. Their hands blurred across the guitar strings as they played separately, then two at a time, and finally together. And apparently a guitar isn’t just a guitar… it’s the percussion too. Who knew… With ‘nothing’ but three guitars, close your eyes and you could have a full band in front of you. This was a family purely loving their time on stage together.

Joe Bonamassa

I’ve already alluded to this, but while the Bluesfest was brimming with jaw-dropping talented musicians, the actual ‘blues’ musicians seem to be the minority. but Joe Bonamassa is certainly one of them. This really seemed to be what a modern blues and rock band should be, with real ‘blues-y’ lyrics (about losing things mostly…) fantastic guitar solos and a man who has clearly spent a lifetime loving and mastering his talent. It’s great to see someone of such renown and experience still putting everything into each and every performance.

At times, Joe’s hands were up in the air, eyes closed, totally focused on belting out his songs. Perfect Bluesfest band. Plus he was pretty grateful to be there since apparently it was his first time in Australia. “Anyone who knows my name in this country is a miracle, so thank you” he said.

The Avett Brothers

The Avett Bros were yet another band I didn’t know about, but they were one of my favourite performances of the week. A total mix of bluegrass, country, rock, pop and a lot more, this was sheer rowdy, infectiously crazy music. The brothers (Scott and Seth) plus standup bass player Bob Crawford along with the rest of their band have an electric stage presence. This was their first ever weekend in Australia and I’m certainly happy they came. Their most popular song and their big single is ‘I and Love and You’ but there was plenty to love.

Imelda May

I briefly stopped by the Jambalaya Stage to see a few minutes of Imelda May – an Irish woman with a rich soul voice that probably belongs in a different era, but sounded damn good in this one. She rocked out in her stylish tight black and white outfit, while her guitarist enjoyed the show in a rather loud Hawaiian shirt. But hey, the clothes don’t make the music. Thank goodness.

Jeff Beck

I left Imelda May’s stage early because I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to see at least a few minutes of Jeff Beck live. You couldn’t help but feel a bit humbled and in awe listening to this guy. He has influenced and inspired some of the most famous musicians of the last five decades. Now I get to say I watched him play, including all the greats. Even a rendition of ‘Over the Rainbow.’

John Butler Trio

This was the big event of night. Australia’s most successful independent musician, John Butler Trio was the local hero of the day. His set was great and he definitely knew how to get the audience moving. Personally, I loved the improv (sort of) drum session. I knew this was one of the ‘tricks’ of their show, but it was still fantastic. As was John Butler’s acoustic solo songs – just him, his hat and his guitar in a spotlight.

If you still chose to stay in Byron Bay (and who can blame you) then you had to be prepared to open up your wallet. Hostels were almost doubling their prices, as were all the campgrounds in town and anywhere along the road towards Tyagarah. I decided to take the hit myself and stay at Main Beach Backpackers, which cost me $35/night for a dorm bed. I couldn’t say no to staying 20 metres away from Byron’s gorgeous beaches, although spending my days at the festival meant not a lot of time for sand and surf. Oh well.

After reuniting with some fellow Poms, Day One of Bluesfest began with a 20 minute bus trip on the $4 Bluesfest Shuttle. I could go on about how if they’re going to take the Bluesfest out of its hometown, shouldn’t they at least help people get there for free to compensate, but I won’t…

After I arrived, picked up my media pass and found my way to the press tent, I finally had time to properly peruse the schedule to figure out who I would actually have time to see. Always a problem at festivals – multiple stages mean overlapping performances; picking and choosing can be a painful process.

This year’s fest was centred around celebrating great guitar music from legends like Jeff Beck to eclectic world music bands like Tribali. There were enough musical geniuses around to blow anyone’s socks off.

The day had a good start with artists from the Brushfire Records label – Zee Avi, Neil Halstead and Matt Costa. From there I got to rock out with Jen Cloher and the Endless Sea, jump around like a maniac with the Narasito Pan Pipers, stare in awe at Daniel Champagne, salsa to the Buena Vista Social Club and sing along to all my favourites by Jack Johnson. More thoughts on that in my Day One post.

What a great way to kick off the Easter holidays.

Zee Avi was the first performer on stage at the Byron Bay Bluesfest. Quite an honour. The petite Malaysian/American girl pulled the strap over her shoulder for a guitar that just about matched her in size. After playing Poppy, and a cover of Interpol’s Slow Hands Avi played her “only love song” Honeybee. She explained that the lyrics were about two non-conformists finding love. After a couple more tunes, she switched to an instrument much more her size – a ukulele. Zee Avi was a gentle, happy beginning to the five-day music celebration.

Neil Halstead

Neil Halstead added a drum beat to what had been Avi’s guitar only set. He rocked up to centre stage, thick bushy beard, fisherman’s hat, checkered shirt like he had just hopped off his fishing boat. Just like Zee Avi, and a lot of the Brushfire Records artists, his tunes are laid-back melodies that are easy to listen to without too much effort. Just smile, sway a little and maybe bop your head to the beat. Easy.

Matt Costa

The third and final act from the Brushfire Records was Matt Costa. Just like his two predecessors, Costa was just another musician (okay, a really good musician…) looking to have a good time and share his music with a largely new audience. They played songs shouted out from the crowd, they told stories about their lives – like moving and getting random strangers knocking on their doors selling Bibles, and they drank beers on stage.

Jen Cloher and the Endless Sea

After a little wandering around, I found myself standing in front of the stage for Jen Cloher’s band. A big difference from the Brushfire beginning where jumping around on stage would definitely not have seemed logical. Not so in Cloher’s case who spent her set jumping around jamming with her bandmates for song after song. In keeping with the trend, Cloher listened to her audience and seemed to truly appreciate her existing fans showing up to the festival. She played Better Off Dancing requested from a man in the crowd called Sam (also the name of the drummer’s dog, but Cloher insisted that the dog was really cute so the connection shouldn’t be taken the wrong way).

Narasito Pan Pipers

I left Jen Cloher’s tent and went exploring again. I eventually found myself in the First Nation tent and I’m so happy I did. The Narasito Pan Pipers –farmers and fishermen from the Solomon Islands. They combine their traditional music and dance with contemporary styles to create some of the most fun, can’t-help-but-dance-and-feel-good music I heard at the festival. In fact, I saw these guys twice during my days in Byron Bay. The energy and fun that came from their performances was irresistible. Near the end of their set, they explained that since they were at a Bluesfest, they wanted to play a blues song. Sounds logical. Except that they’re pan pipers from the Solomon Islands. So what do they do? Invite Jeremy – a tall, blonde haired man on stage to help them out. Okay, it wasn’t as random as that, Jeremy has worked with these guys in their village and afterwards. He brought his guitar and played a true blues song with the band. Probably something about his dog, but I can’t quite remember.

Daniel Champagne

Daniel Champagne was one of the Bluesfest lineup that is already well on his way to becoming a true guitar legend. I’m not a guitar player myself, but everyone, myself included, stood in awe in front of the Apra stage as his fingers moved across the guitar strings with unbelievable speed. During Pendulum, an instrumental song, Champagne’s face was clenched and his tongue was out with the effort. I wouldn’t have looked twice if the guitar had started smoking. Not kidding.

Jack Johnson

After Daniel Champagne, I had time to check out a little of the Buena Vista Social Club although I didn’t stick around because I knew I’d be seeing them later in the weekend. Then it was time to stake out my piece of grass at the Mojo Stage for the headlining act, Jack Johnson. What can I say? It’s Jack Johnson. He played all the crowd favourites, I sang along to every one, I got pushed and shoved, I was offered drugs. Everything I expected from the big act at the end of the night. I love live music, and I particularly love seeing the smaller lesser known acts. There’s that sense of intimacy and exclusivity that you don’t get anymore with a guy like Johnson. But you know, with all that, the night definitely ended in a high. Sometimes it’s nice to see a band play and sing along to all the songs with thousands of other people at the same time. A sense of collective appreciation.

Welcome to the Bluesfest.

Yesterday was the first day of the festival so I spent the afternoon/evening trudging around in the muddy fields flitting from tent to tent to check out some of the amazing music that is taking place here this week.

The selection is amazingly varied; I’m actually curious to find out what the criteria for performing here is, since there are plenty of bands that certainly do not fall under the category of ‘blues.’

From solo guitarists to folk bands, traditional pan pipers to Cuban 10 piece bands there’s something for just about everyone here.

Keep checking back for more details of how I spend my days. But for now, I’ve got a bus to catch for Day 2!

The sunrises and sunsets are almost always stunning. My camera’s memory is full of photo upon photo of the sun coming up and going down, but it still doesn’t get old. When the horizon seems to go on forever and your line of sight includes Australia’s most amazing natural wonders, it’s easy to see why. Even in between the morning and evening this place is hard to take for granted (even though I probably do, especially when I’m up at 4:30am for an early work shift and wishing I could be doing anything else…until the sun rises of course and I remember why I love this place).

During the day, if it’s sunny, the sky is a blue that you just don’t get in the big cities. Even on a rainy day, the Rock is covered in silver waterfalls barreling down every crevice. And at night: I have never seen so many stars. Apparently when you’re not surrounded by pollution you can actually see the Milky Way, plus whole other galaxies that look like clouds in the sky. For our guests at Longy, our guides do a ‘star talk’ and show them the Southern Hemisphere’s constellations, so thanks to them I know where the Southern Cross is and have seen all the zodiac signs that are currently in the sky – things I had never seen before.

Then there’s the wildlife. First there are the flies. Step outside and it’s like your face is covered in honey. They seem to fly straight for my eyes, nose, ears and mouth. I try not to think about how many I’ve swallowed. The extra protein in my diet isn’t worth the unpleasant feeling of an insect hitting the back of my throat. Trust me. Even the ants around here aren’t normal – here you get Inch Ants. No prizes for guessing why they got their name. On top of that are the endless grasshoppers, giant centipedes, and the oh-so-aromatic Stink Bug. There are plenty of things out here that eat all the little critters, but I’m not sure that’s any better since half of them can take down a human any day they feel like it too. Why a bug that only needs to kill tiny flies and ants has enough venom to take down any man is beyond me. Maybe the most literal sense of overkill ever…

First there are the snakes. So far I’ve come across a Western Brown Snake (NOT a snake you want to annoy) and what was apparently a Whip Snake jumping across my path. And I thought snakes only slithered…  The emergency call list in the office includes the numbers for the local fire department, medic centre, police, and snake catcher.

Then my favourite: spiders. It is amazing how much I have been forced to quell my usually uncontrollable arachnophobia. When a six inch long Hunstman suddenly crawls onto a table at dinner in the restaurant, I have to act like the cool, calm employee that has everything under control. Inside I’m screaming, but never have I exhibited such restraint around an eight-legged thing. Lately there’s been an outbreak of Golden Orb spiders – apparently harmless but I’d still rather keep my distance, and this past week whilst walking into a bathroom I looked up to see four Redbacks, one of which was getting ready to lay her eggs. The larger female Redback spiders are barely one centimeter long, but one bite would definitely ruin your day. I just found out that these little things can take down lizards 20 times their size, and the females eat the males WHILE they’re mating. Not a creature you want to annoy…

Some of the wildlife here is a lot more entertaining. Like the Blue Tongue Lizards, the really cute little Thorny Devils, the occasional dingo or herd of wild camels and the ever-colourful birds.

The pigeons and squirrels in London are never going to hold quite the same charm…

** Unfortunately I’m having trouble uploading photos onto WordPress at the moment, so please check out the links below for all my photos including the wildlife!

Ayers Rock

Ayers Rock 2

Kings Canyon – blog post coming soon

Well…

That was me. I was the idiot sprinting down the hall in Sydney airport, running to the front of the First Class check-in desks to beg the woman to let me get on the flight, getting stuck at security TWICE because I forgot to take out the nail scissors and bottle opener from my hand luggage, desperately searching the screens for my gate number which has already been taken off the screen because I’m so late, red-faced and panting as I get to the gate just before the staff members close the doors and getting all the haughty looks that I give out myself so often to that last guy who gets on the plane and can’t find a place for his bag overhead because it’s all full already. Yikes.

But I clearly did make the plane (just), and was on my way from Sydney to Ayers Rock. For whatever reason, I didn’t really pay attention at all to how long my flight was about to be, but when I realised that I would be getting a meal AND watching a film, it started to sink in how far I was really flying. And I wasn’t even going across the country; I was just getting to the middle.

I had a window seat and there were no clouds at all, so in between watching the film (The Invention of Lying, by the way, not a bad movie) I kept an eye on what we were flying over. Which was…nothing. Miles and miles and miles of red sand, bush, dry riverbanks, and nothing else. For the ENTIRE flight. I’ve been reading Bill Bryson’s Down Under and in that book Bryson points out that “Australia is the driest, flattest, hottest, most desiccated, infertile and climatically aggressive of all inhabited continents. (Only Antartica is more hostile to life.)” So that’s what I saw. Dry, flat, red land.

After a few hours, it was there. Ayers Rock (or more traditionally, Uluru) was passing by my window, and what seemed like a stone’s throw away (it’s actually 20 kilometres) was a tiny line of little white tents – Longitude 131, my new place of work. I first heard about “Longy” when I wrote the article linked earlier during my time at Black Tomato. It was quite another thing to really see this place from the sky.

I was met at the airport by Kristy, my restaurant supervisor, who drove me around Yulara (the resort-town) to help me get a grasp of where everything was. Yulara has less than 2,000 residents and almost nobody here is actually from the Northern Territory. The ‘town’ is essentially one ring road with one of everything you need. One Post Office, one petrol station, one bank, one small library, one supermarket and so on. The ground is nothing but bright red dirt that now colours most of my clothes, and the bushes that cover the land seem to thrive despite all the odds. In fact, a lot of the bushes around here are completely blackened from previous fires and yet they are green with new leaves. In the middle of the ring road is a hill that gives you a good 360 degree view of the place and the hundreds of miles of nothingness that is behind every building. You can also see Kata Tjuta and Uluru (usually just called ‘the Rock’ around here) which are everyday sights since they’re both only a few kilometres away. After all, the only reason this town even exists is because of these huge monoliths.

I have never been quite so literally in the middle of nowhere.

I’m actually very eager to begin telling you about my current situation – living and working in Yulara: a ‘town’ (I don’t know what else to call it…a settlement? A village? A random group of buildings set in one of the most unlikely and uninhabitable places on Earth?) in Australia’s Northern Territory that exists for only one reason: Ayers Rock.

But first: a catchup. There’s a lot to fit in. I’ll try to keep it short.

The last time I wrote, I described the hard life on the coast of Australia. After that grueling weekend, I spent about two weeks in Canberra. Thanks to my lovely network of £10 Poms, I was able to sleep on a surprisingly comfortable Australian swag in my friend Toby’s living room.

My first full day in Canberra also happened to be Australia Day.* After a good day of celebrations, I spent my time learning a bit more about Australian history and listening to some groovy tunes.

I was actually the third £10 Pom to grace Toby’s floor, and a few days after my arrival, another one, Tom, arrived for a one-night visit from Sydney.

After Tom, the Brits kept coming. Chris, Kerri and Kat (who spent just a bit more than £10 to fly Down Under) arrived in their camper van after exploring Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road. I count Chris among my STA connections thanks to Cam and the lovely people at STA Travelbuzz.

During Tom’s visit, and again during the camper van crew’s stay, I visited Canberra’s War Memorial Museum and went to the top of Mount Ainslie. There was also a brief drive-by sighting of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. The ‘tent’ part of that should be a clue –this embassy is actually a tent city of activists who have been living outside Canberra’s old Parliament building more or less constantly since the early seventies. Not a recognised embassy at all, it is a group campaigning for the rights of Australia’s indigenous population. While they are not, of course, fighting the same issues, it reminded me of the campers that live outside London’s Parliament. I suppose hanging out directly on the path of every politician’s morning commute is a pretty effective reminder.

I was really impressed with the War Museum, which is surprisingly enormous. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I was more or less oblivious to Australia’s involvement in any wars past or present, despite their participation in just about every major war I’ve learnt about in school, particularly in the 20th and 21st centuries. Their perspective is very interesting; especially when it comes to the First World War. From what I saw at the museum, it seems the central most important event during WWI, to Australians, is the battle at Gallipoli. This was Australia’s first ever serious conflict. Were it not for my dad sending me the film ‘Gallipoli’ starring a very young Mel Gibson a few months ago, I would have walked into that room completely clueless. The battle brings up a few sore points in Australian history and at times I actually felt rather uncomfortable as a British person in the room. Luckily I left my Union Jack at home…

Next was Mount Ainslie for a birds eye view of Canberra. The city was built after Melbourne and Sydney couldn’t agree on which of them should be the nation’s capital, so somebody had the bright idea of building another city in the middle of nowhere. From the mount you can clearly see the perfect triangle that makes up the Parliamentary Triangle, leading down from the Parliament building across the manmade lake to the CBD, past the War Museum, to the Defence precinct and back across the lake to Parliament again.**

After all this guidebook following, I managed to spend one evening enjoying some jerk chicken and cold beer listening to my new Canberra friends DJ at a local café/art space/bar where I also acquired some funky retro heels. Who said backpacking was all about practicality?. Then on my last night in Canberra, Toby, his housemates and I found our way to a conference room at the Rex Hotel to see the launch of a band named Cousin Alice, after Alice – the person whose home I relaxed in during the tough weekend I’ve mentioned before. Alice described the band as ‘kind of a funky jazz and soul band’ so I’ll go with that. All I know is that they performed a very smooth version of Rihanna’s ‘Don’t Stop the Music’ that actually made the lyrics sound good during an evening of the kind of music everyone loves to sway to. Not a bad way to end my time in the ACT.

Phew. There we go. Next stop: the Northern Territory.

*To see my article about Australia Day, head to Go Girl Magazine and check out my post published on February 1.

**Check out Chris’ blog about our day in Canberra for some more good writing.

Wake up early (between eight and nine, or later if your Aussie is more relaxed…), have a cup of coffee.

Collect your thoughts and throw on some ‘swimmers’ (or bathing suit, swimsuit, bikini, or your own preferred term).

Walk down your back garden to the beach either empty handed, or with a kayak, body board or surf board. At this point you’re fully expected to jump right into the ocean. Australia is famous for surfing for a reason – I haven’t seen many (or any?) beaches in Australia yet that didn’t have waves that tower over my head. Also – Oz is surrounded by very large oceans and isn’t all that far away from a very large and icy continent, so the water? Freezing. On Sunday I was told ‘the water was great’ just before my entire body turned numb during my ten minute dip. So, I suppose all I’m saying is, be sure you’re comfortable with you ability to hold your breath as you kick for the surface before you get further than knee deep. You get used to diving into the icy water as quickly as possible, otherwise you look like a scaredy-cat and nobody wants that.

Walk back from the beach, take an outdoor shower, dress and turn on the barbeque. Bacon, eggs, toast, whatever takes your fancy.

Eat.

Sit around relaxing, preferably with a cold beer in hand.

In a few hours, turn the barbeque back on. Homemade burgers, sausages, some amazing grilled veggies, again the ingredients can be flexible.

Drink cold beer and cheap wine late into the night, perhaps walk back to the beach for a bonfire.

Sleep.

Repeat.

Phew, I think I need to lie down.