Gd on Ya Mate

Australian for "good for you" or "that’s good" is running together the phrase "good on ya." Another phrase used continuously was, "how ya go-in?" It is sort of a combination of "how's it going" and "how'r ya doing".

My last post was about some of the lessons learned on this trip. There are so many, relating to the travel… and things going on in our life.

First, something of a follow-up on the RV and transportation in NZ. After calculating fuel, taxes, rental, holiday parks, ferry crossing (between south and north islands) the RV cost about the same or a bit more than having a rental car and doing hotels (or home-stay, B&B, etc.). As I said earlier, we sure liked the flexibility and saving some money by having the ability to arrange some of our own meals. I’m not sure it was the best approach when traveling great distances in such a short timeframe.

Now back in Australia, we’re starting to familiarize ourselves with the backpacker accommodations. Some can be as expensive as hotels, when you’re looking for a “double” (room for two). The benefit is that all have shared kitchens and other facilities. Many are real party places, which is pretty obvious and easy to avoid (we need to sleep)… but, I really like the energy of the places we’ve been. Although we don’t really fit in to the traditional backpacker definition, we’re usually not the oldest staying at the place. Seems many retired couples do the same thing. Like me, they appear to be charged by the younger adventurers. I’m also digging the music.

Unlike w/the RV, our travel now brings us in contact with lots of different folks. They’re from Germany, Canada, Britain, France, Netherlands, etc. Most are traveling for many months or more than a year. The Americans we find are on honeymoon for a couple weeks or have been working for years to string together a 3 week vacation. That’s very sad. Why do people from other countries seem to place value international travel tours, extended vacations, leave of absences... and those of us from the U.S. have to be students or wait for retirement? That’s one of the difficult questions I’ve had to answer.

All of the Immigration forms ask what my job is and where I’m employed. They want to make sure we’re not coming into their country hoping to get on the “dole” (welfare). We can’t really say we’re professional photographers, since they’d wonder why we’re carrying lots of camera gear and are not on working visas. So far, no one has questioned me putting down “manager” (since that applies universally). Folks we’re meeting don’t often hear about people from the States traveling for extended periods and ask how we can do it. It’s been weird saying that I’ve my job has been made “redundant” (the term used for laid-off). Folks seem to appreciate that we’re taking advantage of the time. The reality is, like most of them, I don’t have a current job.

It was almost 20 years ago when I made my first trip to Australia. I took a two-week vacation from my job in Omaha to visit a college friend working in Sydney. It was an amazing experience, like my first trip to Europe almost 5 years earlier. One of my dreams was to finish my Open Water Scuba Certification, which I completed in Cairns with a live-aboard cruiser on the Great Barrier Reef. I dove with Deep Sea Divers Den and loved every minute of it. I didn’t know Rita at that time. Part of this trip was to share this, and my other Australia experiences, with her.

I can see significant damage to the reef since diving it 20 years ago. The intimate and adventurous live-aboard experience has been replaced by a more commodicized and commercialized version. Even though we went with the same dive shop I used my first trip, they now cram 4 times as many (60 to 80) people on their trips. It explains some of the reef damage and explains why more intimate reef wildlife experiences demand 4 times as much $$. Still, everyone seeing it for their first time thought it was an awesome experience. To me, it can’t compare to my first trip. It was different, some things better and worse. I loved being able to share it with Rita and enjoyed sitting on the bow playing my guitar, watching the flying fish being chased by hungry gulls. New memories.

All I was able to see in my last trip was the glimpse I had of Sydney, the Blue Mountains, the Great Barrier Reef and the northern rain forests. Having traveled with Rita to many amazing cities, Sydney was “okay.” The GBR wasn’t all I remembered it to be. Our next stops expanded that circle and were new for both of us.

When we went north from Cairns deep into the Daintree Rain Forest, I thought it was magical. Sleeping in our small room amidst the trees, I couldn’t help but feel like I was at home at Big Birch Lake. The birds were different (and noisy). There were also several things to watch out for that could kill you… but the freshness of the air, the rustle of wind through the trees and sound distant waves gave me a new appreciation for the place I grew up. We were up at dawn to walk the beach and explore the emerging light in the forest (something I rarely do at the lake). Later, when laying down for a nap, I plunged into a sleep I’ve only experienced at home. I recalled walks through the woods to the State Campground, leaves crushing beneath my feet and the smell of growing forests. We were fortunate, like my first trip to the Barrier Reef, to experience this World Heritage Site before it is commercialized. I’ve also gained a new appreciation for our lake home.

Spending time with Rita walking through the Blue Mountains, driving through the national parks, seeing the Hunter Valley wine region and north central coastline topped off our final days in Australia. I loved being with Rita on this trip. Sharing it with her was so rewarding, and gaining her insight enriched my experience. Of course, I couldn’t have made it without her as copilot and companion. She kept me on the right (actually, left) side of the road and saved us from more than one crash. More importantly, we had some genuine time to enjoy each other and learned more about how to traveling for extended periods… like those coming in our second RTW leg in January.

Jeff