Once the interview event of “the Best Job in the World” and the dazzling extended itinerary had taken place, I got very excited going out there on my own and face “the real world” again. So far for 5 star accomodations and the best food available at any time of the day… it was backpack time! George and I shared mutual wishes on exploring the East Coast looking for some great surf, meeting more Aussies and travel in an authentic low-budget style – well, low-budget except for the new six-beth mobile home Apollo Camper provided us with then!
First stop was Byron Bay, the place to go to if I had to believe my friends who have been travelling in Australia. “Magz, you could live there!” and “Everything is organic and laid back, you won’t leave!” Yep, Byron Bay embraced me with its sweet and open locals and nothing is lied about the major organic supplies. This town is sure ahead on pure nutrition and its importance over many so-called “smart and fast cities” around the world.

George fell in love with a two meters beauty, sex-waxed her and carefully carried her to the sea to spend some good time together.

After having surfed with Black Dog Surfing I had sore shoulders for many days thus I decided to do some more exercise so I started running up onto the lighthouse every other day.
We drove up to Sydney while passing tiny fishing towns, stunning nature and some unfortunate Skippies. Here our campig adventure ended as George dropped me off at my friends Celine’s place.

Celine and I go back 13 years when we were living the easy life in Maastricht, a city in the south of Holland. We both have been living abroad and managed to miss each other out each time one of us was back in Holland for a while. To live her daily life was just what I longed for and we spent five days catching up on the “last few years”. Sydney is fast. Celine is very fast. They love each other and I was lucky to witness the spectacles that came from that. We proudly concluded that in all those years we didn’t change much as we treasure the child within ourselves.
I also met up with James for a serious sightseeing tour through his favorite city and another night we even got together again with Mirjam, Anjaan and Anjaan’s lovely wife Amrita. Big fun, no camera’s, well… my camera was present and I promised one particular candidate not to put certain photos along with this post, so I keep my promise…

Next and last destination before returning to Queensland was Melbourne. When I lived in Barcelona Australians I met there told me, if I was so enchanted by Barcelona, I would love Melby. It’s creative, European, alternative and sub-cultural vibe sure got to me, as well as the charm of a countless number of original bars and restaurants, all packed in a cosy way. Apart from the autumn kicking in I’ve had an awesome time.
The night I arrived at the Coffee Palace Backpackers, Celine’s friend Stijn took me out to a house party that rocked St. Kilda until the early hours. Including a brilliant band on the roof terrace, a beatboxer and trying to find back your drinks that you’ve hidden so carefully amongst all those thirsty party people. One of the following days I was walking down the streets with Stijn when at the other side of the pedestrian light a face looked rather familiar. It was Julia, a girl that I met and interviewed earlier in Byron Bay! I don’t know about you guys, but there doesn’t exist such a thing as “coincidence” in my life. It was great meeting up again and we spend the next couple of days together, while getting the welcome exercise by doing “we’re lost in a big city without a map-biketours” on fast bikes Rentabike provided us. (I miss biking so much! Come on Oz, get more biking lanes and fight your obesity-rate!) I also met up with Trudy, a friend of my friend from Holland and she took us to some happening places at night. Sipping from our cocktails on a roof terrace high up between some skyscrapers is something I don’t get to enjoy that much back home.

Speaking about home. I found a great hostel, right in the city centre, called The Greenhouse Backpacker Group. This hostel is doing a very good job on sustainable and conscience management to reduce its carbon footprint. To read and see more about this hostel and the inspiring actions they take, simply see the next post as I had an interview with Adrian, Assistant Manager at The Greenhouse Backpacker Group. In my opinion he is a brave and intelligent implementer of sustainable and clever services and products.

After two weeks of travelling south, it was time to look up the sun again; Sunshine State, I’m back! George and Hailey were so sweet to pick me up from the airport in order to prepare for the weekend we were about to spent on Stradbroke Island, where Hailey had a huge caravan. Mirjam came along, as well as some crazy friends of Hailey. We surfed a bit, sunbathed, walked up and down the beaches and rocks during sunset and finally I satisfied a part of my urge to be on a board again; sandboarding!

Mirjam and I had the privilege to have a private session with a very friendly teacher called Mark, who’s an ex-prosurfer and still rocking the waves every day while being 57 years old. Respect! To feel the sorest ever the day after, made us feel bad about the quantity and quality of our muscles so we stayed comfy on the couch to avoid these confrontations as soon as we moved around.
Moving around IS the only way to be honest, especially since I found myself in such a beautiful region like Queensland, thus I got on the plane yesterday to visit a friend in Cairns. I’m staying until the 12th of June, after that I’ll be spending some exciting times in and around Brisbane. Stay tuned for more info on my extended itinerary part 2!

Posted from Cairns with Vodafone Mobile Internet on my notebook

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