Not quite sure what the universe is playing at but last night my computer tragically got to know water a little too well. We had a good run these short 2 (?) months and now I find myself utterly confused on how to replace it. A new even new used Macbook air will set me back some serious travel funds, it seems just too much. Unfortunately for a bit photos with blog posts will be out of the question as the dinosaur I borrowed to look up laptop life saving techniques cant handle the RAW and can only just down load JPEG if you have the whole day to waste. Im considering starting a kick starter to try and get a new laptop, waiting on verification though may take a few days. If I decide to go through with it I would very much appreciate any support you can offer. In return of donations I can offer digital prints of my photos.

Hope to have better news next time

Update: Computers still not working but I thought I'd just tack new details to this post, I don't like how small and sad it is. This week in many ways is turning out to be the exact opposite of the last. It tempts me to cancel my trip to Kiama tomorrow for fear the largest blowhole in the world may decided to take my camera somehow. I'll go anyway because I need a break from the house and worse my thoughts about the pieces of writing possibly lost to oblivion. Im feeling very over dramatic lately and find myself wanting to stare off indifferently into the distance. I just did with my hand on my chin, I feel a bit better... Maybe ill stand by the water later and say woe is me.

Back to the art of iPod photography

 Honestly though it sucks majorly it could be worse. On the list of life problems mine are very fixable all it'll take is a wad of cash and bucket of tears, unless of course Apple raised their tear requirements which upon hearing the price of a new computer will be very easy to procure. The fact remains I'm in Australia a laptop cant take that experience from me and i'll get a new one no matter what it takes to raise the money.
(Kick starter is in approval stages)

On a happier note, im getting used to Australia, I noticed this when I was taking garbage up the road on Thursday. I no longer cared about the tons of Spider Webs on the handle of the bins. That is a huge step, when I first got here if my hand even brushed a web I would flip a minor shit, now I couldn't be bothered I got 2 problems and a spider ain't one.

Mellow in the best of ways

 Have you ever had a day where everything goes spectacularly right? I just have and let me tell you it can equally be as much of a mind fuck as the day that goes entirely wrong. These rare occasions seem to come around just when you need them giving you a well needed boost and spring in your step.  Lumbering about gets tiresome and an unexpected refresher from the everyday comes as a well needed surprise.

I had booked a cruse about a month and a half ago for whale watching outside of Sydney, the weather at the start of the week had predicted the Saturday of departure as beautifully sunny, clear and warm; however as the day crept closer so did the clouds and that sunny glorious forecast turned treacherous. My weather app displayed pictures of ominous clouds before turning into emoticons of lightening, exactly what I most dreaded seeing. I’ve never been on a boat in the open ocean, I have no idea if I’d get sea sick on a good day; boat in a storm is a disaster waiting to happen.

At the time of this specific word its Saturday night, let me take you back to Friday 2 am….

I wake up to the sound to a downpour, my hand out of habit jumps to grab my ipod. In a bit of a haze I check the weather report again seeing nothing but endless rain in the forecast, I'm never one to believe the weather app on Apple however as they are wrong about 50% of the time but the pouring rain wasn't doing anything to ease my mind. I felt like turning off my alarm and sleeping in, I decided against it I didn't really have to be up particularly early anyways. I went back to sleep awakening periodically throughout the early morning glancing at the clouds hoping at one point in waking up they’d be gone.

Now whales don’t care about the rain but I did, I of course would not be leaving home without my camera. I had the protection on that covered with my waterproof backpack but my notebooks and laptop couldn’t be risked. I had planned on visiting the Opera bar after the cruse for what I expected would be a well needed drink and some blogging, I'm becoming a huge fan of leaving the house for my writing I find myself to be far more productive with a beer and change of scenery, but that now seemed unlikely.

I made my way out of bed quickly seeing a text from my host mom asking if i’d like a ride to the shopping complex at Hornsby to catch an earlier and closer train. I had 30 minutes. It was still raining and I was beginning to wonder if I should try and reschedule the trip. I figured it was too late and despite no longer being excited I packed my things and got ready to go in the laziest way possible by throwing on leggings, boots and a hoodie.

I arrived at the train station unsurprised to see a sign for track work on my line I looked around, no listing for trains headed to the city. It cant be, I followed the signs for buses estimating in my mind the amount of time it would take to get there, prospects didn't look too good. I walked up to the first neon vest I saw and asked if I needed to grab a bus to get to central, the man responded by pointing in the direction of the stop then graciously added it’d be much quicker to catch the Gordon line instead since with the buses you’d have to switch in Epping. I stared at him utterly confused but pretended to understand nodding and stroking my chin, yes yes; I thanked him and started walking back to the track signs. I noticed one sign had changed with the departure of the train before, Gordon something something 2 mins, I didn't have time to read it because my eyes flashed to 2 mins and my legs propelled me towards the gate. Where is Gordon? Is it going North or South? I have no idea what I’m doing but there is a train there so here I go. I jumped through the doors with a few seconds to save, I glance at the list of stops seeing a dozen I didn’t recognise. Just as I was considering jumping out to look at the sign outside (smart idea right?) the doors shut. The train started inching forward in the general city direction, good, then North Sydney flashes past on the screen and the city stops follow. Thank goodness I had asked that guy and just went for it, often when I get too confused my mind shuts down and I stall making bad calls. A bus would have been an enormous waste of time and likely would have caused me missing the boat I needed all the time I could get, I still didn't really know where I was going in Darling Harbor to board.

The track work couldn't have been better I ended up getting there earlier than expected at a stop even closer to my destination giving me time for coffee and proper map examining trying to figure out where I was. I wandered around walking unsurely in the correct direction, there were no signs of any sort but the instructions were so self explanatory I doubted them. I noticed small groups of equally as confused looking people arriving around where the paper said I should be and figured I must be doing something right. Made it with about 30 mins to spare, I snapped a few photos looking to kill time.

Off in the distance soon after I began taking photos I saw a bit of blue creep through the clouds, could it be? I watched the spot grow as the mass of grey began to clear, would this be a sunny day after all? I had only been making jokes the night before with my host mom how i’d be fine with rain as long as it was enough to cancel soccer and stop in time for the boat ride.

Time dragged and people shuffled from one leg to the other staring off into the water and talking to each other, this was one of those occasions where being a lone traveler weighs a bit heavy; I'm a social person when I’m forced to be when I'm not I couldn't be bothered with small talk. I spent a bit of time in a line not my own before moving over to the correct ramp. It was a pretty small boat considering the amount of people on it, comfortable but when the time came for whales I knew it'd be a mashing of folks on all sides. As we pulled away from the dock the sky was looking promising and only improving each minute. I felt lucky hoping that it wasn't just a fluke with a storm hiding just beyond my zone of sight or worse out at sea. We pulled out of Darling Harbor and took the familiar scenic city scape path under the Harbor Bridge and past the Opera House, pristine skies. I had been on the boat to Manly multiple times and had seen these views enough not to be immersed completely in them but found myself in awe inspired at the fortuitous turn of weather.

We cruised past a huge cluster of sailboats, a race was scheduled for that day and amongst the hordes of bobbing boats I wondered how they could get into anything resembling order. We turned towards the Manly cliffs, gateway to the open ocean, I had never journeyed past them and was surprised to almost immediately go past a fur seal regulating ins temperature in the brisk waters. It was waving fins in the air floating leisurely so non chalant about being alone this far out in the water, I know they're marine life and all but its hard to imagine considering they're the preferred meal of so many predators… Its pretty amazing to see that this close outside of such a populated harbor marine life is just floating about relaxing in the waves, you forget growing up with New Jersey beaches things actually live in the water. Apparently according to the man with the mic on the ship the waves this day was one of the calmest of the year, for that I was thankful and now positive I would have been sea sick otherwise. Birds flew about and sat on the surface bobbing up and down with the current, it may have been calm but it still was powerful. Off in the distance clouds were sitting like a wall above the water, the sign of the EAC (East Australian Current, dude). People had now crowded outside onto the front of the boat, myself included staring out into the waves looking for anything living. The ocean is so tremulous that really telling anything from a distance is a task, I now have significantly less hope for survival if I ever get lost at sea. 

Eyes scanned the horizon, someone yelled out every time they saw something that resembled what they thought a whale would look like. For about 40 mins we stood there squinting against the bright blue. Finally someone with far sharper eyes than myself called it right, a water plume rose above the surface and a faint glimmer of silver breached the waves in an arch, the first of the sightings. By this point I was trying to distract myself from the sickness feelings I either had or imagined I had; I propped my leg up on a box and pretending I was a captain of an old fashioned ship looking for land after being at sea for ages. When I saw the plume and wanted to point and yell, “therrr she blows!” I didn't to my eternal regret, maybe next time. 

We had found a group of 5 humpback whales, a competition pod according to the mic guy. This sent a noticeable wave of excitement throughout the crowd as if we were possibly about to witness some aqua WWE. We didn’t, and a good thing for that if you ask me, from what I understand whales fight nasty using the barnacles under their chins to scrape each others eyes out, vicious stuff that. We followed them for quite a while and they even decided to come close to the boat for a minute or two. There was no leaps, no fights and no ramming of the boat it was however amazing in every way to see these beauties of the deep. I’ve always felt very bad the only whale I’ve seen is an Orca at Sea World, Florida... I was always pretty obsessed with Free Willy.

It ended up taking so long to find the whales we had to head back after what felt like a short amount of time, it was a lot longer than it felt however the 4 hours passing like nothing. On the ride back to the city the storm I had been taunted with raged north of Sydney a fair distance from the the boat, it could have even possibly been over Brooklyn but distance was hard to gauge from that far out. The rain looked thick and I was once again reminded how lucky we were to have gotten this unbelievable day.

I was getting dizzy, I held strong eager not to make sea sickness part of my life and luckily got back in to the harbor before I felt any worse. With in the hour I was wobbly and back on land never prouder to have not been sick and attempting to walk in the least drunk looking manner possible.

My plans to get a few drinks at the Opera Bar were thwarted by lack of seating, a common problem and my indifference to actually finding a place to set up writing camp. I had wanted Indian food specifically Vindaloo and a spicy one at that so I decided to set off an find that instead. I quickly grew tired of looking , I don't think my heart was really in the actual finding of a restaurant I instead stopped in Woolworths to get Siracha to slather on something at home. Alas the scourge of my shopping here no siracha to be found. I walked defeated towards the train stain outside, there was nothing going direct to my stop i’d have to get off at Hornsby and switch if I wanted to leave anytime soon. Fine I can go to Coles and try again for my precious red spicy sauce. I was beat and tempted to sleep but I kept up with music and thoughts of going to the atm and getting what I need at the shops.

Hornsby was shockingly closed up at 8:00 on a Saturday night most stores save a few restaurants, ice cream shop and the grocery/liquor store had the gates down. That's always one thing that surprises me having left the USA stores actually close at a reasonable hour, had I been employed in my usual choice of shit jobs I’d be very happy for it. I waltzed into the store and stared at the signs looking for sauces. No siracha, I could have sworn I bought it here once, shit. I went to international foods nope but wait! Vindaloo whoop whoop, it was bought and for that I may one day be sorry but not yet. I figured for this celebratory feast i should grab a good drink as well. Red wine is my go to because its delicious but mainly because its cheap. I looked around pondering like a wine connoisseur, hmmm interesting I thought as I mentally red X’ed anything over 10 bucks. I eventually settled or Yellow Tail Sangria, I think I may have really might have been getting a bit delirious because I got really excited. I left hoping a train would arrive to take me home asap, 55 mins was the closest train. Shit, I was hungry and so excited to get home. I saw a Vietnamese restaurant right across the street and figured if anything I could get a few rice paper rolls to hold me over. I stood watching two women blatantly ignore me for a few minutes, got all the time in the world I though smiling. When finally one approached me and listened to my apparently uninterpretable accent I managed to get my order in after floating in a sea of what’s? 10 mins down I thought, I walked to the platform and started eating. A train stopped going towards central the next was headed towards Gosford. Gosford I thought, the familiar north or south question hit me. It left in 20 mins and as the sign changed I saw Hawkesby River flash by and found my journey cut by 20 minutes.

We so easily see the days where everything just goes wrong so its a nice change of pace to notice one where everything happens for the best consistently. I got home cooked up my tasty feast that if you ask me could have been spicier, drank my sangria and watched my first ever episode of Geordie Shore, its the worst.

I woke up on Sunday unsure of the time, it really didn't even matter anyways. I got out of bed pining for that first cup of coffee. I had a ton of photo editing to get through from the day before, I had gotten a bit trigger happy with all the excitement. I curled back up into bed with my hot joe and jumped onto the mac scanning the editing and photo choices. About 25% of the work was done for me from last night, not too shabby. I spent a few hours working as the photo life generally goes and debated returning to Sydney for the Aroma Festival a gathering of coffee and chocolate alike, very tempting indeed. Laziness threatened my day as I ate my breakfast, I had excuses galore for sitting on my ass all day, I could write my blog post I thought. My writing self and I are good friends, we tolerate each other most times and can agree on certain times to actually sit down and work but I'm so easily distracted at home therefore I’ve found public transportation and comfortable chairs outside the house to be a good place to work. After a bit of back and forth I figured i’d be trapped in the house all week anyways might as well escape while I can. I got dressed with an hour to go before the train dragging my feet the whole way somewhat unsure of why exactly I was so opposed to leaving the house. I needed energy, energy only a coffee festival could supply. 

A bit of eye candy for you, I dont like too many words either.

Leaving from the home station cut down on confusion as the train went straight to the city with less stops. I spent that time writing and working on my unfinished tasks from The Artists Way a book I highly recommend to the struggling creative. As we pulled into Central I promptly went down the wrong stairs going in a circle before ending up on the same platform directly across where I had just arrived. The inner city train filled up as it generally does and I was off to Circular Quay, which I pronounced kway for way too long, it actually sounds like key… As I walked off the train I was engulfed in a thick mass of humanity a free for all of sporadic movement. One thing i’ve found out about Aus is there seems to be no proper walking direction, city streets are just a giant game of frogger with other people. I figured drive on the left walk on the left however people who think that sensibly are the minority, I've seen too many old people get knocked into one old guy in particular even hit a middle age woman back when she crashed into him.

I tried to escape the station as quickly as possible hating every moment of forced interaction and could have ran spinning into the open spaces like the sound of music. I saw the tents of the coffee festival and walked over excited to get a cup of something special.

The coffee was aromatic, the chocolate mouth watering and the lines enormous. I couldn't be bothered to wait for any of it. Sydney throws a great many cultural and culinary festivals but they are always packed to the brim. It was a mouse step at a time to get anywhere. I crawled the entire thing taking in all the different tents, mainly tourist goods. Not wanting to just walk through and take no part of the festivities I entered the Rocks pop up bar. The Rocks Brewery needs a shout out because they make a pretty fine Porter, I would have tried more if I had gotten there earlier however downing beers in an hour would have left me in a bad spot. They are some of the first people i’ve seen to admit to being the relatives of convicts which I find very admirable. The convict history overly denied, I don't believe there should be any shame in that history many were the victim of hard times, resorting to petty crime and punished severely by British policy. I bet they're a cool bunch of brewers.

I walked over to the Opera Bar ready to set up for some writing, work time by the water very serene. No seats were available so I wandered eventually just going to the bar figuring i’d find something. I felt an urge to order onion rings but decided to hold off until I was really hungry. I had my drink in hand and spied an open table. I dashed in that direction but it was swooped upon by a woman before I could get to it. I made a unintentional crushed face and quickly spun full circle looking for another. The woman who took the seat smiled and waved me over asking if I’d like to share it, it was only her and her husband. I made a few polite no, that's alrights before accepting her offer. I took out my notebook and explained I was writing a blog and made brief small talk, she was a very friendly Australian as they all seem to be; her and her husband were off to the West Coast in a few weeks funny enough. I wrote and we chatted on and off, her husband did a motorcycle trip across the USA, very easy rider like i’d imagine. They ordered onion rings and insisted I have some, it was a great day.

Riding the Greyhound

I'm happy to say I survived the 17 hour travel day and am now back and showered in Brooklyn. I would have loved to keep moving but work funds my adventures and had I not returned I wouldn't have made it very much further.

Travel by greyhound gets a real bad rep in America. The image taking a long journey brings up a sense of dread and images of terrifyingly sticky surfaces, people crammed overflowing in their seats, strange folks sitting in the seat directly besides yours despite the bus being half empty and shadowy figures in the back brown bag in hand and empties littered on the floor. This may not be fair but I haven't the experience to say otherwise, this is the widespread myth of USA bus travel and it holds grip today. Buses can can however say with experience here in Australia are very different than that image, in fact I would argue they are almost pleasant experiences. On most rides I would say it is 50-75% backpackers in the early to late 20's range; it is by far one of the cheapest and most accessible ways to get around the country, and if your lucky you may catch one of the coaches with working wifi (1/4 for me this trip). Staring off into the new and diverse landscape over those hours on the road gave me a deeper appreciation of the beauty of this country I surely would not have experienced flying over head and as an added bonus you don't even have to worry about being early to check in or go through security.

These 5 days away was a short excursion, it could have been longer had I relied on myself for the planning but sometimes it just doesn't work like that. Although im satisfied with the journey and elated I had it, the problem with only spending one day in a place is you don't get to know it very well and always end up missing something. Byron I found out on the way home is a hub of activity more so than I realized, tours depart around the whole area for hiking in the mountains and visiting hippie towns; I very much hope to get back there for the writers festival in August. 

Surfers Paradise is a suburb of Gold Coast City its home to a mass amount of tall apartments and hotels which for the amount of things to do in the area its seems an excessive spread. Its far too easy to get lost in the sky line and miss the spots of interest tucked away somewhere I couldn't quite locate. My hostel was a bit aways from the town center so I stuck to the beach to start, walking a few blocks towards the coast. I was pretty amazed to see the longest stretch of beach I've yet encountered in the country. Generally the beaches are broken up into smaller sections, here the sand went as far as you could see. The waves were quite rough, great for surfers though because there were a good amount of people on boards riding the waves with more skill than I've seen around the Sydney. I attempted a few photos in the water being careful not to get pummeled into the sand. Of all things I had forgotten to pack sunscreen was the biggest and I began feeling the sides of my face burning; the sun was beating down intensely that day and the breeze created a chill factor that was the only thing in the way of making it feel like a summer day in New York. I walked over to my sweater and put it on picking up my new snorkel gear unusabe here, had I not paid attention to the waves all I'd be looking at would be a close up of the sand rubbing off layers of my face. 

 As I walked back to the hostel I noticed the roads were not the most pedestrian friendly considering the amount of tourism they claim to get. The crosswalks were a fair distance apart on a busy road, this however is not a problem if you run for it. I was booked for one night at Budds a smallish hostel located in what seems to be the residential area between the river and ocean. Weirdly everything by the river is a more neighborhoodly atmosphere than the street across where the high rises start, you could almost think of it being the other side of the train tracks. Budds was homey place motel style with 2 floors of rooms and a few modest buildings. They had pretty much everything you could desire out of a hostel a cheap bar, a swimming pool and free wifi. Those are the types of places I strive to find and I was overall happy with the experience there. I had little desire to explore Surfers which for me is unusual, I was taken back with the atmosphere and emptiness in what looks like a city but knew I couldn't leave without at least seeing what was in the center. I made my way down to the lobby where the guests were drinking and playing pool. It was a Thursday night and a group from the Hostel was heading into town to get drinks at a pretty nice bar the name of which escapes me now. We all started walking out except for two New Zealanders who had pre-gamed just a little too hard. The bar wasn't too far away but I was tired and it was slow, I ended up leaving after one drink and looked around to see if there was anything of interest nearby gave up and decided to call it a night. 

The next day I was not entirely upset to be heading out to Brisbane, I had a ticket to the Australia Zoo the following day and had been planning to get there since looking it up at the bar I worked in back home. Once more surrounded by backpackers and the odd Aussie traveler I boarded the bus for the two hour journey North.

Brisbane is a lovely city, more inland than I realized at the time of booking it sits on a river cutting the city into a cultural half and cbd business and shopping district. Its home to various Art galleries and Museums that to my joy are free of charge. Overall I found it a very low key and relaxing atmosphere, on the main pedestrian strip were countless talented artists and bands performing at various eateries. After dark the city lights up beautifully and looks spectacular from either side of the river, I lucked out to stumble on some live music in a park by the museum to add to the chilled out vibe.

I stayed at Brisbane City Backpackers a pretty typical big hostel with a pool and great rooftop views. To my delight the 14 girls dorm I booked was actually a whole floor spread out into rooms of 4 bunks, I worried it was one giant room and remembered with guilt how early I had to wake up for the Zoo and bus.

I wandered the city taking in its music and cultural scene, they had a bigger range of exhibits at the museum than I expected, it looked so small from the outside. From dinosaurs and war memorials to the deep sea, snakes in jars and dried insects it can keep you occupied for quite a bit of time. Walking along Southbank at night was a great feeling it was chilly but not overly cold, Queensland is a bit warmer than New South Wales thankfully because I packed horribly for cold weather. I could have stared at the lights for a long time but I had places to be couldn't dawdle around too much.

I retired early and had a restless night of sleep waking up constantly from about 3 am to 5. I woke for the final time with a start, I knew it was late. I grabbed for my ipod finding instead a strange iPhone in my bed, at some point it must have slipped down from the bunk above. 7 am thank goodness, not too late I need to be there by 7:40 latest and the station was 10 mins leisurely walk away. I grabbed clothes off the floor attempting pathetically to be as quiet as possible. I sounded like a freight train to myself, tripping over everything withing a 5ft vicinity and practically falling out the door over my unzipped backpack. With some effort I got everything together save of course that one vital possession forgotten in the rush. I ran upstairs and ate a few scoops of hummus, no time to cook and left by 7:25. I needed to stop at an ATM and get some cash in case I needed to pay for anything extra at the zoo. I got to the terminal at 7:35 and went to the atm practically swimming though my bag looking for my card. No wallet. I had taken it out the night before to get some cash for the bar upstairs and likely as usual dropped it on the floor instead of my bag in a derp moment. No time to go back, thank goodness at least I had bought my ticket with the greyhound pass, but my id. I rummaged again though the bag hoping I had the good sense to not take my passport out at some point, it was there all was good. I walked upstairs disappointed with myself but relieved I had at least done one thing right by the passport.

Australia Zoo is about an hour away from Brisbane not far from a town so beautifully named Beerwah. Along the way you pass the unbelievable Glasshouse Mountains, the solitary standing remnants of ancient volcanoes. Much to my disappointment we couldn't stop and I wasn't able to snap any usable photos but they were spectacular and I very much hope to go back before leaving the country. 

The Australia Zoo itself is quite something, its got everything to appease any travelers obsessions of seeing native creatures. The zoo as part of admission has an exciting amount of hands on experiences and more even better ones for a fee. As part of admission you are able to walk amongst Kangaroos and Koalas petting and feeding them freely (approved food of course). For me and many others being located mainly in populated areas this was exactly what I had been waiting for. The zoo is over 100 acres and has the indigenous wildlife of Australia, various crocodiles and alligators as well as Tigers, Cheetahs and critters from all over Asia and Africa. Unfortunately the Elephants passed away last year but hopefully one day they'll get more. The staff of the zoo are obviously passionate about their jobs, they are conservationists with Wildlife Warriors as well and do a lot of educational speaking in all their presentations. At their crocesium show you find no shenanigans like the croc wrestlers of Florida they respect the wildlife and genuinely wish to educate the public, especially the northern territory on the dangers of swimming with saltwater crocodiles. I would say supporting the Australia Zoo by visiting is a must for travelers from overseas, I found the atmosphere to be invigorating and as animal lover myself this was by far the most comfortable I have been seeing animals in a zoo setting. The tribute to the late Steve Irwin is also heartwarming, they very much keep his message and mission alive. 

Returning to Brisbane I was hungry and exhausted, most of the day had been spent walking, there is always something to see at the zoo the 6 hrs there was filled easily. I grabbed my wallet and went out to pick up some Indian food, vindaloo and not spicy enough, then had a few beers wrote in my diary and promptly passed out in anticipation of my 7:00 am start time for the 16 hr bus ride to Sydney.

The tips I gave you for trains are equally true for buses, except the shoes, don't take them off the space is too small wear flip flops (thongs in Aus funny enough, the first time I heard this caused a bit of surprise as a girl announced before going out she needed to change out of her thongs). Time dragged at points absolutely but never once was I bored out of my mind or ready to throw myself onto the highway at the rest stops. The wifi was broken but I managed reading and writing away the time as crazy as that seems now thinking about it. I'm dead set on greyhound busing it through the outback come October with a hop on hop off pass. 

This is an incredible country.

On the Road

The plans to rent a car with the French backpackers were unfortunately and unsurprisingly not put together by the day of departure. I waited as long as I could all the while remembering why I prefer traveling solo. After a few hours of patience and poor communication I looked online and bought myself a train ticket to Byron Bay, it left in 4 hours. The timetable looked daunting I boarded the train from Hornsby at 3:20 on Tuesday July 8, I was set to arrive at Byron Bay at 4:20am on July 9. The longest trip I had previously taken on ground oriented transportation was the bus ride to Sydney, 11hrs. Now I know I always say how big Australia is so here's a bit of scale for you a train & bus from Sydney to Byron Bay  takes 14 hours a car takes a bit under 10. Doesn't look that far does it? I packed the essentials I thought i’d need to entertain myself for as long as possible. The long hours are amazing for getting work done I found myself so bored I was catching up on things i’ve meant to do for the longest time. Trains are top notch for lazing back and letting everyone else do the work also its a whole lot easier on the ears than a plane and steadier than a bus.

I wrote for you in real time on the train a small common sense guide of how to maintain your sanity on a long Train journey

Hi, congratulations on your purchase of a train ticket destination, world! You’ve probably had some experience on a train before its a very common method of transportation but you may not have experience riding one for 10+ hours. Fear not, it is possible to avoid being taken off in a straight jacket if you take the proper steps and precautions when packing.  Depending on the hours of travel likely you wont have very much to look at so plan accordingly.

Like traveling on a plane you will probably bring a carry on and a suitcase, unlike a plane your bag gets put in an accessible place however in the event of a packed train getting up on a regular basis to remove things will certainly cause frustration amongst others.

The contents of your bag should contain easy to carry hobbies you genuinely love doing. For me this is writing I brought 2 notebooks and a diary along with me, I got a ton of writing and scribbling done in the first few hours including numerous ideas for future work. You can bring sketch pads if your an artist, sudoku or mind games if your more math and numbers oriented. Don't skimp on the entertainment mad libs yourself if you need too distraction is absolutely necessary for those first few hours especially. Next time i might bring ad libs, I like that idea.

Things to bring in volume.

Books
Paperback or electronic I'm so thankful for books, in fact finished two I was reading simultaneously. If you’re like me sleeping on buses, trains and planes is impossible therefore I always make sure I have a book to read, it mentally exhausts you to the point of passing out if you do it long enough.

Music
Almost everyone has some sort of iPod or phone with music apps so use it. I wouldn't count on it for long term entertainment though. I got sick of my playlist after about an hour and a half but found light music beneficial to sleeping and canceling out the noise of the train.

Snacks
Food on public transportation is pricey. I bought a beer for 6 bucks then found out it was mid strength with an alcohol content of 3%. Its always a good idea to pack some treats but do so with caution when a bag of chips or candy sits at your feet and you’ve got nothing to do the temptation factor is inescapable. I packed healthy snacks and couldn't be bothered to eat them due to the bio garbage that would be left in its wake, nothings worse than a banana peel in sight for more than a few minutes. Had I had some chips knowing myself they’d be gone in a hour making me feel both sick and disgusting for at least another. I’d rather keep these long hours as pleasant as possible in the stomach.

Toiletries
As any traveler knows there is nothing quite like travel grime. Sitting on a seat for an extended period of time can make you quite a bit like the swamp thing. It is necessary for that reason to have the proper toiletries for your sake and that of others around you. Personally I hate the way my face feels after not being washed for an extended period of time so I always have soap, deodorant and a toothbrush minimum my travel survival pack. You can add as you feel necessary but without those three things by the time I hobble off to my destination I feel less than human.

Pillow
Personally I never bring one but I always wish I had one. I don’t sleep well on public transport and maybe not having a pillow is why but I cant myself be bothered to carry one. If your big into the comfort factor don’t forget it.

Take shoes off often and wear clean socks
This is a game changer, as soon as your on the train take your shoes off. The longer they're on the more time to stew and the more disgusted people will be when you realize just how uncomfortable you are with them on. Just get it over with or wear flip flops no one likes the midnight foot stank.

You’ve survived, pat yourself on the back and go to the bar if its still open

Since coming to the country I had heard from various sources that Queensland if full of crazy people, if that's true then the train I was certainly on a Queensland bound train. People watching was incredibly entertaining, one man with a distinctive southern USA accent prowled the aisle occasionally popping a cigarette into his mouth looking like he was about to light it. Every now and again his companion an Australian would appear loudly reminding him if he lit it they would both be thrown off the train. It was like a bogan convention in the back loud chattering and rush as they leapt off the train every stop for a puff of a cigarette before sneaking back to their seats. The conductor came into the car proclaiming that he was unawares if people are just thick but next time you get off the train to smoke bring you bags because you aren’t getting back on. I enjoyed watching a particularly high strung couple pace up and down the aisle huffing in frustration at the inconvenience of not being able to smoke for the eternity that that train takes.
Ill probably be quitting after this pack due to the ridiculousness of the situation, thankfully I can handle a long train ride with out craving one.

I looked out the window for a long while, not entirely sure where we were but seeing enough in the dark to know it was the middle of fucking no where. The landscape rose and fell with a series of small hills. It was farmland as far as you could see by moonlight, only the occasional house light was all that was visible. As we moved farther North fog created pools in the lower areas of the ground wrapping trees in a haunting white glow. The train illuminated small portions of the ground as we took turns I could see down the length to the front of the train. We were in darkness and the only source of artificial light in the area.

I watched the scene to The Flashbulbs album Arboreal which I feel is one of the best albums to accompany any eye candy. Smoking a joint one night back in the New York days I found it the perfect pair to silent Planet Earth Oceans episodes. The 5 hours in darkness was spent staring off at this unusual scene until I began nodding off by the window. Its never really restfully sleeping but drifting off half dreaming to be brought back by any intrusion. The conductor came by around 2:00 waking up the sleeping travelers to get off at Casino where the bus would pick us up for the final stretch.

I couldn't see anything of my stop Casino but the sign proclaimed it to be the Beef Capital. Quite an exciting claim standing outside the station in the cold at 2:20 am. The buses were parked and we were all gathered around waiting patiently to get out of the nipping breeze. The driver was a short fat and happily passive aggressive man that took his time allowing us to hand over our bags, or in my case not at all before being allowed to get on the bus. I sat towards the back and promptly passed out again woken by every stop to Byron. When arriving there I was of course sleeping as well as I had the whole night it took two announcements to get me up.

I left the bus thanking the unsettling happy man and walked out into what had to be the coldest weather i’ve experienced to date in Australia. I had no idea where the hostel was all I knew was it'd be at least 3 hours before I could get there. I went into the first bathroom I could see and piled on clothes. 2 shirts, 2 sweaters, a scarf, hat and gloves. It wasn't great but the best I could do. I walked towards the direction I thought the beach was it was no considerable distance and easy to find considering it was roaring like trucks on the highway. I wandered a bit more than necessary but found the bay, trade mark lighthouse on the hill and all. It was too dark to see what anything really looked like and it was only about 445, sunrise was still a ways away. I set up my tripod and started fiddling with the camera.

I'm likely a strange sight to see on the beach early mornings, I need to move around while taking pictures so generally ill sing songs and do a bit of a dance, noting fancy pretty stupid in fact but who gives a shit when I’m alone (or think I am)  on the beach. I sang Frozen because that's basically what I was becoming and created variations on Mr. Sun excited beyond belief to see little by little the sky change color with its rising.

I needed coffee, badly. I made a pact with myself when traveling I will not skimp on coffee anymore. The instant that a lot of Australians drink is garbage, I love coffee with such a passion its worth the money. At 7am I left the beach to search for a cuppa. I found a small cafe not too far away with booths that I desperately wanted to park my butt on and ordered a long back. Australians despite having good tasting coffee believe less is more on the actual coffee amount, most drinks contain more milk. I struggle to find a place that will pour me a heart attack inducing mug of pure caffeine. I can say sipping out of a tiny cup is very enjoyable and quite relaxing but sometimes I just need a big old cup of American joe, it was that kind of day. I sipped the coffee restraining myself from boorishly sucking it down and remarked at the fact they were playing classical music. I love classical music but not here and not now, I needed pumped up music or to get to the hostel.

Finishing up writing in my notebook I downed the rest of my drink as elegantly as possible and wandered off looking for any sign of Nomads Hostel. After a bit of walking in the wrong direction I entirely by accident stumbled on it. They had just opened and weren't sure if they could yet accommodate me, I was so early. I didn't care about the room quite yet a shower was calling my name, no screaming it. I dropping off my stuff in the storage closet and practically ran up stairs to take one of the longest showers of my life.

After cooking a brekkie of two eggs I had packed in a plastic container with amazing foresight I went back down to reception where I got my room. Going upstairs I turned on my computer and attempted to fight my the system to download some photos to my filled up drive. I layed down for a half a second and fell asleep till 12.

Not one to ever waste a day when I have limited time I set off immediately to find a dive shop that sells snorkels. I packed my camera in the waterproof case and walked towards the beach to see it in all its bright warm glory. The waves were rough I watched them slam down and imagined myself camera in hand being rubbed raw against the sand. I went in the water, it was murky and filled with sea weed. The photographs were meh and the current made me aware that likely I would need a set of fins as well to be comfortable being dragged around. I left unsatisfied but aware that more opportunities this week would be coming my way. I went back to the hostel and got dressed it was around 3:00 and I wanted to take a walk to the lighthouse which seemed about an hour away.

The path to the lighthouse followed the dramatic coast so distinctive to this country as I walked up and down the path. Passing small beaches and walking along the cliff side I got there in time to see the sun set behind the distant mountains creating a golden glow over the shadowed landscape. Snapping photos I met an older gentleman who asked me what kind of lens I was using, I had my new Tokina 11-16 mm out and in action. He remarked he had just bought a Nikon D5100, the same model as mine and was looking to expand his knowledge of photography. We ended up talking for a long time maybe about an hour about photos and his desire to go to the USA and find work. He like I had months ago was unhappy with the same thing and wanted desperately to travel. I was so happy to encourage it, wander lust it seems never really leaves. By the time we finished talking he biked off into the darkness and I set off along the path through the trees. I became aware I was walking on the side of a cliff and couldn't see I promptly took out my ipod flashlight. Walking through the bush after dark is an eerie experience, bush turkeys loomed in the trees making sure at every opportunity to scare the shit out of me as I passed by rustling and flying into the branches in the loudest way possible.

I wandered for about 30 mins on this new path unawares of where it would lead, lights were only sometimes noticeable however the area wasn't big enough to really get lost I thought mainly of woods people and with some amusement drop bears. If was a good walk back and on the way I though of the beers I would reward myself with. For the most part being of very modest income I generally spend the least amount of money possible, lately however I’ve been finding those little things like going to a bar for a beer after a good adventure is whats missing in my travels. The little things are a big deal so I'm now taking the opportunity to enjoy them more thoroughly. Whats the point of traveling if all I do is worry about money anyways.

I had two craft beers at a place called The Balcony, very fancy it made me miss the micro brews of NY. Australia from what I understand is starting to develop more craft breweries its relatively her there aren’t way too many I've seen yet but I was impressed with White Rabbit Dark ale and Knappstein Lager especially. I sat drinking writing in my diary quietly giggling at my own jokes and good wit generally just looking a bit crazy, there was a silent couple sat at the table next to me probably wondering what exactly I was drinking. I left the bar and went back to the hostel parking myself on a bean bag to go through photos, ended up skipping da club all the others were going to in favor of an early nights sleep. Wanted to be as well rested as possible for the greyhound journey to Surfers Paradise.

I'm on the greyhound now, well not this second I’m in a rest stop now drinking coffee as quickly as the heat will allow. I’ve been writing since the going to the stop at 9, its now 1130. I haven’t gotten car sick in years but typing on a bus is not nearly as comfortable as on a train, I think a motion sickness pill might be necessary for the 16 hour journey to Sydney on Sunday. A little over an hour to go till surfers paradise, I think I’ve assaulted your eyes with enough words for one day. One more amusing thing however we passed by a building on the side of the road I thought a cloud of dust was coming off the ground from cars and though dirt road how quaint, the building was Mecca Crematorium. Awkward. Back to the bus, so happy not to need to type anymore its hard writing not looking at the screen.

Sorry for no photos, its quite hard to find the time to do all this things I normally do when writing a blog post. Also sorry for the rushed editing I sat for 2 hours going over it before realizing oh my god I'm in Surfers Paradise and I'm on the computer haha. As usual all photos I've taken that I like can be found at victoriafennell.com. PS. got a twitter see what I'm up too in 140 words or less! @torifennell
(SPOILER: Drinking and taking photos)

The Camera Thief of the Sea

I'm a terribly inconsistent blogger but sometimes there just aren’t any stories to tell, I do however always hope to make up for that on my photographic exploits. This month I expect to be especially active so for your reading pleasure I hope my most recent adventure will be of amusement.

Over this past weekend I decided I needed a day away from the world of Au-pairing, school holidays have begun and until the 15th of July I am essentially useless. I regret to say I have been in the ocean a pathetic number of times these 8 months in Oz, all and all maybe about 3. Saddened by this realization as I looked at the yet unused Dicapac underwater case for my Nikon I saw a golden opportunity. I scanned hostelworld.com and decided to go on an overnight to Coogee Beach that day. Coogee is just south of Bondi and was particularly appealing for the price and use of snorkels free of charge. I packed my bag which consisted of 75% camera gear and set off overly eager to get out of the house and start exploring. 

I got to the hostel by train and bus about two hours later around 2:00 dismayed to find reception closed. Nothing would be open till 5 and by that point it would be too cold to swim. My heart was set on getting some underwater photos so l I considered my options and decided that I could still try by partially submerging the camera and using live view as my "goggles". I wandered Coogee beach looking for the perfect spot. As absolutely lovely all the beaches of Sydney are they pretty much all look the same, a curved beach surrounded by various sized cliffs. In their own ways they differ in atmosphere and that's where the semi-uniqueness lies, Manly for instance being more geared towards surfers and tourists and Coogee more geared towards the swimmers, especially it seemed brave swimmers going well past even my comfort zone. I found a small bath tucked away under the rocks, it was low tide and the path looked pretty easy to get across. I took off my boots and carefully tread over the slippery moss all too conscience of the camera I grasped in my arms. After making it to the bath I sat down on a semi submerged rock, the shock of the cold made me almost happy I had no bathing suit to go in (planned on borrowing a wetsuit). I put my camera over the edge peering at the screen looking for anything interesting, I tried snapping a couple shots to get the hang of the new case.

A Dicapac is not an easy device to start using, the camera fought me at every shot unwilling to focus and wiggling around obscuring the view. This is really beginners misfortune though and the fact that I couldn't see directly what I was doing was zero help as well. The waves passed over me icy needles poking my decreasingly warm dry flesh. Something wrapped around my toes it suck there for a moment before I kicked it off, seaweed I thought attempting to maneuver the camera over. It focused and unfocused unable to get a clear point. I was getting a bit annoyed I took it out of the water and tried fiddling with the settings, the seaweed wrapped around my pinkie and 4th toe I shook it but this time it took a few jerks. I was getting frustrated, I put the camera back in the water as my toes were caressed once more. Oh, the case strap I thought, I pulled it out of the water but my toes were still becoming increasingly covered. Weirded out I scooted over wanting to get away from whatever sticky plant was lurking below. As I returned the camera to the sea tentacles from the deep rose above the water break like the Kraken and planted themselves directly on my case screen. What I previously assumed was rock started moving forwards as the octopus  became discernible, its camouflage was seamless. As quickly as I jumped up the case was out of my hands and eyes like a demon stared into my soul, as it moved forward it wrapped itself further onto the plastic trying to pull my camera with it back into the shallow recesses of the bath. Luckily I had the strap still firmly in hand I tugged softly trying to get it unstuck as an Australian man and his kids watched from behind in amusement. I looked back pointing in disbelief stating rather obviously, “The octopus is trying to steal my camera!” I turned pulling harder, those suckers are strong much stronger than I ever thought. It took two hands to wrestle the case from its grasp and as the camera it popped back at me (thank god not into the rock) the octopus slid back in an effortlessly flawless retreat under the rock out of sight.

Not the thief

I realized I probably just missed an incredible moment of photography as I looked through my useless photos, no octopus was visible, pretty upsetting. The Aussie gentleman who had watched the battle offered me his goggles to search for it. I gratefully accepted and to no avail searched the frigid water for as long as I felt I could politely. One thing that needs saying about Australians is they are genuinely are a lovely group of people, they are easy to talk to and actually make it a habit to try and help a stranger just for the sake of being friendly, that's the norm. I thanked him a few more times for the goggles before stepping out onto the cold shaded rocks and departed for the hostel ready to check in and relax.

Coogee Beach hostel is right across the street from the water a working backpackers kinda place, reasonable rates and tons of tradies with beers in hand at all hours of the weekend. Much bigger than it looks from the outside its more apartment style than any hostel i've been to before and echos like such. They offer free snorkel gear and body boards which is pretty sweet but also charge $3 extra for sheets and have a bond of $30. Cant say much on the social side I wasn’t really in a partying mood more of a relax de-stress and take photos type of vibe. I ate my vindaloo and drank my beers in the girls dorm which thankfully had a table and television playing the suprisingly hilarious Australian musical quiz show Spicks and Specks (I recommend), I was entranced in the non-socialble zone.

Did leave for some photo ops..

Waking up the next morning I was intent on getting out and in the water, I crept out of the screeching metal bunk beds lowering myself down as quietly as possible with no ladder and raced off to reception where a rather hungover gentleman answered all my questions in the least friendly way possible. He warmed up after my good mood wasn't shattered by his mumbling one word answers and questions like "who are you?". I take it the coffee hadn't yet kicked in yet and as a former am shift hostel employee understood his FTW demeanor.

I considered going to the baths again however it was such a small area I opted instead to explore what lay above and beyond the cliff. I wandered up surrounded by joggers who reminded me of what bad shape I must be in after almost a year of neglecting a good run. I reached a place called Gordon's Bay a few minutes later, the water was pristine blue/green and it was best of all empty save one fisherman and one runner who jumped in and out for a quick cool down. I took my backpack off and set up camp on a rock preparing myself for whatever I was about to find.

I'm not ashamed to admit snorkeling can be scary when you’re out of practice, especially in a country like Australia. Stories of jellies sending people to the hospital are concerning enough considering my lack of insurance but its also been quite a while since I've been alone in the water. I felt the eeriness of limited visibility in an environment so clearly not my own. I adore the ocean in fact if I could make my living working in it I would surely die a happy woman, just as long as I don't die in one of the terrifying ways of the ocean obviously. I intend on getting my diving certification someday because clearly after leaving Hawaii I forgot what a unbelievable world lay below the surface that's the only way I can explain my neglected to take advantage. I swam around but wasn't finding much the way of sea creatures besides a few small fish and some snails but the gliding through the gentle current and maneuvering around rocks was slowly building back my water confidence an I more assertively searching for life. I got one picture of a fish but that was all the bay offered in the relatively short time I was there, the inside of my bag seemed to be wet very slightly which immediately concerned me. I got out and checked the case, it seemed like it was likely water that got in from me taking the camera out yesterday. The chill set in and I retreated to my backpack to get a sweater, it may not be a brutal winter in Sydney but its still chilly. My wetsuit arrives next week.

I left the bay feeling proud as only fulfilling a dream can be and returned the gear looking to get on the first bus back to the city. I had to be in Manly at 4 to meet with two French travelers looking for people to chip in on gas for a journey to Byron Bay and Brisbane next week, as far as I know that's a go plans still discussed however.  I've been meaning to take a road trip and finally found an opportunity.

Manly as I’ve said before is a big surf spot but this time around I went past the main beach to an outcrop of rocks there I took photos and encountered my second octopus of the trip. Another talkative Aussie dad was showing it off to his kids and other swimmers in the area. This octopus however remained elusive and my attempts to photograph it were almost futile, I did snap one of its tentacles but its hiding spots were plentiful and it did not have any interest in taking my camera home.

After a very long day of trains, buses, ferries, swimming and octopuses I returned back to Brooklyn refreshed and exhausted counting down the days till I can do it all over again.

If all goes according to plan ill be traveling up the East Coast all next week, if it doesn't go to plan ill still be going somewhere, where remains to be seen…..

I’ll do a brief review of the Dicapac I'm using for my underwater photos, its the WP-S5 model for DSLRs. This honestly for the price might just be about the best you can get, in all my research the Dicapac was the most durable looking and highest reviewed non-hard shell case, however its far from perfect. I experienced no fogging thankfully but did get slight condensation in the case, I used it 3 separate times in the day. I may need to attribute that water more to myself getting the camera out and dripping in the bag but honestly its impossible to avoid. The case is far from easy to get your camera in and out of; I used my 17-55mm lens but it was tight around the body of the camera as well, that worries me on the long term use. Its a risk to use this case more in the human error sense so be careful sealing it cant hurt to check and double check.  I'm personally happy with it despite the scare I received seeing a bit of water on the inside but I am fairly certain that was my own doing. So if your just going on vacation and doing some light snorkeling or going in the pool it should serve you just fine however I would worry taking it submerged for longer amounts of time or down more than 15ft. Ill be using this for the time being may even order a backup when I'm ready to leave the Sydney area but ill also be looking for ways to afford the Ikelite D5100 housing, I feel for a more a better sense of security I'd spend more but there is not much on middle ground on these products, Dicapac averages around $80 and Ikelite starts around $1400.