A synopsis

I started my journey in Adelaide. That was a year, three weeks and four days ago. I met people I started to like them I spent time with them. I laughed with them and they became part of my OZ family in Adelaide. After five weeks in Hostel 109 I took two of those and went to Melbourne. On our way we have seen beautiful landscapes cute koalas and stunning sunrises. We travelled in a small group and had a very cool tour guide called Tom. He had great music on his iPod so we were supplied with everything we needed on that tour. Food was great too. Basic but definitely enjoyable.
I spent two and a half weeks in Melbourne and then flew to Sydney where I met four awesome guys. I spent all week that I was in Sydney with them and we had great fun playing pool, going out drinking and doing all the touristy stuff you can do in Sydney. Since the weather got really nasty in Sydney I decided to go on to travel to the Gold Coast. I got to Gold Coast Airport and went trough Surfers Paradise to Brisbane. Spent another Two weeks there working on my tan on south bank lagoon and visiting art galleries, cultural festivals, botanical gardens and riverside places. From Brisbane I took the Greyhound bus to Noosa, a sleepy surfer town on Sunshine Coast. Again I met heaps of awesome people, had great conversations and a time of serenity and happiness. Here is also the place where I started surfing. Our hostel had a deal with a local surf school and so I could get lessons relatively cheap and hire boards for a day too. It was great fun! Unfortunately the weather got really bad after two weeks. It rained non-stop in three days. So I decided to go on to Fraser Island. On a (second and last) guided tour I again met a bunch of lovely people who I wont forget in a lifetime. Again breathtaking nature including rainforest areas, beaches and crystal clear fresh water lakes has been on our program.
From Rainbow beach I drove to Cairns via Gladstone. Gladstone is a small industrial town where a lot of mining and boating made people gather together. Had to spend two nights there and then took another Greyhound directly to Cairns. 18 hours in a coach. Not very comfy – I can tell you 🙂
As I arrived the brightest sunshine and greatest weather welcomed me in cairns. It was also a bit humid because of the Tablelands (rainforest) so it took me two days to acclimatise. Here I met my friends from Sydney again and we still had a great time together. We went hiking, spent time by the pool and went out on parties. I also met great people in the hostel I stayed in. The sun was shining every day and it was hot hot hot. So I could work on my tan which was pretty dark already. In the meantime a friend from Germany came to visit me. We had good times even tho it was a short visit only. I also went on a sailing trip on the great barrier reef where I was snorkelling and diving.
From Cairns I flew straight to Darwin where I spent only four days. There I met my three travel mates with who I drove all the way down the west coast to Perth. We spent 37 days on the road in a 4WD called Bumpy. She’s a Toyota Hilux Surf Wagon, an import from Japan. Very seldom. But well manufactured and reliable quality.
We swam in fresh water lakes, have seen thousands of termite mounds and slept every night in a different place either on a camp site, in a national park or on a rest area somewhere alongside the road. We met aboriginal folks, went fishing with them and they took us on their island. They also took us for turtle hunting, one of the greatest and most unique experiences ever.
In Broome we met a nice German couple who one of my travel mates knew already. They were very nice and we made friends immediately! Its miraculous. Unfortunately we have had only a short time together. But I am looking forward to see them again some day!
Further down the coast when we crossed the Capricorn of Tropics it got a little colder at night so we had camp fires in the evening. We ate either toast or instant noodles or pasta with ready sauce. Toast with Nutella for breakfast and toast with tuna / spam for lunch. It’s been very cheap and not to bad for a short time.
As we went further down, the landscape kept changing. It is so very beautiful. All the national parks, thee beaches and the very remote villages where you pay $2 for a roll because it has to be shipped all the way to this little place.
Rocks, rivers, gorges, vast areas and forest with bush fires and desert areas with little vegetation where the main view on our tour. The west is so beautiful, so remote, peaceful and stunning. And so different from the vibrant busy and touristy east coast. The wild flower season was just that time we went to the parks and we’ve seen all the different flowers. So beautiful and versatile again. As we approached Perth there were heaps of green fields. Even after tens of kilometres all green. Just gorgeous. In Perth we swapped one of our travellers for another guy from Hong Kong.
We spend another 9-11 days on the road to Alice springs. This time it was only desert. We met a few camels, but that’s all. And of course we have seen Ayers Rock (Uluru) in the red centre. Also the Olgas and Kings Canyon. Again stunning landscapes and greatest weather accompanied us through our journey. When we arrived in Alice springs I booked a ticket to ride with THE GHAN down to Adelaide where my friends (my family) were (was) waiting for me already 🙂
So I moved into Hostel 109 again and had good times with all the people I knew there. And also met new people who became part of the family while I was away travelling. Some of us found an apartment in the city and moved there. I also found a job in a catering company and spent the next 3 month preparing food in the morning and serving wine beer and spirits in the evening. From November on it got really busy so I worked without a day off from mid of November till 23rd of December. The work was great fun and I had lovely colleagues (most of them really were). I miss them now. Well, on 23rd we had our staff party where we all got smashed, haha. Christmas eve was stay-in-bed day. Not just to cure the hangover but also because to relax from the last weeks where I worked up to 68 hours p/w.
On Christmas day we had a great lunch with all people in the hostel. The hostel owner invited us to come too.
In the evening we had dinner with just the family where everybody prepared a little bit. Maybe not a replacement for what I missed back home with my family but still a happy and serene event.
There is one thing that felt really strange… It was 40°C and bright sunshine till late evening. Didn’t feel christmasy at all. (Now I know the next one is gonna be the same.) On Boxing day we went to the beach and swam in the ocean. I swam in all three oceans surrounding Australia. Southern Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean.
On New Years Eve we celebrated quietly with a small group of friends. We went to two pubs where people we know were working.
In the new year I had my last days working and we also moved out of the apartment in Adelaide. My flatmate and I rent a car and drove via Great Ocean Road to Melbourne where we spent one and a half week. I recovered from a bad cold and got healthy again when we flew to Hobart Tasmania. (That’s where I still am) Four of us rent a car and drove around the island in four days. Back to Hobart we were looking for travel buddies to do the trip in a bit more time. So we did it again in 9 days. Tasmania is very green, clear and mountainous compared to the mainland or “the north island” as the Tasmanians call continental Australia.
When we came back to Hobart I met a girl called Alice. Four days later, the day before I left Australia she became my girlfriend. So that was one year in Australia. How it went on is another story and has to wait for …… maybe the next annual report?
So what changed in this one year?
I got quite long hair. I got tanned. That’s for physical changes. I fell in love. I got a cuuuute girlfriend. I am learning Korean. I met heaps and heaps of nice people. I improved my language and social skills as I improved my knowledge about Australia, geographically and historically. I had great conversations with people from all around the globe and they are all part of my personal development. I learned how to drive on the wrong side … err the left side of the road, with cars that have wind shield wipers and indicators swapped and the gear-shift lever left hand operated. I learned to appreciate the German punctuality, precision and efficiency. And I learned to appreciate a cold breeze when its 47°C outside and learned how to cope with hot days and cold nights. I learned how to successfully lodge an Australian tax return enquiry and am now able to do all the banking and taxation and work related bureaucratic stuff on my own. I know how to catch fish even though I can’t eat it. Yah, still allergic to seafood. That’s one of the things that hasn’t changed. Meh~~!
But speaking of food… I have learned a lot of new recipes and am getting to know the Korean cuisine. I have tried different exotic meats as kangaroo and crocodile, emu and camel. I learned how to make a chocolate cake in a microwave and now know how to make cookies without any kitchen utensils.
I have been working as a caterer, bartender, construction worker and gardening landscaping lad.
I earned Australian money and spend Australian money.
I learned how to surf and where to go for best Australian coffee, I revived forgotten dishes and found and learned new combination of good old ingredients.
I managed to improve my photographic skills from complete and utterly rookie to sort of a ambitious semi pro-ish photographer.
I realised how much I miss and how much I am attached to my friends and family back home. Also life ‘s too short to spend it behind a desk or a screen in a corporate environment. Being just a cog in the wheel, in a machinery spending your life contributing to others wealth and prosperity.
I am dreaming my life – I am living my dream. I love earth and add to make it a better place.

I hope you too have undertaken some personal development in the past year and may look back on a year full of changes, or maybe everything stayed the same but you realised you want to change something? Maybe the coming year is the one where you take the matters in your own hands and change everything for the better. Or maybe you found you love your life just as it is and appreciate it for a bit longer.
What ever choice is yours, I wish you to have a great life full of serenity and happy moments. Appreciate the small things and not to complain to much about things you can’t change at the moment. I endeavour to make most of my life and hope you can do the same.

HK