My first week underground

After 13 hours of train and bus I had a really sore bum that Sunday night. Richard, my new boss, came to fetch me at the bus station, which is 120km away from the Undergroundmotel, where he brought me to.


Everything was dark, seemed as if everyone had gone to bed. But two other Germans were still awake: Markus, the new chef, and Martina, boss of the bathrooms. They have both arrived within the last week, are backpackers as I am and just out here to earn as much money as possible.
Accomodation is for free, food on working days as well, on our days off we have some basic stuff in the kitchen, like pasta, bread, buttter and jam. That’s all you need, as a backpacker, I don’t think I’m gonna spend much money out here. Just for chocolate... :-)


Next day I started work, helped preparing breakfast, made beds, vacced the floors, did the laundry... at aroung lunchtime, we were finished, got a few hours spare time to sit back, relax and enjoy the sunshine, in the evening I got back to work as a waiter, serving food for 25 persons. Easy job.
In the afternoon I had a little look around. It’s a beautiful place! The Motel has 33 rooms plus the staff quarters, of which all except of two are dug into the earth. Pretty cold down there, you always need long clothes, but I think, in the heat of the summer we’ll be incredible happy about a cool place to hide!


White Cliffs itself is a little village, 200 people in summer, 70 in winter. There’s a post office, a hospital (with a flying doctor!) and a corner store, where you’ll find bread, nutella and cookies. But you can’t afford them. *g*
Richard is a really cool boss, we sat more than one night together, sharing some drinks and talking until late. Steve and Chris, the two managers, showed me how to work roperly, they’ll go overseas next week, to Alaska. The other Germans and I are here to replace them. And us, the three backpackers, get along quite well with each other, had a movie night and some cooking sessions... all good out here. So far. Hope, it’ll still be in two or three months time.
There’s a lot of work out here, I got 42 hours in just 5 days. Now, there’s a new girl in training, Denise, from ... Germany. That’s why Martina and I have two days off, before Steve and Chris will leave and we’ll be back to duty!

My 2nd visa is almost granted, I got a bridge visa, and need to do some chest x-rays. Don’t know, what for, but that’s the law. Well, hope, I can get them done in Wilcannia, otherwise I’d have to go to Broken Hill, which is 350km away. Expensive ride...

Sun is shining out here, more, than I expected it to be, no a single drop of rain, and the temperatures are pretty warm. It’s still winter... in summer, it gets up to 50° out here! Damn. Will be happy, if I can work underground, then. *g*

A hardcore week in Sydney

After that grumpy, old lady still charged 28$ per night from one single poor backpacker, I left the caravan park the next day and started sleeping in the streets – for free. I love Woolly. But he also became kind of a problem: I needed to sell him as soon as possible, to become completely independent, my plans were trying to catch a plane up to Darwin, find work there and live a first class life in the tropical north of Australia. But plans usually never work out – especially not here in Australia!


I walked the streets up and down and up again, distributing heaps of flyers, talking spontaneously to people, Woolly had to be sold. I sat more than one day in the State library of NSW, surfing the web, posting ads and waiting for calls of potential buyers. And finally they came: One, two, three... a couple of appointments were arranged, but no one really fell in love with this brilliant van, which I like so much. Until this Friday morning: I got woken up by the ringing of my mobile, two German girls were calling, interested in buying my car. Half an hour later we met up, I showed them Woolly in every detail, drove around the block with them and they were amazed. These were the ladies I had been waiting for five days now, not a long time, but five very, very exhausting and hard days, always thinking about other solutions, how to deal with Woolly in case I wouldn’t sell it soon – looking for work? Give it away for free to anyone? Park it in the street and see, if it’s still there, when I come back? But none of these ideas were as satisfying as these two girls, who promised to keep collecting signatures, re-register it and take good care of my beloved darling. I was unbelievably happy!
The same day, I applied for my second visa. After I had experienced a lot of problems with the method of payment (I don’t possess a credit card, and my parents are on holidays), I was told that I could also pay by cheque, which I finally did. I asked a couple of travel agents about their cheapest flights to Germany, and... I found a job!


It was more smalltalk out of boredom than a real search for a job, why I was talking to those lovely ladies from the jobdesk, until they offered me a really great thing: Work in an underground motel for a few months, good hourly rate, accommodation and meals provided – what else could I wish for? I agreed immediately. 1100km west of Sydney, in the middle of nowhere, is where you can find me in the near future – from tomorrow on, to be exact. After 13 hours of bus and train I’ll be picked up by Richard, the owner and my boss, and be brought into this motel, 200km away from the next bus station. Awesome! I’m really looking forward to that...
My last day in this huge city today I spent with five other Germans, one guy and four girls. We all met through the Internet and strolled around the city today, had some yummy lunch and long talks about upcoming plans and survived experiences. Always interesting to hear other backpacker’s stories!


One week has passed by, since Tim and Laura left, with a lot of ups and downs, but in the end, it all worked out brilliant, I couldn’t wish for anything else. I’m really happy after all, even though I sometimes already thought about jumping on the next plane to Germany, but that all seems to be long time ago. It’s all sunny again over Australia, and I think it still will be when I’ll crawl around underneath the surface...

A new beginning

Welcome everyone to my blog! After Tim and Laura, my two best mates from Germany, have left the country today, I decided to switch this blog into English. After I’ve been travelling around Australia in the last eleven months, I should have learned enough to tell my story in a foreign language... well, we’ll see.
Anyway, this is how things are: I’m in Rockdale, just a few minutes east of the Sydney airport, on a caravan park. I’ve surrounded Australia in a beautiful campervan, Woolly, which is now to be sold as soon as possible. I’m broke, I need the money and the freedom to travel somewhere where they need workers, waiters, pizza drivers or anything like that. To be honest: I don’t have a single clue, where I’ll end up in two or three days time, I don’t know, how much money I’ll get from my tax return or from the sale of my beloved van, and I don’t know if I’ll get my second visa or not. But that all doesn’t really matter, I’m here in Australia, and there’s one thing I’ve learned since I’ve been travelling around: There’s always a solution, no matter, what happens. And now I’m gonna find this solution. Come away with me and experience a world of freedom, spontaeinity and my inbred love of life!
Cheers for being here, the author

This ist he last time...

Mein letzter deutscher Blogeintrag! Heute gehen Tim & Laura, ich bin morgen exakt elf Monate in Australien und habe deshalb beschlossen, mein Blog internationaler zu schreiben – auf Englisch. Ferner werde ich von täglichen Einträgen absehen und nur gelegentlich die Hits posten – zu eurer und zu meiner Entlastung. Sonst schreib ich mich ja noch tot!


Wir begannen den Morgen ganz gemütlich, ein bisschen in der Sonne sitzen, leckere Brötchen frühstücken, die dem Campingplatz von der Kirche gesponsert wurden, nichts tun. Nacheinander gingen wir alle duschen und Zähne putzen und dergleichen, wurden braun und ich konnte mir nicht im Ansatz vorstellen, Australien ohne Tim und Laura noch genießen zu können.
Der Vormittag verflog viel zu schnell, die beiden packten ihren allerletzten Kruschd zusammen, Tim rief uns ein Taxi und wir ließen uns zum Flughafen bringen, 10 Minuten Fahrt. Dort checkten die beiden ihr Gepäck ein, hatten aber noch zwei Stunden bis zum Boarding, die wir mit Shopping und einer letzten gemeinsamen Eistüte verbrachten…


Dann war die Zeit aber irgendwie auch schon wieder um, wir drückten uns ein letztes Mal und ich sah ihnen nach, bis sich die Türen hinter ihnen schlossen. Weg sind sie. Einfach weg. Und somit endet nicht nur eine grandiose Reise um einen riesigen Kontinent, es endet auch eine weite Reise mit Freunden, immer wechselnden Mitfahrern, Hochs und Tiefs, Streitereien und Versöhnungen, Sonnenschein und Regen und der ganz großen, unvergesslichen Erlebnisse. Gefühlsmäßig endet auch mein erstes Australienjahr. Obwohl kalendermäßig noch ein voller Monat folgen müsste, so denke ich stets, dass meine „Generation“ gegangen ist. Fast alle Kollegen, mit denen ich einst in Sydney landete, befinden sich wieder in heimischen Gefilden, alle Mitfahrer, die neben mir in Woolly saßen, werden ihn nie wieder besteigen, und ich habe nicht den Hauch einer Ahnung, wie es weitergeht. Soll ich in dieser Ecke Sydneys bleiben, auf dem Campingplatz, und mir einen Job suchen, bis Woolly verkauft ist? Oder nach Brisbane fahren, um bei Bodo und Robyn wieder einzusteigen? Oder gar nach Darwin fliegen, um unter tropischer Sonne malochen zu gehen? Ich weiß es nicht… und wenn ihr es erfahren wollt, müsst ihr nun im englischen Teil weiter lesen…

To be continued...

Elf Monate away from home!

Aufstehen und umräumen ging Schlag auf Schlag, kurz danach fanden wir uns im Straßendschungel einer Weltmetropole wieder. Straßen hier, Straßen dort, Straßen überall. Und wir mit Woolly mittendrin.
Tim steuerte den Van im Endeffekt elegant auf einen Campingplatz, wo wir zu dritt für eine Nacht stolze 33$ auf den Tisch legten. Aber wir brauchten Zeit, eine Dusche, und Platz. Dies alles ward uns geboten.
Ziemlich nahe am Flughafen waren wir dran, doch die über uns fliegenden Maschinen störten uns nur geringfügig beim Frühstücken. Viel schlimmer war da das nebenan statt findende Netzballturnier, deren nervige Kommentatorin stets die selben Sätze von sich ließ.
Aber egal, die Sonne schien uns direkt ins Gemüt, unseren letzten vollen Tag würden wir uns nicht vermiesen lassen.


Nach einer belebenden Dusche begannen wir, Woolly bis auf die Grundstruktur zu entleeren. Hernach wurde auf- und umgeräumt, gewischt, geschrubbt und poliert, auf dass er nun verkaufsbereit blitzt und blinkt, unser Liebling.


Zwischendrin genossen wir Sandwiches, nach Beendigung der Aktion war der Nachmittag bereits etwas fortgeschritten. Wir streunerten los Richtung Botany Bay, die Bucht, in der für Australien die Zivilisation begann, würde jene sein, wo es für Tim und Laura enden sollte – vom Strand aus sahen wir gegenüber den Flughafen… ein wenig traurig stimmte mich dieser Anblick…


Die Sonne ging unter, wir gingen zurück, und ab zu Domino’s. Tradition muss sein, die beiden luden mich zum Abschiedsessen ein, ich sponserte den passenden Gutschein.
Zurück auf dem Campingplatz chillten wir uns ins Fernsehzimmer, schmatzten um die Wette und ließen uns nebenher von einer Doku über das harte Leben von Kaiserpinguinen der Antarktis zu belehren. Im Anschluss folgte ein Schmachtfetzen aus dem Hause Bollywood, Tim ging danach schnurstracks ins Bett.
Laura half mir noch beim Vervollständigen der Blogstichpunkte, zwei Foto-DVDs wurden gebrannt und dann war auch für uns der Tag vorbei…