Merry Xmas
Ok, so technically this was supposed to be a blog about my travels, but even though, for the moment, the globe-trotting may have come to an end, I thought I would share some of my happenings in & around Canberra. Since moving here in May I've found some things refreshingly new, such as the lack of general madness of London and other big cities, and some depressingly similar, like the bureaucracy that I suppose comes with any developed country. But overall, I've come to enjoy living here quite a bit.
The more I get involved in day to day life here, the more I think this place seems to strike a good balance between having all pros of a decent 21st century city without the drawbacks of much bigger cities. It's clean, the 'city with a small town mentality' makes it more personal, friendly and peaceful, and, something incredibly valuable to me as a ex-Londoner, traffic is a rarity.
One of the best things I've found is that I only have to travel for a few minutes to get out into nature. Canberra's surrounded by forest (I can't quite get used to calling it bush) and mountains, which makes for some great cycle routes and even greater views from the top. A beach would be nice, the nearest one is a 2 hour drive, but it's also quite cool to be equidistant to ski resorts, and anyway I've always preferred beaches that take a bit of a drive to get to.
In terms of what I've been upto, well not a lot to be honest. I've been saving money for a while, and due to a combination of lack of mates and frankly just not really wanting to, I havn't been venturing out to the pubs or bars. Having seen the state of some of city-centres here and in NZ at chucking out time, I'm not really too bothered. Christmas is coming up however, so perhaps I'll see what's out there.
Work has the usual ups and downs of the public sector. Unlike some of my previous sales roles, the lack of enthusiasm here can be a little grating, and things move painfully slowly at times. More positively I did get promoted, which I can only assume would be a boost to my skilled migrant visa application, and the hospital has some life-affirming characters that make it more worthwhile.
When things are a bit rubbish I think it's natural to have thoughts about returning home; I miss my family, mates and doing the crossword in the pub, but looking back, I've had an incredibly fortunate run of events to get me here, so it would be a shame to cash in my chips now. Long term, I'm pretty much decided that I want to set up a base here, it just makes sense.
I'll try to update as I get out and about more, for the moment here's a few photos of my antics.
Ciao
So, almost a month after I arrived in Canberra and I've got a job, a place to live and even a much needed gym membership, but If I said it's been a smooth transition back into the routine of daily life I'd be lying. I knew it wasn't going to be easy to make the switch from the lifestyle and experiences I'd had in NZ, and particularly South America, but the challenge of getting my mindset back to something resembling what it had been in England all those months ago is by far the biggest I've experienced on this trip.
If I think about how I've travelled, it's clear that I quickly discovered that I wasn't really into the fast-paced, constantly-on-the-move lifestyle that a lot of travellers get involved in. As the trip went on I found myself favouring staying longer in a place, soaking up the atmosphere and trying as best I could to get into the local's way of life, instead of a couple of nights here, a few photos there and maybe a drunken evening, before stumbling back onto a bus to checkout the next sight.
Although my style of travel has it's negative points, and I've definitely paid the price for staying too long on at least one occasion, I've been told repeatedly on this trip not to have any regrets. Even though at times it's been scary, frustrating, boring, worrying and not least expensive, I can't say that I do.
Before I left home I always thought that travelling would probably broaden my horizons or whatever, and indeed it has. Looking back over the past 10 months as I sit here in a quiet café in Canberra, I think the places I've been to, things I've seen and most memorably, the people I've met have highlighted in the most powerful way what's important in life; not just to me but to society, at least as I've seen it. This may seem like a bit of a clichéd post-travel pondering, but after seeing and most importantly being a part of existences that I couldn't have imagined only last year, I think I've formed a new view of how to live.
So what of the future, or just so what? Well I'm hoping that the slower-paced and hopefully more relaxed circumstances I've found here in this peaceful and friendly city will go some way to helping me settle for a bit. A lot of people seem to think that Canberra is a bit too slow compared to the likes of Melbourne, Sydney and certainly London, but for me it seems ideal to take stock, recover and perhaps establish a foundation for further travels.
This may be the last post for a while; there's still a lot of countries to experience, sights to see and people to meet, but for the moment I'm happy enough to have a bit of a break and a few cups of tea. Some of you reading this may know there's a chance I'll be returning soon for a bit, so fingers crossed I'll be able to share a few stories not suitable for this blog on my return :)
Here's some photos of some Canberra wanderings, and my home for hopefully the best part of the next year - even though it's Winter we're pretty lucky with the weather!
Ciao
ps To those of you I've been really bad at staying in contact with, I apologise - hopefully the above will go some way to explaining why I've been off the radar for a bit.
So, a slightly more timely update for once:
Before I left Perth I took the ferry over to Rottnest Island a few miles off the coast and spent a day cycling about checking out the many little bays and, more interestingly, Quokkas which are like miniature kangaroos. It was a nice little island, small enough to get around pretty much all of it in a day, and as it shares the same sunny climate as the mainland, perfect for tourists. It was good fun being able to coast down the hills like a child with hardly anyone about to judge you, checking out the sights and dodging iguanas, while also getting some much-needed exercise.
In other news, after quite a few applications and registrations I've managed to land a job, amazingly one of the first ones I applied for, so I took off once again to Sydney and onto Canberra back in the east. I'm staying at a centrally located hostel in the city centre while I find somewhere more permanent to live.
It feels a bit strange wearing a suit again after 9 months, but I've been lucky enough to have a few days to have a wander around the area and get my bearings. So far Canberra seems like a nice balance of entertainment, culture and laid back people, which is good as it looks as though I could be here for a while.
I'm pretty glad I'm not in one of the more crazy cities as it may have been a little too like old times, but Sydney, Melbourne, loads of bushland and even some reasonable ski resorts are only few hours drive away, so there's space if I need to get out for a bit. Perhaps it's time to get the skis out again.
Here's some photos of Rottnest, a couple more of my last walk around the lake in Perth, and some of my new home. I'm not sure what to do with this blog as I'm technically not travelling anymore, and I doubt anyone wants to here about my 9 to 5. I could turn it into some sort of expat ranting but I think there's enough of that already. I'll have a think, meanwhile here's some photos.
Cya
So after another lengthy break between posts I've an update; I spent a couple of weeks in Melbourne on the job hunt after leaving the Brit-saturated madness of Sydney. It was, as a lot of people said, a bit less chaotic and had a more character, especially in the bohemian St.Kilda area where I stayed. There was also the best market I've seen in an English-speaking country in the North of the city. It was surprising to see people in cafes, shopping centres and busy streets pretty much all the time, there's definitely a spending culture out here which I imagine could be easy to get drawn into.
I decided to leave Melbourne about a week ago to visit some family friends in Perth in the West of Australia and continue the search for work; I'd heard the weather's better and what with the area prospering due to construction and mining booms, I decided it might be a more successful (and following a shooting on the doorstep of my previous hostel, relaxing) bet here. As you can see from the photos the weather is indeed very nice over here; despite the imminent onset of winter we're getting 25-30 degrees most days, and the setting of the city by massive Swan river makes for a nicer backdrop to some of the cities I've been to. I think the most unusual thing I've found is the familiar British culture, despite being one of the most remote cities in the world; almost half the residents of Perth are from the UK.
It's strange how despite travelling through a variety of different cities, rich, poor old and new, I seem to adapt better to the ones in South America.
Here's a few photos of Melbourne and sunny Perth:
As for my plans; the prospect of returning to England looms; unless I can land something in the way of work fairly soon. Fingers crossed.
After 3 months in NZ I touched down in Sydney a week ago in warm but variable weather. The city is pretty much how I imagined, big buildings, lots of traffic and plenty of busy looking people bustling about. Fortunately the suburbs of Collaroy and Glebe in the north and east where I've been staying offer a bit more peace, and of course the beaches are great for relaxing.
My job search has begun, and although Sydney would probably be a good target I don't think I would enjoy working here. I've discovered on my travels that, for me, the slightly smaller cities tend to have a better balance of atmosphere and interesting people, so as I've heard so many good things I'm off to Melbourne tomorrow!
Cheers
Ello
For various reasons It's been well over a month since my last post, the earthquake made my trip take an unusual turn. Hopefully the following should explain what's been going on:
I left the madness of Queenstown about a week after the quake hit on the 22nd, and travelled back to the scene of the destruction in Christchurch. It might seem like an odd decision and looking back it was, but I wanted to help out and be with my friends, several of whom were working in the area before, and in some cases pretty much immediately after the quake.
As you can imagine the city was a state; buildings down all over the place, massive holes in the roads and firemen, police and military at most junctions. The photos show the scale of the destruction better than I can. It was sad to see the damage that had been done, especially to some of the older traditionally-styled buildings which were already being repaired from the boxing day quake, but thankfully some including the hostal had held up well.
The government had put a curfew in place to try and keep the place secure, so no-one was allowed in or out of a cordoned off area (which included our hostal) between 6:30pm and 6am. With not much to do apart from the occasional walk or shopping trip the atmosphere was sombre to say the least, but everyone was working hard to keep the city runnning as best they could, and despite the mass exodus (one resident had even left all her travelling gear having legged it straight to the airport) we did our best to maintain a positive atmosphere in the hostel.
As the water system for the city was not fully working we had to boil water for washing and drinking, which reminded me of South America, but amazingly power had been restored not long after, and the staff even managed to rig up a pump to a well for hot showers a couple of days after that. We mucked in by helping with the washing and sweeping the Liquification (a sort of dried sewer powder which had risen to the surface) that was all over the place, and despite several more aftershocks (imagine standing in a wooden shack and having a massive truck rumble past about 5 metres from you) kept ourselves entertained by baking, making stupid hats and singing.
You have to admire the Kiwi spirit, they're certainly doing a good job of getting things back on track, and the atmosphere rubbed off on us. It's definitely not something I would like to repeat, but memorable for the experience.
As my time in NZ was drawing to a close myself and Arita, a friend who I'd met at Foley Towers, decided to do a tour of the remaining areas of the South Island and take the ferry over to the north. Unfortunately as we had to make tracks to Auckland to meet a friend, and left a day let due to feeling rough, it was a slightly rushed tour, covering over a thousand kilometres in the course of a few days, but enjoyable none the less.
We made our way south in the trusty Ford Lazer, stopping off at Lake Tekapo in the middle, and circling back up the West Coast via Wanaka, Franz Josef, Greymouth and Nelson, where I started my travelling here over 2 months ago. We then caught the ferry over to Wellington at the southern tip of the North Island and on to Auckland via a night at Lake Taupo.
In a word it was exhausting, and I'm still feeling the effects now, but on the positive side I saw some great scenery, and me and Arita got got plenty of time in the car to work on our duets. I decided that if the job search in Oz doesn't go well I could look at a possible future career in cabaret, but sadly I'm still having trouble with the words of Kenny Rogers part of 'Islands In The Stream' so it's not looking promising.
For those who were wondering about my job search, I've given up on the quest for a working visa here, 2 months and almost 500 NZD later and there's still no word. Perhaps I should have never even applied as supposedly the wages and amount of jobs are better in Oz, but I've no regrets as while I was waiting I've made some great friends and laughed more than any other time in my trip.
Here are some photos, first of the 'quake and then more happily of my trip around the South and North islands. I'm currently at Lake Taupo slightly south of Auckland, which we were both keen to escape as it was pretty touristy and expensive as expected. I'll be making a move back to the city at the weekend to catch a flight back to Christchurch for one last time, before saying goodbye to NZ bound for Australia on Monday. Cheers!
Just a quick one about the earthquake; I'm fine - I left Christchurch yesterday to do some stuff for my visa down in Dunedin, so was on the return leg and a couple of hundred miles away when it hit this morning and felt nothing. Amazingly, not long after I left the city yesterday I was thinking about turning back and leaving it till the next day as it was a nice day, but luckily I thought better of it.
I'm going to spend at least a night down here in Queenstown with a couple of friends while things calm down. Supposedly it's party town but I imagine things could be a bit sombre. Anyway will do a proper update soon, been a crazy day so off for a couple of beers.
Greetings
For a variety of reasons it's been a while since my last post, but I'm reporting in from (mostly) sunny Christchurch here on the South Island. The wait for my work visa continues, and without going into too much detail it's been an endless cycle of receiving, copying and sending paperwork, with the latest saga being a bit of a mission to try and get an X-ray from Dunedin to Auckland. Although I'm thousands of miles away from Blighty, I'm constantly amazed by the Kiwi's similar dedication to red tape and generally being a bit arsey when you're trying to jump through the official hoops. Ah well.
On a much lighter note, my spirits have been generally good thanks to some friendly and funny folk at the hostel; there's a interesting mix of mostly Germans and Israelis and only a few British, as the Brits tend to favour the bus tours, where you get taken around the two islands and dropped off in hostels, sometimes partying of an evening, before stumbling back onto the bus for the next stop. No doubt an interesting experience, but I think having travelled for a bit now I'd prefer to make my own way around.
Inbetween the paperwork I've managed to get out for a brief camping trip to Lake Tekapo a few hours drive from Christchurch with a couple of mates. We had a nice time of walking about and drinking by the lake in the evening, the peaceful sounds of nature being drowned out by my friend Eric's guitar and my soprano renderings of the Backstreet Boys, which are quite popular with my fellow hostellers, I think.
Music generally seems to figure in most of my days here, whether it be catching up on new tunes on my Ipod in the day, or going back into wedding DJ mode in the evenings with some 80s and 90s classics. There's nothing quite like the sounds of a bunch of Germans singing along to Cotton Eye Joe to brighten up an evening.
Anyway enough ramblings, here's some photos of my adventures in and around Christchurch; we've been having mixed weather recently, but were lucky enough to get some clear skies on our camping trip. There's also a few of the Moeraki Boulders where I stopped off on the way back to Christchurch, which made for a few interesting photos. With any luck my next post should contain visa news of some sort, but as always we shall see.
Cya
Well, the rain's coming down hard outside, so I think it's time to do another update! I arrived in Dunedin, toward the bottom of the South Island a few days ago. I drove the 6 hours down from Christchurch in a car I bought off the housemate of friend I knew from London. It's funny how things happen; I wasn't planning on buying a motor, but as it seems like my visa may take a few more weeks and it was a good deal, I thought I might as well use the opportunity to tour the South Island.
The drive down was great as I thought it might be; some gorgeous scenery and I found a fantastic beach at Katiki where I stopped off for a sleep and a few photos. I arrived at a nice little hostel just outside the city which has a jacuzzi and great (non-bunk!) beds, so made a point of jumping in with a beer and some new friends. The jacuzzi that is.
I've been here a few days and have so far checked out the town, including a night at a different and more lively hostel, and I also met up with my mate Mikael who I met back in Nelson to have a walkabout the Otago peninsula; we took a tour around the Penguin and Albatross populated areas and got a few nice pics. Apparently the only species of Penguin more rare is the one I saw in the Galapagos, which might explain why I only saw 2.
Anyway, as one of our exports was apparently bureaucracy, I'm gonna be here for at least one more day getting a medical and x-ray done for my visa application. Fingers crossed that it goes through ok, as I've already shelled out toward 300NZD for it, and more importantly I'm actually starting to miss earning money. I never thought I'd say that.
My next stop isn't decided, I may head to Invercargill on the tip of the South coast as I've heard good things about Stewart Island, or energy allowing I may cycle the 'Rail Trail' with Mikael for a few days as it looks like a nice route. Here's a few photos of the trip down, Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula. **Updated 20/01 with photos of the Dunedin Art Gallery and Chinese Garden
Ciao! (wrong language, but I miss saying it)
