Thursday 17 march 2005      Melbourne Victoria

Hello everybody, I’m back…

Have been low on energy for the last couple of days, so am chilling out a little and getting back on track in Melbourne.

Philip (the Danish friend from Busselton) his father lives here in St-Kilda, Melbourne and I have been able to stay here with them for a week or so. Very nice, just relaxing, day-tripping into Melbourne city for a couple of times, but haven’t done that much.

Melbourne is different from Perth in many ways. It is a lot busier and nosier. I think that Perth is a real clean and peaceful city, only if you go to the known places you will find pubs and clubs poring out with people. On the streets dough it is always very quiet. Here in Melbourne, the history dates back a little longer than Perth, so you can distinguish the newer from the older skyscrapers and you can see a couple of houses that are really old-fashioned, as the stations and shopping streets.

Everything in Australia is still very modern dough; it has only been 200 years that the building and formation of these cities began. It has a quit amazing and remarkable history; Convicts started it all. The good behaving ones became the police; the others formed the rest of the white civilisation.

I wonder why we all didn’t want to be convicts at that time. You get a huge Island (because there is no space in England, Scotland or Ireland) and can start your own creation of civilisation… develop your own system…city, government, etc… think about it.

Last weekend we drove down to The Great Ocean Road. A beautiful coastline where the 12 Apostles can be found and the London Bridge, the Arc, etc… Most of them are huge rock formations, formed by the strong current of the ocean and the wind. Very beautiful, a more extreme version of what I have seen in England (Devon, Cornwall). We spent the night and the next day went for some trekking and a fly-walk through the trees more inland. We saw some beautiful waterfalls and the more rainforest like forest down here. It is a lot more humid than in Perth, so here you find taller trees covered in mosses, big Vern trees, a strong sent of Eucalyptus and Pine in the air. Incredible actually. I’m intrigued by this country…

Before coming here I spent another fascinating week in Perth, with a very special bunch of people.

I’ve met more great people and discovered a part of Australian life in the traditional way.  

When the truck-driver dropped me off in Midland (one of the 200 suburbs of Perth), I called up Keith, Vie´s uncle (Vie is the girl I met in Tangkoko, Jaco´s girlfriend). He lived about 5 minutes from Midland station and came to pick me up. Yanti is Keith’s wife and she is Indonesian. She was in Indonesia at that time but arrived back home a couple of days after my arrival in Perth.

My welcoming at there place was including a real Belgian beer (SA) and a pool in the garden. Just wonderful. Wonders be praised, I’m not feeling unhappy! The same night I was invited to a traditional bbq, two couples, Keith and I had a great time playing ´boule´ and drinking and eating lovely food. I have missed the meat… They all noticed that! The second day he introduced me to his sons and grand-children. Troy came first, he’s disabled, had a bad encounter about 10 years ago with 2 big trucks driving a motorcycle. Lives in a wheelchair now, mentally completely fine, but physically paralysed up to his chest. Troy is father of a twin, Jessy and Blake, 5 years old. Shane, Troy’s brother, is the eldest of the two, lovely bloke. They all have their beauties; Motor wise. Keith has a Harley (three-wheeler), an Ariel and another beautiful old-timer. Troy has 2 Chevrolets and 1 Drag racer, V8- Holden, Shane has another big motor, a Honda I think it was and is driving one of Troy’s most beautiful cars (the black Chevrolet Camaro SS…) just a family interest. 

I invited them all for a diner at Keith’s place and after that I ended up spending all week with Troy. He showed me Perth, there he’s able to drive his Chevrolet, adapted to his situation and gave me some more background information about this place. For him it seemed to be good to get out of the house, get motivated again to look forward and not just sit around and feel low. We did each other a huge favour I guess. I kind of liked it to spend time with him and make him feel better, or give him a reason to feel good…. And he liked it to show me around and introduce me to his friends.

Being with Keith, Yanti and Troy gave me an insight of how some Australian people live and feel. I found myself again in an amazing family.

Reza arrived from Belgium, coming back to live in Perth. We know each other from our younger years. When I was about 10 years old, he left for Australia with his mom. He came back to Belgium 5 years ago and now got back 2 Australia. I don’t blame him for choosing Australia to be a resident of rather than Belgium. I guess here you just have more opportunities, and a completely different life-style, a better weather forecast all year round (certainly in Perth) and renting or buying a property is much cheaper.

We met up on my Birthday, got to know some of his friends, very cool people and they took me out to celebrate… Was a good party, I had a great time… the next day Troy and I had another event to celebrate. TwoTribes; an outdoor festival, with the Prodigy, LTJ-Bukem, M.I.K.E Push (from Belgium) and many more were performing here today. Awesome day! Jet another part of Australia that I discovered on this event, so many beautiful people (I already wondered where they were hiding?).    

Monday night I flew to Sydney, spent the day wondering around through this amazing City when Tuesday night, I took a bus to Melbourne. So all this together made me a little tired. No wonder.

Sometimes I wish I stayed a little bit longer in Perth than I did, just met some people in the last couple of days I was there and it would have been nice to get to know them a little better. Also the weather was so much better than down here in Melbourne. On the other hand, I am in a good place to rest and having a good time with Philip. I’m also having the opportunity to see Melbourne which a lot of people told me to do if I got the chance. It is good to see so many different places; I did a lot in 2 months time, not having a reference whatsoever. I’m pretty sure I’ll be coming back for a year, with the working-holiday-Visa. ¤ Recommendation for all Belgian people, our country is on the list for this type of Visa since last November. If you want to do something different and get out for a year, being under the age of 30 and see a beautiful country…. What the hell are you waiting for?

In less than 1 week I’ll be in New-Zealand, I am very excited about that.

 I’ll have 3 months in Paradise, one to travel, two to volunteer in Tongariro National Park. Sounds good, feels good! C ya later mate!

THURSDAY 24 MARCH 2005             AUCKLAND        NEW ZEALAND

I arrived in Paradise, Auckland is another big city, with nothing that amazing yet, but I could see it from the plain... something exciting went through my body.... this looks pretty.

I have had a couple of nice days in Sydney before I left, except for the last 2 days... they were mad. I've been to the hospital because of my eye... it was flipping, something got inside and hurt really bad.

I've been feeling a little strange, not knowing really why or what.

I'm going to discover within the couple of days how I'm going to explore these grounds of heaven...

will keep you posted!

***

MONDAY 28 MARCH 2005     WELLINGTON 

I've done something different, something exciting and risky... I've bought a car????????

a green Nissan Blue Bird, from 89... startion wagon, so I'm sleeping in the back, cooking on a little stove... as in Oz, but now I'm independently alone....    crazy shit I tell you. Tomorrow I take the Ferry towards the South Isand, and in 20 days.. I want to see the most of the South... than I'll be working in one of the most amazing National Parks in NZ's North Island...

2DAY is 5 months, that I'm on the road....7 to go....

miss you all very much, but this is really a different side of life, I tell you.