My last month in Australia! At least this time around. My flight was booked for the 29th and so far in Cairns I'd earned about $250 from my three day trial and the one shift for Signature Staff so I really needed to be saving some money. I was still working for accommodation and the hostel was starting to get busier so it wasn't quite as boring as before.
Sunset
I was out CV dropping down by the pier when I walked past a row of restaurants where I thought there would be no point trying as I have no experience but I thought screw it, I may as well whilst I'm here. One of those restaurants was Mature Yogo which is run by a Japanese couple. I went in and handed my CV to the owner and tried to beef up the food service in the pub at home and the three days I did in Palm Cove. Somehow she decided to give me a go and bish bash bosh I was a waiter at a French-Japanese restaurant.
I still don't understand how I managed to wangle this one but I did. "Have you got experience?", sure. "Will you be here for 6 months?", erm, sure. I'm sure it didn't take them long to figure out that I only vaguely knew what I was doing but they were really helpful which only made me feel more guilty about lying. I do feel bad about saying I was going to be there for so long but she asked me after I'd already completed my trial shift and interview and had the job. She asked me I was practically walking out of the door and there are hundreds of backpackers in Cairns who would quite happily lie and take my job opportunity away from me. Karma got me in the end I suppose but I'll get to that.
View from the restaurant
There were only a few people working there. Other than the chefs and the woman who owned it, Muyuki, there was Tommy (Aussie), Yuri (Japanese) and Minea (French). They were all really nice and I could have a laugh with Tommy. They also hired another French girl the same day as me, Marie, who was staying at the same hostel as me. She also lied and only stayed two weeks!
I got into the swing of things and when I had learnt the menu it
became quite easy really. I mainly worked the lunch shift, 12-3, which
usually had a rush on for an hour and then slow. There was much banter
with the staff who kept asking me to say different things in my 'funny
accent'. I told the boss I was leaving two weeks in advance. She was not
happy to say the least and cancelled all my evening shifts which was
really annoying but there's that karma I mentioned. She told me she
needed that time to train the new person.
A kid left some playdo one day so i made a rabbit, the white bits are mashed potato!
Towards the end of my time at M Yogo we hosted a Japanese wedding reception which was a new experience. There was a bit of extra pressure given that it was someones wedding and everything should be perfect but I needn't have worried. There was only about 20 people and everything went off without a hitch. When the groom was given his wedding speech he started crying and then every single person at the table started crying as well. I'm sure what he was saying was all really emotional but all I could see was this guy gibbering on in a language i don't understand and everyone crying. So I burst out laughing! Its bad, i know but I couldn't help it! It was hilarious! I don't thing anyone noticed and I went outside until he finished his speech!
On my last day Tommy said that if I was ever back in Cairns and needed a job to go back to him and he try to sort me out. Muyiki did not share that same enthusiasm. As I was saying bye I said "who knows, you might see me again." To which she laughed and replied "I don't think so!". Bit awkward.
Hollie!
As you can see from the picture, HOLLIE's HERE! She arrived with her boyfriend and their van in August and we met up. It was nice to reminisce about the good times especially so close to the one year anniversary of arriving! We went off to the Botanic Gardens where, after waving at Martin working in the cafe, we did the forest walk.
what it says on the tin
Gardens
Shiny roof!
There was an epic amount of steps up to the top which nearly killed poor Hollie. We then set off through the forest for about an hour until we gave up and turned back!
The view
Hollie wasn't the last familiar face I saw in Cairns. Simone, an annoying guy I met in Cooktown was staying at the beach house one night. He did his usual walk over uninvited and outstay your welcome. He's OK really and in this environment its hard to get annoyed at him but when I was in Cooktown he was there all the time and wouldn't go away!
Another family face we spotted only metres from the hostel was the one and only Peter Andre! He's a bit of a tit with his many shows on ITV2 but a celebrity is a celebrity and the reaction he had on us was quite surprising!
Mixing with the stars
A girl from the hostel came over and said Peter Andre is in the shop over the road. We thought she was clearly mistaken and went to have a look for ourselves and it turned out she was right! Suddenly I found myself looking at nothing in particular while following him around the shop! We then hovered outside where the girls wanted to run away as he walked out but John was determined to get a photo with him and went over to ask him. We all followed and one of the girls started crying which was a bit extreme! He was really nice and kept worrying about his hair. We asked him about Millaa Millaa Falls which is just around the corner and supposedly where he filmed Mysterious Girl. Its all lies! It was filmed in Thailand. We heard it from the horses mouth!
Hiro laughing at boobs in a magazine
Life at the hostel was still good. Several people had left already but more replaced them adding to our friend circle. I had moved from the bar to driving the bus which fit better with my other job. We hosted quiz one night which I didn't expect anyone to turn up to but it was the busiest night I'd seen in the bar so far. Every table was full and it was a really good night. We won the last round for a couple of free jugs (might have cheated).
Decorating for the quiz
Busy!
It was time for Rachael's birthday and Danielle had organised a surprise for her. She had decorated their room with a million streamers and baked her a cake.
Cake!
I was in charge of the music as the random mix was just shocking I could pretend I was working. It ended up a cheese fest with many 90s bands being played followed by the macerena! I have a video of John joining in and then running away when he realised I was filming!
Macerena
The crew
Feeling mexican
Table dancing
That wasn't the only night out we had in August. There was another Monday Mission and I was working again until midnight so i was to join them later on after most of the fun and been had. I did not stick to this plan and decided to leave my shift early and go join them at 9 o'clock. There is literally nothing to do after 8pm and there was no management around so I thought it would be no problem.
MISSION!
I met everyone at the Serpent and then we went to Gilligans where there was a talent competition on which our Canadian friend won.
Talented
Group photo
Unfortunately I did not get away with it. Aaron, the moron of a night "manager", found out I wasn't there and told reception in the morning. Nobody likes him, he just sits in his room all night playing poker and sleeps all day. He works for accommodation just like us and he's just a tit. Lisa cornered me and summoned me to the office where I tried to explain that someone was going to cover me whilst I wasn't there but she was having none of it and decided to make an example out of me and told me to leave the hostel. Lesson learnt I suppose. Had it not been my last week I probably wouldn't have done it but never mind. So the next day I moved into Global Central in the city which was better for work but the social atmosphere of a funeral!
Just chillin
I still met up with everyone from the beach house and went over there which I'm sure pissed Aaron off but he seemed to be actively avoiding me! He lost his job anyway as the hostel was bought by someone else and he had to move out. Gutted!
Last day with northern girls
Danielle and Rachael got an emotional farewell. We went out for lunch at Rattle N Rum before going back to the hostel to wave them off. All the staff came over to say bye including Megsi from the travel desk who seemed particularly upset. For me it wasn't really goodbye because I was to see them again in two weeks time.
Chilling by the lagoon
Waiting for the parade
I heard there would be a parade and fireworks to make the start of the Cairns Festival and given how impressive Adelaide's was I thought I would go and check it out. We sat on the road surrounded by kids who kept jumping in the was which was annoying but John was quite happy to tell them to sit down!
Japanese people
There was a lot on the parade. Dogs, bikes, superheroes, roller bladers and a random cassowary to name just a few. There was also a large Asian section and each local school or sports club had there own float.
Octopus!
After the parade, which did seem to drag on a bit in the end, we went over to the lagoon wall for the fireworks which lived up to expectation. Hiro was getting very excited at them which you can hear in the video.
Fireworks obv!
My final week in Oz and we went for a BBQ down by the lagoon. I don't know why we didn't do this more given that it didn't rain in the entire month of August!
BBQ Buddies
There was still time for one last night out before I left which involved many drinking games including the mushroom one below where you have to have to balance cards on a cup. We were surprisingly good at this and we were down to two cards before I knocked the lot over and had to down my drink. It wasn't one of the best nights but it marked the end of an era!
Mushroom
The night before my flight I went over to the Beach House for a few drinks with everyone and one last bout of fun before I moved on. When the time came for me to say goodbye to everyone it was very sad. I've met some amazing friends in Cairns and to say bye wasn't easy. Especially to Hiro who I'd seen everyday for nearly 6 months and also to Hollie who also came over to say bye. It was all a very sad occasion but its time to move on.
That's it! One whole year in Australia completed. The things I've seen, the people I've met and the experiences I've had have all been incredible. I had no idea what I was in for when I arrived in Sydney on that crisp spring morning. I've had the most amazing time in Australia and I've grown extremely fond of the place. Something which New Zealand now has to compete with. I'm not going home. At least not yet. I will be back in Australia at some point in the future but for now, its time for a new adventure! This calls for a montage!
Now fully settled in Cairns, working for accommodation and cracking on with the job hunt, the weather had improved after a dodgy start to the dry season and I really began to enjoy life back in the Far North. Cairns is surrounded by green mountains which look beautiful in the sun.
I can live with this!
I signed up to a staffing agency similar to the one I worked for in Adelaide. They sent me to work a shift in the Civiv Theatre in the city. There was some ballet on which I was allowed to sneak in to so I could have a bit of a watch and its safe to say that its not my thing at all. I watched for about 5 minutes with them jumping about and stuff and yeah its impressive from a physical side of things but from an artistic side, I just don't get it! The job was good though. I was on the bar just outside the theatre in and it was piece of piss really. I only did one shift and it just so happened to be the only work I did for the agency.
Palm Cove
To the north of the city is where all the beaches are. The furthest away is Palm Cove which I visited when I landed myself a trial shift at a restaurant there. It is a really scenic place squashed between the mountains and the sea and as Megan would say when she got a job at a restaurant up there "its full of newly weds and nearly deads". She was a girl who worked in the hostel on reception before becoming a Palm Cove snob and she asked me for a special mention in this blog so there you go!
I got the trial shift after greatly exaggerating my food service from the pub at home so I was a bit out of my depth when I started working at Vevo in Palm Cove. It's not exactly difficult work and I didn't have to take any food orders or anything so I was basically just a runner. On Day 3 of my trial and after I asked whether or not I would actually be paid for the work he said he'd call me the following week to tell me if I had the job or not and he paid me for the hours I had done. He didn't call me and it became apparent that he had absolutely no intention of hiring me. It was the last week of the school holidays so the restaurant was really busy and he just needed an extra hand for the week. Its possible that had I not asked if I was going to get paid he might have made me work the week and hope that I'd give up and not turn up one day so he wouldn't have to pay me at all, who knows. But, three days work, a bit of extra cash, I wasn't exactly complaining too much.
Sporting highlight of the year!
What a fantastic year for British Sport and especially good being in Australia with us seemingly beating them at everything! I watched the lions matches whilst asking constantly about the rules. I found the State of Origin so much easier to follow. I think I'm definitely more of a Rugby League fan than I am a Rugby Union fan. QUEENSLANDER!!!! The cricket was also entertaining or as mildly entertaining as cricket can be. Especially when we win!
But the sporting victory I was most happy about in July wasn't us beating Australia it was us beating a Serbian. Andy Murray in the final of Wimbledon! Last year I took the afternoon off work so I could watch it and this year was the same, nothing was going to stop me watching it. Luckily there was a TV in the hostel I could watch it on and I asked the person on the bar to turn the music off so I could listen to it as well. There was barely anyone in the bar and it was to shut within the hour anyway so it wasn't like I was taking over, though I would have tried if I had to. I know a lot of people in the UK really couldn't care if Andy Murray won or not but I've watched him since he became a serious contender and Tim Henman before that. I've always watched Wimbledon and would love to see a British winner so as Murray drew up championship point I was beside myself. A small crowd had gathered in front of the TV to watch. I say crowd, there was about 8 people and none of them cared but I was literally on the edge of my seat, legs jiggling up and down and chewing on my jumper! 2 championship points, 3 championship points, 4 championship points and finally he wins and I jump up out my seat trying my hardest not to scream as its now 2am and everyone is asleep whilst the people gathered around the table give me strange looks. I am so happy he won. Anyone that follows tennis will understand the significance. The first British winner in 76 years. Well done Andy!!!
Neon Rave!
I got a bit carried away there didn't I!
The first of many nights out in July was the neon rave at Woolshed. We had drinks at the hostel before neon-ing ourselves up with wet chalk, glow sticks and anything else bright we could get our hands on before heading out. It was a really good night. Fabian wins the prize for the most drunk falling about the place about 5 minutes after we arrived!
Neon chooses you!
The day before my birthday I became an uncle! I swear little Harry Joseph Fletcher was planning to steal my birthday from me the same way Lindsay stole Anneli's but he failed, HA! Can't really moan too much though, you can't get a mad a baby. He becomes my second nephew after Shelly had her baby a few months ago but the first one by blood! Sarah made me a little badge saying 'Uncle Alan' which I stuck to my bed which was still there when I left.
Sign from reception
I didn't really know what to expect from my birthday. It was the same at Christmas. Being away from home it has the potential to be crap. Thankfully, like Christmas, it wasn't.
Someone from reception had already left me a little present on the activities board (or rather they just used my birthday as an excuse by plug the Monday Mission pub crawl but the thoughts there all the same). That was another present, Monday Mission, the events guy let me go on it for free. I got a card signed by most of the staff, a free beer from the bar and a free burger from the chef so I did well considering!
Nice homemade handy work
I wasn't really that keen on going out that night. Not because it was my birthday, just because I couldn't really be bothered. It was good night really. The pub crawl was good. Starting at Calypso we had a free BBQ and then the Serpent where there was a game of musical chairs. If you didn't get a seat then you had to take off a piece of clothing in order to stay in the game, A good idea in theory until a fat hairy man started taking clothes off!
Musical chairs
Then it was on to Gilligans for a lacklustre talent competition and then PJs where some latecomers arrived including Megan who wins the nights most drunk award by a country mile. Fell over about 4 times, knocked a guys drink out of his hand without noticing and then got thrown out. Well done Meg! I was going to take a picture of her whilst she was on the floor but I thought I best not be cruel and help her up instead. Hiro said she was "like a crocodile", "dangerous".
Me with the hostel ladies
There were many birthdays that week. Sarah on reception had hers and then it was Danielle's turn. Stretch made her a cake which I found inedible and they went out for a meal.
Stretch with the cake
Happy
When they were off having their meal I went into town to meet some random called Chelsea and her boyfriend Sam. I don't know who they are or why they keep following me around the country. She says she knows me from the Oak at home, her dad owns the pub or something.
LEEDS (and Japan)
Seriously though, it was great to see them again and get the latest on their travels and farming. Strangely enough in the town they worked which is in the arse end of absolutely nowhere they bumped Laura and Amanda who I worked with at the Den. They didn't it at the time but when two scousers rock up in a small town word spreads and Chelsea and Sam remembered them.
SHOTS
We talked about the Kiwi Experience which they had done what I'm about to embark on. They gave me some advice which I'm hoping will come in handy. Then we went to Woolshed, as standard, and had many shots, again, standard. The prize for most drunk this night unfortunately goes to me. Chunder, oops
Party people
Chelsea wasn't the only familiar face I would see in Cairns. I saw Hanna, the girl I shared a room with in Adelaide. Hollie was on her way too but the first scottish I saw was Angela.
Another reunion
Another nice catch up. I'd clearly been out of the loop when it came to gossip from the Ultimate Oz lot so Angela filled me in. She was staying at Gilligans so we headed downstairs where they were having a gladiator competition.
FIGHT!
July, as you can see, was mostly filled by drinking. From reunions to birthdays there were a lot of reasons to get drunk but the money was getting low so I really needed to be getting a job in August.
Back in cairns once again. I keep coming back here because its a cool place with beautiful secanary. But more importantly its warm and sunny! It's officially winter and even in Bundaberg it was far too cold for my liking so the obvious choice was to go further north to where its 25-30C and sunny. At least in theory.
Recognise this!?
Hiro and Felix from the farm were also up in Cairns after their brief trip up the east coast so it was awesome to meet up with them again! I met Steve from the Isle of Man who was staying in Felix's room at Gilligans. He was an Australian newbie and had been in the country only 24 hours when I met him. Time to introduce him to goon then! That night we went out to Woolshed which is still just as awesome as it always was. Still good people, still good music and you can still dance on the tables!
It was Mexican Night
Truely disgusting skittle shots!
Second night in Cairns and we were talking into doing the Ultimate Party Bus tour. Not really sure why there needs to be a bus for this as all of the bars are within a 5 minute walking distance. I must have met and talked to at least 40 people that night from so many different places. I ended up in a sex position game with a Canadian! We didn't do very well!
Party Bus
The day came for me to do something I meant to do the last two times I was in Cairns but never got around to it - Diving on the Great Barrier Reef! I was a little nervous of the dive given that I get really bad pain in my ears when flying and being in pain whilst underwater was something I was not looking forward to.
all strapped up and ready to go
There were four of us in our diving group. Me and Steve and two asians who didn't really understand a word of english. We swam around to the side of the boat and one by one we were to go down 1 metre to a metal bar before decending the rest of the way. I was first and it was as I feared. Immediately my ears began to hurt. Holding my nose and blowing is something that has never worked for me when flying but miraculously it was working underwater but only a little bit. Steve floated down next to me no problem and then it was Asian number 1s turn. Down he came, up he went, back down, back up, threw up and then gave up! Asian number 2s turn - same thing! It must have been ten minutes me and Steve were bobbing just under the surface waiting for these two guys who eventually gave up. It was very frustrating!
Reef!
Steve now fully annoyed at the delay and having dived many times before was desperate to get going and go down to the bottom as quickly as possible. This meant I was trying to force myself through the pain that was in my ears and I didn't want to delay us any further. I kept saying I was ok when I blatently wasn't until I couldn't force myself to go down any further and had to stop and signal that I needed to wait and sort my ears out. Eventually we got down and my ears still ringing a bit we set off amongst the reef.
More reefness
I wish desperately that my ears weren't killing me coz it reunined it a little bit. Especially I was trying hard to not freak out about being underwater and in pain but I slowly began to enjoy it.
Then a shark swam by! ARGH
Shark
The reef was really cool though. So much better than the one we snorkelled on in the Whitsundays. The were so many fish and the reef had these big canyon type channels. I found Nemo and had the best ever picture taken!
Nemo's cousins
Winner of Best Picture Ever Award!
After the dive which was about 40 minutes we had a bit of a snorkel and then ate lunch before going off to a different site. As I only really enjoyed the last 5 minutes of the dive I was able to be persuaded to do a second dive knowing that my ears wouldn't be as bad second time around. The second dive site wasn't anywhere near as good as the first one though unfortunately. All in all it was a really good day out and an amazing experience despite the issues and I would love to do it again. It was worth it just for the picture if nothing else!
It was time to settle down a bit in Cairns and look for a job. I had already lined up a job working for accommodation before I'd even got to Cairns which was helpful. I moved into Work and Play Backpackers (or Cairns Beach House as everyone knows it) and started working on the bar.
Entertaining ourselves
It was the most basic bar in the world and there was about 3 customers a day to begin with. The hostel had recently been taken over by Nomads so they were busy improving everything and the bar wasn't very high on the list.
This bar is rocking
Stretch, the chef
The hostel itself was quite nice. Its in Cairns North which is about a 20 minuite walk into the city. It has a pool and obviously a bar. It was a very chilled out so sort of place. Boring at times. Even the hostel cat was found chilling out around the place occasionally...
Berlious the car
The best thing about the hostel was the people. I made friends with so many people there, mostly staff, including the rest of the bar dream team Danielle, Martin, Sarah and Rachael. I managed to get Hiro a job on housekeeping too.
The Dream Team
Felix went home. We had a last night out. Steve and him came to hostel coz I was working and we went out into town and said goodbye at the end. It was all very sad. Steve left to do the East Coast a few days later.
Felix is leaving :(
I did not sign up for this weather!
Staff on a night out!
Working for accommodation sorted, new friends made and CVs printed ready for an epic job hunt I was ready for a couple of months in Cairns where there were many nights out and many MANY stories to be told.
Ok, so its not the Trans Siberian Express but I've never been on a train for the more than 5 hours before so it seemed quite epic and warrants its on blog! The train from Bundaberg to Cairns would take me 24 hours so with it being overnight I thought it was going to be pretty horrendous as I only bought a seat and not a bed. I was wrong.
A very long train
The train had a restaurant car where you could sit down for a proper meal (1st class only), a diner car for meals for the rest of the passengers plus a lounge area. Even the passenger cars where everyone sat had a shower at the end and seats that lent quite far back so you could get a reasonable nights sleep.
Diner car
Lounge car
I spent most of the journey on the sofas in the lounge area watching TV and playing games on my laptop as there were plug sockets there. No WiFi though which was probably the only thing they didn't have!
Supermoon
I had a good view of the supermoon that night too. It was really bright. I got a decent sleep and felt quite refreshed after my morning shower!
Nearing Cairns
So I left the farm behind and headed for warmer weather in Cairns where I would meet up with old friends and make many new ones for my last stint in Australia (at least on my first year visa!)
