After months of planning, anxiety, and paperwork, I finally flew into Brisbane, New South Wales, Australia late last August. I spent 2 weeks WWOOFing in The Pocket, near Mullumbimby, and then I house sat for my American mate and her husband for 6 weeks. During that time I did my best to acclimate to my surroundings, find my way around, learn how the various bus/ library/ shopping centers, etc. worked. I later pet-sat for two more families in neighboring towns and then set off to start making my way around this country.
First major stop was Coffs Harbour, NSW. Technically I was in Boambee, but Coffs was the closest major city. Coffs is only about 3 hours south of where I started out in Lennox Head, and it's an easy Greyhound trip away.
I lived with a lovely family who had found me on the WWOOF site and contacted me because of my love of bees. I lived with them for 2 months, and I couldn't have asked for a better family to take me in. I learned so much, from plowing fields to using tools I'd never heard of. I was able to work with the honeybees I love so much, and despite so many bee stings, I never get sick of that.
On top of teaching me various invaluable skills, I got on really well with the parents, the children, and their awesome neighbor. This is always a huge plus when traveling, for obvious reasons. I always felt safe with them, and they went out of their way to include me in everything they did. I even spent Christmas and New Year's with them, and I had such an amazing holiday with them. I am forever thankful for the way they invited me into their family.
About a month into my time there, I received an email from immigration telling me that Americans were now eligible to apply for a 2nd year visa. I had emailed them months before asking them about something else, and if I hadn't I never would have found out about this in time.
So for all you who have asked me about this, the process sounds simple but is a lot more of a cluster cuss than you would expect. To be eligible for a 2nd year visa as someone on my type of visa one has to complete 88 days qualified (full time, paid) work in a designated region (north of the Tropic of Capricorn) before turning 31. There are a lot more rules involved, but that's the gist of it.
I had just accepted a job to head to after my Coffs trip when I'd gotten this email. I redacted my job acceptance and traveled north to Cape Tribulation in Queensland instead to a small resort that will remain unnamed for the privacy of everybody who worked there.
The trip north was a disaster. There were bus schedule snafus, early flights, broken down cars in the pouring rain, whiny backpackers, and a slew of other nonsense before I finally arrived to my destination around midnight. Backpacker life does not always ride on the back of convenience.
I'm going to be real - I had a lot of ups and downs at this place at first. I didn't get on with most of the backpackers who were there when I first arrived. Because everyone goes to work for 3 month stints, it's easy for cliques to form and for those groups to not connect as much with the new people. I was happy to be put in a room by myself (which only lasted a couple days), and I was bloody ecstatic to be assigned to reception. If I hadn't been put on reception, I honestly don't think I would have stayed as long as I did. Fortunately I was blessed enough to become fast friends with an American girl who showed up a few days in, and I just love her so much to this day.
As with all things good or bad, this place was still a valuable experience for me. Despite having two really terrible humans running the place, I got a lot of perks. I went on all the local tours, because it was part of my job to sell them to guests. After a month or so, I got my own private room. I made friends with one of the local tour guides, and he was awesome enough to show me around on our free time. To top it off, the beauty of the rainforest (especially during wet season) is absolutely unreal. There are animals up in the Daintree that don't exist anywhere else in the world. I made a few friends that I love and care for even now, and their friendship alone would have been worth putting up with all the other shit that went on at the place. Overall, the farther away I am from there, the fonder I've become of it.
Around this time, I was steadily becoming more and more broke. I applied immediately for my visa (I was turning 31 very shortly) and headed down to Jambin, Queensland to work as an allrounder (someone who does a bit of everything) in their pub/hotel. Jambin is a small town, flat and brown, with a population of close to 300. Their local activities are basically pig hunting and drinking when they're not farming.
Instead of raising my blood pressure by going into too much detail, let's just do a little Pro and Con action.
Pros: Had my own room. I love to tend bar, which is what I mostly did. I got free ice cream. I made a steady wage. My female boss was lovely. There was a pub cat. I was allowed to drive their car to town when I needed to. I had plenty of time to read. There was SUCH a good health food store/ cafe in town that had amazing vegan cheesecake and really yummy chai.
Cons: Very few vegetables or basically anything except for meat. The patrons weren't that amiable (they were actually quite miserable). I had no friends. I had nothing in common with basically anyone. The male boss was the worst fucking human I've met in a long, long time and being around him was exhausting and frequently infuriating.
In all my time here, I was never as unhappy as I was in Jambin. Fortunately, my mental health is at the best stage of its career, so I was able to handle the 6 weeks there with aplomb...and a lot of swearing...as opposed to having any sort of breakdown or frantic escape plan. Sure, I was bitter and dead inside after just a few short weeks, but I survived to tell the tale.
One of the motto's I live by is to "give credit where credit is due", so of course I have to tip my hat to the otherwise ungainly Jambin for introducing me to the next phase of my adventure.
While serving the usual slovenly masses one night, I met two Aussie blokes who were nice and funny, which was absolutely shocking to me at the time. We all got along incredibly well right away (though I suspect they get along with almost everyone right away, charming buggers that they are), and to make a long story short, the boss invited me to come stay on their farm when I was finished in Jambin, so I did.
When I got to their 17,000 acre farm up past Calliope, QLD, none of us really knew what I'd be doing (working, relaxing, etc.) or for how long, so I did what I do best - I tried to involve myself in absolutely anything available. I woke up early every morning to work with the boys despite having little to no knowledge of the going-ons of a cattle farm. They taught me how to ride a horse (I'm rubbish at it) and how to work with bulls, heiffers and weaners. They let me tag along everywhere with them and never complained (at least to my face) about it. The family and the two employees were 100% patient, kind, and educational with me. They single-handedly restored my faith in Australian humans (and cows!) I ended up spending 6 weeks with them, and those weeks flew by faster than I could have imagined.
This brings us up-to-date and full circle, because right now I'm sitting in my room in Lennox Head getting ready for the next phases of my trip. There's so much more I could tell you, so many little stories I want to share, but those will all have to wait.
For now, here are the answers to the most asked questions I get:
Q: What's happening with your visa?
A: God only knows. I applied 11 weeks ago. When asked to send in more paperwork, I did a week later. So I've been waiting 10 weeks. Yes, I've called Immigration. It is taking forbloodyever, but I'm doing okay about it. If I get rejected, that just opens different doors for me.
Q: Where are you going next?
A: On Friday I'm flying south to Tasmania. Yes, that's still part of Australia. After a week there I'm heading to Melbourne to see one of my favorite people I've met here. After that I'll be heading up to Coffs to see that host family I mentioned above. The idea here is that if my visa gets rejected, I'll be able to see all my favorite people again before I have to leave the country. After all that, I'll be heading back up to the cattle farm to work and wait until I hear about my visa.
Q: Have you found a handsome Aussie bloke to marry?
A: Absolutely not. That will probably not happen.
A: Absolutely not. That will probably not happen.
Q: When are you going to come home and get a real job?
A: I might not have a career, but I work as hard as I can wherever I end up. I'm happy and I'm fulfilling my dream of traveling and constantly learning new things.
Q: When are you coming home to visit then?
A: I don't know; I miss you too.
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