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Down Under: my experiences in South-East Asia, Australia & New Zealand.

Guido's Down Under Experiences: February 2004

FlyingDutchman
2006-03-19 10:32:36

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hectic shedule, I probably will not be able to frequently update this website for the next 3 weeks. Then again, who cares, right?

One more thing: at the moment New Zealand is GMT +13, so there are 12 hours of time difference with mainland Western Europe. This is almost the furthest one could get away from Europe; any further, and one would be going back. And no, I am not digging a hole to find a shorter way ;-)

Sat 07 February 2004
First Bus Cancelled, Second Missed
Melbourne, VIC

I had it all planned out: get back to Melbourne by train after work on Friday, get to Sydney on a tour via the Snowy Mountains and Canberra over the weekend, and fly to Auckland on Monday. Then the tour company called me on Friday that the tour was cancelled because there were not enough participants. So I changed my plans, deciding not to go to the Snowy Mountains and Canberra now, and I booked a ticket on a direct Greyhound bus. But on Friday evening a Dutch girl at the hostel had her birthday, we went out with a group of people, I had a few drinks and I slept through my alarm clock this morning. When I woke up in shock I called the bus company only to find out that the ticket was non-refundable, so that was 26 euro wasted. Oh well, I booked again on an overnight bus tonight, saving one night accommodation expenses. And 26 euro from Melbourne to Sydney is actually really cheap, considering it is a 12-hour bus ride.

Thu 05 February 2004
Working Holiday
Ballarat, VIC

One of the reasons for me to go to Australia was the fact that I could obtain a working holiday visa, making it possible to stay for a year and supplement travel funds by working. Since I have only been travelling for the first 9 weeks of my trip, I figured it would be great to work for a few weeks before going to New Zealand. So for the last two weeks I have been doing some boring repetitive factory work in shifts from 7 to 12 hours. Not so fun, but at least I am making some decent money now, instead of just spending money. I do have to get a better job later on though. That is why I will probably be spending 2-3 months in Perth when I return from New Zealand. The more professional jobs require at least 2 months commitment and I have no travel plans at that time. Also it will be good to settle down after having travelled through New Zealand for 6-7 weeks.