Bondi and Coogee Beaches

Day 301 Wed 02/06/2013

33k Bike Ride

“I booked one more night at the Woodduck Backpacker here in the city.  I spent the AM on the PC job hunting and then went for a 33km bike ride, getting lost as all.  I have no maps & I cannot rely on my stupid iPhone anymore.  I was supposed to meet Astrid & Keegan at the beach, but I never made it.  I finally started cramping up.  By the time I made it to their house it was time for them to leave & go meet other friends for drinks.  I locked my bike up here at Astrid’s place & took the bus back to King’s Cross to go to sleep.

There was a cute English girl sharing my bunk when I got into my room.  She was super sun burned.  I had to help her put aloe on her back.”

            This girl had just flown in today, and has been out in the Australian sun all day.  She was in tears putting aloe on.  My bike ride was for hours.  I was in another suburb somewhere.  I can find no jobs.  I will be heading back down to Bondi Surfside Backpackers tomorrow.  It is cheaper there now and they are finally not fully booked.

Day 302 Thue 02/07/2013

Mexican in Coogee

“I packed up & left the Woodduck Hostel in the city & headed back to Bondi Surfside.  There are so many attractive people here in this city.  I job searched some more & bought myself a nice brekkie at a café.  I have taken food for granted my whole life.  Well Surfside Bondi is fully booked again, even though I had been told different.  They could put me in their other Surfside at Coogee Beach.  I rested on the sidewalk outside Astrid’s house waiting to get my bike for 2 hours.  She never came.  A kid & his mother walked by. 

“Look Mom, he’s poor,” the kid said.  Hahahahaha too funny!  Yes I am kid, yes I am.

I might have to go snag a trolly (shopping cart) & make my way to the hostel in Coogee soon.  I am trying to think of what else I can throw away to lighten my bags.  My large backpack is massive.  I gave up on the bike.  I walked to Coogee Beach along the coast with everything on my back.  I never thought I would make it.  I am down in the dumps emotionally.

I finally checked in to Surfside Coogee later that evening.  I showered & went to eat Mexican food all alone.  I ordered many beers too.”

            This was not a good day.  Everyone at the Mexican joint was having fun with travelling mates and new friends.  I even felt people looking at me thinking about reasons I am sitting alone.  I was too in the dumps to even make a friend here.  When the waitress asked me if I wanted a bucket of beer, the special, I said “Hell yea I do.”  I was at least going to sleep well tonight.

Day 303 Fri 02/08/2013

5 Beaches

“Today I went to FIVE different beaches; Bondi Beach, Tamarama Beach, Bronte Beach, Clovelly Beach & Coogee Beach.  I stepped down on the sand at each one of these beaches on my way to get my bike from the Danish girl’s house.  I took Astrid & Mie down to Bondi for some paddle ball.  They were pretty good.  Mie was deadly!”

            I slept like a champ last night.  I drank my beers with dinner, so when I got back to the hostel everyone was showering getting ready to go out.  I hadn’t met anyone yet, & didn’t care to right now.  I put in my earplugs (thanks for these Leah) & crashed out before it got loud in my room.  It was another 12 share dorm.  Maybe there were 14 beds.  I went to the front desk to get some kind of map.  There had to be a faster way back to Bondi on foot than the coast.  There was not.

            While looking at the map I noticed each beach was marked differently.  Famous Bondi Beach was just one of five beaches along the coast here.  I was going to put my toes in all five today!  Hiking the coast with one small bag with food, water & cameras was much easier than hiking with SCUBA gear, all of my clothes, boots & then some.  I enjoyed the walk.

            Paddle ball with the girls was so much fun.  They were great partners.  I would put them up there with my mom!  The only thing they hadn’t grasped yet was intentionally hitting the ball off towards good looking women passing by.  So mom is still the best paddle ball buddy.  Actually, I guess that is my move isn’t it?  I won’t put that trick on her.

Mie & I playing paddle ball

Astrid & Mie were a good looking team!  Danish girls!

Day 304 Sat 02/09/2013

Stingrays & a Wobbegong

Clovelly Beach

“I went to get free internet at the library up in Radwick for more job hunting.  I called all kinds of kitchen jobs with no luck.  I am going to the ocean.  Forget this crap.  I took my gear (fins, mask, wetsuit…) down to Clovelly Beach & went for a free dive.  GOLDEN!  My ear was capable of equalizing.  I saw so many stingrays.  I even saw a wobbegong shark!  Great dive!  What a day.  Too bad I had nobody here in Coogee to celebrate.  All of the shitheads at my hostel look 14 & act 12.”

            I was getting nowhere on the job front.  I had one guy very interested.  He was a local Aussie & he had loved all the Americans he and hired previously.  He wanted to know I was around for a few months before he trained me to run his little café.  I couldn’t lie to him about my Visa situation.  We were both disappointed at the outcome.  I had two months left in Oz before I was illegal.  What am I going to do?  Nobody will hire me for such a short time.

Ear is 100% - All I can figure is the swelling at the time
wouldn't allow the inner ear to equalize the pressure change.

            I was mad.  Not at myself or anyone else.  This was not working.  Other than crushing beers with friends with money I didn’t have this experience had suddenly pumped the brakes.  I had tried to forget about my ear ever since the fall I took back in Airlie Beach.  I couldn’t be in a worse mood at this point, so if I still can’t dive I am still rock bottom.  I was going for a dive.

            I went back to the hostel and grabbed my gear.  I got down to the water over at Clovelly Beach.  I chose Clovelly because it is shielded in its own little cove.  Also, there was very little going on over here, meaning no surfers and no one lying on the beach.  I had seen SCUBA divers going ito the water near here, but further out on the north side where it would be deeper.  I didn’t need to go into the deep at first.  I would swim out from the shore instead of going in over near the rocks.

One HAPPY Dude!

            The water was still fairly cold this far south (to me at least).  I wasn’t getting into the water without a wettie.  I did not have a weight belt, and knew I needed some weight to offset the neoprene wetsuit.  I started jamming rocks down into the suit near my chest.  It would be easier to ditch rocks from here by unzipping the suit.  I grabbed one last large rock and went in.  I kicked out into the murkier than I was used to in Oz water.  This rock was heavy.  I was afraid to hold it with both hands and roll into the free diving position.  If my ear was still jacked up I would know in just a few feet.  I needed one hand for clearing.

Leopard looking stingray!  BONUS for my comeback dive.

I dropped the stone.  My goal would be to bring it back up.  I dropped below the surface and began finning down.  I got half way there & realized I was equalizing.  I was too excited to go further, I was running out of breathe from the explosion of emotions and my heart rate was killing this descent.  I broke the surface and shed a tear.  I’m back.  My ear is fine.  I can dive.

I kicked back over to the stone on the ocean floor.  It was probably only 15 feet deep, but it looked and felt like 15 meters.  I am getting that rock.  No wait.  I pulled Han Solo out from my suit and dropped him.  If I cannot get him back then he wouldn’t mind being left here in the ocean on the east coast of Australia.

Han Solo at Clovelly Beach

I brought him & the stone both back to the surface.  Once I calmed down from the excitement and endless possibilities this meant again I cruised along the bottom looking for marine life.  I found dozens of stingrays.  They were everywhere.  After I had my fill I headed back to shore.  As I neared the shore, in about three feet of water, I saw right over a wobbegong shark!  Wobbegongs are the cute catfish looking sharks.  They are bottom feeders and are harmless to humans, like most sharks.  I have no photo of this little guy, but I am almost 100% sure I filmed him swim away.  The water was very murky in the shallows, but if I remember correctly I took a video of him.

Find video of shark and grab a still shot

            As I came out of the water there were three bathers waiting for me.  “Hey, what are you up to?” one of the guys asked.  I explained I was just going for a free dive and testing my bum ear out.  “Thank goodness!  We were up on the cliff and saw you putting rocks in your wetsuit.  We thought you were drowning yourself!” the girl in their party said.

This was a good moment for me.  I can return to the water again!  :)

            “No no no, I needed the rocks to help me get below the surface and offset the wetsuit.  With this on I want to float, so I needed a little weight.”  We got a laugh afterwards.  I explained to them the neoprene containing air bubbles and how positively buoyant a diver is wearing a wetsuit.  This is one of the reasons for wearing a weight belt.  I thanked them for their concern, and then showed them the pictures of all the stingrays in the water.  They were never getting into the water again.  I need to tell people I saw dolphins and dugongs (similar to a manatee) every time I go diving.  Or a sea horse!  People love those.

Day 305 Sun 02/10/2013

Blue Bottle Stingers

“After everyone saw my pics & heard the stories from my dive yesterday I was able to get 3 people from the hostel to come with me for a snorkel today.  Michael (Denmark), Yasmin (England), & Isabel (Swedish) came along today.  As soon as we got down to the water I spotted blue bottle jellyfish everywhere.  There was no getting into the water here.  We went around to the other side of the cove & there were fewer jellies.  We went for it. This was a freezing cold swim.  I finally got a picture of Michael with a stingray in the same frame.  Yasmin really struggled, but she looked good in her hot pink bikini.  ;)

I cooked mince meat, rice, had a carrot & salsa for dinner.  Dessert was blueberry vanilla yoghurt (pronounced as Claire Bear would say it).  Later I met a French Canadian gal staying in my room named Steph.  We went for a walk on the beach.  The waves were scary big tonight.”

Blue Bottle Jellyfish EVERYWHERE at Clovelly

            Looking good is half of the dive, right?  Hahaha.  So it turns out that not everyone in the hostel is super lame.  While cooking brekkie some people had heard me talking to the front desk yesterday about good diving around here.  Michael asked me how it went, and when he saw the photos I had to show him where.  The hostel didn’t have any gear for them, so we went to the dive shop just around the corner and all three of my offer takers rented snorkeling gear.

            The blue bottle jellyfish were all over the rocks as we approached the water.  They will sting the hell out of you.  They have left scars on swimmers many times.  I have been stung before by them, and it is not pleasant.  I had whip marks on my wrist and arm for weeks from these little monsters.  As I am trying to decide what to do we see people coming out of the water with lashing all across their backs.  The jellies must have just washed in and no one had noticed yet.  We took a few mock photos anyways, and I got some pictures of the blue bottles on the rocks.

            “Let’s go to the other side and see how it looks,” I said.  The tide was coming in, and it seemed the other side of the bay would be protected from the wash in of stingers.  It was worth a look.  I had a wetsuit on, and I still wasn’t getting in this water with the amount of stingers present.

Michael (Denmark) & Stingray

            The other side was much better conditions to swim in.  There were far less jellies here.  Now is a good time to explain that blue bottle jellyfish are not the ones that kill you with their sting.  It just hurts like a SOB.  So we jumped in.  It was cold.  The girls did OK for a short time.  Michael was in it for the long haul.  I told him I would get a picture of him with a stingray if he liked.  He was game.  Timing is everything on this kind of shoot.  I had to get down on the ocean floor and wait for him to swim down and get in position with the target stingray.  He was having trouble getting down and staying down.  His body was very buoyant, so he struggled to get down into position.  If he missed the mark I couldn’t wait for him to have another go.  I would have to surface for more air.  It took us a bit to get it right, or close to right.  I remember freezing trying to get this picture right.  He was a trooper.  I would ask, “You aren’t too cold are you?”  The truth was I was too cold.  I even had a wetsuit on (granted it was my short sleeve ripped in too many placed to count wettie, so it didn’t exactly hold in much warm water).  We finally got something we were both pleased with.

  

Isabel (Sweden), Michael (Denmark), Yasmin (England), and the American

Back at the backpackers one of the guests from Ireland was calling in some birds he had been feeding over the past few weeks.  He would put sugar in his hand and these two very colorful little birds would fly down to perch in his palm.  He let everyone have a try with some sugar in the hand for a picture opportunity.

Day 306 Mon 02/11/2013

Pick this Lock, Fool



Surfside Coogee Backpackers



“I had another awesome brekkie this AM.  It consisted of FREE eggs on a Vegemite covered pita with cheese, capsicum feta sauce (peppers, I had never heard of capsicum), & spinach.  When I say FREE eggs I mean more left behind food not free range chicken eggs.  I also scored some free rice milk (which doesn’t hold a candle to Mayfield’s 2% COW MILK).

I rode the bike back up to the library where I was able to talk to Dad for the first time in a while.  He is going well & recovering.  I then called all of the dive centers in Sydney, Perth, Exmouth & Freemantle.  I had no luck. 

I’m not fitting in at this hostel like other hostels.  There are some nice kids here, but this place is not my style.  Tonight, as I write this, shitheads are coming into my room (11PM) smoking cigarettes & yelling.  I will kill someone!  Steph (French Canadian gal in my room) wants me to go out her & the rest tonight.  No way.  I am sober & she is whining too much.  Give me a break, & get me outta this hostel.  Hopefully tomorrow.”

            I love Mayfield’s milk.  When homeboy came strutting through my room being super loud and smoking I waited until he went onto the balcony before I made my move.  He stepped out yelling to someone on the phone and smoking his ciggy as I rolled out of bed.  I dead bolted the door behind him and crawled back into my bunk.  Ear plugs went in and headband came over my eyes.  Damn good night of rest.  I had no idea how or when he may have gotten back in.  I was the only person in the room at the time because everyone else had already left to go get on the piss.  I considered him very lucky.  I was ready to take his phone and chuck it to the ocean.  It would have been a hell of a throw to get it there, but I was semi-raging.  I could have found the strength.

Day 307 Tue 02/12/2013

Bondi Shores Hostel

The Danish gals place

“I woke up & packed all my stuff up while everyone was still sleeping from their long night out.  It wasn’t very nice of me, but I straight up left without saying bye to anyone in the hostel.  I was woken up at 4AM by someone smoking on the porch.  I jumped out of my bed, shut the door to the balcony, locked it, got back into bed, put in my ear plugs & went back to sleep.  I’m not sure how he got back in.

I made 5 eggs for brekkie.  I ate 3 & couldn’t give the other 2 away.  I thought these were backpackers.  I tied my small bag to my bike & started pushing towards Bondi Beach.  I gave up at a place called the Milk Bar when it started raining.  Right as I called a cab a local surfer, Luke, offered me a ride.  He was a local Sydney surfer in a Discovery & super kind to give me a lift.  Thanks a ton, Luke!

Back at Astrid’s we played another game of 500 (I smoked her again) & Danish Uno.  I called a few bike shops about getting my bike boxed up.  I went to check in at Bondi Shores hostel.  Alex is the Korean guy staying in my room (very nice guy).

I went back to Astrid’s for a BBQ tonight.  David kept talking about the lack of lighting in houses in Denmark.  They love their lamp shades over there evidently. 

Dad called at 4AM this morning.  My mattress in this room sucks bigtime.”

An interesting way to make tea

            Lots of rando items in this journal entry.  Today started off rough.  The best way to get back to Bondi Beach from here is along the coast.  However, with a bike it is not possible.  There are many stairs, and most of them are uphill.  It is a narrow path as well, so with a bike you would hinder other folks.  I had to go streets.  Well Coogee sits down in a hole.  Travelling inland towards the city is straight uphill.  I cramped up a few days ago just trying to ride around these hilly neighborhoods.  Now I had two full packs with me.  There was no way to ride the bike.  I managed to get my camera bag tied to the bike.  It was extremely wonky.  I was half a step away from being a bum pushing his crap along the streets.  I was able to coast down the few hills doing a side straddle of the bike.  It was an accident waiting to happen though.  This would have been a great picture/video.

            I gave up when it started to rain.  Milk Bar looked like Heaven to me (it was just a service station name Milk Bar).  I would go in here, buy some chocolate milk & make a game plan.  I would have to call a cab.  The cab company was so confused when I asked for a maxi taxi for just one person.  Do we call them maxi taxis here?  It is a van style taxi that should be big enough for a bike.  Well to my luck there was a bloke in the servo who overheard my phone call.  “Mate, where ya headed?  Lemme give ya a ride,” Luke said.  LEGEND!  He was wearing a shirt that looked like the Bali shirt Mike H from the Rum Runner always wore.  This guy reminded me of Mike if Mike were True Blue (True Aussie).  This was a great favor to me.  It literally turned my day from crap into gold.  Thanks for this lift, brother.

This is where I stopped to regroup & call the taxi

            Astrid is a sore loser on this 500 card game she just taught me.  She figured since I was a newbie at the game she could take advantage of me.  It was not so.  Sorry nudie cutie.  We quickly changed games and started playing Uno.  I called it Danish Uno, because all three of the girls agreed on the most insane rules for Uno.  I cannot say they were making up rules on the spot, but I can say they had changed the game prior to this hand.  The Danish had some wild rules when playing Uno.  I got destroyed multiple times trying to keep up with the rules.

            So tonight was the event when David, Mie’s friend, spoke of the Danish homes being poorly lit due to excessive lamp shading.

CHOCOLATE MILK

            The beds at this new hostel, located half way up the hill leading to the Bondi Junction station has the shittiest beds out of all the hostels I have stayed in so far.  The management was super friendly.  The Russian owner is a super model looking lady.  They have free WIFI, which is very rare for hostels over here.  The bed, however, looks like a meteor fell from the sky and smashed directly into the center of the foam mattress.  It is so bad if you lay on your side you cannot see the horizon.  You are inside the mattress.  The trick was stealing another mattress to add to the already crap setup.  So you are in a hole twice the size, but you have twice the cushion under you.  Well All the beds have been accounted for.

            This story reminds me.  The first night I checked in here I claimed my bed.  I could tell by the bags and clothes which beds were taken.  The room wasn’t full.  I believe out of eight beds (four bunks) there were maybe three guys in here.  Well I laid my gear onto my bed and left.  I come back later in the evening to find my gear on the floor with some turd of a guy claiming both the bottom and top of the bunk.  Two can play this game.  I threw his crap onto the floor, re-established my area, grabbed this guys towel, went to the showers, took at hot much needed shower, dried off and hung his towel bag up soaking wet.  I had no towel, so this worked out well for me.  Thanks for the towel, brah!

            Dad temporarily forgot the massive time difference between Tennessee and east Australia.  He called me at 4AM.  As soon as I answered he realized he hadn’t thought before dialing me.  I hated to wake up a few of my roomies, one was the super kind Korean guy studying to be a minister.

Day 308 Wed 02/13/2013

Heading Back West

Journal time with Fool's Gold on the lappie

“Thanks to Mom & Dad I was able to book a flight out to Perth, Western Australia.  Thank you SOOOOOOO MUCH! <3  (I didn’t have enough money to book it without them)  I watched Black Sheep& part of The March of The Penguins in my room.  I rode down to Bondi Beach & bought a snickers & some yogurt with spare change for lunch.  This was damn good.  I met up with Adi for a bit, & then went down to the ocean to write in here.  I am starting to feel sick, & I am pretty sure I have a fever.  I ran into Dani in front of the Courthouse Bar (she worked on Coral Sea Dreaming in Cairns as a diver).  I left my bike, SCUBA gear & most clothes at Astrid, Mie, Ceci, Keegan, Fabiano & company’s house.  I got an early sleep.  I am flying back west at 7:10 in the AM.”

            It was clear I couldn’t land decent work here in Sydney.  I had to see Leah before I flew back to the USA, and with some luck maybe I could find some work over her way and say goodbye to all of my mates in WA.  Thanks to Mom & Dad I was able to afford a plane ticket back.  Well they could afford it, I couldn’t.  I was very thankful.

            It was also kind of my friends down in Bondi to let me lock my bike up & leave some heavy gear there with them.  I would fly out of Sydney eventually home, so I could leave my bike here while flying back and forth internationally.  Thanks for this mates.  I am definitely getting sick too.

Day 309 Thur 02/14/2013

Sick in Dianella

“Oh man, I am feeling like doodoo, but my flight was hassle free.  I had to take a 2.5hr bus ride back to Leah’s house versus a 15 minute car ride because her roommate wouldn’t come get me.  All good though.  Leah made me some chicken noodle soup.  I am not feeling good.  FEVER!”

            I was too sick to even care about Jes, Leah’s roomie, refusing to come get me at the airport.

            I’ll pick back up with this story SOON.  It is unreal the amount of adventure Leah, her WA mates & I cram into these last few weeks.  From this moment until my departure would be the trip of a lifetime for many people.  We kill it from here out.  Kayaking, SCUBA diving, camping, wheelin’ the Outback, water parks, and I might even find THREE JOBS!!!!!!!!  Yes, I know it is hard to believe, but I have NOT forgotten how to work yet.  The next two months will fly by so fast.  It still feels like it happened yesterday.  Thanks for reading, guys n gals.  If you are reading this then you are more a part of my life than you can begin to understand, and I promise there will be a spot on the deck for you when it is time to go south.  <3

My hostel mates back in Sydney.  Adi, Me, Tamino, & Chris(?)
This was suppose to go on the last blog.  So I'll put it.... here.