For some reason the night before I could not sleep. Its strange but I haven't really been able to sleep since I started the trek north but it hasn't seemed to effect me much. But the reason I couldn't sleep last night was not due to the fact that in the morning I would be hurling myself out of a perfectly good airplane from 14,000 feet. I think that it was because I had spent most of the day on the beach and hadn't showered before I went to bed; the first and last time I'll ever do that. And so I woke up at 6am, evidently I fell asleep at some point, and began to get ready for what was sure to be an eventful day. But despite the realization that I was going to skydive in less than a couple hours I was not nervous. The realization had just not set in yet.
We got to Byron Bay a couple days ago (Marine and I as well as a group of other travelers that are on the same route north that we've kinda ganged up with) and decided to finally do what we've been planning to do for quite sometime. After selling an organ I was finally able to pay for it and we were scheduled for the next morning. A couple of the other guys, Jared from Denver and Scott from Edmonton, decided to jump as well so we had a good group for the plunge.
A bus picked us up in front of our hostel and we scooped up everyone else around Byron and headed for the air field. We filled out the necessary paper work which basically stated that they were not liable in the case of our death and so we all signed away our lives. We were fitted for our gear by one of the grumpiest ladies (the only problem with the company as I saw it as everyone else was nice as pie) and waited for our turn as we watched two other groups go before us. We all got the video camera option for our dive so the camera men started interviewing us before we got in the plane. And through all this I was still not nervous as the reality of what I was about to do still had not set in.
After we were all in the plane we all shared excited and nervous looks as the plane rose into the sky and over the ocean. The flight time up to the drop altitude took about 10 minutes and the tandem instructor strapped me into his harnesses and gave me final instructions. The view from 14,00ft is amazing. The green landscape turned into distant mountains and disappeared into the horizon. And despite this unbelievably peaceful and serene view, I was starting to get nervous.
The door opened. Marine was first as she had selected the 11,000ft altitude but since she was the only one they just decided to go strait to 14000ft. Less than 10 seconds later, she and her instructor were free falling towards the ground. At the sight of them rolling out of the plan nervousness started to take a firm hold of me. And then about 2 seconds later I got really nervous as my instructor said, "Lets go!"
We sat down on the floor and moved to the ledge. I dangled my legs outside of the plane and braced for the next step. This was the second scariest part of the jump. Sometimes I'll have bad dreams or day dreams about standing on the ledge of a tall building or falling from an extremely elevated point only to come back to reality and be thankful that my feet were still on the ground. But now, I was willingly putting myself in that very same position, and this was very real.
When we leaped out of the plane, it is hard to describe the feeling but the best way I could do it would be to say that it was the most unnatural feeling I've ever had. All my instincts kicked in as I naturally wanted to right myself or hold onto something or stand on a firm object. I don't remember seeing anything when we first jumped except maybe the sky, but not the plane or the ground. He released the initial stabilizing chute and we opened our arms. I was face to face with the ground from 14,000ft and closing fast.
It is the strangest and most surreal feeling to be falling for 60 seconds. In retrospect it seemed about half as long. I always imagined that when the chute was pulled it would be like hitting a wall or something but it was actually quite smooth. We then coasted down for about 5 minutes and did some spiral dives as I got to steer the chute for a bit. We landed in the field where we took off and when you get to around 500 ft. you can really see everything take shape. People become visible and the trees become more vivid. As we came to a running stop my instructor unharnessed me and my camera man asked me how it was: I couldn't really do it justice as I tried to say how amazing it was. Plus I was a little winded, no pun intended.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Heading North
I don't know if I'll ever make it back to Sydney but the two and a half months I spent there were enough. Nothing against the city, I loved Sydney as it reminded me of city living in Boston except much much bigger, but it was just time to move on.
And so it came to pass that I find myself in Port Macquarie in the smallest hostel I've stayed at so far. It's size is not a mark against it though as it's size it what makes it so great. It almost feels like I'm in the middle of nowhere camping and this is just shack in the woods. The town itself is a little beach town, just like something out of the movies, with a small town center with a shopping center, liquor store and restaurants. The hostel is situated on top of the elevated part of the town which gives the distinct advantage of having amazing views of the beach as it curves into the horizon. Cliff jumping is on the agenda for today and later a visit to the koala hospital is scheduled for later in the afternoon.
Before this stop I was in Newcastle which was a beach town as well but a little bit larger. Newcastle is a college town and on the Wednesday night that I went out to the local hot spot I was reminded after talking with an exchange student from Illinois that Newcastle University was actually one of the places I had looked at going to for a semester abroad. While there I took a tour of the WWII for, Fort Scratchley, which was attacked by a Japanese submarine. The fort and town were bombarded by the sub from behind Nobby's Point but none of the shells exploded as it is thought that the Japanese were using old English artillery from WWI which was defective. The town though was gorgeous and had a lot of character to it. The hostel was like something out of The Great Gatsby as it had a large lounge of stained wood and leather chairs with a central fireplace. A large central staircase led to the upstairs and the rooms were located along the whindy hallways. My room had a veranda that was joined by two other rooms and had a trellis over the top. I got to know the cleaning crew there, basically other travelers that work for free but get free accommodation, and we all shared stories and laughs. The only downside to meeting these people is that a few days after meeting them I have to leave, most likely never seeing most of them ever again.
The next stop is Urunga which is just a bit off the coast and is on the edge of a rain forest region. The hostel is supposed to be really nice with hammocks on the second story decks and bridge walks through the rain forest. I am trying not to spend too much money thus yet as most of the stuff I want to do is north of Brisbane. But the best thing about the YHA hostels that I'm staying at is that they always have tons of free stuff to do (perfect for travelers on a budget).
Here in Port Macquarie I've met a guy from Canada and two English girls and we played Monopoly last night. I haven't played that game in years and I had to be reminded of some of the rules. It all came back to me though and with a little improvisation on all our parts regarding the rules my partner and I came out victorious. All the names of the places on the board are different as it is an Australian version. So Boardwalk was Mayfair and so on. We are going fishing later as well, something I haven't done in years again, and then I leave tomorrow.
I am loving this part of the trip.
And so it came to pass that I find myself in Port Macquarie in the smallest hostel I've stayed at so far. It's size is not a mark against it though as it's size it what makes it so great. It almost feels like I'm in the middle of nowhere camping and this is just shack in the woods. The town itself is a little beach town, just like something out of the movies, with a small town center with a shopping center, liquor store and restaurants. The hostel is situated on top of the elevated part of the town which gives the distinct advantage of having amazing views of the beach as it curves into the horizon. Cliff jumping is on the agenda for today and later a visit to the koala hospital is scheduled for later in the afternoon.
Before this stop I was in Newcastle which was a beach town as well but a little bit larger. Newcastle is a college town and on the Wednesday night that I went out to the local hot spot I was reminded after talking with an exchange student from Illinois that Newcastle University was actually one of the places I had looked at going to for a semester abroad. While there I took a tour of the WWII for, Fort Scratchley, which was attacked by a Japanese submarine. The fort and town were bombarded by the sub from behind Nobby's Point but none of the shells exploded as it is thought that the Japanese were using old English artillery from WWI which was defective. The town though was gorgeous and had a lot of character to it. The hostel was like something out of The Great Gatsby as it had a large lounge of stained wood and leather chairs with a central fireplace. A large central staircase led to the upstairs and the rooms were located along the whindy hallways. My room had a veranda that was joined by two other rooms and had a trellis over the top. I got to know the cleaning crew there, basically other travelers that work for free but get free accommodation, and we all shared stories and laughs. The only downside to meeting these people is that a few days after meeting them I have to leave, most likely never seeing most of them ever again.
The next stop is Urunga which is just a bit off the coast and is on the edge of a rain forest region. The hostel is supposed to be really nice with hammocks on the second story decks and bridge walks through the rain forest. I am trying not to spend too much money thus yet as most of the stuff I want to do is north of Brisbane. But the best thing about the YHA hostels that I'm staying at is that they always have tons of free stuff to do (perfect for travelers on a budget).
Here in Port Macquarie I've met a guy from Canada and two English girls and we played Monopoly last night. I haven't played that game in years and I had to be reminded of some of the rules. It all came back to me though and with a little improvisation on all our parts regarding the rules my partner and I came out victorious. All the names of the places on the board are different as it is an Australian version. So Boardwalk was Mayfair and so on. We are going fishing later as well, something I haven't done in years again, and then I leave tomorrow.
I am loving this part of the trip.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Last Week In Sydney
The past month has been something of a blur as most of my time was spent at work or walking to and from work. Late nights turn into late mornings which never leave enough time to do anything other than wake up and go right back to work the next day. I'm a bit sad that after finding a job I like and developing a base that I have to hit the road again. But not sad enough I guess.
In all honesty it hasn't been all work and no play as that would make for a very dull boy. The crew I work with never seems to offer a dull moment or a dull personality. As in any restaurant you have your interesting characters and the not so interesting ones. So maybe there is one or two dull personalities there but overall I'm a fan. The other night we had to clean the beer lines from the keg cooler which involved staying after and making sure the excess beer was 'properly' disposed of. The only downside to the job is that on Tuesday mornings I have to get up at 5:30am to restock the keg room. Carrying full kegs down two flights of stairs at daybreak is quite the rude awakening and has proven to be rather exhausting after a late night. But on the bright side, I am in better shape than I used to be so that ain't bad. I also got a nice work shirt which is the uniform and would actually be a shirt I would, and probably will, wear out one night.
I've also been doing other stuff in my time off. Seeing a movie here and there or simply buying bootlegged DVDs from a shady Thai movie store for $2.50 a DVD. I've got a nice little collection now and I'm sure they'll come in handy on the trip north (The Hurt Locker, Couple's Retreat, Year One, The Road to name a few). It's really too bad that I can't bring them home with me as they are not compatible with American DVD players. I went to a conference with some men from the church I've been to and they're a great group of guys. Today, I have a poker tourney lined up and although it's been some time since I've played maybe it'll all come back to me.
There's also another job that I occasionally work. I'm basically the guy on call whenever he needs someone to fill a shift. It is at a breakfast cafe in Circular Quay in an office building in the lobby. It is fairly small and the best part is that I get paid under the table or, as they say here, it's cash in hand. The guy who runs it is a Vietnamese man named Martin. Every time he calls me he leaves a voicemail saying his full name and where he is calling from (Mirebelle Cafe). It's quite funny every time I listen to it because I can't say there are many people with a Vietnamese accent who call me. Much less someone with a Vietnamese accent named Martin. Much much less from Mirebelle Cafe. In fact, I believe he is probably the only one. But without fail he never neglects to fully identify himself to perfection so that there is no way I could ever mistake him.
But with a week to go I've finished making preparations for the trip and will board a bus next Monday, March 22. A friend I used to work with in Melbourne is coming to travel with me so I won't have to ask random strangers to take a picture for me. Won' t that be nice? I also can't wait to move out of my flat as one of the roomies is really testing my patience. One more week though. One more week.
In all honesty it hasn't been all work and no play as that would make for a very dull boy. The crew I work with never seems to offer a dull moment or a dull personality. As in any restaurant you have your interesting characters and the not so interesting ones. So maybe there is one or two dull personalities there but overall I'm a fan. The other night we had to clean the beer lines from the keg cooler which involved staying after and making sure the excess beer was 'properly' disposed of. The only downside to the job is that on Tuesday mornings I have to get up at 5:30am to restock the keg room. Carrying full kegs down two flights of stairs at daybreak is quite the rude awakening and has proven to be rather exhausting after a late night. But on the bright side, I am in better shape than I used to be so that ain't bad. I also got a nice work shirt which is the uniform and would actually be a shirt I would, and probably will, wear out one night.
I've also been doing other stuff in my time off. Seeing a movie here and there or simply buying bootlegged DVDs from a shady Thai movie store for $2.50 a DVD. I've got a nice little collection now and I'm sure they'll come in handy on the trip north (The Hurt Locker, Couple's Retreat, Year One, The Road to name a few). It's really too bad that I can't bring them home with me as they are not compatible with American DVD players. I went to a conference with some men from the church I've been to and they're a great group of guys. Today, I have a poker tourney lined up and although it's been some time since I've played maybe it'll all come back to me.
There's also another job that I occasionally work. I'm basically the guy on call whenever he needs someone to fill a shift. It is at a breakfast cafe in Circular Quay in an office building in the lobby. It is fairly small and the best part is that I get paid under the table or, as they say here, it's cash in hand. The guy who runs it is a Vietnamese man named Martin. Every time he calls me he leaves a voicemail saying his full name and where he is calling from (Mirebelle Cafe). It's quite funny every time I listen to it because I can't say there are many people with a Vietnamese accent who call me. Much less someone with a Vietnamese accent named Martin. Much much less from Mirebelle Cafe. In fact, I believe he is probably the only one. But without fail he never neglects to fully identify himself to perfection so that there is no way I could ever mistake him.
But with a week to go I've finished making preparations for the trip and will board a bus next Monday, March 22. A friend I used to work with in Melbourne is coming to travel with me so I won't have to ask random strangers to take a picture for me. Won' t that be nice? I also can't wait to move out of my flat as one of the roomies is really testing my patience. One more week though. One more week.
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