Jake Gordon

Aussie Life

20 April 2001

Last time I updated this journal I was in Bangkok miles from my current destination in Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia. Since then I’ve also changed my plans about a billion times. At the moment I’m thinking of spending about four months in Oz and then maybe going to Japan or South America or pretty much anywhere actually - but probably not New Zealand and then America as I’d originally planned. I’m trying to cancel my trip in America because I don’t really care that much about the US any more. Before I began travelling I was really looking forward to the states, but now I’m quite impartial to them. In fact, I’ve changed quite a lot over the past three months - and I’m seriously considering a life of travel over a life of a simple 40 hour week in a city. Sure, I’ll work somewhere, but I don’t want to get into a job where I can’t take long half-year vacations every now and then. Best of all would be to just make my millions quickly of course, and then not have to worry about money, but it’s so cheap travelling anyway that you can just work your way round the world and live off a small backpack.

Anyway, back to Australia and what I’m currently up to. Spent a few days in Sydney first and the first thing I noted was how cold it was compared to the tropics that I’ve been in for over two months. Put my jumper on for the first time since Kashmir!

Didn’t really do much in Sydney, just spent a few days relaxing and getting a few things sorted like CV, tax file number and medical stuff. Oh, and I met up with my sister Corrina as well of course, and we bought a bus ticket to take us up the east coast to Cairns.

Our first stop was Port Macquire, a few hours north of Sydney. We stayed in a great hostel there and was tempted by ridiculously cheap pizza! Didn’t really do anything for easter, but we did watch a duck race down a river. I didn’t really know what to expect but it was quite amusing to see a few hundred yellow plastic ducks going the wrong way up the river! Also did a bit of body boaring and tan-getting during the day.

Next stop was Coffs Harbour where there was a sweet pool that I spent most my time in. Also did a bit of canoeing. Nothing much else though.

Arrived in Byron Bay yesterday. Corrina got all excited about how she’s really a hippy (even though she blatantly isn’t) and yoga classes and stuff like that. Don’t see the big attraction myself though - I’m fine just relaxing by the pool all day, bopping in and out every now and then and getting more and more tanned.

Not sure how long to stay in Byron Bay yet - maybe about four days, although Corrina may stay a few days longer. After that it’s off to Surfers Paradise and then probably working in Brisbane for about a month. Then, now here’s the fun part, I’ll probably do a dive master course for about a month somewhere around the Great Barrier Reef. That’ll be sweet - it’ll mean I can start making a little money from diving in the future. I’ll have to fit skydiving, handgliding, surfing, jet-skiing and bungee-jumping in somewhere as well!


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by Jake Gordon, some rights reserved