Leeton

Words fail me and that truly is a rare event. Here I lie, on a decrepit futon, in the communal cook shack, somewhere outside of Leeton N.S.W. For some stupid reason, I am abnormally happy. The smile I currently sport has not been seen in over three months.

I saw my first kangaroos today. I was riding the train from Sydney to Leeton and it took every ounce of self control I have to refrain from losing my mind when I saw them. Not a single person in the car paid them any mind. So I smothered the frantic and excited 7 year old RJ, who wanted nothing more than to jump, shout and point. By the end of my trip I had seen around 15 kangaroos, and I still shove 7 year old me down whenever I do.

It is only 9pm here, but it is already blacker than the inside of a cow. It is raining here and the word the locals are using is "tropical". Sheer walls of water greet you at every door and distort the view from every window. This family I hope to work for have been farming in this part of Australia for 110 years. They are proud of it and rightly so. The past ten years have been filled with drought so they are welcoming the rain. Even if they complain about it. I should also note that around here drought isn't really what I would call drought. I understand that the word is subjective. A Leeton drought might be a western Canadian dream. Even so, I treat the word with the reverence it deserves.

I'm not exactly certain what my duties here will be. This farm has grapes, sheep, wheat, canola, oranges and a whole bunch of sad broken tractors. I suspect my first tasks will involve said broken tractors. There are also 1000 acres of grapes that need to be tended to in the coming month. Nick is very excited because last year their grape crop was ruined by an early frost. I took a short look at the grape handling equipment and well, you have to see one for yourself. The machine I examined was no larger than a 1460 International combine. Four hydraulically driven wheels encapsulate a open middle section that straddles the grape vine. The harvester then processes the vine, mechanically stripping the grapes and feeding them up over the right side and, I'm assuming, into some sort of trailing wagon. However, the grape harvest is a long time coming. First the vines must be pruned in order to stimulate new growth. I don't know what the pruners look like, I don't know where they are but if I was a betting man I would wager that I will get to know them intimately.

This family is right on the edge of the Murray basin. The Murray is a massive irrigation district and a huge crop producer in Australia. What I find interesting is how these producers are managing their water resources. I have already heard one complain that the price of water does not offset the potential crop gains. Now I have no idea what the percentages are but from the look of the land it is good to see that they have found a compromise. The land here is aggressively farmed. Also, everyone has sheep. Seriously, there was a guy running sheep in his backyard when I passed through one of the numerous towns.

These plains remind me of Regina and winterpeg. Salinity and drainage were the complaints overheard in the shop. Along with the other endless gripes of farmers. The weather, the crops, the prices, the costs. I suspect that at some point, everyone hates their job. I also believe that no one hates their job more or loves their job more deeply than farmers.

I am currently stabled with the orange pickers. In accommodations that can best be politely described as rustic. Hopefully, within the coming week, I will be moving into something a little more removed from the elements. The orange pickers are an interesting bunch. A pair of Frenchmen and a young Italian couple. The frogs are ending their orange picking tour and the Italians have just started. Many farms down here rely on this constantly changing flux of labor. The owner, Nick, was telling me some of his horror stories after he picked me up at the train station. The problem is this. Most visas are granted to young people from developed countries. One of the rules is that you can only stay for one year however, that year can be extended if you work for the government or you work in certain agricultural areas where labor is scarce. My initial plan was to take the goverment route but I lacked the accounting degree and business acumen they were currently looking for. So I put my ears to the dirt and found the Australian version of kijiji. Through it I connected with Nick and started heading west. I strongly suspect that these next few months will be interesting. Unless I get bit by some sort of venomous creature. 

On an unrelated topic, only a fool would argue with an Italian woman.

Until next time, take it easy.

Leaving Sydney

Tomorrow I will finally depart Sydney for the wilds of Australia. I have been eagerly anticipating this day since I landed in Sydney. My time here has been adventrue filled and nothing near my expectactions.  The German departed for home and the Marines leave is soon to expire. It is fitting that my time in Sydney is also coming to a close.

 

Words cannot do this city justice, and pictures can only tease. That said, I realized that today will be my last visit to Sydney for quite some time.  Maybe even forever, so I put on my walking boots and did the tourist thing. I took way too many pictures. I took pictures of things I didn't find interesting in any way, shape or form.  I took those pictures because I realized that there are some very important people in my life who will like those things. Those pictures are the very least I can do and in some strange way I felt like they were with me every time my shutter closed and captured a picture of another flower or building. The buildings are quite spectacular. Little specks of expertly carved sandstone history sprinkled between modern glass walled skyscrapers.  

 

I wanted to wander about the St Marys Cathedral, however there was a conflicting booking.  So I gracefully canceled my plans and let the wedding proceed.  I did sneak a few photos though, and a very nice old lady let me steal away into the crypt for a little snooping.  As I was leaving the wedding began and every bell in the church began ringing.  I am thankful that I wasn't in the crypt when that happened because those roaring bells might have woken the dead.  

 

From there I wandered the botanical gardens. It is strange that down here this season is considered winter and yet the grass remains green, the trees are still full of fruit and flowers are blossoming everywhere. They know nothing of winter. The botanical gardens also contain the Government House. The design of the building makes one wonder exactly how violent Australia's past must have been.  Both the Cathedral and Government House resemble European castles.  Even the state library has battlements and looks like easily defended. The library is worth a visit, even if you leave your weapons at home.  The main reading room was guarded by a very diligent and overbearing Asian security guard.  After finding numerous contraband items in my backpack, two books and a pack of gum if you're curious, I elected to leave my backpack with her while I took a five minute jaunt across the marble. The maps, oh the maps, could I have stayed a day. I would have done just that.

 

As I mentioned earlier, tomorrow I will board a west bound train. Destination, Leeton. My understanding is that it is on the edge of the outback and the edge of the Murray basin.  The Murray has always been a fascination of mine. It is one the the most agriculturaly productive areas in the world. It is also one of the most sensitive and it is highly regulated. I look forward to learing how producers in this part of Australia work. I think I will be headed to a vineyard/sheep producer/grain farm. This guy wears a lot of hats and our phone call was half an hour long.  He did the majority of the talking.  It should be fun and if it doesnt work out there is a man in Adilide who needs help with his sheep/wheat farm.  Something that I have already noticed is that there really isn't the same attitude towards seeding down here.  Their weather window is a little larger than ours and it shows up in the attitudes of the producers.  The other thing I learned is how much these men scramble with the opposite side the the labour problem that Canadian producers face.  

 

This country is litterally crawling with backpackers. Backpackers from all corners of the globe.  Many of them, highly attactive European women. However, numbers do not equate skill. I was conducting a quasi interview over the phone when the interviewer asked me if I had ever fixed a flat. I asked him to clarify, did he want to know if I could put on a spare tire, or did he want to know if I could patch a flat tire. He was silent for a few seconds, then laughed, then put me on speaker phone and made me repeat the question for his wife. The wife then informed me that I wouldn't have to answer any more questions and that if I wanted the job they would be very happy to have me.  

 

This is a crazy place, I wish all of you were here to share it with me. Hell, you should come down. We can fortify the Conservatory and stage a coup! Anyways, thanks for reading.

 

Take it easy.   

Excuse the spelling and grammatical errors. I'm quite occupied

Kijiji

Guess who just found the Aussie version of kijiji? I think this is what love feels like.

Pictures, some with explainations.

Good news, despite my best efforts, none of these pictures loaded in any semblance of order.  So please bear with me.

This is RJ

Harbour Bridge

 

So, I wandered up to the north side of the harbour bridge one morning and found a cool little market. The neighborhood to the east of the market caught my eye and off I stomped.  In that neighborhood I found the Admiralty house.  I did not see a lot there but while I was sitting on a bench watching the boats putter past I heard some very animated birds having a heated discussion. It took me a while to find them, and even longer to get a decent photo, but those are the aforementioned birds. At first I guessed they were someones pets, that was until I witnessed them swoop into a number of open windows throughout the community.  I'm no ornithologist but I'm willing to bet they were stealing whatever foodstuffs were left on unguarded counter tops.   

 The next segment is from the time I spent visiting the Naval Museum. The cramped quarters of the submarine were quite surprising. That is until I went into the replica and fully functional sailing ship.  That particular sailing cog has actually circumnavigated the globe and is staffed by a delightful assortment of volunteers. All of whom are old enough to have possibly been here when Cook landed. 

The three night shots above this are all taken during "Vivid".  Vivid is a light and music art show, completely free and open every night for two or three weeks in downtown Sydney.  The show is incredible and highly interactive. Words and pictures do it no justice.






Lastly, these two photos are from my most recent excursion.  I wandered down to Manly beach and can proudly say that I have swam in both the left and right sides of the pacific ocean.  These photos were taken on my hunt for penguins.  Allegedly the harbour is awash with the little devils but I have yet to see any sign of them.  A local had told me that if I wanted to see penguins then I needed to head down to Quarantine Bay which is located near Manly beach.  Quarantine is the bay and beach where quarantined ships were kept until the mid 1900's.  Sadly, I did not see any penguins. 

So a Marine, a german firefighter and a bear walk into a bar…  Actually we walked into a lot of bars that night but thats not where the story starts. That story starts when I returned to my hostel room on Saturday afternoon.  To my surprise there was quite the ruckus happening. In my absence another hostel patron had decided to explore the contents of another tenants backpack. You can imagine the surprise this second tenant felt when he returned to the room only to find his laptop missing. I had been warned about this sort of behaviour and subsequently have always kept my personal belongings under lock and key.  I’ll admit that the lock will only keep out an honest man but there is a little dark part of me that is thankful for the dishonest man.  

Chaos would best describe the rage fueled room I wandered into. The thief in tattered shorts was apologetic but confrontational.  The Marine was trying to restrain the firefighter and the thief was being berated by his victim. Shortly after my arrival a group consensus was reached, the thief had to leave. The vote was unanimous and not well received by the offending party. His disagreeable nature was happily welcomed by the burly blonde german.  

The wronged party was very thankful, he is an Australian dj who heaped praises and free tickets upon our motley crew.  However, after we listened to him practice in the common room we had another unanimous vote and elected to pass on his show.  So we wandered through downtown Sydney. Other than seeing a flock of goose sized bats the night was uneventful. Im dead serious about the bats, even the marine who has been stationed throughout S.E. Asia remarked on their massive size. What amazed me about these bats is how commonly the average Australian treats them. These bats swoop in and out of the trees without a second thought from anyone. It makes me wonder what sort of amazing things about my Canada I casually take for granted.

Sydney’s light show is all the rage in the evenings.  The entire harbour front fills with a mass of humanity and all eyes train skyward.  Massive projectors light up the opera house with fantastical displays, all choreographed to excellent scores of widely ranging music.  I also managed to find a massive chinese market where one can purchase everything from fresh caught salmon to what I can only assume is some sort of dried animal penis.  

The job hunt continues daily.  Sydney all but shuts down for the weekend and this caught me by surprise, it also set my plans back a few days.  However, I remain confident that I will be able to find something that suits me. There are far too many job offers available and from what I have found, my skill set will certainly set me apart from the regular crowd of backpackers and vagabonds.

I will admit, I want to get out of Sydney.  This trip has already taught me exactly how much I love the country.  Open spaces and clean air are what currently fill my dreams. This is a city for couples and to explore it with someone who held my heart would be another dream for a different day.  That said, it is also a lot of fun when a marine, a german firefighter and a bear walk into a bar.  Most notably a secretive green door downtown that led us into the most amazing and rowdy irish pub I have ever set foot inside.     

By the time I post this, I will be in Australia.  The last 24 hours have been a whirlwind.  Fear, excitement and uncertainty stewed together in my stomach to make me more nauseous than I have ever been. That said, my drive and determination would have never let me turn around.  I want this too badly.  I want this adventure, I want this opportunity, I need this.  Too often I have let myself say, “you can't,” or “you shouldnt,” this time I had to pull a George and do the opposite of what my brain was telling me to do.  I have yet to meet an incomprehensible accent and I have had stupid good seating arrangements.  One entire exit row to myself and a rotating window with an incredible kiwi who diligently answered all my questions, calmed me with her stories and to whom I owe a great debt.

Lets rewind a second.  Everyone should get to fly into Sydney.  Here is this massive country.  A country that brags about its wild and wide open spaces.  But if all you saw were the airports in Sydney and Auckland you would never guess it to be true.  I can't do the approach justice but to boil it down you basically land in the middle of an industrial harbour.

I should clarify, I started writing this post while I was in Auckland. Im still awake and yes, I most certainly am in Sydney. This city is wild.  After I booked myself a hostel room and showered off I debated burning my filthy plane clothes.  The destruction of these pants will both lighten my load and I am almost certain that it will be impossible to remove the smell from them.  

The biggest challenge I have faced this far is keeping my mouth shut while I wander about the city streets amazed.  The older buildings in town are some sort of tan sandstone with incredible sculptures throughout. This city is also rife with two legged distractions.  Tight short summer dresses and blazers seem to be the in fashion and I have never seen so many horizontal stripes.  

It never fails, my feet will eventually lead me to water.  This harbour is everything advertised and a little bit more.  There is some sort of art and light festival this weekend.  Michael told me to take pictures but in all honestly I feel a little ridiculous when I bust out my camera.  How many thousands of pictures have been taken beside that opera house or the bridge? Both are incredible and no picture can ever do them justice. The bridge spans are impossibly long but seamless. A true testament to steelworkers skill and talent.  However, architecture really isn't my thing.  I will freely and easily admit how cool it is but at the end of the day I prefer seeing the horizon. I think the real architectural hook is this cities is history. Old government buildings have been refurbished into high class bars and boutique shops. Yet the outside facade remains true to the original design. I literally walked right into some sort of landmark flag pole downtown.  Just sitting in the middle of the sidewalk is this unassuming steel flag pole. The brass inscription cooly states that it was the place where the australian flag was first raised. To me, it was more interesting than the bridge or the strange opera house.  On top of that, there was no throng of Asians taking selfies in front of it.

Until next time, take it easy.  

Update

I do have a couple articles written but due to the lack of reliable Internet connections I have not posted them yet.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Here I am, less than 48 hours away from a completely new and exciting chapter in my life.  To anyone and everyone who I was unable to say farewell to I would like to take this opportunity to say it now.  Each and everyone of you who have touched my life in your own special way.  Thank you.

I don't know, and I refuse to imagine, where I would be today without the support and understanding provided to me by my incredible group of friends.  I truly am blessed. I hope that I will be able to keep in touch with all of you through these electronic means.  I also want you all to know that no matter how much time has passed since our last meeting I will always carry you in my heart.     

I would be lying if I told anyone, myself included, that I'm not scared.  This is a huge transition for me, but one that i feel is necessary.  The hardest part has to be saying goodbye to my grandfather.  Over the past four years our relationship grew to something incredible.  That man and I are eerily similar.  Getting to know and understand what motivates him has changed me and my perspectives on a molecular level.  I will miss him the most and I fear that tomorrow may very well be the last time I see him alive.  Hopefully, I will be able to carry the lessons he has taught me through my life and maybe someday impart those lessons on someone else.

Anyways, to quote some poetic ink I once saw, “In friends we trust”.  Take it easy.

Status: Alive

Location: Medicine Hat (41 hours left)  

First Post

Well, I have no idea what I'm doing here. What I know is that I'm going to Australia this spring, I'm leaving on the twenty first of May. Im excited. Words cannot describe my feelings regarding this new chapter.  So many things in my life have changed in the past eight months.  I can't imagine what is going to change in the next eight. 

Basically, I'm starting this blog so I can provide updates regarding my current level of health and wellness.  I don't know how often I will get to write here but if anyone has any questions or concerns just email me.  I will eventually reply and if you care to send your physical mailing addresses I will happily send you a minimum of one and a maximum of fifty personal letters. 

Thanks for taking the time and I cant wait to share this adventure with all of you.

Current status: Alive
Current location: Medicine Hat, Alberta