Escaping Adelaide, Leaving Australia
It would appear that leaving Adelaide is rather hard but I think leaving Australia will be harder!
Adelaide, good for four things as far as I can tell;
1) Getting trapped there and not being able to escape
2) The Floater (as mentioned in last e-mail)
3) Talking to semi intoxicated Aboriginals about the state of the nation
4) Getting bloody trapped there!!!
I tried to love Adelaide but having done everything the bible (lonely planet) said it had to offer it wasn't enough! The Botanic Gardens were nice, the beach and the marina were ok, China Town and the city markets were great but exactly the same as any other in any town in the western world. It wasn't enough! So, after almost 3 days in Adelaide failing to get a ride to Perth I booked a train ticket to Perth - of course 30 minutes later I got a text from Andi - a bloke I'd called two days earlier - saying he'd just got my message and there's a lift waiting if you want it, d'oh!
Having tried once to leave and then finding myself heading to Melbourne with George and Fred, and then resorting to buying a ticket I should've known this city didn't let go easily so shouldn't have cancelled the ticket but I did. So, at 10am the next Sunday as I was waiting for Andi when he called to say someone had torched his car, arse.
Thankfully I'd not stayed in Adelaide waiting for the lift and had had a great trip up to the Flinders Range (about 350km north) with a rather random crowd where I was the only Brit amongst 10 of us from 8 countries. I'd managed to spot a yellow footed rock wallaby, climb a small mountain and see a lot of live kangaroos and caught a 2am bus back to get my lift to Perth so the couple of days waiting wasn't wasted but...
So what to do, the car was a right-off, the train ticket cancelled and now fully booked, no buses leaving for weeks and flights (yes I resorted to that) were a fortune. It's obvious, I'd hitch hike! However upon researching this it turned out that firstly I'd have to get about 20km north of the city to stand a chance, and secondly the best chance I'd get would be to be murdered so I resorted to plan B, re-location drives.
I admit it, with escape seeming impossible my faith in being the luckiest man alive was beginning to wane but... Britz/ Maui car rentals came to the rescue, for a dollar a day and with a free $200 fuel voucher I got a four bed luxury Mercedes Benz Camper van and six days to drive it to Perth, oh yes, let the good times roll.
I quickly called Andi (turned out to be great lad, 22, German, surfer) to offer him a lift and found another bloke (Mick, 63, English, bit random) to share the driving and fuel and a couple of days later drove the 3556km from Adelaide to Perth via Port Augusta, the Nullabor, Kalgoorlie and Albany.
The drive was great, the Nullabor was long, flat and barren except for hundreds of dead roos (343 in one day, a new record), Kalgoorlie - gold mining town - had the most random skimpy bars ever (will explain some time for those that don't know) and reaching Albany then Perth and completing my lap of Oz felt like coming home without the rain and having to get a job/ life/ responsibilities!
And I'm back in Perth, ready to fly to Hong Kong for the next leg. I've definitely landed on my feet here as am staying with El (friend from first visit to Perth almost a year ago and she has the nicest house I've been in in over a year). Other important news, the mighty mighty Liverpool won the European Champions League, the world is a good place to be in.
So, with a tear forming in my eye, something like 997 dead roos spotted, the Australian coat of arms (amongst other native creatures) eaten and almost 30,000km driven its time to say"bye bye Australia", it has been sensational.
Laters
Jonathan
Nicest house ever
Perth
Australia
Ps. sorry this was a bit long but it is my last e-mail in Oz!
Adelaide, good for four things as far as I can tell;
1) Getting trapped there and not being able to escape
2) The Floater (as mentioned in last e-mail)
3) Talking to semi intoxicated Aboriginals about the state of the nation
4) Getting bloody trapped there!!!
I tried to love Adelaide but having done everything the bible (lonely planet) said it had to offer it wasn't enough! The Botanic Gardens were nice, the beach and the marina were ok, China Town and the city markets were great but exactly the same as any other in any town in the western world. It wasn't enough! So, after almost 3 days in Adelaide failing to get a ride to Perth I booked a train ticket to Perth - of course 30 minutes later I got a text from Andi - a bloke I'd called two days earlier - saying he'd just got my message and there's a lift waiting if you want it, d'oh!
Having tried once to leave and then finding myself heading to Melbourne with George and Fred, and then resorting to buying a ticket I should've known this city didn't let go easily so shouldn't have cancelled the ticket but I did. So, at 10am the next Sunday as I was waiting for Andi when he called to say someone had torched his car, arse.
Thankfully I'd not stayed in Adelaide waiting for the lift and had had a great trip up to the Flinders Range (about 350km north) with a rather random crowd where I was the only Brit amongst 10 of us from 8 countries. I'd managed to spot a yellow footed rock wallaby, climb a small mountain and see a lot of live kangaroos and caught a 2am bus back to get my lift to Perth so the couple of days waiting wasn't wasted but...
So what to do, the car was a right-off, the train ticket cancelled and now fully booked, no buses leaving for weeks and flights (yes I resorted to that) were a fortune. It's obvious, I'd hitch hike! However upon researching this it turned out that firstly I'd have to get about 20km north of the city to stand a chance, and secondly the best chance I'd get would be to be murdered so I resorted to plan B, re-location drives.
I admit it, with escape seeming impossible my faith in being the luckiest man alive was beginning to wane but... Britz/ Maui car rentals came to the rescue, for a dollar a day and with a free $200 fuel voucher I got a four bed luxury Mercedes Benz Camper van and six days to drive it to Perth, oh yes, let the good times roll.
I quickly called Andi (turned out to be great lad, 22, German, surfer) to offer him a lift and found another bloke (Mick, 63, English, bit random) to share the driving and fuel and a couple of days later drove the 3556km from Adelaide to Perth via Port Augusta, the Nullabor, Kalgoorlie and Albany.
The drive was great, the Nullabor was long, flat and barren except for hundreds of dead roos (343 in one day, a new record), Kalgoorlie - gold mining town - had the most random skimpy bars ever (will explain some time for those that don't know) and reaching Albany then Perth and completing my lap of Oz felt like coming home without the rain and having to get a job/ life/ responsibilities!
And I'm back in Perth, ready to fly to Hong Kong for the next leg. I've definitely landed on my feet here as am staying with El (friend from first visit to Perth almost a year ago and she has the nicest house I've been in in over a year). Other important news, the mighty mighty Liverpool won the European Champions League, the world is a good place to be in.
So, with a tear forming in my eye, something like 997 dead roos spotted, the Australian coat of arms (amongst other native creatures) eaten and almost 30,000km driven its time to say"bye bye Australia", it has been sensational.
Laters
Jonathan
Nicest house ever
Perth
Australia
Ps. sorry this was a bit long but it is my last e-mail in Oz!
posted by JP at 7:51 pm
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