Goodbye hostel. Goodbye beach. Goodbye job. Goodbye Sydney. It was a dizzying feeling leaving Collaroy. It’s a place I’ve called home for around four months which is scary in itself. I wasn’t sure how I would feel leaving. I wasn’t sad as I didn’t hold much of an attachment to the place other than the odd routine and any real friends that I did make, I'd be sure to see again in the future. The only word I feel that truly emulates my feelings is relief. I felt like I was starting to get into a bit of a rut. I was too dependent on my surroundings and I didn’t like that. It’s not a good sign really as what the hell am I going to be like when I eventually get home? It’s a good job I don’t have to worry about that just yet.
Once the surge of excitement had left my body and the car had taken us out of Sydney, it was a, “Now what?” moment. Steff had his, and I use the term loosely, tunes blasting out of the stereo so conversation was out of the question. After hearing the same ten songs for two hours I thought I was going to crack up. It took me back to my days at New Look where we used to have one CD on repeat. Christmas was unbearable. I took solace in reading a book I thought I’d read before but bought it anyway. It was only $2 from a charity shop. The book is titled Girl Meets Ape by Chis Manby. Perhaps I subconsciously stole her wordplay for my blog. It kept me going.
It wasn’t the music that got to me, nor was it the leaning tower of crap that teetered between Sarah and me but the searing heat that prickled my flesh. The sun finally came out and boy did we feel it. Being a typical Brit, I don’t like being soaked by the rain, it can’t be too cold and it can’t be too hot either. Ergo, just like everyone else, I’m never bleedin’ happy!
It wasn’t the only thing that left me feeling uncomfortable. I had my qualms about the changes that had come about. Our trio had recently become a quartet - another girl - which, on paper, sounds like a good thing. Surely it’s refreshing to have a fresh face amongst us. For me though, I had a weird unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach. Firstly, I was worried that I’d be pushed out. Sarah got on exceedingly well with Mel which worried me. I shudder at the school day flashbacks. Girls can be so mean. The last thing I want is a flipping cat fight. How would Sarah’s personality mix in with Mel’s fieriness and my laid back attitude? I already know Mel so well that I can tell what she’s thinking and can even predict what she will do at certain points. It’s rather scary. Steff is a bit of a closed book but isn't a challenge to get on with. I want things to be easy though. I don’t want to become the little girl bouncing up and down shouting, “Look at me!” to get attention nor do I want to walk into a cliched bitch fest. Girls scare me…more than guys! Why do you think the majority of the friends I’ve made on my trip have been guys? Male company is a heck of a lot easier to handle then female. My M.O. will be to approach with caution. I’m going to sit on the wings and see how this thing pans out. I hoped I was just being paranoid.
*****
As we drove out of Sydney, we were still debating on where our first stop was going to be. I was hoping to drop in on my friend Bex seen as we were going north but this caused a lot of drama. Everyone was panicking and wanted to get to our first stop as soon as possible so we can find camp and settle down. A detour could ruin this and we could get lost. I was gutted but swallowed my feelings and let my idea be vetoed without a strong fight. When I feel it is right to fight for my opinions, then I will, but this was not the time. It was the beginning of the trip and I’d do anything for an easy life.
We were thinking of stopping off at Newcastle but decided to go further up to Port Stephens instead. The drive there didn’t feel that long. Mel and Steff both drove. I offered to drive but neither of them seemed that bothered with driving so I went back to my book.
Escaping to the world of chimpanzees certainly made the drive fly by. We arrived in Port Stephens and headed straight to the beach. Mel and Steff ran into the sea and Sarah and I watched on. One Mile Beach had the softest sand I had ever seen or felt for that matter. It was the strangest feeling having that stuff filter through my toes. We didn’t hang around for long as we were all pretty drained from the drive.
The search was on for a decent camp site within our budget. Steff had been told to head to Anna Bay for good surf so we stopped off at a series of camp sites in the area and settled on the cheapest one. The guy on the desk must suffer from multiple personality disorder as he went from a cheery welcome to an abrupt speech on how we best behave ourselves. Apparently he gets a lot of backpackers in causing a drunken raucous. It wasn’t the warmest of welcomes but never mind! Everything was so clean that I couldn’t complain for the price. I didn’t worry about any creepy crawlies lurking around so that suited me. We set up the tent. Ok Mel and Steff did most of the work. I just did as I was told!
The search was on for a decent camp site within our budget. Steff had been told to head to Anna Bay for good surf so we stopped off at a series of camp sites in the area and settled on the cheapest one. The guy on the desk must suffer from multiple personality disorder as he went from a cheery welcome to an abrupt speech on how we best behave ourselves. Apparently he gets a lot of backpackers in causing a drunken raucous. It wasn’t the warmest of welcomes but never mind! Everything was so clean that I couldn’t complain for the price. I didn’t worry about any creepy crawlies lurking around so that suited me. We set up the tent. Ok Mel and Steff did most of the work. I just did as I was told!
All this travelling lark certainly takes it out of you. Our stomachs were rumbling so we headed out to get some food from the local supermarket. This time around this was a simple task. We all agreed on cheeseburgers, a quick and easy meal. It also made splitting the costs at the till a lot easier! The camp had a PAYG barbie so, once back, we fired that up and cooked our tea. As we just finished eating the guy from earlier cropped up. It looks like he’s the owner or manager at least. We had a bit of banter with him and we seemed to have got the cheery Aussie again.
Back at the tent, we unfolded our chairs and sat round for a little camp side chatter. The sky was beautiful that night. The jet black blanket perfectly cushioned the sparkling stars making them the clearest I'd ever seen them. We all found a star constellation. I found Orion’s Belt. Trusty Men In Black ensured that I knew something at least! We cracked open some sparklers left over from some time I can’t recall (!) and regressed back to childhood. We were all so giddy but that didn’t last. Our earlier weariness caught up with us and it was time for bed. Finally after four months I can happily hit the hay with everyone else. Back at the hostel we all wanted to go to sleep at different times. As I worked mornings, it was always me that wanted the light to go out first.
Ooo, my first photo with glasses I do believe.
*****
It wasn’t our alarms that woke us up in the morning, it was the rain. Typical, we’re ready to do something with our day and it belts it down with rain. It eased off enough for us to get ready without too much hassle. Despite laying down camp mats, I still had a sore arse. I envied Mel and Steff who had bagged a free air bed from a work mate. I saw bunny rabbits outside the tent and my spirits lifted slightly. We ate breakfast and went out on a quest to find something to do in the intermittent rain. We grabbed some leaflets from reception but headed over to a Tourist Information Office for some advice.
Everything was either shut or too expensive. There wasn’t that much to do in Port Stephens anyway. We went there for the surf but that wasn’t possible. There was a place that let you swim with harmless - won't bite your leg off - sharks. That seemed pretty cool. I hadn’t had chance to try out my recently acquired GoPro camera. I bought it off of Wayne after a conversation on cameras led to Wayne wanting to upgrade his and offload the old one. I kindly offered to help him out with that one obviously! I have a camera that can go under water now!
We rocked up to the place and skipped inside, again, like school kids (a common theme you will find). Unfortunately we were thoroughly disappointed. The place was awful. The sharks were in a cramped shallow (mid-calf deep) pool. The manta rays and other sea life didn’t fare any better. Not only were they trapped in these conditions but had the discomfort of having snotty kids prod them. We felt awkward and didn’t want to be around this so left pretty sharpish.
Driving around looking for inspiration drained us all. I was sick of passing the same muscly guy holding up a massive fish - an advertisement for fish and chips. I felt like he was mocking me. The final place we could think of to visit was a huge water slide. We stumbled at the first hurdle as it was shut. Instead, we went on the nearby toboggan ride. I didn't really know what to expect so approached with caution. I whipped out the GoPro and watched as Mel, Steff and Sarah sped off. It was my turn. I listened to the controller informing me on how to brake and how to speed up. It all seemed pretty simple. That's not what I thought half way down the track when I fell off! I was going that fast that the toboggan wobbled and I tumbled out. I hit my head, scraped my knee and elbow. I quickly got back on my toboggan and carried on like nothing had happened. I played down my injuries even though they stung. The metal track had sliced off a layer of skin. Surprisingly my travel mates reacted with concern rather than hysterics. It's not like them at all!
My latest boo boo. Bruises later developed and I sported a rainbow band around my elbow that has only just faded.
Everyone enjoyed the toboggan ride but we still felt disheartened with the day's events. We returned to camp rather early where I took this opportunity to spend some time on my laptop, updating my blog specifically. I decided to use the kitchen nearest to our site. This kitchen was being used by a church group the night before but I assumed it was ok to use that day. I was corrected a short while later when someone asked me if I was part of the group (ha!). When I told her I wasn't, the woman said I was fine to stay until more people arrived and they’d be cooking a meal. Fair enough. The woman then sternly added that a lot of their stuff had been stolen. Food and cutlery had gone missing and I could definitely empathise. It slowly dawned on me that this woman thought that I had stolen the stuff. Pah! Obviously she didn’t say that to me but the judgemental stares and faint whisperings to her friends said as much. It didn’t offend me enough to leave though!
There isn’t much to report about Port Stephens other than that. We left the next day. As we packed up the manager drove over to us on a quad bike and told us to pay up. We got the grumpy Aussie that morning. What a weird little man. Our next stop was Port Macquarie where we hoped that the weather would improve and that we’d find more things to do!
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