From Sydney up until today, Steff has always been first driver. As he’s the tallest of us all, he’s probably best driving rather than being crammed in the back. Being front seat passenger holds a lot of pressure as you end up being chief navigator. Mel has a very good internal compass so even if we are completely lost, somehow she manages to get us back on track.
For Mel and I, today was like every other day. Steff went to drive but things were different. Steff didn’t know where he was going. Up until this point, we’ve only ever needed to look at maps when arriving at a place in search of a hostel. Steff looked to Mel who was just as clueless as the rest of us. It wasn’t a good start.
Mel fired up her laptop but, surprise surprise, the internet was slow. The signal in Australia is rubbish. We went around in circles a couple of times and Steff flipped his lid. It seemed like he’d been storing some resentment for a while about being chief driver.
Mel took over driving and I swapped at around the halfway point. We managed to get there without too many issues. It was scary driving in the dark. Hardly any of the roads were lit. We constantly saw signs about dangerous roads but I don’t think it’s the road that’s dangerous, they just need to throw in a few cats eyes!
I was a bit shaky to begin with. I’ve not had chance to drive that much seen as most journeys have been less than a few hours so Steff drives mostly and Mel takes over if need be. By the time it’s my turn, we’re already there. I’m not complaining as I’m not the most confident of drivers, especially when there are others in the car.
We arrived intact at a hostel we booked that day. It’s called Flashpackers and is advertised as being "affordable luxury". I think they should rephrase that as luxury is taking it a bit far. It’s by no means the worst hostel I’ve ever stayed at, but if you’re going to harp on about how flash your hostel is, you need to back it up.
Initially, all things looked great. Reception was empty so we poked our heads around to see an open plan room with a clean and modern kitchen alongside a common room. They had a cinema room too. It took a while for us to be served. The hostel provides a free shuttle bus for Greyhound passengers so we didn’t time our arrival very well.
The receptionist gave us directions which we fruitlessly tried to follow in the dark but failed. The place looked half built. The main building was only one storey as were the rest of the buildings there. We had no idea what was part of the hostel.
We caught the attention of the receptionist and she ushered us across mud and wood chippings to our room. It would be good if I had a backpack but instead, I had to wheel my suitcase across the crap.
I unlocked the door and laughed. Our room resembled a football changing room due to the large unit of cubby holes that faced the beds. The room wasn’t very clean (I walked across the room barefoot and ended up with black soles) and the ceiling fan was caked in dust. It was something I could tolerate but Mel and Steff shuddered with repulsion.
Another laughing point was the shower as the website said that no matter what room you stay in, you get an eight inch shower head from the ceiling. We got a low dribbling shower head over a half-sized shower cubicle. It was claustrophobic. So much so that you couldn't escape the shower curtain clinging to your body. I don’t normally mention hostels directly but it made me laugh how a company can brag about how great their facilities are yet fail to reach even a reasonable standard.
It's not a bad hostel at all though. The staff there were nice and friendly. There was free breakfast, tea and coffee all day and free wifi. With free being my favourite word as a traveller, I was happy.
As we arrived late, we spent the evening in the common room and went to bed.
*****
Steff picked up a leaflet the previous day about a surreal shark museum. The creator, Vic Hislop, is well known in Australia as a shark hunter. He also has very controversial beliefs which run strongly throughout the museum. Vic is in a battle with the government over shark hunting. The government wish to preserve the shark species whereas Vic believes that killing sharks (specifically great whites, hammer head, tiger and bull sharks) will preserve other marine life such as dolphins and whales. Due to over-fishing, Vic feels that sharks now look elsewhere for its feed and other marine life are suffering because of this. Vic also feels that the government covers up the majority of shark attacks in Australia simply noting that a person was lost at sea. By doing this, it reduces the coverage of shark attacks and lulls the public into a false sense of security. It is a dividing subject.
After visiting the museum and reading a bit more about his cause, I do side with him on this. Cage diving and film crews have trained sharks to kill humans. It's scary.
It's hard to miss this place!
Steff was in his element when we saw this casting of a megalodon's jaw and teeth. It's a prehistoric shark which Steff kept waffling on about to Mel and I throughout our time in Australia.
This place was bizarrely hypnotising. The museum consists of two rooms with walls covered in newspaper cuttings. Some are of Vic Hislop’s conquests but the majority are reports of shark attacks on Australia’s shores.
It was scary stuff reading it all. People had also donated items to the museum – a shark bitten surf board and shredded life jacket spring to mind.
Connected to the newspaper clippings and memorabilia room were two rooms showing videos on shark hunting and shark attacks. I didn’t really have time to watch much of that though.
The most haunting aspect of the museum was the shark freezer. That’s right guys, this guy has two great white sharks frozen for viewing. Obviously there are no great whites in captivity so the only time people can get up, close and personal with one of these beasts is in the unfortunate event of an attack.
This is how I'd prefer to look into the jaws of a great white shark.
It was freaky. I only have a caricature perception of what sharks actually look like from movies and documentaries. They are even scarier in the flesh. I hope I never get to see one alive. As much as I’d like to think that I’d punch it in the face or ram a paddle down its throat, the likelihood would be that I’d never even get the chance. It’s all about luck.
I barely spoke to Steff that day. He was still unhappy with us and I was in no mood to start fights again.
In the evening we ate pizza and watched The Social Network in the cinema room. Mel was on Facebook whilst watching the film. Steff made me laugh as he got all confused about the film. He kept asking who everyone was and asked whether Jesse Eisenberg was the real Mark Zuckerberg. I don’t know what planet he was on when he asked that question. We all come out with silly questions and statements but Steff’s are always hilarious.
It was another late night in anticipation for a chilled out day tomorrow on our journey up to 1770.
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