The Longest Goodbye

I’ve been ready to leave Australia for a long time. It’s felt like the longest six months of my life. For the majority of people, Australia is the best place on earth. The hot weather, the beaches, easy money with plenty of ways to spend it – what’s not to like? The thing is I didn’t really experience much of the Australian dream. It rained a heck of a lot and I only tanned on one of my last days in Australia (Castaway). I did see a lot of the beaches and they are great but I’ve seen better for a fraction of the price in Thailand. The money didn’t really roll in for me so the less we talk about that then the better and the fact that I didn’t get it meant that the long list of things to do in Oz may as well have not existed for me.

I don’t want to come across as bitter as I was never expecting my full 12 months travelling to be 100% euphoria. What does annoy me is that everyone seems to bum Australia and when I tell them that I didn’t really feel it then I get shit for it.

But now I’m free and I don’t have to work anymore I can talk about happier subjects like my impending travels in New Zealand and Fiji.

For New Zealand, I decided to buy a hop-on-hop-off bus ticket. I was originally going to book separate tickets with intercity and see what happens but I want the easy life. After fretting over money and stressing about not being able to do anything in Oz, I’d rather just sit back and let someone else take the reins. I’ll go wherever the bus takes me and figure it out from there.

Out of the main bus operators, I chose Stray. I’d heard that Kiwi Experience is a bit of a party bus and I think I’ve had my dose of that in Thailand and Oz. One of my friends has used Stray and had nothing but good things to say about it so I’m going for that. If it all goes tits-up then I can blame him!

I managed to get a good discount off the Moe Pass as they were having a massive sale. I booked and paid online for the pass. Once I did this, I received a confirmation email and a further message gave me login details. Like any other bus journey, I need to book a seat on each one. I’ve decided to go ahead and book all of them now. Although five weeks sounds like a long time, it isn’t when you see how many places there are to visit and what you can do/see.

Here are the places I'm looking to visit:

Auckland
Raglan
Waitomo
Maketu
Rotorua
Taupo
National Park
Whakahoro
Wellington
Picton
Nelson
Abel Tasman
Punakaiki
Franz Josef
Wanaka
Queenstown
Gunns Camp
Milford Sound
Invercargill
Stewart Island
Mount Cook
Rangitata
Christchurch

So just a few places...

The website was pretty self-explanatory. I used the proposed itinerary on their website to make sure that I had the correct route. At one point I did lose my login details, but the website has an online chat application which allows you to speak to a representative straight away. I must have called at a bad time as there was nobody available. I left a message and received an email within the hour. I was shocked as normally you have to wait around 48 hours at least for a response. After all the aggravation I had with STA and Peter Pans, it was about time I finally picked a good operator!

As for Fiji, I have everything sorted now. For my first week, I will be staying with a Fijian family which I’m really looking forward to. I’ll then spend my final days island hopping with my Awesome Fiji pass. It includes everything – boat pass, accommodation, food and activities. It should be bloody brilliant!

America is still a little hazy but I should be confirming the details whilst I’m in New Zealand. I miscalculated my time there and I have an empty week. I’m tempted to nip across to Canada. I’ve met so many friendly people from there. The first person to help me in Japan was Canadian. I’m thinking Toronto so I can use it as a base to see Niagara Falls too. This might all change though!

Another possibility on the horizon is to return to Australia and finish off my visa. I know it totally contradicts everything that I’ve been talking about for the past six months but I know I’ll earn more money there than I would back home. I’d also find a job sooner in Oz. I think I need that extra time to figure out where my life is heading next. I’ve been thinking a lot about my future lately as I’ve had too much time on my hands! It’s too soon to tell what I’ll do after my trip ends so going back to Australia can be a safety net for that.