The Far South

Here I am, ready for my first “outback” adventure, in a camping called “Grampians Paradise” owned by Aidan and it’s funny recomposed family.
So the Grampians are indeed a mountain range, converted in national park, 300kms west of Melbourne, still in the state of Victoria.
I’m staying wwoofing for a week here, helping Aidan with his plant nursery, that means he seeds different kind of plants and tree and make them grow to sell them.. His elderly fathers deal with the camping business (they have more than 80 and move like they were 60, amazing), an that’s indeed a really lovely place.
We are just on the border of the park on the feet of the biggest mountains, Mt Williams and the Redman Bluff. The place is quite dry (end of summer), but there’s a lot of water, with small swamp, gum trees (eucalyptus), on the camping area. I live in a small caravan near the family house. The most astonishing stuff apart from the fantastic sunsets are the kangarros running freely near my caravan early in the morning or at sunset, 10 m in front of me. There are also a lot of birds, especially different species of colourful and noisy parrots. The place is really quiet and peaceful, and that’s a perfect introduction to inner Australia. I work one day and have got the other day off to walk in the park. There are many great tracks, my main problem is that I don’t have a car, so it’s complicated to move, I try to hitch hike, and I’m not very succesfull with it.
The work is not very hard, but I always deal with the most physical part (Aidan being a kinfd of old lazy hippy, with a damaged back). His wife (Va)Nessa is special as well ! she has a lot of diferent big quartz bowls, that make unbelievable and very strong sounds, and supposed to give good vibration, treat you ,etc....they also have two retarded dogs and two kids (who luckily don’t seem as retarded as the dogs).
Like every australian they have a very “local talking”...australia is “Aussie”, Tasmania “Tassie”, breakfast “breakie” , the “doggies” are crazy,and for dinner we can make a “barbie” (not wild sex with an australian dumb blonde, but a barbecue) isn’t that so funny ...? youpi (no, this one is french).
Talking about breakies, the ones Aidan makes are great with a lot of seeds, fruits and yogurt...miam miam. I have to leave finally this other “paradise”, I really enjoyed and think I was pretty lucky for a first wwoofing experience.Now I have to go to Adelaide (500 kms, from here, hitchiking...I hope I’m gonna make it in less than 2 days), the capital of the state od South Australia (yes by the way Australia is a federal state).

Australia was a teenager dream, and here I am finally Down Under, more than 15 years after ...so pretty excited !
My first destination here is then Melbourne. It’s supposed to be the most European city in Australia, but at first glance it looks like a very different kind of city...everything is so modern, there’s a lot of architectural blend (but it’s not ugly, just a little bit impersonal maybe), and a really multicultural people, with a lot of asians (Chineses, Indians, Malaysians)...it may be the first real postmodern globalized (and expensive) city I’ve ever seen...I had the feeling that if I had been “teletransported” here without knowing where I was, it would have been imposible to guess.
Actually you feel that in the CBD (central Businees District), because the rest of the town is composed of different neighbourhoods with a lot of houses and gardens, or small buildings, some of them in a Victorian or colonial style (I finally undestood the •european stuff” ) .
But for the Melbourners there’s even a bigger diffrence between the North (of the Yarra river) and the South. The north is supposed to be more alternative, with modern guys, more Berlin atmosphere, and the South more posh, with the beaches, and healthy people.

Thanks to Pablo, another wonderful Chilean guy who hosted me three days there, I could indeed feel the difference and get to know better the place. And after 2 more days discovering the town biking around (btw it’s a perfect town for biking) I came to truly appreciate Melbourne, and even started to love it a lot.

Why ? because you slowly realize that people are really relaxed here, no stress at all when they drive, when they walk, the weather is good, you can go to the beach, do some outdoor sport (kitesurf, biking, walk in fantastic parcs...) so easily. And enjoy some good bars and restaurants (good and cheap asian food everywhere), or the cultural offer (lot of theatre, museums and cultural events, ok not like Europe). Apparently Melbourne is rated amongst the most liveable cities in the world, I just stayed a few days there, but I really had this impression.
Only problem for a backpacker like me....of course it’s also very expensive! and especially right now since the Australian dollar is historically strong (more than the American dollar), and the Euro, well you know...
Actually during my 2 months in Australia I won’t have other choice than doing wwoofing for a month. That means working in an organic farm between 4 to 6hours a day in exchange of food and accomodation (I cannot have a proper job because I don’t have a working visa).
I already know where I’ll “wwoof”...first for a week in the Grampians (a national park north east of Melbourne), then 2 weeks in Kangaroo Island near Adelaide, and then a week near Byron Bay on the coast north of Sydney.
So after a really enjoyable stay in Melbourne, it’s time to move (before getting stucked here) my ass to work on the countryside !

I don´t know if there’s a paradise in the sky, but now I know for sure there is one on Earth. It’s only very very far away from home (actually that’s probably the furthest country from Europe).

Paradise is small and very easy to discover, but has a huge variety of climates and landcapes : wonderful beaches with esmerald water, volcanos, fjords, glaciers, perfect countryside and amazing rainforests...everything is a subtile palette of blue and green., and everything seems so pure and intouched.

To be in paradise you have to be pure as well, so you make a lot of sport (walking, biking, kayaking,swimming, bungyjumping...) and you stop smoking (they are really helpful with this ugly addiction since the paquet of cigarette cost 11€...).
In paradise you are here to enjoy the wildlife so you don’t loose time with your other ugly addiction (sex is an addiction?) : internet. Of course they are really helpful in that case too, since you have to pay for wi-fi everywhere, around 3,5€ an hour.

Paradise language is obviously universal, so you practice finally your english.

Paradise has a temperate climate but is an exotic country : here you can find hostels in boats or in former jailhouses, the cashier at the supermarket ask you if “you’re having a great day”, (you can´t help answering, “of course I have, I’m in Paradise”).
Food can be exotic as well, such as green shell mussels which taste like oyster, and of course the famous kiwifruit, actually they have 2, the green one, and the golden one without hair on the skin. They are both so sweet and soft that you can eat the skin as well (by the way, that is the real forbidden fruit, not the apple, because it indeed comes from Hell, euh China, and is not native from NZ).


Paradise is for everybody, there’s absolutely no racism in this perfectly multicultural society. Maoris are alcoolized and subsidized, asians works likes asians in asian businesses (restaurants, shops...), and there are even a few blacks, everybody love them because they are good at rugby.

In kiwi paradise there are no snakes...but there is another evil creature : the sandflies...theses tiny little vampires make mosquitoes look like pussies.
That probably means that even in paradise perfection doesn´t exist....so I decided stopping being a perfectionist, that doesn’t make sense.

Even in Paradise you can find more paradisiac places ! such as Milford sound or Abel Tasman Park...that’s indeed one of the things I’m learning in this trip...there is always something better, that just never stops ! So why not simply stop this absurd search and start enjoying what you already have.

In Paradise you can have the most exciting experiences of your life, such as swimming with dolphins, make the highest bungy jumping in the world, jetboating on a canyon, or driving on the left side of the road. And probably that driving is one of the best and cheapest stuff you can do here, landscapes are so varied and beautiful that you just wish to drive forever !

Talking about driving, after a few hours you get so confident that you drive at 70 instead of 50...so the guardian angels (yes the kiwi cops) stop you to prevent an accident. They are so kind that they call you by your first name and say you’re doing great when then put you a 120 NZ$ fine, and advise that you have a month to pay it, and that you better pay it if you want to go back one day in paradise ! ....conclusion, no matter where, a cop is a cop.

Finally you realize that something is missing , and you start feeling alone and thinking that being with your beloved ones is maybe the real paradise. And since you are a little broke as well...you have no choices but eating a lot of golden kiwi fruits and not paying the paradise 120$ fee) to get “the hell” out of here and go back to the purgatory reality.

So now in the South Island for 2 weeks.
Starting with renting a car, for five days, to go faster and see the west coast.
First stop was the northen shore with Golden Bay and the Abel Tasman national park, for 2 days. Kayaking one day, night on a boat hostel and walking the oher day. Just wonderful! On the south island I also had my first contact with Paradise only evil thing: the sandflies. Some small flies living on the coast and pumping your blood like mosquitoes, but as a result you get bigger and more scratching spots (and after a day you really regret mosquitoes)!
It also was my second time driving on the left side of the road (first try in Malta 2 years ago), but here it's easy and fun because ther are not many cars.
I'm getting tired a litlle bit of travelling so fast here (almost never spent a night on the same site) and sleeping in sometimes uncomfortable conditions (like 2 nighs in the car). South island is different from the north, more mountains and no volcanoes, and a really wild and beatiful coast.
a quick stop in Wanaka, Queenstown, and then direction Te Anau and the Fiordland national park (NZ most visited area), for enjoying the famous Milford Sound. And yes it's the most beautiful place I've seen in NZ, the most infected with sandflies too! I stayed a couple of days there, for kayaking, cruising and trekking on the area. And always been quite lucky with the weather since it's one of the most humid place in the world.
After that incredible spot, go back again at Queenstown to kill myself with a huge bungy jumping.