Friday, April 11, 2008

900 Hectares and a...vacation!

Since you last heard from me, I have planted nearly 50,000 "Blue Gums" or as we Americans know them, Eucalyptus trees in the Australian bush. Needless to say, I am officially burnt out! Bending over 1500 times a day and planting a seedling in a hole amongst poisonus spiders, snakes and thorn bushes was fun, but I'm sure glad it's over! I'm getting old, and am starting to hear cricks and cracks in areas that probably spawn arthritis. It was really hard work, but I'm glad I sucked it up for as long as I did. I feel like it was something I needed to experience,. maual labor that is. I really needed to push my limits and challenge myself physically, and I did just that! I just kept thinking about those poor women in Laos carrying 40 kilos of rice on their backs for 8 to 10 hours a day. At the very least, it made me very very happy that I have a college degree and don't have to do work like that for the rest of my life...Oh, and I managed to save a few thousand bucks for the old travel fund too!



The reason I wasn't able to keep in touch often is because I was literally out in the middle of nowhere for 7 weeks living amongst the kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, and thousands of species of birds. Days were long, starting at sunrise and ending usually around 3 or 4. No cell service (or even a town for 2 1/2 hours) and the time here is about 16 hours different from Boston! I met lots of great people from all over the globe, saw some amazing things, and got pretty fit in the proccess, but I think I'll give manual labor a rest for a couple of months.



So what next you may ask? Now it's time to travel and see a bit more of the beautiful scenery that Australia has to offer. Mick (the guy that I got in the motorbike accident with in Thailand) and I are going to do a little exploring together. He's a surfer, and I'm a wanna-be so we'll do a bit of surf-camping and fishing in Northern Australia for a bit. He and I are also both interested in checking out Indonesia, so I think that's next on the agenda. I figure, while I'm on this side of the world, I might as well see all that I can, and Indonesia is certainly on my list! Since Indo is part of Asia, similar living costs exists...that's right, you can live like a king for about $1000 a month! Let's see, fresh fish, beautiful beaches and incredilby kind people...I'm in! I'll let you know when I buy my ticket.



Heading up the coast now towards Byron Bay which is meant to be beautiful and a pretty hoppin' nightlife area, I really need to get my groove on! I've been living in filthy clothes, work boots and gloves covered from head to toe in dirt for the past 2 months. I almost forgot that I have regular girl clothes! Now I just need to really learn how to surf!

Pictures to come soon! PS: They don't really have wirless internet in this part of OZ so uploading photos is a major P in the A!!