Banning Planning

I am still in Fremantle. BUT I am  preparing to leave soon! For real this time! I think. 

I have been busy these past two weeks, and for some reason not in a writing mood. I am blaming this blog break on my need for change. So I apologize for the lack of posts, but not to worry- I will bring you up to speed now! 

Penguin Island, Rockingham, WA

I have been test driving cars. An experience I never expected to have in Australia!

Finding a car is just as daunting of a task here as it is at home. BUT I will admit the car hunt in OZ did come with quite a few laughs! I should probably preface all of this by saying it is VERY common for backpackers to buy cars/camper-vans to travel around the country in. There are tons of cars for sale ranging from $500 to $5,000. I set myself a limit and narrowed my search down to finding a station wagon, automatic, preferably with camping gear, at least a 1990, and with plenty of registration and insurance left on it. With that- the car search began.

  

Car 1:

  - Where:  Cottesloe Beach (during a concert on the beach with hundreds of people around- GREAT timing!)

  - What: Station wagon, clean, 1991, blue, 300,000 miles, registration almost expired, $1900.00

  - Who: Two Irish guys. Backpackers, very nice. Felt confident they were being honest about the car.

  - Why/ Why not: It was cheap, came with some camping gear BUT the locks took skill to use, and you had to tap the dashboard in order to start the car. HAHA! The car had a lot of character to say the least!

 - Side note: This was the first time driving on the wrong side of the road for me! So as I sat in the driver seat, while surrounded by 100's of people, I pondered whether I should put the car in gear or not. I opted not to and kindly requested to be driven to the nearest neighborhood! The Irish guys laughed and off we went. Once we re-located to a seemingly quiet street- I hopped back into the drivers seat, put her in drive and attempted to simultaneously pull out of the parking spot while turning on the blinker. UNSUCCESSFUL!  The windshield wipers whipped on and screamed across the dry windshield. I erupted in laughter and they in fear as I drove around the block a few times and determined this was not the car for me. NEXT!

Car 2:

   Where: South Beach

   What: Camper Van, $5000 dropped down to $3,000 due to the urgent need to sell so she could go       back home.

   Who: A German Wind Surfing Woman

   Why/ Why Not: This van was souped up with all the camping gear one could want- including a nice       built in mattress and shelves, BUT it only had two seats and I needed three. NEXT!

   - Side note: I didn't mention to the woman that this was only my second time driving in Australia. My cover was quickly blown as I, once again, flicked the windshield wipers on instead of the blinker. She didn't think it was as funny as I did!

Car 3:

    Where: Downtown Perth (GREAT place to test drive a car for just my third time driving on the wrong side!)

   What: Station Wagon, $1700, 1993, covered in dirt and sand, her name was Stacy.

   Who: A good looking Swiss guy and a great looking Italian guy. Backpackers. Did I mention they were good looking?

   Why/ Why Not: Car runs nicely, comes with ALL the camping gear  PLUS a surf board, great price    BUT not sure I trust the European's on the reliability of the car. NEXT!

    - Side note: I got honked at during my test drive... and my nervous response: "Sorry for pulling out in front you mate, the car didn't have as much "giddy-up" as I thought!" Luckily the Italian stallion just laughed as he watched it all happen from the passenger seat!

    - Side note #2: These two stallions showed up in Fremantle at our hostel 3 days later! No idea why    they were there, but Livia (my Swiss friend from the hostel) and I sure enjoyed getting to see them again! Small world. And if you were curious... they did ended up selling the car. 

Car 4:

    Where: Welshpool- An ugly industry town 40 minutes from Fremantle.

    What: Station Wagon-$3,000, 1997, No air conditioning.

    Who: Jordan, an Irish guy...or maybe he was English. Can't remember because there wasn't much personality to him.

    Why/ Why Not: Decent car, confident it would get me to my destination BUT not worth the asking price and fairly certain I can get something nicer for less money. NEXT.

    Side note: With 4 test drives under my belt I am getting better- however I am still working on my perception of space available on the left side. Yeah...I hit a curb. Jordan was not impressed. Scared for his life now (wuss) he quickly directed me back to the parking lot. See Ya boring Jordan...and your overpriced car too! 

Car 5:

   Where: Fremantle- The car was brought to me because they HAD to sell the car TODAY or it was going to the junk yard before the kiwi couple headed back to their homeland.

What: Station Wagon: $1500- dropped to $500 due to URGENT sale, 1991, clean engine, camping gear and mattress

Who: A totally in love Kiwi couple, who were kind enough to let me drive us from Fremantle back to Scarborough where they were staying and where Livia and I needed to be by 6pm. (Yes we sort of used them for a ride...thanks guys!)

Why/Why Not: Great car for the price, definitely would have done the trick, no air-con but windows worked fine, almost bought it but ran out of time to get it checked out and the registration was almost expired making it a nightmare to get insured. SO close, yet feeling so far away! NEXT!

  Side note: This time I was confident enough to drive on the highway. Constantly reminding myself to stay on the left side and off the curb, I was feeling pretty good! That is until I realized I had only ever driven in neighborhoods where traffic lights didn't exist. It was a whole new ballgame. I stopped driving shortly after this realization as I didn't want to crash this lovely couple's car; plus I could sense that they were ready to be back in control of the beast!

Car 6:

   Where: Fremantle- I am getting lazy now and only test-driving cars if they are willing to come to me.

   What: Station Wagon: $3700, Talked him down to $3,000 before even driving it. 1998. Clean and reliable. Only 260,000 miles.

 Who: A curly blonde haired german kite surfing dude- enough said.

 Why/ Why Not: Best car I had driven, had cruise control, air con and a working radio, plenty of camping gear and a mattress, on the expensive side but knew I would be able to resell for the same price. SOLD...Or not! Slight change of plans! 

I am no longer buying a car!

Penguin Island, Rockingham, WA

Remember when I said I am slowly learning not to plan so much- well I am learning quickly now. Long story short Lisa and I have decided to meet in NZ instead of Perth now. She is going to hang out in Sydney while I hitch rides with Livia down the South Coast! I am laughing as I write this, wondering what must be going through your mind as you read this. I am sure you are thinking we are crazy- maybe we are, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

The adventure continues!

In addition to the car hunt: 

I enjoyed another outdoor picnic with Lute. This time the venue was on Scarborough beach during sunset and Lisa Mitchell (an Aussie singer) was putting on a free concert. The setting was surreal. Live music on the beach, beautiful sunset, great friends, delicious food and cold wine- life is good!

Scarborough Beach

I saw some dolphins elegantly swimming down the Fremantle Port. I was pretty excited as this was my first spotting of them in the wild!

There is a dolphin in this picture....I promise! 

I waved goodbye to the passenger's of Queen Mary 2- the largest ocean liner in the world carrying over 4,000 people! It had ported in Fremantle for the day during their around the world journey. The massive boat was quite impressive- google it!

I spent a day on Penguin Island where I met a skink and one of the world's smallest penguins! 

World's smallest breed of penguin. Did NOT like me. 

I went to an outdoor movie- Catfish, a great flick that I would recommend to anyone. 

Spent an evening on a 5 million dollar yacht...why not?!

Livia on level 1 of 3

Had my second go at kite surfing- I am almost ready to go pro!  

And now- instead of a car hunt, I am on a hunt for a ride...which only means the stories of comical meetings with strangers continue! So far we've met a Canadian and two Germans. Much more to come on that in a future post! 

I have intentions to leave Fremantle and head to Margaret River (wine region!!) on Tuesday and I have no idea when or if I will have internet access for the next couple of weeks. I am banning planning now as it is just not the Australian way to do things. The unknowns of my future mean that I am not sure when my next opportunity to write will be... I know you are all so disappointed :-) Just know that I will be sure to keep a journal of everything that goes on during this camping adventure down the southwest coast and will fill you in as soon as I am able! 

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans ~ John Lennon

Wind in My Sail

   I am still in Fremantle and still living at the same hostel I started in. I am officially a "regular" here now. No longer a newbie, I am "Breeee from Collar-RAAD-O" as the accents from around the world say when they attempt to mimic me. I can proudly put a name to almost all of the other faces that consider this hostel home.  I have made some incredible friends. Friends that talk about coming to see me in the states someday. Friends that want to show me around their homeland someday. Friends that are very different from me, but have a welcoming smile and traveling as a common interest. They are people that I will never forget. 

These friendships begin easily and are solidified quickly. And next to the incredible scenery around me, these friendships are the best thing about traveling. Unfortunately the goodbyes happen as often and as quickly as the friendships develop. It's all part of it. But when you hug a good one goodbye it can really take the wind out of your sail. Knowing I was going to have to say my first goodbye to one of these friends today was not a fun realization to wake up to. BUT we made the best of Stu's last day in Perth and our sails were FULL of wind as a group of us all had our first go at kite surfing!

The wind picked up, as if on cue,  while we determined our perfect beach location. Upon arrival at Woodman's point five of us made our way to the water. Yanni set up his kites while the rest of us waited nervously in anticipation for our turn to harness up and put the kites in the air. He entered the water first to show us how it was done. He made it look effortless and the confidence grew in all of us. Stu was up next.  The effort became much more obvious and our confidence on the sidelines diminished as he face-planted onto the sand…several times. After a few more attempts and a bloody knee he passed the kite over to me. I suited up and hopped in the water with my competitive self- determined to be better than Stu and focused on staying in the water and far from land. I was in heaven! I had wanted to kite surf since the day I first learned of the sport. I had looked into lessons weeks ago only to find out it was going to cost a fortune and disappointedly gave up on the idea. So the fact that I was out there doing it... for free... with good friends- made this an experience I would happily relive any day.

  

Although I was thrown around quite a bit, I managed to pass the kite on without any war wounds. My friend Rachel was not as fortunate and day one of kite surfing ended with a crash as she was whipped out of the water and launched head first into a sand dune.  We joined her in laughter and relief once we knew she was OK. Needless to say it was an epic day for all of us. We walked away smiling, some of us more battered than others, but all anxious for our next opportunity to be tossed around by a kite! 

It was a great last day in Perth for Stu and just the excitement I needed to get past the goodbye and be reminded of how lucky I am to be staying.  

I look forward to more of these memorable days and making new friends to share them with. 

With wind in my sail - I am content and loving life in Western Australia.

  

Walking Slow

Lack of convenient access to the internet is to blame for the delay in blog posts. Well...that, along with the change of pace Perth has bestowed upon me.  A change of pace that is greatly affecting the girl that left the hustle and bustle of the USA just 8 quick weeks ago.

A change of pace that made me realize I: 

walk fast.

plan a lot.

like to know what is next.

prefer to get to a destination without wasting time between the start and finish.

need organization.

enjoy working/making money.

walk really fast. 

I have been in Perth for two weeks now and have decided that I won't be here long enough to start working somewhere. Being unemployed has left me feeling different than I expected! One would think not having a job would equal endless parties, sleeping in, relaxation…total freedom. It does. BUT it also equals me feeling unorganized, money conscious, and learning how to chill out.

This new lifestyle has actually been quite difficult to adjust to. But, it is turning out to be a good exercise for me. 

Prior to my time in Perth I had no idea how fast I walked ( and by that I  am implying all of the traits listed above). Staying at a hostel with about 100 other backpackers has introduced me to a variety of attitudes, backgrounds, experiences, and tips- both about traveling and about life in general. On the whole-  I think I may be one of the most uptight backpackers in Perth! I spent my first week making a point to meet new friends, and unlike most people around me I was always making sure I had plans.  

Rottnest Island

With week two coming to an end I am proud to say progress has been made. I have slowed my canter to a trot. I am creating outlines, instead of detailed lists. Leaving room for unanticipated events and enjoying them when they occur. Worrying less about what is happening at my destination and enjoying the contents occurring on my way to it. I am recognizing it is OK to be somewhere and not know when I will change locations or what the next one might be. I am learning to live simply and prioritize where my money is spent. I am letting life happen around me and going where it takes me instead of me taking it. 

After eight weeks in Australia I am walking slower. 

Rottnest Island Surfers

Rottnest Island

Even though I have slowed my pace down, I have remained busy. In the last two weeks I: 

Spent HEAPS of time at the beach: North Beach, South Beach, CY O'Connor's Beach, Leighton Beach, Cottesloe Beach, Scarborough Beach

Hitchhiked... to the beach

Had a proper Australian barbecue on Australia Day

Aussie BBQ

Aussie Day Crew

Did a torch(aka-flashlight) tour through the Fremantle Prison

Lived in a room with people from England, Scotland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. 

Tried Kangaroo and found out I like anchovies.

Taught some English guys how to throw an American Football

Attempted to pitch a ball like a Cricket Player

Biked around Rottnest Island and pet a Quokka while there

A Quokka

Ran on the beach

Swam in the Sea

Had a picnic outside of the Kings Park Amphitheater during the Train and INXS concert

Enjoyed a few open mic nights and sang along to live music

Had incredible conversations with people from around the world

Got my hair cut by an Aussie woman who was dancing while cutting and now half of my hair is gone. (but I don't care, because it's just hair...right???)

Proved Americans can dance to Sir Mixalot 

Found out I was more competitive than I once thought- must be the American in me. 

Attended the Fringe Festival of Arts in Perth

Needless to say, I am having fun and learning a lot in WA. 

  

In just 10 days Lisa gets here!  We will be taking off on a camping adventure down the south coast of this enormous state. I can't wait for that time to come! In the meantime I continue to find enjoyment in my life of ease and take everything in stride. Now…Off to the beach! After that… I don't have a clue!! 

Sunset Coast | WA