Brisbane/Surfers Paradise

I arrived in Brisbane after a couple of weeks staying with Jonathon's family in Melbourne. It was a wonderful treat to eat some home cooked meals, and stay in a room without 9 other people as we've done in the hostels and such. The place where I stayed in Brissie was located almost right on the Brisbane River. This was great because I arrived on New Years Eve, and there were fireworks launched from the city right over the river. Also, the hostel had a bar onsite with multiple rooftop levels to watch the fireworks. Most of the travelers stuck around that night, so I met some cool people to welcome in the New Year. I could definitely get used to New Years celebrations like this where everyone is outside and complete with fireworks, drinks, and barbeques. I was in Brisbane for a week looking for work in and around the city, and unfortunately couldn't find anything. After talking to one recruiting agency the gentleman mentioned to me that tourism is really slow in Queensland right now, and a lot of casual postions were having to lay off employees. It was not the news I was hoping for, and to go along with that, my money that I've been saving for the trip was continuing to dwindle down. I also saw Andy Roddick on the streets of Brisbane one day, and am now regretting not going up and talking to him, and possibly even taking a picture with him. He was competing in a tournament in Brisbane before continuing on to the Australian Open at the end of the month.

Because of this I decided to head for Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast and continue to look for work here. I can see why they call it Surfers Paradise as it is one straight beach as far as the eye can see with soft white sand and big surf constantly rolling in from the Pacific. The beach is lined with countless high rises and it is a huge tourist destination. It reminded me a lot of some parts of Florida with the high rises right on the water. The down side to this since it's on the east coast of Australia is the taller buildings begin to block out the sun around 3 PM, and the beach is essentially completely in the shade around 5-5:30 PM. Maybe it isn't a terrible thing because it keeps me from getting completely fried. I've met so many cool people here in Surfers as the Hostel I'm staying at organizes group outings and activities. We had all you can eat pizza and barbeque on consecutive nights with drinking games following shortly after with Goon. Goon is something that I'll explain in detail, but its an amazing drink for the occasion, and you can never go wrong with Goon...until the next day. Needless to say I haven't been able to find a job here either, and due to the above mentioned dwindling funds I incquired Air New Zealand what it would take (or cost) to switch my flight so I don't end up flat broke halfway around the world.

So I'll just be relaxing on the beach for the next 10 days before I come home and begin the next adventure. Thats what life is, a continuous series of adventures, and your experience depends on how you react and embrace them. Not a bad place to spend my last few days based on the picture above huh? I'll have to replace the soft white sand between my toes and fingers to the cold white snow between my boots and gloves though. This trip has truly been an amazing experience. From swimming with sharks in the wild, to seeing the largest Religious building in the world, to bungy jumping the original commercial bungy site, to relaxing on some of the most beautiful landscapes in tropical Thailand, and to meeting numerous fellow travelors from all over the world, the list goes on. Cheers mate, and ta (thanks) for reading!!