So, after searching Orange we have found that the orchards are saturated with pickers.  In fact the only picking job we located was not even close to steady.  We had to move on.

We stopped back in Katoomba and to make a long story short… drama.  A very confusing situation that is ridiculous and childish in its entirety.  Being me, I don’t want to have any part in it so I stepped back and offered what advice I could.  Then we ditched to Sydney and then off the mainland completely!  Which made of a fun night of travel.  Katoomba -> Central Sydney -> Circular Quay -> Manly Beach via a ferry -> Circular Quay via a ferry -> A 12KM walk from Circular Quay to the Sydney Domestic Airport.  We of course made sure to spend some well earned time in Manly and dip our feet in the Ocean!

Currently we are in Hobart, Tasmania!  We are looking for a camper van to traverse the island/country with and have some very promising leads.  Other than that… we have to wait a couple weeks until the cherry season starts up and may just kill that time with some apple thinning.

Hobart is beautiful.  Everyone is so friendly and helpful.  Within an hour of being in town we had 4 people offer assistance with directions when we were showing we were the tiniest bit lost.  Everyone is smiling and the sun is warm.  Everything seems so cheap compared to the mainland as well!  Wow Australia can be expensive!

“C’mon, let me hear ya say, woo-woo, Let me hear ya say, woo-woo”

So I have arrived in Orange.  First impression… you know what, this place looks more than a little like Vernon in ways.  Dan and I are on the prowl for an Orchard worthy of our presence.  Should be good, it appears that we may already have leads.

I have met up with Dan and spent the last week or so in a comfy little hostel in Katoomba named The Flying Fox.  The atmosphere was wonderful, the people quite friendly and everyone was very welcoming.  From hiking to themed dinner nights… we had it all. (I’d go into more detail here but there were for the most part genuine and wonderful people and I only have limited computer access.)  I don’t know if I could have stayed any longer for fear of the “Curse of the Flying Fox”.  A strange malady where if one stays long enough… they may never leave!  Ross the owner even lent me a mat for camping as it was significantly better than my own.  The only requirement is that I return it when I am next through the Flying Fox… wait a sec now…

We attempted to hop on a train to take us to Orange but after an hour of waiting we discovered the only train to Orange is in the morning.  So we stuck out our thumbs.  We made it safely and I got to watch Dan, the master hitchhiker, in action.  Excluding a delay from some heavy mist that prevented vehicles from being able to see us we made it in okaytime.  I had an interesting time myself during this as one of our rides had me on top of a barrel in the back of a van surrounded by hoses and our travelbags while the driver tried to “take a piss out of me” by driving… interestingly.

I have been having issues adding photos recently and will have to attempt again at another time.  For now though I have ran out of time on the internet.

“Lee told me to let it go and save the story until we’re back out on the road”

I’m off to Katoomba!  There I shall meet up with Bunnyhug… wait I mean Dan.  heh.

To the Train-mobile!

After my 15 hour flight I landed at Sydney International.  Air Canada has done a lot of things to improve their planes for the Olympics.  Each seat appears to be equipped with a touch screen multimedia center in the headrest in front of you.  From these screens you can choose Television, Music and even Movies.  I listened to some Imogen Heap and watched Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince and a movie about highschoolers and a battle of the bands. (The name escapes me currently)  Going through customs was painless and in face a good chance to stretch my stiff legs.  I assembled my back and converted my travelbag from shoulder to backpack.  I decided as I had been up for over 24 hours that I would simply stand outside in the beautiful sun for a while and relax.  It did me well and it served to clear my head.  During that time I spoke with an elderly Australian man who regaled me about his troubles in visiting the U.S. and Cuba.  He was very friendly however and had a lot of  interesting information.  Mostly on what parts of Sydney to avoid for safety’s sake.  (I’ll probably visit said places later today, haha!)

I found my hostel with little trouble.  Though I took a very roundabout root locating it as my legs were still recovering from the travel.  It is a friendly hostel with an interesting dorm setup.  Converted tram cars to sleeping quarters.  My window even looks out onto Central Station!

The first thing I did was grab a shower and went for a walk.  Sydney is a very busy city.  There is quite a bit of traffic and some of the craziest pedestrians I’ve ever seen.  It seems that as long as the road is clear droves of people will cross even the most well used intersections.  The reason why I mention this is because in many places on the center divider they have included a button for the crosswalk… even though there is not really any significant place to stand there.

My walk took me through a sprawling “China Town”.  It took me nearly an hour to locate a coffee shop.  One of the nice things I’ve noticed is, unlike even smaller cities back home, I can’t throw a rock without hitting a Starbucks and I like it!  My coffee was surprisingly delicious.  An interesting Mocha that was the right combination of bitter and sweet.  I was very impressed… it helped clear my palette of the coffee I had on my flight which has now be dubbed “The Worst Coffee Ever!”

 Most of the rest of the day was filled with me trying to stay awake until a decent time for me to sleep.  At the end of the day I had been up for 35ish hours but I knew when I hit bed I wouldn’t be up until morning.  Thankfully with a morning coffee I am almost back to normal.

I don’t have any real plans for today, mostly some sightseeing and finding somewhere to buy a towel.  Tomorrow I head to Katoomba to meet up with Dan and begin our adventures.  For now though I’ma grab a coffee and plan my day.

Please note:  I have only chosen select pictures for the post, please visit Photo Gallery in the top lefthand corner of the page to view more. (Edited location ’cause my ‘cuz Krista is a smart aleck d: )

 ”In distance I found strength. Katoomba gave me peace of mind.”

I have arrived safe and sound.  More to come later once I have some coffee in me.