Next Chapter: TDC

Signed up yesterday for TDC, Training Dive Con, on the boat I volunteered on. Starting my work tomorrow, and probably will go nonstop for about 46 days! Working in the shop, at the pool, on the day boat, and on the liveaboard!!! I go out on the Kangaroo Explorer tomorrow for my first 5 days of work. This is going to be interesting. Up at 530, finish about 9 or 10. This way I don't have to look for a job, because that sucks. Probably moving in to the BrewCan, which is a popular spot for the people working on the boat. Hopefully ultra cheap. This will pretty much sort out a large portion of my time left in Australia, and I will be a professional scuba man. Girls find that attractive. Here's to the next two months.

... as a side note: I apologize to all who expect me to call them who I do not. Don't feel bad because I don't call anyone. I don't exist. Nobody gets special treatment. And also-- I have been real bad at taking pictures recently... but I just stumbled upon a 4gb SD card someone left behind in the hostel. Score one for tyler booooya!

Yarr matey I got me sea legs.

Just got back from the boat last night. Was great. Washed a sh*tton of dishes, but I managed 3 dives every day. Saw a lot of way cool things, and definitely improved my diving skills. I am tossing around doing it again here in a week or so. It's a good deal. I will see what I can do about the photos. Met a bunch of cool people on the way, and I am heading to Mission Beach later today with Gail, one of the hosties on the boat. Coolio

BONUS

So I managed to snag another blog, a bit easier to load photos up. Here is the address:

www.offexploring.com/tystright

should work. I will continue to update this one with text and such, but for photos you will need to check the other blog. I will put some more photos up as time permits. Coolio.

Cairns

Okay... still in Cairns. Still hanging out with Daniel, Tobias and Fabsen (the germans). I am pretty much out of things to do here in Cairns, and I have started looking for work. Unsuccessfully I might add. Still having a good time, but trying not to spend money. Tax returns here in the next few weeks. Should be a nice little bonus for me. I am now a certified open water scuba diver to 18 meters (50ft). Scuba diving is amazing. I enjoyed it so much I signed up as a volunteer on this boat I was on. Friday morning I leave to the boat, and will live aboard for just over a week!!! Washing dishes, cleaning, lookout, and whatever they need basically. Free food, accommodation, and roughly three dives a day!! Basically going to be one of the best weeks here in Oz. Bungy jumping is also as fun as I expected it to be. Managed to get 10 jumps in one day, and it was a RIOT! The rush is pretty amazing. Skyped with the fam last week, saw baby O take a few steps, make some excellent gibberish noises, and waved to me when he went to bed. Super excited to see him in a few months. I promise I will upload photos soon, but I may do it on a different blog. If that happens I will let you know. This blog uploads photos too slowly for me. Time to go slack line at the lagoon.

sorry errboday

havent been very diligent on the blog updating, and for that i apologize. i am typing this out on my german buddys computer and the keys are a bit messed up. reese and i are split up now, last i heard he was in sydney but thats it. i am now in cairns, where its roughly 85 degrees or so. not bad for the middle of winter haha! stopped for a few days to visit my estonian compadres in bowen, and saw a bunch of cool waterfalls on the way up. there was a possum in bowen we played with. it was coo. travelling alone is a different experience for sure. i am signing up for scuba dive certification later today and also a bungie jump or ten next week ! it is going to be baaad ass. i will see if i can upload some photos now. still having a blast, still have a little money left, and still planning on finding a job soon. pls. peace. doh. no photos this time. its a little hard uploading everything when its all written in german sry again

Airlie Beach

Been driving a lot the last few days. Stayed last night in Rockhampton, and now in Airlie Beach. To be honest... I cannot really find the beach. There were AMAZING pictures of this place, and it turns out the pictures are from the 'lagoon' which is a natural looking swimming pool. I am still sufferring from some sort of bug I got a few days back, but hope tomorrow will be better. I might be having a karma attack from enjoying Trav's shot of the "brown trout." We thought we might be staying here for a while, but it really isnt that spectacular. Looking around for work, not finding a lot, but getting very close to Cairns now!!!! SCUBA DIVING SOON! There is also a bungie jump in Cairns I will probably do. So sweet. The camera is working alright, but the quality of the photos is hit or miss. Hopefully I can get some more up soon. Hope everyone is well.

Gold Coast

Got a new camera, but not enough time to upload photos. We have been hanging around the Gold Coast for the last few days and plan on heading further north tomorrow! We hit a nice campground and did a few cool hikes to waterfalls and such. We really have only been in VIEW of the coast until tonight, but to be honest it's not that spectacular. Just a city spanning the coast for a while. I expected a cool surfing spot (since part of it is called Surfer's Paradise) and just a lot of laid back guys in campervans surfing on a giant beach. It is pretty much the opposite. A giant city spreading north/south on the coast. I got some really cool views of some parrots, cookaberras, and we saw some mini-possums the other night. Funny critters. After Byron we also did a day hike up Mt. Warning. Check that online-- very cool. Unfortunately we did it on a day that was totally cloudy, so when we got to the top we saw white. White instead of a 360 panoramic that would have probably been the best view I've had in the last six months. And I will have been here 1/2 year in 4 days I believe. Where's the time gone?

Byron Bay!

Unfortunately, I still haven't gotten to buying a new camera so I have zero pictures of Byron Bay. On that note, Byron is definitely the top spot we have been so far. Kind of a little hippy town, but has a great atmosphere and the people are friendly. We finally are surrounded by more backpackers our age. Huge breath of fresh air. I splurged on some good snorkling gear... fins, snorkle, goggles : 250 dolla. I've used them twice now, and its already been worth it. There is an old boat wreck in the bay and it's pretty awesome. Saw a cool shark about 5 feet long, and a load of fish. I cannot wait for the reefs further north!!! We hiked to the lighthouse thismorning and it was beatiful. Beaches stretching off into the distance, waves crashing, and a few pods of dolphins hanging around. It was very cool. I think we are leaving town tomorrow, heading for Mt. Warning. It's supposed to be a good hike. Trip has really took a positive turn, and it's great to finally be social. OH-- big thing on my list is the sushi here. for a pretty good sized roll its 2.50 - 3.00 or so, and typically delicious. Can't wait to see what happens next! :D

North!

Hey all- Just woke up thismorning for the 3rd time in Hat Head! Back visiting Sylvie and the family. Working our way slowly north, but things are already changing a lot. Warmer. More Beautiful. Excellente. We stopped for two days in Sydney, and it was too much hustle and bustle for me. We stopped and camped at Anna Bay on the way here, and it was amazing. Huge beaches, beautiful views, sand dunes. We took a long detour on the way up and saw Ellensborough Falls, which I think said was a 200 meter fall, and was amazing. Apparently the second largest waterfall in the southern hemisphere (check me on that). When we got to hat head the boys (Kade and Abe) showed us the ropes. Spent some time in the waves, and also went and sand boarded on the dunes nearby... and I got sand jammed in the camera, so I am thinking I need a new one. DOH! I am still cleaning sand out of my ears and eyes. We are heading out in a few hours after a morning swim towards Byron Bay. It is supposed to be a big backpacker destination so we are looking forward to the time there. Saaa weeet.

No mas manzanas por favor.

Ok. Here's the update less cool pictures to make the blog worth looking at. Me and Hud are heading to Sydney tomorrow, and the fun begins. Hang for a few days, then head north. I will update some pictures when I am in Sydney. Picked last bit of apples on saturday, and I am ready to hit some beaches, climb some mountains, and eat some lobster.... not exactly in that order. Hope everyone's doing well, and I promise the next update won't suck major.

Moving UP in the world.

Reese is now in Orange!! We have spent the last few days pruning some trees, just waiting for the final picking session. We cleaned out this old caravan that has been unused for the last 5 years, and it doesn't smell bad anymore. The car is sweet, has some issues maybe, but should do what I need it to. Things are looking up! Three weeks or so and we should be outta here, heading north. Starting to get the necessary items we will need for the journey... and definitely prepared for whatever comes next. Orange is getting cold, and I am getting bored. Gonna put in some heavy hours this last pick and make as much cash as possible. Highlight of my life: Being independent from Dutchy. Oh... tell me that is not the sweetest license plate ever. BE EZ NUMBA ONE WHAAAT More to come...

Home Stretch!

Hey all- Sorry for the lack of updates, but it really hasn't been a very eventful few weeks/months. I am still in Orange, still picking apples (when I can)... and still hanging out with a stubborn old man. Starting to get really pumped up for the next part of the trip though! Stacking up a good amount of cash and have made a deal with Adriane, a friend of Joe Caltabiano (the owner of the orchard I'm at) for a 1996 Ford Falcon GSI. Hopefully I will have that by the end of this week, and I will be another dangerous driver concentrating on staying to the left. That's really the biggest news from the last 2 months or so... and I am planning on heading north after a few more weeks in Orange. I will update with some photos once I am a bit more mobile. Also-- big news is that Reese... as of right now I think, should be in Sydney! We will see if he makes it to Orange w/o trouble. Got him a spot picking when he gets here so the plan is: work, make cash, travel, spend cash, have good times. Going to be an awesome WINTER! haha Hope everyone's doing great. Another update soon. Peace out homies.

Back in orange . Update from iPod

Please let it not hit 40.

Ended up working for 3.5 days this week, so it went by a little faster. Was bent over pruning the bottom parts of the apple trees so they could spray for weeds under. It was not the most exciting thing, thank God for my iPod. :) I am heading north to Coonabarabran tomorrow morning, to another orchard co-owned by a couple of the Orange guys. It sounds like we will have a house to stay in during this time as well. Looking forward to that. Should be out of cell range, out of civilization, and into a 7 day work regime that will hopefully prove to be lucrative. Won't have another update for a bit. Working a lot might be a challenge, but I shall not be phased. ( I am 1/4 Jerry Summers). Heres a few photos, we had hail the size of marbles one day for about 5 minutes, and a couple hot days. Oh. We also went and checked Very interesting. See you in a few weeks. We also went and checked out those limestone caves. Pretty cool stuff. Seeing parrots and all sorts of cool stuff. Still not showing many of the pictures due to my limited internet access. Hope you all are doing well.

P.S. Grandpa, heard about your spill into the stream. You are very durable to be able to withstand a blow to the head at 80. You never cease to impress. You are the man.

Update

Been living out of my tent next to Dutchee's ancient camper. Tent is awesome, and the nights are much colder here in Orange, so its easier to sleep. The apples are all ripening up for a few more weeks, and hopefully going to be giant so I can make some dinero. In a few days me and Dutch will be heading north to Coonabarabran, a few hours drive. There we will pick as much as possible, probably seven days a week for three weeks hopefully. If that goes to plan I will rake in a good 2500 or so, and be on my way to being a lazy man for a while. Then it's back to Orange to pick even more apples. Granny smiths, red delicious, pink ladies, fujis, oregon delicious, you name it. I am going to be the apple pro. Looking into working at a resort in the middle of the continent as well, supposedly a good deal. I will update some pics later this week ideally. Hope everyone is doing well. I am melting in the 90 degree temps.

Extra Pics

Orange you glad I didn't say Banana?

Ok. Heading inland a ways to meet up with Dutchee. Sounds like I will be picking some peaches for a week or two, then heading elsewhere to find some apples. Looking like it is going to be another interesting chapter in the trip. Might not update the blog for a bit, but you can assume there will be a nice big one whenever I return to civilization. I FINALLY GOT THE VIDEO UP!

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