I was more than thrilled to be landing in Australia after waiting 6 months! When I was deferred from Accenture for a year I knew I wanted to remain abroad and go somewhere new. That was when I started researching Holiday Working Visa (HWV) schemes. Six countries offered them for US citizens and it so happened that my study abroad advisor had also done the holiday working visa in Australia. The visa process took forever and required many medicals to finally go through. By that time, approximately 3 months later, I was already in India so I missed my opportunity to work and live in Australia. I was still determined to get to Australia after investing so much in the visa though so I was finally headed there. With only 2.5 months left before starting work, I realized it was not worth it to try and find temporary work. Plus, I had already completed an internship in India and had no desire to work.
All I wanted to do was travel. I wanted to see all of Australia. The East coast at least. Initially, I was going to just go solo and plan a hotel for every night along with excursions and take the bus from place to place. There are so many adventure activities I want to do in Australia from kayaking, trekking, skydiving, surfing, and scuba diving. This proved a logistical nightmare to plan so I decided there had to be a way to meet people who wanted to do the same thing. That was when I came across Contiki. Contiki is a tour guide company that leads group tours for young adults aged 18-25. I signed up for the Ultimate Australia tour which was a 25 day tour of the East Coast. I would be traveling with a group of 30 people staying in hostels and engaging in all sorts of adventure activities all day long. Plus it included 3 domestic flights rather than just taking a bus the entire time.
Today was our kickoff day for the Contiki trip and there were a total of 27 of us. The trip was modular meaning only 8 of us would be there the entire time while others would come and go. There were tons of people from the UK, Canada, US, and even one girl from Israel whom I quickly befriended. Our first activity was a day trip to the Blue Mountains. The mountains are about an hour and half drive from Sydney. The Blue Mountains aren’t really blue they were just given the name as eucalyptus oil droplets from the trees combine with dust and water vapor to scatter wavelength rays of light that create a blue color.
Along the bus ride, our trip leader Steph went over logistics for the entire trip from where we would be staying, meals, and free time add-ons. When we reached the Blue Mountains we started with what the Australians call a “bush walk”. I found the term very funny even though it essentially meant a hike. The hike we went on was very easy and had three lookout points along the way. It was rather cloudy today so you couldn't see the blue so I guess I will just have to believe the mountains look blue at some point. The mountains were incredible and the landscape had been carved out millions of years ago by icebergs to give their present formation. The rock cliffs towered above a sea of greenery extending beyond as far as the eye could see. The trees just kept rolling in the distance. It was so beautiful! I loved breathing in the fresh mountain air. How I have missed being able to trek in the mountains! Along our trek we came to a waterfall cascading down the rock structure. There was a halfway point for the waterfall where you could cross over and take pictures.
The mountains are a sacred site to the Aboriginal people. In Australia there are many different Aboriginal cultures and the Aboriginal word just refers to the initial inhabitants before the European settlers arrived. The only way to tell how many different Aboriginal cultures exist is to count the number of languages that exist. The Europeans arrived in 1788 and prior to their arrival there were around 250 Aboriginal languages, while only 30-50 languages still survive. Aboriginal people believed that the world was created by creation beings. These beings took the form of animals, people, plants, and were responsible for creating everything. The Aboriginal people aren't a tribe as that implies a chief leader and the Aboriginal people are governed by the Elders. The Elders are not defined by age or gender, it is just people who are knowledgeable and can impart that knowledge to others.
Our second stop of our Blue Mountain excursion was a sacred Aboriginal site called Echo point and the Three Sisters Peak. The Aboriginal legend of the 3 sisters goes as follows: three sisters fell in love with 3 men from a different skin group. Marriage was forbidden between the skin groups so the brothers kidnapped the sisters. When they brought the girls to their home, war broke out and a witch doctor turned the sisters into stone as a way to protect them. However, the witch doctor was then killed in the war so the spell was irreversible and hence there are the 3 standing rock formations called the three sisters. The Aboriginal people have stories about everything and uses for everything in nature our guide Steph explained, people just have to be willing to take the time and listen. She also explained that when Aboriginal people educate others and tell their stories, they always start at the child level. In Aboriginal culture, children are told simple stories to which details are layered on as they grow up. In this manner, stories are also told to outsiders like this as well. You have to start from the beginning.
I really enjoyed our little hike and it put me in such good spirits. I was joking that I was all warmed up for another hike now or longer one but that was not happening. Our visit to the Blue Mountains was quite brief and I really wished we could have trekked for longer!
For lunch we stopped in the little town on Leuce to grab a bite. The town was only one street and filled with small cafes and eateries. My Israeli friend Tal and I grabbed a bite from the pie cafe. It was a small cafe with an outdoor patio where we sat. Food was good but expensive per usual. Tal and I had spent hours today together chatting endlessly asking question after question. It was good to finally have a friend even if it was just for 8 days.
Afternoon we were given free time to just check into our hostel Wake Up Sydney and grab dinner on our own before drinks at the sidebar at 7pm.
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