Australia – I’ve never expected to come to Down Under. This idea just grown on my trip. I’ve applied for the work&travel visa when I was in Bangkok. Now, two months later, I’m here. I flew on 31^th March from Singapore via Kuala Lumpur to Gold Coast. The flight from KL to Gold Coast took 8 hours, it was my first long distance flight.

At the arrival at Gold Coast Airport nobody asked for my visa or for a proof that shows that I have enough money to start the work and travel holiday. They scanned my passport and found my visa in the computer. Therefore the Customs asked me where I’ve been before Malaysia, I answered „Singapore“, then they asked where I’ve been before Singapore, I answered „Malaysia“, then they asked, where I’ve been before Malaysia, I answered „Thailand“, then they asked again and again, and every time they wanted to know how long I’ve been in these countries and what I’ve did there. It was funny, my smile gots bigger and bigger by counting all the countries where I’ve been before Australia. Then I had to open my cycle box and they checked my tires for dirt, but luckily there were clean. Australia has a strict quarantine policy. After this procedure it was 10 pm local time as I stand in the Terminal. I got my first Australian money from an ATM and then I wanted to assemble my cycle in the hall but the security send me outside, because there are closing the terminal overnight. So I assembled my cycle outside of the terminal. I was very tired, I didn’t slept the night before. I decided to sleep next to terminal at the bus stand. Also some other travelers slept here and the security didn’t had a problem with us.

On my first day in Australia I woke up at 6 am and I was a little bit disorient, I saw people around me walking out of the terminal, then I remembered where I was. I started to cycle on the Australian continent, but not so far. At first I had to get used to the new country. I went till Surfers Paradise, on the way I stopped at nice beaches and parks. After a short time I’ve got shocked about the high prices for the cost of living. In the last half year I’ve got used to eat two or three times a day in a restaurant, for just 1 or 2 Euro. Now a meal cost 10 $ at least. I need to buy a cooker, otherwise I can’t afford a warm meal. The prices in the supermarket are also higher, but when you buy in Coles, Woolworth or Aldi you can fill up you basket with food for 2 days and it cost about 25 Dollars. For it you have to abstain of beer and cigarettes (20 $ for one package), but that doesn’t affect me.

In Surfers Paradise are a lot of tourists and surfers of course. I looked for a camping place or a hostel, but they are to expensive. Even for a campsite you have to pay 27 $ and a bed in a dorm was 29 $ (23 €) at Surfers Paradise. In a park I found a nice bench with a shelter, so I slept like a homeless person. I had a deep sleep and on the next morning I saw kids around me, there was a playground nearby. Nobody looked strange at me, I think the Aussie are used to see traveler sleeping everywhere. The parks have free toilets and showers, also the water from the tap is drinkable.

After Surfers Paradise I’m heading to Brisbane, the roads are easy to cycle. I didn’t had to use the motorway (this is strictly forbidden for cyclist). I found nice cycleways or extra cycle lanes on the road. For my sleeping place I looked on a farm for a campsite. The worker on the farm where I found a shelter were all drunk. But they were kind. I’ve got a place for my tent in a big shed. Then they gave me a portable gas cooker and I cooked pasta. Also they gave me sandwiches and a mushroom soup. As I asked if they like to eat some pasta, they said „We are not hungry, we taken some magic mushrooms“. I looked in my cup with the mushroom soup that I had already drunk and was thinking about if they had put some drugs inside. Then something strange happened, a horse come to us and starts to grab my food from the table. I took the horse a the reins and pull it away. But it was very rude and came back again to my cooking place. Also the drunken workers tried to pushed the horse away. I took some food and attracted it to another place.

On the next morning I was thinking about if this really happened, luckily I took a picture of that horse, so I can be sure that I didn’t hallucinated from the mushrooms. Before I left the farm they gave me some sausages and offered me to take their stove with me. But this stove was to heavy that I didn’t want to carry it, I will look for a lighter one. Then I cycled the last 50 km to Brisbane. Here I will have a longer stay to organize myself. I will apply for a tax number and a bank account that I’m able to work here.