Brisbane

I decided to make my first stop in Brisbane. Although my bus pass start from Byron Bay, but I've already been to the Gold Coast I didn't wanna waste any more time. So after 4.5hr with a 3hr layover in Sydney I've arrived in Brisbane. I've already been in Brisbane once before for a quick stop, so I remembered to take the AirTrain right outside the airport entrance, which would take me straight to the Roma Street Train Station, and the hostel was only 10min walk away. Brisbane City YHA was located on a road of hostels. Some of them were quite cheap, but they were those you get what you paid for kinda hostels.

I booked 3 nights here, not really sure what I'll do. After settling in, I made my usual round of exploring the hostel. Besides the usual facilities it's also got a reading room, a big balcony area, a nice rooftop swimming pool that lights up at night, and a bar just next door. I also made note of the free city tour they have on Wednesdays, and the XXXX brewery tour which I'm considering of going

Brisbane CBD

. I went to the next door bar, Drifters, and had BBQ grilled chicken on tortilla for dinner, with a nice cold VB. They got Coles just around the corner, so I went to do some grocery shopping. Later that night I went up to the balcony and the night view was beautiful. You overlook the whole CBD and South Bank, with the Wheel of Brisbane in the distance. I had a quick chat with an Aussie lady who was in town for business, and she told me it's a nice walk to the South Bank via William Jolly Bridge, but just don't go alone at night because apparently there's a rapist at large.... Also there's free ferry you can take along the Brisbane River.

Next day I decided to explore the South Bank myself. I asked the front desk and the guy told me about the gallery and the museum, as well as the manmade pool. I also asked him about getting onto the Wheel of Brisbane and he said it wasn't worth the price. I first came to the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA). I was an art student but I haven't been to art galleries in ages so it was refreshing. There was one piece where you can send postcards, so I wrote one home. In the end I left a piece of me there, my favourite red sunnies!! I walked passed the State Library of Queensland, they had these grassy footpaths and I felt like I was back in uni. Next stop was the Queensland Museum where I saw specimen of spiders in Australia. I walked further down towards the Wheel of Brisbane

Wheel of Brisbane

. It was a nice hot day so there were lots people at the manmade pool. I find it odd that there's a manmade pool right by the water, there were probably something deadly in the water. Just a block away was a strip of restaurants and some shops, lots people were having a drink on the patios. At the Info Centre I saw a postcard that the Queensland Symphony Orchestra had a performance on Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular back in early February in Brisbane!!

I kept walking along the water and came to the Queensland Maritime Museum, but I didn't go in. Instead, I hopped on the CityHopper ferry to see where it'll take me. There are 2 ferries that run along the Brisbane River, CityCat and CityHopper. CityHopper is the free one, runs every 30min and shorter distance compared to CityCat. CityCat has more terminals and runs every 15min. I got off at Eagle Street Pier, which's right by the CBD, there were lots cocktail restaurants and bar, looked really fancy. I've wanted to take a walk around but it was getting late so I didn't wanna stray far. I got back in time for the next ferry back to South Bank. When I got back I decided to stop by Drifters for a beer to quench my thirst. They had Gold and VB both on special for the same price. The bartender asked me which I'd like, I said VB, and he said Good choice. Of course go for the stronger beer if they're the same price! Besides I never liked XXXX Gold that much anyway.

Next morning I signed myself up for the free city tour. There were quite a few of us, we did a round of short intros, then our tour guide, also a backpacker took us to my first farmers market at the CBD. He let us wander around for an hr, I just got myself some lemonade. Then we took the CityHopper and got off at South Bank, walked through the parklands with the manmade pool, hopped on the ferry again and got off at Eagle Street Pier and went on a walk along the water

Eagle Street Pier

. At that point he was just kinda whatever and said he could take us to Chinatown if we want. So we walked through the city streets. At one point he said to make note of the street because we'd have to find our way back ourselves later on. It was probably another 10~15min walk before we finally got to Chinatown. It had very nice oriental entrances, but the actual "town" itself was tiny compared to Vancouver. I found an Asian grocery store and bought some groceries for dinner.

I took my time making my way back to the hostel through the CBD. Passed by Anzac Square and once I got to Roma Street Station I was sure I was on the right track. Before I go back to the hostel I decided to check out Victoria Barracks, where Coles is, because the couple times I went the shops were closed and I just wanted to see what they've got there. There was a cinema, some food joints with sitting area out in the middle of the pathway. I can see a lot of business people might come here for quick lunches.

It was my last night here so I decided to go for the brewery tour that includes a BBQ. It was about a 15min walk from the hostel. The front desk told me it was a pretty straight forward walk just past the park. On my way there I saw a couple walking in front of me and I recognized them from the city tour, I assumed they were going to the brewery as well

Rooftop

. They took a different path so I lost track of them. After the park I saw the XXXX brewery with the big blowup XXXX Gold Beer sitting atop of the gated entrance but I wasn't sure if I was at the right entrance because that looked like employees only. Luckily I came upon a couple who had souvenir bags from XXXX so I asked them for direction and they told me the guest entrance was just right around the corner. I went in but the lobby looked closed. So I followed the stairs up to the souvenir shop and apparently that's where you meet up for the tour. The couple ahead of me was already there, later on a few more people joined us for the tour.

While we wait for the tour guide I had a chat with the couple and found out that they were Swedish, and they spoke fluent English, with British accent! They got us to wear reflective vests and safety goggles and listened to a safety protocol announcement before the tour. It started off with a brief history of beer, how it was invented by the monks. Then in a theatre a history of XXXX. Unfortunately it was the last tour of the day so the factory was closed and we couldn't watch the machines work, however we were still able to see how the beers were packed. No pictures were allowed throughout the tour, except a photo with the mascot, Mr. Fourex. At the end of the tour was a BBQ dinner but basically it was just a little buffet style dinner, the food was alright

Mr. Fourex

. But we got 4 drinks included that we could pick from the bar. There were 4 drafts to choose from: Summer, XXXX Bitter, XXXX Gold, and another one I forget what, but my favourite was the Bitter because I like darker beers, the Summer and the Gold were just too light for me.

We were all slightly tipsy after the four beers and we had great chats. After we got back to the hostel we went to the Drifters and shared 3 more pitchers and we talked about everything from social media groups to shows we watch and it was great fun! They knew I was leaving the next day, so we said we'd meet up for lunch before I leave, also a friend of theirs is coming to town. I thought they were a couple but later realized they weren't after a conversation I had with the girl where she told me that she had made out with just about a guy from each state.

My bus wasn't until 2PM, so we had breaky together and waited at the hostel till their Aussie mate came who had a hipster moustache. Then we headed to Hog's Breath across the street and the service was terrible there. We waited forever to get our water, then forever to get our order taken. I only ordered deep fried mushies (mushrooms) appy but in the end I had to ask them to make it take away because it was taking forever, and the restaurant wasn't even busy.

In the end I was running a bit late because I needed to check in early for the bus. My next stop is Mooloolaba, and I wasn't sure how to pronounce it, so when I was checking in with the bus driver I said "Mooloo-lahba" and he said it's "Muh-loo-luhba"...... Anyway, since I've bought the Premier bus pass I've just picked out stops on my way to Cairns, not really sure what I'll do when I get there, but I'm sure I'll figure out! Right now I'm just going with the flow.

Leaving Narromine

Lindsey got a pittbull off of his mate, a mean ass dog who could bite without a warning. Most times he’s fine, one time I was feeding him and all of a sudden he barked at me and scared the shit out of me. Maybe because he could sense fear of me, because he’s fine with Lindsey who yells at him for barking and Ryan takes him for walks. I eventually just ignored him and not be too friendly with him and he’s fine. Then Matt got a dog too, the biggest meanest looking dog I’ve ever seen!!!! He looks meaner than the pittbull because of his skin but he’s actually nicer than the pittbull, never barked at me once. Matt told me to talk to him and pet him when feeding him. He eventually sold him because he’s already got his own dog Wolf. Lindsey eventually got me to fix up the horse rugs because a lot of them were ripped. All I’ve got are a pair of scissors to cut the holes and stitch up with hay strings. I had to be creative because the rugs were ripped in all different ways and made sure that they would be properly fixed. When I was fixing the rugs the kittens would come and hang out with me, often laying on the rugs just like cats would do, makes me miss my own cat.

I quite enjoy working with the horses. It wasn’t hard work, it was just very hot with lots of flies. And as I got more efficient I was running out of things to do around the yard. Also having to wake up so early in the morning and having to get to the horses myself for their afternoon feed was kinda annoying. Lindsey got a second job so he goes to work right after we come back from the morning feed. He gave me a bike to ride to the afternoon feed and I usually have to go work at the Chinese restaurant right after. Eventhough I work more with Lindsey, but I got along better with Matt. He seemed more opened minded and easy going as he’s travelled around a bit, whereas Lindsey who never wanted to travel outside of Australia seemed a little racist at times. I’ve asked him for a bike helmet and he said I don’t need one, and even if I get caught just pretend I don’t speak English. I’ve asked him for a fan in my room because it was in the heat of the summer, 35degrees even at night so I was literally swimming in my own sweat. He didn’t get it till my last week there.

Lindsey didn’t know anything about farm work for second year working holiday visa before me. So after he hired me, he hired 2 more girls who’re friends of the boys who work with Matt. They slept in the room where Matt used to sleep, and Matt got pushed to sleep out in the shed. They’re travelling together, both Londoners, and they were supposed to be housekeepers. They did a half ass job for the first day, and for the rest of the 3 weeks they were there they just lounged around the house and did nothing. Lindsey was never really around because he’s always at work and I don’t know if he even noticed that the house wasn’t being cleaned at all. I never heard he say anything to the girls, and he still got along with them. Matt tried to tell the girls but they said they did clean blah blah blah. I sometimes still had to do the washing because there was just too much left undone, and cleaned the front patio. Dirty dishes were often laying around, crawling with ants. Also nobody ever seemed to know how to change the fucking toilet paper!!!! Even if there’s an empty roll, they’d just put the new one on top. There was barely much food in the fridge. The only things you tend to find are butter, bread, ham and cokes and so that’s what I usually have at home. Not a lot of fresh, raw food, but a lot of cookies, snacks, and instant packets of things. One time Lindsey’s mom showed up and she made dinner, it was the best meal I’ve had in a while. She got a watermelon as well and it was in the fridge for a while and nobody touched it. So I chopped it up into bites and by the second day it was all gone.

I really didn’t enjoy staying with the girls. They did nothing, and they often invited the boys back to the house or go boating with Matt while I was out working. They often just waltz into my room without knocking or borrowing my stuff without asking. Eventhough I was staying in Dakota’s room Lindsey would at least knock if he needed to grab something for Dakota. Lindsey eventually kicked them out, telling them that they’ve got an apprentice coming in, which is half true I guess. One of the girls on their last week decided to go feed the horses with us just to see what it’s like. Well she was productive. Lindsey got her to shovel shit for all the yard while I feed and water the horses and fix rugs. Everytime I turn around though she was taking pictures, on her phone, or playing with the kittens. A week after they left, Lindsey’s mom came and we did a house cleaning. We swept and mopped all the floors, tidied up the rooms, changed the sheets, did all the washing and everything. So basically I cleaned the house for them. Lindsey still offered to sign them off for 3 months eventhough they only stayed for 3 weeks and they were heading to Sydney afterwrads. I was pretty upset. I later found out that both of them went back to England, don’t know if they tried to apply and got caught or they just simply ran out of money. I really hope they get caught though, a bunch of lazy asses, and all the time they were here they just complained about being bored everyday.

On a day off I got to see Matt’s pet goats that he kept in the backyard. He said he got them when they were babies. The female one was quite shy, but the male one would come up to the fence and it’d lick your hand. I also went onto the trampoline with Dakota. She really is a fun kid, a farm girl for sure, no fear. She could ride quads, been riding horses since she was 2. I also tried to learn how to whistle really loud like them. Everyone could whistle, even Dakota eventhough she wasn’t as loud as the rest of them. Lindsey could just stick his tongue up against his teeth and whistle loud. I asked Ryan if he could whistle like them as well and he said no, a few minutes later he just did it, laughing. So everyone was showing off their whistling skills, then there’s me sitting there blowing air. Anyway, I decided to leave after about a month, I didn’t mind the work, but I didn’t enjoy living at the house, also shit went down at the Chinese restaurant as well.

I started working there a week after I arrived in Narromine. It was run by a couple from Hong Kong, they could barely speak English, so I had to try to speak Cantonese with them and I was horrible at it. They also had a few other girls working there. They had more take aways than dine in’s, so we mostly just take orders and pack. Once a month they’d have a big party and they’d bring their own alcohol and some of their own ingredients like rabbit and fish with a set menu. One of the parties that me and another girl served tipped ONLY the while girl, she split it with me afterwards though. It’s not the fact that he only tipped the white girl, it’s something he said before that that made me think that he was being racist.  The bill was around $200, and he tipped $6….

At first I thought the owners were really nice people, Kelvin and Mandy. Kelvin apparently had been a chef all his life, and he’s pretty good I guess. Kelvin does the wok, and Mandy usually just makes fried rice or the deep fried stuff. Kelvin would always offer me food or drinks, and he likes to chat a lot, while Mandy sits inside and studies her English. He even told me that I could borrow their car if I ever need since neither of them has a driver’s license. After a few shifts Kelvin showed me their house upstairs, telling me that if I ever need I could stay over, offered me beer and dinner, and watch TV with them. I never stayed over, because I always need to wake up early the next morning to feed the horses and I always go with Lindsey. Kelvin would tell me a lot of his past, about how he cared so much of Mandy’s daughter (Mandy had a previous marriage), but they had a fall out for some reason and that he worries about her a lot.

Things got weird and I started to notice how much Kelvin drinks. He’s always drinking, and if it’s not busy at work he’d go drink at the services club across the street until Mandy calls him for an order. Mandy also told me some of her side of the story, how Kelvin gets grumpy when he’s drunk, yells at her, not functional, unable to work, so when her daughter was here and it got busy it was just them running the kitchen. One time Kelvin told me to go over for dinner on my day off and I declined, the next day he called me and told me don’t bother going in to work, that I was fired. I was speechless. I wasn’t so much worried about having just lost my job, but more like what the fuck just happened, what did I do wrong. Mandy called me later and told me that he’s been drinking and wasn’t thinking straight and told me to ignore him and just go in to work. So I did and Kelvin just seemed pretty quiet. Eventually it got to the stage where Kelvin would not be seen and Mandy had to man the kitchen on her own. So I was talking to Mandy more, most times I was just teaching her English, because business really wasn’t doing well. I often hear Mandy saying how she wants to leave and I always thought she was just saying. Until one time she told me she needed to go to Sydney to give something to her daughter and she asked me to buy the train ticket for her because she didn’t want Kelvin to find out or else he’d ask a lot of questions. So I did and that weekend she left. I went into work and Kelvin told me Mandy had left him. I said maybe she just went away for a short while and not to worry. That day we didn’t open. He just offered me beer and wine all day, and asked me to watch TV with him. I guess he drank quite a lot that day because he was fumbling. I got scared when it got dark and I said I needed to go home and he wouldn’t let me go. He’s showed me how you’d need a key to unlock their door. I asked him to unlock it for me but he just ignored me and went to bed. Luckily the door was unlocked so I just left and decided never to go back to that place again. Later I got a message from Mandy apologizing for lying to me, telling me that she did leave Kelvin because she’s scared of him. I wasn’t too upset about Mandy not telling me the truth, maybe it was my own fault for being too naive. I’m glad she got herself out of that shit. Kelvin tried to call me several times but I never picked up. I guess the landlady heard about what happened from Mandy, but she still needed to run the business so she really wanted me to go back, she said she’d be there to help out in the kitchen so I wouldn’t be with Kelvin by myself, but I just couldn’t do it anymore. I didn’t feel safe at all. I only told Matt about what happened.

On my last few days Matt took me fishing with Wolf. He uses cheese cubes as bait. He had 3 rods, one for him, one for me, and one for Wolf, who just slept the whole time. Matt gave me his lucky rod. He told me how to pick a good spot like by the shore where there are a lot of shade and roots for the fishes to hide, and have some distance from other boats so you don’t compete and the lines don’t interfere. He got upset when he saw a boat that just parked right in between us and another boat obviously without enough space in between. We just chatted while we waited and I thought it was quite boring, until we caught 3 fishes!!! One after another!! They were all too small so had to let them go, but it was so fun when you caught a fish!

After 2 bad experiences of farm work I decided not to bother with getting my second year anymore. I was getting frustrated. I decided to quickly do my travel up the east coast, one to make use of the busspass and the tours I’ve booked which would expire beginning of next year, two to make my way to Cairns ASAP and find work there, make some money then finish travelling the rest of Australia and go home. I got 33 days signed off anyway, just in case I change my mind in the future. However I was worried that my work in Narromine wouldn’t count if I ever get checked because eventhough it’s a horse stable, they’re race horses which is for leisure. It’d have to be a stud farm in order to count for second year, so I may still have to do 3 month farm work. Lindsey had to work so Matt dropped me off at the airport on his way to work in Dubbo.

My busspass starts from Byron Bay, but I’ve already been there and Gold Coast, and since I’ve only passed by Brisbane, I decided to make my first stop there just to check it out. Away from small town, back to civilization.