New Website

You may have noticed that I have been absent on my blog for several days now, but it is all with good cause! I have decided to take the plunge and move from a WordPress blog to my very own website at www.jennifertice.com Thanks to WordPress and countless others who post great tips and advice on the web for free, I will now be blogging from this new location in order to have greater control and flexibility over the look and feel of the site.

I am still working out some of the kinks in terms of formatting, so you may notice lots of changes over the next few weeks. It is fully up and running and I will continue to post about my travels as I nail down the exact look and feel of the site.  Any and all comments regarding the site look and feel are appreciated.  Thank you in advance!

Jen

25 is the new 65

I rang up to answer an ad in the Gold Coast Bulletin for a retail stores associate and after a few general questions she asked me, “How old are you?”  I answered truthfully, 25 years of age, and with that I got a stuttered reply of, “well we are really looking for someone more junior.”  This is probably the 3^rd or 4^th time I have been directly asked my age from various managers.  Just asking this question to a potential applicant is grounds for an unethical hiring lawsuit, never mind actually admitting to me that I am too old for the job.

And since when is 25 too old to work in a retail store? Am I no longer in touch with the teen segment of society? Am I aging before my time? I find this shocking since most people I know think I look much younger than my age.  Yes I have an education and real life work experience, but I would honestly be truly happy folding t-shirts part-time while I am travelling. I guess it won’t be long now till my seniors discount kicks in.

1. Family and Friends:  This one is an obvious one, probably at the top of everyone’s list who travels for long periods of time.  Sometimes it can be exhausting to have to introduce myself to dozens of new people every day and recount my story, trying to describe who I am and what I’m about in a few sentences or less.  While meeting and connecting with new friends here is great, having a cup of tea with a friend who already knows everything about you and doesn’t have to ask can’t compare.
2. Snow: I am definitely more of a summer person, and I love spending days lazing around at the beach, but I can’t imagine not ever having a white Christmas. There is something about the first snowfall that feels magical and always makes me feel like a kid again.  The last two winters I have taken up snowboarding, and I definitely felt the absence of riding the slopes this year.
3. Fast Internet: I never would have suspected Australia to be so far behind in technology, but most 3^rd world countries have better internet than Australia.  It’s slow and very expensive when compared with Canadian standards.  Wi-fi hot spots are almost non-existent, and when you do finally get a connection, don’t even attempt to load more than one page at a time.
4. Food: For the most part, Australia cuisine is similar to Canada’s but there are a few things missing.  Kraft dinner – why do they not have it here? I can’t remember how many nights in University I ate this stuff without getting sick of it.  I will admit it’s a weird food craving, but it definitely reminds me of home.  Also, I haven’t found any sushi here that even compares to our Vancouver standards

Sometimes you really can’t appreciate the small niceties of home, until you have been away for a while. It’s usually the things we take for granted that we end up missing the most.  For now, I will just have to suffer through the slow internet – and if anyone finds a box of real KD here, let me know!

Broken down with nowhere to go

After 15 minutes I’m out of the city and onto the highway, it should be smooth sailing from here, so I thought.  Another 25 minutes or so pass, when I look down and see the heating gauge creeping up dangerously high.  I tell myself not to panic, the car does have a tendency to get quite hot, but usually it’s only when we’re driving in the city, not on the highway.  Another few minutes pass and the needle is almost at the max.  I immediately pull over and turn the car off, hoping this will help to cool it down.  I let 10 minutes pass and then turn the car on again, I pull back onto the highway and within minutes the gauge is back in the danger zone.  At this point I know I have to get to a gas station as quickly as possible to see what the problem is.  I slow down to about 80km/hr on the freeway and put my hazards on praying the next exit will have a gas station.

After what seems like ages, I pull off at the exit and into the first gas station I can find.  I turn off the car and think, “Now what?”  A husky guy is filling up his truck next to me, and I ask him if he wouldn’t mind looking in the hood of the car as it has been overheating.  He walks over, pops the hood, and spots the damage immediately.  The radiator hose has a giant rip in it and the radiator fluid has leaked everywhere, hence the overheating.  “You won’t be driving anywhere tonight with that” he tells me.  Great, my first time driving at night without Andrew, and I am stuck here at a gas station in the middle of nowhere, halfway between Surfers Paradise and Brisbane.

Luckily, I have Andrew’s iPhone, so I look up some numbers for onside repairs and tow trucks.  A small crowd of guys have started to gather around my car, each offering their solution on how to fix it.  One guy in a pick-up truck is leaving the station, and calls out to one of the others about the problem with my car.  He walks over to my car, takes one look, and says it can be fixed no problem, I just need to get a new radiator hose and install it.  Of course, this sounded as simple to me as if he had asked me to recite the German national anthem.

“I think there’s an auto shop down the street that’s still open, if they have the part, I can repair it no problem”.  And just like that I hopping into his pickup truck as we to the auto shop.  As luck would have it, the store is open late on Thursdays, and they have the part in stock.  Back to the gas station we go, and within 15 minutes, the hose is changed, the radiator is filled with fluid and my oil is topped up.  I offer him a bottle of wine for his help, as it’s all I have on me to offer.  He says it was no trouble at all, and heads back on his way.

What looked like it might cost be $200 to get it towed, and then likely $100 bucks to repair in the shop, ended up costing me $24.99 and a bottle of wine. Sometimes fate works in mysterious ways, putting me at the right gas station at the right time to meet the right person.  Thank you to everyone who helped out, I will be paying this one forward for quite some time.

As for me, I have applied to every retail store and restaurant in the area with no luck, as well as numerous temp agencies and other online job postings.  I have even gone as far to start applying to commission only sales jobs – selling tickets/promotions on the street.  For me this sounds about as much fun as gouging my eyes out.  After a while you start to question your worth – how I am not qualified to sell t-shirts? Am I too old, too young, am I over-qualified, under-qualified? Or is it that they just don’t want to hire anyone who is not Australian born?  Whatever the case, being out of work this long is starting to take its toll. It’s quite the contrast from Sydney, where being there for the holiday season meant you could have your pick of jobs at any restaurant or store in the city.

It definitely has been a wakeup call – both in terms of perseverance and budgeting.  I would recommend to other travelers, that when looking of work outside of peak holiday times, it may take several weeks to land something.  Make sure you have enough cash to get you through that time, and you can never start too early.  For now, I am trying to keep my head up, and trying to think of this free time as a gift rather than a burden.  It’s funny, for most of us when we’re working, we always wish we had more free time to work on our hobbies or just relax, but not working for this long, can turn out to be too much of a good thing.  It looks like at that glitters is not gold here on the gold coast of Australia.

Who says you can't drink before noon?

boat cruise over to Stradbroke Island.  A number of Griffith University students have organized a boat cruise for a few hundred or so of their closest friends. For $40 bucks a ticket you get a boat ride over to the island with bar onboard, a live band at the island, a BBQ, free kayaks, and a very competitive volleyball round robin tournament.

It’s an early day with the boat starting to board at 10:15 am, which means by this point, most people have already been drinking for a few hours.

McLaren's Landing

Everyone piles onto the boat after an extensive bag search and the party continues with music blaring from the speakers, cheap drinks, and a serious tournament of flip cup on the lower deck.  After about an hour and 15 minutes we arrive at Mclaren’s Landing, the main docking point on the island. The set up here is great – there is a large bar hut, as well as several others – one for the band, one for food and others just for getting out of the sun.

Feeding the Kangaroo

The place is filled with wildlife.  Just moments after arriving a number of people start to gather around a small kangaroo who is happy to be fed whatever scraps are lying around.  A few moments later a giant lizard, bigger than anything I have seen before pops out from behind the bush undergrowth.  It looks like we are going to have a face- off between kangaroo and lizard.  They both eye each other nervously.  No one is ready to make the first move.  The lizard creeps closer but then with one swipe from the kangaroo the match is over and the winner is declared.

Andrew and I were both lucky enough to get on a volleyball team at the last minute – “The No Names” what a fitting title.  It’s a strict elimination competition, although the losers do go on to play a few more games against the others.  It turns out I am the only girl on the team which is an advantage for me because there has to be one girl on the court at all times so I never have to rotate off.  We smash the first team we play, but lose our second game.  Somehow another team doesn’t end up showing up for the game (probably due to too many beers at this point in the afternoon) and we end up playing 6 more games against various teams, both as The No Names and the other team we have inherited.  It’s great to get back into the game after not playing for so long.

After 5 hours in the sun it’s time to board the ship to head home. Cost of the ticket – $40, price of drinks throughout the day $30, cost to replace lost flip-flops $20, perfect day on the island with friends – priceless.

1. Gumtree.com.au – this is by far the best online resource for getting a place.  Call whenever you can for a faster response and always send an email to follow up. You can also find roommates and jobs here, but I found the job section to be quite limited for the Gold Coast.
2. Hit up the universities – both Bond and Griffith University have accommodation posting boards on their campus and online at http://www.bond.edu.au/accom/offcampus.htm and  http://www.gugcstudentguild.com.au/
3. Hostels – you are likely already staying at one, there are dozens in Surfers Paradise most of which of posting boards and other people looking for roommates
4. Gold Coast Accommodation Service – Located on Beach road right across from the main strip, they have postings of people looking to let a room in their apartment and they can help you find an apartment for longer stays of 3-6 months for those looking for their own place all free of charge
5. Gold Coast Bulletin – Wednesday and Saturday edition of the paper has a classified section for housing and jobs, if you miss it the news agency on Surfers Parade usually keeps copies around for a few days
6. Other websites for rental accommodations that were helpful include www.domain.com.au and www.realestate.com.au click the “Share” tab to find people looking for roommates

Good luck hunting! Don’t get discouraged as you will likely end up seeing a dozen places before you find one you like.  Keep your head up and don’t settle and before you know it you will be saying good-bye to dorm rooms and hello to peace and quiet!

Surfers Paradise

We are back to living at Andrew’s mate, Ash’s house, until we can find a place to rent.  This helps to reduce our living costs significantly and my stress levels as the days pass with no luck of finding an apartment.  Searching for a place in the Gold Coast is certainly not as easy as finding a place in Sydney.  For tips and resources on finding an apartment in Surfers and the surrounding area, check out my article here.

It always amazes me at how some people live.  Price is no indicator of what your get. We saw some quite pricey places that were completely trashed, while other less expensive places were better kept but didn’t end up fitting our criteria.  Our daily routine consists of spending our mornings at McDonald’s for the free wi-fi until our computers run out of battery power, go to the viewings and/or apply for jobs in the afternoon while the laptops re-charge, then back to McDonald’s in the evening to look for more places online.  After 5 days of this, we take Friday night off to go out for some drinks, hoping for better luck next week!

Lake Boomajin

Day 3 on Fraser Island is all about lakes. There are a number of fresh water lakes scattered throughout the island that provide for excellent swimming and with the ocean surrounding Fraser Island full of  deadly rip currents, violent waves, jellyfish and sharks the lakes are your only option.  The main attraction of the day is Lake McKenzie, but since we have to get up early to beat the tides again we decide why not take the scenic route and check out some of the other natural lakes on the island. First on the stop Lake Boomajin.  It’s got great colours of sand running out into the lake from all the sediment that has been deposited from rain and the surrounding rocks, but not much of an appeal for swimming. Next we check out each of Lake Benaroon, Lake Barga, Lake Birrabeen, and finally we descend upon Lake McKenzie, our final destination for the day and for our Fraser Island trip.

Lake McKenzie

Walking down the steps to Lake McKenzie it feels like we are entering a tropical paradise that could easily be in the Carribean or some small island off Indonesia. The pure white sand glistens under the sun and music faintly drifts down the beach from speakers at the other end.  The water is a beautiful aqua marine and clear right out into the middle of the lake. I can easily see why this is the main swimming spot on the island. All I need now is a strawberry daiquiri and I’m good to go – unfortunately it doesn’t look like there’s bar service here.  After a swim in the water its nap time on the beach after waking up at 6am for the third day in a row. It’s the perfect way to end our 3 day excursion here on Fraser Island with all of the groups hanging out together relaxing on the beach under the sun. And to think there is a cyclone hitting the coast just north of us and we haven’t gotten one drop of rain. This is our last stop on our Fraser Island journey, and what a way to end it off relaxing at a beautiful beach with new friends , swapping pictures and memories of our 3 day excursion.

Indian Head

Its day 2 and the alarm goes off at 6:15 again.  We have to get on the road early to get to our next destination before the tide gets too high and we are stuck at the campsite for the day. Back on the road by 7am we head up to Indian Heads. Here you take a short hike up to the top for magnificent views of the ocean.  Usually you can see sharks from up here, but the water is too rough today to see much of anything.  With the wind whipping past your head and your feet dangling over the cliff edge, it’s a great place to clear your head and really take in the experience.

Champagne Pools

Back in the truck again, we head up to the northern most point accessible in our 4×4’s, the Champagne Pools, large rock pools carved out by the ocean that makes for a nice dip. Do be careful walking out over the rocks. A few members of our group got knocked right off their feet when a giant wave came crashing over the edge and ended up with some pretty nasty cuts and bruises.  We have a few hours to kill here while we wait for the tide to go back out. So we have an early lunch and take a nap on the beach to pass the time. Finally the tides have started to pull back and we start driving back down the beach again looking for some more action.

We come across a sign for the Kirra Sandunes and decide to check it out.  It is about a 45 minute walk that takes you across a vast sand dune of all different colours and textures of sand, definitely worth a stop.  There is a small creek here that flows down the dunes, and the abruptly stops and is absorbed by the sand, very weird. Walking through here you really get a sense for how much sand there really is on the island, it feels as if we are walking through the Sahara desert, except that there are trees and plant life around the edges. It’s amazing that anything can even grow out here.

Lake Wabby

A bit further down the beach, we see a number of other trucks pulled over  and we decide to stop and see what is going on.  It looks like there is a trail to a lake about 1.5 km in, so off we go through the bushes to see what it is all about. After about 20 minutes of walking through the forest we come across another large sand dune, and about halfway across we see a lake coming out of nowhere. Surrounded by sand on one side and forest on the other is Lake Wabby. I don’t have my bathing suit on unfortunately anymore, but wade in the water for a bit. There are catfish in the lake here in large numbers, and you have to ask yourself, how did they get here? The lake is completely isolated with no other rivers or streams that feed into it. Perhaps evolution at work? Or maybe someone just dropped them off here, hard to say.  Back in the truck again we head back to our camp for another night of sharing dinner, stories and drinks.