So, it's been three months since I got back from my trip. After my last post, I was getting ready to go to Australia. I took a bus from the bottom of the north island to the top at Auckland. I met up with a friend in Auckland that I met a few weeks into my trip and he let me stay at his house, which was good because I was running out of money. He was a cool guy who had also done a few bike tours and had traveled to Japan and worked in Antarctica as well. I got to spend a few days in Auckland while waiting to leave for Australia, so I got to know the city a little better.
Anyways, I made it with a few minutes to spare and was off to the Gold Coast. As soon as I stepped off the plane I had to smile because the weather was perfect. It was sunny, mid-80s and not very humid, and it stayed that was for the time I was there. I got sent through customs again for some reason, apparently I look shady. I got picked up by Craig and Melissa and set off. There's no other way to describe the Gold Coast other than picturesque. The beaches are amazing, the weather is perfect and there was more yet to come.
In the five days I was there we did a lot more and saw a lot more than I thought we would. We went to the zoo first to see the animals that I wouldn't get to see in the wild: dingos, kangaroos and the weirdest thing I've seen, the cassowary, which is what seems to be a cross between an emu, a turkey, a bear and a corythosaurus which is that dinosaur with the crazy horn on its head.
It was great fun, but all good things must come to an end and I had to return home. First, I needed to go back to New Zealand to get my stuff and take my plane back to LA. I got back to Auckland, took a bus into town and then took a train to Greg's place to pick up my bike. Actually I took a train going in the opposite direction and had to get off, take a train back then take a train to Greg's place, whoops. He was busy for the next few days with work so I went to stay at a cheap hostel in town.
I was able to keep my bike and other equipment at his house while I spent a few days in Australia and he was able to give me a ride to the airport, which was a relief because I didn't want to take public transportation at 5:30 in the morning. My plane was to leave at 7:30 and I was cutting it close, getting there at 6:00. Now, getting to New Zealand, all I needed was my passport and when I got to the airport I got a visitor visa stamped in my passport. When I went to check in, the lady asked where my visa was for Australia... oops. It was getting close to 6:30 and I was trying not to have a panic attack, but she informed me that I could get one down the hall at a travel agent booth. So I went down there to find out that it was closed and didn't open until 9:00. I wandered up to some guy standing behind some booth, I don't know what for, and asked where I could get a visa. He asked for my passport and started typing something into the computer, then asked for $30 which I have him and 15 seconds later I had a visa. Apparently that's all you need to get into Australia, $30 and talk to some guy.
Anyways, I made it with a few minutes to spare and was off to the Gold Coast. As soon as I stepped off the plane I had to smile because the weather was perfect. It was sunny, mid-80s and not very humid, and it stayed that was for the time I was there. I got sent through customs again for some reason, apparently I look shady. I got picked up by Craig and Melissa and set off. There's no other way to describe the Gold Coast other than picturesque. The beaches are amazing, the weather is perfect and there was more yet to come. 
In the five days I was there we did a lot more and saw a lot more than I thought we would. We went to the zoo first to see the animals that I wouldn't get to see in the wild: dingos, kangaroos and the weirdest thing I've seen, the cassowary, which is what seems to be a cross between an emu, a turkey, a bear and a corythosaurus which is that dinosaur with the crazy horn on its head. We also went on a few 4wd tracks through the mountains and on the beach and even in the rain forest. We had lunch with some cheeky parrots that were taking people's french fries and cups of ranch. 
After four wheeling on the beach we set up camp on the beach after passing by several brush fires that no one seemed too interesting in taking care of.
After four wheeling on the beach we set up camp on the beach after passing by several brush fires that no one seemed too interesting in taking care of. Me and Craig ended up being too adventurous with an inflatable canoe and took it out in the ocean. It did fine for a few hours until we hit a huge wave coming back to shore and were capsized. The canoe was no more and that was it for the day. I was out for about two hours while using sun screen and still got a pretty bad sunburn. The sun is rather intense in Aussie.
It was great fun, but all good things must come to an end and I had to return home. First, I needed to go back to New Zealand to get my stuff and take my plane back to LA. I got back to Auckland, took a bus into town and then took a train to Greg's place to pick up my bike. Actually I took a train going in the opposite direction and had to get off, take a train back then take a train to Greg's place, whoops. He was busy for the next few days with work so I went to stay at a cheap hostel in town. I spent the next few days planning how I would get from LA back to Illinois. I got back to LA and got picked up by my friend Shoko, who I stayed with my first time through LA. I stayed with them for a night and got on the train the next night for my two DAY long train ride back to Quincy... It wasn't too bad, I spent some time reading then slept for the night. The next day was pretty long. I woke up before sunrise and got to see the sunrise in Arizona which was awesome. The rest of the day was pretty long. I talked to a few people who were going from LA to Chicago and a few other places. One lady was from South Africa who flew into LA to see the New Moon premier as a part of a fan club and was heading to Colorado to stay with some other friends in the fan club. Needless to say, it was frightening.
The next morning I got picked up at the train station by my brother, who I've been living with in Quincy for the last few months. It's been somewhat uneventful. My older brother got married, there were some holidays, I got a temp job doing taxes but now I am wanting to move on. Let's see what happens now.
