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| Meet Az |
Az
grew up in a fairly rural part of Australia called Innisfail, Queensland. His
mom's side of the family are commercial fishermen and his dad's side owns one
of the largest banana plantations in Australia. After years of stereotyping
Australians due to being an avid Steve Irwin fan, I had finally met the croc-hunting
jungle-loving Aussie I had spent so many years envisioning.
To put things in perspective: On a Saturday morning, you can find me sipping my caramel machiatto and writing, which is something that yes, I do for fun. In contrast, Az is more than likely out in the middle of the ocean spearing 20 pound fish and catching more lobster than you would even know what to do with. His all too Australian lifestyle has even landed him a TV series with his friend Jack. The series captures the various ridiculous things they do across the country such as swimming with whales, putting their lives in danger on the reg, and catching monster-sized fish.
When I had a free week at the end of my time in Australia, Az was nice enough to invite me up to his house in Innisfail. He and his family were excited to show me what life was like for them up in the tropics.
Our journey started out with a 20 hour car trip from Brisbane to Innisfail with me, Az, and his mother Tracey who flew down to help us with the drive up. I was really hoping his mom and I were going to get along seeing as we were going to practically be sitting on top of one another in the front of an un-airconditioned car for the next 20 hours, but turns out I needn't have worried. You automatically have a special bond with someone after having to pee on the side of the road together because Az declared a spare patch of grass he found a good enough restroom for his female companions. The 18 wheelers were real fans of ours.
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| 5 AM Departure |
Fortunately,
after only approximately 3 break-down scares, we made it to Innisfail.
A
brief reflection: Up until this point, I liked to think of myself as a decently
outdoorsy girl. I enjoy hiking, taking long scenic walks through the forest and
along the beach, and I've even found myself on top of a mountain or two.
Flash
forward to my week in Innisfail: I am sitting in a boat in the middle of the
Great Barrier Reef, there is a 20 pound dead fish spewing blood at my feet as
I'm huddled in a corner of the boat farthest away from the fish, all while
watching Az's brother rip a lobster's head off. I was considering jumping in
and snorkeling until Az's grandfather earlier that morning had made sure to
inform me that the sharks prefer female meat, and that the American ones were
usually the unluckiest.
This
being said, all images of me basking on a beach tanning to the point of ethnic
change died with the fish's last flop. Adventurous outdoorsy me turned into a
suburban princess as nature became all too real.
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| Honestly, why do you keep staring at me |
My
week was characterized by moments like these as I got a taste of what life was
like for the real outdoorsman of the world. The Gallagher's had every fruit you
could ever hope for growing in their backyard, along with chickens that
provided fresh eggs every day. Most meals were freshly caught and picked, which
was fortunate for me because I quickly lost the few pounds my discovery of
Australian chocolate had put on.
The only other major princess incident I dealt with consisted of the internal freakouts that ensued during my visit to the banana plantation. Innisfail's croc population has apparently exploded, so this knowledge mixed with the fact that half of the animals on the continent are deadly made it so that I was convinced I was going to get bitten or eaten at every turn. I was in a constant state of padding down my body to check for any rogue insects or tics that could have landed on me from the trees, grass, and general nature surrounding me. I additionally did routine poison Ivy checks even though they literally don't have it in Northern Queensland.
I
was doing a pretty good job at keeping my cool at least outwardly until gravity
brought me down and I face planted on some slippery wet rocks by a stream. At this
point, I spiraled into a series of internal self diagnoses consisting of about 10
different infections contracted by insect bites.
5 days later with my health still in tact, I can now confirm that there was
absolutely nothing to worry about and that I'm a drama queen (typical). It was an amazing day,
and Az showed me around acres of farm, forest, and beauty.
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| ATVing through the plantation |
Apart
from the dead marine-life overload, the Gallagher's showed me an absolutely
amazing time, and it is an experience I'm confident can never be replicated.
Some other highlights of my stay are getting to go to a deserted sand kay out
in the middle of the ocean, swimming with a shark, seeing an amazing concert by Busby Marou, and having frequent fires/picnics on the beach.
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| Deserted Sand Kay |
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| I should win an award for holding that thing |
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| Sunrise |
Getting to take a look into the lives of a family completely different than my own was definitely one of my most interesting and enjoyable abroad experiences.
Stay tuned for my next blog, which will probs be the last one.
-F
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