A Chance to See Beyond Oneself

The Story

Short Summary of Events
Went to the outback, saw the big red rock of Australia, realized how ridiculously large Australia is as well as how empty, and made my way back to civilization to end my trip of Oz in Melbourne. Will fly to Malaysia in the next few days...

A Slightly Longer Version of Events

The outback is a beautiful, harsh, and strange place. A german guy, a dutch girl (the driver and owner of the car), and myself set out to drive north into the center of Australia to see the desert regions of the country and the crazy people who actually live there. The drive would be over 3000 kilometers total, so we were getting ready to being in the car together for a long time. After the first day of driving through farm land and only mild desert conditions, we arrived in port agusta, a small port town but large in comparison to towns we would be visiting next. My self and Timo (the german) slept in the car while Kirsten (dutch girl) camped in her one person tent. I had the opportunity to have a great conversation at the campground we were staying at with a very wise man from south africa who was also traveling in Australia (also now lived in australia). We talked of things we have learned from traveling, uncertainty in life's experiences, vocation and perspective, and other similar topics. We both shared in struggling to name the exact lessons learned but certainly knew change was occuring.

The second day of driving in the outback was when we really started to realize the barreness Australia. There would be 100 kilometer stretches where we would only see a few cars on a two lane road surrounded by flat desert with minimal vegetation as far as the eye can see. The towns, often separated by about 300 kilometers of nothingness often only consist of a gas station, a pub, and occasionally an area to camp or a few rooms to spend the night if needed (you can't drive at night in many parts of Australia because the kangaroos will jump into your headlights. Occasionally you will see dirt roads leading off into the desert with a small sign that says a towns name and usually the +70K's it takes to get out there...who actually lives out there, its probably best not to know...

Our next major stop was in the opal mining town of Coober Peddy. This place has definitely stood out in my experiences thus far in Australia. It is the first place where I encountered a large number of aborigines. Prior to this point I attempted to cultivate an empathetic perspective towards aborigines when discussing their predicament (their predicament being that many don't work and have a problem with alcohol) with Australians. Upon arriving in the town we were shocked to see a large number of aborigines aimlessly wandering the streets, sitting around the shade of trees drinking, some passed out on sidewalks, others wandering about and shouting each other obviously drunk. This was within the 1st minute of driving through the town (only takes a few to drive around the whole town (probably a population of only about 200-300 people at most). This would be one of many experiences that have made it very difficult for me to respect aboriginal culture. I greatly empathize that their land was stolen, their culture destroyed, and their people systematically killed or enslaved by various means. But it is diffuclt to think in this same manner when confronted with most aboriginals appearing very dirty and with little concern for contributing to society. It was very difficult for my travel companions and I to keep from making jokes about experiences with aboriginies. I suppose it shows I need to work on better understanding their past and present social situation.

The next day we arrived in Alice Springs (almost exactly in the center of the country) where we continued to encounter similar aboriginal experiences. We spent two days in Alice Springs (greatly enjoying the airconditioned room and an actual bed as opposed to sleeping in the car) seeing the town and surrounding mountain ranges. The temperature was about 45 degrees C at the peak of the day (113 F) even getting up to about 52 C once or twice (about 120 F). Myself and Kirsten were having some trouble with the heat. Going from the airconditioned car/room to the heat outside messed with both of our bodies, so we took things pretty slow.

We then went to see Uluru (Ayers rock), the large famous red rock of Australia - it is about 350K's from Alice Springs. It was quite magnificent, we went to visit it several times seeing the sunset there and sunrise. We also went to see the Olgas which were just as spectacular rock formations, if not more, than Uluru. After spending a night camping about 2K's from the rock, we travelled to Kings Canyon which is a vegetation filled canyon you walk through ending at what is normally a large waterful (no water this time of the year). After a night camping we were ready to start making our way back to civilization (Adelaide).

The drive back was long and tiring as the barren desert ceases to captivate us after a while. We spent another night in Coober Peddy meeting a hilarious man from Hong Kong who created an odd look out center (right next to the official look out center - which was quite a sad sight) over the town and tried to sell us his Opal that he got from his personal small mine. We spent some more time talking to an opal miner who we met last time in town at the campsite we were staying at. He had some great perspectives on travel, ethical business practices, and Australia's overprice economy. We attempted to discuss the gray areas of business ethics which led to some fun disagreemnts. On the way back to Adelaide we stopped for a night in the Flinders Range National Park where we saw, by far, the most Kangaroos ever. At our camp site they would literally just jump right up to us and watch us set up camp. We fed them a little kangaroo food and they decided to follow us around for the evening, quite a fun experience. After a beautiful hike the next day into the Wilpeana Pound (a dry basin surrounded by mountains in about a 5k radius) we drove back to Adelaide ending our 9 day trip to the outback and enjoying Christmas in Adelaide.

I took a bus to Melbourne (SE Australia) and am just relaxing and preparing to head off to Asia (specifically malaysia) on new years eve. I am currently staying with someone from couchsurfer.com and exploring the city, running errands, and hanging out with random aussies. I saw this spectacular experimental fusion band two nights ago that played quite some strange but very talented/difficult music. Last night I had a fun time hanging out with a large group of hippies all in their mid/late 30's. They brought over about 8 acoustic guitars and we spent the night jamming to old folk and blues songs.

The Reflection

I still have been pondering memory.

How should I utilize memory saving devices in specific relation to travel experiences? I encounter a variety of travelers who will have fellow travelers write in their guest book, some will write all their experiences in a journal, some will take pictures of practically everything even minimally noteworthy things they see, some will take video of places they stay, and then there are some who don't take pictures or write about any of their experiences. A large diversity of options for an obviously large diversity of personal values.

I have the opportunity to attempt to record my experiences so I can one day look back and read remember all of the same feelings and encounters I am having now. But how important is it to cultivate memories of the past? Obviously our past has formed who we are today but how much of that is due to us attempting to remember? It seems our past experiences form who we are in their respective present moments. For example people's lives are changed with the encounter of a new person or place at that very time and moment, not so much in the memory of the moment. But that really brings up the interesting topic of phenomenology, a topic I am becoming increasingly interested in. What is experience? How are we impacted from our senses. How does the interplay between memory, our senese, and cognitive activity form our concepts of identity and reality? ...

But getting back to memory, another possible perspective is that since we experience so many things in our lives there is no way to possibly remember every encounter. So if we truly value our experiences we will attempt to save the important ones in whatever means possible so that we may never forget the lessons learned. Perhaps that is truly respecting the opportunities we are given.

And yet another perspective is that trying to use memory saving devices is an attempt to control our environment and not trust in the mystery which is beyond us. Perhaps we will be reminded of our past experiences in the appropriate times and that our attempts to save each moment is based in a fear that we will not have the opportunity to experience the same feelings yet another time in life. Is fear the basis of trying to capture experience?

And perhaps there is no proper perspective - each moment we must listen within/without to hear how to chose in that specific time. Personally speaking (that is if it is even possible to not speak personally...and what does that even mean?) I struggle to know how much time to devote to writing my experiences and trying to capture my experiences. It seems I either forsake experience now for the sake of saving only a portion of it later. Some people advise me to try to capture everything while others advise to focus on the actual experiences and if they are important enough, they will remain in my memory.

So many perspectives, so little Truth. Perhaps we have to let go of Truth and embrace the truths that become realities to us in our daily experiences.

ciao!
Karl

Here is a link to some pictures from my time in Australia, they can also be seen in my picture gallery on my profile:

http://www.travellerspoint.com/photos/gallery/size/M/users/lost%20again/tags/Australia/

-Karl

The Story

After sailing around the Whitsunday Islands I made my way north to Townsville to catch a ferry to magnetic island. The island was fairly small, consisting of a few small townships but mostly geared toward tourism. While there I went on a few hikes to beaches and lookout points. It was a great opportunity to see wildlife as I was able to see several koala's eating eucalyptus leaves in the trees as well as a mother walking with her baby on her back just a few feet in front of me. I was able to see some wild kangaroos (pretty common in Oz), tree kangaroos, wallabies, and other wildlife species I don't know how to classify. I also had the cool experience of being able to ride a horse bareback up the beach half submerged in water. The night before I left I met up with a German guy and a french guy who I traveled with up to Cairns (a larger town with access to the great bearer reef, jungles, tablelands, etc). There were also some Swiss girls from the island that we also ended up meeting in Cairns.

Arriving in Cairns brought quite a surprise as I happened to meet a friend from college who graduated the same year I did - Sara Park (its also good to know our graduating class was only about 400 people). Neither of us knew we were going to be in Australia and we just happened to be right next to each other in a line inside a large club when she turned around and recognized me...what are the chances. We also both happened to be going north to Cape Tribulation and staying at the same hostel up there the next day. After a while though, these sort of things loose their shock value as they surprisingly happen to a lot of people.

The next day I took a bus up to Cape Tribulation which is a small town, if you can even call it that - more like several hotels/hostels, "where the jungle meets the reef" as the slogan says. It was a quite beautiful place to take walks in the jungle to swimming wholes and stride along the mangrove bordered beaches. We were able to see some wildlife such as crocodiles, unique rodents, parrots and cassowaries (big birds like ostriches but a lot meaner). Cairns is quite the party town so you get to know a lot of people, enjoy a lot of fun late nights, and spend lots of money on alcohol - probably a good reason to keep on moving.

I fly down to Sydney after exploring Cairns for a few days to meet up with my good friend Lukas who I traveled with in New Zealand. My original plan was to stay in Sydney for about three weeks to work and save some money and spend Christmas in Sydney. I started working at a hostel but on my 5th night I decided to leave the next day. It is amazing how things never really work out as expected. I enjoyed the city but felt the need to keep moving - can't really explain it but you have to follow your feelings.

I took a 14 hours overnight bus ride to Melbourne, which is a large city on the south portion of the Australia. I met a Dutch girl and German guy on the bus and we wandered about the city looking for a hostel at about 5 am when our bus arrived. After finding a hostel we further explored the city, enjoying the architecture, parks, galleries, museums but the heat discouraged extended exposure to the sun. I went to a Tibet film festival and met up with my friend at a jazz club on the other end of town. The musicians recommended we go to this latin club later in the night where it turned out that some of the best musicians in town were playing there that night. The band was large and so talented, a great experience to see a free good latin band.

The next morning I saw a flyer of people looking for someone to help share gas on a drive up the Great Ocean Road which is a beautiful coastal drive along the southern coast of Australia (you see the 12 Apostles along this drive which is often seen in pictures of Australia). So I called them up and they picked me up 15 minutes later to drive to make our way west to Adelaide - another unexpected experience. It was a relaxed ride with an english guy, english girl, and two german girls. All the hostels on our half way point stop only had room for the three girls so myself and the english guy slept in the car and sneaked into the hostel to cook and shower.

When arriving in Adelaide we spent the day exploring the city and visiting some beautiful hidden botanical gardens outside of the city as well as a wildlife park, not to mention getting attacked by a vicious black swam. When we returned to the hostel I noticed a flyer advertising a trip to Kangaroo Island, off the coast of Adelaide. So I called them up and we left the next morning to go spend two days on the sparsely inhabited island. We saw plenty of kangaroos everywhere and did some spectacular walks through eucalyptus forests and on to rugged coast lines inhabited by seals and pelicans. Unfortunately we were unable to see any platypus which lived around some water holes we walked around. I was given the fun opportunity to sheer a sheep at a hostel/farm we stayed at the first night on the island. We also saw these rocks, titled "remarkable rocks" which were...well quite remarkable. These very oddly shaped boulders were once part of a large dome overlooking the ocean and has been slowly eroding over thousands of years (or however many). They look like some type of extra terrestrial related shapes...whatever that means.

I was then planning on making my way to the west coast to see the highly renowned city of perth but instead decided to make my way up to Alice Springs to see the world famous ayers rock. So myself, a dutch girl, and a german guy (two of the three people I went to kangaroo island with) are making about a 10 day trip into the outback. We leave in about an hour...it should be quite hot and barren the whole way but an incredible sight to see.

The Reflection

Unfortunately I don't have time to relay my recent contemplations (and the experiences above are long enough). Things have been fairly rushed lately, going from one place to the other, not knowing where I will be from one day to the next. It makes it difficult to ponder and make any progress on a single topic.

Christmas has been pretty much nonexistent for me. There have been all the usual decorations and music surrounding the city space but I feel completely removed from it. I have never been very festive so I don't mind, I think I will be driving on the road back from the outback on christmas. It still does make for a unique feeling, realizing the rest of the world has this significant day of the year on their mind right now and that many in the traveler community give little value to the celebration of it. Most of the travelers all went to Sydney already to celebrate Christmas and new years.

Something I have slightly been pondering is how virtues should be manifested in the vocation of a traveler. Sometimes traveling can be very selfish because everything is planned around me: what I want to see, where I want to go, what I want to do, etc. There is often very little sacrifice that needs to be made - obviously always the little compromises when traveling with other people but so little compared to the compromises that need to be made when you live in some type of structured community. Sometimes it feels selfish to travel because I have no responsibility, so much freedom, and the rest of the world is working 9-5 (or more) and often don't have the privilege to travel. In another perspective it is important because you learn so much from it...I don't really know, like usual I don't feel to strongly one way or the other, just passing thoughts.

Its time to head to the outback...hopefully we won't hit a kangaroo with the car.

Karl Smerecnik

The Story

Australia has become my new frontier to explore. I flew into Brisbane on November 16th and stayed with a couple from couchsurfer.com. It was a great experience to get to know Beni (Australian), a musician and factory worker, and Wencke (German), recent imigrant to Australia, as well as their friend Eva (German) who were so hospitable to let me stay at their apartment for several nights and show me around the city. We tramped through the city, enjoyed some view from several mountains, and highly appreciated the warmth of the Sunshine Coast (just north of Brisbane).

From Brisbane I hitchhiked north intending to go to Hervey Bay but ended up staying with a lady who picked me up that lived in a small beach town just north of the city. As her husband was at sea and her kids with their father, she was happy to have the company and show me around her small town. It is such a pleasant experience to stay with locals and obtain a glimpse of the similarities and differences with my experience of an American lifestyle.

When I arrived in Hervey Bay, a rather dull beach town, I made plans to set out on a four wheel drive excursion to Fraser Island which was right off the coast. Myself and nine other people rented a large jeep and explored the all sand island for a few days. The interior consists of mostly dense forest, with the occasional crystal clear lakes for swimming (Fraser's coast line has sharks and jelly fish that sting), and coast line has become the freeway for getting around on the island. Our group got along quite well, poking fun at each other's nationalities and enjoying our similar interests - a pleasant journey.

After taking an over night bus north I arrived in Airlie Beach, a beautiful but wretchedly touristy town. I took two day cruise into the Whitsunday Islands where were able to enjoy the warm waters of Whitehaven Beach (picture perfect beach) and snorkeled at several of the reefs. The scenery was nice but the company was mediocore; occasionally on group attivities you will get small two's and three's that have been traveling together and prefer to stay in their little group without meeting other people. My bus ticket allows me to ride all the way up the east coast, so I am leaving this morning for Townsville (what a name) to catch a ferry out to Magnetic Island and spend some time in nature, as I haven't really had the chance to do that thus far.

The Reflection

As I have been considering my vocation as a traveler for this time in my life, I have been vexed by some internal struggles with my exposure to other travelers (especially inspired by this over touristy town I am in that seems to be filled with only billboard travel advertisements and practically no locals).

I am confronted by a large backpacker community that prefer bus tours, partying day and night, and prefering only a slight taste of their new environment with no discomfort or risks. I have met a large majority of travelers who often leave a country remarking that they haven't met any locals, besides the bar tenders or tour guides yet had the "best trip" and love "traveling."

I am struggling to understand why I have feelings of disaproval and a lack of respect for their value system and style of travel. It seems the basis of differences is the varying value of embracing hardship and striving for that which is difficult to achieve. Is the difference between the words "tourist" and "traveler" really just a means of priviledging those that value their style of travel of the others? Often there seems to be a consensus of similar tension among those that travel in less convential ways with the camera addicted, bus touring, backpacker bar going, occasionally obnocious, tourist/travelers. Perhaps my frustration stems from the fact there are few people to relate with...

What does it mean to be a traveler? Is a true traveler defined by experiencing the new culture in as many ways as possible? Or rather is the term "true traveler" an individual expression for achieving personal growth in the breadth and depth of travel experiences? We are all tourists, whether or not we pay large sums of money to do preplanned activities that are more about excitement of the senses than experiencing a new land, people, and culture. I have many questions and no time left to finish my thoughts on this tension of traveler vs tourist, the ways power priviledges one term over the other, and how to better respect those of different travel styles choices.

The end
Karl Smerecnik