Relaxation to laziness to boredom

By the end of Sunday I was feeling a bit stagnate, so I booked a tour to see a forest, ride a steam train, do a wine tasting, and go through a nature preserve.

Well I got what I should have expected... Awoke at 6:30 to catch my 7:30 pickup when I saw my worst nightmare turn the corner, a full on tour bus capable of carrying around 80 loud, in your face, picture snapping tourists. Granted on the "tours" I've taken before, they’ve never been in anything larger than a Suburban. Well it was time to roll with the punches. The forest was okay because I ran away from everyone during our 30 min stop for tea so I could actually walk in the forest. Then for a ride on a ridiculous, open-air steam train, that thank god, no one I know could recognize me on, as I don’t really know anyone on this continent. Then I thought, "We're going to a winery, this has to get better". Wrong again I found out as we were herded through lunch and a tasting. Tasting would be an exaggeration though, as it was having a glass thrust into your face followed by having the question of what you want barked at you. All this followed by a hurried prodding back on to the bus. No descriptions of the wine, their process, etc. etc. This is the antithesis of the travel I want to do: rapidly skim the surface, never understanding where you are, but get a picture of yourself there to prove you visited.

Finally the day was redeemed when about half the passengers choose to go to the wildlife preserve instead of more wineries. We were then broken up into small groups with local guides from the preserve to see the wildlife as we actually walked around for a few hours. My new pal Barbara, an English woman born and raised in Zimbabwe, was fantastic. The preserve actually seemed interested in rehabilitating animals and educating visitors. I was also happy to see, even if only in a preserve, a Koala, Platypus, Tasmanian Devil, and Wombat among many fantastic bird species.

Finished the day up with another comedy show (everywhere during Melbourne’s International Comedy Festival) and an early night to bed.

Slept for 11 hours to fight off a bit of a soar throat, then my day has so far consisted of a great breakfast at yet another fantastic cafe, uploading photos, and trying to get my next bit of travel organized whilst I have an Internet connection.

I find myself itching to leave. Not that I haven’t enjoyed Australia, but my comfort zone is not being pushed at all. I feel like I’m being too lazy, don’t get me wrong; there are plenty of amazing and wonderful things to do. But, I can speak English to everyone, read all the signs, and I have no fear of being thrown into a developing country’s prison system. My criteria for adventure I guess.

So I’ve booked by place in Fiji, working on my flights to Toga, and even have a place booked in Auckland when I arrive (this is the most organized I have been so far on my trip). Hope this doesn’t make me too inflexible, but I’m pretty sure knowing where I’ll be sleeping for the next week fails to qualify as rigid. After all, I’ll land in Tonga without reservations or even a map.

I am looking forward to New Zealand for New Zealand, but also to make a bit more money to get back to adventure. I can’t wait to go to Nepal, India, Libya, Egypt – places I can actually be concerned about surviving in some small way. Cheers to travel, Trey