Tête en bas

An other wake up, soft and quiet, in the middle of the desert. Today, we’re going to take our time, in order to visit Coober Pedy. I could have go on on the road, as I’ll be back soon here, but my fellow travelers want to have a better look. I totally understand. And at the same time, I like the idea of having a better idea of what I have to expect. Last opportunity to change my mind!

The day starts with a visit of a museum/souvenir shop/old opal mine. The ground is quite easy to dig. And full of opals. So people start digging every where. Mines becoming houses. And houses becoming mine. Because since a little while, you now need a permit to dig for opal. But you can still dig new room for your house… it seems that people here live in giant underground house… the preview we have while visiting the museum is definitely really nice. I would just miss the real sun light from time to time. But except from that, it seems to be a very comfy place. Air is fresh and really nice to breath.

And because it’s time to feed the kangaroos after the museum visits, we give a quick visit to Jo et Terry. I like the idea of meeting them quickly, before coming back in two weeks. The first contact is very nice. I don’t really have opportunity to talk with Jo(sephine) but Terry is definitely friendly. I think I’ll have a good time there. I’ll just have to find a way to come back. I think I like the idea of hitch hiking!

Quite a lot of time has already passed when we finally go back in the van. There’s still quite a lot to drive. Alice Springs is 750 km from here. I still propose a last little detour, to visit the Breakaway. Not very far from Coober Pedy. We just need to drive on a small gravel road. The van is happy to do so. And it’s an opportunity to give a look to the road to Oodnadatta. For the next time… and of course, the landscape definitely worst the detour. I have this feeling to be back in Painted Hills, Oregon.

But after that, no more reason to stop. No more time either. My goal is to have less than 300 km to drive the next morning, so that’s the day won’t be to hard. The sun set. Ok, that’s a good reason for a 10 minutes stop.

I still drive for quite a while. More than expected, as it’s quite hard to find a nice place to stop. But we finally stop. The spot is great. Away from the road, quite, perfect for us. One more time, the evening goes quietly around the camp fire, while Cassie cooks us a canadian speciality: a roo (kangaroo) tail. Tasting experience… strange. Not really because of the taste, who is quite soft, but more because of the jelly strange texture. Well, it’s still edible I guess… There’s quite a strange feeling, a few tension in the air, but everything still go quite well. It’s hard to believe that we’re going to split on the following day…

An other wake up, soft and quiet, in the middle of the desert. Today, we’re going to take our time, in order to visit Coober Pedy. I could have go on on the road, as I’ll be back soon here, but my fellow travelers want to have a better look. I totally understand. And at the same time, I like the idea of having a better idea of what I have to expect. Last opportunity to change my mind!

The day starts with a visit of a museum/souvenir shop/old opal mine. The ground is quite easy to dig. And full of opals. So people start digging every where. Mines becoming houses. And houses becoming mine. Because since a little while, you now need a permit to dig for opal. But you can still dig new room for your house… it seems that people here live in giant underground house… the preview we have while visiting the museum is definitely really nice. I would just miss the real sun light from time to time. But except from that, it seems to be a very comfy place. Air is fresh and really nice to breath.

And because it’s time to feed the kangaroos after the museum visits, we give a quick visit to Jo et Terry. I like the idea of meeting them quickly, before coming back in two weeks. The first contact is very nice. I don’t really have opportunity to talk with Jo(sephine) but Terry is definitely friendly. I think I’ll have a good time there. I’ll just have to find a way to come back. I think I like the idea of hitch hiking!

Quite a lot of time has already passed when we finally go back in the van. There’s still quite a lot to drive. Alice Springs is 750 km from here. I still propose a last little detour, to visit the Breakaway. Not very far from Coober Pedy. We just need to drive on a small gravel road. The van is happy to do so. And it’s an opportunity to give a look to the road to Oodnadatta. For the next time… and of course, the landscape definitely worst the detour. I have this feeling to be back in Painted Hills, Oregon.

But after that, no more reason to stop. No more time either. My goal is to have less than 300 km to drive the next morning, so that’s the day won’t be to hard. The sun set. Ok, that’s a good reason for a 10 minutes stop.

I still drive for quite a while. More than expected, as it’s quite hard to find a nice place to stop. But we finally stop. The spot is great. Away from the road, quite, perfect for us. One more time, the evening goes quietly around the camp fire, while Cassie cooks us a canadian speciality: a roo (kangaroo) tail. Tasting experience… strange. Not really because of the taste, who is quite soft, but more because of the jelly strange texture. Well, it’s still edible I guess… There’s quite a strange feeling, a few tension in the air, but everything still go quite well. It’s hard to believe that we’re going to split on the following day…

We all wake up in the middle of nowhere, with only emptiness around us. I finally find what I was looking for. Everybody woke up early in order to see the sunrise. Everybody but me. If my travel mates can take a nap during the day, it’s a little bit harder for me. I still had a look through the window, to see a sun hidden by cloud.

As we have lot of bread, I cook french toast to have a nice start for the day. The road is definitely quiet. We see a car, once in a while. Almost each time, drivers wave to each other. We’re living the same experience. We’re driving the same never-ending road. The same crazy road, in the middle of nowhere. If we are at the middle of our journeys, people coming the other way are at the end.

We discover quickly that there is definitely enough room for 3 people in the front of the van. Everything missing is just a seat. We start improvising one using pillow, before we remember that we have camping seat in the van. I’m not sure it’s totally approved by australian road security, but lets forget this minor little detail. With three people sitting in the front, dynamic change completely. If the driver can’t really create ambience and craziness, he can definitely be part of it. And I like that!

Cassie told us about Hart Lake. A salt lake. We saw a few one, not really big, on the side of the road. Hart Lake is an other story. He’s big. Really big. Perfect place to start playing with perspective and photography. Not as good as Uyuni Solar (all my apology to bolivian people for what’s probably the worst way ever to write it), but still a really interesting place.

We spend a little while taking picture. On the way to the lake, we go through a small tunnel, under the train rail. We stop again, for a crazy little time, mixing didgeridoo, musical improvisation in a perfect little moment of happiness.

Back on the road. Trees are definitely rare. Until they become totally inexistent. We are in Coober Pedy.

I’ve been waiting for this moment for a little while. Because I’m planning to live here for a little while, taking care of kangaroos and doing some renovation job. But about Coober Pedy, I don’t know anything. Except that people live in dwelling dig into the ground, that it’s the opal capital of the world. And that there is a lot of dust.

All that is absolutely and completely true. When I stop the van “downtown”, in a small dirt parking, a little voice whisper in my hear “Welcome Home”. Because in this little house, coming straight out of Mad Max (the movie had been filmed in Australia btw) I had this feeling to be back in Burning Man. I was missing dust. It’s a very strange feeling that I can really explain. But I was so happy to find it again… as I was to think that I was back in a post apocalyptic universe… yes, I think I’ll love Coober Pedy. For 10-15 days, at least.

We arrived just on time to catch the sunset. We watched it quietly, from the top of a small hill, before walking back to the van. We drive a few km, in order to get outside of the city and find a quiet place. It’s not even 7 PM, but the van is already stop for the day. No more driving today, I’m the first happy about that! Rachel starts cooking a curry. Everyone ask me to leave when I offer to help. That’s perfect for me. I just sit down, and relax, in the back of the van, looking everyone acting together.

The evening was just amazing… good meal, with good wine, share under the stars. I take my fire staff, my camera, and my bottle of kerosene. In order to have some fun.

I got an idea. An experience I want to try. I try it, and it works. Really well!

An idea leading to an other, I try a group picture. With an other really interesting result!

The evening end up quietly, with a giant pile of people, cuddling together, one on each other. Sharing laugh after laugh after laugh…

I don’t want to make things go faster. I just want the life in the van to find its own pace. We’re not in an emergency, and I don’t want to try to make everyone move quickly. Instead, I preferred to take it easy. The day starts in joy and happiness, and a lot of crepes.

The beginning of the day is not really different of the day before. Landscape is still the same, monotone. It’s nice to drive a lot.

Adelaide is quickly behind us. It was not planed to stop there, and driving threw just confirm me that there was no real reason to do so anyway.

When leaving the city, we follow the ocean for a little while. But we all know that he’ll soon disappear. After Port Augusta, we’ll turn right, on Stuart Highway. Ocean will then be only a souvenir. For a very long time. We decide to stop a last time on the shore, just the time to say bye to the ocean, et to try to put a toe in the water. Way to cold !

We continue with an other detour, to see a gorge Ben strongly suggest. We understand when we arrive there. The mountain is amazing. We take the time for a small walk that make every body happy. We even include a little climbing time, to have a better view from the height.

Back to the van, we take sometime to talk about the end of the day. Port Augusta is the last real point to buy food. After that, we’ll be in the middle of nowhere. Next town will be Coober Pedy. And it’s small. And it’s far. We have to buy all the food we’ll need in the next few days. In order to make it simple, I suggest that we split the different lunch and diner. One or two people will take care of them. Grocery and cooking. Quite efficient. Not so fast… A team start buying food, while I go behind the grocery with Cassie, to check the bin.

I heard after dumpster diving a little while ago, and tried for the first time with Bernt in Hobart. I was quite surprise by the quality of the food we found. This time, we get out of the bin with lots and lots of breads, a dozen of crescents, and a few bananas. Bread is just perfect, as we all agree that the option “sandwich while driving” was the perfect lunch.

Grocery stop take more time that I though, and I start feeling impatient. But we’ve been definitely saving on money. The day before, I was a little bit worried when I discovered that a full tank of gaz lasted for only 400 km. I think that the tank was not completely full. But to be sure, I started driving slower. Driving 85/95 instead of 100/110. Despite a not stop rising of the diesel price ($1.50 at the beginning, $1,96 at the end) we end up (including reloc saving) aping $75 each. Quite proud of me, as I’ve never seen a ride share between Melbourne and Alice Springs for less than $150. And the food? $45 each. For 5 days. We can all be quite proud of that to!

Grocery finally done, everybody back in the van, we go back on the road. To start the Stuart Highway. A road sign. A right curve. And the pleasure of hearing the GPS saying “in 1,212 km, turn left”.

Night has started for a little while. We want to enjoy as much landscape as we can. We keep on driing for an hour, before stoping on a rest area. Van is quickly in night mode, and we still have some time to talk quietly, before going all to bed, as the wise children we all are.

As we slowly get use to the van, and to each other, we try to do as much road as possible. But the day started late, et there was a couple of stop to do on the road. Eating time, grocery time, eating time again… the landscape is nice, but nothing really different. We ended up stoping the van on a quite rest area. Small camp fire, quiet chat, and starts photography.

It’s the story of a canadian girl, an american guy, an indonesian girl, an australian girl, an australian guy and a french and canadian guy, who are in a campervan. Sounds like a joke, but it was not one. It was one of the most audacious sociologic experiment I ever tried. Gathering 6 peoples, who doesn’t know each other, and let them leave all together in the same van. Traveling 2,278 km in less than 5 days. Being sure that everybody is happy, and enjoy the trip. Yes, it was really audacious…

Once a year, my father organize an event called “les dragonneries”. This event gather thirtyish people during a long week end. Once, I heard him says that one of the reason he was proud of this event, was because it gathers peoples from all different kind of environment. People who would never meet if it was not of this event. It’s probably when I heard my father telling that that I start finding those “sociologic experiment” interesting. I tried some of those a few times, at a very small scale. It was one of the idea behind this trip. There was, of course, the wish to travel from Melbourne to Alice Springs keeping the cost as low as possible. But there was also a clear willing of getting to know others, in order to understand them.

Rachel.

Joshua.

Cassie.

Ben.

Indri.

And I.

Something in common? We all want to go to Alice Springs. We don’t want to spend to much cash. Nothing else. Randomness (or my subconscious, who knows!) wanted that we were three guys and three girls. Everybody seems to be happy about that, as if we were feeling that it will bring a kind of balance. And we will definitely need balance! As the organizer, my goal was simple: I wanted this small trip to be a good souvenir for everyone, and avoid as much tension as possible. No suspense at this time: this was clearly achieve, way over the expectations!

The meeting was on saturday morning, at 10 AM, at Totenham train station. Five minutes walk from the place were we had to pick up the van. To my surprise (there were couchsurfers involve!) no one was more than 10 minutes late. I knew everyone, a little bit. I met everyone quickly during the week. But it was the first time everybody gather at the same place at the same time. Knowing everybody a little, I was anticipating everyone roles. Planing how the tasks would be shared. Who would react how. We discovered, with Cassie and Rachel, that everyone respect the stereotype from his own country (countries for one of us).

Taking the van was an easy thing. The girl who take care of me was the same, one more time. She knows me quite well by now… it was the 3rd time after all.

He didn’t take long before the van was full with backpack and people. To my own pleasure, Rachel was the first one to take the copilot seat. In this trip, we were two with no plan for after the festival. Two who were thinking we might want to travel a little bit together after that. It was the perfect opportunity to get to know each other.

Rachel helped me to discover something about me I didn’t know, and definitely didn’t expect. I lived in Quebec for 10 years. During those 10 years, I’ve kept saying “Canada, I don’t know what it is. I’ve always been in contact with Quebec”. When I traveled to British Colombia (where Rachel come from), I realized that those people at the far hand of the country where not so much different than “us” in Quebec. A few months later, when I was driving across Canada, I realized that if British Colombia and Quebec where quite the same, all those between were definitely different. Strange feeling… that I discovered again with Rachel. As I did, she was trying to avoid tension, and make everybody happy. I felt that we were following the same stereotype. We were both… canadian. I was not french anymore. Neither was I quebecer. I discovered a citizenship I didn’t know I had. Rachel and Cassie both told me a couple of time that they never met any french like me. Maybe because from my french side, I just keep the passport. And some roots, really deep, and really localized.

He didn’t take me a long time to understand that there will be two different way of life in the van. The cabin, quiet and relaxing, and the van, in the back, more lively and on a party mood. In my previous relocation, I was alone with Iris, who didn’t really like to be in the back on the van when moving. As we were only two, it was quite easy to stop when one of us need something. With 6 people, it was definitely an idea to forget. Quickly, all passenger started to leave there seat, moving around. Moving, grabbing something to eat, watching from an other window, enjoying the back seat (transform to a bed for the first night, and until the end of the trip).

I liked this feeling. I liked to have those two difference feeling. Having people happy and partying in the back, and talking and relaxing in the front. When copilot started to change, I wondered if being in a front was a punishment (obliged to spend some time with the driver who doesn’t speak so much) or a reward (enjoy the landscape, relax, take it easy…). Links have been created quickly. And strongly. No one was has been forget in the process. The small family was doing well.

My role, I already knew it, was obvious. Anyone who know me knows that I always end up in this “position”. I was the father, the organizer, the driver. The one who has to think about everything, check that everything is okay, and that the van keep moving. All that was stressing me, a little. I know how slow a 6 persons group could be. I know how difficult it can be to move a group, even as small as this one. I was expecting to spend most of my energy doing that. I didn’t plan that I was going to be helped in my task. Cassie mothered all of us, checking that everyone was feeling okay. Rachel was definitely the older sister, who supervise everyone in the family, because parents are to busy. She took care of me, providing me with sandwich/water/music each time I had a special little query. Perfect copilot, available pour short little chat sometime, and sometime quiet, reading her book or writing. Ben was the teenager in crisis. Passionate by energy, electricity, battery and solar panel, he was giving as much information as anyone want to listen to. And disappear from time to time when someone disagreed with him. Josh, as a preteen, tried to take is room to. To show that he existed, and can tell interesting things to. Indri was the youngest one, quiet, trying (and managing!) to take her place in this crazy family.

Don’t think I’m saying what I didn’t say. I had great time with everyone. I would not have swap anyone for someone else. The result was not perfect, but was really inspiring. But there was still a question remaining. What was going to happen in Alice Springs? When a group form, a dynamic starts. And usually stop at the end. Everyone was it’s own plan at the end of the adventure. I had to find an other couchsurfer, Cassie was going to a friend. So was Ben. Josh had already booked a hostel. Rachel was a little bit lost, thinking that we were going to have the van for the festival. And Indri had no idea what she was going to do next. We could have stop at Alice Springs, everyone going on his own after that. That’s what I was feeling. When Cassie said that we could have a debrief dinner, I was sure. Once everyone settled down, I was not sure if it was a good idea to see us again so soon. I was thinking that everyone might need to breath alone for a little while…

It’s not really easy to sum up 5 days of interaction between 6 people without writing pages. It’s not really easy to describe the trip either. But it’s coming… soon.

As the photographic workshop last saturday went really well, I decided to organize an other one tonight. It was my way of saying “bye” to Melbourne. The theme for this evening was “light painting and fire photography”. As I didn’t have any fire artist close enough, I ended up being at the same time teacher, photograph, and model. That was a nice evening, with a nice group of couchsurfer. And yes, definitely a good way to say “bye” to Melbourne.

Even better, as I decide to eat some inspiring food after that. Yes, that’s exactly what it is. Fries, gravy and cheese. And the menu definitely says “Poutine”. Soon, Quebec will conquer the world!

I met this girl a little while ago, in an other neighborhood. She was dancing with birds. I met her again tonight. Not far from where I’m staying. I usually turn just before the corner, in order to take a shortcut. I have no idea how long she has been here, as I have been taking this shortcut for the last four weeks. It probably saves me 12 seconds of walking. Those who knows me know that I like routines. For the pleasure of breaking them. Today, I decided not to turn right. I decided to continue. And because of that, I saw her again. “Be Free”. How can I disagree with that !

I had a plan. A quick list of think I wanted to see and do in Central Australia. But there was just a little thing that didn’t fit perfectly. A date that was not the best one. I just managed to change it. Everything seems to fit together now. Sounds like a lot of planning (until the end of may) but… hey… why not!

This is where I am going. In this complete and total orange emptiness.

We arrive in Alice Springs on the 2nd of May. Alice Springs is on B. On the 4th, we’re moving to the Wide Open Space festival (A). Back to Alice Springs, on the 7th in the morning. Seems that we’re going to do a couchcrash in Alice Springs on the 7th. Couchcrash? When a whole group of couchsurfer arrive together at the same place. Usually coming with fun and laugh and great time. 8-9-10-11 will be used to discover Uluru (C) and Kings Canyon (D). Part of the amazing landscape that we can see there. On the 12, I’m coming back south, to Coober Pedy. Coober Pedy is the world capital of Opal production. A city in the middle of nowhere, where most house are just dig in the ground. One of the first book I red, written by Colin Thiele, this australian writer that make me discover Australia when I was 11 or 12, is happening in a place like that. I’ll be staying in this piece of emptiness until the 24th of may. Yes, an other Helpx mission there. In a kangaroos orphan. Helping kangaroos, and learning to play didgeridoo. On the 24th, I’ll be heading to Oodnadatta (F). Small little village, far from everything. Because my friend Marilyne had lived there for 5 months when she was in Australia. And I just want to have a look, because of what she told me.

After that? I don’t really know yet. I’ll be definitely looking for a job. And I have the feeling that staying for a little while in such a remote place as Oodnadatta could be nice. Or a little bit less remote, like Alice Springs. Or I’ll go on the north west coast, to see my friend Fan Fan again.

Now, there’s still something you might not realize, as you don’t have any scale on the map. The distance between B (Alice Springs) and C (Uluru) is 500 kms. And 900 kms from Uluru to Coober Pedy. Looks really small and close, on this picture, isn’t it?

That’s what it looks like in Australia. G is Melbourne. 2,200 kms from Alice Springs (B). Who said Australia was a big country?

What’s a van relocation?

Van rental is very popular in Australia. It’s definitely a nice way to discover the country, and lot of people use it. But the touristic season doesn’t happen everywhere at the same time. Most people will go to Tasmania in summer time, and people will usually try to avoid Alice Springs when it’s to hot. Because of that, rental companies doesn’t need to have lots of van everywhere at the same time. You don’t really need to keep 100 campervans in Hobart during winter. They are definitely more useful in West Australia or in Queensland. Because of that, the majors van rental company often need there van to be moved from one place to an other, to optimize the use of there fleet. It’s way cheaper to have a van 4 months in Hobart and 8 months on the mainland, that having two vans, used only half the time. That’s what we call a relocation. Driving a van, one way, from a major city to an other one. And for people who like to travel for cheap, it’s a great opportunity.

Why relocation is cheap?

Because the rental company really need there van to be moved, they usually offer really interesting rates. Most of the time, you won’t pay the rental (well, actually 1$ or 5$ per day). Of course, you won’t have any one way fee. And quite often, the company will also pay for the gaz. Or part of it. You’ll just have a couple of day allowed. It is not an holiday rental. It is a relocation. It is a win win arrangement most of the time, if you know exactly what you’re looking for and if you do it well. On a personal opinion, as I’m helping the company, I’m expecting them to help me back. I never accept a relocation if the company doesn’t pay part of the gaz. I want to be a winner to. But this one is definitely up to you.

How can I find a relocation?

Internet is your best friend. I’ve been spending quite a lot of time, looking at different website, checking what they offer, and the way they work. A couple of them just advertise exactly the same thing. After a while, I managed to pick up 4 websites. They are all in my bookmark, and I visit them quite often.

Stanby Relocs : http://www.standbyrelocs.com/
This one is the most popular. And the worst one. It took me a little while to realize, and I already did a couple of reloc with them at that time.
Good thing: You can call them straight away. You see a relocation that you like, you take your phone, you call, the deal is done. They usually have more relocation listed than other website. They also have relocation in NZ and USA.
Bad thing: They are asking fees. 25$ per booking. Not so much… except if you know that the other website don’t. Even worst: they always offer 40$ less when gaz is paid. When all website advertise a 150$ for a Melbourne – Adelaïde, they offer a 110$.

Transfercar: http://www.transfercar.com.au/
My favorite, because it’s the only one who keep a file about you. You can not call them. You have to make a request, and the van company approve or decline. The most relocation you had with them, the better luck you’ll have to get the next. I like this fidelity system, as I’m doing a lot of relocation.
Good thing: No fee. Fidelity system. Still a good list of relocation.
Bad thing: You don’t know immediately if you got the reloc. You have to wait. Usually a few hours. It’s a little bit hard at the beginning. When your first relocation is done, it’s way faster, and way easier. They are asking you for your card number when making a request, but don’t take any fee on it.

Drivenow: http://www.drivenow.com.au/onewayrentals.jspc
An other interesting one, because you can phone them just after sending a request, so you usually don’t have to wait.
Good thing: No fee. You can call, no need to wait. NZ relocation listed to.
Bad thing: The relocation list is usually less interesting.

Apollo Camper: http://www.apollocamper.com/reloc.aspx
Apollo is a rental company, and they advertise there own reloc (you usually find them also on Stanby reloc, and sometime on transfercar and drivenow).
Good thing: Relocation in USA and NZ too. . Not sure if they have booking fees.
Bad thing: Most of the time, there relocation are not interesting (25$ per day, no gaz paid).
I haven’t done a reloc with them yet.

What else?

– You’ll have a maximum number of day. Usually, company except you to drive around 500kms per day. You’ll do a lot of driving, but you still have the time to visit a little. A relocation is a great way to go from one place to an other for a cheap price. Not a great way to relax and take your time.
– Some time, company will allow you a few extra days. Most of the time, you’ll have to pay 75$ per day.
– You also have a maximum kilometers you can drive. Usually, you’ll have the distance between the 2 places + 500 kms. This is way enough if you’re on a Sydney Melbourne, or Adelaïde Melbourne. Be more careful on long distance, sometime kms disappear quickly. Usually, the price is $.5 per extra kilometers. That go up fast.
– Pickup is after 10 am, drop off before 3PM. So if you have 4 days, you actually have 3 days + 5 hours. Keep that in mind.
-You have to pay a bound. Usually $1000. On a credit card, under the name of the driver. Some time, they will take the money and refund it. Sometime, they will just freeze it. In the first case, be very careful with international credit card: You’ll have fee at payment and at refund, and different change rate. It used to cost me between $60 an $80, just in bank fee.

BE VERY CAREFUL:

– if you don’t give the van back on time, the contract says that they can keep the bond. It never happened to me, but I definitely don’t want to try to negotiate. Be on time.
– be very careful when reading the rental agreement, specially the insurance part. I discovered, after a few thousands kms drove by night, that insurance might be void if you’re driving by night.
– Don’t forget that those van consume around 13L/100kms. Much more than a car. And they run with diesel. Do some math before booking to see how much the relocation will actually cost you.

What about the rental company?

– Britz is the major rental company in Australia, and you can expect to do most of your reloc with them. Van are comfy and all furnished (including towels, sleeping bag, …). But customer service is really bad. “Hey mate, you’re on a reloc, you pay less than other, so just wait”.
-Maui is kind of the same company than Britz. They share the rental office, so you can expect the same customer service.
-Juicy Rental have green and purple van. I was supposed to do a relocation with them, but at the end, I could not. I transfer my relocation booking to a friend with no problem. And definitely had great customer service.
– Haven’t tried any other company yet. Hope to be able to update the list.

Is relocation for you?

– You love driving.
– You don’t mind being in a hurry.
– You love driving.
– You want to go from one place to an other for a good price.
– You love driving.
– You want to experiment a different way of traveling.
– You love driving.
– You don’t mind spending a lot of time in a moving vehicle, looking outside and feeling that it’s nice.
– You love driving.
– You want to do a cray road trip at least one in Australia. 2,200kms in 5 days from Melbourne to Alice Spring. 3,000 kms in 7 days for Darwin to Melbourne…

I don’t like van. I want to drive a car.

No worries mate. There’s also car rental company in Australia. All the website listed before also advertise car from time to time. Sometime, you’ll find a 12 seats van. Just think about how awesome it can be. Also, most car rental company (Budget, Avis, Hertz, Europcar, Redspot, Thirfty…) have a “special deal” tab, with a “one way” option. That works kind of the same way. But you’ll be driving a car.

So… you have a well known brewery, and your next beer will be ready soon. As you’re one of the trendiest place in town, with an amazing decoration in an old warehouse, you could just put a little poster “Quiet American no available”. Yes, that would be simple.

Or you can advertise “Quiet American is coming. First kegs will be on us. Free beers from 4:30 to 6 PM. So, now it’s completely different. Then, if you have couchsurfers spreading the information, you’ll have this gathering of 30 peoples, from everywhere on earth, sharing… hum… a few beers.

When I first so the date of the event, I decided that I was going to drink to celebrate. Or to forget. Sometime, when a shop advertise something free, they have a long waiting list, or they’ll find other way to reduce there cost as much as they can. At the Little Creatures Brewery, they do thing the good way. The good thing about having two hands is that you can hold two beers. I quickly forget that I was suppose to forget something, and just start having fun, talking with people. New peoples, new meeting… I like Melbourne couchsurfing community.

And as if free beer was not enough, they decide to add some free food to!

I wanted to discover the Little Creature drinking hall for a little while. The place is amazing, atmosphere is really nice, and the staff is great. I would be more than happy to go back there!

This evening was also an opportunity to meet Cassie, Rachel, Josh and Indri. We talked about the upcoming road trip. Everything was well, and I do have the feeling that it’s going to be a great experience !

And hey… I suppose I had to try at least once to walk back home because it was to late for the last tram?

Oh… and if you’re wondering if the beer was good… yes, it was. A great one. But I should have write my feeling after the first glass, to have a good description!