11th month: New adventure!

 February 7th: Time for a new adventure!

Today it was finally time for my new adventure in Southern Cross. I’m gonna work for a hotel here called ‘Palace hotel’. I need to finish a few more days of my 88 days and this postal code counts for this and I am also gonna save a little more for the rest of my travels to New Zealand and wherever else I wanna go to. I walked around the city after checking out at the hostel and I met Sanne down stairs. We walked together and later went back to the hostel and I waited for a message from Liz, the manager, to pick me up. She arrived around 1 PM and seemed very nice. Apparently she’s Irish which now clarifies the different accent I noticed while talking to her on the phone. The drive to Southern cross took about 4 hours from Perth. We talked a lot and it wasn’t awkward at all which I was very pleased about. After helping her getting all the stuff from the car she showed me around the hotel and brought me to my hotel room which I’m gonna stay in while working here. What a lovely hotel! So nice! And all the people seem very kind here. Later she told me I could order my dinner and just relax tonight and start tomorrow night. I’m excited! The food was very delicious btw and the lunches here for all workers (who stay here from mines etc) are healthy. There’s a salad buffet every evening for the next day which I absolutely love!

February 8th: First Workday!

Today was my very first workday. But because I only work in the evening tonight I went for a run and checked out the area and the the outdoor fitness center. Later I got changed and went to the pool. I swam 1000 m and it felt so nice! Amazing that this pool is free for everyone! Later I had to figure out a few things for my trip to New Zealand and I read a book for a while. At 4 it was time for my first shift and I worked with 2 girls named Shenade and Pasley and they were so nice! They liked it that I had so much experience already in hospitality and didn’t have to explain everything to me but just about the system they use etc. Most of the people who come in here work for other companies and stay in the workers rooms. The town is small so there’s not many locals who come in. Monday and Tuesday’s tend to be the busiest nights which is so weird for me as in other places Friday nights were definitely the craziest! But it was nice to meet the workers and they are pretty fun!

February 10th: What a day…!🥲

Jup, it’s one of those days again. I hoped it would never happen again and it didn’t happen last year so my scars on my knees were finally gone. So time for new ones? I went for a run and not even 2 km further I ‘hugged’ the ground. Ok not really a joke. But yeah I fell pretty bad on my knees again. Damn so dumb. And again my knees were fully opened.. I ran back quick to the hotel tears streaming down my face cause of the pain but I had to rinse it and clean it. Thank god I still had desinfecting water from Mallorca where I fell in 2021… Ugh it hurt a bit but I just had to stay in bed to let the wounds dry. I really hope not many others saw me as it was 7 AM and only one man walked passed to check if I was ok. Of course I pretended I was all fine. I downloaded the 9Now app Shenade told me about to watch ‘Married at first sight’ which is a big thing in Australia. It’s actually a pretty fun show here. But back home I don’t really like it. At least I had something to do till I had to work and managed to put long sports leggings on so no one could see how dumb I was today..

February 11th: Sun will rise and we will try again!

Yes! that is my motto! Tomorrow is always only a day away and will give you an opportunity to start over. And so I did. Pretty knees or not, I’m a runner and will stay a runner. So I tried again for the 4847945780598492th time. I was slow of course but running worked. Whereas sitting down and standing up was painful every time… Running didn’t really hurt. After 5 km I wasn’t tired enough and I saw a salt lake I wanted to get to so I ran a little further. Beautiful lake! In the end I ran 15 km and was pretty proud I did this. Yeah who does something like that with wounds on the knees? Well, it’s me!😂 Later I chilled a bit on the grass next to the pool as I couldn’t go swimming like this. At 4 it was time to work again. Pretty quiet again but had some fun with the workers. 

February 14th: Happy Independence Day to all singles!😂

Today was Valentine’s Day, or I mean Happy Independence Day for me! I started the day with a morning run and a little workout at the outdoor fitness playground. After that I took a quick shower and got changed. I saw a very funny reel about being single with all the months of the year so I had to make this one too. So funny! Later I went to the free pool across the street and did my 1000 m swim. Then I chilled in the sun for a bit but not long as it was 40 degrees Celsius… Pffff! Later I had salad for lunch as we have a salad buffet which is awesome. At 4 PM I had to work and Liz, my manager, came to me and gave me a heart shaped chocolate box with Rafaello chocolates. So cuteee!! See I don’t need a man for that?! I always told my friends my man would be somewhere on the other side of the world in Australia, but since I got here, all I see are FK Mullets?!!!😂🤷🏼‍♀️ No thanks!

February 21st: 42 degrees?! Omg! Not again…

It was soooo insanely hot the past couple of days! Crazy! Today it was 42 but some of the locals told me that down the road (40 mins further) it was 53 in the sun. Insane!! Put a lot of sunscreen on and avoided the sun but I still went for a run and for a swim. Unfortunately I got burned on my cheeks a bit but not too bad. I swam 1500 m today and will try to keep doing this! I’m not a great swimmer but I just love it. Oh and the sunset was amazing today! 

February 24th: Last 2 weeks in Australia 😭

Omg. No way. Friday I realized it. I only got 2 more weeks in Australia. I can’t believe it. I feel so sad and empty keeping this on my mind. I know I’ve got so many other beautiful places I’ll see soon. But Australia really feels like home. I don’t wanna leave yet. It’s a beautiful country. I’m super excited for New Zealand tho! But I am a 100000% sure I’m gonna be back! Cant wait to be back already! Today I did my normal morning routine again and later swam 1500 m. Then I had to work in the evenin together wi the Sinead and I really get along with her. We have so much fun together and I’m so happy to have her as my colleague!♥️

March 2nd: Alysha is here! Yay!

Wednesday night Alysha arrived at the hotel in southern cross. She was one of my colleagues at the campground I worked for in the Netherlands after I came back from the uS. She’s an Au Pair in Kalgoorlie and that’s 2,5 hours from here. She works 4 days and has 4 days off and it finally worked out to come over. She staying in my hotel room. I’m so happy to have her here and talk with her. Really needed this. Today I was off the whole day so did my normal routine and took a shower and then got ready. Alysha got ready too and then we went to the coffeeshop across the street to get some breakfast. We went to the pool together and I did my 1500 m and then we chilled on the grass for a bit. Later we went back and relaxed and then we went to the sunset lookout point and watched the sunset. The flies are so annoying tho but the sunset was gorgeous. We ordered some food and watched a movie and later Alysha fell asleep which was funny. I put her phone on the charger and just let her sleep while I FaceTimed some friends back home. Oh and omg I’m in the newspaper of my town back home. So funny! They needed people who left home and live abroad so they interviewed me, haha!

March 9th: My last workday in Australia!🥲

And that’s it! My last workday in Australia and my last day in Southern cross! Cant believe it! 5 weeks flew by. 11 months flew by. Crazy! Even though Southern Cross was a very boring tiny town, I still made the best out of it and enjoyed the pool and talking with the locals. Everyone told me they were sad I was leaving as they liked my humor and enthusiasm. Love to hear that! I also got along very well with one of the cleaning ladies as she has the same kinds sense of humor and we couldn’t stop laughing sometimes! This morning I went for a morning run one last time and did a little workout and yesterday I did my last 1500 m swim. Gonna Miss this place! But especially Australia in general! But it’s time for a new adventure in New Zealand. Im very excited for that! But I’m also very sad about leaving Australia. Of course I have it with nearly every country I’ve been to. But this. This country. It has something special. It completely stole my heart and that’s why I’m sure I’ll be back!

March 10th: Back in Perth for the day!

This morning it was time to leave Southern Cross. After saying goodbye to everyone, Liz (manager) took me to the train station. We talked for a bit until the train was nearly coming and I’m so thankful for these pat few weeks here. Thank god Liz found two new girls already who will start next Tuesday! I took the train to Midland near Perth and when I got on board I understood why it was $70. It was a train with screens at every seat and a kiosk further down. Crazy! But nice! I mostly slept along the way anyways as I was so exhausted. When I arrived in Perth I dropped my luggage at a hostel for a couple of hours and then my friend Gaët (who I traveled to Perth with) reached out to me and said he unfortunately couldn’t see me today but I could sleep in his room as he was gone for the weekend. So nice of him cause I didn’t book any accommodation anyways and planned on staying at the airport. So I went there and was so tired I fell asleep around 8 already but later I called my sister for a bit. After that I couldn’t sleep anymore because of all the mozzies in the room. Damn. They were driving me nuts! So unfortunately not a good night rest. 

March 11th:  Drama in Sydney?!

After a very short night rest I still tried to make the best out of it and I walked to the city for some breakfast (30 mins). Later I walked back, got my bags and walked tot the train. I took the train to the airport and waited a few hours until I had my flight to Sydney. I arrived here local time 21:45. It was a bit weird as there was a man acting very strange. He was throwing with his stuff and at some point about 8 people stand up while we were still flying. And then one of the stewardesses came over and told the man to sit all the way in the back. When we landed the police came to take him out. Later we were allowed to exit the plane as well. I got my bags pretty quick and figured out I had to go to the international airport to fly to New Zealand. Half an hour later than scheduled, the bus finally arrived and took me there. To my surprise it was very very quiet at 22::15 PM. Apparently the airport closes at 23:00 till 4 AM. HOW?! Like how can you close an airport if there might be delays! Also my plan was to sleep at the airport but that option was gone now. Later I realized I was missing something… one of the new running shoes I bought in Perth yesterday! No way! Can it get any worse?!!! I took the bus back to the domestic airport and that was closed of course already but guess what I saw on the belt?! MY SHOE!! I waved at one of the guys who were cleaning the floor and he raised his hand that they were closed. I ignored this and pointed at my one running shoe and pointed inside. Hè then opened the door and took the shoe and gave it back and he laughed so much. I had to laugh too. This is something that really only happens to me! Omg! I can’t! Then the next problem came: no buses or trains to the international airport anymore. Damn… I had plenty of time but still… I just wanted to be there. I talked to some other people who were sitting at the street outside. Everyone thought it was crazy to close the airport. I ended up talking to a very nice lady from New Zealand who was flying for the first time alone to Samoa and I explained her that she was also at the wrong terminal. She was so thankful for my help that she just ended up getting an Uber to the international airport! $45 for 7 mins drive. CRAZY! She was very lovely and even took a picture with me! How cute!