I got here somehow

By Bobbi Lee Hitchon // 31 March 2010 // Comments: 1 // Related Categories:

The chances of two Bobbi’s, who spell their name exactly the same, being two out of three people to start with in this competition must have been to ironic to avoid. In case you haven’t heard, there’s another Bobbi on this crazy adventure, Bobbi Lee. As Bobbi-Jo wrote in a previous post “It’s about to get fairly confusing in Best Backpacker Job-ville.”

I joined Bobbi-Jo at the Gold Coast airport March 27, about a month into her working the Best Backpacker Job in Australia. Following her blog and tweets, I was excited to meet her and be apart of such a wonderful experience, but it’s not my first adventure down under.

I arrived in Australia January 27, 2010, the day after Australia Day. Since then I’ve toured Sydney and Melbourne, climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge, WWOOFed at a vineyard in Kancoona, Victoria and a yoga retreat in Dungog, New South Whales and met some pretty amazing people along the way.

I’ve been blogging about the experience on my Web site Heels and Wheels. My slogan on the site is “We’ll get there somehow,” which seems fitting for the position I am in now.

I got here...somehow. For as long as I can remember I wanted to be a travel writer. When I was younger my idol was Carmen Sandiego. Over the years it’s changed from Oliver Steeds to Anthony Bourdain to Elizabeth Gilbert, but always remained people wandering the around this crazy world documenting their experience.

Needless to say, when I was asked to join Bobbi-Jo to blog about our experience backpacking Australia’s east coast, I instantly said yes. 

Since meeting her at Gold Coast airport I’ve felt like a rock star. After picking me up we returned the The Sands, a hostel in Coolangatta she was staying at for about a week. We spent about a half hour there, then were off to watch a National Rugby League match between the Gold Coast Titans and the Canberra Raiders. That night we met and interviewed Esikeli Tonga, who plays centre for the Titans. Partied at the hostel and played around in its DJ booth. The next day we hopped in Benny, our campervan, and headed to our next stop, Surfers Paradise Backpackers Resort. 

Again, only a few minutes to get settled before we were off the visit the top of the Qdeck, followed by a jet boat ride. That night we headed to The Beach House, the swankiest backpackers club I’ve ever been to, and partied the night away around its outdoor pool.

There wasn’t much time to sleep since the following day we got to play at Dream World and White Water World theme parks. There I road the Giant Drop, which may be one of the most intense rides I’ve ever been on (This coming from a girl who frequents Six Flags). 

The next day I finally got to try surfing in Australia, which seems fitting since I am in Surfers Paradise. I had tried a few times back in Jersey with literally no success. Learning it here, it feels doable. My instructor was great and I actually stood up a few times on a foam board. Prior to this experience I always thought surfing looked interesting, but thought it just wasn’t in the cards for me. Now it’s my goal in Australia to ride at least one big wave once. 

I went out again this morning with one of the hostel’s boards. I’m definitely not the most graceful person out there, but for some reason that doesn’t bother me here. 

As you can tell it’s been a non-stop party and it’s only going to get better. Tonight we go on Big Night Out, the hostel’s famous pub crawl. Heaps of backpackers will together visit four bars receiving one free drink at each. Just a normal Wednesday night in Surfers Paradise. 

THE WORD wasn’t kidding when they described the job as “the trip of a lifetime.” It’s going to be a wild two months.

Become a fan of THE WORD!

And also keep an eye on YouTube and Flickr!

Many special thanks to VIP Backpackers and All Seasons for being our gracious hosts throughout this trip!