The flight from New Zealand to Australia went smoothly. Left the airport around 10 PM, grabbed a muffin for the morning at a nearby gas station and headed to my proposed sleeping area within some conservation land adjacent to the airport.
Navigating at night proved difficult and I became increasingly nervous as I hiked past silos of jet fuel and other seemingly high security facilities owned by the airport. My end goal was finding a trail that was marked on Google maps. Unfortunately the road leading to the trail had a gate and several no trespassing signs. Several minutes of contemplation resulted in me skirting past the gate and hoping for the best. No one seemed to be around and my anxiety soon dropped. Before long the anxiety came back as I noticed large kangaroos walking about, just barely lit up by the moonlight. Welcome to Australia, mate.
The only videos I've watched about kangaroos involved them punching and/or kicking other beings that were smaller or larger than them. I made sure to give them as much room as possible as I made my way around them. Luckily they were more afraid of me than I was of them.
About 2 miles of hiking got me to a thin patch of woods that seemed suitable for a hammock. Before long I was laying down trying to sleep without thinking too much about the creatures around me or the potential for getting caught sleeping somewhere where I shouldn't be sleeping. Needless to say, the dreams I had that night were far from pleasant.
I quickly packed up in the early morning and headed out, determined to get back to the airport without running into other humans. The constant stream of jets flying over my head was really cool.
From the airport I took the skybus into town. A brief check of social media revealed that my friend Jason just so happened to be in Melbourne! I met him last year in Colorado through a mutual friend. He's staying at a friend's house in the city. Before I knew it, I had a place to crash and people to hang out with.
After settling in, he took me to an awesome place nearby. The city invested in installing climbing walls beneath the highway next to the river. I was blown away at how nice the walls were and how much the city cared about providing recreational resources and infrastructure for its citizens. The problems and routes were well documented and the place was very clean.
That night, Jason, his friend Rosemary and I went out for some rock and roll trivia. We didn't do so hot but it was a fun time and a local band performed afterwards.
Today Jason and I walked around the city a bit. The botanical garden was incredibly beautiful and peaceful.
Today was the first day of a 4 day festival in Melbourne. It includes a carnival, outdoor movies, live music, fireworks and a bunch of other events. As someone who doesn't care much for cities, Melbourne is alright in my book.
Oh and I also filed my taxes today. Feels good to get that nonsense out of the way.
Not sure how long I'll be in Melbourne, but it's a great opportunity to look at outgoing flights (once I figure out which country is next) and look into potentially buying a car while I'm here (it's a huge country and potentially cheaper than a rental or buses)
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