A Journey Up the Australian East Coast: A Philosophical Conundrum, Hadi Garib [books for 10th graders txt] 📗

As surreal as it sounds, reckon it was the moment that was supposed to have marked the beginning of the trip that serves as the instance that will be missed most. Indeed, having tossed my pen up in the air upon inking the final "full stop", the twirling of the utility in the air was accompanied by a grin of all grins � knowing that I had reached the finish line of what had been an arduous journey � however, as the pen came crashing down on the floor, to a certain degree, so did that grin, substituted instead by the realization that there will be no more paper exams. Further compounded by the rather uneasy feeling that the kid who once feared exams, was now seated in a chair submissively regretting that there were no more exams � regardless of the path in life that he would now traverse upon. Indeed, Friday the 27th of June, 1000 hours � a moment for the books. As per which one, I leave that to the readers' imagination.

Following subdued celebrations with the graduating class, and packing in a rather disturbing manner, nightfall steadily approached wherein the group at large went out for dinner, and then a night in town. This was what we dubbed the last night in Toowoomba, given that a majority of the group members were either exchange students, or just here for the semester, like the author.

Saturday, the 28th: Not really having slept the night before, the day wasn't any easier. Another series of activities by what was a subgroup that in essence had lived together for the course of the semester, let it be the ungodly hours in the library, or recreation, got together for a bit, until 4 who were the prime components of this subgroup took the evening Greyhound to Brisbane. The journey had truly begun.

A night on the town in Brisbane, was followed by an early morning start which marked the starting point for a 2500+ km journey up the east coast. With a map in hand, the primary focus was to see just about every town, while stopping the drive shortly prior to sunset, given the absurd shortage of street lights that this country faces. As stated on a host of previous occasions, reckon the writer won't be complaining about the dearth of street lights in Karachi. In essence, backpacking our way up the coast � accommodation under $25 a night, breakfast constituting porridge, and bread-spreads, while lunches constituting of bread, and pasta from Coles, consumed at a scenic location along the drive. Dinner was often a series of leftovers, while sporadically we coerced ourselves to reward the stomachs at decent places, simply for not stopping at McDonalds for a single meal. Herein, we briefly highlight some of the more pronounced locations:

Hervey Bay: Reached at sunset, and left post-lunch. Ran into good weather, and a fine beach here, which equated to an ideal resting spot. Walked around for a bit � but most of the day was, yes, given a lack of beaches on the mountain that I find myself back on, spent at the beach.

Rockhampton: They may call it the beef capital of the nation, but it has to be the sordest town one can come across. The reception for the accommodation was supposed to be at a bar � got into town shortly after sunset, only to realize that the bar was closed. Apparently the town believes in opening at 6 and closing at 2. Having said that, the architecture was worth the night spent in � of course, given the excitement, left first thing in the morning, having had porridge rather than beef for breakfast.

Mackay: As funny as the name sounds, its not all that bad a place to be. Decent people � i'll give you that. Its as if everyones' been smoking the same thing that was supposedly popular during the '70s'.

Airlie Beach: Absolutely brilliant. Short of Townsville, this place is blooming brilliant � having said that, reckon one could just about equate it to Brevard county.

Whitsundays: Southernmost point of the Reef, the place was named as such because the founding father crashed in on a party on the day of the Whit Sunday festival � genius eh? One of the most photographed place in Australia, took a brief hike up to a lookout, prior to going back down to the only beach on Earth constituting sand that is 98% pure silica � first thought � think about all the circuits that could be made � reduce the labor prices (or hire me � no not people like me � but me), and you have a solution for the purest, cost-effective circuitry that can be found. If thats' not absolute advantage, then well, reckon my business degree should be granted to someone else.

Spent a bit on the beach, then went further out towards the corals for a bit of a snorkel � calm waters, negligible wind, though the water temperature could have helped. However, a stinger suit hired for a fiver showed that while the body was attempting to recuperate, the mind was still at work.

Magnetic Island: The ferry from Townsville, saw us end up at Magnetic Island, named so because legend states that Cooks' compass went haywire as he sailed through the channel � magnetic fields apparently � though you could've sworn any other individual would have blamed that on witches and warlocks. Spent two nights here � no city � just the island, with the backpackers being in one corner of the landmass. Wouldn't mind spending more time here I reckon.

Townsville: Returning to a Webster definition of the term 'city', where one of the better attractions had to be Reef Headquarters � an aquarium constituting all the lifeforms found at the reef. The plethora of carbon masses makes you scratch your head in amazement, quizzically glancing towards the skies, marveling at management of the same.

Port Douglas: People go ballistic over Cairns, but this little beauty, three hours north of the major city, was definitely a greater attraction. If there was a city to live in, then this would be one of them. Ecstatic.

Daintree and Cape Tribulation: Its' one of those natural wonders where you could have one foot in a rainforest, and another, on a beach. Went for a bit of a hike in the former, and then chilled for a bit the beach,which quite rightly, is known as one of the better beaches here. Having said that, it was a former volcano, which in itself poses a few questions, which are queried during your time here.

Cairns: Upon getting here, you have to look around and ask yourself if you are still in Australia, or have teleported yourself to Japan, though a major positive was that it served as a bit of a review for that brief segment of Japanese classes. Having said that, its more of a tourist destination, a decent lagoon, though major shopping centers, exquisite dining facilities, and a plethora of souvenir shops are the primary focal point.

Keeping Cairns as the "home base" for the next few days, we incorporated chilling, a hike within the Tablelands, and a day at the reef. The Atherton tablelands, again are quite majestic from a natural wonder perspective � a few hours of hiking take you to waterfalls, aboriginal lands, and just sheer, well, for lack of a better word, natural wonders. One of the more eye-opening sites was a tree dubbed the "Cathederal", the age of which is yet to be determined despite carbon dating attempts, though the general consensus amongst the more "learned" is that it is over 500 years in age. Can't remember the poet, but there was one who posed the query as to how many hear a tree when it falls � or rather, does a tree cry when it falls. Given the size of this beaut, reckon its safe to say the entire coast would hear this majestic structure.

The following morning we headed to a reef school, which was quite an aid in terms of preparing for a dive at the reef. A two hour lecture constituting of the different fish, and corals, the hazards posed by each, with sporadic quizzes demanding identification of the particular class of fish based on its colors, characteristics, and the changes in behavior when either you, or the fish, should be afraid. Apparently some of these critters change colors either to warn off (experienced first-hand the following day), or to hope that you get out of their faces. In the same lecture, it was rather politely queried as to why someone like Irwin attempted to pull out the stinger � while there is a sharp end, a sample was shown, which depicted jagged, saw-like edges traversing the tool � which surely would have done the man more harm than good when he tried to yank it out.

The next day was the Reef � Mackinsons was chosen as the diving spot, given that it is part of the innermost plateaus of the 3,000 island constellation, and quite a serene location, owned by, no, not people, but local indigenous birds.

And then, just as it had all begun, it came to an end � a realization that when man considered dog bites to be a concern, he conveniently ignored the venomous bite that reality constitutes. A journey of approximately 3,000kms, dotted with subjourneys to cities, beaches, crocodile hunting tours, and within the seas, had suddenly come to an end. An early morning flight out of Cairns, and at 1pm, I was back where it all began � wondering when the next exam will be � wondering what the future holds � wondering which door will force itself open and consume me within its mazy taverns, allowing me to begin writing another chapter in this voluminous journey that is life.

Publication Date: 09-19-2008

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