Author: Michael Eaton

So I made it to Byron Bay. An eleven hour train ride and a one hour bus ride later. But I made it.

I didn’t realize that the hostel was so far away from the main town, which isn’t that big to begin with. I had to walk another 30 minutes to get to the hostel.

When I arrived I was questioned by the staff on duty. She decided to put me in a private room and strongly encouraged me to go to the hospital down the road and get tested for COVID-19. Once they were sure I was healthy they could put me in a dorm room, which was what I originally had booked.

I woke up this morning with the intention of going early but the weather called for heavy rain. And the forecast was not wrong. So I decided to wait until the afternoon to head over there.

The weather broke at about one o’clock and I started walking towards the hospital. The hospital was about an hour away on foot. I would have taken the bus but the public transport isn’t all that great here. The next bus wasn’t scheduled to arrive at the hospital until well after three o’clock and I didn’t want to get there that late. The testing clinic was scheduled to close at 4 PM.

It rained on the way there but nothing too bad. I had my poncho with me and that kept me dry for the most part.

When I arrived a little after two o’clock I was told that I would have to come back earlier in the day tomorrow. They had too many people to test today and they didn’t have the time to add another name to the list.

That was disappointing because I wanted to get back into a dorm room and start socializing with the people here. I’ve had to keep my distance until now. And I’ll have to continue to do so until I get tested tomorrow. I’m not even sure when I’ll get the results back. Hopefully it’s later the same day or the next day.

On the way back to the hostel it poured. Seriously torrential rain. Like a monsoon. All I could do was laugh. I was soaked and you get so wet that you just continue walking. You can’t get any more wet at that point so it doesn’t matter.

I did see a nice double rainbow on the walk back and that was pretty cool. Definitely not one of the best days I’ve had but I have to laugh this one off and stay positive. I knew heading into this that not every day was going to be easy. It’s days like these that test your character and your resilience.

I had one more major park to visit in Sydney (I think) and I took the trip yesterday. From Bondi Beach the walk took about two hours but it was a fairly nice day. I was able to walk mainly along the shore so I didn’t mind the distance.

My first week here I walked from Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach. It’s a very famous walk that most tourists visit. This time I did the walk in the opposite direction so I was able to see things from a different point of view.

When I got to Coogee I had a little bit to eat and explored the area around the beach. I hadn’t taken the time to do that when I first visited over a month ago. It definitely doesn’t feel like it’s been that long!

Workers looked like they were taking down the barricades by the beach which is a good sign. They wouldn’t be taking them down if the restrictions weren’t going to be lifted soon.

Malabar Park was maybe another 45 minutes up the road. It’s been a bit chillier in Sydney the last few days and the wind was blowing pretty hard. But the walk was still quite nice because the sun was shining.

The cliffs here are a bit larger than the ones you see near Bondi. About halfway into the walk, I arrived at Magic Point which is a good place to hang out and have lunch. During WWII they built a few bunkers along the coast to protect the harbor. I sat in one of them for a while and just thought about my current situation. The view from there was really beautiful.

I continued on to Boora Point which is the most easterly part of the park. Across the bay, I could see the golf course that they built right along the cliff’s edge. It looked like a really challenging course and it gave me the itch to play again.

I’ve made the decision to head out of Sydney on Monday. After a month and a half here I am ready to see something different. I’m ready to meet new people. And I’m ready to get back into the warmer weather.

I made another new discovery on this side of the city yesterday. I was dead set on getting out of the hostel for most of the day and I found another park nearby that I hadn’t had a chance to visit. So around mid-day I set off to check it out.

I stopped for lunch near Rose Bay which is about a 45-minute walk from Bondi Beach. I met this Australian couple on my walk around the public park there. They were talking about Americans and how they use Amazon for everything. So I butted in and started chatting them up real quick.

As I approached Nielson Park I checked the map and saw that they was a small walking trail along the water that would also take me there. So of course I decided to check that out. It was actually quite nice. A legitimate hike right along the coast. I was able to duck down onto some trails that led to the water’s edge and the views of the Sydney skyline were pretty awesome.

Every so often I would stumble upon these small beaches. It had me thinking that they would be the perfect place to watch the famous fireworks show on New Years Eve.

The houses out here are huge and some of them have back doors that just open up onto the trail. The small beaches kind of function like their own private beach which I thought was pretty cool. You have to make a lot of money to live in this area!

The trail wasn’t too long – maybe about a 30 to 45 minute walk. At that point I got into Nielson Park. Not much going on here. The views from the walk up were a bit nicer than what the park had to offer. But I made my way to the very edge of the park. It has a cool name – Bottle and Glass Point.

I sat here for a while and just watched the sailboats make their way around the bay. It was a really relaxing time. I’m definitely thankful that I have the ability to see things like this when most of the world is on lockdown.

I think I am going to move on from Sydney once my stay in Bondi is up on the 4th. I am still unsure if I’m going to rent a car or take a train all the way to Byron Bay. But I feel like moving on and seeing something new. I have that sense of adventure again.

Today I was able to get out of the city. The destination was Blue Mountain National Park. Luckily my new roommate has a car and he was able to drive us the two hours there.

I was thinking about heading there for the last few weeks. It’s really something you should see if you’re going to be in Sydney. But the long commute by train put me off from going.

When we got there we did a bit of a hike down the cliff face and got to a point where the views were really awesome. There were points that were a bit scary. Just a staircase built into the cliffside. But it was like we had the park to ourselves. There weren’t many other people there. Maybe we ran into two or three other groups of people while we were walking around.

When we got to the bottom of the walk we emerged onto a platform that usually serves as the unloading station for the rail car that runs people back and forth. I imagined how busy it would be on a normal Sunday. Today it was only us. It was very peaceful.

I feel good after getting out of the city for a bit. Blue Mountain National Park has been on my list of things to do while I’m here in Sydney. So that was a win for me.

I’m still toying around with the idea of renting a car and cruising around the state for a week or so. Make my way up the coast and check out some cool spots before I head back to the United States.

I’m just not sure how feasible it will be with the social distancing measures in place. Will police stop me if they see me traveling alone in a car? Will people be upset that I am cruising around and doing touristy things in their town? I want to have a good time but I also don’t want to get into too much trouble while I’m here. We will see. I still have time to decide.

I’ve been gone the last five days but that’s mostly because there really has’t been much going on. At this point it just feels like I’m waiting to go back home and just finding different ways to spend the time between now and then.

Most days I take a walk along the beach and stop every so often to read and take in the scenery. I will say this, I am very grateful to be here in Sydney of all places. It really is a beautiful city, especially out here near the ocean. The cliffs along the coast remind me of California or even the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland.

The beaches are closed but that’s not stopping many people from heading to the water and having a swim. A lot of the coves in the area are just rock formations without any sand beach. So people have been coming out in droves to take advantage of the beautiful weather. It’s not easy for the police to break up the party in these areas.

They have been doing a good job around Bondi though. Several times over the last few days I’ve decided to hang out in the grassy area overlooking the beach. And each time I’ve been told to move along by officers. Mind you I’m not near anyone. Most people doing the same are respecting the social distancing rules. But nonetheless we get told to move along.

I understand why they don’t want sunbathing in the park. If it’s allowed then soon it will get very crowded. But it feels frustrating to be constantly chased away from hanging out in the sun when you aren’t doing anything wrong.

Today I took a walk to South Head which is one of the points where Sydney Bay starts. The walk took about an hour and a half from Bondi but it was definitely worth it. Most of the time I was able to walk along or near the cliffs edge which was really nice. It was a clear day and there were so many boats out on the water.

It’s pretty cool to see how many small beaches are scattered around the bay. Obviously Bondi is the major beach but you find so many smaller ones. And the water looks pretty clean. It just seems like a really pleasant place to live.

When I finally reached Watsons Bay I hung out at the lighthouse and watched the boats and the birds on the water. I read a bit as well and then turned back for home. It probably is a great place to watch the sunset but I didn’t feel like hanging out for that long. I think it’s a place that I will visit again before I leave.

Tuna is done differently in New Zealand and Australia. Sure they have your typical tuna in a can swimming in either water or oil. But it doesn’t stop there. They’re selling tuna premixed in other flavors and it’s a game-changer.

We’re talking pop the tuna out of the can, throw it on some toast or crackers, and you have yourself a meal. It’s been extremely convenient for me while moving around. Sweet Chili has been my favorite so far. When I make tuna back home I always throw a little hot sauce and honey in there and this mimics that pretty well.

The Mild Indian Curry flavor is also an honorable mention. Not sure what it is but this thing tastes like a Sloppy Joe which I haven’t had in a really long time.

The weirdest I’ve seen is Mayonnaise and Corn flavor. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t taste bad. The mayo is a little on the light side for my taste but it was edible. But who in their right mind is mixing corn and mayonnaise? It seems like an odd combo to me.

Anyway, I’m pretty disappointed that we don’t have this going on back in the United States. I understand there are cultural differences. Not all products are going to sell the same from country to country. But I’d have to think that flavored tuna in a can would be a hit.

Maybe a business idea to pursue?

There’s been a lot of talk about how we are going to curb the spread of this disease once the lock-down measures are lifted. We aren’t going to be able to return to life as we knew it unless we figure out a way to solve this problem on a large scale. A vaccine is one solution. But that seems a long way off. I don’t think the population at large is willing to (or actually can) wait that long.

Health and government officials keep talking about the ability to trace who has come in contact with the virus. If we can do this effectively it can be a key tool for us. This will allow medical personnel to make sure that people that might be infected are locked away for a few weeks and kept away from all the healthy virus-free people.

Smartphones make technological tracing possible. Turn on your Bluetooth and allow it to interact with other gadgets while you go about your day. If someone tests positive for the coronavirus they mark it down in the app and we all get a lovely notification telling us we might be screwed.

It seems easy enough. Officials in a variety of countries have already touted this method as a gamechanger. And I have no doubt it can be. Applications are already out there and people are using them.

I’ve heard a lot about an app like this called TraceTogether the last few days while here in Australia. A certain percentage of the population needs to be using it for it to be effective (the number I’ve been hearing is 40%). And if not enough people opt-in voluntarily then the government has toyed with the idea of making it compulsory.

The government is going to try to give everyone a chance to “make the right decision”. They’ll attempt to sway people by appeasing to their conscience. We can save lives if we do it this way. And I think that is important. No doubt. It’s going to be a difficult decision to make for a lot of people.

If that fails I’m sure the government will dangle it in front of people like a technological carrot. Step this way and you can have your life back. I think there’s a good portion of the population that would jump on that. On the whole, we value our social lives and daily pleasures more than we value our personal freedoms.

But I think whichever way you look at it it’s going to be a bad trade for us. Of course, government officials are going to say that our personal data is going to be protected. Facebook and Experian said the same thing. The fact of the matter is that nothing is perfectly safe in the cyber world.

And losing personal information is not the scariest thing to me. What scares me the most is losing my right to privacy. Privacy is a personal freedom. And the thought that a government can mandate I use software that can diminish my right to privacy makes me uncomfortable. At least with Facebook, I have some choice in the matter.

Let’s face it, it’s easy to make bad decisions when we are afraid or frustrated. We’ve all been locked inside for almost a month now and we desperately want our old lives back. But what price are we willing to pay to get back to normal? Once we give this type of freedom away there is almost no way of getting it back. And I think that’s worth thinking about.

The weather has been fantastic here the last few days. I’ve been walking around and seeing new areas around the city that I haven’t checked out before.

On Wednesday I headed east towards the downtown area. Past the part with all the big buildings and right into the Botanical Garden. I’m not sure if this is the biggest park in Sydney but it’s definitely the biggest park that’s within walking distance.

I did a little bit of exploring around here when I first arrived. The hostel I was originally staying in was on this side of the city. But I got to explore more of the park today.

It’s honestly gorgeous. Most of the park is nestled right up against the water and I just walked the path along it. My destination was Mrs. Macqueries Chair, a favorite hangout spot for one of the governor’s wives. There’s a sandstone bench carved by the convicts for her to sit on and everything.

Today was a cloudier day but I still got about two hours worth of walking in. This time I went the other direction. Away from the downtown area. For the first half I was able to walk along the water again. The park was called Blackwattle Bay Park and the views of the Anzac Bridge and the skyline were, again, very good.

I’m really starting to like Sydney. I realized that I’ve never spent as much time in one city as I’ve spent in Sydney (besides New York of course). It honestly doesn’t feel like I’ve been here for five weeks. It seems like I’ve been here for longer.

The only real gripe I have is with the crossing lights. You can not imagine how long it takes for these things to change. You can easily wait for the light to change for two or three minutes. You’d think that you have the right away but still, it doesn’t change. Compared to NYC it feels like it is taking forever.

There are times when literally both cars and people are stopped at the intersections and it seems no one is alerted to move along. The first week I was here I would obey the lights because I was still getting used to the cars driving on the left side of the road. And I still do when I’m at a busy intersection. But it must drive the people that live here mad having to deal with this.

The last two days here were absolutely beautiful. So I took advantage and got outside to walk around a little bit.

On Saturday I walked for about three hours. Down into the CBD area and then out towards the main harbor. It was eerie honestly. Basically a ghost town in the downtown area. I saw buses and trams going by with nobody in them. I might have bumped into three or four people in a thirty-minute stretch.

By the harbor there were more people exercising and just laying out in the park. Observing social distancing measures of course. I found a really great spot to take pictures of the Opera House and I hung out there and soaked up the sun for a bit too.

I walked under the bridge and out the other side of the peninsula to another part that I really enjoyed. There was a park there and it wasn’t crowded at all. The bay is so large here and there are so many trails along the water. Especially where I’m situated now.

It’s turning to fall here and the trees are starting to change color. And I expect the weather to cool down a bit too. If I do go back to the United States it won’t be so bad. I’ll be trading the middle of fall for the middle of spring. Not such a bad deal.

While I was sitting down having coffee yesterday an idea popped into my head. I had been mulling over my options moving forward and I thought it could be possible to convert my Tourist Visa here in Australia to a Working Visa.

It seems Australia has extended the term of Working Visas for a large group of people that chose to stay in the country during this time. As expected, many people went home to be with their families and wait this thing out. This left fewer people to work the menial jobs that the Australian economy relies on We’re talking farmhands, construction, and factory workers.

I did some research and it doesn’t seem like the Tourist Visa can be directly converted into a Working Holiday Visa. I’ll have to apply again for a separate visa. But under normal circumstances the visa application must be submitted when the person is outside of Australia. And it normally takes a month and a half to process.

Obviously right now is not a normal time. So I am going to email the state department here just to see if anything has changed. Perhaps they are in dire need of workers and they are willing to bend the rules.

I am thinking about my ability to make money over the next few months. I have more than enough savings to carry me through this time. But I’d like to have something to do, for financial as well as sanity purposes.

If I come back to the United States I will probably stay with my sister. Thankfully I have that type of safety net. I am very grateful for that. I think it could be possible to work as a seasonal worker over the summer for PwC. But I will have to talk with some of my former colleagues over there.

Due to the economic downturn, they might have put a freeze on bringing in new people. But if I know anything it’s that my former work group is in dire need for knowledgeable help. I think it would be hard for them to turn me down. I won’t know until I have those conversations.

If you told me two months ago that I could be working for PwC again this year I would have told you that you were crazy. But here we are. Strange times indeed.