Now I’m back home in Norway, and more precice Rørvik in Nord Trøndelag (middle part of Norway).
I’ve had a few days to get used to the cold winter and getting rid of the jet lag one by one hour, but still waking up early and feeling tired&exhausted most of the day.

Anyway - I had this idea to show the difference (or similarity?) between Sydney and Rørvik, and here it is:

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It is the sad truth, but I’m leaving Australia now.
Haven’t been doing much lately, except being lazy! Cinema now and then, going to the pool&beach a few times, doing a Bondi-Coogee-walk, and except that not much.
Have sold my fridge, bed, stools and tables - giving away my TV and kitchenware and some other small stuff, and as normally down here: put everything you don’t want or can’t get rid of out on the street.

Went out to Manly and met up with Kristi and Tanja (who left for Switzerland via Tokyo today) and dipped my toe for the last time (at least for now) in the water. Been at Macquarie University today with Andre to try to sell my old school books, but they only wanted to buy one of them back, so gotta find some other solution for the rest.
The next couple of days will be used to clean out everything that is still in the apartment. On Wednesday I might go to see this Amazing Human Body Exhibition in Olympic Park - dead people without skin and cut in half

And by the way… it is 35 degrees outside now

… Wednesday evening I’m going out with some friends to a restaurant so that they can celebrate that I’m finally leaving! And then my flight leaves on Thursday afternoon and I’ll be back home in Trondheim noon on Friday.

Travel day to New Zealand came - and all measures had been taken to ensure that I’d wake up early enough, which I did luckily…

However; came to the airport, paid my ‘change in booking’ fee and was going through the check-in when I was asked for my return ticket from NZ to AU - something I didn’t have. Things quickly turned nasty as I couldn’t buy a return ticket there and then to Australia since I obviously didn’t have a valid visa to enter Australia at a later date. Their suggested solution was to put me on a plane back to Norway, which I of course neither would or could afford there and then.
So instead of boarding the plane I had to go back to Sydney city while the plane left me for the second time in two days - what a ***** last few days it has been!

Visited DIMIA (the Australian immigration department) which ’sold’ me a bridging/tourist visa for AUD 200.

So what’s the end of the story? I have to go back home to Norway in 1-2 months without enjoying life Down Under any more

Yeah, I’m the unlucky guy. Added up all the stuff I’ve lost somehow during the last year (2 mobile phones, 1 iPod, 1 jacket, laptop, mp3 player, digital camera ++) and its about AUD4000!

Anyway; was supposed to go to New Zealand yesterday to apply for a Work&Travel visa in Australia (you have to apply from outside Australia) so that I can work and live the happy life Down Under. Unfortunately on Saturday I somehow lost my wallet with cas, drivers license, some other cards, and my Visa credit card! Worst possible time something like that could happen - just two days before going on a holiday, and without any realistic chances of actually getting a new credit card in due time.
Fortunately I’ve got really good friends here that helps out fantastically by lending me money and a credit card. What a deal!

But as I started this post I’m the unlucky guy. Was supposed to wake up early this morning to get out to the airport, but I really messed up by hiding my alarm clock (e.g. mobile phone) so good that I couldn’t hear it and of course overslept! Shakingly I managed to change my ticket so that I can leave tomorrow (which I have to since my student visa expires then). Cost me 100 bucks, but what can I do?

Hopefully I’ll wake up in due time tomorrow morning and get myself onto the airplane leaving for Auckland/New Zealand. Staying there the whole time and trying not to spend much money (hopefully). Another thing is of course that DIMIA’s (the immigration department in Australia) web site for applying for visas have been down for over a week, so instead of applying online and getting a response within a couple of days I might have to visit DIMIA’s office in Auckland and apply on paper - which means 3-4 weeks! Something that I of course won’t do, and instead will go back to Australia as a tourist.

Going back to Sydney
19th December 2005

It had to have an end, and it was our last day. Cable Beach, supposedly one of the best beaches in the world, was our target for half a day. The water was warm, too warm. I didn’t even believe Tanja when she told me it was hot =)
It is rain season up north, and on our last day it would also rain for the first time since Perth. During a 10-15 minute rain shower it flooded the streets of Broome, but it just took a couple of hours to dry it up.

We also met Markus who would fly back to Perth and Sydney with us, so that he could deliver off his rental car. We spent some time at a restaurant at Cable Beach for some beer before we headed off to The Broome Crocodile Park. In the croc farm we saw plenty of crocodiles and alligators (what a smell!), and could even pet a couple of month old crocodile, which purpose was to become food and handbags.
In the evening it was time for us to deliver our rental car and fly back to Sydney via Perth. Leaving Broome with 30-35 degrees with up to 80% humidity in the evening and arriving in Sydney the next morning with 17 degrees and a lot less humidity… really good to be back!