16th-33rd day October 01 - October 18th At the Spencer family

Monday October 1st.

Today I walked along the beach one last time and got some exercise. In the afternoon, Hanna Spencer picked me up and took me to her family's house. On the way home, we did some shopping and I noticed the expensive groceries in Australia, costing over 200$.

When we arrived at the house, I also met Matthew, the father, besides Samuel and Katja.

I immediately felt at home at the Spencers. The house, which is located in a beautiful settlement in Woree, also had a separate room for me.

Tuesday October 2nd.

On the first morning at the Spencers', I familiarized myself with the house, cleaned a lot, did laundry, and fed the chickens and guinea pigs. In the afternoon, I went for a run but it turned out to be quite a long run. I saw a beautiful forest path, so I ran it and covered a total distance of 22km. Note to self: "I'm crazy!". Luckily, it was cloudy and partly rainy because I forgot to use sunscreen. Despite the clouds and rain, I got a slight sunburn. I can't even imagine how I would have looked on a sunny day. In the evening, I played with Samuel and Katja.

Wednesday October 3rd.

Today I continued cleaning. Since it's school holidays, the kids were out with Grandma Julie. So I had more time for myself.

Thursday October 4th.

Since both Matthew and Hanna work full-time, I offered to babysit on Thursday and Friday. So I spent the whole day with both kids. Overall, it was really fun and nice, but at the end of the day, I decided for myself that I would never become a professional babysitter, because it's too exhausting for me. In the evening, I sat on the couch with Hanna and we chatted a lot and had a good time, in German of course.

Friday October 5th.

Today, I also took care of the kids again, but today everything was much easier. The neighbor kids Napa and Selina were visiting and they played with me all day. Both of them have Aboriginal parents, but they are very kind and well-behaved. At noon, I made pizza for all of us, but with burritos instead of pizza dough.

It was really delicious.

Saturday October 6th.

Today, Matthew, the kids, and I went on a little trip on the sailboat. We went to the harbor, a small jetty where Matt's dinghy was moored. A small plastic boat with 18HP. We drove along the big creek in the harbor to the sailboat. There, we took a crab pot and threw it into a small tributary. Then we went back to land and briefly visited a flea market.

Sunday October 7th.

Today was a very calm day. I did some cleaning, but most of the time we were all just relaxing. The kids had a small pool and they had lots of fun with it.

In the late afternoon, we went out with the boat again, planning to retrieve the crab pot, but unfortunately, it was gone. Matthew told me that it was either stolen or taken by a crocodile, although a thief is more likely.

Monday October 8th.

Today was another regular day. Cleaning, vacuuming, feeding the animals... In the afternoon, I met up with Lisa because she's flying to Sydney the next day. She has several job interviews there and plans to stay in Sydney for a longer time. Since the Woree district is a bit far away, I always get around on Hanna's old bicycle. But what I didn't know and what Julie, Matt's mother, pointed out to me, is that wearing a helmet is mandatory for cyclists in Australia. And from that point on, I always wore a helmet to avoid a fine of more than 100$.

Tuesday October 9th - Friday October 12th.

During these days, not much happened. I took care of the household, bought a 3L drinking bag on eBay and picked it up, wrote my resume in English at Matthew's workshop, and called multiple companies and sent out job applications.

Saturday October 13th.

This morning, I was on a sailing boat with Matt. It's a really nice ship, but honestly rustic, no interior and still a lot of work to do. We sanded the deck a bit and painted special paint on it. The ship has a very interesting history: It was built in the Netherlands and several decades ago, Spanish people sailed around the world with this ship. Off the coast of Cairns, this boat sank and Matthew bought it for a very cheap price. That's why it is in its current condition, but it's seaworthy and that's what matters.

Monday October 15th.

Yesterday, I talked to Matthew and decided that I want to get a motorboat license in Australia. Said and done. Today, I enrolled there and immediately read through the many theory parts online. The whole topic is very well illustrated and explained in videos.

Tuesday October 16th.

Nothing special happened in the last few days. I took care of the household, fed the animals, had dinner with the family in the evening, and played with the children. In the evening, I booked a rental car to drive to Port Douglas the next day and inspect a potential car.

Wednesday October 17th.

At 8 am, Hanna took me to the car rental company where I got my red, small, old Hyundai Getz. And now it's time for me to drive on the left side of the road for the first time, and with a manual gearbox, too.

Driving itself went very well, but the adjustment is really not easy. At every crossroad, you have to know in advance which lane you want to turn into. I also frequently mix up the lever for the windshield wipers and the turn signals out of old habit. So I set off to Port Douglas with a stopover in Palm Cove, an upscale holiday area with many expensive hotels and a beautiful sandy beach with palm trees.

Once I arrived in Port Douglas, I headed to the beach where I laid on the beach, swam, and enjoyed the sun for the first time in several weeks.

In between, I also talked on the phone with Monika and chatted with Katrin. Then I walked a bit further uphill, which turned out to be a fantastic view of the city and the beach. Later, I strolled through the town and shopping street, bought a rash guard t-shirt, and had a very delicious ice cream (also the first one in Australia).

Afterward, I went to my first car inspection, a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, a very big car with a lot of accessories, including a roof tent, and owned by a French couple who traveled all over Australia. It's a very good car, with Western Australia registration, but at 9,900$, it's not within my price range.