118.-121. Day 11/01 - 14/01 Surfing and work

Friday 11/01

In the morning, I got up and drove back to Catherine Hill Bay.

It's really great to surf there, nice consistent waves and great weather. At noon, I went to Lake Macquarie and made myself some delicious food. Then I went to the next campsite, the Morisset Showgrounds, which cost $10 to camp with toilets and showers. I walked 6 laps (6x500m) and did some sports. In the evening, I met Réré Pac and his French friends. Lorene, a Swiss girl, was also at the campsite. Lorene showed me a Redback Spider in the toilet, one of the deadliest spider species in Australia.

There was a big storm in the evening and we had a cozy evening under the roof with a few beers. Réré also gave me the tip to advertise as an electrician on gumtree to find work.

Saturday 12/01

After breakfast, I posted the ad on gumtree - 'German electrician looking for work' - said goodbye to everyone and drove back to Catherine Hill Bay to surf. When I returned to the car and checked my phone, I had a missed call. When I called back, a man from North Sydney answered, who had read my ad and had work to offer at his home. Of course, I said yes and arranged it for the next day. Happy about this call, I drove south, visited the Norah Heads Lighthouse and the coastal rock formation.

I also visited a lookout nearby and cooked dinner there. Suddenly, three decorated cars and a wedding couple with many friends arrived.

I congratulated the couple, of course, and raised a beer with them to the future. Then I continued to Avoca Beach, where I had been with Carina before. I parked on a side street in the evening and went to bed.

Sunday 13/01

I got up with a lot of energy, enjoyed the sunrise over the sea, and went to St. Ives, a district of Sydney, where I met Jude Arianayagam. He is a friendly Indian, CFO at Thyssen Krupp Elevators in Australia. I installed a fan outside in the pavilion with him, connected two sockets behind his barbecue grill, and then helped him with gardening. Jude also told me that he has more gardening work for me for the next weekends. We got along very well and he was very happy with my work. I also enjoyed it and it felt good to have a conversation with each other over an after-work beer. He also offered me a job, based on his position in the company, on the condition that I shave. I was naturally thrilled and appreciated this offer very much. In the evening, I drove to Narrabeen and slept on a side street.

Monday 14/01

Early in the morning, I got up and looked for a lookout on google maps, the North Bilgola Lookout. I could park there for free, because every other parking lot in this area by the sea costs $10 per hour or $40 for the day, which I definitely didn't want to pay.

So I had breakfast at a beautiful viewpoint with a fantastic view. Suddenly, my phone rang and I received a call from Joseph, an electrician, with whom I arranged a meeting at 1 p.m. on a construction site in Manly. So I made my way there in time and met Joseph. He explained to me that he has a construction site, showed me the site, and he is looking for workers. We agreed on $25 per hour, daily from 7 am to 3 pm, 40 hours per week, and the start was the next day.

WOW, I was overjoyed, a new job for the next few weeks. That had to be celebrated and I treated myself to a beer with a fabulous view.

In the afternoon, I went shopping for tools and in the evening, I returned to the lookout spot. There, I met Pete, a 40-year-old Australian from the area who also lives in a car. We had a very amusing conversation, and later Felipe, 31 years old and from Canada, joined us. Since I had my first working day the next day, I said goodbye and went to bed.