Christmas Update

Hope everyone had an awesome Christmas! We spent most of our Christmas lounging on the beach and having some well deserved beer. Not much for updates still working at the blueberry farm near Corindi Beach, NSW. We were suppose to work today but only got an hour in as it started raining! That means only 12 AUD made today. Instead, I decided to update the blog and get a few pictures posted. Enjoy!

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Christmas Update

Arts Factory

Now that we are safely out of the Arts Factory Lodge, I feel O.K. writing a review about them. Warning: This review will probably sound a bit negative to begin with but persevere through. When we arrived at the Arts Factory we had practically ran over from our previous hostel after being told there was a camp site available but they could not hold it for us.  Lugging our luggage 2 km did not put us in the best of moods: we were a bit grumpy.

Luckily they let us move in to our "camp site", which we found was barely an 8 x 8 piece of dirt amongst loads of other tents.  It brought to mind images of a shanty town or a homeless tent city.  There was only a few feet between each tent, negating any privacy you might think you have.  There were markers where campsites used to be, but were no longer heeded. So, the campsite leads a bit to be desired, especially at 16 AUD per person per night, the most expensive campsite I have ever paid.  On top of that the internet provided was through Global Gossip, and hence, 4 AUD per HOUR!  If you have the proper tools, however, the WEP network can be had for free.

Besides that the vibe at the place was very chill, and the people very friendly.  The staff especially were very nice and definitely super helpful, though it was annoying that we had to come to them and place a deposit every time we wanted to use cooking utensils. The social atmosphere was a bit cliche as some of the people in the campground had been around for a while.  You get the feeling that many of the residents are playing hippy for a summer on mum and dad's credit card.  That said, they certainly know how to party and it is easy to find mind-altering substances, if you're into that. We were able to secure accommodation jobs after a week cleaning bathrooms and the hostel kitchen.  This paid for our rent in exchange for around 10 hours a week of work each.

I would say it is a bit of hype when people say, "Best Hostel in Australia," but it did have a certain charm to it.  It is the kind of place, as is Byron Bay, that you wish you could have been to 10 years ago.  That said, we had a good time there and would definitely recommend it for people who have enough time and money to really enjoy the atmosphere of the place.

Blueberry Ticklers

We got picking jobs!! Matt and I are now working on a blueberry farm!

On Tuesday we left Byron and the Arts Factory (finally!) and took a bus down the coast to this little town called Corindi Beach. Well, technically, we took the bus past Corindi to Woolgoolga and had to take a taxi back up. The only reason I mention this is because the name is so awesome.

Here in Corindi we're staying at the Caravan Park, which is mostly pensioners (old folks) and families here for the holidays, though there are a fair amount of other travelers like ourselves. In fact, many of them also work with us at the blueberry farm, and we were lucky enough to meet two German guys who drive there! The farm is fairly big, and seems to be practically the whole reason this town even exists, though the beach is really nice, too.

After our indoor orientation yesterday morning, they sent us out into the fields to begin working. We met our supervisors, who told us the best way to pick blueberries quickly was to grab a branch and 'tickle' the ripe berries off of it. Though this sounded really funny at the time, we are quickly becoming expert berry ticklers! Hopefully we should be able to make good money doing this and have enough to buy a sweet caravan in no time at all.

We are already making decent money after a small scare, we thought the pay rate was based on trays as opposed to kilos! Our current rate is $2.40 AUD per day. We picked at a rate of $13 AUD a day so far!

We've been trying to think of something special to do or someplace to go for Christmas, but in truth, this seems like as good of a place as any. The beach is beautiful (and right next to the park), there's a pub down the road, and plenty of nice people to enjoy the holidays with.

Adventures in and Around Byron

Sorry for the lack of updates on actual travel, we have been more obsessed with reporting on goon then anything else.  We took a trip to Nimbin a few days ago.  As I remembered from last time, 2 hours is more then enough time to venture around this one road town.  Nimbin is the epicenter for cannabis in Australia, it is where the Australia's version of Woodstock happened in '74.  Now it is a mere shadow of what it once was, in truth, kind of depressing.  Scores of tourists are bused in every day for one purpose, to get high.  People come to buy their pot, look at some weird shit--and there is a lot of weird shit in this town--and leave.  You can buy pot cookies from vendors on the street.  If you venture into the alleys you can buy cannabis from dealers who seem very worried about police but are openly pulling out buds and stuffing them into ziplock baggies.  A very strange experience indeed.  For us, the trip was pretty non eventful until digestion had taken place an hour or so later when we were safely back at camp.  I was almost unable to get myself up to clean the hostel kitchen, so the day was both delightful and trying.

After much procrastination, we took a sunset trip to the Byron Bay lighthouse today.  After a long, sweaty walk with an Eagle Boys pizza in tow, we made it.  After celebrating with said pizza we explored the most easterly point of Australia, finding a nice cozy spot on some grass near the ocean.  The sunset was pretty spectacular:

a few goons!

So we've gotten really behind on our goon reviews, been too busy working at the hostel and trying to find jobs. This is generally unsuccessful, leading us to drink more, but not feel like writing about them. However, it has become time to catch up (as best I can).

Coolabah - Fruity Lexia
don't remember $ - 4 litres - 9.5%

Blended from selected white grape varieties, this is a refreshing fruity wine with a luscious depth of grape flavour on the palate and a rich flowery bouquet.

This goon does indeed have a strong grape flavor. It tastes like juice and doesn't get you drunk; might as well be juice. Also who knows what a fruity lexia is anyway?

bottom line: Not worth drinking. (However, Matt would like to add that this wine would act as "a good panty dropper for 16 year olds." I do not condone this statement.)

Rating (scale of 2-29): 5


Next we drank some goon that Matt knows about. I know that it was from Stanley Wines, and it was red, but seeing as I finished the last of the Fruity Lexia before beginning this one, I really couldn't tell you much about it.


Most recently (including while writing this) we have been drinking this lovely selection:
Sovereign Point - Soft Fruity Red
$9.99 - 4.4 litres - 12.5%

A well rounded, fruity red that compliments our relaxed, Australian lifestyle. Enjoy on its own, around the barbecue, or as part of that special dining experience. Goes with almost any food and any occasion.

I like that this wine tells me its a bit of an 'everyman'. Good with all foods, but not perfect with any. This wine is generic, as expected from its name; Soft Fruit Red is not a type of wine! That said, this wine is definitely drinkable and goes with just about any situation. Yesterday Matt and I picked it up (fairly cheap, I might add), took it down to the beach, and it certainly showed us a good time!

Tonight we had some with dinner (see picture) during a tremendous thunderstorm. Its definitely nice to drink a goon that tastes good and will actually get you sauced before you get full. This wine is dryer than I would have expected considering that its labeled as a fruity red, but overall, definitely a good buy.

Rating (scale of 2-29): 17

Sovereign Point - Soft Fruity White

Sovereign Point - Soft Fruity White

$9.99 - 4 litres - 11.0%

The touch of the hot Australia sun brings out the full fruit characteristics in this luscious white. A hint of spiciness, yet soft and easy on the palate.  The perfect accompaniment to just about any meal.


The last line of their description seems to suggest it doesn't go with any meal very well, but regardless of the meal, it will get you sauced.  The wine is very subtle without any bite, this probably can be explained by the lower the expected alcohol content.  Although, it lends itself to be a nice thirst quencher for a overly humid day.  The hint of spiciness is just that, a hint, maybe only a whiff.  At 9.99 AUD, this wine is a steal for those who need something cool during the heat of the day and will still do the trick.

It served as a great conversation wine for a night lounging at the hostel and preparing to see "Into the Wild"  at the Arts Factory's own cinema.   The Softy Fruity Wine was unable to give us much energy to stay awake however and its sleepy qualities over took Jen, causing her to miss most of the movie.


Rating (scale of 2-29): 13

Stanley Wines - Shiraz Cabernet

Hey there!
In accordance with the title of our blog, we've decided to start reviewing all of the goon that we drink. This system may be amended with time and will include aspects of traditional wine reviews as well as our own thoughts and experiences with each lovely box.

So, since we believe every goon deserves a chance, here goes:

Stanley Wines - Shiraz Cabernet
$14.90 - 4 Litres - 13.0%

An appealing medium bodied dry wine exhibiting vanillin oak characteristics and ripe berry fruit flavors. Great with pasta, veal and lamb.


This goon is better than the last one that we drank (unfortunately didn't get to review), though seems watery. I definitely would not even call it a "medium body" as it has no real presence on the tounge, it drinks more like grape juice.
It is quite fruity, though I'm not getting any of the "vanillin oak" they claim. And despite their claim, its not too dry for a shiraz (it is goon after all, it comes in a foil bag).
We drank this goon with potatoes and sausages, but I can definitely see it going well with the foods suggested.
Overall definitely satisfying, would consider buying again if on sale like this one was.

Rating (scale of 2-29): 17

will be back with more once we finish this one!

Picking the best time to Pick

http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2009/11/15/2743324.htm - 15 Nov 2009

Cherry growers in Young in southern New South Wales say they have had a five-fold increase in the number of applicants for picker jobs this season.

This article hit the web one day before we left.  Talk about bad timing!

Hello World

Almost a week into the Australia journey we have a blog!  All the lavish dreams of a nice hosted site with a cool domain name using WordPress have gone to the wayside, as time for that sort of thing is fleeting.  Still getting settled over here, job search is on going but starting, as of today, to look promising.  Currently staying at the Arts Factory in Byron Bay.  The campground and whole complex is real hippy-dippy but has a good vibe so we decided to stay longer then initially planned.

We hit Byron Bay at the worst time imaginable, the town is littered with almost 20,000 schoolies.  Schoolies are all the kids who just graduated from High School and now traditionally spend two weeks mucking it up in various locals around Australia.  Byron Bay happens to be one of them.  Schoolies week is like spring break but with barely legal 18 year old instead of college students.

Currently checking out options wwoofing in case jobs picking fruit take longer then expected to get.  It is slightly harder to get good harvest jobs then I initially thought.