A Solo Travellers Mind

With my travels around the south west coast of Australia coming to an end employment was at the forefront of my mind. My journey to employment lead me to living in Wingham, a small town 40 minutes in land in NSW, where i would be working at the local base hospital. My story in Wingham begins on a sunday with a trip to Ellenborough falls. A very very cool spot 40 minutes away from Wingham. The day involved a hike down to the bottom of the falls, a swim and picnic at the bottom before a hike back to the top! That evening i was dropped off at my motel, the place i would call home for the next month. People could view the motel as a shit hole, but as I’ve been living in and out of hostels for the past year and half, having my own room and ensuite is pretty sweet. The place even had a pool!

I started work the following day and it wasn’t too bad, its a public hospital so much like the NHS its understaffed and the facilities are overstretched, but with a good team and a very good ward manager running the place even when drowning in work you felt pretty supported. After work i met my neighbours, two girlies who i must say have made my time here in this very small country town quite nice. With post work activities including going on runs/walks together, and being wolf whistled by the locals (we are seen as a fresh meat), teaching Sheenal how to swim (a working progress), and exploring the little town we were in. There were a few nice spots including the Wingham brush, a small nature reserve with a family of bats living within, and with the Manning river running through the town there were some cool little viewing spots to find. My first weekend living in the middle of no where actually involved a 4hr trip south, as I’d pre booked tickets to see The Dreggs in a place called Gosford, so i brought Michael a ticket too and we partnered up on the trip. The Dreggs were incredible and its the best $50 I’ve spent in a while. The next day we headed out to Brisbane Waters National Park and spent our day exploring the loop track there, a very cool place, with lots of greenery, cool caves and cliff edges, and a nice wee waterfall at the end to explore. The place once again showed that NSW does have some scenery inland and its not just the coast with good views.

My second week at work was manic in all honesty, with the ward (and hospital) stretched to capacity, you felt like you were always chasing your tail. But we power through in the name of dollar bills and future travel goals! Days off were spent in Forster with Rachellena, where we snorkelled at a place called the tanks, being greeted by many fish. We also went for a beach swim and STUPIDLY swim into a rip, and thus spent a few minutes fighting for our lives (we all make mistakes okay). I also headed to tennis club, meeting a few of the local ladies and having a lesson with their coach, it was a very good few hours and something i’d definitely take up if staying in one place for long enough! The tennis lesson ended in the biggest flash flood I’ve ever witnessed, hearing the rain come towards us before it started balling down and we all got absolutely soaked in a matter of seconds, with the wind and rain so strong you actually couldn’t see a few centimetres in front of you. Me and the girls also headed to a local pub for “Galentines” where food was surprisingly good but the pub vibes were incredibly strange and we left before another locals eyes burned through us (i wish i was exaggerating but in country towns, new people are few and far between, so you do truely stick out like a sore thumb lol). Another day off involved a trip to Taree (the town we actually work in), it’s about 10 minutes up the road by car but its a serious dive. Our trips purpose was for a run (or walk if your Rachellena) along the river, which you’ve guessed it ended in both weird looks and RAIN! Again getting caught in another flash flood. It’s fair to say australia isn’t experiencing a drought this year! This week I also met a very cute kitten which i adopted for a short while before the lady who owned the motel “re-housed it” or if your like me, you’ll suspect she’s actually killed the cat. (Apparently aussies do this to stray cats…)

My days off are always mid week, so week threes days off were Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday was spent doing very little, a short run followed by some time spent by the pool, reading, writing and swimming, before a much required catch up with the girls occurred after a whole 2 days were spent apart (ALOT happens in two days when your a 24 year old women living abroad FYI). Thursday was an adventure day, with me and Rachelena heading on a road trip, first stopping in Sortell where we went for a swim and admired a pretty marvelous coast line, then we headed to Coffs Harbour, stopping in at a relatives house and soaking up what can only be described as the most wonderful wee home theyve created. Saying hello to the variety of animal and enjoying some hola hooping, before driving home, stopping at Port Macquarie light house to watch the waves as sunset. Over all a very cool day exploring a few places id not seen on the east coast yet. This week ended (and the next weekend begun), with weekend night shifts. Ill be honest i despise night shifts, with a passion. While working in the UK i became incredibly ill after a stint of night shifts and its tainted my view of them. Working through the night its self wasn’t too bad, I’ve learnt that i do function better if i don’t sleep mid way through, and i also feel better if i don’t really eat during the shift, however these two night were dreadful… The first was incredibly busy, but by 3am i had caught up with myself and managed to continue the shift pretty stress free. After the shift me and the girls headed out for breakfast at a local cafe, where the post night delirium set in and I’m certain the poor waiter thought we were slightly delusional, however good food was had before we headed to our beds. The second night started crazy, ended crazy and unfortunately also included working with a not so friendly team leader. However we survived, and 7am Monday came around in flash, marking the end of my first set of night shifts in nearly 2 years, and the beginning of my last week here!

Monday afternoon was spent with Angel, a family friend who’d travelled down to visit while the opportunity presented itself. We spent the afternoon catching up while taking a walk through the one and only Wingham Brush. The evening was spent with Rachellena and Sheenal, first having food at the local club and then having a couple of drinks, playing a board game. It was a lovely evening spent together before crashing in for the night. Tuesday morning we headed out for breaky, going to the cafe me and the girls and I went to, having yet another lovely chai latte. We then said goodbye with Angel, making the 4-hour drive back to her home. The rest of the day was a pretty chilled day off for me, some life admin followed by a family walk. However, life in a country town never fails to surprise you when we met a horse outside the local pub that a man brought with him… cute horse too. The day ended with some splish splashing in the pool, with me perfecting my flipping skills and acting much like a seal.

My final week in the country was all over the place, work being busy as ever, and me then being taken down my a migraine (the first in many years), calling for my first sick day in Australia. The week ended with me and the girls heading out for a farewell dinner before mine and Rachelena’s big travel day the following day. We had to drive to Sydney to drop off some things and then drive back up to Newcastle when I’d be staying for a day or 2 before flying to Victoria for another travel experience. My days in Newcastle were spent either completing paperwork for a new agency i was joining or working (making up for the missed day whoopsie). However, i did get to spend my days with a very adorable puppy, so it’s a win-win realy.

Overall, living in the middle of nowhere has been quite fun, surrounded by nice people. It’s not too bad being stuck in a small village for a few weeks. The job wasn’t too bad either, I’m not sure I’d return for a long period, but a short stint here can’t be complained at!