Week 1: Van, Japan & Melbourne

Hi everyone, Bryn here! So sorry for the delay in posting but we have had a busy first week. Long flights, lots of walking, and figuring out how to drive on the ‘wrong’ side of the road. Also, Mitchell and I have been having a heck of a time trying to get these photos to upload... captions are there but photos have yet to come.

We started the journey from Vancouver, after a night with some physio friends and, as always, great hospitality at the Shack (which will be no longer when we return 😢). Our flights were about 9 hours each with a stop in Narita, Japan. I highly recommend Japan Airlinea as the food was great and even catered to this glutard! 

I was quickly labelled

We had 19 hours in Japan and though it was the middle of the night for us, we fought through the fatigue and hopped on the train to check out some of Narita. Things I noticed: 1) It’s so clean! Mitchell got an ice cream cone and we were scared we weren’t allowed to eat on the streets. 2) Everyone was very friendly and polite. 3) They have very Canadian sushi (at least close to the airport). 4) Kids were just getting out of school at 6pm?!

When we had no more energy, we went back to the airport and slept in a capsule hotel (so crazy)! It was separated into male and female and the beds were basically bathtubs. The toilets though...as long as the pressure wasn’t too high it was a satisfying experience.

9h capsule hotel 

Japanese toilet control panel

Once in Aus, we spent the first five nights in Melbourne at an air bnb downtown (the CBD). The trains were very easy to navigate, so we checked out a lot of the city and drank copious amounts of their great coffee, while trying to get over the jet lag. It was amazing how many people we were able to connect with in this first week (shoutouts to come at the end). 
Highlights while in the city:

1. Going to the Australian Open. Even though it was 42 degrees and I had my first ‘welcome to Australia’ hangover it was a very impressive production. How those athletes played for hours in that heat I will never understand. I was sitting in the shade and had sweat in places I’ve never sweat before (the less said about that the better).  The Australian sun is so intense, even Will Smith looked sun kissed at the open (we just missed him and Mitchell was very disappointed).

Australian Open photo op!

2. My first cricket match. I had no idea what was going on the whole time, but I had my first (gf) meat pie and got to meet up with an old friend. Said friend took us out and again, gave me an Aussie hangover (Thanks again Tim).  Also, we were only a few minutes late to the MCG but late enough to just miss Will Smith (again) run a lap around the field.

Gluten free meat pie for the win!

3. The beaches. Particularly Brighton beach with the iconic bathing boxes, and St. Kilda beach. 

The iconic bathing boxes of Brighton beach

4. The ‘secret’ bars. Our friends took us to a place called ‘Pizza Pizza Pizza’ which at first looked like your very basic alleyway Pizza joint... That was until they asked for the secret menu! We were shown through a back door where there was a whole bar playing the best classic 90s hip hop. One cocktail cost $18 but hey, my mind was blown. Worth it.

After all this fun we picked up our campervan and headed towards the Great Ocean Road with a night in Geelong, again visiting friends. They took us to the beach where we got our own chance to hit a cricket bat and realize how terrible we were. We saw flying foxes (bats), beautiful water, and grilled some great food on the ‘Barbie.’ 

Home Sweet Home

And now, the big moment I promised to talk about: Skydiving!

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. If you ever have the chance to do it, make sure you do. I was scared for days leading up to it, with butterflies even hearing the word. For some reason, though, once I was geared up and heading to the plane all fears ceased. Ok, ALL may be an exaggeration but I was weirdly calm. My tandem instructor and I were last in the plane which meant I had to jump first 😳. The plane hit about 12,000 feet, the pilot opened the door and next thing I knew I was dangling from the edge for what felt like an eternity. I yelled a few profanities and then BAM, we were floating seamlessly through the sky. I really can’t explain what that felt like but I’m not sure I’ve ever had a bigger smile on my face (the wind force may have helped). I remember doing a few flips and being so in the moment that I was slightly disappointed when the parachute opened. Ryan (the instructor) was rad and did a few wild spins and even let me steer the chute. I had an absolutely incredible view of the white sand beaches and turquoise blue water; I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. [Side note: if contemplating skydiving and you have bungee jumped, this was SO much better and way less terrifying]. I immediately called my mom as this is totally her jam and she loves skydiving and I spoke about a million miles a minute. A family jump is now in order (minus a couple members, whom I won’t name). 

Ok. I think I’ve learned my lesson to maybe do more frequent posts. This has been hard to remember everything already. 

So to end, we have started our journey on the Great Ocean Road and the views cannot be captured on an iPhone but I will keep trying. We are learning how to be efficient while living the Van life. Tomorrow we have huge plans to drive, surf and search for koalas 🐨. Life is hard.

View looking west from just east of Aireys Inlet

G’night mates xo.

Special thanks to: Michael and Tash Castellano, Nathan Kinicki and Jess, Tim Furness, Scott Lang, Sara and Tim Terenery for the rides, food, drinks, surfboards, sport, hospitality, hilarious conversations, and great company. We will forever be grateful for you all and can’t wait to have you back in Canada anytime!