A solo trip from Brisbane to Sydney by car.
A solo trip from Brisbane to Sydney by car.
Since I came to Australia, I’ve always had elder around me, so I didn’t need to make my own decisions nor I don’t have to actively speak English by myself. However, about 2 months have passed, my elders all left Brisbane to other cities in Australia. so, I had decided to leave Brisbane and drived a car south to Sydney like them.
Since I came to Australia, I haven’t had many chances to speak English because I was always going out with older flat mate, but of course the TV and radio were all in English, and once I stepped outside my flat by myself, the signs and conversations were all in English. Also, even though a part-time job, I worked as a dishwasher in Aussie restaurant, the only way of communication was English, so I was immersed in English imperceptibly, albeit passively.
By the way, look at the Australian hit charts around 1985-86…
List of top 25 singles for 1985 in Australia.
Mental As Anything「Live it Up」
Madonna「Crazy for You」
Eurythmics「Would I Lie to You?」
Dire Straits「Money For Nothing」
Foreigner「I Want To Know What Love Is」
Models「Out of Sight Out of Mind」
Murray Head「One Night In Bangkok」
Katrina and the Waves「Walking on Sunshine」
List of top 25 singles for 1986 in Australia.
Billy Ocean「When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going」
Diana Ross「Chain Reaction」
Bananarama「Venus」
Berlin「Take My Breath Away」
Huey Lewis And The News「Stuck With You」
John Farnham「You’re the Voice」
Lionel Richie「Dancing On The Ceiling」
The Communards「Don’t Leave Me This Way」
Bronski Beat「Hit That Perfect Beat」
Whitney Houston「How Will I Know」
Prince & the Revolution「Kiss」
The song that didn’t chart in, but I used to listen to is …
Charlie Sexton「Beat’s So Lonely」
In that time, television and radio were the main media, songs like above were played in heavy rotation.
There are quite many English phrases that I learned from the lyrics of these songs.
With the condition of only a large amount of English input to my brain, I said goodbye to flatmates then left Brisbane by myself.
Heading from Brisbane to Surfers Paradise, and then passing through Palm Beach.
I didn’t have even a map, so I just went south on the Gold Coast Highway, relying on just the road signs.
Head the south on the Gold Coast Highway.
Crossing the border into New South Wales (NSW),
Just drive on the Pacific Highway. A small town appears suddenly after a long bush with nothing, and the night town also passes by.
When I get tired of driving and get sleepy, I looked for a vacant place beside the road, then park the car, recline the seat and go to sleep.
When I wake up, I started the car again.
repetition of it for a few days.
Engine trouble on the Pacific Highway.
I’ve seen hitchhikers on the side of the road several times, but I was a little hesitant to let them into the car because sometimes that could be dangerous.
However, driving alone and listening to the radio all the time, I started to miss other people, so I picked up a hitchhiker. He was a Canadian man.
However, unfortunately, the car stopped working after a while.
I open the bumper of the car and look here and there, but I have no idea what is wrong. Of course the engine does not start.
I felt sorry for him a little bit, but I asked him to find another car, and I was stuck alone there with a car that out of order.
I spent several hours at a loss and unable to do anything.
However, when I turned the cell without thinking, the engine started unexpectedly.
I was not familiar with the structure of the car at all, so I had no idea what had happened, but I decided to head south again.
Big Banana along the Pacific Highway that I heard rumors about.
…it’s not that big… …it’s going to go unnoticed…
It is about 950km from Brisbane to Sydney via the Pacific Highway.
If you drive a good car and speed up a bit, you can get there in about 12 hours.
But it’s a run-down car, so I drove for two hours, let the car rest for an hour, and spend the time wandering around small towns or road side facilities.
On the morning of our second overnight stay in the car, I nibbled on the leftover bucket and started heading south again.
I don’t have a map, so I’m a little confused when there is such an intersection.
Old Sydney Town
“Old Sydney Town” I found while driving on the Pacific Highway.
A theme park and open-air museum that reproduces the city of Sydney from the late 18th century to the early 19th century.
You should definitely enter here.
“Old Sydney Town” was a theme park that opened in 1975, but it was closed as a theme park in 2003, and after that it seems to be used as a movie location and etc.
[reference] Old sydney town – Wikipedia
Arrive in Sydney Australia
After passing Newcastle, I felt relieved that Sydney was already near.
A few hours later I was in Sydney.
I’ve spent three days by myself for the first time in Australia.
I shopped at the market and picked up a hitchhiker. I also ate at the restaurant…
…Before I knew it, I was speaking English very much.
During the two months in Australia, English seemed to have entered my head before I knew it.
I found myself speaking in English like a machine gun rather than broken words.