A whirwind Return To Oz – Feb ‘08

Greeting and salutations,

Well at least half of the previous month or so has been eventful. As most of you know I made a trip back to the Land Down Under to surprise Dad for his 60th. I left my place in Victoria at 5:30am on Wed Feb 13th and after a bus, ferry, bus, wait at airport, 2 plane rides totalling 18 hours, I arrived into Oz on the morning of Fri 15th Feb. I then caught a train down to Wollongong and got there at midday. I worked it out, that from the time I left my front door here in Canada to the time I arrived into Wollongong at my mate’s place (cheers Micky T), it had been 37 hours. Yep, 37 hours! Slept for about 7 of those hours, but surprisingly wasn’t feeling jet-lagged, and subsequently never did for my whole time in Oz. I guess it’s because I was going forward in time and although I skip a day, it’s essentially just like having a late night. So Mick picked me up on his lunchbreak, but of course had to go back to work, so I decided to go for a swim at North Gong beach, and it was spectacular! The water was around 21 degrees (Celsius), a much more comfortable temperature than the last time I swam in the ocean, which was here last Sept and the water was around 11 degrees Celsius! So I chilled in the Gong, caught up with a few old friends, then caught a lift back to Orange on the Sat evening. I sent Matt a text msg saying I was a few minutes away, so that was his cue to go upstairs so Dad would have to answer the door. I got dropped off down the street just in case Dad was in the front room or outside for some reason and saw the call pull up. It was around 9:30pm by the time I got into Orange, I rang the doorbell, waited, and saw Dad’s outline through the glass come from the kitchen to the front door. He opened and the door, jumped back about 2 feet as he grabbed his chest and exclaimed “Oh shit!”. I thought he was gonna have a heart attack! Hugs, tears of joy all around, and the whole time Matt was up on the stairs filming the cheerful reunion. See we Hunt boys have done a few surprises to our folks over the years, but they have never been documented, so I wanted to make sure this one was savoured. The surprise couldn’t have worked out better I don’t think. Dad had absolutely no idea, and that’s the way I wanted it. There was no way I was going to miss my old man’s 60th, so made the decision to fly back for it. So the next week was spent in Orange, soaking up the sunshine, catching up with friends, and of course spending time with the old man. Matty had just started uni in Bathurst so he was living it up on campus and unfortunately I didn’t get to see a lot of him and hang out, which I was seriously bummed about, but that’s the way it had to be I guess. Still, he had enough time to show off his tan, his golden locks, and of course how bloody ripped he’s got in 7 months! He certainly isn’t my “little” brother anymore! You can certainly tell he’s a personal trainer! Both Dad and Matt will be over in July for about 10 days so that will be great, and gives me time to try and not look so scrawny when standing next to my younger sibling.

The 60th surprise party for Dad was a huge success. A lot more people turned up than I had expected so that was really great to see. I had put together a powerpoint presentation of Dad’s 60 years- lots of embarrassing photos, great music, and got some laughs so it was all worth it. We had 40+ people crammed into our living room and on the front verandah looking through the windows to see the show on the TV. I don’t think we will ever get that many people in that one room again! The day after the party I went down to Canberra with Dad, and while he was at an awards dinner I caught up with a few of the old crew. (Great to see you Tom, Haase, Funky and Kyles). Monday arvo I headed to Sydney and caught up with more of the old crew- Stapo, Caz, Pat and Livi for dinner in Darling Harbor. The night was going swimmingly till Cazza’s bag was stolen from right underneath her! Sneaky buggers! I guess we were so engrossed in conversation we didn’t see a thing. The night ended somewhat positively as some of Caz’s cards were handed in to the police station, but still, a terrible thing to happen.

I flew out of Oz at midday on Tues 26th and arrived into LA at 6:30am on yep, Tues 26th, then back up to Vancouver in the afternoon. I was in Oz a total of 11 days, a whirlwind trip I know, but I caught up with a heap of people and of course on all the “goss” (pretty much half my high school grade is now engaged!). Lapped up the sunshine and the beautiful weather, drank many a Farmer’s Union Iced Coffee (bloody hell I love that stuff!) and got my “Aussie fix” that will last me till I return home at the end of the year, at least I hope it will last me (its’ going to have to isn’t it?!). Being home made me realise that Australia is truly where I want to be. Yes there are a lot of other beautiful countries out there that have a lot going for them (in my eyes), but I do think that Australia is the “lucky country” and it’s definitely where I want to be to build a career and raise some little Timmy (or Tammy) Hunt’s. It’s not until you step outside our shores that you realise what an amazing (and fortunate) country Australia really is.

So, in saying all that, I’m going to certainly enjoy my next 7-8 months here in Victoria, Canada. I’ll be lapping up the marine mammal life, meeting lots of new people, enjoying the spectacular scenery, sampling the fine brews and wines of the region, and I might just earn a buck or two doing it! Work hasn’t started yet, but should do in the next week or so (‘tis still very early in the season). I’ve been getting the run-around a bit, but know I will have employment, just don’t know who with yet! Will of course keep you all posted. I’m getting along fine with my housemates (a Russian lawyer and a guy in the Canadian Navy), so we have lots of experiences to talk about, if only they could understand me! (kidding)

Hope everyone is well and enjoying life wherever you are in the world. Stay safe, enjoy a glass of wine ever now and then (I know a lot of you already do!), and please make sure to recycle. ;-P

Tim, Timmy, Timbo