Chilling (covid free) in Coffs Harbour

hey hey to all those in sadelaide right now. whether you're doing some iso baking, getting on the piss (day 1 - very classy) or just stuck at home, good afternoon from Elle in Coffs Harbour. So yes, I am needing catch up on documenting our past adventures and at this rate, I feel like I'll be typing up all our stories of being on the coast of NSW back in little ol' Adelaide. I just wanna do one for where we are at RIGHT NOW. we are still in Coffs Harbour and have settled into the lifestyle here quite nicely.

coastal view from Muttonbird Island

coastal view from Muttonbird island 2.0

Last week was all about jobs, jobs and more jobs, as we've decided to stay here for a while. We originally made our way down to Coffs Harbour for blueberry picking but that was not for us. Last wednesday, Prati and I had a nice early start at 4.45 am for fruit picking at a farm about 40 mins from the coast. Emi had a cafe trial shift so unfortunately had to bail. It felt good to be supporting Aussie farmers but jeeez it was intense. firstly, I wasn't allowed to have any jewelry and was told off for my nose piercing which I told them I wasn't about to take out. I won that little argument with the front desk check-in lady. So, for the whole day, I had my Bunnings hat pulled over my face and head down just in case I did actually get sent home.

blackberry picking with my best bud

We had an induction from 7 am and then started picking blackberries at 8 am till 12 pm. The rate that day was 0.93c a punnet and we were picking for Driscoll's. Holy heck. The standard of berries they would accept was just ridiculous. Picture perfect or straight into the white ice cream container and a passive-aggressive telling off. If you look closely in the video below, you can see me eating too many berries, and getting absolutely pelted by Prati, and then me cowering behind my trolley.

Though it was tough to actually satisfy the berry checkers, Prati and I had a lovely time picking the berries and eating every 5th one or so. I ended up with juice stains on my legs, shoes, and bunnings hat, and a purple tongue. Ditching soft, juicy, overripe berries down the aisle and into each other's mouth made up for the shit pay and uptight berry ladies patrolling. So we did that for one day and never came back. I don't think we will get paid to be honest, but not to flex, I picked the most punnets (84) out of all the people we chatted to AND Prati. it was a good thing to experience.

Below is a little video of dinner that night - homemade sushi.

Fast forward a few days later, Prati has picked up a bar and restaurant job and Emi, a cafe, and the same restaurant job. As for me, I've only got 4 weeks till I fly home so having a job had a few layers to it. Firstly, it was hectic because there are a ton of vacancies so on the 13/14th, I had 3 trial shifts + 1 interview. They were for Hideaway Cafe, Maria's Restaurant and Silvio's Italiano. I still haven't heard back from the cafe (seriously not torn up about it) and I got both jobs at the restaurants. Ricardo from Maria's gave me a free GF vego pizza after my friday night trial shift, so kind. that was our dinner that night as we were struggling for food. I then had another trial shift at Silvio's on Saturday morning and ah it was so much FUN. the customers, chefs, staff, and manager (Josh and Paul) super kind and friendly, and another free meal yeeeew! But of course, all bosses were very interested to know I'll long I'd be sticking around for and to make sure I wouldn't just dip before Christmas and head home. I wasn't desperate to work but wasn't about to be left behind and alone on the days Emi and Prati were doing 8 hour shifts. Handling this slightly sticky situation made me question my morals and my integrity if I was to lead them on to think I'd be here over Christmas. I was really looking forward to working at Silvio's in particular but it would've been wrong of me to dip in 4 weeks. I had to come clean and let Silvio's go but still working at Maria's Restaurant most nights.

At midnight (12.30 am for us) last night, South Australia went into a 6-day lockdown and it feels weirdly unsettling to be following it from another state where all is normal. Emi, Prati, and I are all fine over here and aren't too worried about it right now except being locked out of our own state. A few people have made comments given our SA plates and laughed given the sudden (rightfully so) intense lockdown. I feel like i'm missing out as funny as that sounds. it's the kind of event that'll go down in history and I'm missing out. I wonder how long we will be going around in circles. I'm curious to see how it'll be arriving home from Sydney (face mask at the ready), and if Christmas 2020 (just like the rest of the year), will be 'cancelled'?? Sending love and good vibes to those stuck at home.

I've also been vlogging my past few days (little preview of chilled van life here in Coffs below. Some lady was looking at me trying to vlog hence the awkwardness) - nothing heaps exciting but still cool to be documenting it in writing as well as on film. I'm hoping to have that up in the next few days especially as I'm needing a new project in the quiet town of Coffs Harbour.

This is a small update and my lazy ass is still working on the past series of events blogs. I'll get there eventually. To be honest, I haven't really been feeling like writing as my mind is a million places trying to figure out what I want to do with the next few years, projects I wanna try out, and juggling jobs whilst living in a van is interesting, to say the least. I've found I'm constantly needing to navigate and adapt to the perks and challenges that come with this lifestyle. For the most part, it's enjoyable but some days are tiring, and today is one of those days.

please stay safe and well

elle xx