Six weeks, while it may seem long, was actually the perfect time period for me. When you stay at a place a little longer, you get to know it more intimately. There’s so much opportunity to explore the lesser-known areas that you may not come across if you’re just drifting through. Hostels are the perfect place to meet people and long-term guests create their own little family. I was in Coffs Harbour over Christmas, so we organised our own celebration, filling the hostel with mouth-watering scents of mulled wine and roast meat as well as a smorgasbord of international cuisine rustled up by the backpackers.  I also hired a car for transport to work (thanks government), which came in handy when exploring neighbouring towns. As blueberry picking is very weather dependent, I spent a lot of time surfing, kayaking, hiking, and generally mucking around.