okay. so - we haven't died yet. knock on wood. anika and i have made it within reach of adelaide hills, which is just east of adelaide, in the state of south australia. we managed to luck out and find a library in which we can haven internet for free as long as we want (provided no one is waiting) - and i am stoked. more for the whole updating everything, not so much for the cramps in my metacarpals i will have to work out later.
last i wrote we were in hobart, the biggest city (as far as i know) in tasmania. it wasn't THAT big, but most of the locals definitely had a "big-city" attitude on. we didn't get it. our journey started out great with the find of a sweet internet cafe. all would have been well if it wasn't set up to kick a person off without warning - hense why i was unable to completely finish editing the photos i had uploaded at that point. but whatever - minor details.
we carried on to find a shower in the city. we figured we might be able to score one at a local hostel. so we went on a YHA (youth hostel association) hunt. we found it. we asked the front desk. the elderly man behind it looked at us with a confused expression and stated that we were at the office of the YHA - not the hostel. our bad. we almost got our foot out the door, but then our informative gurru proceeded to "inform" us of how he would like us to spend our last 3 days in tasmania. he planned our route and stops along the way down to the minute. we never asked him to. i'd like to say it was nice of him to schedule our travels, but really anika and i were too busy contemplating the notion of cleanliness to appreciate it.
eventually we made it back to the van, after another failed attempt to gain shower access at the REAL YHA hostel. there the elderly (we were beginning to wonder where all the people our age were at that point) man scoffed at us for asking such and "ubsurd" question and proceeded to converse with his companion sitting in the visitors chair reading a paper as to where we COULD go to get that shower. we were not part of that conversation - not even as a object one would admire in the corner of the room. anyway - we made it back to the van - only to find we had a parking ticket. joy. we figured this was all a sign to move on from hobart. and move on we did - to 9 mile beach. nothing like putting the feet in the sand to make all worries float away.
and then we drove.
we spent the night at a free campground overlooking the ocean. we hiked in freycinet national park where the mountains reached the skies and the sand was so white one would think they were in the caribbean. we found a rest stop where we crashed for the night and woke up to discover we were right beside apple trees ripe for the picking. we hiked a gorge, did a photoshoot of us jumping off a aboriginal statue of sort, attempted to get free access to a cave tour and ended up at a cheese factory stuffing our faces of all the samples (not to mention the homemade ice cream was pretty good).
eventually we drove ourselves right into devonport where we found a caravan park for the night. we were on a mission to get clean. 11 days of not cleaning our clothes. 4 days without a shower. not to mention we needed to get to internet. it would have been a perfect night (clothes clean, hot shower) but no one thought to mention that the entire city closed down at 5. our lonely planet books weren't kidding when they said that the mcdonald's drive through is the most happening spot on a saturday night.
8 days in tasmania and it was time to say goodbye - we forked over our fee for the ride back to the mainland and boarded the ferry. the ride was fairly uneventful aside from filling our hours writing postcards, watching movies and trying out all the seats. however, there was at one point a time when we spotted hundreds of dolphins swimming and jumping alongside the ferry - we all pressed our faces against the windows in awe at the graceful creatures... in wonder that people would pay hundreds of dollars to hope to see them on a tour when we could see them for free. well - kind of - we DID have to pay for the ferry. it ain't cheap.
back in melbourne we watched our 3rd sunset over the city's horizon and contemplated the irony of that considering we had only been in melbourne for 1 day. go figure.
and the we drove (what else).
anika and i found a sweet camp spot at a 24 hour truckstop. hot showers. gas. food. sleep. what more could a person want? next day we drove. and drove. and drove. destination: adelaide. we didn't make it - though we did get to experience the great ocean road (the pictures say more than i ever could) and see the 12 apostles (again - pictures are better).... and make it to the south australia border.
today we have almost made it to adelaide. we are almost broke. we are almost tired. we are almost halfway to our destination of broome. 3 more weeks to go. the desert. the far north. hopefully broome. who knows what will happen next................... just so long as the many encouraging signs we see along the way (i.e.: "drowsy drivers die") don't come true - i think we'll be just fine...
all roads lead to where you stand
over a week has gone by since i have last written and it feels like my mind is spinning with all the things i have seen and done in that time. its hard to even know where to begin. as it is, anika and i have made it into the state of tasmania, which is an island south of melbourne. currently i am writing from an internet cafe in the small town of strahan along the western coastline.
even though the clouds hang low and threaten to dump rain on us for the remainder of the day, the town itself is quite cute in it's charm. all the colonial-style buildings give it historical character and set the pace of life to barely moving forward. it is almost as though the whole town has decided to sleep all day as even though it is saturday, it appears as though the only people out and about are visitors not local to the quaint strahan.
last night we set up camp on the sandy dunes of ocean beach (just outside of strahan) where we watched the sunset over the waves from inside our cozy campervan. that moment marked the end of our first week together in our journey and we both agreed it hasn't nearly felt that long. hard to imagine that we still have 4 more weeks to go.
a week ago we had met up in sydney, as anika picked ariana and i up from the airport and we continued on to ariana's house. full of excitement to continue the journey and reflection on the journey i had just had with ariana, i sat in my new "home" and contemplated where anika and i would go in our wicked campervan. after dropping off ariana at her place anika and i geared up to get out of sydney asap. we had been there for the past 5 months and that was more than enough - we were ready to set our sights on something different. so south we went.
the first night was spent at stanwell park, about an hour or so outside of sydney where the park was full of people launching themselves off the cliff edge in hang gliders and landing gracefully on the beach below. evening fishermen tested the waters for a catch to have for dinner and anika and i organized ourselves for the next few days ahead.
that sunday (march 14) and monday (march 15) flew by as we set our sights on mebourne. anika and i had decided early on that we didn't want to waste time getting to tasmania and figured we would bust our buts to get there as quickly as we could considering we could only drive after dawn (7am) and before dusk (7pm). this is due to the many wildlife that our out on the roads outside of these times and the fact that wicked campers does not cover us in case of an accident should we be driving when we're not supposed to. as it were - we made it there in no time and still were able to take in a few of the sights along the way.
we managed to find our way into the town of eden on the sunday, near the southern border of new south wales and went for a swim in the tourquise waters before continuing on our drive. later that evening we found a perfect spot to park for the night. it was dubbed a "rest area," but turned out to be more of a campground as it was set off the highway in the forest with bathrooms, picnic tables and water access. aside from the blood-thirsty mosquitoes, we were in heaven. by late monday afternoon we had made our way into melbourne, which is about 1000 km from sydney. we attempted to get on the ferry to tasmania for that night, but they were all booked up so we bought tickets for the following night.
it all worked in our favor as we were able to score a million-dollar view for that night as we found a parking lot overlooking the ocean and we watched our very first australian sunset from the shore. hard to imagine that people had probably paid millions of dollars to live in their fancy houses right behind where we parked when we were getting the same view for free.
march 16 we woke up and went for a run along the beach and then set out to explore melbourne in what it had to offer. anika and i both fell in love quickly with the big city - so different and yet so similar to sydney. it reminded us of europe, of classic australia, of south america and of home all in one. everywhere we looked there was artistic and historical elements to the city which made our walk down the streets more enjoyable than had we spent money on a show or something extravagent. on our way back we took the local tram (melbourne is said to have the 2nd largest tram system in the world) to our campervan and spent our last few hours of the afternoon on the beach. it was bliss.
by the time it we were supposed to check in for the ferry - we were ready. checking in was a process in itself. no fruits or veggies were allowed to be brough over the watery states lines. our canisters of gas for cooking also had to be put aside. fortunately we were able to pick those up once we reached our destination of devonport. once we got that all settled, they marked us with a blue "X" on our winshield (to this date we still have not gotten it cleaned off) and were sent into the tight line-up.
and there we waited. at least we had remembered to bring some good music to entertain us. finally, we started inching forward. with grins plastered on our faces (you'd have thought we had never been ANYWHERE before) we drove up the ramp which was actually a mini-bridge and parked where told to inside.
now, i have never been on a boat of this magnitude before in my life. and this was only a ferry boat. not even a cruise ship - and yet it felt as such just the same. complete with a gift shop, multiple bars, restaurants and cafes, a cinema, games room, kids playplace and 10 decks to roam - we were set for the night. as i walked my way towards my room, i felt as though i might be on something resembling the famous titanic ship with its tight coriders and swaying motions. i tried to take it all in. memorize it.
the only minor problem for the night was that they had booked anika and i in 2 separate rooms. not a major deal considering we are both experienced independent travellers, but we decided to see what we could do about it just the same.
so after watching another glorious sunset from the top deck, we set sail and anika and i headed to the reception desk. before we knew it we had been upgraded to a 4-bed porthole room (aka: includes a window) and we would be the only 2 people in that room! we were incredibly stoked as this was far more than what we were hoping for and more than happily obliged in settling in to our new quarters for the night. i only hoped the 10 hour trip would be longer for us to have more time to enjoy it.
the rest of the evening went by rather quickly as we had showers (our first hot on in at least 4 days) and then set off to watch the movie at the theatre. as it happened, i stepped into the washroom just prior to the film as anika grabbed us seats. when i was done, i didn't realize the stall doors automatically swing closed and it caught the back of my ankle on my way out. in one swift motion the door removed me of a chunk of skin covering my achilles tendon and i had to think quick on how to stop the bleeding (had no idea an ankle could bleed that much). after about 5 minutes of dabbing it with toilet paper nothing happened. i had to step up my game.
i managed to fashion myself a makeshift bandage that wrapped around my foot with toilet paper. all i had to do then was walk the 20ft to the reception desk to get first aide. i was wearing flip flops. i can attest that this was no easy task - the last thing i wanted to do was come out of the bathroom trailing stained toilet paper and a blood trail to match.
fortunately i made it to the front desk and got bandaged up. unfortuately when i went to bed later that night i remembered all the linens were white. my wound was still bleeding pretty good at that point. my only solution was to stick my foot in a motion sickness bag, elevate it on a stack of pillows and fall into a deep sleep.
march 17 flew by as we drove off the ferry, through devonport, along the northern coastline and then south towards the small town of warratah. we managed to find a place near the local lake and set up for the night. dinner was a tasty mixture of cooked pumpkin, corn and onions alongside tomato and cheese toasted sandwiches. YUM!
after warratah we drove into cradle valley national park - our sights set on cradle mountain. we got all geared up for our hike, ignoring the mild attempts of the visitor centre to have us buy into extra gear and maps and such. we were off on our first official hike and it felt great.
a few hours later we made it back to our van and drove on to rosebury where we stocked up on food and set up camp at a nearby reststop. yesterday was much of the same as we awoke to set off on a mild hike around rosebery and then went on over to the montezuma falls (at 104m tall, these are the highest in tasmania). i managed to walk my way across a bridge that's limited to 2 people at a time and with good reason - it is only wide enough for one foot to go infront of the other and the whole thing swayed in the powerful breeze of the waterfall, making me wonder if my "must have" picture of the falls would be the last i ever took. fortunately i survived the feat.
back at the van we quickly realized that w had left the lights on and when we attempted to start the van, it did not work. we grabbed sandwiches and walked our way to the carpark at the start of the trail to see if anyone had jumper cables. they didn't. so we went to the washroom and walked back to the van to stay warm. it started - emergency everted. from there we took tasmania's windy roads to queenstown where we stopped off at a caravan park for hot showers and then continued our way to strahan.
overall - tasmania has continued to amaze me in it's diversity. the majestic mountains. the thick rainforests. the ever-changing weather. the vibrant colors. the endless array of farmland. the rugged coastline. it's wild. it's untouched. it's amazing and i can't wait to see what's next.
as far as pictures go - we haven't been able to find appropriate USB connections at any of the computers, so it could be a bit before i can update everyone with the things we have done and seen... can't wait to share more!!
even though the clouds hang low and threaten to dump rain on us for the remainder of the day, the town itself is quite cute in it's charm. all the colonial-style buildings give it historical character and set the pace of life to barely moving forward. it is almost as though the whole town has decided to sleep all day as even though it is saturday, it appears as though the only people out and about are visitors not local to the quaint strahan.
last night we set up camp on the sandy dunes of ocean beach (just outside of strahan) where we watched the sunset over the waves from inside our cozy campervan. that moment marked the end of our first week together in our journey and we both agreed it hasn't nearly felt that long. hard to imagine that we still have 4 more weeks to go.
a week ago we had met up in sydney, as anika picked ariana and i up from the airport and we continued on to ariana's house. full of excitement to continue the journey and reflection on the journey i had just had with ariana, i sat in my new "home" and contemplated where anika and i would go in our wicked campervan. after dropping off ariana at her place anika and i geared up to get out of sydney asap. we had been there for the past 5 months and that was more than enough - we were ready to set our sights on something different. so south we went.
the first night was spent at stanwell park, about an hour or so outside of sydney where the park was full of people launching themselves off the cliff edge in hang gliders and landing gracefully on the beach below. evening fishermen tested the waters for a catch to have for dinner and anika and i organized ourselves for the next few days ahead.
that sunday (march 14) and monday (march 15) flew by as we set our sights on mebourne. anika and i had decided early on that we didn't want to waste time getting to tasmania and figured we would bust our buts to get there as quickly as we could considering we could only drive after dawn (7am) and before dusk (7pm). this is due to the many wildlife that our out on the roads outside of these times and the fact that wicked campers does not cover us in case of an accident should we be driving when we're not supposed to. as it were - we made it there in no time and still were able to take in a few of the sights along the way.
we managed to find our way into the town of eden on the sunday, near the southern border of new south wales and went for a swim in the tourquise waters before continuing on our drive. later that evening we found a perfect spot to park for the night. it was dubbed a "rest area," but turned out to be more of a campground as it was set off the highway in the forest with bathrooms, picnic tables and water access. aside from the blood-thirsty mosquitoes, we were in heaven. by late monday afternoon we had made our way into melbourne, which is about 1000 km from sydney. we attempted to get on the ferry to tasmania for that night, but they were all booked up so we bought tickets for the following night.
it all worked in our favor as we were able to score a million-dollar view for that night as we found a parking lot overlooking the ocean and we watched our very first australian sunset from the shore. hard to imagine that people had probably paid millions of dollars to live in their fancy houses right behind where we parked when we were getting the same view for free.
march 16 we woke up and went for a run along the beach and then set out to explore melbourne in what it had to offer. anika and i both fell in love quickly with the big city - so different and yet so similar to sydney. it reminded us of europe, of classic australia, of south america and of home all in one. everywhere we looked there was artistic and historical elements to the city which made our walk down the streets more enjoyable than had we spent money on a show or something extravagent. on our way back we took the local tram (melbourne is said to have the 2nd largest tram system in the world) to our campervan and spent our last few hours of the afternoon on the beach. it was bliss.
by the time it we were supposed to check in for the ferry - we were ready. checking in was a process in itself. no fruits or veggies were allowed to be brough over the watery states lines. our canisters of gas for cooking also had to be put aside. fortunately we were able to pick those up once we reached our destination of devonport. once we got that all settled, they marked us with a blue "X" on our winshield (to this date we still have not gotten it cleaned off) and were sent into the tight line-up.
and there we waited. at least we had remembered to bring some good music to entertain us. finally, we started inching forward. with grins plastered on our faces (you'd have thought we had never been ANYWHERE before) we drove up the ramp which was actually a mini-bridge and parked where told to inside.
now, i have never been on a boat of this magnitude before in my life. and this was only a ferry boat. not even a cruise ship - and yet it felt as such just the same. complete with a gift shop, multiple bars, restaurants and cafes, a cinema, games room, kids playplace and 10 decks to roam - we were set for the night. as i walked my way towards my room, i felt as though i might be on something resembling the famous titanic ship with its tight coriders and swaying motions. i tried to take it all in. memorize it.
the only minor problem for the night was that they had booked anika and i in 2 separate rooms. not a major deal considering we are both experienced independent travellers, but we decided to see what we could do about it just the same.
so after watching another glorious sunset from the top deck, we set sail and anika and i headed to the reception desk. before we knew it we had been upgraded to a 4-bed porthole room (aka: includes a window) and we would be the only 2 people in that room! we were incredibly stoked as this was far more than what we were hoping for and more than happily obliged in settling in to our new quarters for the night. i only hoped the 10 hour trip would be longer for us to have more time to enjoy it.
the rest of the evening went by rather quickly as we had showers (our first hot on in at least 4 days) and then set off to watch the movie at the theatre. as it happened, i stepped into the washroom just prior to the film as anika grabbed us seats. when i was done, i didn't realize the stall doors automatically swing closed and it caught the back of my ankle on my way out. in one swift motion the door removed me of a chunk of skin covering my achilles tendon and i had to think quick on how to stop the bleeding (had no idea an ankle could bleed that much). after about 5 minutes of dabbing it with toilet paper nothing happened. i had to step up my game.
i managed to fashion myself a makeshift bandage that wrapped around my foot with toilet paper. all i had to do then was walk the 20ft to the reception desk to get first aide. i was wearing flip flops. i can attest that this was no easy task - the last thing i wanted to do was come out of the bathroom trailing stained toilet paper and a blood trail to match.
fortunately i made it to the front desk and got bandaged up. unfortuately when i went to bed later that night i remembered all the linens were white. my wound was still bleeding pretty good at that point. my only solution was to stick my foot in a motion sickness bag, elevate it on a stack of pillows and fall into a deep sleep.
march 17 flew by as we drove off the ferry, through devonport, along the northern coastline and then south towards the small town of warratah. we managed to find a place near the local lake and set up for the night. dinner was a tasty mixture of cooked pumpkin, corn and onions alongside tomato and cheese toasted sandwiches. YUM!
after warratah we drove into cradle valley national park - our sights set on cradle mountain. we got all geared up for our hike, ignoring the mild attempts of the visitor centre to have us buy into extra gear and maps and such. we were off on our first official hike and it felt great.
a few hours later we made it back to our van and drove on to rosebury where we stocked up on food and set up camp at a nearby reststop. yesterday was much of the same as we awoke to set off on a mild hike around rosebery and then went on over to the montezuma falls (at 104m tall, these are the highest in tasmania). i managed to walk my way across a bridge that's limited to 2 people at a time and with good reason - it is only wide enough for one foot to go infront of the other and the whole thing swayed in the powerful breeze of the waterfall, making me wonder if my "must have" picture of the falls would be the last i ever took. fortunately i survived the feat.
back at the van we quickly realized that w had left the lights on and when we attempted to start the van, it did not work. we grabbed sandwiches and walked our way to the carpark at the start of the trail to see if anyone had jumper cables. they didn't. so we went to the washroom and walked back to the van to stay warm. it started - emergency everted. from there we took tasmania's windy roads to queenstown where we stopped off at a caravan park for hot showers and then continued our way to strahan.
overall - tasmania has continued to amaze me in it's diversity. the majestic mountains. the thick rainforests. the ever-changing weather. the vibrant colors. the endless array of farmland. the rugged coastline. it's wild. it's untouched. it's amazing and i can't wait to see what's next.
as far as pictures go - we haven't been able to find appropriate USB connections at any of the computers, so it could be a bit before i can update everyone with the things we have done and seen... can't wait to share more!!
day to day
DAY 5 (march 7) . today started off at the top of a mountain. literally. in the town of eungella to be exact. after nearly 10 hours of driving yesterday, finally making our way to the city of mackay, we found ourselves at the entrance to the local national park. after walking our way up the path we made it to paradise - a massive rock pool underneath a waterfall. as we were all sweaty from the walk up, we happily took the plunge into the cool waters.
it was like something of a dream to be able to swim in the rock pool like that. so fresh. so cool. so awe-inspiring. the palm trees and other jungle foilage hung overhead, shading us from the late afternoon heat. ariana and i set out to see if we could make it to the waterfall itself - first by swimming straight towards it and then by pulling ourselves along the slippery rock walls to inch our way closer. we never made it. our arms strained to cling to the tiny rock ledges as we desperately kicked our feet in order to propell our bodies closer to the crashing waters. all we accomplished was a near disaster in losing our bikini bottoms in the rushing water.
as time went on we decided to join the other people in jumping off the edge of rock surrounding the pool into the deep depths below. i should say it wasn't so much as a group decision as it was ariana asking me if i'd like to go jump with her - saying the question with a big mischievious grin plastered on her face. she made me momentarily forget that she is afraid of heights and it wasn't until i took the plunge and looked back up the rock face did i realize we might have a problem. ariana wasn't ready to jump. she didn't want to. her fear had kicked in and her body and mind wouldn't let her go.
so i treaded water and tried to talk her down.
about 30 minutes later she plunked herself into the water and the guy beside me in the water missed it. he was bummed as we had all been waited for her to do it. i didn't care if he had missed it or not - ariana had jumped and that was all that mattered. she had faced her fear head on and did it. hated it. didn't have any fun doing it. but she did it.
after that we towelled off and made our way back to the trail that would take us to our campervan. only the sun was quickly setting over the other side of the mountains and we had yet to find a place to park for the night. so we started jogging. dripping wet. wearing flip-flops. bags and towels swinging - we jogged. we jogged around corners, across the rocky ground and down the hill. the remaining sunlight showing us the way we jogged through the river crossings and didn't stop to catch our breath untill we were near our campervan. we still had enough light to find the spot we were hoping to get to - eungella. a small town further in the mountains that apparently had a rest stop we could park overnight at.
so we drove.
eventually we got to the base of the mountains and were faced with large warning signs indicating that the next nearly 5km would pretty much be straight up the mountain with hairpin turns. i was used to driving roads like that from the many trips to the rocky mountains back in canada. but not in a campervan. and not at the end of the day when we had mere minutes left before it became pitch black.
so we drove.
and up we went - around corners, over grates, passing waterfalls and gazing out over to a view that became more and more breathtaking with every pass we made. it seemed like forever untill we made it to the top and there were a few moments where i questioned our van's ability to even make it up there. but we did - we made it to the top and found the rest stop to be a lookout over the entire valley below. we parked the van and just got out to stare.
shortly after the sun was completely set and we were on our own in the lookout area, eating our food and gazing up to a clear sky where all the stars had come out for the night. i can't remember the last time i've just done that - just taken the time to watch the stars. or even been in a place where i could even see the stars. all of them. the milky way. the whole bit. ariana and i just laid out on a large rock and just looked at them. they make me feel so small and remind me that the world out there is so much bigger. that all the problems i think are huge in my life really aren't. they remind me that no matter what comes my way, everything will be okay.
and then we went back to the van and slept.
this morning, i woke and peeked out my window to spot pink-tinged clouds along the horizon, indicating the sun was about to come up. i got out of the van as fast as i could and was just in time with my camera to capture the sun rising up over the valley - all orange and firey. today would be a good day.
after breakfast, i made the most of our "au-natural" camping spot and decided to have a makeshift shower. cold water in our dish tub, swimmers on and head bent at an unnatural angle - i was ready. i scrubbed out all the dirt and grim from my hair as i stood in the middle of the grass and could feel the sun rising up higher and higher - heating my back. it was one of the most beatiful showers and it brought me back to the days of hiking through BC - where i would regularly shower like that, but in a glacier-fed river. love it.
as it were - we couldn't spend all of today at that spot - as much as we wanted to. it was time to move on back down to the valley where i would drop ariana off to try forest flying (aka: ziplining). being that i've been on a pretty tight budget, i chose to skip the tour and spend time chilling out in the river where we spotted a swimming hole closer to where i'd park the van. and that's just what i did. and it was beautiful.
DAY 6 (march 8) . so yesterday ended off with a bang as we spent the remaining part of our afternoon headed towards dingo beach which is slightly north of airlie beach, the main hub of activity for travelling to/from the whitsunday islands.
we chose dingo beach simply because a local told us to go there. we had met the man while gasing up our campervan and he pretty much chattered our ears off of where he thought we should head to. we took him up on his proposition to skip airlie beach and head to dingo instead. ariana and i were pleased with the outcome once we arrived.
white sandy shores encased a bay of water so calm and rich in blue intensity. mountainous islands sprouted up from the ocean waters, creating a look ariana and i didn't expect to see in australia. we were hooked. only downside was that as tempting as the waters looked to go for a dip, the temperature of the water had to have been over 30 degrees celcius as it had been sitting in the sun baking all afternoon.
instead of a swim, we focused our prospects on attempting to find somewhere to stay for the night. we wanted to be close to the beach to go swimming as we pleased, but everywhere we looked there were signs indicating fines would be applied for overnight camping - anywhere in the range of $50-1500. we didn't want to chance it. so we went to the pub to get some grub and more information from the locals on where we could go. they suggested we go to hideaway beach and try there - and worst case - we could do the caravan park that was there.
so off we went again - down another stretch of road to the next bay. hideaway beach had the same signs threatening to empty our pockets if we dared parked anywhere overnight. so caravan park it was.
today we woke up super early to make the rest of the drive towards cairns. 8 hours later we made it and after getting more information on the city we took a quick dip in the lagoon and decided to drive our way slightly further north to port douglas. it turned out to be a good choice - the beach here (4 mile beach) is incredibly beautiful and ariana and i have full intention of making use of it tomorrow on our first official day of nothing. i am stoked. now if only we can find a place to stay for the night...
DAY 7 (march 9) . last night ended with us in a fit of giggles over how uptight and on high alert we were at our inital overnight parking location. we had chosen a spot right by the beach and in front of the public bathrooms. it wouldn't have been so bad had there not been a car driving by every 2 minutes, causing us to bolt awake and stifly sneak peaks out the windows as we painfully awaited the mystery person's departure from the vicinity. we had closed the back hatch (which we never do) in hopes of better concealment of our plans to stay the night. we did this in vain as it's pretty difficult to conceal a large white van with gigantic purple flowers painted all over the surface. as a result, the inside of the van shortly began to resemble something of a sweat lodge - regardless of the fact that we had cranked all the remaining windows open, donned our bikinis and attempted to lie as still as possible.
as it were, the constant activity of vehicles driving by combined with our fear of being told to "move along" prompted us to try for a new parking position. we found a secluded residential street where we could park behind some trees for privacy. it wasn't untill we awoke many hours later from our deep slumber that the trees we had parked behind actually did very little to shelter us from any potential watchful eyes.
needless to say - we slept wonderfully and awoke to pursue our first ever beach day of the entire trip. i started with a lengthy run on the 4 mile beach and then continued with lazing around in the calm, torquoise waters, reading my book and doing a whole lot of nothing. i couldn't have asked for a better day.
DAY 8 (march 10) . today we packed up our things and headed a little bit further north to mossman's gorge. set in the rainforest, we parked our campervan in the midst of an ongoing dump of rain and set out with rain jackets and umbrella for our short trek to the swimming pools. once there the green waters looked too inviting so we hopped right in, all the tour groups donning garbage bags and other waterproof materials simply gawked at us (and a few others) who decided to take the plunge into the cool waters.
after mossman's, we simply hopped back into the van and set back down towards cairns in order to explore all the northern beaches. beach after beach we stopped at to take pictures, feel our feet in the sand and run from the rain when it got too heavy. we made a pit stop at a bar and grill during the worst of it in order to kill some time and then eventually we made our way to cairns to catch a movie. alice and wonderland seemed appropriate - especially since we had to wear 3D glasses.
DAY 9 (march 11) . today is our last day with the campervan and it is bittersweet - especially since we're not even driving that much today. ariana has gone on another day tour to the reef to do snorkelling and i'm sticking around the city, catching up on postcards, journalling and such. it's hard to believe that tomorrow we have to turn in the keys to the campervan and that this part of the journey is over. in fact, the whole journey for me and ariana is over all together as we will fly back to sydney on the 13th. i am excited to start my next journey with anika and see more of australia - but it is hard to have to say goodbye to the fun ariana and i have been having in the last week and a half. anyway - as it is - enjoy all the picture updates and such and i look forward to writing more some day near in the future!! :D
it was like something of a dream to be able to swim in the rock pool like that. so fresh. so cool. so awe-inspiring. the palm trees and other jungle foilage hung overhead, shading us from the late afternoon heat. ariana and i set out to see if we could make it to the waterfall itself - first by swimming straight towards it and then by pulling ourselves along the slippery rock walls to inch our way closer. we never made it. our arms strained to cling to the tiny rock ledges as we desperately kicked our feet in order to propell our bodies closer to the crashing waters. all we accomplished was a near disaster in losing our bikini bottoms in the rushing water.
as time went on we decided to join the other people in jumping off the edge of rock surrounding the pool into the deep depths below. i should say it wasn't so much as a group decision as it was ariana asking me if i'd like to go jump with her - saying the question with a big mischievious grin plastered on her face. she made me momentarily forget that she is afraid of heights and it wasn't until i took the plunge and looked back up the rock face did i realize we might have a problem. ariana wasn't ready to jump. she didn't want to. her fear had kicked in and her body and mind wouldn't let her go.
so i treaded water and tried to talk her down.
about 30 minutes later she plunked herself into the water and the guy beside me in the water missed it. he was bummed as we had all been waited for her to do it. i didn't care if he had missed it or not - ariana had jumped and that was all that mattered. she had faced her fear head on and did it. hated it. didn't have any fun doing it. but she did it.
after that we towelled off and made our way back to the trail that would take us to our campervan. only the sun was quickly setting over the other side of the mountains and we had yet to find a place to park for the night. so we started jogging. dripping wet. wearing flip-flops. bags and towels swinging - we jogged. we jogged around corners, across the rocky ground and down the hill. the remaining sunlight showing us the way we jogged through the river crossings and didn't stop to catch our breath untill we were near our campervan. we still had enough light to find the spot we were hoping to get to - eungella. a small town further in the mountains that apparently had a rest stop we could park overnight at.
so we drove.
eventually we got to the base of the mountains and were faced with large warning signs indicating that the next nearly 5km would pretty much be straight up the mountain with hairpin turns. i was used to driving roads like that from the many trips to the rocky mountains back in canada. but not in a campervan. and not at the end of the day when we had mere minutes left before it became pitch black.
so we drove.
and up we went - around corners, over grates, passing waterfalls and gazing out over to a view that became more and more breathtaking with every pass we made. it seemed like forever untill we made it to the top and there were a few moments where i questioned our van's ability to even make it up there. but we did - we made it to the top and found the rest stop to be a lookout over the entire valley below. we parked the van and just got out to stare.
shortly after the sun was completely set and we were on our own in the lookout area, eating our food and gazing up to a clear sky where all the stars had come out for the night. i can't remember the last time i've just done that - just taken the time to watch the stars. or even been in a place where i could even see the stars. all of them. the milky way. the whole bit. ariana and i just laid out on a large rock and just looked at them. they make me feel so small and remind me that the world out there is so much bigger. that all the problems i think are huge in my life really aren't. they remind me that no matter what comes my way, everything will be okay.
and then we went back to the van and slept.
this morning, i woke and peeked out my window to spot pink-tinged clouds along the horizon, indicating the sun was about to come up. i got out of the van as fast as i could and was just in time with my camera to capture the sun rising up over the valley - all orange and firey. today would be a good day.
after breakfast, i made the most of our "au-natural" camping spot and decided to have a makeshift shower. cold water in our dish tub, swimmers on and head bent at an unnatural angle - i was ready. i scrubbed out all the dirt and grim from my hair as i stood in the middle of the grass and could feel the sun rising up higher and higher - heating my back. it was one of the most beatiful showers and it brought me back to the days of hiking through BC - where i would regularly shower like that, but in a glacier-fed river. love it.
as it were - we couldn't spend all of today at that spot - as much as we wanted to. it was time to move on back down to the valley where i would drop ariana off to try forest flying (aka: ziplining). being that i've been on a pretty tight budget, i chose to skip the tour and spend time chilling out in the river where we spotted a swimming hole closer to where i'd park the van. and that's just what i did. and it was beautiful.
DAY 6 (march 8) . so yesterday ended off with a bang as we spent the remaining part of our afternoon headed towards dingo beach which is slightly north of airlie beach, the main hub of activity for travelling to/from the whitsunday islands.
we chose dingo beach simply because a local told us to go there. we had met the man while gasing up our campervan and he pretty much chattered our ears off of where he thought we should head to. we took him up on his proposition to skip airlie beach and head to dingo instead. ariana and i were pleased with the outcome once we arrived.
white sandy shores encased a bay of water so calm and rich in blue intensity. mountainous islands sprouted up from the ocean waters, creating a look ariana and i didn't expect to see in australia. we were hooked. only downside was that as tempting as the waters looked to go for a dip, the temperature of the water had to have been over 30 degrees celcius as it had been sitting in the sun baking all afternoon.
instead of a swim, we focused our prospects on attempting to find somewhere to stay for the night. we wanted to be close to the beach to go swimming as we pleased, but everywhere we looked there were signs indicating fines would be applied for overnight camping - anywhere in the range of $50-1500. we didn't want to chance it. so we went to the pub to get some grub and more information from the locals on where we could go. they suggested we go to hideaway beach and try there - and worst case - we could do the caravan park that was there.
so off we went again - down another stretch of road to the next bay. hideaway beach had the same signs threatening to empty our pockets if we dared parked anywhere overnight. so caravan park it was.
today we woke up super early to make the rest of the drive towards cairns. 8 hours later we made it and after getting more information on the city we took a quick dip in the lagoon and decided to drive our way slightly further north to port douglas. it turned out to be a good choice - the beach here (4 mile beach) is incredibly beautiful and ariana and i have full intention of making use of it tomorrow on our first official day of nothing. i am stoked. now if only we can find a place to stay for the night...
DAY 7 (march 9) . last night ended with us in a fit of giggles over how uptight and on high alert we were at our inital overnight parking location. we had chosen a spot right by the beach and in front of the public bathrooms. it wouldn't have been so bad had there not been a car driving by every 2 minutes, causing us to bolt awake and stifly sneak peaks out the windows as we painfully awaited the mystery person's departure from the vicinity. we had closed the back hatch (which we never do) in hopes of better concealment of our plans to stay the night. we did this in vain as it's pretty difficult to conceal a large white van with gigantic purple flowers painted all over the surface. as a result, the inside of the van shortly began to resemble something of a sweat lodge - regardless of the fact that we had cranked all the remaining windows open, donned our bikinis and attempted to lie as still as possible.
as it were, the constant activity of vehicles driving by combined with our fear of being told to "move along" prompted us to try for a new parking position. we found a secluded residential street where we could park behind some trees for privacy. it wasn't untill we awoke many hours later from our deep slumber that the trees we had parked behind actually did very little to shelter us from any potential watchful eyes.
needless to say - we slept wonderfully and awoke to pursue our first ever beach day of the entire trip. i started with a lengthy run on the 4 mile beach and then continued with lazing around in the calm, torquoise waters, reading my book and doing a whole lot of nothing. i couldn't have asked for a better day.
DAY 8 (march 10) . today we packed up our things and headed a little bit further north to mossman's gorge. set in the rainforest, we parked our campervan in the midst of an ongoing dump of rain and set out with rain jackets and umbrella for our short trek to the swimming pools. once there the green waters looked too inviting so we hopped right in, all the tour groups donning garbage bags and other waterproof materials simply gawked at us (and a few others) who decided to take the plunge into the cool waters.
after mossman's, we simply hopped back into the van and set back down towards cairns in order to explore all the northern beaches. beach after beach we stopped at to take pictures, feel our feet in the sand and run from the rain when it got too heavy. we made a pit stop at a bar and grill during the worst of it in order to kill some time and then eventually we made our way to cairns to catch a movie. alice and wonderland seemed appropriate - especially since we had to wear 3D glasses.
DAY 9 (march 11) . today is our last day with the campervan and it is bittersweet - especially since we're not even driving that much today. ariana has gone on another day tour to the reef to do snorkelling and i'm sticking around the city, catching up on postcards, journalling and such. it's hard to believe that tomorrow we have to turn in the keys to the campervan and that this part of the journey is over. in fact, the whole journey for me and ariana is over all together as we will fly back to sydney on the 13th. i am excited to start my next journey with anika and see more of australia - but it is hard to have to say goodbye to the fun ariana and i have been having in the last week and a half. anyway - as it is - enjoy all the picture updates and such and i look forward to writing more some day near in the future!! :D
on the road again
well - the great australian roadtrip has begun. after a final day at the arts factory backpackers lodge attempting to maintain a sheltered position from the pouring rain, i hopped on a early morning bus to brisbane. once there i checked into the hostel and waited for ariana. with big plans to do laundry, update online pictures, write in my journal, finish doing my postcards and eat - i figured i would have my afternoon all booked up. i got as far as unpacking and then promptly fell asleep. eventually ariana showed up and we headed out to get some indian food for dinner. the rest - as they say - will now go down in history.
DAY 1 (march 3) . we set off really early on our first day. or at least i did. i forgot to change the clock on my ipod an hour back as the state of queensland does not have daylight savings so there is currently and hour difference between it and new south wales. as such, i groggily rolled out of bed and not-so-gracefully climbed down from the top bunk in order to go for my run. ariana asked me what the hell was doing and so i climbed all the way back into bed to wake up at the "real" time of 6 am. i didn't. so much for the run.
as it were, we did end up getting up, packed and ready to go - all the way to the train station to catch it to where we go to pick up our campervan. with a few misguided attempts at gaining correct directions to the place we made it - all dripping wet from the rain. by noon we were off and rolling - in our spiffy hippie camper. we drove our way into the parking lot for the grocery store and stocked up on supplies. THEN we were off - but not before we completely got lost and ended up at the brisbane airport turnoff. eventually we made it onto the main highway - M1 - and started to count down the kilometres to our final destination... cairns.
later in the afternoon we pulled off the highway and made our way to noosa - a small city on the coastline of queensland. crammed full of palm trees, sandy beaches, rockstar resorts and quaint shops - ariana and i fell in love. we took our flip flops off and explored the beaches. we walked through the national park filled with lush tropical plantlife. we strolled the main streets and made wishlists of all the things we would buy if we had enough moolah. we found a sweet parking space next to the roaring waves on the beach and set up for the night. only when we tried to make some dinner with our stove, it wouldn't light. when we tried the hot water heater - it didn't work. either did the toaster. we gave up and thought to try making our bed. that was a lost cause as well as we couldn't find one of the board panels to lay down under the mattress. the result was a hidden hole in the middle of our bed of which would cause us to fall through should either one of us move over from our designated sleeping positions.
as the sun set over the horizon ariana and i figured we would play cards. after some difficulty trying to find them as we had moved everything around in our attempt to create the perfect sleeping situation, i managed to spot them squeezed behind a cushion lining the side of the van. as i went down to grab them they slipped from my grasp and fell below. it was then i discovered that this was the hiding place of our missing wooden panel for our bed and managed to grab that along with the disappearing cards. we were finally set for the night.
DAY 2 (march 4) . after a night sleeping with our back hatch open and listening to the pooring rain we awoke to a calm morning. i set out for a beach run and a swim - ariana slept in. after breakfast and cleaning up we set off - me in the driver's seat. it was a good thing there's a sticker posted in the front window reminding drivers to stick to the left side of the road. i needed it to start with. actually - it wasn't that bad to start driving. especially considering i've never driven on the left side of the road before. especially considering i haven't driven ANY vehicle for the past 8 months. not to mention ariana and i are travelling in a beast of a van and it's a manual. let's just say i give myself an A+ for not running anyone over.
as it were - the rain soon started up again and we made our way to noosa's national park where we did a walk through the rain forest and then along the coast, attempting to stay dry with raincoats and an umbrella. it didn't work so well and we ended up back at the van soaking wet. we continued on our journey up the coast untill we made it to hervey bay. at this point we had to find a caravan park to plug in our campervan - we had figured out the night before that the toaster and such were not working because our van needed juice. after a few miss-attempts (including a stop to a caravan park of which the receptionists greated us less than warmly) we managed to find a sweet spot that only charged us $15 for the night and included a swimming pool. in heaven we were. we set up for the night, plugged in our van and set about making dinner. everything in working order we filled our stomachs to the brim and then went for a swim in the pool. we couldn't have asked for anything better other than maybe a little less rain. we still hadn't even seen the sun for the duration of our journey to date.
DAY 3 (march 5) . ariana and i woke up early this morning to find that the sun was shining brightly through our vinyl curtains and we spotted the blue sky out our windows. i immediately jumped out of the van as gracefully as i could given i had to climb over ariana and fumble with the door handle - it was 6:30 in the morning and i wanted to swim in the sunshine. i grabbed my swimmers and was off down the road with a smile beaming over my face. today was to be a great day.
i got to the shoreline of hervey bay and found that there were barely even any waves at all. it was almost as though i had reached the shores of a lake. i was estatic as this was perfect for swimming conditions. i immediately ran in and swam to my hearts desire. fairly soon ariana joined me and we had a blast simply hanging out in the cool waters.
eventually we emerged and walked back to the caravan park where we got ready for the day. by 10am we drove out of there and made our way back to the highway. we then busted our butts over to the town of 1770, journeying our way through flooded roads, over potholes, through rainstorms and around ridiculously slowly moving vehicles. all the while every other campervan we passed we'd wave, give the peace sign or flash our lights as this is only customary among our vehicles.
making it to 1770 - we stopped to watch the end of a longboard surfing competition and then drove to a local lookout, coming across 2 wild kangaroos along the way. many pictures were had.
and now here we are - having made it to our 3 night in our campervan adventure and i can't wait to see what happens next. especially since we have not nearly made it to our half-way mark yet. as it is - check out all the new photos and be patient for the next update as i haven't a clue when it will be... enjoy!!
DAY 1 (march 3) . we set off really early on our first day. or at least i did. i forgot to change the clock on my ipod an hour back as the state of queensland does not have daylight savings so there is currently and hour difference between it and new south wales. as such, i groggily rolled out of bed and not-so-gracefully climbed down from the top bunk in order to go for my run. ariana asked me what the hell was doing and so i climbed all the way back into bed to wake up at the "real" time of 6 am. i didn't. so much for the run.
as it were, we did end up getting up, packed and ready to go - all the way to the train station to catch it to where we go to pick up our campervan. with a few misguided attempts at gaining correct directions to the place we made it - all dripping wet from the rain. by noon we were off and rolling - in our spiffy hippie camper. we drove our way into the parking lot for the grocery store and stocked up on supplies. THEN we were off - but not before we completely got lost and ended up at the brisbane airport turnoff. eventually we made it onto the main highway - M1 - and started to count down the kilometres to our final destination... cairns.
later in the afternoon we pulled off the highway and made our way to noosa - a small city on the coastline of queensland. crammed full of palm trees, sandy beaches, rockstar resorts and quaint shops - ariana and i fell in love. we took our flip flops off and explored the beaches. we walked through the national park filled with lush tropical plantlife. we strolled the main streets and made wishlists of all the things we would buy if we had enough moolah. we found a sweet parking space next to the roaring waves on the beach and set up for the night. only when we tried to make some dinner with our stove, it wouldn't light. when we tried the hot water heater - it didn't work. either did the toaster. we gave up and thought to try making our bed. that was a lost cause as well as we couldn't find one of the board panels to lay down under the mattress. the result was a hidden hole in the middle of our bed of which would cause us to fall through should either one of us move over from our designated sleeping positions.
as the sun set over the horizon ariana and i figured we would play cards. after some difficulty trying to find them as we had moved everything around in our attempt to create the perfect sleeping situation, i managed to spot them squeezed behind a cushion lining the side of the van. as i went down to grab them they slipped from my grasp and fell below. it was then i discovered that this was the hiding place of our missing wooden panel for our bed and managed to grab that along with the disappearing cards. we were finally set for the night.
DAY 2 (march 4) . after a night sleeping with our back hatch open and listening to the pooring rain we awoke to a calm morning. i set out for a beach run and a swim - ariana slept in. after breakfast and cleaning up we set off - me in the driver's seat. it was a good thing there's a sticker posted in the front window reminding drivers to stick to the left side of the road. i needed it to start with. actually - it wasn't that bad to start driving. especially considering i've never driven on the left side of the road before. especially considering i haven't driven ANY vehicle for the past 8 months. not to mention ariana and i are travelling in a beast of a van and it's a manual. let's just say i give myself an A+ for not running anyone over.
as it were - the rain soon started up again and we made our way to noosa's national park where we did a walk through the rain forest and then along the coast, attempting to stay dry with raincoats and an umbrella. it didn't work so well and we ended up back at the van soaking wet. we continued on our journey up the coast untill we made it to hervey bay. at this point we had to find a caravan park to plug in our campervan - we had figured out the night before that the toaster and such were not working because our van needed juice. after a few miss-attempts (including a stop to a caravan park of which the receptionists greated us less than warmly) we managed to find a sweet spot that only charged us $15 for the night and included a swimming pool. in heaven we were. we set up for the night, plugged in our van and set about making dinner. everything in working order we filled our stomachs to the brim and then went for a swim in the pool. we couldn't have asked for anything better other than maybe a little less rain. we still hadn't even seen the sun for the duration of our journey to date.
DAY 3 (march 5) . ariana and i woke up early this morning to find that the sun was shining brightly through our vinyl curtains and we spotted the blue sky out our windows. i immediately jumped out of the van as gracefully as i could given i had to climb over ariana and fumble with the door handle - it was 6:30 in the morning and i wanted to swim in the sunshine. i grabbed my swimmers and was off down the road with a smile beaming over my face. today was to be a great day.
i got to the shoreline of hervey bay and found that there were barely even any waves at all. it was almost as though i had reached the shores of a lake. i was estatic as this was perfect for swimming conditions. i immediately ran in and swam to my hearts desire. fairly soon ariana joined me and we had a blast simply hanging out in the cool waters.
eventually we emerged and walked back to the caravan park where we got ready for the day. by 10am we drove out of there and made our way back to the highway. we then busted our butts over to the town of 1770, journeying our way through flooded roads, over potholes, through rainstorms and around ridiculously slowly moving vehicles. all the while every other campervan we passed we'd wave, give the peace sign or flash our lights as this is only customary among our vehicles.
making it to 1770 - we stopped to watch the end of a longboard surfing competition and then drove to a local lookout, coming across 2 wild kangaroos along the way. many pictures were had.
and now here we are - having made it to our 3 night in our campervan adventure and i can't wait to see what happens next. especially since we have not nearly made it to our half-way mark yet. as it is - check out all the new photos and be patient for the next update as i haven't a clue when it will be... enjoy!!
sun, surf, 70s and tsunami's
"i can't wait to buy some proper hippie jewellery." that's what my newfound friend from england, sara, told me the other day. we were exploring byron bay's beach at that point, having already settled in the hostel earlier in the afternoon.
we both happened to have booked in the same hosetl and instantly became friends as we waited at the bus stop for the hostel's curtesy van to pick us and our bags up. we had both finally made it to byron bay, the exotic hippie city of new south wales. upon checking in, i quickly discovered that the arts factory backpackers lodge (AFBL) isn't so much a hostel as it is a resort. i had chosen to stay in the "pentagon" for 3 nights which turned out to be an oversized canvas tent complete with wood floors and 4 bunk beds. i felt as though i had arrived at camp. the AFBL also offers other styles of accommodation - everything from tent sites, cabins, teepees, dorms and even a renovated double-decker bus.
outside of sleeping arrangements, the AFBL boasts a wide array of activity options. between a swimming pool, pool table, table tennis, beach volleyball, computers, arcade games, cinema, pub and daily scheduled activities in the art of poi, yoga and digeridoo making, one is never ever bored. not to mention the multitude of hammocks scattered around the place. it's a wonder people actually leave the facilities.
as i sit here writing this - in a hammock, no less - i listen to the birds chirping, watch the lizards and bush turkeys moseying about and gaze at the tropical array of plantlife, i wonder if there could be a more perfect day.
and then i remember this morning. i woke up to a phone ringing at 5am. my roommates phone. as i increasingly became annoyed over the fact that she seemed to have complete disregard for the fact that the rest of us were trying to still sleep as she chatted away to whomever was on the other end - i caught the reason for the call. apparently there had been a massive earthquake in chile and because of it tsunami warnings were now sweeping across the pacific islands. as a result, sydney and the rest of the east coast up to brisbane (which includes where i am in byron bay) immediately were alerted of a possible tsunami destined to hit around 10am.
this threw off my idea of an early-morning beach run. so when i got up i went to check out news reports online. the numerous quotes indicating that the water of the ocean was moving as fast as a jet plane towards land masses of the pacific ocean and that all beaches along the australia eastern coastline would be closed for the day prompted me to steer clear of the sandy shores.
by 10am i learn that the tsunami caused hawaii to evacuate many people from the coastline, but that when it was to hit australia, the damage should be next to nothing. i can't say i was really scared about it, but it was a little nerve-racking to know my grandma was in hawaii and that i have friends all along australia's coastline that could potentially be affected. not to mention it was just plain wierd to be on this side of a natural disaster warning.
so what did i do?? i avoided the beach untill the afternoon when it was so scorching hot and i walked on down there only to find that pretty much everyone in the byron bay area had decided to ignore the "beach closed due to tsunami" signs and claim their spot on the sand anyway. so i joined them. then played some beach volleyball and cooled off in the waters later on. just another day in paradise.
later on yesterday i made my way back to the hostel to jump in our fresh-water pool and do a few laps. after that and some more beach volleyball on our local court i joined up with the workshop on the art of poi. by the end of the hour i was beginning to get in the groove of how to move my wrists and wondered if i practiced hard enough maybe i could dance with fire. of course i would probably burn all my hair off as i continued to hit myself on the head with the balls as i spun them around my body.
ending my day of adventure yesterday was pure bliss. think bob marley, accustic guitar, the rustle of tropical trees and swinging in my very own hammock. i contemplated falling asleep there for the night, but the constant biting of mosquitoes discouraged my thoughts from being anything more than that.
and today?? the plans are a whole lot of chill time. the rain has come which has cooled everything off, but it also limits the choice of activities for the day. i don't mind - makes for some good postcard-writing time. so long as the threat of tsunamis are over... i can handle whatever comes my way.
we both happened to have booked in the same hosetl and instantly became friends as we waited at the bus stop for the hostel's curtesy van to pick us and our bags up. we had both finally made it to byron bay, the exotic hippie city of new south wales. upon checking in, i quickly discovered that the arts factory backpackers lodge (AFBL) isn't so much a hostel as it is a resort. i had chosen to stay in the "pentagon" for 3 nights which turned out to be an oversized canvas tent complete with wood floors and 4 bunk beds. i felt as though i had arrived at camp. the AFBL also offers other styles of accommodation - everything from tent sites, cabins, teepees, dorms and even a renovated double-decker bus.
outside of sleeping arrangements, the AFBL boasts a wide array of activity options. between a swimming pool, pool table, table tennis, beach volleyball, computers, arcade games, cinema, pub and daily scheduled activities in the art of poi, yoga and digeridoo making, one is never ever bored. not to mention the multitude of hammocks scattered around the place. it's a wonder people actually leave the facilities.
as i sit here writing this - in a hammock, no less - i listen to the birds chirping, watch the lizards and bush turkeys moseying about and gaze at the tropical array of plantlife, i wonder if there could be a more perfect day.
and then i remember this morning. i woke up to a phone ringing at 5am. my roommates phone. as i increasingly became annoyed over the fact that she seemed to have complete disregard for the fact that the rest of us were trying to still sleep as she chatted away to whomever was on the other end - i caught the reason for the call. apparently there had been a massive earthquake in chile and because of it tsunami warnings were now sweeping across the pacific islands. as a result, sydney and the rest of the east coast up to brisbane (which includes where i am in byron bay) immediately were alerted of a possible tsunami destined to hit around 10am.
this threw off my idea of an early-morning beach run. so when i got up i went to check out news reports online. the numerous quotes indicating that the water of the ocean was moving as fast as a jet plane towards land masses of the pacific ocean and that all beaches along the australia eastern coastline would be closed for the day prompted me to steer clear of the sandy shores.
by 10am i learn that the tsunami caused hawaii to evacuate many people from the coastline, but that when it was to hit australia, the damage should be next to nothing. i can't say i was really scared about it, but it was a little nerve-racking to know my grandma was in hawaii and that i have friends all along australia's coastline that could potentially be affected. not to mention it was just plain wierd to be on this side of a natural disaster warning.
so what did i do?? i avoided the beach untill the afternoon when it was so scorching hot and i walked on down there only to find that pretty much everyone in the byron bay area had decided to ignore the "beach closed due to tsunami" signs and claim their spot on the sand anyway. so i joined them. then played some beach volleyball and cooled off in the waters later on. just another day in paradise.
later on yesterday i made my way back to the hostel to jump in our fresh-water pool and do a few laps. after that and some more beach volleyball on our local court i joined up with the workshop on the art of poi. by the end of the hour i was beginning to get in the groove of how to move my wrists and wondered if i practiced hard enough maybe i could dance with fire. of course i would probably burn all my hair off as i continued to hit myself on the head with the balls as i spun them around my body.
ending my day of adventure yesterday was pure bliss. think bob marley, accustic guitar, the rustle of tropical trees and swinging in my very own hammock. i contemplated falling asleep there for the night, but the constant biting of mosquitoes discouraged my thoughts from being anything more than that.
and today?? the plans are a whole lot of chill time. the rain has come which has cooled everything off, but it also limits the choice of activities for the day. i don't mind - makes for some good postcard-writing time. so long as the threat of tsunamis are over... i can handle whatever comes my way.
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