Australia is a beautiful, beautiful place. The beaches are expansive and serene. The people are happy and welcoming. The travelers are adventurous and outgoing. Things are good here.
In my last update I was on my way to Byron Bay. Well I made it just in time for an amazing weekend, with good people, good ambiance, and just the right amount of fun and relaxation.
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| Preparing the Gallery |
Saturday Night: (really, it was Saturday) Kat's art exhibition was a smash hit.
Beyond the White Picket Fence. 14 artists on display, lots of local sponsorship, large, pricey art pieces and smaller inexpensive items to take home - there was a little something for everyone. There was a raffle, BBQ, raw/vegan desserts and beer and wine for sale. A line-up of musical guests kept good vibrations all night long and just when you thought it was over, Kat had one more trick up her sleeve. The projector finally was working, as people relaxed and laid in the grass a surf/skate video showed on a screen hanging on the back shed and another band (by far the best of the night) improvised music to go along with the images.
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| Backyard - Just the Beginning |
I felt the whole night as though I was a fish just brought home from the pet store and placed in a new aquarium - still in a plastic bag watching the new environment from within yet at a distance, waiting to match the temperature of its new home. I was kind of in a mood to keep to myself for the assimilation period, but did manage to chat up a few good folks here and there.
As things really started to wind down we realized it was quite late. I decided to go to the beach and wait out the darkness for the sunrise. Kat lives 2 streets away from a secluded-ish beach, so I walked down as everyone else started to fall asleep. They have all surely seen the sunrise on more than one occasion, but I felt I should take advantage of the chance even if it meant a solo mission. The moon was full and as I faced the ocean it was in the sky directly behind me creating a very crisp moonshadow I could chase around the beach.
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| I honestly don't know why I even bothered with a picture |
As I was completely alone, I took off my dress and did some yoga and handstands in the moonlight. I walked, ran, and jumped around a bit and finally tired myself out. I took a seat almost exactly mid-point of the 15km stretch of of sand called
Tallow Beach. To my left I could see the
Cape Byron Lighthouse perched atop the most easterly point of mainland Australia, rotating its beam at me at 5:30 in the morning. To my right a rocky point marked the southern tip of the beach. As the sky started to change colors, I put my dress back on and other sunrise observers slowly filtered in. It was quite light out by the time the sun finally appeared directly in front of me in the center of the sky, the moon still quite high a 180 degree turn from the emerging sun. How sweet it was… I am only sad that I can't do that every day of my life. It was Sunday morning.
Although almost everyday is Saturday, this day, I'll admit, was perfectly Sunday.
I had pulled an all nighter, went back to Kat's place and slept for a couple of hours, but it wasn't long before the heat made it impossible to rest comfortably. Erica and Reed came over, we went for a swim and an ice cream and I returned to Kat's place just in time to hop in a car and drive out to a friend's farm about 30 minutes away. At the farm we laid out blankets in the shade of a massive tree. A 2x4 attached to some ropes hung from a low branch for swinging, we passed around fresh fruit, napped, someone played the guitar, and a couple of people played chess until we decided it was time for a Sunday Afternoon float down the river. There were 10 to 15 of us - we grabbed some tubes, someone took a long board, and a couple other flotation devices. We trekked barefoot through tall grass until we found an entry to the cool and shaded, slow-moving lazy river. (No crocodiles - I asked. Purely luck that we didn't step on a snake on the way down though...) Its hard to believe how truly enjoyable floating down a river for 30 minutes or so can be. Most everyone agreed this might be the best day of our lives.
So that's the scene in Byron Bay: An art-loving, dreadlock-wearing, bearded, barefooted, organic farming, rusty bike riding, pot-smoking, free-spirited, full-moon surfing, taking-it-easy, upscale modern hippie community. Kat's house is even home to 2 chickens, and Odie, a middle aged Jack Russell terrier, splits his time up between a few loving houses around the neighborhood.
After that weekend I'm not sure I should go on, because I'm pretty sure it can't get better… Funny thing is, I've thought that before and great things are apparently plentiful.
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| Erica, Coffs Harbour, Suburbs? Australia Sucks |
I came down to Coffs Harbour with Erica after that to check out her new life in Australia. She is doing a masters in marine science and management at the university here. Coffs Harbour is basically a suburban town with nice neighborhoods, a shopping center, and a small main street area. Nothing too special as a town, reminds me of the US, but of course its sits on the never-ending Australian coast which adds a nice touch to anything. I will stay here for the weekend, and then go back up north.
The
Quicksilver Pro surfing competition starts on the
Gold Coast tomorrow and runs for about a week and a half. I have sorted out a place to stay on Couchsurfing which it turns out is a small world connection. The girl who agreed to host me, we later found out via Facebook, is friends with a German girl I knew from surfcamp. Giulia, the German girl, had lived in Australia for a while after we met in France, and that's how she met Carlie who I will meet in a few days. That should be some good times next week, then I will go back to Byron Bay.
Until next time...
