Wilson's Promintry

I SAW EMU'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I surprised myself with how excited I was. I wasn't expecting them at all, was just driving through this MASSIVE national park called Wilsons Promintry, turned the corner, and BAM. Helllooo emu's. Its sad to think that the second thing that came to my mind when I was taking photos of them (the first being, I feel like such a trigger-happy Japanese tourist right now) was a line from the simpsons "Emu farm...you're priceless Marge" haha, there's a simpsons quote that relates to pretty much every moment in life don't you think :p.

Wilsons Promintry National Park is seriously amazing; unfortunately it was really overcast and the photos didn't even come close to doing the views justice. You know in the Lion King when Simba stands on pride rock and looks out over the whole "kingdom"/land? That's pretty much what it felt like from each of the lookouts along the way. The few hours I spent driving through it was like my very own Australian safari; animals EVERYWHERE! Kangaroos, wombats, emus, a zillion different types of birds. Loved it :) clearly too windy for a photo of me though!

I left as it was getting dark and moved on to find a caravan park. I'd signed in & paid & everything, then on my way out of the office I turned back to the lady and asked "where am I?" haha I couldn't have told you for a million dollars what the town was called I was in. Leongatha apparently :)

Ulladulla!!

Stayed at Ulladulla last night; haha just couldn't go past it with a name like that!

Making some serious tracks now; have since made it over the border to Victoria :) visiting Swanhaven (actually no swans to be found, go figure) but I found some at Sussex Inlet!, Batemans bay, Narooma, Bega (like the cheese), Bairnsdale & a whole lot of other places I ended up passing through...pretty incredible country drive down the coast

Pointless blog really, but just to keep you all posted on where I am :)

Julie & Julia

Julie & Julia; love love love!!!

I watched this movie with absolutely no prior knowledge about its plot; only that it had meryl streep in it and I think she's literally the best actress in Hollywood today. I LOVED IT! If you haven't seen it; make sure you do!

It combines so many of my favourite things;
cooking for people you love
learning from the legacy others have left
taking on challenges that end up being more about what you learn about yourself
and my ever growing obsession with the alluring charm of the 1950's housewife!
What a magical movie!

Lessons from Julie; conquering your weaknesses, persisting through frustrations & set-backs, celebrating with true friends, learning important relationship/marriage lessons (selflessness), & choosing to pursue her passion despite the mundane normality of other areas of her life.

Lessons from Julia; beauty, grace & passion. The value & importance of true friends. The ability to charm anyone; with only the best intentions. An appreciation for good food, wine, culture & company. She brought out the best in EVERYONE, she possessed a stuborn determination. And I adored her sincere & sacrificing love for her husband.

I can so relate to Julia's sheer determination to prove herself in the onion cutting scene (classic!) and also to Julie's kitchen floor breakdown in the dropped chicken scene.

Any feminist in my life will be disappointed to know I am seriously in love with the idea of the 1950's housewife. As I said in a rambling email to one of my friends recently; "The art of the ultimate housewife is a dying one, and we should definitely bring it back in all its glory! i mean what happened to baking something everytime someone came over? or having the dinner on the table when your man walks in the door? or taking homemade sweets of some sort to someones house when you go there for dinner? im a traditionalist through and through- those things are awesome!" Yes yes I know these things aren't for everyone or everyones lifestyle, & things can get in the way...BUT, each to their own; & I still love the idea of it :)

Speaking of which; this obsession is currently being expressed (& tripled!) by a fun creative project I've taken on as I'm travelling down the east coast. I'll keep it to myself until I can get back & actually get it started; but I'm veryyyyyy excited!!!! Feels good to have come alive to a plan again. Ive been on an absolute creative rampage. Let the fun begin!

Kiama

I've been lucky enough to spend the weekend in Kiama at the holiday house of my very generous cousins Scott & Bel (thanks guys!!). This place is gorgeous & if you ever get the chance to spend a weekend I'd definitely recommend it.

Leaving Kiama will be the end of 3 weeks of being spoilt with home comforts in friends & families houses; back on the road! I've loved the last few weeks but I'm definitely excited to hit the road again.

Im seeing way too many awesome things & having way too much fun to not be sharing this with someone though-- my independent streak seems to be lessening & Id be super keen for someone to travel with. Thought about finding someone on one of the 3 billion "travel buddy" sites online, but the idea of somehow ending up with a mass murderer in my van turned me off that thought. Ive come up with a suitability list though, so if you know someone like this... ;)

Must fit the following criteria:
Must have acceptable level of social skills & awareness of social boundaires (apparently harder to find than you'd think)
Must be patient to pull over everytime I yell "ahh i need a photo of that!"
Must be willing to "rough it" yet be a firm believer in daily showering & teeth brushing

Must have full comprehension of the term "just friends" & not confuse it with other terms such as "try harder" or "that means i like you" (has proven a problem in the past)
Must be able to tolerate and/or participate in moments of car kareoke including destinys child & sonia dada's "lover lover"

Must be physically strong enough to hold me back from buying and/or consuming chocolate, of which I am currently banned

Must have a strong appreciation for good music, good company, good food & good conversation

Preferably must love vegemite

I don't ask for much??

If this sounds like you & you have a spare week & a spare couple of hundred dollars then I strongly suggest you give me a call!

If, however, you don't have the money and/or time but do fit the criteria; give yourself a pat on the back, you sound like an absolute masterpiece of a person

The Blue Mountains

I took a drive up through the blue mountains today :) Spent most of my time in Katoomba, starting at Echo Point to see the three sisters & then doing a massive walk from there. Explored the shops at Katoomba, Leura & Wentworth falls; wish I had more than a day to explore it all, everywhere you look there's a different walking track or lookout to visit! Got to use the 4wd on my van; which is always a sign of a fun afternoon ;)

Thankyou for taking this last photo mr. hungarian man....even if you did follow me around for twenty minutes after you took this, its a sweet shot! This was actually a little scary; such a rebelious fence jumper ;)

The magic of Bondi

Bondi is every bit deserving of its incredible reputation.

I went there on Sunday with my lovely swedish friend & had THE greatest afternoon.

Got off the bus & saw the beach was PACKED with people there for a surf comp. Which turned into a free open air concert where "the beautiful girls" were playing; one of my favourite bands! Our timing was unknowingly impeccable, stoked.
We did the coastal walk from Bondi to Bronte beach & am so glad we did; it truly has to be one of the most beautiful spots in Australia. & lucky for you, we took a zillion photos so you can see for yourself! (as always, I'll be able to put more on fb, but here are some!)

Manly!

Okay so the last few days were hindered by some slight mechanical difficulties (ie my battery & alternator & a dodgy auto electrician called eddie) that was momentarily stressful. BUT, as they say, the show must go on. So after a few chilled days at my aunty & uncles, & reading "the lovely bones" cover to cover (halfway through i suddenly thought; WHO chooses a murder mystery when they are travelling across the country in a van??) I am back in business.

One of my oldest family-friends aaron played tour guide for me around Manly and it was gorgeous; such a beautiful spot. I'm definitely adding it to my Sydney top spots list.

In other news, I successfully navigated my way across Sydney in my van today- Paul the kiwi gps & i are still in honeymoon stage & getting along brilliantly. Good riddance sean.

Some pics at Manly; eyes pretty much closed thanks to the sun!

Hamish & Andy save lives..daily

Until this trip I'd never driven in Sydney & as most other mere small-town-mortals would relate to; I hate it! Polite waves are replaced with car horns & an opportunity to merge cannot be expected or hoped for; but accosted, viciously, & usually with blind faith that when you throw on that blinker & attempt to cross those lines, that some busy sydney sider is in the mood to waste 2 seconds of their driving time to let you in.

I made the mistake of driving in peak hour today; and came across todays discovery in the process.

I've always loved afternoon radio; Ant & Becks' used to have me laughing so hard I'd pull over on the side of road at least one a week (necessary move; as my friends will know; I lose all motor control when I laugh). But on the Sunshine Coast, afternoon radio is merely a novelty. Nothing more than some amusement on your way home from work. But driving in 5pm peak hour traffic I suddenly realised, it is so much more than that in the city.

I'm pretty sure Hamish & Andys recount of their Bi Bi Tri Bi-athlon, where they did like 24 different sports in a single weekend was THE only thing keeping me from having a mental breakdown on that drive. & I wonder how many of the rude, impatient, angry drivers I saw on the roads today were only being held back from the ledge of conviction-worthy roadrage by the amusing anecdotes of two radio comedians.

Besides the quality (& crime rate reducing) radio & the bad traffic, I've discovered some of my other love/don't love points about Sydney;

LOVE: Hyde Park, Manly, Paddington & Newtown
DISLIKE: Nrma men named Eddie

LOVE: BONDI! Ahh, absolutely love it
LOVE: Catching up with family + meeting new people

DISLIKE: Creepy Sydney guys (dont even get me started, seriously.. you look sleazy, which you probably are, which is probably why you are still single. think about that)

LOVE: Getting blissfully, wonderfully, contently & purposely LOST

DISLIKE: Pointless graffiti everywhere (see previous blog)
LOVE: Watching people run desperately after their bus/train

DISLIKE: Missing my bus because i refuse to be one of "those" people :p

Tip; on 'walking in the city at night'- put on leather jacket, including hood. play independent woman by destinys child on your ipod. do the key-in-between-your-fingers-thing. walk fast. Haha!

Katie :)

There's nothing like seeing a friendly + familiar face when you've been away from home for 6 weeks!

Katie is a Humbert; one of my favourite families EVER. And she's been a wonderful host, showing me around her newly conquered Sydney kingdom!

(On Cronulla beach)

Sydney graffiti

One of the things I can't help noticing when I visit a city like Sydney is the amount of graffiti you can see everywhere in the streets. It's something I'm just not used to being from the Sunshine Coast where it's definitely still around, but not nearly as much. While I can appreciate proper street art and the skill behind it; graffiti drives me crazy. Besides making for some useful character in some photography shots...to me, the typical 'signature' of a name you can never really understand seems selfish on behalf of the artist and an eyesore for everyone else. So while I was on the bus today, it got me thinking; why do they do it?

I instantly thought of one of my favourite quotes;

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have suceeded." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

So although I'm sure there are many reasons different 'artists' have chosen to spray graffiti in city streets; I can't help but think that, for some of them, possibly alot of them; it's their way of leaving their mark on this world. Because isn't that what all of us want in the end? To make a difference? Not in the cliche sense, but in the real, tangible, & purposeful way that lets you lay your head on your pillow at night and know your life counts for something outside yourself. I don't care that we're told society is becoming increasingly selfish, maybe we are, but I don't think any amount of materialistic nature can chase away that little voice that says "make your mark". We want it to different degrees and in contrastingly different ways (isn't that the magic of life), but I believe it's something we all want. I find it impossible to believe the moody teenager who responds with "nothing, I don't care" when you ask them what they want to do with their life. I believe it's a desire every one of us shares; to leave our mark on this world, not only while we're on earth but afterwards. A legacy of something that has value to us, and gives value to others.

And today was a fresh reminder to me to appreciate peoples chosen legacies.

Tuesdays with Morrie

Less than 24 hours ago I started reading "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom, and as I finished the last page just now I cant help but add it to the list of books that have changed my life. (and those that have made me cry!)

Morrie was Mitch Albom's favourite college professor. Mitch left his mentor behind years ago, also leaving behind so many of his dreams to blindly pursue what the world told him would bring safety, control and happiness. Sixteen years post graduation, when Mitch reconnects with his beloved professor, he realises just how far he has wandered from the ambitious dreamer that he was. Morrie is suffering greatly at the hands of a fatal disease; yet Mitch is amazed to find him more content, grateful and at peace than ever before. With Mitch eager to make up for lost time and Morrie wanting to pass on his wisdoms to a young man he loves as if he was a son; they begin one final class "lessons in how to live". Fifteen Tuesdays on what makes life meaningful. They always used to meet on a Tuesday, so it only seems right; they're Tuesday people.

"In the beginning of life, when we are infants, we need others to survive, right? And at the end of life, when you get like me, you need others to survive, right?" His voice dropped to a whisper. "But here's the secret: in between, we need others as well."-Morrie

I can relate to Mitch's fiercely independent personality, which also meant I could appreciate the true humility in recognising that we all need teachers in our lives. And what a teacher he was;

"When Morrie was with you, he was really with you. He looked you straight in the eyes, and he listened as if you were the only person in the world. How much better would people get along if their first encounter each day were like this- instead of a grumble from a waitress or a bus driver or a boss?"

To me, this book was the essence of everything that makes this life irreplaceable; love, family, friendship, faith, happiness, achievement, saying goodbye...and ultimately, finding a peace between who you are, who you've been and who you are becoming. Peace that can come from a consistency between not only knowing what we believe is important in life, but actually pursuing those things. As Morrie explains it, when asked, most people know what is truly important in their lives. But how many are actually pursuing it?

"Have I told you about the tension of opposites?...Life is a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else. Something hurts you, yet you know it shouldn't. You take certain things for granted, even when you know you should never take anything for granted. A tension of opposites, like a pull on a rubber band. And most of us live somewhere in the middle"....

Sounds like a wrestling match....so which side wins?

"Which side wins?" He smiles at me, the crinkled eyes, the crooked teeth. "Love wins. Love always wins."

There's only one thing I love more than soaking up wisdom from others who have walked a different journey to myself; and that is giving my love and time to others. This book was the perfect demonstration of both.

"The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote

yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning".-Morrie

And finally...

"The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in."-Morrie

Lessons from an 8 year old

One of my favourite books of ALTIME is called "Winning with People" by John Maxwell.

He writes on the pretence of understanding that;

"Our ability to build and maintain human relationships is the single most important factor in how we get along--in every area of our life."

I absolutely & unbelievably cant recommend this book enough; it is filled with so many incredible challenges and life lessons about how we interact with the people in our world. My favourite chapter is titled "The learning principle: Each person we meet has the potential to teach us something" and accompanies one of my favourite quotes "Your life changes when you realise you can learn something from everyone"

Tonight I was babysitting two of my gorgeous little cousins Callum & Tara. Callum said "I wish I had a genie so I could get 3 wishes". Interested to hear what was on his mind that he would wish for; I dared to ask. Expecting somewhat of a typical child's response "I want an xbox, a scooter, a guitar, a ferrari, an island, etc etc". So you can imagine my surprise when instead, I heard this (followed quickly by tara, eager to share her wishes);

Callum, 8

1. World peace and that all the poor people would have enough food and money
2. That climate change would stop and the world would last forever
3. For a hundred dollars, no wait, a thousand, no a MILLION dollars, so that my family can go on holidays together cause that's what Mum loves to do

Tara, 6

1. That all the poor people would get money (can you tell she adores her brother and loves to walk in his footsteps?)
2. That I would be 8 forever, or maybe 12!
3. (She then got distracted and never got to a third...)

I was totally blown away! An 8 year old who wishes for world peace, others, the environment & their family??? Matched with the innocence of the beautiful Tara who thinks she'll have reached lifetime happiness at age 8 (or if not, at least by 12!). I don't know many adults who would wish for such things; is it because we think extravagant well-meaning wishes like these sound silly and impossible? I often think children are blessed having not yet experiencing how difficult such things can be. Or is it because we live in a world which ultimately tells us to look out for ourselves first and foremost; that achieving that next materialistic level of "happiness" for ourselves is what we are ultimately responsible for?

Not only were these wishes a true reflection of their family; their parents are some of the most incredible people I know. But it's another reminder of just how much we tend to discredit the wisdom and lessons we can learn from children.

I spent years working in childcare, and much like Sandra Bullock's character in "the blind side" that i talked about in a previous blog, I quickly learnt "its not just me changing their life but them changing mine".

"Your life changes when you realise you can learn something from everyone"

And tonight, mine was changed by the three wishes of an 8 year old.

You can't always trust an irishman

My wise, sexy and super helpful irish lover Sean and I had a massive falling out today.

Sean is my gps/tomtom character who, up until this point, has never lead me astray.

But apparently, Sean enjoys driving in the city about as much as I do...and Sydney proved just a little too overwhelming for him.

It got a little bit messy, and I must admit to yelling back at him even though I was on my own in the car (don't pretend like you've never talked back to yours...thats right, you do don't you). Except my normal & bright "thanks sean!" responses turned into "I CANT GO DOWN THAT STREET, ITS ONE WAY!" and "AHH YOU'RE SO FRUSTRATING!!"

So, Sean and I are having some much needed time apart and I'm currently being directed by Paul the kiwi; my theory is I can't get angry at it because it's such a bad attempt of a NZ accent that its laughable.

If it doesn't work out with Paul, I might just paint a face on a volleyball and go all Tom Hanksy...apparently my sanity is heading in that direction..

In other news; it's so good to be staying with family in Sydney! Am stoked to be here for the next few weeks and catch up with some much-loved and very much missed people in my life!

I do not make an attractive pirate

Was lucky enough to go to the amazing young adults service at Globe church tonight (Shelley; thankyou for such a real and transparent message, it was so powerful).

After we'd done so well having an all-vegetable healthy lunch..Em & I had a craving for icecream. Actually, not just any icecream...pretty much our own self made icecream PARLOUR by the time we'd finished. Cookies & cream icecream, turkish delight, crunchie, chocolate sauce (diet...cause we're healthy!) & maltesers..yummmm.
And then came the energy hit....Which somehow lead to this....

Who said dress-ups were just for kids? This was not a "aw lets dress up and look pretty" moment...this was full blown crazy unattractiveness....poor Crowie who was there fixing my car (thankyou!!!!!) didn't know what hit him!

Not only has this weekend been incredibly fun but I've been lucky enough to spend time with some of the most genuinely beautiful girls I have ever met. There are too many of you to go through all the things I admired & learnt from you all but I was so blown away just how fun, unique, talented, generous, switched on & terribly attractive these ladies were!

THANKYOU Laman ladies for letting me stay at your gorgeous home.
And some special love being sent Emma's way, you were the perfect host & it was so great to see you again xxx Never a dull moment!

My van and its roof racks are NOT less than 2.1 metres high

Newcastle today to see the beautiful Emma Stevenson!!

Unfortunately I'd been in town all of 10 minutes when we decided to use a coles underground carpark on our way to get essential picnic supplies...excited & chatty as we were, we failed to see the bright yellow "CAUTION: Maximum Height 2.1m" sign.
Cue in the title of todays discovery...I can confidently say that the combined height of my van and the metal cage thing on the roof racks is definitely NOT less than 2.1 metres in height. In fact, by the sound of the clearance bar hitting my van, I would go so far as to argue that it is SIGNIFICANTLY higher than 2.1 metres.
Hahaha emma and i could NOT stop laughing.
Admitedly, we didn't initially realise the damage we'd actually caused (dented roof, dislodged roofracks, a few broken panels....) but in its odd way, even that made us laugh a little bit more.

Unfortunately, we still had the problem of getting OUT of the carpark- there was no way of avoiding that bar the second time around!

Not alot of help was gained from the non-english speaking trolley men "can you help us?" "where are you from?" "we cant get out" "are you new here?" "IS THAT EVEN RELEVANT RIGHT NOW??"

Cue in the hero of the day, Emma's friend Corey. After his disbelief that we hadn't seen the sign in the first place and how we possibly thought we were ever going to make it under that bar, he managed to unscrew the racks and we put the cage (including tents, tables, chairs etc) inside the van -where its temporarily living in what WAS my bed.

Here's a small reenactment of todays events when we later returned to the scene of the crime...

Luckily the picnic made it all worthwhile...

IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN "THE BLIND SIDE" AT THE MOVIES YET, DO IT NOW!! We saw it this afternoon and it is honestly one of the best movies I have seen in SUCH a long time. Sandra Bullock's character absolutely made the movie (this is my second reference to her on this blog...bizarre) and it was such a genuine feel-good comedy.

I love the part where others are telling Sandra's character that she's doing such a good thing; she's changing Michaels life. And in that moment she realises that it's actually him changing hers. Such a powerful lesson in living a life for others.

The Blind Side has gone straight to my list of favourite movies of all time. If you don't take my word for it...I bet the trailer will get you hooked:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hn5-pxWM6k

Seal Rocks

Seal rocks definitely comes in alongside byron and springbrook as one of my top 3 favourite places of my trip so far.

This place is such a gorgeous and hidden treasure!

I'll let the photos speak for themselves but if you're travelling down the east coast, definitely take some time off the highway and check it out.

I love that besides some houses it has nothing but a caravan park and a corner store...it seems so rare to find such a beautiful yet unpopulated and undeveloped beach and you feel like you've been let in on some special secret.

The best fish and chips in Australia!

Big call, I know.

Tonight I stayed in Taree at the Twilight caravan park; the old couple that run it are seriously some of the most welcoming and lovely people I've met so far!

I would so like to think that sometimes people can walk away from time with me feeling like I did after talking with these two. In particular, you could tell the husband absolutely loved his job and was so genuinely interested in the stories of those staying at the park. He promptly drew an incredibly detailed map of the town and outlined practically everything I could possibly want or need to go to. After his "best fish & chips in Australia" call I just couldn't resist. And was not let down!! Sooo good, I'm tempted to stay another night JUST so I can have that for dinner again.

Here's some pics I took driving along the coast to/from Taree:

Absolutely love this "Carefree road" sign- add in the deflated balloons and it was photography heaven. Xxx