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

Im taking a little bit of byron with me

After a week in Byron I'm finally tearing myself away. I can honestly see how so many people come here for holidays and never leave...I could so easily become one of them.

Some little Byron highlights you definitely shouldn't miss next time you're there...

The Beach Hotel; THE place to be, day or night, in Byron. Love the view, love the people, love the free internet access ;), LOVE the insanely good wedges with sweet chili & sour cream (best post-surfing food ever created), love the nighttime hippie bands
Mimosa clothing; LOVE this byron based clothing brand. They're stocked in David Jones & boutiques all around Australia but their Byron store was an absolute goldmine; & so much cheaper than in stores! Also loved the "eco mama" store; to die for. On the lines of clothing...I could no joke buy EVERY item of clothing available from sportsgirl atm and be in love with them all; lovinggg their winter style. Now if only I had the money to actually buy ANY of it....sigh

Snorkeling and surfing; is a must-do when you're in byron. I'd never snorkelled before and was slightllyy unco but loved it all the same.

I leave Byron even more in love with it than I arrived... new friends, new lessons, new perspectives. And a better appreciation for the song "Lion man" by mumford and sons...Em, you know what I mean.

Let the adventure continue!! x

It pays to have spontaneous friends!

EMMA VISITED ME IN BYRON :)

So I've only been gone like two weeks but it seriously feels like foreevveerrr. And i was already missing some of my favourite coast people. Sad I know- but they're just so miss-able!

Emma and I used to live together and not only is she beautiful, talented, caring and passionate but I've always LOVED her spontaneous nature; this girl is up for anything and makes everything an adventure! This was no exception.

I threw it out there to come visit me and, true to her nature, THERE SHE WAS. Leaving at a moments notice to come adventure with me. And adventure we did.

She tells the story much better than I...check out her blog at http://selahinthenight.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much Em xxxx

ps. matthew drummond, 128. hahaha
pps. happy birthday to the lovely natalie!

Energy bursts can come at the weirdest times

This is mainly for em, jus and shae- who will understand the true meaning of "speak your heart moments".
After a massive day of surfing I was absolutely exhausted and was set to crash around 7o'clock. Then, the unexplainable happened. Out of nowhere I had THE MOST insane energy burst ever. There was music, there was dancing out of my vans sunroof, there was a rendition of my old dance schools warm-up routines, there was a cowboy hat, there was laughter, there was confused and surprised caravan park guests and a completely perplexed travelling partner. And lucky (or maybe not so lucky) for my beloved blog readers, there were embarassingly unattractive photos to remind me of it.
Oh, and then there was the crash. What goes up must always come down. And that I did...best sleep EVER

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gldNDev50c

My current dance inspiration; sandra bullocks character in the proposal who takes herself way too seriously lets loose in her interpretation of "get low"....hahaha best scene ever

LET ME SEE YOU GET LOW- YOU SCARED YOU SCARED!

STOP, WOAH, NOW WIGGLE IT!

Watego's Beach

WATEGO'S BEACH is definitely my favourite of the Byron beaches.

It reminds me of some of the more secluded coves you find at Noosa National Park- so its a touch of home, with the added bonus of being able to see my beloved lighthouse.

I've sat and watched the sun go down, I had my third surfing day (you can see Im slightly getting better at holding the board!), I've seen a firey-hula-hoop-er, and I've had an insanely good picnic with my amazing basket (see dad, told you it was worth all the space is takes up in the van! :p)

....on that picnic note; if you have never tried dried apricots and brie cheese together, DO IT. Incredible!

I have a surfers body!!!

Nope, I didnt wake up tanned and muscly with an awesome 6-pack.. :(
I got the unfortunate version of the surfer body.



Not only am I completely and utterly exhausted after my two afternoons of surfing but oh....my....goodness my muscles are hurting! Like seriously- I didnt even know some of these muscles EXISTED. They've clearly never been used before and apparently they were quite happy that way, and are making sure I know about it!! Ow ow ow ow owwwww. Oh, and to top it all off I have the most insane bruises allll over me, I seriously look like I've been beaten!


So I realise this picture is particularly unattractive but who cares, Im going for the sympathy card!

On the second afternoon I eagerly jumped on the board and instantly rolled off the other side again cause they hit all the same sore spots. Quite amusing to everyone around me, I wasnt too happy though. Lucky my new-found favourite sport is addictively worth it.

Fingers crossed that if I stick with the surfing- the tanned and muscly awesomeness is on its way and the bruises are on their way out!

The meaning of life

Crazy, I know.

I mean some people spend their entire life searching for the meaning of life.

If thats you, you can feel totally at ease. Because I'm about to tell you.

Ready for it? This is massive. The meaning of life...

Can be found at the

Byron Bay Cookie Company.

Seriously.

Im crazy for not surfing earlier!

Who grows up living in Noosa and doesn't properly learn to surf before the age of 21??? Me unfortunately, and I now think Im crazy for wasting all this time! I never really got peoples addiction to it, but after learning today- im definitely starting to understand.
We hired a longboard (it was massive, as you can see- I could barely fit my arm around it & was not exactly a graceful walk to the water- humbling!!!)
I practised for 3 and a half hours and I LOVED it!!!
I could only stand up on my knees at the beginning but by the end was standing up and catching waves in.
Even had an exciting little moment where I was able to turn around and wave and do a bit of an excited dance as I was surfing in. Show off, I know.
It was just so exciting and fun to learn something new- thats what I want this trip to be all about.

My biggest struggle was actually paddling onto the wave- my poor tiny arm muscles didn't know what hit them! So I still kind of needed a bit of a push onto the waves....I'll get there!!

All I know now is, I want my own board! This trip just took on a whole new theme!!

Getting me out of byron is going to be tough.

Love xoxoxox