Australian Adventures

Hi everyone!

 

It's been a while since my last update.  Flew to Melbourne, and felt I was in another world entirely!  Having been on farms in the country the past while, I found the people and pace of the city pretty claustrophobic.  As cities go though, Melbourne was nice.  Quite cosmopolitain and artsy.  Did a day trip out onto the Great Ocean Road..... miles of great surf beaches and rugged coastline with amazing limestone formations.  Saw koalas in the wild (very sleepy and slow!).  Then went to Sydney and spent a couple days there exploring the Opera House, harbour and surrounding beaches and suburbs.  I liked it as a city as well..... a very beautiful harbour that reminded me of Vancouver!  They'd just taken the shark nets out of the beaches a couple weeks ago..... the last attack was in 2000.  Great Whites aren't uncommon.  Hmmm......

 

Then it was to the dry Red Centre.  Alice springs was an interesting place.  A large Aboriginal population, but largely destitute and struggling with social problems.  Quite different to the urban Maori I encountered in New Zealand.  The landscape in the centre is amazing..... red sand dunes stretching on for miles, and brilliantly coloured rocks left from an ancient age.  That's what I kept feeling there, the sheer age of Earth.  Ayers Rock has looked the same for as long as humans can remember, but once it was a large mountain range to rival the Himalayas.  I can't imagine the scale of time that it has existed to come to its present state.  Awesome doesn't begin to describe the feelings one has.  For me, it felt like a Holy pilgrimage.  Uluru and Kata-Tjuta (Aboriginal names for Ayers Rock and the Olgas) are some of the most sacred places I've been blessed with visiting.  They have an otherworldly feel to them, and I'll never forget their flaming red presences as the sun set in the desert.  Many many photos to come!  It was surprisingly cold in the desert at night.  Nearly zero degrees and as I was camping it made for some chilly toes! 

 

What a change coming to Cairns in North Queensland!  It was like stepping off the plane and into another world!  Lush, tropical vegetation and mangrove forests, and the Great Barrier Reef.  Unfortunately the seas are really rough at the moment, so I'm just waiting a couple days for things to settle down before going snorkeling/diving. 

 

Then, down the coast to Brisbane and home!  Just 20 days left.  I'm enjoying myeslf, but really looking forward to coming home and integrating all that I've learned and experienced.  The East Coast is quite touristy and I'm not too into that scene.  Hope to spend a few days at Crystal Waters Ecovillage before I leave and reinforce my interests.  I just finished reading Coelho's "The Pilgrimage" and was amazed at the parallels with my journeys. 

 

Hope you are all well and enjoying summer there!  Can't wait to catch up with you all.

 

Love and Light,

Kristi