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

Farewell to Aotearoa

Hi Everyone.

 

Apologies for the late update.  I had a good week wwoofing for a family doing garden work, and then to the beautiful Otamatea ecovillage in Kaiwaka, Northland.  Lynne and Reinhold were wonderful people, with a beautiful 5 acres of permaculture-designed property, strawbale house with green roof, composting toilets and a beautiful woodfired outdoor sauna/hot tub.  They were also the initiators of Otamatea ecovillage, and as such a great wealth of information on intentional communities.  I learned a lot, pruning and weaving a living willow fence, mulching, reading all I could about intentional communities and permaculture, kayaking, laughing and generally trying to take it all in.  Their land (and the adjoining common lands) was a very special place, surrounded by tidal estuaries and mangroves.  I'm thankful for my time with them, their hospitality and knowledge. 

 

After another visit to Joe Polaisher's place for a farm tour, it was on to Auckland and the city (a bit of a shock adjusting to the dislocation from the land, the rushing, people and the city life.).  I've spent a nice past few days with my dear friend Leah, a fellow yogini and kindred spirit.

 

It's hard to comprehend that I'll be leaving the land of milk and honey (quite literally!) tomorrow.  This has been a very powerful past few months for me.  I've had such a diverse set of experiences here, learned a lot, and met so many great, like-minded people.  Apart from Canada, it's the only place I've visited that I'd seriously consider settling.  This is a truly special, sacred place and I hope to return someday, sooner rather than later.  I'll cherish the memories of the New Zealand bush, dewy pungas (tree ferns), expansive vistas, wilderness, rolling farmland, clear, clean seas and skies, Maori culture, and mostly, special people (you know who you are).  I hope to keep in touch so that if any of you come to Canada we can meet again!  My deepest, heartfelt thanks to each of you that has in some way touched me, not just on this trip, but on my life's journey in general.  I love you all! 

 

Tomorrow it's on to Australia, Melbourne specifically.  I'm just trying to plan my month there.  Such a huge country with so much to see, it's hard to decide what to leave out! 

 

Until next time,

 

Love and light,

Kristi