Feeling a total calm on a beautiful Balinese balcony with ocean lapping the shore just below me, it seems a great time to finally blog. As expected the last 2 months have been a whorlwind tour of NZ, and being in Indonesia is about something so different than getting to places, or seeing sites- in fact it requires little movement to be happy - it is about the sounds, the smells, and the small things. Balinese people are kind and laugh a lot, and the music that is often heard reminds me of the chiming relaxation tones used for final vinyasa in yoga. In front of every door and throughout property are small offering baskets we think to ward of evil and bring good luck to family or business they are full of flowers, sometimes money, sometimes food- perhaps depending on what you wish to come. There is beautiful insense burning everywhere reminding me that I have finally arrived back to Asia, and again it just smells so calming. And the architecture is intricate, calculated and made mostly from wood - concerning me a little as I know that deforestation is a major issue in Indonesia (certainly the topic of a later blog when we venture from the coast).
But, in my calm found in Bali, I do not want to leave you out of incredible experiences in Australia!
Highlights definately were all the moments spent with friends- Eamon in Melbourne, Sandy and Steve in Blue Mountains (infamous mother of Steve Burroughs), Aleisa in Manly, and Tim (the Captain) in Darwin. These were the times we got a glimpse into real life in Australia and all were amazing hosts to us. In Melbourne finally understanding cricket and Aussie rules was made possible through info sessions, lessons and seeing each in action. Cheering for your favourite AFL team is great but I learned not to taunt on trains enroute to the game or else be considered a "bogan" and risk a brawl. Eamon also shared the Great Ocean Rd....see previous blog.... Aleisa (a Canadian from Ottawa living in Australia for last 9 years) showed us why aussie life is so tempting- I have never dreamed of popping down to the ocean for a snorkel to start my day....and as a Marine Biologist it is no wonder this place holds on to her as this country has weirdest, diverse wildlife everywhere you go. The Blue Mountains was a special trip for me....aside from being stunning ( and the place we got to hang out and watch Kangaroos hop about), it was enroute to a place called Tamworth! Anyone in Aus questioned this as a destination at any other time of year other than January when they host major country music festival- but this place was special to me as the long lost birthplace of my grandmother who was brought to Canada when she was 6 and was adopted here. I feel so much connection to my grandmother and have always wanted to be able to see where she originated. Finally meeting up with Tim in Darwin in the Northern Territory (NT) where things are done a little different than the rest of the country....needless to say I loved it, and sorry Tony and Steve but NT was my favourite part of Australia :).
Darwin is on the Ocean but minimal distance to the untamed "outback". Tim took us to a small (500 ppl) aboriginal community where he used to teach. We almost didn't get to go because the community was under 14m flood water and inaccessible by car as water had made the road into community impassable....but in true Tim fashion we decided to go anyways. What an interesting time for us as I have never been in an area affected by a natural disaster and was amazed how people responded - very calmly in fact. Kids were off on school holidays and there was no where to go unless you had a boat - the school field was under water. There was also the added excitement because flood waters brings salt water crocks into the are....this became real one day when we heard the sound of shotgun close to the home we were staying in...a 3 m (small really) croc had been trapped less than 200m from where we were! The trappers dragged it to the shore in the middle of town and put it on display as a warning to the kids not to swim....we (I include myself with the small children) got to feel it, move it, touch the big teeth....very cool! We had meals and conversations with some locals who gave us our first look into Australian culture and way of life- incredible. Despite bad conditions caused by flood water we made many efforts to fish for the infamous Baramundi! Using a technique deigned by me and not known to avid fisherman I almost caught three! Unfortunately my excitement at the fear and thought of catching on caused screaming and jerking and I lost the all (but got to see them all which was almost good enough for me!). On the way home from Daly Tim pulled of the road occasionally where I saw nothing, but apparently he saw a track, 4wd to stunning creeks and waterfalls to swim in (Darwin is REALLY unrelentingly hot). We camped at a "site" called black fellow creek - politically appropriate according to the aboriginal people we met - where we gathered wood for a fire hoping and praying not to stumble upon one of the "harmless" pythons or deadly brown snakes. We cleared giant webs with golden orb spiders in them away from the creek so we could swim, and set up our traps in the water to catch some dinner....I know you can't see my expression as I write this but even the memory o the place brings a smile from ear to ear...it was so cool. In our traps we caught yabbies like crayfish and fried them...I was skeptical for only a moment and then dove in. We ate them throughout the night....there is something amazing about catching your own food. Oh yah another strange thing when we were driving down the road there was a wallaby strung to the front grill...I thought it was a cute stuffed animal joke like we might have in Canada only to find out it was a real animal that they had either hit or shot and were taking home to eat...haha.
I am constantly in awe of how lucky I am to be doing what I am doing. A lifetime of experiences on this trip...so many that it is impossible for me to even come close in this blog without yammering on forever....
