Return to Byron Bay

I have waited long enough to tell the tale of my return to the Byron hinterlands, so without further ado, here it is...

Stepping of the plane on 1st January 2014 I was met by my friend who took me back to my home for the next couple of weeks. I've lived in Sydney before, but nothing quite compares to the Bondi bustle! I planned to stay with close friends for the two weeks leading up to my teacher training course. Oh yes... I forgot to mention, I've returned to Aus to take heed of my heart advice to follow my dreams to train as a yoga teacher!

Bondi went by in a whirl, as time does when you're having a blast. Seeing friends, studying books, sampling coffee and practicing yoga was my main agenda. As usual, the hospitality I was shown by my friends and their families was nothing short of inspiring.

On February 2nd 2014 I began my training. The course was seven weeks intensive and my fellow trainees and I ate, slept and dreamed yoga (when we weren't teaching it, practicing it or learning more about it!). The usual daily agenda consisted of a 5am rise and walk into town where we took turns either attending a yoga class or applying what we'd learned in our class hours and teaching the school's 6am public classes. The rest of the morning was spent attending workshops, submitting homework and eating delicious food. The afternoon was again scheduled around workshops, coursework and another 4pm class to take turns teaching. The average day ended around 8/9pm after a post-dinner meditation class.This was an enlightening seven weeks to say the least! Not just in learning how and what to teach but what to believe and prioritise in life in general. The course's many spiritual classes encouraged me to look into myself and search for the answers to my nagging questions: Who am I and why am I here?
I completed and passed the course in March and stayed on to take up some teaching opportunities that arose after.

Attending this course, for me, was the window to a whole other world. Prior to this course, I had begun to explore my spirituality. Having attended yoga as a student frequently over the last few years and devoured books by Ram Dass, Deepak Chopra, Khalil Gibran, to name but a few splendid authors, I had begun a journey of inner exploration - which, I might add, was rather ironic as I had traveled thousands of miles to explore but a few inches within. Alas - the Universe has it's own agenda!

I lived in Byron for five months. I met some of the most inspiring people and learned more and more about myself. I explored dinner dates with myself, as well as seeing music live on my own, though never for long! I grew in confidence though learning, writing, sharing and teaching. I began to see for myself the benefit of travel and it's ability to get you to discover the self in fast-track.

As much as I had fallen in love with Byron Shire and it's majestic scenery; alluring waters; vibrant populous and renaissance undertones, I realised that my return to Australia for a second year was one of self-development and that I had to follow the rabbit to where I would best experience that growth. I completed a 10 day Vipassana retreat then shortly after, left for the red sands and Arnhem Lands of the Northen Territories.

Darwin - The Northern Territories

A short flight from Cairns over the red, Australian bush lands of the Northern Territories will land you in Darwin. Step off the plane and, even acclimatized to the tropical heats of upper Queensland, you can begin to feel your eye balls dehydrating and your hair strands singeing. Oh - it's winter in Darwin...
My Dad always spoke of Darwin in his travels of Australia. I wanted to go there to be able to reminisce together over a beer from time-to-time. I also wanted to see the crocs and was of course inspired (as unoriginal as it is) by the film 'Australia'. You know, that one with Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman. Hugh Jackman showering. Ehem. What was I talking about again? Ah, yes...

One thing we hadn't really expected upon booking our flights two months ago, was just how expensive Darwin was going to be. Plagued by rich miners flying in for the working week, the city has, inconveniently, raised it's prices to squeeze every last penny from them. And, every other unfortunate soul who ventures up north, budget backpackers included. Surrendering to the evidence that we weren't going to get a hostel room for less than $33 p/p per night, we elected the cheapest (and only available) one we could find - Dingo Moon, a converted motel circling a pool which is shaded by the hugest and most pungent frangipani tree I have ever seen!
Upon arriving in Darwin we were both handed booklets for all manner of tours and venues, so that same night we landed, clutching our vouchers, we walked to the waterfront where we got BOGOF glasses of red wine to accompany the fiery-red Darwinian sunset.
On day two we awoke to a banquet breakie... croissants, cereal, muffins, tea and coffee and fruit. All free! We fueled up then explored the city on foot, true to our usual reckies. In the evening we walked down to the much anticipated night markets where, after enjoying the magnificent sunset accompanied by a bottle of wine, we bought market food and perused the stalls.

Walking back from the markets we were handed free drinks and $5 pokies vouchers for the casino 'SkyCity'. We decided to take the casino up on it's generous and purposely enticing offer and poked (no pun intended) our heads in on the way back. One vodka soda, g&t, beffuzled pokie participating hour later, we each put $10 down on the blackjack table... Fortunately we left $90 up on the house. Although granted, we realised this wasn't the most reliable way of earning whilst, rather broke. He he he. Life's a gamble, as they (the gamblers) say!

On Saturday 27th we saw crocs!
There is actually a reptile zoo in the centre for which you can pay $35 each to see huge, lethargic and depressed looking crocs floating in small tanks. Needless to say, we decided against supporting that establishment and booked a river cruise on the Adelaide river instead.
In keeping with the rest of our independent travels, we hired a car for the day and booked up our own action-packed agenda...

Luke spear throwing (impressingly accurately!)

In the morning we went on an aboriginal cultural tour, 'Pudakul'. We had to drive a little way down a dirt track (shh - don't tell the hire company!) to reach a small open area next to a small lake, or 'billabong'. There we met another couple booked in for the experience and promptly waited together in the heat of the wilderness for our native guides. We were greeted by "DD", a young aboriginal girl of 18 who has been leading the tour since she was 12. She initiated the tour with a head wetting which blesses any non-natives to their specific Kakadu people and protects us from any malicious spirits or animals. The wetting entailed DD's skillful spitting of billabong water from her mouth onto the tops of our heads. From the opening, we were led down a small pathway through the native flora where DD educated us on some of the plants traditionally used be her people for medicine, food, water supplies, natural dyes and craft. The aboriginals enjoy a vast diet of fruits and vegetables alongside different animal wildlife. Some of the meats they consume are very high in oily fats which, when consumed regularly, coat the skin with a thick oily layer and act as a natural spf. These indiginous birds are protected in Australia and by law, only the native aboriginals can hunt them for their meat.
We were introduced to her father, Graham, further down the track who showed us how to play the digeridoo. They make them by seeking out termite-induced, hollowed trees - tapping trunks with a stick is the tried and tested method, then cutting them down, painting them and finally getting around to playing them. Digeridoo playing is considered a male past time.
We learnt 'dilly' bag weaving techniques, carried out by the women in the communities, in between meal preparations.
There is a very clear law system within the communities, regulated by the elders. One of the many that was explained to us was that of the discipline stick, used for, well... disciplining?!
We were shown how to throw spears using launchers. Luke proved to be quite the natural at this and went all Dundee on us, hitting the target spot on.

In the afternoon we boarded The Adelaide Queen and cruised down the Adelaide river marveling at the abundance of crocodiles looming up out of the murky waters. The ship's crew bring along enticing chunks of meat and hang them from rods just above the water. When a croc makes his first attempt at an easy snack the crew raise the rod as he sinks begrudgingly down again. On his second attempt, the savvy croc slithers up with momentum from directly underneath the not-so-enticing rotting fleash and easily clears the surface with his back legs. Splashing back down with his reward, he submerges once again into the muddy depths. Luke and I were amazed at the number of crocs awaiting their 3pm snack and, of course, relieved that it wasn't us...

Darwin was an educational and pretty impressive experience.
With our travels nearing an end we felt recharged and ready to dedicate time toward selling Autumn and making the long journey back to Sydney for some last-minute souvenir gathering!

Cairns - The Great Barrier Reef

Having been rather stationary for a few months (as far as travelling goes), Luke and I spontaneously booked some Jetstar sale flights up in a hasty attempt to see more of this huge continent before leaving in two months to go back to the UK.
The most of our travelling has been by campervan which has ticked all our boxes as far as adventure and convenience goes, however, budget-wise, we are now very much experiencing 10 months without a tangible income and the fuel here, like most other things, is NOT cheap!
On Cairns-flight eve, we decided to stay the night in Brisbane airport in order to be at the airport ready for our 4am check-in. We undoubtedly had the worst night's sleep since our ghastly, broken-down experience in St Kilda Melbourne... Not only did we manage to overlook that our 'perfect nesting spot' was in fact under a disguised air-conditioning unit so that, upon waking from our pathetic hours sleep we felt cold to the bone, but also, we somehow managed to forget to buy in comfort-food supplies, rendering us not only frozen, numb and sleep deprived, but also hungry for something more than roasted nut mix. We weren't the best of pals that night or the following morning. Rookies.
Anyway.

A tropical flower in the botanic gardens

We arrived in Cairns to a barmy tropical morning. Having rescued our dwindling sugar levels with a measly handful of sultanas each, we survived the hour's wait for our complementary shuttle bus to Nomads hostel. Having arrived, food shopped and FINALLY eaten a decent meal, we rested our weary heads on the grass beside the town's Esplanade lagoon. Friends reunited.
The following day I finally dedicated my morning to completing my Australian tax return online. Unfortunately, after devoting hours to the cause, I wasn't able to submit it as they are apparently, waiting on my 'Shared Secret Information' which can be made available from any time up until the end of August by my employers. Not handy when you're a budgeting traveler living on avocado sandwiches. So, with this unfortunate turn of events I was finally forced to make the humble phone call back home. Damn. One day I will be a fully independent, functioning adult. I promise.

Cairns is another popular destination along the East Coast. Most famously for The Great Barrier Reef. We like to think we saved the best for last. It's also winter in Australia now, which for a tropical climate means dry season, which to us, means guaranteed hot sunshine. We are now on our third consecutive summer in a row and still not missing winter.

On our to do list for Cairns was predominately a snorkelling trip to the Great Barrier Reef.
Luke's grandmother, known by most as 'Moosie', provided us with the contact details of some good friends of hers in Port Douglas, an hour up the coast from Cairns. Having been quite the adventurers themselves, we should have guessed that Luke's grandparents' friends would be so too... These friends were in fact the owners of Poseidon, the most highly regarded dive yacht of The Reef. A rather nifty stroke of luck, we thought!
We had sent a post card a few weeks in advance of our arrival, hoping to visit the couple and catch up over tea on some of their no doubt, remarkable travel stories they shared with Luke's grandparents. When we phoned them upon arrival, they offered us a truly fantastic deal on their yacht which, at the time, we had no idea just how famously regarded they were. After graciously accepting their offer, we booked in for our day trip to The Great Barrier Reef.

The Great Barrier Reef
The early rise wasn't the slightest struggle on Tuesday 23rd July. With the arrival of our hugely anticipated day, excitement was definitely in the air. We had hired a car the evening before and gathered our 'on the road' snacks ready to hit the road pronto. The drive from Cairns to Port Douglas would turn Jeremy Clarkson a deep shade of emerald - The beautifully maintained roads snaking amidst a glassy turquoise ocean to our right and tropical rainforest to our left.
We arrived in Port Douglas around 8am and treated ourselves to a coffee from the marina. We were greeted aboard our vessel, The Poseidon' with smiles and welcomed with tea and muffins.

The Poseidon set off shortly after everyone had boarded for the first dive site. We were given a quick briefing on what not to touch - essentially everything, as it's obviously a protected Eco-system, then ushered toward the stern and invited to jump into the 25C glassy water...

In my opinion, you have never 'seen it all' when it comes to marine life. The coral alone came in hundreds of varieties, not to mention the thousands of colour variations. Initially, the sight was overwhelming. Nature defies our rules of colour coordinates, electing favourably to paint itself pink and yellow, orange with purple spots, blue and green stripes... You name it, nature's wearing it! The fish are no different to this rule. Parrot fish are just as the name suggests. They have hard beak-shaped teeth to gnaw at the hard coral which, by the way, is so hard and sharp that the slightest touch of a flipper against it creates deep scratches in the hard plastic. They are luminescent shades of pink, orange, green, yellow and blue and are about the size of your average toddler!
We saw molluscs of every shape and size, sea cucumbers the size of draught stoppers and what seemed like the entire congregation of Nemo's family. And some.
You are told to look out for clown fish, angel fish, grouper and whales sharks but the majority come to investigate you before you even begin. What a spectacle.


A few times a year, the tide goes out far enough that the top of the reefs are actually out of the water. Some of the branch-like coral does actually emit a powerful toxin while out the water and actually becomes carnivorous toward, smaller, marine life (phew). The best was, in our opinion, left until last and having enjoyed three hours worth of snorkelling for the day, we were finally called back aboard for the return journey to port.
Unfortunately we weren't able to catch up with Moosie's friends as one had had an operation and was recovering. We plan to pay them a visit and flood them with thanks again in person some day soon.

The rest of our time in Cairns was spent trekking around the beautiful botanic gardens, which was our first of the tropical variety. We must have walked a 20km round walk one day, encompassing the mountainous parameter of the park, amid humid flora. The air was thick and salty and every tree appeared to perspire some kind of glistening sap-like residue. Like everything else in the tropics!
We treated ourselves to an impromptu dance and drink one night, enjoying views of the harbor. It was so nice to be wearing thin clothing at late hours. It really did feel like the holiday we so desperately needed from our holiday after all!

Byron Bay

Having exchanged heart-felt goodbyes with the Yamba clan, I set off 'on the road again' in our campervan - Autumn, with whom I have recently become reacquainted.
Autumn was left behind in Yamba by Luke when he made his way to Byron Bay to do his Dive Masters course. In the few weeks Autumn was with me, we made a few girly trips. One of which was a blast in Lennox Head: Four of us, two sleeping in their car, drove up to Lennox for a couple of nights. We made some great friends who owned a lovely French café. On the second night we played Ping-Pong in their weekly competition. I blame my lack of podium position on the rather large glass of Bordeaux I was sipping along-side.
Whilst staying in Yamba to work, I made weekly trips up to Byron Bay, Australia's happening, hippie town where it's all about the hazy days and lazy ways. If you know what I mean...
Each week, Luke and I would chill on the beach and eat at some of the many restaurants. Then I would return to Yamba and back to my routine of surfing, working and beach bonfires. The dilemma (what!? I hear you say)? The dilemma, was that Luke and I were really starting to miss each other. (Sic).
Aside Luke's brief stay in Yamba and my once-weekly visit to Byron, Luke and I had hardly seen each other since I left Stubbo farm, back in March so we were really starting to crave each other's company again.
I left Yamba suddenly and impulsively. Yamba had well and truly sucked me in, along with all the other 'long-termers'. I needed a quick escape and this was my opportunity. So, on the 1st July, I left. I actually managed to get the majority of good-byes in, aside my employer Greg (SMASH man), and the lovely little family I was teaching Spanish to. I do feel really guilty about that, even if they had assured me from the get go that they understood the fickleness of backpackers and that I may be prone to slipping off when the wind blew from the North. For those of you pedants out there, I did steal that one from Chocolat and I have adopted it as my excuse for chronic dissatisfaction, aka 'Itchy Feet' ever since.

Byron Bay is a very unique little town. The backpacker's Mecca of the Australian East coast. Everyone has been, or is, Byron bound.  Known by many (boys) as 'that place with the jelly wrestling club' - Aquarius, and the 'wet t-shirt competition' competitions - Cheeky Monkeys, the majority of gap year travellers* come to Byron for the party and in summertime, I can imagine that plays a large part, however, look closer and you'll discover what the locals are keen to nurture and that's the spiritual, surfy, organic, yoga fanatic, vegan friendly, Krishna curious, scuba-diving (Luke's addition) community that we have got to know a little about.

Luke scuba-dived and volunteered at the local dive shop, assisting with the preparation and dives. I've watched him often when he teaches the refresher course in the pool. He's a fantastic teacher, very patient, passionate and good-looking. I meant, err...
Whilst Luke was diving I was filling my time with long coastal walks, whale watching (12 humpbacks to-date), morning beach meditation and twice-daily sessions of yoga - Ohm. I've also caught up on quite a lot of reading. And then there's always The Game of Thrones, which is unescapable even from over the other side of the world!

We took up the 7-day-a-week-now-I-won't-ever-mop-a-floor-again hostel job upon my arrival. This gave us free board and a much needed weekly income of $400 p/w, $300 after tax. We had to arise every day at 6am to the humbling routine of sweeping and mopping the entire tiled surfaces of the hostel, uncover the pool (I implore you to attempt this in a tropical monsoon. Not easy), dry the bathroom surfaces, ready for the cleaners (never really got that part?), wipe the communal tables and unlock all the common rooms. We finished around 7.30am, enabling Luke just enough time to gobble up some oats before hitting the ocean floor for the rest of the morning. Our evening work entailed emptying of bins, covering the pool, locking the common rooms and cleaning the kitchen. The most annoying part of our role could have been eliminated had we paid better attention to the job title - Night Manager... Find me another soul who can be woken without contempt three times a night to the volume inept, drunken shenanigans of other people having fun whilst attempting a night's slumber in preparation for a 6am wake so I can shake their hand, because I sure as hell didn't demonstrate my most patient side whilst telling people to "SHHHH, for the last time' at 4am on Sunday mornings. Needless to say, 'Luke who sleeps through nuclear bombs' did not get woken quite so often. Unless a pillow was thrown in his general direction. Which it wasn't, whistles quietly...

The only sad news I have for you is that our dear campervan is up for sale. Boo-hoo. She has done us very proud, safely taking us down to the southern-most points of Australia and now up to the most Easterly. She's driven through rain, dust and scorching heat alike whilst simultaneously leaking and over-heating. She is a symphony of squeaks, rattles and bangs with a cloak of rust, rot and mould. But we wouldn't have her any other way. Well, perhaps without the leaks.
On hindsight (reading back to my first post in September 2012), we chose Autumn very quickly. We had only looked at a couple of others before deciding that we had found 'the one' and committing to the sale. We spent half our savings within the first two weeks (on the purchase of the van and essential garage work) only to be dealt a panic attack in the form of a broken down camper in a dark and drug addict ridden Coles supermarket car park, in the notoriously dangerous Baclava side of St Kilda, Melbourne. Needless to say, Not much has fazed us since then!
Looking back, would we have chosen against buying a campervan and instead settling for the popular hostel/greyhound bus route most venture down (or up, as is our case)? I'll let you know once we do a little of it over the next couple of months but for the moment, as mentioned earlier, the only thing i'd change is the leaks.
And, if we could only pass on one little piece of advise from our hard-learnt knowledge it would most definitely be to avoid where possible, if not completely, the consumption of chickpeas. Or any other form of pea or bean for that matter, unless you don't mind sharing a noxious gas chamber with your loving partner. Need I say anymore!?

*dubbed glampackers for their disproportionate spending of funds on non-essential items such as copious amounts of alcohol, trendy museli and nightly take-away pizzas.