Australia to Poland without flights!
The story so far…
Setting Forth
Crossing the Snowy Mountains
Australia has snow!
Wendy set off for Sydney in a camper van relocation, giving Jurek the time he needed to tie up the loose ends of his Melbourne existence. After a 14 hour bus journey, the two reunited in Sydney, making the most of the thriving metropolis with the wonderful Effy as guide and Pavel, a visiting fellow Cuddler.
The amazing Effy!
Polish/Czech vodka night comes to North Sydney
Vodka shots are best chased with pickles, sausage and friends
Cuddlers reunited in the Queen Victoria Building
Redfern by night
Refern was a really interesting suburb to explore. It's on the verge of trendification, with cool cafes, music venues and artist's studios. It is also home to the Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy.
Being tourists
Bridge reflections
Sydney Harbour saw Jurek embrace his inner tourist (this is the guy who usually avoids seeing things that are "must sees"). He took over 40 photographs of the bridge, but we'll spare you the postcard shots.
Adventures in the ‘Rainbow Region‘
Then commenced the hitch-hiking adventure on which the two quickly became three, joined by the wonderful Finnish Tommi. The friends explored the NSW coast.
Swimming with dolphins Forster
Some friends came to celebrate Tommi\'s first dip in the Pacific Ocean
You can never be too sun safe
Our Finn get\'s ready for the day. After our 4 days of hitching up the coast, we slept on the beach together at Brunswick Heads on Byron Bay. Their was a lightening storm out at sea and the Cape Byron lighthouse flashing. We woke at dawn for a swim to welcome the new day.
3-man free-camp
Near Laurieton, NSW: A spot recommended by our hitching ride upon the sunset
Finn watching
Brunswick Heads
Bulahdelah
This is how Australian towns look. We ended up spending a night here because the van giving us a lift broke down. We had a 4km nightwalk from the highway with backpacks to reach the town.
Forster
Mullumbimby Hotel
Our favourite town
Wendy and Jurek farm-sat for a family friends who were told to go to Murwillumbah to start a pecan nut farm by their Indian guru back in the ’90s.
Mount Warning from sugar can fields
Mount Warning is the first peak in Australia to welcome the sunrise each day. Hence, it's not surprising that the area is considered sacred to aboriginal people & the Murwillumbah area is spiritually significant to many groups of different religious faiths today.
Tommi, David & Jurek
Sweaty men conquered Mt Warning
Tommi in his element
Tommi came by to show us how to poach eggs Melbourne style
Murwillumbah farmers market
A local produce market happens every Wednesday in M'ubah, so it is almost possible to avoid supermarket shopping.
The two investigate what all the fuss is about in Byron Bay, to find one night is plenty.
Whale watching at Point Byron
What a way to start the day!
Keen to avoid pricey hostels over a long weekend, we rolled out our sleeping bags on a viewing platform and slept above the ocean. This is Wendy with the first light of the day on Australia's most easterly point.
Byron Bay
Byron lighthouse
They retreat to greener pastures, to investigate the contribution system of the young Ponyland commune, outside of Nimbin.
Yurt and full moon
Yurt interior
We slept in a yurt during our stay at Ponyland. The yurt was constructed by Ponyland founder Frank. Frank, Phoebe and their son Hannibal lived in the yurt for a year as they travelled around Australia. Hannibal was just 1 at the time. The yurt packs down small enough to fit into the back of a ute tray.
Ponyland kitchen
Ponies like to cook by campfire as much a possible.
UFO dwelling
The UFO platform was constructed by enthusiastic ponies in one weekend. It was unoccupied when we visited.
The two become farmers WWOOFing with a family in Wallaby Creek, near Urbenville.
Kitchen garden
Tanya, our wwoofing host, talked about her tips to permaculture gardening. The garden is built within a chicken-wire cage to stop competing birds.
The homestead stove
This was the heart of the farm. And Wendy's first experience cooking on a wood fire stove/oven.
Our cottage on the hill
We had many friends come to visit during our stay!
Collecting wood
Ben, our wwoofing host, pulls a dead tree with the tractor.
Chainsawing
Jurek learnt how to handle a chainsaw during our wwoofing stay.
Step construction
We built wooden steps down to the Wallaby Creek rainforest. Hot and hard work!
Our stairs!
Time for a rest.
Wallaby Creek
View from the top paddock.
Michele
Our Italian wwoofer and Olympic dishwasher.
Before a peaceful time in 30 year old The Black Horse Creek Community, outside of Kyogle.
Earthship
We helped Tori, our wwoofing host, weave the external bamboo frame for her earthship. Tori plans to use the earthship as her bedroom, lounge room and meditation temple.
Earthship interior
Inside each white bag is a mixture of soil, sand and cement, making the earthship extremely thermal efficient. It was beautifully cool inside the dome, despite being a hot day outside.
Adventuring at Blackhorse
Blackhorse Creek Community was formed 30 years ago when a group of people bought the 1000 hectares of farmland. Today, through their reforestation efforts, you'd never know it had once been paddocks. It was like staying in a nature reserve.
Jurek's first koala
After some rough bush-bashing uphill, this guy waiting for us made it all worthwhile!
Talking science
Across the valley we met Don, who'd traded in his life at a genetics laboratory bench for a life in Blackhorse.
Tori's Kitchen
Tori's 10 hectares was mostly left for bushland. She lived between separate structure that made up the "rooms" of her house.
“Everything’s better in Queensland”
The pair land in Brisvegas in full swing of preparations for the G20 summit.
Brisbane river & city
Creatures of Roma Street Gardens
Traffic control
Brisbane is the first city we've seen with mangroves along the river banks.
Norman Park Station
Southbank beach
The southbank of the river has been converted into public spaces that people really use. Gardens, picnic spaces, playgrounds, museums, art galleries, theatres - it's a part of the city that celebrates play & leisure.
West End
Best deal around town
Roma Street Gardens
Kangaroo Point
Don't!
City intersection
Such an amazing tree to see in the middle of a modern city.
Victoria Bridge
Brisvegas
Then return Home to be reunited with a family they never knew they were apart of at the Imbil Rainbow Gathering.
They've been here
This was all we found at the original sight of the gathering. On our way out we found a small note with a rainbow ribbon saying the family had moved to a nearby place.
How many hippies does it take to start a car?
The long walk out
We had been driven 13km down gravel roads to reach the original gathering sight. When we foung the gathering had moved, we had no option but to walk to a near by farm house and ask for a lift back into town. We had limited water and food, so the experience taught us to be more cautious in the future. We ended up walking 8kms before we were able to get a lift.
Gypsy camp
Food circle
The rainbow family holds hands and sings around the sacred fire before each communal meal.
Onwards to try their luck in the Central Queensland Outback at Comet and The Gemfeilds.
The biggest painting on an easel
Emerald joins the "biggest" attraction club
Sidewalk mosaic, Emerald
We certainly ain't in Nimbin anymore!
Ludwig Leichhardt's 'dig tree', Comet
Early Australian explorers would have their supplies buried under trees, awaiting their arrival.
Comet's water supply
With pelican
Outback surfing
Outback sunset
The Central Queensland Gemfields
Australia's only remaining mining common
Livin' on the Tropic!
Comet was jumpin'
Our Couchsurfing hosts Jenny & Stu showed us a great time.
Before, continuing the animal theme, studying the eating behaviour of road-train drivers in Dingo.
Another endless coal train
These trains go past hourly and at 1.6kms long. The coal is extracted from mines surrounding Blackwater and almost all goes to the coastal Gladstone for exportation.
Cattle trucks
Road trains full of cows head to Rockhampton (Australia's beef capital) meat works.
Road trains, Dingo
Emus
This is what the bush land surrounding Dingo looks like
Tropical lightening
We arrived at the start of the rainy season. Big rain can cause flood that cut roads, isolating towns from each other. This storm cause our power to be out on & off for 2 days; a bit of a worry as our electric water pump stopped working too... No power and no water isn't so much fun in the outback.
Our little house in the outback
We share with an Argentinean couple and two English friends who work in the roadhouse with us.
More adventures coming soon!
That's all for now!
Wendy's favourite place to nap: shopping malls.
