ON HOMELESSNESS, FAMILY AND ADRENALIN

Just when you thought it was safe to open your inbox….the blog is back!! Our travelling days may be over, but we have decided to continue documenting our adventures up until we have a new address.
Having ignored the blog for over a month it is difficult to know where to begin to retell our adventures and how to keep this from becoming a boring inventory of each day’s events. So, I have decided to limit myself to the really big themes:

Life at No Fixed Address

We have started the search for a new hometown, having spent 10 days each in the Byron and Coffs areas. Full reports will follow on both areas, but in the meantime, following several requests, we have published both our Must Have and our Nice to Have criteria lists used to assess each area’s potential. You can find these on the front page of the blog (www.wordsfromthebush.blogspot.com) and no doubt will find them quite telling (or at least good for a laugh).

Although little changed in many ways, there seemed to be a sharp divide between the carefree gypsy life that ended where we left off in the last blog, and our “life between lives” that commenced with our arrival in Byron. Suddenly being of “no fixed address” seemed less cool & carefree and more unstable & dislocated. The sense of self that had been invested in being “travelers” was gone almost overnight and I for one felt quite disconcerted by the sudden lack of purpose and identity.

The feeling was made all the more disheartening by the weather, which for over two weeks offered up daily doses of rain or showers accompanied on occasions by a chilly wind. It was so bad that we actually abandoned the camper and moved into a cabin…..totally whimpish behavior, but a clear sign that it’s time to return to the “real world”.

Family Vacation

Stephanie & family

Right in the middle of our identity crisis arrives FAMILY. My mother arrived at the beginning of October and spent a couple of weeks with us in Byron and Coffs picking out the best spot for a granny flat. Then in mid-October we headed up to Noosa for the arrival of my sister’s family from England and Dennis’s mother Rose and daughter Renee from Melbourne. We all convened in a very grand house in Little Cove, Noosa for the “family vacation”.

By some sort of miracle the rain stopped and the sun appeared on the very day we arrived in Noosa. Our spirits lifted tremendously, and we avoided having to put up with a bunch of whinging Poms!

Rose enjoys the high life!

Rose and Renee only stayed with us for 3 nights – but I think their visit was a huge success and will kick off Rose’s new life as an adventurous traveler and socialite. She had fun and I can’t tell you how funny her stories were!

The highlight for me, of course, was the opportunity to spend time with my beautiful nieces, Lucy and Emma. Honestly, they are a tribute to my sister, Julie. Both are so attractive, intelligent, warm and fun (girls, if you are reading this you can also be moody and difficult so don’t let this go to your heads too much). I can report that there is no better cure for a sense of lost identity then to hug people you love, so it was a real treat to have my family with us at this time.

Thrills, Spills and Adrenalin

Somehow in 2 short weeks we managed to pack in an awful lot of adrenalin junkie behavior (all part of my endeavour to be recognized as a wild and crazy aunt).

Lucy & I graduate in diving

First, Lucy and I had arranged to take our Scuba Diving certificate. This was something that Lucy really wanted to do, and I signed up to share the experience with her – despite problems with my ears, a complete dread of sharks (can’t get the music to Jaws out of my head when within 3 metres of the ocean), and pretty pathetic swimming skills. The course was 3 days long with the first day in the pool and the second 2 days in the ocean. I managed to get through the 200m swim without stopping – although Lucy swam breast stroke so I wouldn’t come in too far behind (bless her!) – and passed the first day in the pool. I spent most of the first open water day throwing up and swimming in my own vomit. The visibility on the second open water day was 2m, so it was difficult to even see the fins of the person swimming in front of you. However, we both passed and in the end I actually enjoyed it. Many people have told me that I should take up meditation and I think diving could be a good form of meditation for me. Once you get past the fear (which takes some doing) it is remarkably relaxing. Weightless, silent and breathing deeply – even without anything to see the experience was strangely peaceful.

Emma learns to surf

While Lucy and I were scuba diving, Emma and Chris (Julie’s partner) took to the water to learn how to surf. Chris just about knocked himself out and retired somewhat the worse for wear. Emma took to surfing like a duck to water – I think it has something to do with fearlessness.

Meanwhile, Dennis went horseback riding with Holly - more in his section of the blog.

Then, of course, there was Movie World where we took to the rides. I think the star performer here was my mother. Granny endured the scarey Scooby Doo ride and although she looked somewhat blanched by the end, she was pretty impressed with her own daring!

And the piece de resistance in the adrenalin department has to go to jumping out of a perfectly good plane at 12000 feet. Emma and I did a tandem jump on the Gold Coast. It took two days of flying over the jump spot to get the right weather, but finally we were hurled out the door, freefalled for seeming ages and then sailed slowly to the ground once the shoot had opened. It’s certainly a thrill – but I actually found the diving scarier because I had to be responsible for myself. Having said that, I don’t think there can be anything quite like hanging half way out of a plane waiting to jump.

So that’s it. I’m exhausted and even starting to think that perhaps I’m getting too old to be having this much fun. We’re heading toward Newcastle and Port Stephens for our final locality assessment so watch this space! Meanwhile, over to Dennis for a different perspective.

Dennis & Holly ride on the beach

Well how do you compete with that?? Part of my job with the Pommies was to take Holly, Chris’s daughter , horse riding. She was great and I had not been on a horse for 40 years apart from the short ride at Diggers Rest (reported in an earlier blog) riding on the sands and on the beach just north of Noosa was magnificent and the gallop at the end. Golf was great and Mike Hall joined Chris and I at Coolum, again Mike won the money and the Competition of the day. We caught up with Mike and Odette for a drink as they were staying over for the weekend and then were invited for dinner at their home on the Gold Coast the following week to a magnificent BBQ and a look at their fantastic home (I could live there Stephanie) The other highlight for me was my Mother and Renee coming up to Noosa for a few days, we had a lovely big house that we had rented and mum thought she was in Hollywood living like the stars, Renee was really great with Mum and we all had fun.

Stephanie has covered most other subjects including the search for a place to live so I will sign off, wherever we end up on the NSW coast will be a continuation of the adventure, until next time……….