Aussie Adventure
Namaste everyone, well I finally made it to Broome, which is on the coast of Western Australia.You wouldn't believe how ecstatic I was to finally swim in the ocean again. It had been about nine or ten weeks since I'd seen the ocean and to a surfer that's agony. I couldn't believe my luck, I actually got to go surfing yesterday, it was only small but it was still big enough to catch a few. I've been able to stand back and witness how more centred and happy I am when I'm near the ocean, I feel a completely different person when near the water.
These next few posts I'm just going to place mainly pictures on them so you can all see what a wonderful country australia is.
Just playing with the camera.
This was taken in South Australia, the area is a few hours south of Adelaide.
We both enjoyed this area immensely.
One of the many problems crossing the country, I was fast asleep and Elisenda was driving,
boy what a fright I had when it exploded, thank god
Elisenda was able to control the car.
Another boarder crossing.
We just crossed the boarder of South australia and the Northern Territory
when we came across a few wedge tail eagles. When I went over to take some photo's
I found two huge tail feathers, we both thought it to be a blessing and a good sign.
This photo was taken on the way, it's actually sand under the fog,
I think we were just starting to hit the desert at this time.
This was taken just outside of Coober Pedy, we finally made it to the desert.
We were told about a place in Coober Pedy where you could camp underground.
This was one of the air shafts, it certainly was an experience.
Traveling Australia
Namaste to you all, I'm finally ready to begin again on my Aussie adventure. It was great to spend sometime staying in the one place for awhile, but now it's time to move on again. In the short time that I've spent in Alice Springs, I've certainly come to realise that there are still places around Australia where the people make the place what it is.
I realised fully that it's the people that makes a place and not just the place it's self. Alice reminds me of how most of Australia used to be. I really don't know exactly when it changed(probably after September 11) people became closed and fearful. I remember how it didn't really matter where you went or who you met, Australians were always ready to help in anyway they could. In other words their hearts were more open and helping people was part of Australian culture. I and probably alot of people have certainly noticed a shift in energy around the globe since Barack Obama got elected.
I believe we have finally turned a corner in our evolution. I feel we now have a chance to change our destiny. Whether anyone wants to admit it, America is probably one of the only countries in the world that can influence the whole of humanity. In other words if America can change and go down the road of peace, compassion and understanding, then I feel the rest of the world will follow.
Here's some more pictures of this beautiful country
This was taken along the roadside in South Australia, not sure what crop it is, it's everywhere in this area.
I brought a yabbi trap in N.S.W so my friend could see, then taste what a freshwater yabbi tastes like. You just throw them in a pot of boiling water or even better straight on the BBQ. They taste just like a prawn.
This unusual place is a saltwater lake. This lake in particular in Victoria is called the Pink Lake.
The salt covers everything, it's a very strange place to see.
We found this Blue tongue lizard near the lake. If theres one thing that's great about Australia
is how easy it is to come across wildlife where ever you go.
We stayed in a national park that was in South Australia. Because it was right at the bottom of Australia in the Southern Ocean, it had a feel as if you were in Scotland(cold, green and breezy) I loved it.
Trying to keep out of the cold wind.
This was taken in a wonderful place called Rapid Bay. I know I haven't been to Scotland
but this whole area felt like Scotland(I must have had a past life in Scotland, it felt so familiar to me, like I'd been there before) I cant wait to actually experience the real thing.
Traveling Australia
Namaste to you all, well as some of you know for the past few months I've been fortunate enough to get a chance to travel around my own country with one of my best friends. At the moment it feels as though it could be the last time I see Australia for quite awhile, so I guess it's important to me now to take a look at my own country before I head back overseas.
Our plan was to travel from the east coast to the west coast. Well for some reason we've been stuck in the middle for a month now. Yep alot of things have happened to keep us around what I call the heart of the nation 'Uluru' or (Ayers Rock as it was once called). It certainly has been interesting living in Alice Springs, which is the closest largest town near the rock. I have never lived in a town where a majority of the population are aboriginal.
I have never understood the plight of the native people of Australia and after spending a month here I'm still no further down the road of understanding how as a nation we can help the aboriginals to help themselves. Now the most obvious thing to alot of people say is education! well what I've seen so far is that, that cant work yet with these people because 90% of the children refuse to go to school and their parents don't make them.
So how can you educate a person if they don't turn up to learn. When I'm talking about education I'm not really just talking about white mans model eg maths, science and english. I mean this certainly helps in this world to have an education, but I think first and foremost these people need to learn about some of the basics of life it self, again. I think through all the pain and abuse as a people they've some how along the road, have forgotten the basic way to live in a semi-harmonious way.
Alice Springs has some of the worst statistics for crime in the world, as well as having been known to have the most alcoholics per-capita in the world. The people I have met in the town talk about how huge the mountain is to climb to help these people, alot of them cant even see the light at the end of the tunnel yet. One friend talks of the only way these people can move forward is, time! Time is needed to heal the pain and suffering these people go through and have been through. I fully agree with this statement, but what can we do to speed up the process of healing? After being around here seeing and hearing from whites and blacks I'm not quite sure.
I used to say about everybody in any situation, if you play victim you will never heal, you will never grow and move on. I still maintain that is the problem with most humans, especially these days. Humans have for some reason taken on the idea that we don't have to be responsible for our own actions, that it is because of other people, other circumstances outside of ourselves that we behave the way we do. Well sorry but I believe that once a person turns around say eighteen to twenty one years old, then it is about this time that we have to understand that we are responsible for everything we do and everything that happens in our lives.
If you want to be happy, successful, miserable, kind, loved, hated, addicted to a substance, rich, poor, etc, etc, then you and only you can have the power to change, to be what you want to be. I know some people will say but that isn't the case with everyone! some peoples circumstances are just to hard to rise above, some people don't have the choice, well that can also be very true and I can understand this. Some peoples tests are huge, but it still doesn't have to be the way they think it has to be, because as a species we all have one thing in common, we all have a thing called CHOICE!!!
Here are some pictures we've taken on our travels.
This pretty well sums up how alot of Aussies try and go about life.
This unusual little creature looks pretty harmless, dont be fooled their called blue bottles.
These little fellas have created many surfers and swimmers plenty of pain.
We stayed at one of my favorite places along the East Coast of Australia, Seals Rocks. It's still pretty untouched, which is very rare for Australia these days.
The surfing at Seals is excellent, as well as the fishing. It's great to see the local fisherman still going out in their little boats, pulling their nets in, as they've done for a hundred years.
We were told this shark was caught a day or so before the picture was taken. The locals were quite upset that the man didn't release it back into the water(and we wonder why so many creatures are becoming extinct).
Some of the locals lazying about, these guys are wild, just very friendly.
This is where I grew up as a kid. I haven't been back to the house where I spent most of my life for about nine years, ah the memories.
This pub is at Windsor, a small river town west of Sydney.
The Three Sisters is one of the most well known tourist attractions in N.S.W. Its situated in the Blue Mountains(one of my favorite places in the world).
We found a fantastic little camp ground in the heart of the Blue Mountains. We met some great people here that have been travelling around OZ for awhile. It was very significant to meet these people, they had a book called 'Camps 4' it's an atlas of Australia, that has every free camp ground in Australia. This book has been our bible, we've saved heaps of money. If you want to drive around Australia, please do yourself a big favour get this book.
The Death of the Postcard
Namaste to you all, I'd like to share with you all, what I believe is one of the most important universal laws. 'Support to our fellow brothers and sisters' this law I believe is one of the main reasons that we are on this earth, supporting and helping our fellowman in anyway we can.
If this law alone was followed by most of humanity, this world would be a much more peaceful, joyful and loving place. If we share what we have with others, if we can help in anyway possible, our own prosperity increases. Now we need to remember here, that the primary goal is to help each other first, not the reward first. If your looking for reward and acknowledgement first, then you've missed the point and the whole process will backfire.
Now to the story, I met a wonderful couple Adrian and Zoe in India, last year. The first thing I noticed about these two, was their kindness and their warm friendliness, to everyone that crossed their paths. I was very fortunate and blessed to spend some fantastic times with both of them.
At the time Ade was working on a documentary called "The Death of the Postcard" well its finished now. I was privileged to be sent the documentary a few weeks ago. I realised as he was making the film, the strong dedication he had in making this documentary, something else was very prevalent to me and what I think is even more important then just dedication and that was his passion and love for what he was doing.
So here is my little help, firstly for a friend, a brother and for what I think is a wonderful documentary. If you've ever travelled to India or South America backpacking, then I know you'll relate and enjoy this film.
"The DEATH OF THE POSTCARD"
'Experimental Travel Documentary around India and South America (50 mins). Director Adrian Barber collected thousands of e-mails, photos and video clips from travelers to create a shared view and narrative of contemporary travel and travel correspondence. Experience the highs and lows of travel, the bustle of the carnival, the silence of the salt flats, trek high into the Himalayas to the source of the Ganges, or walk the ghats in the ancient city of Varanasi in this beautiful and poetic film, described simply as "the life of a traveler'.
Just click on the link to go straight to his website,
The Death Of The PostCard
Just playing with the camera.
One of the many problems crossing the country, I was fast asleep and Elisenda was driving,
This was taken just outside of Coober Pedy, we finally made it to the desert.
