Blogs from Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia, Oceania - page 80

Hello everybody! Finally Mandy's cajouling has paid off and iv'e managed to motivate myself into an update. We are currently in Byron Bay Australia, about an hour or so south of Brisbane, although i'll start from the end of our last update. After leaving Pakse in Laos, we headed up to the capital Vientianne which was a nice pleasent place. I'm struggling to remember exact details as it was that long ago (or certainly seems a long time ago). One thing that stands out in my memory is a street-side game that was poplular over there, and involved throwing a dart at differtent colour balloons in boxes to pop them. Sounds simple enough, but the flights on the darts were twisted and they usually just bounced off. They honestly were by the way, i wasn't just ... read more

Decided there was only one thing for it...I just had to paint my own didgeridoo. Be it the insatiable urge to squander my money on tourist trap tat or the fact that I actually thought I might be able to play it one day. It was a great decision. Went along to the nice people along side 'Peterpans' and met Anthony who helped me chose the actual didge wood with lauren. Its the best bit of wood, of course. Really gorgeous swirly grain and big and long so it will create a deep sound. Chose a snake to paint on it and again Anthony mapped it out onto the wood, should leave these things for the experts. Lauren and I laid the first brush strokes onto to snake in black and blocked out the design. Was ... read more

Awareness Intensive Retreat @ Samaya (Rosebank) I’m speechless, and still. All is so still. Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree… frogs on all paths and wallabies waller by…“What is true?” we ask ourselves, to each other. Intellectual introspective. An unfolding, a journey ensues. Silence follows. Stubborness, boredom, tears of laughter - at them, with them, tears of depth, sadness, loneliness, “What can I accept?”. Revelations. Face to face I see myself and the other. “What is my heart’s desire?”. Profundity, sacredness, precious, heart connection, deep and true, nothing goes further - this is it - joy… Such stillness sinks in the heat of Samaya, the fowl wallow and the mozzies continue to feed, all glorious in this moment. Samaya (Rosebank) Lismore Thank you L & C for your kindness in opening your home to ... read more

Crystal Castle - Byron Bay *long, slow, deep breath out* A special little world, on the top of a hill just out of Mullum, lies Crystal Castle. Buddha statues and crystals of all shapes, sizes, colours & energies create a space in which I could have spent even more hours. Yay for Byron! with M, my first travel passenger after all this time. Dude! Pretty overwhelming for a small town! After a lot of aloneness and quiet spaces it’s a little too much anyway… let’s ease into it when things are a bit more settled in my brain… Lost my car keys rrrgh - in the supermarket so I thought. Lucky I have a spare. LPG 65c/L here blurgh! At least it’s cheaper than petrol still eh. Tis all networking and word of mouth here in ... read more

So we arrived in Byron Bay with plans to camp on the beach for 3 days. It sounded like a great plan, except for one thing. When we were checking into the campsite, the attendant told us that they were expecting hail storms that evening and maybe we should re-think the camping idea. No need to say that twice to me, so we picked a cabin and everything was cool. I think Chris still wanted to camp but I was getting a cabin no matter what, even if I was by myself in the cabin. The cabin contained one double bed, one single bed over the double bed (like a bunk bed), a TV and a small fridge. Washrooms were a 2 minute walk from the cabin. Washrooms were very clean, better than the hotel in ... read more