Flora & Fauna

The variety of plant and animal life here is like nothing I've ever seen before. It really is fascinating that Australia has so much life that you can find no where else on the planet. All of these pics were taken around their home. 

One of my favorite family of plants. Zingiberaceae. Ginger, cardamom, and turmeric belong in this plant family just to name a few. This is turmeric. The first one I've seen growing firsthand. 

I'm not even kidding this freaked me out.. I thought it was a giant spider at first ah ha. 

Giant almost basketball size Pomelo's.

Buddha's hand. Full of citrusy deliciousness. 

Finger limes! Never seen or tasted these before until now. 

Bruce & Llan have two sets of baby chicks, and the first morning I woke up the second family was hatching. Most of them hatched just fine but a couple didn't so we put them out on the table for nature to eat up. 

Oscar. What a gentlemen! 

These guys are called Guinea Fowls. They come from Africa and they do an excellent job at keeping the snakes away. 

Brothers. 

First family. 

Second family. Freshly hatched baby chickies! 

I found a book written by The Dalai Lama and opened it randomly and the words described exactly how I feel. 

"We cannot escape the necessity of love & compassion. This, then, is my true religion, my simple faith. In this sense, there is no need for temple or church, for mosque or synagogue, no need for complicated philosophy, doctrine, or dogma. Our own heart, our own mind, is the temple. The doctrine is compassion. Love for others and respect for their rights and dignity, no matter who or what they are: ultimately these are all we need, so long as we practice these in our daily lives, then no matter if we are learned or unlearned, whether we believe in Buddha or God, or follow some other religion or none at all, as long as we have compassion for others and conduct ourselves with restraint out of a sense of responsibility, there is no doubt we will be happy."

Bruce & Llan : The Classy Couple

Llan and one of his lady friends from Brisbane picked me up and in no time we were on our way through the country side to the magical area where Llan and Bruce live. In between Lismore and Bangalow. We made small talk and I learned that Llan owned his own cafe in Lismore for many years where they had live music every weekend, and now he manages different properties. Bruce, who is Llan's partner, is a high class/high profile hair stylist/makeup artist. Awesome. People fly in from all over Straya' to get their hair done by the master himself. Llan was telling me just last week Bruce was hired to do the makeup and hair for many people at a housewarming party in Bryon Bay. (Where some of the most expensive properties in all of Australia are). The house is worth over thirty million and they spent over fifty grand just on the housewarming party! Oh, and one thing I forgot to mention, they own Hamilton Island off the coast of Queensland. That's some serious coinage.

I arrived to a house full of some great people. A couple from Brisbane. A lone dude from London. And Bruce who I hadn't met yet. They were all visiting for the weekend because of Anzac Day. I keep meeting people who visit Australia, and then end up staying here because it's so amazing.

The decor of this place is bellissimo.

Bart! 

My new home

After getting to know everyone better and taking a lil tour of the place they all dressed up for a lunch they had planned at a superbly rated farm to table restaurant outside of Byron Bay. Llan wasn't sure I was coming or not until Bruce said, "no no no you're coming with us."

Pulling into the huge grass parking lot I could already see some animals and a few different buildings. What a sweet place. They had a shop where you could get all their fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products, handmade breads, sauces, jams, and everything delicious in this world. An additional lil shop with handmade cosmetics, beauty products, and hand carved cheese plates made out of local wood (of course). A classy bar with an assortment of local beer and wine on tap. And then the cafe.

We were celebrating Llan's birthday so everyone ordered a round a mixed drinks. They all looked super fancy and Bruce asked me a few times if I wanted one, but I've never been much of a boozer. They had an interesting conversation about different kinds of liquor and mixed drinks and it changed my perception of alcohol a bit. It really is in a world of its own. The gins, the vodkas, the whiskeys, the amarettos, the tequilas, the brandys, the mixed drinks, the beers, and the list goes on. These are people (along with millions of others) that drink for the sheer pleasure, and to be creative with it. Not drink to get drunk, but rather drink for the enjoyment of the beverage.

We sat down at our table which was outside and while we were looking through the menu an Aboriginal dude (easily recognizable by the dark skin and green eyes) was preparing some equipment to play guitar and sing. Llan tasted a few different wines and then ordered a whole bottle for everyone. First round of appetizers came out. Sausage rolls. One of the classic Australian dishes. So good. This was no gas station sausage roll. Up next for me was beef brisket, onion rings, potato creme, and a tantalizingly tangy whole grain mustard. Bruce had so many fascinating stories of his travels. Such a charismatic man. He lived on a house boat in India for six months in an area where Red Hot Chili Peppers tripped on Acid and made music. With much energy, he explained how he lost all his money he had on him just going from the airport to the hotel when he first arrived because there were so many beggars. He's such a generous guy. (It's common in parts of India where parents will literally have their kids limbs chopped off so they can beg travelers for money). I kid you not within fifteen seconds it went from sunny to down pouring in buckets. Fifteen minutes later it was sunny again. Gotta love the unpredictable weather of Australia. For dessert... plates of lemon custard, meringue, and fresh berries. Beetroot ice cream with several kinds of different chocolate concoctions. Custard soaked sourdough with a divinely crunchy crust, caramel ice cream, and bits of toffee and other unknown pieces of heaven. Oh. My. Gawd. Unforgettable bites of food.

After the meal we said our goodbyes to the travelers who went their different ways. I saw the ticket. $578. I gave Bruce a big hug for that one. He was even a bit surprised it was that cheap! Then I got into their old school tank-like jeep and we cruised on home.

Love the designs from Bali. 

Before I went to bed I was outside looking at the crystal clear stars and thought "I'm never gonna see this day again but it will always be ingrained into the grey matter inside my skull". And then... I fell asleep. 

Koala Bear

My time finally came one morning when I saw a Koala for the first time ever! It was right in the front yard. A really curious creature. When I went back inside to show Brigitte and Doug I said something like, "so do all Koala's have red eyes?" Looks a lil demented. It has some sort of disease that causes blindness. Normally, Koala's are designed to go from Eucalyptus tree to Eucalyptus tree and never touch the ground. The problem is due to deforestation and trees being taken out to build homes, etc, the Koala's are forced to go down to the ground level, and that's where they catch certain diseases. Poor guy.

After my work today I took a swim.... completely naked. T'was very nice indeed. During dinner I learned more about the whole work system here in Straya'. It makes so much more sense to me and America should be taking notes. If you work Saturday. Time and a half. Sunday. Double time. If you work late at night. Time and a half. Genius. This kind of system is much more balanced. Although the cost of living is pricey, the wages are extremely good. If someone has to work two or three or four jobs just to get by that is proof enough of a flawed system.

A spider creeping through the home. No one cares. In the words of Brigitte, "it's proof of a balanced ecosystem." I agree with that statement. 

Mmmm sunsets in Straya'. 

What a dreamy back porch view. 

On Saturday Doug and Brigitte gave me a lil tour of the nearby town of Lismore, stopping at a local market. That's always one of my favorite places to be in the world. A local farmers market. Where people gather with the highest quality home grown food to enjoy each others company and share. I love it. All the smells, The samples. The music. The people cooking and sharing what they love. Such a nourishing place to be. Connecting with the local environment by eating it, and meeting people who share that same passion.

Also we stopped at a retirement duplex that Doug has been building for a while. The main thing I've learned from Doug is to be proud of what you do. Be proud of the work that you do. I don't understand how someone can work a job for years and years that they hate, just for the illusion of safety and comfort. Or working a job you're not passionate about. I understand it may be necessary from time to time, but I will never choose safety and comfort over following my dreams. I don't care what the risk is.

I was lucky enough to be here on Doug's birthday and wow was that a treat. Brigitte made one of the best meals I've ever had. She made a salad, and I can't help but partially drool just thinking about it. Yes. A salad. Some of the best bites of food in my life. She made it with roasted pumpkin (a dark green variety with orange spots that was on a totally different level taste wise) and sweet potato, shallots, red onions, lettuce, rocket, tomatoes, avocado, coriander, mint, curried macadamias and cashews and then the dressing was lemon/lime juice, olive oil, garlic, chili, ginger, fish sauce, and honey. Most of the ingredients came straight from the garden. Served with a delicate piece of white fish. Wow. They had some nice champagne. I opted for the filtered rain water. 

During the five days I've been here Brigitte and Doug have told me a lil bit about the woman who lives in the basement. She is bipolar. One morning at like 7:30am she started blasting screamo rock music, and I mean blasting. We couldn't help but laugh. Some nights, or at random times during the day, she would yell complete gibberish. My last night I woke up around 1:00am and I went over into the kitchen area where the window was cracked open with my notepad and pen. She was right below me. 

"Welcome to my world. Welcome to hell. Yeah come around the corner aaaaaaand, raise this!"

And then a genuinely bone chilling laugh came out of her mouth that kinda freaked me out. 

"I told you they're cold." 

My only interaction with this woman was when I was on the ride mower doing the lawn in front of her porch and she was outside hanging clothes on the line and she looked at me, smiled, and mouthed "thank you." 

Brigitte gave me a bottle of local macadamia nut butter and this coin for Anzac Day. Anzac Day is April 25 and one of Australia's most important national occasions. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australia and New Zealand forces during the First World War.

I got a response back on workaway.info from a gay couple about thirty minutes away, and judging by the reviews I was in for one hell of a treat. On Sunday early afternoon a car pulled in and I said my goodbyes to Brigitte and Doug and some hello's to my new hosts. Adventure time...   

Hipster town of Byron Bay

Because they don't live near public transportation Brigitte offered to drop me off at Byron Bay (less than an hour away on the coast) before work and then pick me up after she got off in the evening. Being here in Straya' I've heard all about Byron Bay. It's famous for being a hipster town full of great local food, juice bars, alternative healing modalities like reiki/energy work, and loads of man buns and beards.

We made a stop on the way in the town of Lennox Head where Brigitte told me she used to bring her kids here every weekend and it's one of those less busy/touristy beaches. 

And literally right across the street... a fresh water lake. 

I made it to Bryon Bay and already noticed a higher dreadlocks to normal hair ratio. I stopped at the local library for a bit to check out possible places I could go next then I headed down to the beach.. of course. The beach. One of the most tranquil places ever. 

What a day. Found a nice spot to post up and enjoyed the scenery sippin' on my filtered rain water.

Top left is the famous Cape Byron light house. 

Somewhere in between my sessions of swimming and floating and roasting on the beach I heard the sound of a guitar as if the trees behind me were jammin' out. Probably due to the LSD I took a few hours previous..

Kidding.. ah ha. Gotcha. I walked closer to the trees to take a closer look and shouted some rubbish like "ayyyyy what's goin on in there mate." Then... a response... but not from a tree. It was a dude. He appeared out of nowhere and I journeyed into the small open area where he had a tent setup and a lone guitar. We had a chill conversation and he said he was simply taking a break. He'd been living here in the patch of forest lining the beach for a few weeks. At one point I said something like, "so who else has seen your place here?" To which he said, "no one, you're the first". Mmmm I seem to have a knack for complete strangers welcoming me into their home. I listened to him play guitar for around thirty minutes then found a nice quiet patch of grass to take a power nap. 

After using a futuristic terminator style bathroom that had a sliding door, touchscreen buttons, and a robotic voice that said how much time you had left, it was about nighttime. 

As the day turned to night the parks filled up with people playing music, games, and throwing fire.

Solid end to a magical day in Bryon Bay.