i want

I asked a few kids and adults what they want for Christmas. Many of the answers did not involve material possessions:

Fun

Time

Hope (thanks Rivane)

Money (the most material possession?)

a thick breeze

The afternoon storms are keeping to their timetable. The mosquitos are tumbling away from the whirring fan blades. Our new family member, Moby, is asleep on my foot.

A supercell rolling overhead.

Moby

suburban and stable

It seems that adventures can continue even after the backpack sits deflated under the bed. Becoming suburban and stable is an adventure in itself.  Below is a snapshot of events since my last post, in snapshots.

Taken whilst hanging out the side of an ambulance.

 

...and finally

It's sunday afternoon and I'm staring down the barrel of full-time work again. It's hard to believe that we're at the end of our travels, I've been keeping that thought at the bottom of my sock drawer. I guess it had to rise to the surface eventually.

Reflecting on the last seven months, I think the Kimberley trip was my biggest highlight. Of course, it isn't possible to compare all our travel destinations - they aren't all apples. It's been a nice transition into what seems to be a new phase of life. Our travels have confirmed the importance of family, friends and lifestyle.

Thanks for sharing the journey with us. Time to start planning the next trip.

Gaj and Claire

Splendour in the Grass

We had high expectations for the Splendour in the Grass music festival. The mix of fantastic people, a beautiful venue and a stellar lineup surpassed anything we could have imagined. The huge natural amphitheatre is the most amazing outdoor venue I've been to, especially with the addition of 25 000 people jumping as one. Here's my list of 10 things which made Splendour awesome for me:

1) A life-sized inflatable zebra bouncing over the 25 000-strong crowd during Mumford & Sons. When the zebra got to the stage, the lead singer declared “Does anyone have more inflatable animals? It’s an emergency”.

2) Our friendly neighbours from Perth and Hobart. They lived on a steady diet of cigarettes and vodka.

3) The Moroccan Wine Bar was a great place for meeting new friends. We sang “The Sound of Music” with some flamboyant people from Newcastle.

4) The morning yoga class. There were yoga fanatics with great posture alongside hungover bearded men who were pickling in their own blood alcohol.

5) Wil Anderson’s drunken rant about teenage masturbation.

6) The very impressive rock star stories from Sam Cutler, tour manager for the Rolling Stones. One involved a $100 000 cake fight.

7) Florence’s voice caused a few hearts to explode.

8) Most of the security guards were modeled on He-Man, complete with chest straps. As Claire, myself and a few strangers scrambled through a short-cut, a guard ran at us screaming with his arms flapping in the air. I think he had a bit of an accent, but he seemed to be yelling “LANDMINES”. We responded with the appropriate panic.

9) The Woodford venue was far better than the previous site at Byron Bay. More space, a natural amphitheatre and better amenities - perhaps Splendour has found a new home?

10) Of course, the big three contributers to music festival awesomeness were present: meeting old friends, making new friends and the music.

Start with a little bit of tai-chi...

hang out with some Tibetan monks...

check out some art... then...

Florence and the Machine

Passion Pit

Mumford & Sons - look out for the bouncing zebra near the right corner of the stage

brisbane

It had to happen eventually... our travels have now finished and we're getting ready for life in Brisbane. Time to buy a house, retrieve our possessions from the storage shed and iron some collared shirts. It'll be wonderful to stay in the same place for more than a week, but I'm sure that feeling won't last long after starting work.

Wait! We've still got one more adventure up our woollen sleeves: Splendour in the Grass! We'll be there in a few days, stay tuned for more pics.

Gaj

sydney through an iphone

Shooting on my iphone allowed me to be extra sneaky...

Chatswood station 1:30am

newtown, sydney

Climbing trees in Pemberton

The "Karri" is one of the tallest trees in the world, and it is only found in the southwest of Western Australia. A few trees have a ladder-like arrangement of metal poles around them - they were originally used as lookouts for fire.

One of the climbing trees

Climbing was a bit scary at first, especially since you're not strapped onto anything.

The view from the top of the highest tree. It's about 70 metres up and creaks loudly as it sways.

northcliffe sculpture walk

Gerald wasn't driving so well, and Northcliffe was the furthest we got from Perth. This small town had a great sculpture walk featuring both local and international artists.

Yep, it's an iron heart.

margaret river

We visited 10 of the 89 wineries in Margaret River. Planning to go back for the ones we missed.

It wasn't all wine...

gerald

Gerald is our campervan. He has a few problems. Sleeping is very comfortable and cooking is easy with the well-stocked miniature kitchen. Driving is another matter. Speed bumps feel like mountains and travelling over 90km/h causes major speed wobbles. We almost got blown over by a motorbike. If things get a bit scary, loud singing seems to work well.

fremantle

Good beaches, good beer and good street art... my kind of place.

broome: observations from a park bench

A Landcruiser roars to rest at the kerbside. The driver jumps out and slaps on his broad-brimmed hat. All his clothes, from top to boots, are tinged with a dusty red hue. His sun-induced wrinkles aren't even spared. He'll pick up some supplies as fast as possible, then head back out to his property.

A lady, probably in her fifth decade, strolls past with her labrador. The grains of wet sand are camoflaged by the dog's off-white hair. She wears a purple-flowered sarong, sandy bare feet and a smile.

A battered campervan creaks to a halt. The paintwork looks like grey, acid-wash jeans. A young couple slowly climb out, nattering away in German. Their bronze skin in decorated with frayed string and shell jewellery on ankles and wrists. They press a creased map out on the side of the van and decide where to go next.

Cable beach

The red pindan dust stains the ocean.

The Japanese and Chinese cemetaries are reminders of Broome's pearling history.

tunnel creek

Tunnel Creek was a hideout for the Aboriginal warrior, Jandamarra. His guerrilla attacks on the European farmers were legendary. The "tunnel" starts as a crack in the mountain range and goes right through to the other side.

We could see the reflecting eyes of freshwater crocodiles as we waded through the water.

A collapsed section of the tunnel