Oh, Byron Bay...

Brace yourselves... This is going to be a long one...

Wednesday the 16 of September 2009.

Pitch black. We arrived at the Arts Factory Hostel at 1 AM after a long, quasi-stressful and expensive cab ride.

For some odd reason, Fleur Juliette, Dan-man and I had assumed that shuttles run 24 hours from the Gold Coast Airport to Byron Bay... FALSE. Stranded. We stumbled along, ungracefully lugging our overweight boardbags toward the deserted bus stop. It didn't take long for us to understand the mistake we had made... After speaking and reasoning with a concierge who was far too bubbly for the hour it was, we assessed our options:

A. Spend the night in a hostel and catch a bus in the morning: 190 dollars.
B. Catch a maxi-taxi now: 180 dollars (A deal that was sworn by the driver of the taxi to be the cheapest in town)
C. Walk to the public bus station, take the bus to New South Wales and take a cab from there: 180 dollars.

We went with option B! If we split it three ways it would be sixty each. Everyone was tired and beginning to get the hunger-grumps anyway...

We arrived. Pitch black. We stumbled around looking for an open area to pitch our tent... Finally we found a suitable spot.


This is me hammering in the tent pegs with a frying pan... Can you sense the state of crazed delirium that I was in?

In a restless flurry, we ignorantly left our bags strewn around the campsite.

Fleur and I climbed into our tiny tent. NOTE: This tent requires serious, hardcore snuggling in order to fit two. Fleur, who happens to be six foot something had to bring her knees to her chest into fetal position to fit while I could (sort of) stretch my extremities to (almost) their fullest extent. Ah, the benefits of being a shorty. Yup, spooning came into effect every night. I was the little spoon... A few days into our trip we earned the nicknames of "Hubby" (Fleur) and "Wifey" (Me) due to our snuggly sleeping arrangement.

Here's a photo of our camp.



I quickly drifted into dreamtime... only to be awoken by a loud, foreign and repetitive sound. It was coming from just outside the tent right by my head!

"FLEUR!" I shook sleeping Hubby, "FLEEURRRRR!!!!"

She turned over in a daze, cracked one eye, and made a face that implied that I was crazy for being up this early.

"Do you hear that?!" I asked, whispering.

The sound erupted again! It sounded as if somebody was shaking a plastic bag full of metal spoons.

She opened both of her eyes, wide. Our eyes locked and I could tell the same sort of thoughts were rushing through our minds... Was it human? An animal? If so, how big? Was it dangerous? Did it want our food? Or more importantly our lives!?!?!? No, just kidding about that one haha.

"Should I go look outside?" Fleur asked.

Right when we decided we should scope out the scene...

"AH, FUCKING BUSH TURKEY!!!" An unknown male voice hollered in a European accent. Apparently the noise had awoken him too.

Still inside of the tent, I called out:

"What is it?!"

"Ah, just a bush turkey, got ahold of your bag."

This was our first introduction and encounter with firstly the infamous bush turkeys that would irritate us repeatedly over the next two weeks and secondly Jonas Bunge, soon to be known as "GERMANY", our exuberant German tent neighbor.

Once we decided to actually wake up, we unzipped our tent to daylight. Before us lay a beautiful, lush green forest. Suddenly, a strange feathered animal scampered by. That's when I was visually introduced to the vicious creature that had stirred me from my slumber! The bush turkey:





Cheeky little buggers... They had gotten into Fleur's toilet bag. Over the two weeks we were there, I witnessed them stealing all sorts of things... from ramen noodles to underwear to toothpaste. They're equivalent to Raccoons...

Walking around the campsite in the daytime, it didn't take long for me to realize that I was going to love Byron Bay. The weather was perfect: not too hot and not too cold. The people, especially at the Arts Factory, were vibrant, full of life and wonderful. The vibe was ON. This was my kind of place... I felt like I had been living under a rock in sub-zero degree Melbourne. Okay, the temperature is a bit of an exaggeration, I know... but, it's still pretty damn cold.



Guitar Players in the mists... Arts Factory


When people ask me what I did in Byron Bay, I don't have many of the "standard" and "exciting" stories that people 'ooooh' and 'aaaah' over. No, I did not go skydiving, nope, no bungee jumping. Naw, I didn't even feed a kangaroo! So, what DID I do... one might ask. Well, one might also say that I truly did a whole lot of NOTHING. AND IT WAS GLORIOUS!! I camped, read, surfed, chilled, napped, ate, chatted, napped, surfed, read, ate and it was so amazing. I was in great company all the time. I had my hubby, my DanMan and my Mizzy (Camille), who joined us a week into the trip. I also met some of the most beautiful, amazing people:

Marcus, a.k.a. "Cous Cous"...Our quirky little German neighbor who instantly became one of our best friends.

(Cous Cous and his first timtam)

Jonas, a.k.a. "Germany"...Also German. A legend. Only a true legendary figure could earn the name of his entire country.


Florian, a.k.a. "Flow"...An extremely easy going and positive Swiss dude. Really felt the bond with this one.



Ron and Bas...Two chiller Dutch boys who were touring Australia in a camper van.

(Above: Bas, Ron, Flow)

Caitlin...A lovely lady from Vancouver who I met surfing at the Wreck.

(Dante, Caitlin, Myself and Germany)

Lionel...From Belgium and has one of the most contagious laughs you will ever hear. Bought a van to travel around Australia... We nicknamed the van "Fatass Christine".


Dante...A cute skater boy from Sweden who worked at a hostel down the road from ours.


Aaron...Awesome guy from Philadelphia... Loved his dreads. Just dripping with good vibes.


The three Frenchmen: Ben, Thomas, and Olivier.


(There they are...The three frenchies fishing...Olivier, Ben, and Thomas' back)

(Ben with his huge fish that he caught)

(Olivier and Ben being french)


HUMAN PYRAMID!


JUMP!


SHAKA GNAR GNAR.


This is Filip Manfredsson.

Will somebody give him a medal PLEASE? A medal for being spontaneous, positive and always fun... Filip also studies in Melbourne and joined us about halfway through our trip. He was a key component that added to the sheer bliss of the trip.

I realize now... I can't really put into words exactly how wonderful Byron Bay actually was. Also, looking back in retrospect, I ask myself... was it actually that great? I feel like sometimes people are culturally expected when asked about their (usually) short vacation time to answer with words like "amazing" "so good" "perfect". Not many people return from a trip with words like "fine" "boring" or "okay"... But in all honesty, life under any circumstances will be full of ups, downs, arounds and upsidedowns... Who am I to define WONDERFUL? But if Byron Bay wasn't wonderful, then I don't know what really is... It had its many ups and of course its few inevitable downs.... Maybe it WAS the short time we spent there that made it so good... I mean the human psyche is bound to yearn for more after a given period of time... Regardless, I sure as hell wasn't ready to leave!

I realized, I thrive on spontaneous moments... somebody please run by in a banana suit or kiss me when I'm not ready for it!! What is life without these sorts of moments? I want to skinny dip at four AM, play mudfootball, strike up a random conversation, explore the unexplored, surf under the full moon, make love on a mountaintop, dance til my legs break and OH the possibilities!! Boredom isn't a word in my vocabulary. (I fully just contradicted myself, but you get the point) Boredom. (I said it again, just for kicks)

I saw the sun rise from the most easterly point in Australia! It was beautiful.

Life is too good to me right now. Here's a confession... It's so good, that I am a little scared for the future. It can't always be this plentiful! I am so grateful... Grateful to be in good health, grateful to have a family who is SO generous and loving... I hope one day that I can be as good of a parent as my mom and dad. I love them so much... truly blessed. I am grateful for my glorious friends, old and new. I am grateful for the present. I am grateful for past moments that have hurt me and caused pain... I have learned so much from them. I am grateful for you taking the time to read my words! My heart feels like it will explode of gratefulness!

Life is good now. Life was good then... Life will be good in the future... It's all just different shades of good. Each moment brings meaning to the next.

I guess I'm just feelin' the love right now... It comes and goes. Nobody is high forever. I do feel we must capitalize on moments of inspiration such as these... I'm a bit delirious, but it feels good.

"GOOD" -- the word of the blog. Get to know it... Like it... love it...

P.S. Anybody who has made it this far into this blog without skipping is truly dedicated... Sending the love!

Ah, alas, there is so much more to say I reckon...

We lived on a strict budget in BB... Included oatmeal (which we calculated to be eight cents a serving), peanut butter, bread, soup, fruit... Oh, and there was 2 DOLLAR PASTA NIGHT every Tuesday... You got a pretty good sized bowl of pasta and a free drink for two dollars... Can't go wrong!

Got to know my surfboard a lot better... Nicknamed her Luna :) She's a beaut. Here we are together... Out in the water waiting for a wave at "The Wreck"... My favorite surf spot of the trip. It breaks right onto an old shipwreck... How cool/eerie is that?

Wrap it up now girl........

"Love the life you live, life the life you love"

...A quote stolen from the inner wall of the toilet stall in a public bathroom in Byron Bay. It was located right next to another equally philosophical poem: "Cats have nine lives, humans have one, screw my boyfriend and you'll have none" Both of which have remained in my mind... for different reasons...

Byron Bay was a completely unforgettable experience. It had its goods, its interestings, its outrageously funs, its insightfuls, its confusings, its crazies... It reminded me of who I am in my preferred setting.

This is not to say that I have become someone else at any point in my travels in Australia... I've reinstated and put into play a previously sought out theory: BE HERE NOW (Thank you Mason Jennings... couldn't have said it better myself). There isn't enough time to be complaining about the present scenario, dwelling in the past or waiting on the future. Now, I'm no philosopher, but what I've learned is to make the best of NOW.

I'm back in Melbourne now...
I've applied these ideas to my life recently because I'm here, living in this vibrant city. I'm no city girl...(SMALL TOWN SANTA CRUZ HOLLA BACK!) I feel like a fish out of water at times here, but that doesn't mean I'm not having fun and making the best of it! I wear my peacoats, my boots because WHAT THE HELL, when in Rome, right?! I can't deny my connection with the life I was living in Byron Bay: camping, surfing and meeting all sorts of penniless travelers, but I'm here now and I'm appreciating the positives!


Little old me....

Well, not much else to say. Thanks for listening... Stay tuned... Til next blog, this is your homegirl Mir signing off...

LOVE to the tenth degree!!!!!!!!!