Sydney to Sunshine Coast and everything in between!

Well, it's been far too long since I last blogged - don't know what happened - seemed to forget all about it. There have been some relaxed days at my brother's house in the Gold Coast but otherwise it's been all go. If... all go means sitting on the beach, hiking and taking part in drum classes.

I spent 4 days in Sydney and 2 in Bondi Beach. Syndey was very interesting, for the history and iconic buildings. It felt a bit surreal walking round into Circular Quay and suddenly the harbour bridge and Opera House were in view. I was lucky enough to get a last minute standing ticket for the Madama Butterfly opera at the Sydney Opera House. I called and they said there was one ticket left, so I bolted and ran to the Opera House as you couldn't pay over the phone. I did feel a little embarrassed walking in sweaty and red, wearing my vest top with holes in it, but I managed to put a dress on for the evening. I also managed to get an empty seat for the second half, which I had eyed up, despite the doorman looking for me just as the lights went down. Ha! Lucky I had got a little chilly and put my pink scarf round me. He mustn't have recognised me then. It was a lovely show, really beautiful with the set, music and oriental flowers.

Taken from the grounds of the Opera House

Bondi beach, again, was a bit surreal 'cos I'd seen it so many times on Bondi Rescue! I particularly enjoyed the Iceberg pools at the end of the beach, which are salt water swimming pools that sit out on the ocean. As the tide came in, people sitting with their feet in the pool would get thrown in by the waves.

I also did a tall ships cruise of the harbour bay, which wasn't so successful as a storm hit just as we got on board. Nevertheless it must have been quite similar to Captain Cooks original journey in a similar ship in 1770! The next day I actually got a better view of the Opera House and bridge from the beautiful botanic gardens.

After Sydney I headed to the Blue Mountains, which were absolutely amazing. There is no end to the hikes you can do, some easy some hard. Some very sore on the thighs as there are constant steps up and down. I met some fun people at the hostel and we did 3 days in a row of hiking. Day 1 we did the short, easy walk to the Three Sisters and Leura Cascades. On Day 2 we hiked down into the Grand Canyon, which was a beautiful rainforest with native birds and brush turkeys. Once we hiked back up the countless steps, the view was breathtaking and ...blue.

The rainforest of the Grand Canyon

Day 3 we then did part of the National Pass, which is a cliff walk that runs half way down the cliff and gives you a view of Wentworth Falls. The town of Katoomba and Leura are quaint with lovely coffee shops, gift and craft shops and pubs.

Elisa, who I met in the Blue Mountains was heading next to volunteer (through Helpx.net) at a drumming school/music venue in Gosford, an hour outside Sydney. I decided it sounded too fun to say no! So I joined helpX and turned up. I stayed 10 days. Each day we worked at least 4 hours, but a lot of it didn't seem like work. We cleaned and set up for drum classes and gigs. We cooked and baked tasty food for the gigs and events. We went to the supermarket! And got to join in djembe and taiko classes. I always wanted to be a drummer but I think I must face the reality that I don't have good natural rhythm! Djembe...maybe with practice I might master on a basic level. We also got to enjoy the gigs and music...and food. On days off we could relax and read one of the many books, or go to Terrigal beach.

Giant Taiko drums!

I popped into Port Macquarie for a couple of days and met some ladies from the North West of England, near to my neck of the woods. We did a sunset cruise and watched the giant colony of bats flying over the water to one of the islands for the night. The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital was one of the recommended thing on TripAdvisor. It was well worth the leisurely 30 minute walk from town. Some of the koalas had very sad stories, or claws being burnt off in the bush fires, or injured limbs in road traffic accidents, and many with chlamydia and eye infections. Some can never be reintroduced to the wild due to their injuries and not being able to feed and defend themselves. There was also an Intensive Care Unit which we were not allowed into. Apparently when a koala is born it is smaller that a butter bean and stays in the mother's pouch until it gets bigger.

    The patient board at the Koala Hospital - I actually asked if I could take a photo of it and they yes dear it's not like a human hospital! 

Byron Bay was next. I'd heard so much about Byron and I was expecting it to be more alternative than it was. Apparently it has changed a lot over the last 10 years. The beach at the lighthouse end, Clarkes Beach, had a crystal clear lagoon with shallow warm water. My hostel did a free walking tour up the lighthouse which proved a good way to meet people and to see some wildlife. We spotted dolphins jumping out of the water and frolicking together. It was beautiful. I hope I will be able to see some dolphins a little closer up, perhaps up the coast.

 Beautiful view from the Lighthouse hill in Byron Bay, where we could see dolphins frolicking

Clarkes Beach, Byron Bay

Lastly I went to the sleepy town Murwillumbah, surrounded by sugar cane fields. I was hoping to climb Mount Warning and was lucky to meet a few others at the hostel who also wanted to climb it. I knew the last bit had a chain to help you and required a bit of scrambling so I didn't fancy doing it alone! It was a great experience, hard work for the last bit and unfortunately no view but fog and a few tree tops from the summit!

I'm now up on the Sunshine Coast, wwoofing, after having spent a relaxing 9 days at my brothers 's the Gold Coast.

More to follow....
If I remember.

Peanuts Funny Farm, Goulburn

I'd never heard of a funny farm before. When I told my mum that was where I was spending the next 6 days, she laughed. Peanuts Funny Farm is an animal rescue sanctuary, and a charity pioneered by Tracey Keenan. Tracey is vegan and began this farm with an aim to help reduce animal cruelty and human to human abuse. This is a snapshot of their mission statement:

"We provide for many neglected and abused stock/domesticated animals. PFF has a no put-down policy; therefore the animals live out their lives on the farm. The animals come from an animal organization that rescues then but does not have the resources to home them. When we have an opening for a new animal, we will contact them and they will let us know what animals they have that need a home. The animals share the farm with children that are often from dysfunctional/abusive families themselves.

Over 70% of aggressive, incarcerated criminals are reported to be from dysfunctional backgrounds that tortured and/or murdered animals as children. This behaviour stems from learned behavior from seeing adults vent their anger and frustrations on helpless animals. Some children, neglected and abused themselves have had no other choices modeled for them; therefore they grow up not knowing any better and pass on this learned behavior to the next generation.

Teaching children animal-assisted activities with kindness/empathy and thoughtfulness both enhances the quality of animal welfare as well as the quality of the children’s life. Children develop more awareness and understanding. Children spend quality time with the different types of animals at Peanuts and together both find a comfort, respect, trust and love each other and learn that they DO MATTER. We believe this will help break the cycle and mind set of abuse and help grate a better future for both animals and children of today and of future generations."

Tracey also fosters children in her home, and other children regularly come to visit the farm and benefit from it. Most of the animals have been rescued from various locations, or saved from slaughter. I was staying there as part of the WWOOF programme (willing workers on organic farms) from 19.2.15 - 26.2.15 and stayed in the lovely guest house on site, which comes with an equipped kitchenette, bathroom and 2 dorm rooms. It was very nice to have this to myself and relax in the evenings with a book or a podcast.

The family were very kind and generous and interesting to talk to. I enjoyed being part of the family for that time, going for a swim in the nearby creek (with rapids!), going to the local town and watching an Aussie movie in their own theatre in the garage.

The kids were so polite and friendly to me. Each afternoon, after school, they would load up the quad and wheelbarrows and head up to the fields to feed the animals. One evening I joined in and fed the goats, pigs, and bulls. Those goats were fiesty!

 

There are: 2 young bulls (Panda and Nugget), 3 pigs (Millie, Kipton and Pig Pig), 1 duck, 2 Goats (mother and daughter: Nellie and Kaiola), 3 Ponies, 4 horses, as well as dogs and cats. And loads of native birds who visit. I took various jobs. Weeding the veggie garden took ages! I also helped clear the pigs' area for some new fencing and construction of a new pigsty. A palace of a pigsty, called Pigtopia sponsored by the NSW Vegan Society! I cleared out the horses shed and used the manure on the veggie garden, swept up all the fallen leaves and branches into piles for winter firewood, weeded and cleared around the birds' hut which had become overgrown, and also helped cooked and EAT some delicious vegan delights.

I would definitely recommend anyone to visit PFF for the day, or to volunteer there or to donate to this excellent charity which is aiming to help not just the animals but children.

Peanuts Funny Farm website

http://www.peanutsfunnyfarm.org.au/our-story/

Finding the good in Canberra!

Moving on, slightly reluctantly from Melbourne, I headed to Canberra. Canberra is situated in an area called the Australian Capital Territory. It became the country's capital in 1911 but building and development work was a slow process continuing to the present day. The first Parliament House was completed in 1927 and Lake Burley Griffin, which the city is designed around, was completed in 1963.

I visited the National Capital Exhibition which provided me with all of this information, through interesting exhibits, photos and video presentations. I had no idea before I came to Canberra that it was designed so specifically for a purpose and that it is so recent.

Many feel Canberra hasn't got much to offer and that it lacks character. It certainly lacks historical buildings however it doesn't lack history, albeit more recent history. There are also some up and coming 'hipster' areas which might bring more backpackers in. Generally if you aren't interested in museums, history, art or hiking in the bush then there's maybe not much for you.

There are numerous museums, exhibitions and galleries most of which are free. Aside from the National Capital Exhibition, there is the Australian War Memorial Museum, which is a beautiful dome-shaped building full of names and poppies, the National Australian Museum, which is massive and has a very well-planned open space outside (ask the guides to explain it to you), each installation or structure had a meaning, and the National Gallery which is full of mostly modern art and Australian art. In this area is also the high court of Australia and the National Portrait Gallery, all of which sit on the beautiful Lake Burley Griffin.

The Old and New Parliament Houses are also landmarks not just in Canberra but Australia. The Old Parliament House is now a museum for Australian political history and democracy, while the New Parliament House which sits on a hill makes for good photos of the straight line down to the Old Parliament House, ANZAC parade, the War Memorial and lastly Mount Ainslie at the end. There are also botanic gardens and numerous national parks and city nature parks and creeks for swimming.

During my visit there was a multicultural festival, so the city was full of people. Apparently it's not normally like that. There was delicious food from many countries and music. I particularly enjoyed the aboriginal performances with their singing and dancing which imitate animals and the elements.

Canberra has a few of vegan cafés and I met two vegan girls while I was there. There was also a student atmosphere during weekdays in Civic (the main city centre) as it was the beginning of term for the universities including the well-known ANU - Australian National University. ANU runs weekly free lectures for the public. I also enjoyed a bit of eccentricity at the Phoenix pub's monthly open-mic 'poetry' evening.

Vegan cupcakes (the ones on the right half) YUM!

Melbourne - every day is different

The famous blue tennis court, under blue skies and accompanied by the Yarra river and botanic parks are welcome escapes from Melbourne's busy shopping areas and high rises. Despite it being a big, bustling city, I loved it.

A view of Melbourne from the path along the Yarra River.

There are no days of boredom. From the museums, art galleries and exhibitions in the state library and arts precinct to very cheap places to eat (mostly vegetarian and Hare Krishna), to cheap entertainment such as watching the tennis or short documentaries on the big screen at Federation Square while relaxing in a deckchair, open-mic nights and free weekly cinema at Southgate (which I never got to). There's also the Queen Victoria market, which often has leftover fruit & veg lying around afterwards for the taking.

I stayed in an Air BnB a couple of nights right across from Southern Cross station, which was on the 29th floor and had a shared pool and sauna. Clean and cheap hostels in Melbourne are hard to come by. My best experience was at King Street Backpackers which was also by Southern Cross station and provided free wifi and breakfast. Many of the hostels are full of 'longtermers' who are working in the city on their working holiday visa which can make it very cliquey and difficult to meet people.

Melbourne is a big city but feels like a small one. The tram system makes everywhere very accessible and people talk to you and help you rather than always seeming like they are in a rush.

There are some delightful 'bohemian' nooks such as Fitzroy and Brunswick, packed full of vegetarian cafes, coffee shops with scruffy sofas, 'op shops' and vintage clothing shops. You can gaze out the window of a coffee shop watching the eclectic characters and fashions go by.

St Kilda, Brighton and Port Melbourne are seaside suburbs with chilly South Pacific waters, countless gelato shops and lots of sunbathers during summer. I stayed until after 10pm to watch the fairy penguins coming home to their nests under the rocks of the pier. There were a lot of spectators waiting and volunteers in luminous vests to advise us not to sit on the rocks or use flash photography.

When the penguins appeared (one by one, in contrast to Philip Island where they return in a group), small groups huddled around them, often not more than a metre, trying to take un-blurred photos in the dark without flash. I have to admit I was part of that huddle. And I got maybe one photo that isn't blurred. Nor is it a clear photo. But they seemed undeterred by us and slowly flapped around before hobbling between the rocks. Then another huddle appears and I quickly join that huddle!

I also did an overnight road trip with my brother to the Twelve Apostles. Here giant limestone columns stick up out of the crashing waves. Apparently there never were actually twelve but it was just a name given to them. The number of columns increases due to erosion of the cliffs creating arches and new creations when they break off from the land, or decreases due to collapsing columns. We stayed over at a very clean hostel in Port Campbell and watching the Australian Open final with a whiskey and wine!

The Twelve Apostles

Later I went on a day tour run by Bunyip to Wilson's Promonotory or 'Wilson's Prom' as the locals call it. It was very beautiful, white sand silicon beaches, giant blue waves crashing in, cliffs and small mountains to climb. I can imagine it would be a beautiful place to spend a weekend camping, but for a day trip it was quite rushed.

Wilson's Prom. Photo taken from the top of Mount Bishop

First Wwoofing Experience - Australia

Hiking boots, breathable long sleeve top, long trousers, suncream, hat, sunglasses... all packed and ready for my first wwoof experience in Dunolly, in the Goldfields region, a couple of hours north of Melbourne. What the heck is wwoof you ask?

'Willing workers on organic farms'
Hopefully I look like one of those?

It's a cultural exchange programme which enables farmers in rural Australia to have help on the farm, to share skills, to learn how farming and life is done in other countries and for the 'wwoofer' or woofa, in Aussie, to learn new skills about organic farming and building work as well as experiencing the true rural Australian lifestyle and also for some to improve their English. Of course it's relatively cheap labour for the farmer if they get a skilled woofer and the woofer receives free accommodation and food during their stay.

In my case, the hosts were a lovely couple who were very keen to help me learn new skills which I can take back someday to set up an Irish small holding with probably a strawbale home, a chicken coop and veggie garden. Their farm is an organic herb and garlic farm called Bromley Organics. We picked calendula flowers to be dried and sent off to a cosmetic company, we sorted harvested nettle and lemonbalm for weeds, weeded and mulched, did some building work and took an old wardrobe apart! I learnt about organic growing, permaculture systems which promote recycling of resources, environmentally friendly and sustainable systems. I learnt about caring for chickens ('chooks'), growing vegetables, fruit and herbs and about water saving and collecting. The latter might not be required in Ireland.

Generally you work 4-6 hours a day which was on average what I worked. Some days when the weather is close to 40C it's best to start work at 6:30am. At other times my hosts were kind enough to drive me around their friends houses which had been built from cob, mudbrick and strawbale and I was able to ask them questions about how they built and designed these. Evenings were very peaceful in my own caravan with a million stars shining in the pitch black above, any fear of the dark now banished! Often we would swim in the dam after a day of work, or even during work, to cool down! Canoeing in the dam was also fun!


I particularly enjoyed the community small town life and joined in at the weekly community garden one evening, went to watch an SES (State Emergency Service) training session, and saw a small field just after a small bushfire. Oh! And lots of kangaroos. Thankfully I saw no snakes though I did see a large lizard and echidna. On a day off I went to the local museum which had lots of gold mining artefacts and a replica of the Welcome Stranger golden nugget found nearby at Moliagul. This was the heaviest ever recorded golden nugget in the world bug of course was melted down not long after being mined.

At the weekend I went camping with my host and her 3 granddaughters in the Kooyoora State Park. We went for some short walks, spotted kangaroos, cooked some stew and roasted marshmallows and bananas with chocolate over the fire!

My next stop was Bendigo, another Goldrush boom town of the mid 1880s. Bendigo had a very interesting history  and I enjoyed the art galler there and a visit to Australia's deepest gold mine which closed was used mostly in the 1940s-70s. I didn't go to the deepest point but 60m was deep enough for me! I donned the hard hat and head torch and enjoyed hearing stories of what it was like working down there during those times. Thankfully there was an industrial lift so we didn't have to climb all the steps!

Vegan Melbourne

After spending Christmas and New Year with my brother on the Gold Coast of Australia, I have just spent a week in Melbourne. Vegan Melbourne. The Gold Coast was quite good for vegans, with the delicious and purse-friendly Cardamon Pod in Surfers Paradise. Their lunch deal and desserts were especially good whilst enjoying the leafy garden room style decor. Mandala Organic Arts Cafe in Broadbeach was very enjoyable on the weekend evenings, with beer available or a BYOB policy and bands playing in the background. Their pizzas (also available gluten-free) and lasagne were especially good. Unlike in the UK and Ireland, many cafés have soya milk available and even some vegan options labelled.

Melbourne however, being the 'cultural capital' of Australia, with a history of artists, musicians, dancers and poets, has a culture of passing the time in cafés on the many laneways or in the bohemian/hippie/hipster/artists area of Brunswick St in Fitzroy.  You can get there easily and cheaply from the CBD by taking the tram 86 or 96 within the free tram zone to St Vincent's Hospital, alighting here, then take a right at the hospital and then left at the church onto Brunswick Street.

If you are on a tight budget but like me, you love vintage clothing, coffee, books, food, especially vegan then your self control will be exercised! You can easily spend a day on this street trying the food, looking in the shops and enjoying the Gardens at the top, in Fitzroy North.

I visited Vegie Bar which is moderately priced but very popular. The vegan curries are great and change regularly. When I was there it was a Massaman Curry. I did a cooking class at Time for Lime on the Thai island Koh Lanta, which is vegan-friendly and we made Massaman Curry. The one at Vegie Bar came a close second to mine! We had the freshest of ingredients in Thailand and we pounded the curry paste for 30 minutes in a pestle and mortar. Anyway, their cakes looked really good too, though not so cheap.

Opposite Vegie Bar is an interesting bookshop and an entirely Vegan shop called the Cruelty Free Shop. Here you can buy anything from cooking ingredients to ready meals, caramel squares and tiffin etc, vegan alternatives to mars and snickers, soya milk and soya cheese as well as vegan shoes, wallets, bags and purses. Further up the road towards Fitzroy North is Mr Natural Pizza which unfortunately I didn't have time to try. Other vegetarian cafés on this street with plenty of vegan options are Radheys, Madame K's, Smith & Daughters, and a vegan bakery on Smith Street.

Within the city centre, or CBD, there are many non-veg cafés with soya milk and vegan cakes. There is a wholesfoods shop with vegan takeaway meals and cakes on Flinders Street, near Flinders Station. On Elizabeth Street, a 5-10 minute walk from Flinders Station and Federation Square is a vegetarian Indian restaurant called Om Vegetarian. There are two other branches of this company within Melbourne centre. I visited three times. They state on their sandwich board, ideal for backpackers, and it is. For $6.50 you get a vegetarian or vegan thali, consisting of a chickpea or lentil curry, a  potato curry, rice, pickles and a lot of nan bread. The best bit is that if you're still hungry you can ask for more, even if you do feel like Oliver Twist going back to the counter with your plate! I'll note that there are also jugs of tap water sitting out. There is also Gopals and Crossways, very close to eachother on Swanston Street. I ate at both of these cafes, which I believe are both also Hare Krishna run. The food I had was tasty, and definitely hearty and filling. Crossways provided a full meal for less than $8, including dessert, a drink, a main course and seconds if you wanted!

Of course all over Melbourne is Lord of the Fries which is a vegetarian fast food chain, also providing gluten free and vegan. These are often situated on main streets and beside train stations etc and very handy if you're in a rush! They do great milkshakes and beautiful fries with various sauces.

Lastly, a visit to St Kilda Beach rewards you with not just a beach with calm waters just 20 minutes from the city and an original amusements park from 1912 but also Sister of Soul. Here I had what was probably my tastiest meal - a tempeh stirfry with satay sauce, followed by the vegan berry cheesecake. This restaurant is quite new and moderately priced but very popular. Nearby is Crave which sells frozen yoghurt and has vegan options. There was also a gelato shop with vegan ice cream/sorbet.

 Sisters of Soul in St Kilda

There are also countless others all over Melbourne and you can find these on http://www.happycow.net/