Confest, Geriwerd, Melbourne, and up the east coast

Okay! There's so much to catch up!

I went to Confest! And here is the best fire circles setup crew!

If you don't quite know what ConFest is like, you might want to check on my Confest post from last year....

Dancing to the East Pointers while waiting for the gate to open

I dressed up as a leopard!

Tessi in her princess gown.

And Sarah dressed up, too :D

After putting on a mud mask, Sarah and me felt inspired to sing "Magnolia Tree" once more - Tasmania soundtrack.

Photo credits to James Henry, who happened to walk past.

______________________________________________________________

When Confest was over and packdown almost done, it was time to leave. While most of my friends headed back to Melbourne, I drove south-west to see my friends in the Geriwerd region - the Grampians, a mountain range in western Victoria. 

Last year in June I passed through Geriwerd on my road trip with Laurie, my car, and Pumpkin my travel buddy, and we made friends with Jidah and spend a wonderful time with him in Halls Gap. I randomly met him again at Confest, and so for a weekend I stayed with him and Francesca (who was at the Tasmanian Rainbow Gathering). Together we went to see Pumpkin who is now living near Geriwerd. Sunday afternoon, on the way home, I stopped at a scenic lookout called One Tree Hill, and marvelled at a wonderful sunset over the Geriwerd mountains.

Farewell to the west now, and welcome to the east

Farewell to the one who raked the sand beneath my feet

Thank you for the space we shared, and the heart and soul, my friend

I will see you through the colours between the mountains as the sun decends

Oh we twisted and we reflected upon a grin

Common ground we walked upon, with common feelings and common things

Yes it is a cruel world, but there is solace amongst the sin

Peace to you for now, we will share again

Farewell to the west now, my mind is open to the east

To all the new faces, new minds and things to see

I am alone here, and my heart at times it weeps

You will see me through the colours as the sun sinks in the sea

Oh we twisted and we reflected upon a grin

common ground we walked upon with common feelings and common things

Yes it is a cruel world but there is solace amongst the sin

Peace to you for now, we will share again.

__________________________________________________________________

I drove the car back to Melbourne and dropped it back to where it belongs - more than happy to be rid of it! Paying for fuel, navigating through city traffic, having that responsibility... phew. Haha! Travelling with Laurie my car was a wonderful experience and I don't regret anything, but now the thing I need to do is hitch hiking!
I landed back in Eltham at Daniel's and Lauren's place, with Tessi, Sarah, Kaeru and Quinoa being there as well, only wanting to stay for a day or so and then go on the journey north, ultimate destination: The Daintree National Park in far north Queensland. With my visa in Australia running out in mid-June I set myself the goal of seeing this part of the continent before getting on the plane. Can't leave Australia after 2.5 years without having seen Northern Queensland!

Not to mention the cold weather. Summer in Tasmania and Victoria is not too bad, but now it's April and definitely time to move to warmer realms.
I was delighted when Tessi, my Rainbow sister and South Coast Track hiking buddy, asked me if I'd mind her joining me on the trip north. She's planning to live in the town of Bellingen on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. So it's Tessi and me again!

I was feeling a bit tired from the festival hopping and emotional because of all the Goodbye saying. A good part of me really doesn't want to leave Australia - I've done a lot of growing in the time here, it feels like my whole life is here; it feels like home. It's freaking me out that I will leave and not come back for maybe 3 or 4 years AT LEAST. My friends are here, I know my way around, possibilities seem endless, adventures on every corner, and nature's beauty makes me fall in love anew every day. I got a bit too comfortable here; I don't want to go.

The house in Eltham with its fireplace, the cosy cushions and blankets and friendly faces was like a haven I could land in and just allow myself to dangle and feel what needed to be felt. I could talk and cry, sleep and read my book, watch movies, cuddle and be cuddled, and eat as many ice blocks as I wanted.
Lauren is just an angel come to Earth. I wish I could have put her in my backpack and just take her with me wherever I go to laugh at her jokes and swim in her alpaca jumper fluffy presence; Daniel is so easy to be around, he's funny and inspiring and got musical talent coming out of his ears, and with Tessi I can talk about anything and she will have wise words for me. Together we shared dinners and watched movies in a snug blanket ball in front of the crackling fire (calcifer!). So grateful, for it was just that bit of time and comfort I needed.

So... of course we left Melbourne later than intended. Eventually Sally dropped us off on the Hume Highway, with a cardboard sign declaring our wish to go to "CANBERRA".
We were picked up by travelling Aussie Rowan, who had just returned from the Philippines and was keen to hear some other travellers' stories. He dropped us near Seymour and there we had to wait for about one hour until a young girl in her white station wagon offered us a ride. Her name was Sarah and she was on the way home to her parents' place near Wangaratta. She was so open-minded and cheerful, and scanning though the CDs in her car we clicked over our very similar taste of music. While excitedly discussing musicians and festivals she spontaneously invited us to stay the night at her parents' place. As it was clear that it was too late in the day to make it all the way to Canberra, Tessi and me didn't take long to make up our minds and accept her offer.

We had such a terrific time at their place! Surrounded by a parklike, carefully tended garden with a big veggie patch, with a view over wide green paddocks and forest hills - they live in a paradise.
Sarah is planning her first big trip to Europe and Tessi and me were happy to tell her some travelling tips and tricks. I invited her to my birthday in June!
They curiously listened to our stories of Rainbow Gatherings, hitch hiking, festivals and places we've been to, and after dinner we all had a dance off to the East Pointers in the living room. Sarah played us some music on her guitar, we sang together - it was the perfect exchange of the backpacker welfare package (bed, shower, food) for a breath of fresh air (music, inspiration, good company).

The next day it didn't take very long until Chandra picked us up - a Sri Lankan man living in Australia and organising tours for Sri Lankan tourists. By chance, he was driving his empty tour bus up to Sydney to pick up a load of them, and decided to give us a lovely ride all the way to the turnoff to Canberra. As I have been to Sri Lanka and Tessi has been to India we had a lot to talk about. Chandra explained that he never really acquainted the hitch hiking, backpacking, music playing, "free spirit" sort of traveller before: we had heaps of stories to share. Listening to bollywood music we watched the vast brown fields and stoney paddocks of the Australian countryside rush past and by the time we reached the petrol station in Yass we were badly craving Dhal curries, Naans and Kottu Rotti.

We got a lift with Matthew, returning to his home in Canberra, and then - oh joy! Ananda and his van came to collect us! How much we love Ananda!!
He's working in Canberra at the moment, building a nest in a house with a fireplace for the winter months. He took us along to two heart yoga singalong sessions, and even though I wasn't able to become excited about getting into a spiritual state of trance while chanting to Hindu gods, I did enjoy practicing my harmonising skills and listening to peaceful guitar sounds. And I learned a lot about being diplomatic with my body language - don't appear bored if you are not! ;)

Canberra - even though the city itself didn't impress us too much, it was blissful to spend time with our dear friend Ananda and also catch up with Rainbow brother Stefan, here hiding between the O and the V in the Art Gallery.

Sharing cups of tea and roast veggies on Ananda's kitchen floor, laughing at our attempts of Australian slang... there's a lot to learn in Bogan-ville. Straya mate!

Off to Bateman's Bay! Who lives there? Juliet!

I got out of the car and stepped on the lush lawn on Juliet's bush property near Shallow Crossing. Instantly I could feel the magic of the place. Some thirty years ago, Juliet and her ex-partner built this wooden house in the remote bush between old spotted gum trees, right on the banks of the river Clyde, and since then filled it with the creative energy of two amazing artists. Solar-powered, with rainwater tanks and a big veggie patch, it's completely off the grid. The outdoor toilet has a pointy rood and its own fireplace, and the shower surrounded by tall white gum tree trunks and green undergrowth - better than any shower curtain.
Kookaburras in the trees...

I'd seen Juliet's paintings and read bits of her book, so I knew she was an incredibly creative, gifted person, but seeing her ceramic sculptures... wicked!
I love doing pottery and know how hard it is do to little detailed bits and get the glazings right; believe me if I tell you, this is world class! I've never seen anything nearly as good.

From Juliet's place we hitched to Bowral where I had such a lovely couch surfing experience with Chris last year in March. Back then he invited me to come for another visit whenever I'm in the area, and a couple of weeks ago I actually dreamed of visiting him, and so we did! He opened his beautiful house up to be a professional, busy B&B now, and when Tessi and me stayed, there were another 4 travellers from Canada, UK and Ireland.
After Bowral we aimed for a house on the northern outskirts of Sydney - the place that Bianca, our faceprinting Rainbow sister, is housesitting at the moment. We made it with only two lifts and one train ride though Sydney. SOOO GOOD to see Bianca again! There's no words for this. Major love rush!



The beautiful big house comes with a pool, a dog and a fluffy cat.

Decadent din-dins.

At the place Bianca is housesitting, there is a half-tamed Eastern Bearded Dragon named Alfreda, and she was happy to eat some chicken out of my hand.

So now I can say that I hand-fed a real dragon!

Tessi and me totally love it here and already stayed longer than we intended to, but tomorrow it's time to hitch further north. Next stop: Newcastle!

____________________________________________________________

There's a boy throwing rocks at my window

sitting on the bench down below

and he says "Come and spend some time with me beneath the washing line"

He looks as handsome as the night

Hands in his pockets, his face in daylight

So I let him in and I take his hand

and I do my best to understand, oh I, I do the best that I can

We lay down and look out my window

Outside the world's a distant glow

We whisper every word wildly

talk of all the things we're gonna do

and he kisses me on the eye and out the window we seem to fly 

'cause I let him in and I take his hand

and I do my best to understand, oh I, I do the best that I can

There's a nightbird singing at my window

The bench is empty down below

and I lay awake to hear the open gate but he don't come around no more

So I pretend to let him in, I pretend to take his hand

I imagine that I understand, oh I, I do the best that I can, my my... I understand.

Port Fairy Festival & Hitch hiking stories

Hello friends!
After we took the ferry from Devonport, Tasmania back to Melbourne I spent a couple of wonderful days in the house of Lauren and Daniel in Eltham (right here I need to mention how much I LOVE Lauren and Daniel!), until Tallan picked me up to take me to his home near Colac.
An old dairy on a windy hill, surrounded only by cow paddocks, and turned into a foresty little garden by Tallan over the last 12 years. It was very peaceful there, and just good to spend some time with amazing Tallan. :) After he had let me take over his face with paint at the Rainbow Gathering...

 

...he let me take over his kitchen cupboard with some paint...

That was fun! Like in old teenage days, just listening to loud music while painting something for the sake of painting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then Tallan dropped me off so I could hitch towards the Port Fairy Folk Festival...

 

I wrote this as a guest writer for my awfully inspiring friend Manny and his blog Raw Safari: www.rawsafari.com

Just one year ago, I never would have even dreamed of hitch hiking all by myself. Growing up in a conventional German village world, I was told that hitch hiking is just too dangerous and thus a very silly thing to do - with all these creeps, rapists and chainsaw murderers out there. Hitch hiking as a girl alone - just not an option! Anyway, I was travelling Australia in my own car, so I never had to worry about how to get somewhere.

Then, as I started festival-hopping, I got into the "scene of crazy people" and I met more and more other young European backpackers like me, just that they handled the whole thing quite differently: instead of spending all their money on a car or on public transport, they would just hitch hike everywhere, and it seemed to work out just fine for them. I remember talking to Carline, a French solo traveller about my age, hearing her explain why she thinks hitch hiking is awesome and not so scary at all. I remember how I thought she was a crazily reckless...

Finding more people like her, finding this blog and eventually finding its creator meant finding out more about this kind of life "them irresponsible people" were leading.

You hardly ever have to worry about money? You can go for years without working a real job and just travel and have fun instead? You get picked up by super kind locals who invite you to stay at their house and give you food as well? You happen to end up in wonderful places that you would never have known otherwise? How come you're making all these friends? How come you have so many amazing adventures, experiences and stories to tell?!

I realized how - comparatively - boring, stressful, lonely and  money consuming it is to own and travel with a vehicle. Cars just "cost big bikkies". They way they lived started to make much more sense to me. They had all the fun. If they can do it - if it works out so amazingly well for them - why shouldn't I be able to do the same...?

After I sold my car October last year I was most inspired to spend the rest of my time in Australia living like Manny, Carline, Bobby, Sarah and all the others!

From Woodford to Melbourne: 3 days, 7 lifts

After the Woodford Folk Festival I had to get to Melbourne within three days to catch the plane that I had booked to Tasmania. Grace and Tim, two awesome people who volunteered with me, drove me all the way to a petrol station close to the New South Wales border. As I was still rearranging my luggage in front of the building, a young woman walked past and said "Come with us, we can take you as far as Coffs Harbour, if you don't mind stopping by at my grandma's for a cuppa tea?"

Of course I didn't mind! She and her Peruvian husband run a gourmet chocolate factory in the Andes and just came over to Australia to visit her family. We spent some time drinking tea and eating cake at her grandmother's place - I was welcomed warmly by everyone as if it was the most normal thing to have a young stranger sipping tea on their sofa. Reaching Coffs Harbour, they invited me to stay overnight at their families house so I wouldn't have to camp alone and in the rainy weather. A bed, a yummy dinner and even a beer - how grateful was I!

 

 

Early in the morning they dropped me by the highway and after maybe 5 minutes of waiting, a guy pulled over offering to take me all the way to Sydney. Sadly and shamefully, I forgot his name, but I remember him as the George Ezra man - that was his favourite music at the moment and we listened to the whole album twice. Connecting over the music, the 8 hours went by quickly.

In Sydney I got picked up my a young tradesman only seconds after I held up my sign. He only took me 16 km down the road, but we had a chat about the situation of the Indigenous Australians today and he said something I'll remember him by: "It's a culture, not a colour!"

Unfortunately he dropped me off in a bad spot, under a bridge by the highway where everyone went some 120km/h. On top of that, it was raining like a curtain and with all the water spraying around nobody could even see me. I stood for two and a half hours, until my cardboard sign saying "Melbourne" was all soggy from the gusts of rain and my desperation was growing. But there was nowhere else to go, nobody to call for help, all I could do was be patient and grateful for the rain cape Grace had given me!

Eventually, Wendy pulled over and invited me to stay the night at her house in Wollongong. Thankfully I accepted. Wendy is just a piece of pure gold! She instantly adopted me and looked after me like a mum would. Her partner and her 15-year-old son were just as wonderful - the son slept on the couch so I could have his bed! They fed me dinner and chocolate, and a hot shower after standing in the rain was just the best thing.

The next day they dropped me at a petrol station where after about 3 minutes I got an inviting wave from a truck driver. I'd never been in one of those big trucks before and was curious about how it's like to be a truckie travelling up and down Australia's endlessly long highways. The guy looked quite a like a stereotypical truckie, with tattoos, a beard and a belly, and at first I wasn't quite sure about him because he went on and on telling me scary stories about what terrible things happened to him when he once hitch hiked. Then I realized, tried to scare me because he wanted me to stay safe and stop hitching, just like a good dad would. When he dropped me at a petrol station near Canberra, he was reluctant to leave before I'd gotten another lift and talked to other truckies, trying to make sure I get "a good one". Rough exterior and a good heart beneath.

It took only a couple of minutes until I got picked up by a young New Zealander with his 43 year-old Holden ute. He drove me all the way to Melbourne and told me inspiring stories about squatting - "unlawfully occupying an unoccupied building". Yelling over his punk rock music, he told me that he and his friends hadn't paid rent for 7 years because they always found an empty house to squat in. Wow!

Port Fairy Folk Festival hitching

Lately I went to volunteer at the Port Fairy Folk Festival in south west Victoria. The "Folkie" is so popular that accommodation in town and neighbour towns is super expensive and booked out months ahead; that's why I was more than glad to be able to stay with a friend in Warrnambool for free. Warrnambool, however, is still about 30 minutes driving away from the festival.

About 2 minutes after my friend dropped me on the highway in Colac, a car pulled over with two businessmen in it - a real estate agent and a developer. The latter was called Dale and told me stories about how he used to hitch hike everywhere when he was a teenager. After a some time filled with cheerful chatting and getting to know each other they dropped me off in Camperdown. Before I got out, Dale handed me his business card and said "If you ever come back to Melbourne, give me a ring, me and my wife will take you out for dinner!"

After about 10 minutes of waiting, a car with three young Englishmen in it picked me up. They're the "Young'uns" and were on their way to perform at the festival! They've just landed in Australia and I gave them some Aussie slang lessons delivered with a German accent. In turn I found their northern England accent hilarious, played them some Tin Whistle and they sang along to the Irish tune. We joked until they dropped me in Warrnambool, and of course I promised to come and see their shows.

 

Over the festival weekend I got picked up by five more parties of people, mostly older couples that went to the festival every year. All of them were just super generous and lots of them used to hitch hike themselves and shared their stories with me. Zoe, Shirley and Gary picked me up late Sunday night after the East Pointers, took me home to the caravan park they were staying where I could pitch my tent on their spot for free. The next morning, they made me a coffee and took me back to the festival - and when the East Pointers played again, they all came and danced with me! Oh my god, they were just such a lovely amazing family.

 

The East Pointers! Turned into my absolute fav band at the moment. I can never stay still when I hear this.

 Later in the day, Katy and Bob bought me an ice cream, and while we drove to Warrnambool and shared stories, Kath said: " There's nothing more exciting than standing on the side of the road with your thumb out!" - "You speak my language!" I laughed.

After the festival I hitched to Melbourne with three lifts - with Michael the cement business manager, with Miles the travelling stock broker, and with Trish and Bob who came from the festival, towing their caravan and learning a bit of Tin Whistling from me. Goodness, were they all lovely.

The Plan Z

There is one kind of silly little tip Manny gave me that made a big difference to how I felt about my safety when hitching: the pen. A pen is an innocent item that you can even casually stick behind your ear, yet, in an absolute case of emergency, it can be a weapon. A blunt weapon to use in self-defence not to kill your opponent, but just to give you that tiny moment of distraction that you might need to escape.

Sounds spectacular, doesn't it? Always good to have a Plan Z!

I honestly don't think it would ever come that far - I trust my common sense, instincts and good luck with that one. It seems ridiculous to imagine me ferociously stabbing someone with a pen :D But just knowing about this gives me that tiny bit of reassurance that I'd need if I'd ever feel seriously unsafe.

So far, it's just absolutely incredible how giving and kind the people were who picked me up from the side of the road. Am I just super lucky, or is it karma, or is it true that you attract what you project? I haven't had one sketchy experience yet.

Every time I just make great new connections; people who look after me and show me the how far you can take generosity and friendliness. I don't only just get a ride, I they share with me their stories, their opinions, their music music or hard earned wisdom of life, their wonderful company - I learn something from everyone. I hope I can pay all this back some day, in some way! It's insane how much I have already gained from that little bit of hitching I've done.

Seriously, who wants a car? I don't anymore!

 

 

 

This song made me cry, thinking of my parents at home. Good reminder for me to look at what I am doing from their perspective sometimes!

 

 

At this point a little shout-out for Christine, a wonderful lady in her sixties who let me stay in her son's empty room in her home in Warrnambool. She even cooked for me! She's a piece of gold.

Once more, how good do I have it to know so many marvellous people who let me stay at their places and charge me up with their love and kindness.

 

The Mae Trio!