Last night was New Years in Australia.  Sebastien and I had a nice dinner at Clare’s house, whom we have been house sitting for since the 27th, and went down to Byron Bay to see how they celebrate New Years in Australia.

In Byron they had several roads closed for the festivities.  There were booths set up where you could get a temporary tattoo, jewelry, and/or food and they had small circus rides and all this under the mystical blue moon.  Most of the people were between 15-30 years old (make that 31).  A lot of fancy dressed giggling girls and funny haircut sounding boys trying to impress one another.  Around midnight hundreds of people gathered on the beach and watched fireworks.  I thought it was brilliant.

So many things made this New Years special.  Beginning our traveling adventure, experiencing  Australia, enjoying Sebastien’s company, being engaged and feeling more connected to life.  I look forward to what 2010 brings!

I will post some pictures soon!  Much love and Happy New Years.

Before finding out about First Sun, Tina and I walked all around town in search of a cheap and clean place to stay. As usual, the “backpackers” (hostels) were the cheapest, but in all honesty, I hate those places because they are usually dirty and noisy and offer very little privacy.

We stopped by and inquired about prices at about 10 different places. Prices ranged from $76/night for a hostel to over $300/night in a dirty-ass motel on the beach. What a rip off!

We had 2 places on our shortlist: a $120/night cabin that included everything (TV, microwave, air conditionning, private bathroom, etc…), and a backpacker at about $80/night. Secretly, the $120/night cabin was my preferred choice, even though it was a little outcentered.

On our walk back to town, we still hadn’t decided on a place to stay at. That’s when we walked in front of First Sun, a campground that offered lodges and cabins pretty much on the beach. Tina said that we shouldn’t bother asking about prices because this place looked too nice and the location was just perfect, literally 100 yards from downtown Byron Bay, with a view on Main Beach and the Wreck.

I told Tina that “you never know”, and that we could get lucky. So we walked in and asked about those private little lodges. She told us the price was $85/night. That was completely in our budget. The young woman at the front desk was very friendly and told us to walk around and check out the place for ourselves.

So we took a short walk on the property and we really liked the place right away. It was very clean and quiet. The little lodges didn’t include much: a bed, a TV, and a fridge. We would have to share the bathroom and kitchen corner with other people renting the lodges, but for that price, we could make the sacrifice.

We went back to the reception and booked a room for 4 nights. To my surprise, they even offered 2 hours of free internet every day. She needn’t say more to have me hooked on this place

We stayed at First Sun for 4 nights then we briefly went to Mullumbimby (the Mullum as I call it) for 2 nights and we went back to First Sun for 2 more nights.

At $85/night, you certainly won’t find a better deal in Byron Bay. First Sun also rents out cabins with your own bathroom and full kitchen for $160/night I think, not a bad deal if you go there with another couple.

They also seemed to be building small lodges like the one we had but with a private bathroom. I don’t know how much there are going to go for but I wouldn’t mind paying an extra $20/night for having the luxury of my own toilet.

In order for us to do this trip for more than a month we will be using a few resources.  These resources include helpx and housesitting.   Helpx helps people who are looking for help to connect with travelers who are looking for accommodations in exchange for some work.  This exchange has been going on for a long time and the nickname for the people who actually come to help is WWOOFers.  This stands for Willing Worker On Organic Farms.  Though the helpx resource is not necessarily for organic farms.

We landed a gig with right away and with in a few days we were in the care of Clare Hopkins.  She said that she put it out into the universe that she was looking for a French speaker to help her friend JP, who wanted to use his French, to build a shed.  Low and behold we connected and what a treat it has been.

The first night we were in Clare’s home she cooked us a wonderful chicken meal (no I did not eat the chicken) with veggies and potatoes.  Delicious!  Oddly enough we sat and eat with Clare, her partner Peter, and JP and discussed Lowen, Riech, spirituality, quantum physics, and personal growth stuff.  It was a wonderful treat to be in the company of like minded people.

Here are some pictures of Clare’s beautiful house and land.

Our room…

The beautiful backyard and the amazing plum tree…

The agreement was that we would provide 4 hours of work in exchange for meals and accommodations.  What were were able to help Clare with included Sebastien building a shed with J.P. while speaking some French, weeding, power washing the dirt off the deck, cleaning out the refrigerator, and Sebastien helped Clare set up her blog/website.  Which is beautiful and show cases Clare’s lovely paintings and art.

I felt that it was an honor to help out Clare because she was taking such good care of us.  She cooked us fabulous meals and went out of the way to make us feel welcomed and comfortable.  We were very welcomed into her home and heart.  Thank you Clare!

Another trea was in meeting the cat, Be., J.P., Peter, and Zoe.  Sebastien really liked Be though.  Here are some pictures of our stay with Clare and her family.