One of the days we were there we took a day tour to Fraser Island.  Fraser Island is the largest sand island and it has a wide range of different landscapes.  Including a beautiful rain forest with huge trees, some bigger than 4 meters round.

We took a fairy ride over from River Heads to the island and meet up with our one day Fraser Island Explorer tour.  We ended up being the last two called (because we had signed up the night before on-line) and they only had one seat left in the back of the bus and the co-polite seat.  I chose to sit in front because I get car sick easily but we ended us switching mid day because the ride was so uncomfortable in the front.

Since the whole island is made out of sand the roads are as well.  The sand was very soft (due to a lack of rain) which caused the ride to be extreemly bumpy.  There were a few young children riding in the back and they were bouncing everywhere throughout the trip.  The driver, Shawn, was a true Aussie making jokes and giving me a hard time about not telling him ahead of time about the bumps.

About 45 minutes into the ride we stopped behind 4 other vehicles because a bus got stuck in the sand.  It was pretty crazy to watch how these Aussies pull each other out of sand pot holes.  They attached a bungy rope around the back of the bus and pull them out backwards.   But one bus was still not enough because then our bus had to get involved and pull both of the buses out.   It was wild.  Luckily, we got them all out and then  Shawn went around the buses by driving off the road and into the forest.   At one point I think we were only on three wheels.

Once we made it through the forest we were on the 75 mile beach. Which acted as the islands highway with speed postings. It was crazy driving down this beach for several reasons. Not only was the road incredibly bumpy because of the  soft sand but there was also an incoming tide which just made Shawn drive about 45 mph jerking the bus back and forth away from the incoming tide and soft sand. I would have surely hurled if I was sitting in the back of the bus.

About 30 miles down Shawn stopped in front of two small planes.  The two pilots boarded and gave their speech about an additional tourist experience in which you would be taken up in a plane to tour the island and then met back up with the bus.   I didn’t think twice about this but several people got up and took advantage of the offer.  I then looked back and Sebastien was nodding that he was ready to go.  I think he was sick of riding in the back of the bus.

The plane was a 12 seater puddle jumper which took off and landed on the beach.  It was a 20 minute flight around the island which included a low fly over the ocean.  It was a cool experience but for me it was just fun to spontaneously do something that was so extravagant.

After the flight we joined the rest of the group and the rest of the day we visited creeks, saw a rusty ship wreck, took a walk through the forest, had some lunch, and swam in Lake McKenzie. Lake McKenzie is one of the cleanest lake in the world. The water was a light turquoise to a deep blue. It was a lovely day.

Besides the Fraser Island day we went kanagroo hunting every evening. On several occasions we found the adorable creaters hanging out near the house. It was the first time we had ever seen kanagroos in the wild. Watching them hop around was really cool. Catherine and Peter also cooked kanagroo the last night we were there and we had a lovely dinner with them. We enjoyed our time with them and thier adorable boys.

Our accomidations were very rustic. A little cabin out in the wilderness. Our room was closed in and the kitchen was outside sheltered by a roof. It was a big adjustment! After we set our bags down we had the pleasure of chatting with Raman a little more. He told us a little about a spiritual teacher who was in town and a little about why Byron area was on the spiritual circuit. He was very easy to talk to and funny.

Within an hour of being at thier house the temperature went up to 39 degrees C.  Luckily Raman and Claudia were going out to meet up with friends and they dropped us off down by the beach in Brunswick.

The beach had a rock jetty and though the wind was strong it looked like it probably got a great wave when the conditions were right. Raman said that about a week ago the surfers had to come in because there was a big shark spotted there.

That evening I cautiously made dinner with spiders visual everywhere. I tried to make Sebastien’s favorite “easy” recipe.  It was ok. We eat with Raman and Claudia and they told us more about their land and there experiences. Claudia and I had the same views of therapeutic services and it was invigorating to talk with them about these things. She had also found out about Sebastien’s birthday and had bought us some beer.

That evening we returned to our cabin and scanned our room for creepy crawly’s. After crawling into our bed which was on the ground and had a net around it, Sebastien saw an enormous spider on the wall opposite us. I was suprisingly not suprised nor scared but Seba had a different reaction. He went and got Raman to get the spider out of the room. Raman did so without fear and giggled at us.

I did not sleep well that night but woke up ready to spend more time with our new friends. Raman had to work so we helped Claudia weed the garden and then tarp a slanted area in front of their house. This was a little challenging but we did it and now have tarping experience.

Through our day of work we realized that we had to return to Byron on Thursday. We felt bad because we had told Claudia that we would have been there at least 5 days to help. One of the things that Claudia was interested in was getting a website up for her practice. So we assured her that before we left Sebastien would do that for her.

That evening we had dinner in Claudia’s house and had lovely conversation with just her. The next day Sebastien did a patient job at getting her a working website and taught her how to change and add things. That afternoon Raman took us back to Byron Bay.

We will never forget the Mullum.

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.