Here is an example of beautiful artistry in motion. The graphics, the music, the message – hope you enjoy being swept away with it all as much as I did:
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After spending an extremely chilled time with my surrogate Zimbabwian family in Broulee, NSW, I am back on the road today. Destination? Mum’s!
I’m looking forward to home cooked meals with fresh veges from the garden, washing my clothes (they are starting to make the car a little stinky to be perfectly honest) and of course, spending some good quality hang out time with the family. In actual fact, it’s unusual for me to be returning home so shortly after my last visit. For the past 11 years, mum and I have lived at least a 13 hour drive from one another, more so when I’ve been overseas, which means visits have been pretty much reserved for special occasions. It was only three months ago that I was last at “the farm” and I can’t recall a time when its been so close between visits. Way to go Mandie on making time for family!
Visiting also gives me a great excuse to fill my car up with some more of my belongings, which have been stowed away on the farm for safe keeping these past couple of years, to help make my new home in Mullumbimby feel like a real home.
Here’s a view of the trek I am making today:
I am intrigued though how google maps has calculated 5.5 hours for only 400kms? I guess if I find myself driving along a dirt track for a long stretch of the journey I will have my answer!
I spent some time the other day exploring the area of Jervis Bay set in Booderee National Park, approximately three hours south of Sydney. I recalled my parents taking me to Green Patch Beach in the area as a child and after a quick phone call to mum asking for directions, I was all set!
The park is owned by the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community and was under their direct care for thousands of years. There is much debate on exactly how long the Aborigines have inhabited Australia, but it’s estimated it could be as long 125,000 years.
Wandering through this pristine section of earth, I was struck with wonder and awe as to the Aborigines’ ability to live on this land and preserve it so well. I was overcome with an enormous amount of gratitude to this group of people for their astounding knowledge of sustainable living. Because each tribe only took from the land what they needed and moved on at the appropriate time to allow regeneration, I am able to be enchanted by sections of untouched nature that haven’t yet met a fate with a bulldozer.
Perhaps as we are faced with ever-increasing pressure on solving the issues that modern living has placed on the planet, we might look to the Indigenous ancestors of our planet for some sound advice and guidance.
I have to admit that being back on the road again has eased my itchy feet. What is fascinating to me is how much I am enjoying being on the road in my own country. It seems wanderlust can be satisfied on home soil, who would have thought!
It feels like a lifetime has passed in just over a week. I have enjoyed CouchSurfing in the rural paradise of Mullumbimby and at a backpackers retreat in the certified hippy town of Nimbin, woken to sunrises over the ocean, started reading two books, met with a Reiki teacher, stood in awe as pods of dolphins glided through the sea, been surprised by the comfort of the back of a station wagon, attended a local Byron Bay artist’s showing, relived childhood memories at Green Patch Beach, and travelled much further south than I had first planned to visit my friend’s Deon’s parents, who just moved to Australia from England.
Life has also changed course in this past week, as I said a resoundingly loud YES to the opportunity to rent a detached studio room on a property outside of Mullumbimby. Serendipity appeared through a seemingly standard CouchSurfing request with Steph. When I arrived at her property, which sits on a ridge overlooking the valley down to the ocean, I immediately wanted to stay longer than the planned three days. After a few days of absorbing the peace and beauty of this idyllic location, and countless connected conversations with Steph, I was asked if I wanted to stay. It took less than a day to decide that I did! I move there in April 
So now my latest travel adventure sees me doing the last minute trips I want to do before I “settle down” for a bit. Rather than the usual gasps of air as my chest constricts when I think of staying put in one spot longer than a few months, I am filled with excited anticipation for what lies ahead in this next chapter of my life.
Here’s a snapshot of what one morning this week looked like for me in my home on wheels:
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