Carlo Sand Blow

I couldn’t help myself! I just have to share…

Rainbow Beach

I was lucky enough to find myself in Australia’s Sunshine coast recently and need to write up where we visited before I forget! I was catching up with someone yesterday and chatting back and forth I realised how much more comes to mind when I re-visit a place by sharing memories.

Rainbow Beach is essentially the gateway to Fraser Island. I hadn’t heard of the place before, but it was on the itinerary and sounded a lot like my kind of a place. Rainbow Beach has a population under 2000, is about an hour and a half from Noosa and the best way to reach the town is a four wheel drive up a white sand beach.

We were picked up south of Noosa and so spent the better part of the day on the road covering off what I’ve come to know as the Great Beach Drive.

I’m not new to four wheel driving, although I haven’t driven on a lot of sand myself and I was interested to see how it worked as a tourist attraction (and whether they’d play in the sand dunes as much as the boys in Abu Dhabi did).  We were technically a small group (about 10 people) and we split across two off road vehicles for the trip. The four wheeling part was calm enough that I could recommend it to anyone (and their grandma) but serious enough that they dropped the tyre pressure once we’d crossed over on the car ferry at Tewantin and before we headed on to Teewah Beach.

This was my first view of Teewah Beach!

From here we cruised along the sand, between the ocean and the scrub line, to Freshwater Creek where we stopped for morning tea. The road was a lot quieter than I expected. At this time of the year I would have expected more campers, more traffic, I wondered how much the bush fires that were ripping through the Sunshine Coast in the weeks leading up to my trip had an effect on people planning on camping in the area.

Our next stop was the lighthouse at Double Island Point. Surf and Sand Safari’s have exclusive access to the road up – good on a day about 15 degrees warmer than I’d become used to at home! If I was in the area over the cooler months though, I would have appreciated the walk. The scenery is breathtaking with views out across the Pacific to Fraser Island and we saw dolphins, turtles and manta rays from the viewpoint.

We stopped briefly at Honeymoon Bay after driving through the dunes across to Rainbow Beach. Our guide told us all about Soldier Crabs and we had a laugh watching them scoot around the edges of the lagoon but one of our group was stung by a jellyfish while swimming at the beach here and we were all out of the water and ready to head off again after that!

We stopped on Rainbow Beach to appreciate the sunset colours of the iron oxides and the contrasting white of the titanium oxidising against the sandy cliffs. Our guide showed us how the Aborigine people of the area traditionally used these oxides in their art work. I could see a true respect for the Gubbi Gubbi people that hasn’t been common in my most recent trips to Australia.

From Rainbow Beach you can also see Carlo Sand Blow – a sandy patch that is spreading over the trees- an aberration in the lush green rain-forest. In the evening following our four wheel drive adventure, we walked out to the Sand Blow to watch the sun set and appreciate the views over the coast.

Where we stayed – Plantation at Rainbow Beach (which I would happily recommend for their clean, comfortable apartments).

We dined at Arcobaleno on the Beach which was fine, but if I found myself back at Rainbow I’d try a new restaurant for dinner. Cafe Jilarty was our breakfast spot and I’d definitely go back again (its a light, airy cafe with quirky artwork and good coffee).

Samoa – Bus

This jewel coloured bus was enough to pull over to take the photograph but as I framed up the kids all came running out from church.

These two stopped for a moment to watch me. Their gorgeous expressions, tagata ese; the frowns say it all.

Post travel blues

I’m sure I can’t be the only one that experiences the post travel blues? Do you know what I mean? That sense of boredom or the overwhelming feeling that right now your life isn’t enough?

Thursday morning I landed back at Auckland – 4 hours sleep on the direct flight from Bali did not magically get rid of any lag I was feeling – and decided it was a day to sleep and eat. Friday and Saturday I worked. Saturday night dinner out with friends (yay look at me having a steady social life and all that). Half way though today (Sunday) and I’m wishing I was on the road again.

I’ve had two major let downs with getting back home. 1: It’s currently winter in NZ. The weather is definitely not helping me out here and I’m missing the gorgeous warmth of Seminyak. 2: My partner is currently overseas with his own work so I don’t have him here to annoy.

So how to beat the blues? Here are my top tips!

1. Make home somewhere you love to come back to. This is a really interesting concept for me and something that has taken me a long time to figure out. I had a defining moment when I brought my first car. From then it was a matter of have wheels will travel. I was working hard to save for my first house but I always made sure I had money for a tank of gas. Once I had moved into said house I was always off on adventures. For the longest time it’s seemed that anywhere is better than home. Now, funnily enough, renting  in a city I’m not entirely sure I love in a house that I can’t renovate or remodel, I’ve found a certain sense of peace in where I live. I know when I walk in through the door that this is where I belong. And I believe the reason why belongs in the little things.

   For example, in Bali there were lots of swimming pools but none of the hotel rooms we stayed in had baths. The moment I was alone in my home again, I had a bath running.

   I feel like it’s in the little rituals you set up as part of your home life too. Do you buy yourself fresh cut flowers? Curl up on the sofa with your favourite blanket and a good book? Or is it sipping a coffee as you look out over your favourite vista?

2. Plan your next holiday so that you have something to look forwards to. Even over the last couple of years where the ultimate goal has been saving rather than spending, we’ve still travelled. Whether it was for work or fun knowing when you are next off exploring or heading to the airport helps relieve the post travel blues.

   This doesn’t have to be a big trip overseas that blows the budget. This winter my partner has done a half marathon at the start of each month. Rather than staying with friends or family, we’ve booked hotel rooms (pet friendly of course) and have had lovely mini breaks. The budgeting/saving habit has been hard to break, but these little holidays have improved our quality of life immensely.

   For me, another fun part of knowing where I’m off to next is researching where I’m off too. I just can’t stand not knowing at least a little bit about where I’m travelling to, the countries history, traditions and where I need to visit. With our trip to Europe in December I’ve already got some decent “sightseeing” lists, but it’s that kind of trip. By being organised, I’m saving myself a lot of money and I’ll make better use of my time while I’m away.

3. Have an adventure! I’m yet to find a town where there is absolutely nothing to do, however even living in New Zealand, a travellers dream, sometimes we forget what an amazing country we live in. I went through a bit of a dark spot last year where I found myself spending far too much time at home and even the dog had cabin fever. I took a good hard look at myself, loaded the dog into the car and set off in search of adventure. We ended up about 2 hours from home at a beautiful hiking spot and it completely turned my winter around. Now, when I get home and realise I’m getting bored and frustrated with life, I think about what I can do locally. When was the last time you went to the local botanical gardens? Or went out to see a movie? When was the last time you tried a new restaurant or coffee shop?

   If that’s sounding too easy and uninspiring, challenge yourself. Write a list of as many things to do in your area (within 100kms) for less than $50 per person? How many have you done?

4. Wear yourself out: AKA the fallback position. This is a bit of a last resort for me but it’s a great option for miserable days where you don’t really want to go out or if you are trying to save money. It’s just not necessarily the most pleasant. I’m not a super tidy person so for me, if I’m trying to wear myself out with busy work, I usually just pick a room in the house and clean in from top to bottom. When I’ve finished, I either move on to the next room or switch to something I’m procrastinating about. Often I’ll set my alarm on my phone and do half hour “missions” until my “to do” list is considerably shorter and the house smells like bleach.

I know that last one isn’t for everyone, but it really does help me! What do you do when you’ve got the “post-travel blues?”

 

Home

A golden moment as the sun sets down behind the pine tress across the road. Have to giggle to my self a little as my partner walks in while I’m editing “where are those trees?” and I have to wonder whether it’s easier to explain, or just pull the curtain and point.

One of those days

One of those days, 

When you feel like all the photographs have already been taken, 

Where each path that ever converged has been thoroughly explored, 

Each beach has been visited by commercial fishermen, 

Where every waterway is polluted. 

One of those days, 

When you’re glad the mists cover the hills, 

So you don’t have to see the machines working them, 

Where a rainbow in the city just makes you sad, 

Because the biggest storm can’t wash it all away. 

One of those days, 

When microadventures feel like a good idea, 

Where you want to follow the twisting tarmac, 

Even though you already know, 

What you’ll find at the end of the road. 

Laughing at Myself

Ah, how the mighty have fallen. 

Before I started this post I re-read my last post, about how I was working regular hours, loving my life and my job and exercising as well as writing blog posts on a regular basis. 

We’ve just moved again. So two moves since I last wrote. I’m now living in a house I absolutely love, doing a job that completely fills up all my day and working on making new friendships and a new life in a completely random town. 

I’m not in control of my life at all really. There is no more exercising daily (and yet I’ve dropped the 5kgs that I’ve been struggling to move for the last 6 months), I have a kitchen with an oven and big old cupboards and I’m able to bake my own bread, make my own gnocci and roast a chicken when I feel like it. It’s almost bliss all on its own. 

Best of all the wild dog is happy; that makes me happy all by itself. When he gets home from work he tears upstairs, out the door and on to his own back yard where he bounces (there really is no other word for it) around being a complete nut case and happy as could be. 

Unfortunately my blogs and my photography have slipped. They’re still an all encompassing passion, I’ve just literally got to find the time to do it. Plus my stress levels are back through the roof. 

What’s a girl to do? Maybe take some of my own advice? Yeah right!

Port Waikato

Port Waikato – New Zealand

Through the mist

Walking along a wild New Zealand black sand surf beach

Kingdom Of Zion

There is a moment when you realise you are hand feeding a cheetah; you focus for a second and realise that your hand (which smells like blood and meat and food) is just centimetres away from said cheetahs teeth. Minutes ago she hissed at you as you stepped into her enclosure, stalked around you and generally misbehaved, until she realised you were there to feed her.

Needless to say, once the food was all gone, she lost interest.