canberra

in canberra i caught up with some friends, mia presenting at a climate change conference and matt who has moved there and offered me a couch to sleep on for a few nights.

i really liked canberra but only stayed a few days

MAGIC MOUNTAIN

i had the good fortune of meeting Amy Hubers during a volunteer's massage at woodford folk festival (she's a masseuse)

she invited me to visit her cooperative at magic mountain, 1000 acres of land west of Port Macquarie.

Amy is a fascinating person, she has done all sorts of things and travelled the world, she grew up in Holland but moved to Glebe 30 years ago (pursuing a hopeless musician).. things didnt work out and she decided to move to the country. she created the cooperative and got to work regenerating the land previously decimated by logging and farming (as a lot of Australia has been, i learnt).

when she first moved to magic mountain there was nothing.. no road, electricity or running water..

Amy decided to study carpentry.

this is what some of the dwellings they have built there look like


they now capture rain


and have a well


as well as solar electricity and gas for cooking.

there are also chickens for eggs


goannas


padamelons


and many more animals.

one night i even had a visitor


there is also Keesey


Keesey is a long time friend of Amy's, he lives in Holland but comes down regularly for long visits.  he practices as a pediatrician but has done all sorts of other things and explored much of the outback too.

Kees took me to the rainforest, a few hours hike off any paths


some pictures i drew of our hike



i spent a week here and had a really great time learning about life far off the grid, hope i will see them again in the not too distant future

walcha

walcha is a small town i visited on the way down to port macquarie. the town is littered with sculptures thanks to an initiative by one of the artisans many years ago residents.


i thought i would do some art of my own while i was here too


i was also quite proud of the burgers i was able to make out of mince meat ^__^

butterleaf national park

you'd think i'd have learnt my lesson after my first hike. but no. i decided to go to butterleaf national park this time to cycle for an hour...

try five.

my phone with the map died and i spent hours trying to find my way back to the track. my water ran out quickly and to my chagrin all the fun downhill cycling in the first half meant pushing my bike uphill on the way back.. who would have thought. the only thing that kept me going was the memory of a strawberry farm on the way in to glenn innes that said they sold the best strawberry smoothies



finally i made it back to the shop



and they did indeed have the very best strawberry smoothies

washpool national park

Fwhat not to do when hiking:

1) don't pack your bag with canned soups, they weigh a tonne


2) dont start your hike at night, you may get lost (i did)


3)check if it is due to rain before you start or you may find yourself wedged beneath a rock


4) dont leave your dinner bowl outside your tent


5) dont listen to short stories about killer trees, there are lots of creepy trees


6) watch out for spider webs


other than making some rookie errors i had a good time at washpool national park which offers a diverse range of environments along its 50km world heritage track




i cooked some decent food


saw a giant tree


other pics