Dreamyoga.co.uk Blog

I actually had an absolutely marvellous time at Kerri’s house in Melbourne, it was all creamy-clean and calm and beautifully quiet, we also had lovely chats about astrology, food and girl’s stuff, and I did her feet and taught her the 5 Tibetans. Went to see a great band called the Black Eyed Susan, it was in a little pub and was packed out. For the last number I asked a nice man with fabulous long curtain like hair to dance, then I also asked another man, until eventually there was 20 of us in a circle with our arms round each other dancing, it was lovely, sometimes having 3 large glasses of red wine can move things along socially.

Off to Geelong the next day for a bit of wwoofing (world organization of organic farming, where you swop 4 hours labour a day for bed and board) The write up in the wwoofing book said that Robert and Ingrid were looking for someone to play board games with Ingrid (who is in a wheelchair), it said Robert likes a bit of a green-political chat and they were both naturists!

After the calm of Keri’s house this was sheer madness. Ingirid is a fabulous woman, born with cerebral palsey, she’ s very smart and bossy, extremely compassionate and a definte queen of her own household. Robert is a masseur. Other household members are Mungi  a delightful Korean wwoofer who has the most beautiful smile, Kim is the cook, a large amazing female from Queenstown, who removes her own teeth with a hammer rather than go to the dentist, she’s worked on fish trawlers, eventually replacing 3 members of the crew because she was so strong and fast at her job, she also ran a Karrioki bar in melbourne - fabulously funny woman.  Also Jen was in the house - another lady in a wheel chair, but a bit depressed, the cleaner Stacey pops in now and again and someone else is turning up tonight, a family freind.

There’s a little fat dog called Ruffle, when the phone rings Ruffle starts barking in a very high pitched, but very loud style, so there’s a rush to the phone, wheelchairs whizzing out of the way and those of us who can speak English rush to answer, just to stop the noise! It is a living nightmare, its lovely to be here for a few days, but any longer and it would do my head in completley.

I’m camped on the floor of the massage room, all other bedrooms being taken, its nice and quiet and at least I can close the door to keep Ruffle out of my bags, she’s an expert thief!

Ingrid is an expert Scrabble player, she’s very good indeed and teaching me lots.

In 2 days I’m going to take the bus trip down Ocean Road, I’m told its not to  be missed, its a 9 hour trip. Then I move into Treea’s house in Melbourne. Treea is sister to one of my Lancaster reflexology clients, she’s kindly letting me have a room in her house for a few days and I’ll give her and her freinds Reflexology in exchange, the bedroom I will have was recently visited by a possum, just jumped in the window from the roof, he left a bit of a mess it seems.

Anyway my freind Lovely Louise is coming to stay there with me, I can’t wait, so looking forward to seeing her and hearing that much-missed Preston accent, we have one problem, only one double bed between the two of us, I can imagine it will be a nightmare with the two of us laughing all night - what fun!

Then Tasmania, Yes I’m finally going to make it, didn’t get the job with ice cream man, instead with Jacqueline and David doing a bit more wwoofing, they are environmentalists and into animal welfare rights and need a hand with the large garden, bottling produce, cooking etc. They also go to market, second hand shops and tip shops (whatever they are) but it all sounds very interesting.

Then home to Lancaster on 21st, really looking forward to coming home. I’ve got Helen’s flat to stay in for 2 weeks during which time I’m going to move the truck back to its original position, and if its all in one piece move back in! Hurray!

Well awful is the only way I can explain my first day here…

I left Great Barrier Island and the sound of the lapping sea and the sunshine and smiling faces etc and after a pretty choppy ferry ride stayed at good friend Vickies overnight in Auckland. The next night up at 1am to catch the shuttle to the airport and off to Oz. I’ve not got anything at all against Chinese people and I try not to be racist, but honestly my flight was full of extremely rude,loud, aggressive and, I’m afraid to say, quite smelly Chinese people. The woman behind me on the plane constantly stood up and leaned her elbow into my head and the man in front had his seat so far back his (very greasy) head was 12 inches from my nose. I was really glad to get off the plane.

Then we all waited in the passport queue, me and 450 Chinese people( I know it was 450, I had an hour to count them) Then another hour in baggage claim, by which time it was 8.15am, I got a shuttle to the city and phone Keri - but no reply.

I had written to the Keri, who I was staying with in Melbourne,  three weeks before to give her all the details of my travel (she got this letter the day after my arrival). Keri is a high powered executive at IBM. When I talked to her on the phone from the Island she had said to text her as soon as I got in. I sent many texts all day - no response - by 3pm (14 hours after I’d got out of bed after 4 hours sleep) I was still no nearer any response from her. I walked and walked and walked all through the city.

At one point at around mid-day there was a crowd of people collected in the street, when I asked  what was going on they said a man had just jumped out of the (very) high rise building opposite, the police was putting a cordon around him, poor soul! It made me feel really sick. I went and sat in cafe and read the paper to take my mind off it, the first article I came to was about a woman who got a leech in her eye while she was gardening and it grew to 4 times its size while she was trying to get it out.

It was all getting a bit surreal now!

I was afraid of spending too much money on food etc as when I changed my $100 NZ at the airport I got $66 Australian  in exchange, which near enough halved my funds, and everything here was more $ than it had been in NZ, Oh dear.

Eventually I went to the internet and checked Keri’s number I had been texting the wrong number! She was just going into a meeting, when I did get through, and wouldn’t be free till 6pm. I was totally exhausted by this time and when we did meet I had in so much pain in my back and was so tired I just burst into tears.

She was lovely and bundled me into a cab, ran a lovely hot shower for me, fed me on dippy things, lovely red wine and after a nice chat I was fast asleep by 10pm.

When I woke up this morning  there was no sound of the sea - though there was some lovely hot sunshine.

Applied for a job today, there were a few, a lady who wants me to live in for a couple of weeks and play board games with her, a wild life park who wants someone to clean out the cages and the one I’d like is a man who advertises thus….    “I grow  berries and fruit trees which end up feeding the birds, I’m putting another orchard in, so the birds wont’ starve, I have a veggie garden, when the possums let me. Work here includes firewood collecting, weeding, orchard work, ice cream eating, competitions….anything! If you can cook I will worship you forever. I play the piano and the pipe organ. I am  also a botanist and can tell you about plants and trees. This job is not about work but meeting people, sharing and fun”

So of course I’ve applied for the latter which is in Tasmania, I’ll let you know how I get on.