Dec 2006

Ash Grunwald- Dreadlocks flying, foot-box stomping, heart-racing blues guitar
Fourplay- 2 violas + 1 violin + 1 cello = intense emotion
That1Guy- Crazy energy from a home-made electric/drainpipe/string instrument. Dancing with the mud squishing beneath my feet!
Afro Dizzi Act w/ Jali Buba Kuyateh-Soul-funk, hip-hop, rockin-jazz, i couldn't stop moving! Kuyateh sang pure gold and I was captivated by his playing of the kora.
Turkish Delight- These girls are amazing and soulful for so young...
The Perch Family Jug Band- Neighbors of the Loncza's and entertaining to no end.
Blue King Brown- Socially conious, passionate, reggae-rock-blues. I had to dance on top of a chair to avoid the mud and see the artists who were blowing me away.
Beautiful Girls- As great as i expected.
The Fumes- SO MUCH FUN!
John Butler Trio- Beautiful music while free spirits dance in the mud and children play on the hill. What a guitarist! What a memory!
Tripod- Like an Aussie version of the Arrogant Worms.
LABJACD- WTF?!?!?! So crazy! Hip-hop, salsa, jazz and i couldn't help but shake it!
Batucada Sound Machine- Fighting for my number one artist all week, more booty-shakin in the mud!
Paul Greene- Also in the running for my number one artist. What an amazing guy! Plus he plays Joni Mitchell on request!!!
Carl Pannuzzo- This is Woodford! I happened to catch a show involving randomly inviting Mel Webb on stage to beat-box, playing with the deaf (!), and improvising with whatever instruments could be found!
Kaki King- Just as I remember her, but better! Look at those fingers fly girl!
Sean Choolburra- Side-splitting aborigional comedian!
Oscar Lopez and James Keelaghan- They've been in my favorites list for a long time. Still are! "Celtino"
The Herd- Great hip-hop... with an accordian!!!
Xavier Rudd- Didjeridos and dancing on the hill while children and aborigionals explore the stage with Xavier. Wow: strong socail/political views are refreshing.
Mojo Webb- Truly fun, loud and soulful blues. "Did you say I'm crazy?"
Pablo Discobar- Stylish suits and thrilling funk.
The Bird- Sand and mud everywhere! Gum-boots, puddle-jumping and booty-shakin to the best music one could ask for on NYE.
Resin Dogs
Kristina Olsen- "Celebrate my Curves!"
Rory McLeod- Fine harmonica-playin!!!
CODA- Pure passion in the violins, percussion and vibraphone: masked dancers celebrating the coming new year appear magically on stage!

“We gotta love each other again.”

So many people... are conditioned to a life of security, conformity and conservatism, all of which appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have and endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.

- Alex McCandless (Into the Wild)

Inner peace is in no way a complacency or a comfort. I think our adventurous spirit comes from a desire to understand the nature of the life we play a part in more completely. It is a drive that leads us to uncover truths within us that can only be illuminated through discovery or connection with the world around us. Challenging ourselves and pushing our bodies (rock climing, hiking, yoga, cycling, etc) seem to be of the utmost importance in maintaining physical and mental health.

Conversely, our drive to be daring and to find that adrenaline rush seems to come from a lack of feeling and connecting with life. Almost like a momentary attempt to fill a void our society has evolved to ignore. Most likely this is the same void we have become so adept at covering up with the standard belief that if only we become more beautiful, more successful, we will find our ‘place’ in this world. For myself, this daring often came from a need to impress others, a search for validation or some sort of definition of my ego, when I felt that such a definition was necessary.

I think it's appropriate to return to the age-old Socratic idea of the ‘middle road’. Our adventurous spirit keeps us constantly learning about and interacting with our environment to nourish the soul, to keep us physically healthy and to teach us to live in varied conditions and situations. Yet if we go too far and pursue adventure and challenge as an ends, rather than a means towards a radiant inner peace, we will never find a lasting peace and will in all likelihood continue to live a life of constant, desperate searching.

My explorations this morning were indeed sucessful; a walk to the lake before my morning tea turned into a small treck to the ocean from my Mungo Brush campsite. Since i began raining and I had no desire to get my only pair of warm clothes wet, I left them under a tree and explored the shore in a t-shirt and undies... good thing it was 6am and no one was around.

Along the coastline at Myall Lakes are some crazy-looking sand dunes decorated with lush, vine-like bushes. There is a large, menacing (could have been the stormy weather) rock island off the south end of the shore (is that Broughton Island?).

I walked along the sand in awe of the powerful waves which rolled to a rest, lapping at my feet before returning to the tumultuous roar of the ocean, and then became engulfed, probably for a good hour, by the beautiful varieties of seashells scattered across the beach. Such a peaceful activity, to ponder the origins of each shell, to appreciate the colours and unique markings and shapes.

Since the weather was looking hopeful, I decided to take the long route to Sydney via Putty Road. Before hitting Newcastle, I cut north-west to Singleton, where the motorcycle mecca begins. It really was as great as i'd read, but I did need to recurrantly remind myself that it's not necessary to push the limit around each and every corner (a stressful endeavor, pushing limits, to say the least) and just enjoy the ride. (Jamie tells me that a helicopter pulls a biker out of that area at least once per week...) My favorite scenery was around Kangaroo Waterholes, where there must have been massive fires, because all the trees had turned a red colour, with bases scorched black. This went on for a good 10 km before returning to the rich green characterising the rest of the ride.

By the time I got to Windsor I was exhausted (imagine how Gael Garcia must feel, had he any feelings) so I grabbed a much-needed coffee and sat down to plan my attack on Sydney. After a bit of confusion as to my whereabouts, Jamie and I worked out a route over the phone. The city traffic was as bad as i'd thought, and a huge shock after being in the countryside for so long.

It was fabulous to see both Jamie and Sim when they arrived home, and i'm looking forward to spending time with them. It still doesn't feel like Christmas... where's the snow? This will be my first Christmas without my brother, the only thing I regret about being here in Australia...

I wasn’t surprised to wake up to the rain this morning. So much for driving to Dorrigo National Park. Yet one more place I’ll have to hit up on the way back.

My drive south was basically just a battle agains the rain. It go t pretty heavy for a good hour or two, and the rest was just bone-chilling drizzle. I took the detour through Port Macquarie, just out of curiosity, and because the storm had temporarily subsided. The rocky coast was stunning with dark skies and storm clouds. It’s a nice deviation from endless stretches of sand (although I wouldn’t complain about either!). The town itself seemed pretty mellow, and I bought some delicious fresh fruit from the local market for lunch and dinner.

This curiosity-fueled route was cut short by another bout of rough rain, leading me to bear back towards the Pacific Hwy. By the time I got to Taree my hands were dark purple from the wet wet leather and I had swimming pools in my boots. MacDonalds never seemed such an appealing coffee stop.

As I pulled into Nabiac for petrol at about 3pm, I saw a sign for the National Australian Motorcycle Museum! It was a great excuse (albeit and expensive one… $11) to take another break from the wet roads. Pretty interesting stuff, and some really old bikes; it made me feel a part of something more than just a girl on a bike… like this trip is just a small part of so many other explorations and adventures, but I’m still doing my bit.

I was somewhat surprised to make it all the way to Myall Lakes. It was a fun drive through the park, and the lake is magnificent, with ducks and black swans and the evening mist settling over the mountains on the far side of the water. Hopefully I’ll be able to do some exploring in the morning before my next big day of riding to Sydney…