WWOOF around the world - Part 3

I was given a lift into Nimbin the following day where a tourist shuttle ran regularly between the town and Byron Bay. I had time to visit the Nimbin Marijuana museum before getting on the small coach and heading 'back to civilisation.' Byron Bay was never a strong attraction to me regardless of the massive surfer appeal. But once on that bus, I had a familiar safe feeling come over me. It was all that time on a bus coming over to Oz, I thought. Fun times.

Anyway, I checked myself into a Flash-packer hostel as soon as I arrived and had about a 40min shower trying to scrub myself free of tics. I spent a week in the town trying to partly be a tourist and partly figure out what the hell I was gonna do with myself now. I rang other WWOOF hosts but it seemed wrong timing for most of them as I wanted something quite immediate. I rang my Sydneyside friends who suggested I come back to what I knew. I didn't want to go back just for the sake of it but I had to do something. So I returned to the city I said goodbye to just a week previous. I managed to organise a week WWOOFing at a Yoga retreat just before my birthday.

There were many people at this residence, and lots to do in an amazingly organised organic garden. But the Yoga was a religion and those that stayed long term really threw themselves into practicing it which I wasn't about to do so again, I returned to Sydney to spend birthday with family. Had a great birthday until I got a winter cold and spent about 2 weeks with family, half convalescing, half again, figuring out a plan.

WWOOF around the world - Part 2

I said goodbye to the 3 remaining OzBusketeers in Syders, Positive Sam, Political Elli and Delightful Dee and boarded the overnight train from Central train station. The rail network in Australia at some point underwent the same dressing down for economical reasons as in Britain. Consequently there are many towns all along the east coast that used to be serviced by rail. Now to get to these one time connected towns, one disembarks somewhere close and catches a bus that continues the rail route. Silly really, I'm sure the argument for cutting services was that the numbers didn't add up - ain't that always the line? But the reality is people still wanna get to the towns but the trains just don't wanna take ya.

It was early summer when I left Sydney, the weather was comfortably warm. When I was booted off the line at Casino, I was overwhelmed with the humidity. I was now more north than Sydney, heading for the Australian Rainforest belt. I took the bus to Lismore train station where I was to be picked up by my WWOOF host, a middle aged lady who lived in the small community. She arrived in a battered, dusty station wagon which I recognised as a sign of a working farm type place. A storm was coming in as we drove out to the land, we were losing light fast. One of the last thing I remember seeing was the legendary town of Nimbin, where smoking pot is more than a pastime, it's practically a religion.

When we arrived at the property it was pitch black with the occasional flash of light from lightning. My host asked me if I had a flashlight – I did but not to hand. When the car headlights were switched off a wave of sudden realisation came over me just as the encroaching jungle seemed to above my head. I was incredibly isolated here in the depth of another kind of Australian outback. It was mildly frightening. I just hoped the personality of the community would help take the severity of the isolation away.

It did not. The 'community' existed of 5 self-reliant units, mostly made of couples. The first night I spent in a shared home with 2 couples occupying where I was told I was welcome but not when they wanted their space (what is that supposed to mean?). My official accommodation was a choice between a tumble down shed full of junk I had to clear before I could inhabit, another tumble down shed but with less doors or a big open barn but without any doors. I chose a big space thinking that I was less likely to have anything 'trapped' inside. The only problem with the barn was that it was a10 min walk away from where I was walking and every trip I made there I gained a leach to the leg.

It did not look good as a long term residential prospect. The work I was doing was weeding and harvesting bananas, something I wasn't riveted about doing long term either. The people I met were nice enough but kept to themselves and by the time the 2nd evening rolled in and I said I wanted to leave the next day, I was closer to the tic population on my body than anyone else in the community.