Barrier Reef - above and below

Whitsundays

Magical is really the only way to describe our time here. The glorious scenery and luxury accommodation providing the perfect place to celebrate 25 years of marriage. Beautiful sunrises and sunsets, cruising out to the Barrier Reef, snorkelling,  returning via helicopter, sipping cocktails as the sun sets, organising a beach drop off by boat to a secluded spot (beach umbrella, snorkelling gear, picnic lunch etc...) were some of the highlights. Fine dining and gourmet food were certainly appreciated and enjoyed. However, with Colin's busy travel schedule this year just being together was wonderful in itself.

mid winter

A wintry weekend has provided a bit of space for updating our blog and web site pages. Our change of lifestyle this year means we are still finding our way with blogging on our yurting site.

Colin has his own web site prompted by the ending of Ergo and the beginning of his own consulting practice. I have set myself a challenge of posting a photo every day for a year – to give me a reason to keep the camera out of the cupboard but more importantly to stay connected with family and friends.

Our decision to relocate to the Sunshine Coast means our ‘yurting’ of the past will not continue in the same form, no more multiple weeks away in the caravan. We are experimenting with a different way of being this year, living in a ‘holiday’ kind of place and Colin travelling to work. Caloundra is conveniently located half way between Port Moresby and Melbourne.  To say we are enjoying the experiment would be an understatement, we are certainly scheming to see if we can extend our stay beyond a year.

We are all creating new lives for ourselves, loving the change from inner city urban to coastal town, concrete, steel and asphalt to sand and sea, rush and hurry to chilled out and swapping a house in a street for an apartment with ocean views. The only negative is leaving our three oldest children in Melbourne, along with other family and friends.

Long weekends have provided an opportunity to explore a little of the coast, Kingscliff to the South and Rainbow Beach to the North and in the hinterland the Glass House Mountains, Maleny and Montville.

We have missed our yurt though – the feelings of carefree living and adventure. There is something about packing up and heading off into the unknown, where time stretches out and slows down, where ‘normal’ fades away and the unknown and unexpected keeps you on your toes.

It is with great excitement and anticipation then that our Byron Bay mid winter sojourn draws near. At last an opportunity to experience just for a little while our yurting lifestyle; to unwrap and hitch up our caravan and …. drive for 3 hours rather than 2 and a half days, end up in a familiar place and inhabit our usual site…. Ah well perhaps not exactly the yurting of old, but good enough to warm and fill our souls.

Glass House Mountains

Rainbow Beach

the meaning of cars

Pat, our 1989 Nissan Patrol is a wonderful car. Like so many objects, it means more to us than its commercial value (no much!) because of the memories and associations. Over this weekend, Pat took us north across lush green countryside and through the Great Sandy National Park towards Fraser Island. Our stop this weekend was Rainbow Beach.

The clear blue skies against the vivid greens and the coloured sands on the cliffs in Rainbow Bay and also as the backdrop to soothing calm sunsets on the beach, were strangely comforting. Perhaps because there have been so many grey skies this year on the Sunshine Coast. The windows-down driving through curvy national park roads, the familiar sound of the ‘old’ car doors slamming behind beach weary bodies, the untidy piles of bags, and weekend away stuff in the back … all better than the descriptions could possibly convey. We love you Pat.

For us, the weekend was amazing. To be able to decide on the spur of the moment to go away for a perfect-ish weekend to such an awesome spot (at its best with cloudless days and slight offshore breezes rendering the expansive bay as a shimmering millpond all weekend) is fantasy living really.

But things don’t always go well and they didn’t for some blokes we met while there. If you’d followed our social media updates you will have seen the heartbreaking images of two 4WDs getting stuck in soft sand and then slowly and painfully getting swallowed by the incoming tide. I have no reason to believe these two vehicles meant any less to the two owners, than Pat means to us. Added to that, the near new Hilux could have bought a couple of truck loads of Pats.

A simple fateful decision can lead to heart shattering consequences. I’m sure both men wish they could rewind to that pivotal moment when they pulled their vehicles beside each other on the beach and discussed whether to try to get around the rocks. It reminded me that a regretful decision is always only a moment away. Life is vulnerable.

So, what does this mean? As I reflect on the fabulous weekend we’ve just enjoyed, it again reminded me to make the most of every day. The privileges of life that offer freedom and choice can never be taken for granted. As we wondered on Thursday, whether to do the ‘easy’ thing and have a weekend at home (nothing wrong with that) or put in a bit of effort and spend a few extra dollars to see a different corner of this beautiful land, we again ended up at ‘why not?’. Not an ounce of regret. While Pat is still with us, we’ll stack the memories as high as we can.

Interestingly though, and importantly really, the pleasure of the weekend does not come purely from the weekend. Tomorrow morning I embark on a month of work effort that, if I achieve what I hope to in collaboration with others, will make a significant difference to tens of thousands of people who currently live with completely unacceptable levels of poverty. Today was rich because of tomorrow. Or maybe, today without tomorrow would be hollow. Or something like that …

Satisfaction in life does not come from the pursuit of pleasure, but from harmonising a meaningful positive contribution to the lives of others, and our own enjoyment of this extraordinarily beautiful world.

Tragedy