Wish I could be under the sea...

How can something so massively strong and deep and undiscovered be so peaceful?

At first arrival to the beach the winds are strong and cool against my skin, leaving me sticky with sandy mist at the end of the day. The air smells fresh and salty and like home. I walk along the tourist covered sands toward the sunlit coastal walk lined with unbelievably green bush and trees. I find a warm rocky cove out of the wind and sit facing the never ending horizon. Below the sandstone I sit on, a playground of rocks invites the waves over to play far out from the beaches making me feel as if it's just the sea and little me.

The heavy deep blues and eager young greens are colliding with thick rushing whites and greet the wind with a clear mist then slide back from the rocks painting translucence beneath them. The still rocky shore's yellow, orange and greys lick up water and changing to solid reds and browns with greens slipping through the cracks and white glittery stones reflecting in the light of the warm sunshine. All these vibrant colors sit strikingly beneath the contrast of the white speckled blue sky, sun and moon hovering above happily shining their light.

The thundering sounds of the water crashing and splashing harmonizing with the whispers of rinsing, bubbling and swirling brings feelings of cleansing and a reminder of that washed-over feeling that comes after change. The movement is magically predictable and absolutely mesmerizing. A refreshing reflection of the dynamic cycle of every thing; and the rest doesn't matter. There are minutes, hours, sometimes days that will absolutely be forgotten but the moments where we feel love and kindness toward each other will always be there to warm our hearts.

Ha. Flow more, force less. The ocean can't move the rocks lining the shore, stopping their motion abruptly with a splash. But over time, lots and lots of patient time, the gentle persistent kisses of the bubbly waves slipping across the rocks wears the hard stone down and they become a part of each other, sand and water supporting an incredible world of beautiful life.

A few of my favorite things!

Favorite moments; Ben and Hannah exploring Australia:

14 hour plane flight over!
7 plane flights!
50-50 chance of landing in Melbourne- what!?

Melborne
First hostel experience for me
Ben tried vegemite at breakfast :P
Bubbles got left in the room! Fun!
Which train??? Door closing between us! Nooooo...
Coming across professional footy players!
AFL game!
Great ocean road exploration
Koalas!
Parrot landing on my head
Frisbee in the very warm south pacific ocean!
Hanging out with the gypsies
Playing: live with, sleep with, cliff
Loud party hostel dorm the night we got 4 hours of sleep-grog!
Turn signal on the "wrong" side=wipers!!

Farm moments:
Meeting Jon at the airport! Hooray!
Jon; 'nuf said
Mothers Day heart pancakes for Kerry with berry sauce..yum! Oatmeal pancakes and Jon's hunger visit on our day off because Karin was working- first one was fried oatmeal! Then they were delicious :)
Comedy festival: vajim-jam, spooning, Kerry's boot! Shoulda put a ring on it!
40+ utes
Crystals in Karin's home & present for Jon!
Jumper on guitar
Poker X3 ;) and "cash box" :/
Magpies at the window-the one in the backyard urn...
Footy in the backyard! Footy in the face :P
Footy with Jon and Jock and Jon got it through Kerry's heart plants!!
The night Ben had ginger lemon zinger tea..or was it the white chocolate fudge..and sung songs til he fell asleep!
Chasing round the house while brushing teeth..popping out of the office!
Epic games of Ninja!
Rooibos-earl grey tea
"Don't touch yanks!"
Fried rice
Samosas
Hannah, will you eat everything? "mMmmmh"
What about Christmas Mince? Yuk!
Smoothies and wraps lunch
Bickies and white chocolate power bars: the deep freeze goodies :)
Milks in fridge: 1. soy, 2. soy w calcium, 3. oat, 4. coconut, 5. rice (!!!)
Magpie scarf find! And other scores!
Laundry in Kerry's front yard
Tennis!! Playing and watching :)
Warm plates in the micro!
Organizing :D
Huge pink/orange full moon!
Sunsets..
Hours sittin around on the module builders
Family Feud
Driving a tractor!
Rakes (ghetto rake)
Building my socks into the cotton!
In the module builder at night under the stars-so beautiful and soft!
No horsing around by the module builders!
The fire! Ben saves the day!
Praying manti
Photos galore
Learning to drive a stick
Cubby house <3
Banana-white choc muffins and Anzac biscuits
Finish Line!!


In Cairns:
Kerry's email: "are you behaving?"
Brisbane airport breakfast toast-haha ;)
Random shots into the wastebasket!
Ping-pong!
The tour bus! And new music :)
Waterslide down a rock!
Swimming under Milla Milla falls!
Unexpected ferry crossing mid road trip to port douglas
Most awesome playground(s) EVER! Includes sign language walls and all wheelchair accessible.
Eating green ants!
Stung by a jellyfish!
Seeing a manta ray!.
Swimming with real live sea turtles! (It still seems so surreal like I was just in an aquarium..) But we were swimming in the waves of the ocean!!
Beautiful botanical gardens and yummy cafe!

Blue mountains:
Harry's incredibly beautiful cabin
Getting locked out on the top balcony! Dumb.
Amazing bookstore!
Fairyland waterfalls
Ben's new home on the rock
Doors going nowhere(?)
Fairyland restaurant/common grounds cafe
The red parrots!
Q&A - great show, great topics (religion and science, racism, aliens and penises :)
$50 worth of snacks for the plane!

Sydney:
The Rocks <3
Sydney opera house and Harbor bridge
Crystal Chandelier
Vivid! Light show at the harbor
Playing Snake -on a building!
Bad street performer making me participate
Tangoing in the square!!!
Movie theater with curtains :)
Relaxing at Steph's
Sumoku
Party with Stephie! UNO :D
Asking Ben to hug everyone back in the states..his response: yes, I'll hug the first person who asks me for money on the street and tell them it's from Hannah.

Todman avenue
Writin in the sky!
Epic life conversations
Barely making the bus to the airport! Making a list of our favorite moments
Bye Ben ("I know you like to do your own thing but this is an international airport...)
Hannah's first solo bus experience in Sydney...wrong end of town!
Building wonderful friendships!

Just keep swimming...(~Dory)

("While its fresh"- June 17)

I'm currently sitting in the front car of a train on our way up to the Blue Mountains. Looking out I see a sunny blue sky and incredible green landscape, the sun warming me through the window. I'm listening to a little girl playing make believe with her "Maca's" (McD's) kids meal toy and her dad. The rocking of the train lulling me into relaxation, ready for an escape from city life for a couple of days.
So much has happened since we left the farm. It was definitely hard to say goodbye. I know I'll see them again soon but for Ben it was bigger than see-you-later. He's leaving in just a few days now...it's been an amazing trip.
Most recently we traveled to north Australia, Queensland. The Queen wasn't there.
I have to say the city of Cairns (pronounced Cans(?)) itself was disappointing for me. I do remember a couple people mentioning it wasn't Cairns that was great but the location in general and the above and around which are so incredible (this held true.) Cairns is basically a big tourist town where everyone wants to go out on the reef or sunbathe in the park alongside the "beach," which looks more like a swamp, sadly. There are tons of shops, restaurants and people!! It was fairly easy to spot the locals and the small hole-in-the-wall cafes were my favorite.

The weather was gorgeous, as it is "the tropics," though I didn't use my swimming "cozzie (costume)" while staying in Cairns. There is an incredible public pool right on the beach front that slides in from the sides like a lake or ocean shore would. (Ben called it an infinity pool (?)) One of the days we chose not to go on another tour we just wandered around Cairns and of course, that was the day everything was closed for the Queen's birthday! We enjoyed the botanical gardens that day and a very yummy lunch. We also had some yummy Indian food in Cairns and we finally found some bubble tea!!

We stayed at a pretty good hostel and we had some awesome ping-pong tournaments there! The staff were super helpful in guiding us to find good tours for adventuring! One of those tours was Captain Matty's Barefoot adventurers! My favorite part was the natural waterside!! and the best road trip playlist ever :) There is a great publicity video of everything we did on the tour on Facebook (the link is on my page.) The other tour was out to the reef, of course! We opted against the sky rail and train up to Katoomba above the rainforest. Jungle surfing (zip lines) was booked up and so was the night walk through the rainforest. So we kept it simple which was fine with me.

The Great Barrier Reef is certainly magical. I think the view from the plane was more breathtaking than up close (good thing because I needed all the air I could get swimming in the waves just above it.) Ben had been snorkeling once before in Hawaii which he said was incredible but this was my first experience. The boat ride out was my favorite part. I love being out on the ocean and I think it would be so fun to work on a boat. (The Lonely Island song played in my head for a good portion of the trip, haha.)

We saw some beautiful fish and it was incredible to swim amongst them. We saw 4 sea turtles and swam with one for about 10 minutes. The coral was amazing, it's such an incredible and intricate world down there. I knew there were lots of fish hiding from us under the coral but I wasn't as brave as Ben who ducked deeper and swam closer to it all. It really felt surreal like I was swimming in an aquarium, so bizarre.

We rented a car for a couple days before our Reef tour and drove along the gorgeous coast up to Port Douglas and more of the rainforest. Pretty incredible to be walking on the sand with the waves washing up on your feet and ten minutes later be deep in the trees. We camped right behind the beach front one night and in the morning had a lovely walk in the warm sunshine along the coast. I had Ben climbing trees trying to get us a fresh coconut! We (he) came SO close several times and it was so exciting! In the end the fresh ones weren't ripe enough to fall off the tree and the ones on the ground had all gone rotten. Such a disappointment! He tried so hard! We did find a fun rope hammock swing underneath a palm tree though!

We wandered the rainforest on our own and saw the Mossman Gorge- big tourist attraction apparently. While we were there we went on our own hike that not many other people did and it was amazing. There were so many incredible plants and creatures. We were both mystified by the magic of the rainforest. We were nearly giddy. It was quite fun.

During another hike that day we ended up walking along with this tour guide and family of four. At one point the guide offered them a green ant to eat and none of them were interested, understandably! But I went over and after investigation and slight hesitation, I ate it! It was so sour!! Of course, then I had to find one for Ben to eat, he was much less eager but he did it :)
We also visited a butterfly house and stopped to play footy on the beach on the way home.

Oh! At one of the beaches I went out and waded in the water because there was another family out there with their dog and they seemed to be having so much fun. The water was so warm and so was the sun! The water level seemed really shallow so I kept going out further and further.. Ben said if he hadn't been sleeping and saw me out that far he would have been freaking out- but the waves were so calm and I was standing the whole time, plus I'm a really good swimmer. (Yes, I know about the rip tides but I'm sure in that context, it wasn't a worry- "no drama.")

Anyway, at one point the water was probably up to my belly and all of a sudden I felt a stinging on my leg and it took a second to register that it was probably a jelly fish!! I shook it off and quickly ran back up to shore. I was telling Ben about it- it didn't hurt too too bad but it was definitely stinging and uncomfortable. I pointed out to him where I was standing in the water and we saw a fin slip up above the waves right where I had been! Ben was pretty sure it was a shark and I was positive it was a sting ray. We watched come to the surface several more times and it seemed huge (whatever it was) as far as we could tell. I would've been so scared if I had still been out there and that thing was next to me!

Turns out it was a harmless manta ray and that beach (Pretty Beach) is known for it's amazing wildlife. The stinging from the jelly went away after a few days but I do still have a mark on my leg from where it wrapped around above my ankle. Apparently it has microscopic stinger things that are probably still in my leg and my body is trying to fight off the unidentified aliens!

We really did have a lot of fun up north and so enjoyed the beautiful weather! It was hard to come back to cold, rainy Sydney. I'm looking forward to all the other types of weather I'll experience in my travels.

You live, you learn!

What I've learned so far:

(At one point this list seemed like one of those life lessons forwards. I feel like I already knew all this stuff. It's just on the surface now more than before.)

I've learned how to drive a module builder! As well as a tractor and I'm now comfortable with a stick shift! Yay!

A sunrise is the best way to start the day (especially when you're in the tropics!)

I'm good at (and love) French braids!

I strangely but deeply enjoy organizing (other people's stuff.)

I've rediscovered I can win a poker game (or three! :)

Making rice is so much easier when you have a strainer!!

White wine is nice.


Sugar has a tight grip on me.
Most specifically, baked goods.
I mainly prefer good quality dark chocolate, white being my second choice. I've learned I can easily say no to crappy milk chocolate. There are some good quality milk chocolates though.. And chocolate with peanut butter is awesome!

I have an intense weakness for ginger, most specifically good crystallized ginger. (Also: with chocolate!)

I know several new ways to throw a "football" or any ball in that family: American "grid iron," rugby and Australian rules football ("footy.")

I think I prefer cooperative games to competitive ones. Or at least games with teams where you have to work together first and foremost.

I enjoy tennis and table tennis. And am good (enough) at both.


Henna is one of my favorite creative outlets!
As is guitar. Even if I'm just holding it and plucking strings while chatting. I've learned that rhythmical strumming is what actually makes me+guitar=music
There is sooo much music out there! I love meeting people and sharing music interests.
Guitar picks make a world of a difference. And they are great for practicing (strum patterns on my leg while listening to music) on long road trips.
*I will be purchasing a guitar in the very near future. (Any suggestions are invited for consideration! Thanks!)

I'm not a city person and much prefer the quiet beauty of country life. Also, I don't really enjoy tourism as much as I prefer the traveling, seeing new things and meeting new people. I don't enjoy crowds and the camera can sometimes just be a distraction.

I Do want to get my degree. I actually want to push through and focus on school for a solid two years and graduate from college.

Having favorites is a good thing. Even if they change sometimes.
Right now some of mine are: hearts and butterflies, purple, #4, coconut-oatmeal cookies (aka: Kerry's Anzac biscuits), fried rice, quinoa and kale.

I love giving gifts.
I love receiving them too, especially in the form of MAIL! (I got my first package in Oz! So many wonderful goodies!!)

I'm learning how to spend money and not hold tightly onto it.
Quality over quantity!
A sense of fashion is like a sense of identity. A little time spent each day makes a big difference.
I don't actually have this one figured out yet. I know when something looks good on someone else, but I haven't figured out how to create the looks I like on me! (Good thing travel/farming and fashion don't need each other...hmm.. Although actually, many clothes are made from cotton and so that statement isn't necessarily true after all!) (I will never look at cotton the same way again.)
(Obviously^)

I'm scared and excited at the idea of life without a computer. I'm amazed at how much technology has a grasp on me, for better or worse. I love being connected. I love being disconnected.
iPhone's are quite handy when I need to make a list and not lose it!

I enjoy my inner 4 year old, even though sometimes she can be quite obnoxious.

Public transit is handy and requires patience.

Confidence makes everything (everything!) easier.

We all get by with a little help from our friends (neighbors, seat mates and even strangers.)

Plants bring life to any room or store.

I've learned to look right before crossing the street! Hooray for safety!

I get cold so easily. But I think I'd rather be really cold than too hot. There are ways to warm myself up, but shade can be hard to come by in a sunburnt country! Like most things, I prefer the balance.

I've learned to appreciate a hot shower and "that good clean feeling!"

Life generally offers many options. It's so fun to choose!