Ihave been back on the North Coast for a fortnight since my latest adventures, so better put up some photos before they are out of date...
The long dusty road to the 18th Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival led to the most blissful, peaceful, warm and creative festival I know. Not as glamorous as the Dreaming fest - but way, way more real and beautiful. It’s hard to pick the photos that will show it best, so just imagine a relaxed crowd of many colours sitting in the shade of tall trees around a circular danceground, where an endless procession of enthusiastic dancers from 2 to 90 years old radiate their love of family and culture. It’s just so good!
Camping down along the river means you can take a swim or catch up with your old hippie mates anytime ….here's Bobbin, Bernie and Jingles...
The long dusty road to the 18th Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival led to the most blissful, peaceful, warm and creative festival I know. Not as glamorous as the Dreaming fest - but way, way more real and beautiful. It’s hard to pick the photos that will show it best, so just imagine a relaxed crowd of many colours sitting in the shade of tall trees around a circular danceground, where an endless procession of enthusiastic dancers from 2 to 90 years old radiate their love of family and culture. It’s just so good!
Camping down along the river means you can take a swim or catch up with your old hippie mates anytime ….here's Bobbin, Bernie and Jingles...And here's Kelli with some of her little blackrobats...
And then there’s Cairns. Camping at Kathleen’s was quite a different experience – a little white unit two streets back from the beach: we can see the sea in all its everchanging glory. Swimming every morning: 50m freestyle then 50m backstroke, then a gentle little lie in the sun and maybe a little yoga, a stroll along the beach or a bike ride – I could take up this lifestyle with ease!
It's certainly not doing Kath any harm...
And then there’s Cairns. Camping at Kathleen’s was quite a different experience – a little white unit two streets back from the beach: we can see the sea in all its everchanging glory. Swimming every morning: 50m freestyle then 50m backstroke, then a gentle little lie in the sun and maybe a little yoga, a stroll along the beach or a bike ride – I could take up this lifestyle with ease!
It's certainly not doing Kath any harm...We also went on a mission with Dee to Josephine Falls, south of Babinda. Well actually, we went on a mission to Majuba Ck – 5 barefoot through the rainforest to a clear mountain stream paradise, where they played river nymphs and frolicked and swam –
while I lay on a rock and blissed out. The rainforest is so powerfully calming, there is nothing quite like it. We also laughed an inordinate amount, and walked quite a few more k’s and swam in a few more blessed mountain streams.
And though my muscles were sore, my knee wasn’t - so I reckon after 15 months, it’s finally healed enough for me to bushwalk again. 
So I trekked up to the top of the Falls the other day with wwoofer Clare - and tinwhistled and shouted for joy - no pain!
While I was up north I took a long bus rise down to Ingham to visit Alice - and helped her put up this fence around her garden...After I came home I also got to visit some friends from Papunya who were at the Sunshine Coast for a few weeks - a real treat to be with some desert folk again.
Some time at Byron rounded off my little holiday and acclimatised me to rain and cold...Veda's 60th birthday at Coorabell Hall with hula dancers and some great music
...and now I'm back at Tuntable to do some building…and uni has started. Back to the grind. But the peach tree is in bloom and people are friendly, though most of them didn't seem to notice my absence...thank goodness for my family people, they keep track of me.
Today I walked up to Jesse's site and took some photos which cannot do justice to the stunning sense of peace and space up there - such a big open sky feeling after the narrowness of the valley. And I saw a pretty little golden whistler and a host of other birds partying busily on this sunshiny day. And my knee still didn't hurt!
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