Australia, Byron Bay

After carefully perusing the news about all the people being eaten by sharks in Perth, I made my way to the ocean. It was a sweet pathway I was walking but something noiseless caught my attention. I turned and there was a snake that had just crossed my path behind me. Not prone to hysteria when it comes to this type of thing I calmly surveyed it. My eye travelled the length and I said to myself, 7 maybe 8 feet. I told myself to take in the markings. A constrictor I said. Maybe I will just be moving right along, time to go, no time to stop for tea, and I slowly backed away thinking, my goodness. In the wattle I could hear brushing noises and my heart wildy leaped and settled again as I determined it was a turkey type creature looking for bugs. The path opened and the grand vista of the ocean appeared before me. The base of a creek formed a lagoon there and I thought I could maybe put my feet in a foot of water without worrying about great whites. As I sat and watched the ocean, it became clear to me there were whales breaching out there. I have read that this is where humpacks come but the whales looked to me like Killer Whales because I could see black and white markings. That magic of seeing them uplifted me. They seemed to be having such fun.

The beach is amazing, it goes on and on, much longer than anything we have on the west coast. In fact I have decided Byron Bay is like Ganges grown about 15 times and the surrounding beaches like a tropical Long Beach that is also 15 times but clearer, whiter, bluer, softer and emptier. The town is teeming with people, not the laid back place I envisioned at all.

This area was first discovered by Captain Cook and he named the bay after Lord Byron's grandfather. It became a place where whales were slaughtered up until 1960 or so when it was made illegal. Now the whale population has returned after almost dying out. There is a huge alternative community here to the point where I feel I have gone back in time. There seems to be a predominantly younger population, all healthy and beautiful. The energy here is quite wonderful. I am glad I came.

I am readying now to travel to Tasmania. I am joining Sarah there. Sarah and I turned 17 together when we worked with the Anglican Church in the Yukon, travelling from town to town. Our birthdays are on the same day. We have been good friends ever since. Sarah was extremely important to me this spring when she stayed with me on Salt Spring. She tells me she has a lot for me to do there to help her. I will be so glad to see her. I am also hugely curious about Tasmania. I will write to you again from there.