As I began my Australian journey I am now ending it (almost). I arrived here on February 16 and spent time visiting my Camino friend Will, and I returned to his home yesterday, to gather myself (and the stuff I’d sent him over the course of the past several months), before heading off to the next spot on the map.
My travels from Port Douglas were only half good — the flight from Cairns to Brisbane went smoothly, and quickly, and the next flight on a smaller plane was meant to be on time. Until it wasn’t. We were loaded on the bus to take us out to the plane when we were asked to head back into the lounge area since the plane was broken. They were searching for a replacement. Didn’t find one. We were re-booked on a Virgin Australia flight leaving 90 minutes later. And the paperwork took forever. I sprinted to the flight and just made it!
Will picked me up from the airport and it was so very nice to have a home cooked meal and to be able to do some laundry and get my gear organized. I’m so grateful to have had two friends in Australia to have those home moments — good breaks from the hotels.
Today we went for a long walk around Lake Macquarie and at the halfway spot visited the Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery which was a lovely surprise. A beautiful setting right on the lake provided a perfect spot for a sculpture garden, but was really surprising was the current exhibit. Called “First Class”, it presents the work of Higher School Certificate students (17 & 18 year olds) who are encouraged to develop sophisticated and critical points of view as a reflection of their increasing understanding of the world. Teachers are invited to nominate exceptional bodies of work by Visual Arts students. Broad themes seemed to emerge across the exhibition, showing a concern for the complex environmental, political and cultural issues facing the world and individuals today. The work was mixed media and each had a description of what the artwork was representing and how it came into being for the artist. It was so very moving to read the words of young people as they express their feelings about everything from global warming to the immigration crisis to the more personal journeys of growing up. Very inspiring and hopeful exhibit — I enjoyed it so very much.
And to end this entry — a photo of the masses of birds — rainbow lorikeets — that were dive bombing the restaurants in Port Douglas. They two today from the lake — an enormous pelican and a pair of black swans. A lovely day in the Newcastle area; and I’m heading to Sydney tomorrow for my last days down under. Cheers, mate.
Hello! Cool post, amazing!!!