Happy New Year

Another year over! Time flies when your having fun and all that ;-)

Not really been a lot happening here. Spending a lot of time chilling and reading, sat outside on the veranda and generally unwinding which has been long overdue. Getting used to the Aussies now too, and the interesting coloquialisms that feature in conversation (it took me a while to get used to not sniggering when someone would talk about going out and "drinking piss"). The wildlife is entertaining as ever, and I've booked in for the Lady Musgrave Island Great Barrier Reef tour tomorrow, so I'll be snorkelling on the Great Barrier reef.....which I would imagine will be completely insane! Certainly something i won't forget in a hurry!

Found a satellite image of here on Google Maps - isn't technology fantastic :-D

Walked through a cobweb in the dark the other day and an egg sac burst on me, resulting in hundreds of nasty spiders running all over me - my worst nightmare. In brushing them off I must have annoyed a few of them as I now have about 30 bites all over my torso about the size of bee stings.....this, in conjuction with the sand fly bites on my legs and ankles means I look a little like a walking blister at the moment the second I expose any flesh!

Had some problems with the car I rented - the guy I rented it off claims I've caused problems with the gearbox - it was ropey at best when i took it out, and it was the same when I took it back. He's trying to get me to pay for repairs. I've paid for the part, but beyond that i'm not even entertaining him. It does leave me with a slight dilema though - no transport, as theres no way on earth I'm renting another heap from him. Still, a few more days and I'll be heading on to Bundaberg. Until then I have no problem with walking or cycling.

Went up to the pub (there was a $5 minibus) last night for New Year, and met some interesting people. There were a couple of lads I met the other day up there again, and also got chatting to a guy called Christian from Norway. Once again the "Tao" on my wrist was a conversation starter - which I have to say is pretty cool. He's travelling the world at the moment and has completely walked away from materialism and is just living in a tent doing cash work to survive and fund his travels. I have to say he's pretty brave, but he's met a lot of people so far and has accommodation in quite a few countries. Swapped a few good book recommendations with him and gave him my email address so if he hits Britain at any point he'll have a place to stay. He seemed really familiar, and it's only now that I've realised that he reminded me of an old friend from Harrogate in his mannerisms and ideas.

In terms of where I am at the moment, well Roger told me that it takes a while for it to happen, but when you've been here a while everything slows down. I completely understand what he means now. I think it's pretty easy to forget that the world that we build around ourselves isn't real. I've been learning and trying to practice Qui Gong, and am feeling the positive effects already. This is the ideal place to start looking at meditative techniques though, with no distractions from the immediateness of the environment around you and how that affects your own energies. I'm going to be careful when I go back home not to let myself fall into the old patterns of distraction and continue to be aware of all that is going on around me. When was the last time you looked at the night sky? Not in a photograph, or a passing glance upwards, but actually stood and watched and felt the impact of everything going on around you. We try to disconnect from people and the environment around us, but the impact of everything on everything else is indisputable (what Douglas Adams would have called "the interconnectedness of all things", or what slightly more philosophical physisists would relate with Quantum Entanglement). 12 months ago I would have argued that I didn't have time to stand outside for an hour looking at the stars, but that was a limit imposed on myself by myself and the priorities that I set out in life. Even before I set off on this journey I'd started to realise this, and even made efforts to improve this (thanks to a particularly special person!), but now I find myself looking with childlike wonder at the little things like wind blowing the grass or leaves falling from a tree. We're too quick to stop noticing. If i was going to make a New Years resolution, it would be to carry on watching and enjoying these things - I think i'm turning into a hippy ;-)