My Second WWOOFing Gig: Tilba Tilba

(Another catch up post from earlier this month.)

I WWOOFed in Tilba Tilba (about 100 km SE of Canberra as the crow flies) from November 8th to the 15th. Just a week. Not long enough, I can tell you. The daily tasks were mostly grounds maintenance. The downside to the work were leaches, and the love of roses by my host, Tanmaya. I'd never seen so many varied types of thorns. But they saw me.

The landscape around the place was absolutely stunning as the pictures show. The pace of life around the house was ideal- work up till lunch, have time to eat and get cleaned up then either nap or lay in the sun or read or sit around the living room and talk about whatever comes to mind.

I really enjoyed my time in Tilba Tilba, and cannot thank Tanmaya and Roger enough. I only WWOOFed two spots in Australia but my experience leads to me wholeheartedly recommend it as a way to see and experience a place- getting to know people and seeing life in a different light.

Roger built the gate that leads to the house.

With all the plants around the house, this is about the clearest shot you can get of the house. 

I'm posting this picture because I simply adored the little shrub on the right- the one that looks grassy. In fact, it FELT grassy. Like grass on limbs.

View off the back porch. 

Tanny's love is roses but I was captivated by this beautiful little flower. 

Hi Roger! Hi Tanny!

One of the coolest houses I've ever experienced.

(Again, a catch-up post from my time in Tilba Tilba, NSW.)

On my last night at my second WWOOFing gig, me and the guys were invited to dinner at a friend's house. Aggie is an expat Welshman who has mostly called Australia home since the 70s I do believe. His home and property are the epitome of reduce/reuse/recycle. He's mostly self sufficient, providing almost all his own food, he's got elaborate solar energy systems, he's working on an electric car, he does all his own construction (with help when available) and is handy at carpentry, electrical work, plumbing, gardening, etc. I'm telling you, this property is the height of ingenuity. And dinner was damn good too. We had an Indian dish along with mulberries and ice cream for dessert.

The front of the house. The house is assembled from two caravans (campers) as well as other construction. 

The main living area. A caravan is to the left and immediately in front. The floor is made of eucalypt trees and concrete. As I quizzed Aggie about how he made it, he laughed and said he does not recommend it. He's done it 3 times. The wood shrinks. The concrete cracks.  

Aggie's sister, Salima. (I hope I got her name right.) She's also an expat living in Oz- just down the road.

Just part of Aggie's gardens. 

He's even got a bunker. And yes, he's mixed all the concrete and poured it himself, along with friends. He's ready for any bushfire, or worse.

Aggie inside the bunker talking concrete with my fellow WWOOFer JC- who's got some concrete experience in France.

Loving Loving Tilba Tilba

I realize posts have been fairly sparse since I've arrived in Tilba Tilba. The gentlemen that are my hosts are generous enough to allow me to use their internet but they're bumping up against their monthly data usage so I've opted not to upload pictures out of deference. I'm off to Canberra tomorrow and hope to cozy up to some sweet bandwidth and will then post a bit about my stay here in Tilba Tilba but until then,,,,,, just one picture. Yes, I've been staying here. Or, more accurately, at the house about a quarter mile up this road. Yes, it is this pretty and even more so in person.

Figuring It Out

When I decided to take a year off, I had this vague notion that I would figure things out. You know, what I want to do, where I want to be, those sort of things. But mostly my time has been spent kind of running here and there and feeling less productive and strangely busy. And during those quiet times that I do find, I'm left wondering what the heck I'm doing.

But things are changing.

These last few weeks WWOOFing have been a godsend. The pace is slow and steady. The work is necessary but uncomplicated. People are real good. And today, fellow WWOOFer JC (Jean Christophe) put it real well, "Today is a good day; working in the shade, no leaches, no ticks." (Of course imagine this with a thick French accent.) That about sums it up. Things are getting pretty clear.

Sunset in Tilba Tilba

From the back porch of my new digs.

I've arrived at my next WWOOFing gig in the picturesque mountain-y town of Tilba Tilba in the far south of New South Wales. Mostly it appears help is needed with grounds maintenance (Gulaga Mountain seems determined to reclaim it) and garden work. The gentleman who is my host, Tanmaya, is also well versed in flower essences and homeopathy. I'm planning a week here but the lovely setting and the laid back environment could have me rethinking that.

Farewell Tomerong!

My last night with my first WWOOFing folks, Evelyn and Emma, and I got to go to an African drums class (hey, I wasn't horrible!) and Evelyn made, as I am told, Australia's signature dessert (which I'd never had), pavlova.

The inside of the pavlova alternated banana and fresh mango. I had two servings. And then two more for breakfast.

The intact pavlova has breathed its last breath. Evelyn is on the right and a niece visiting from Victoria, Cindy, and her husband Steve. It looks possible that I may wind my way down to see them before I leave Oz. 

Some yummy moscato from the winery where Cindy works. 

Two fabulously warmed hearted women, Evelyn and her niece Emma, my hosts for two weeks. 

And then we gave Emma a hard time about using a step stool for the picture with her rather tall auntie.

My First WWOOFing Gig

The sights around Bundor (as the house and grounds are called) in Tomerong, NSW.

Good rainfall, heaps of humidity. Plants love it!

Walkway to the rear of the house- the real entryway.

I'm a weed killing machine.

Love these plants called Kangaroo Paw.

The old red clay tennis court was converted to a veggie garden, and named accordingly.

One of my weeding tasks, before.

After!

Small Town AUS

I've been WWOOFing with a woman named Evelyn who lives in the small community of Tomerong. Anyone who's ever lived in a small rural community would feel right at home here. There's one shop that also serves the role of the post office and local hang out, a small primary school and a community center. Folks in town banded together over the last couple of years to fight a proposed landfill nearby and just this past month or so it went final that the landfill (tip, as they call it) was dead in the water. At the occasional (three a year in 2011) Tomerong Community Night the mood was celebratory as they marked the end of the landfill issue. Community night consisted of a potluck, an open mic session and some karaoke as well.

The sunset out the back of the community center was so much more beautiful than my blasted camera was willing to show.

Bev read two pieces of original poetry; one about community involvement that involved flaming sambucas out of eucharist cups (no lie) and another about using the f-bomb when folding fitted sheets. Bev recently won a prize at the Kangaroo Valley Folk Festival for a poem about the refugees on Christmas Island. Her book is sold at the local shop/post office. I might rustle one up.

Chris and Jordy, recent additions to Tomerong, performed Hit the Road Jack even without the father who typically plays guitar but he's in the Royal Australian Navy and out on exercise in Townsville.

These four sisters performed a stand up routine, of sorts. Jokes included:
-What do you get when you cross a crocodile and a rooster? Crocodoodle-doo.
-Did you hear about the two fish that went all the way around Australia? Yeah, they end up in Cairns. (Aussies pronounce "Cairns" as "Cans.")
-What do you get when you cross a kangaroo and a sheep? A woolly jumper. (A jumper is an Aussie term for a sweater.)

Jamarama Outcasts, a local ukelele club, performed You are my Sunshine and Waltzing Matilda (the crowd sang along, me too) and a precious little song I'd not heard, Pearly Shells.