Tête en bas

Richmond results are now official. The dream will have to stop here. Another one. As usual, I suppose it’s for the best… I’ll see… the good news for all the readers is that this blog will stay bilingual. I like it this way.

So… what’s next?

Plan B is already on the rail. Next saturday, I’m leaving Melbourne. I booked a relocation van a little while ago, heading to Alice Springs. 5 days to drive 2,200 kms. But I won’t be alone. The campervan is a huge one, with room for 6 persons. And it is full. Cassie, Josh, Indri and Rachel, 4 couchsurfers, and Ben, the guy I met a few days ago at the prom. 5 days with 5 almost complete strangers. This is going to be a really interesting experience.

Desert has been calling me for a little while now. After the first time I drove through an amazing never ending emptiness in New Mexico, I discover that desert could be such an awesome place… so quiet… just perfect, sometime, to be alone. To much dreams had fall apart on the last few months. Keeping quiet for a little while, just relaxing, just by myself sounds the thing to do at the moment. Putting my ideas back together.

I might not be that much alone… I have a friend, Mara, in Alice Springs. We first met in Melbourne, for christmas. It will be nice to see her again. And there’s also Fan Fan. I met her in Hobart. She’s somewhere on the north west coast. Could be nice to visit friends… there’s also one or two other possibilities… who knows?

And there’s also the Wide Open Space festival. Starting on the 4th of may.

Desert is coming…

Richmond results are now official. The dream will have to stop here. Another one. As usual, I suppose it’s for the best… I’ll see… the good news for all the readers is that this blog will stay bilingual. I like it this way.

So… what’s next?

Plan B is already on the rail. Next saturday, I’m leaving Melbourne. I booked a relocation van a little while ago, heading to Alice Springs. 5 days to drive 2,200 kms. But I won’t be alone. The campervan is a huge one, with room for 6 persons. And it is full. Cassie, Josh, Indri and Rachel, 4 couchsurfers, and Ben, the guy I met a few days ago at the prom. 5 days with 5 almost complete strangers. This is going to be a really interesting experience.

Desert has been calling me for a little while now. After the first time I drove through an amazing never ending emptiness in New Mexico, I discover that desert could be such an awesome place… so quiet… just perfect, sometime, to be alone. To much dreams had fall apart on the last few months. Keeping quiet for a little while, just relaxing, just by myself sounds the thing to do at the moment. Putting my ideas back together.

I might not be that much alone… I have a friend, Mara, in Alice Springs. We first met in Melbourne, for christmas. It will be nice to see her again. And there’s also Fan Fan. I met her in Hobart. She’s somewhere on the north west coast. Could be nice to visit friends… there’s also one or two other possibilities… who knows?

And there’s also the Wide Open Space festival. Starting on the 4th of may.

Desert is coming…

Back in Montreal, when I was organizing guided tours, I discovered that walking in a city was a great way for people to get to know each other. When you are in a bar, sharing beers, or in a restaurant, sharing food, or even in a show, listening to music, you’ll stay almost always at the same place. with the same people on your side. You might be in an event with 15 persons, but you’ll probably end up talking to only 4 or 5 of them. Because the other are just to far, and because it’s hard to talk to someone who is behind someone else. But when walking in a city, the shape of the group is always morphing. A red light, and everybody is back together. You can walk at your own speed, and have a one to one conversation for a little while. And then, start talking with someone else.

I love watching people interacting with each other. I love to see how a group react. How everything goes. Others passion me, and I was really exited to organize my first event in Melbourne. The idea was to walk randomly in a neighborhood, in order to discover it, and to take picture. One more time, the choice was quite obvious. I like Richmond. 16 peoples subscribe to the event. 10 come. That’s the way it works with couchsurfing.

And everything was just nice. I had a couple of really nice chat, and definitely meet interesting people. I was also happy to answer to a couple of questions. There will be a second one next week. This time, it will be about light painting and fire photography. Lots of fun coming on !

I wasn’t sure if I was to come back today or tomorrow. I have to be back by 3PM tomorrow, as I’m organizing a couchsurfing event… as hitch hiking is not always very reliable, I was feeling that coming back on friday was safer. And at the same time, Daniel told me that they were planing to drive back to Melbourne today too. So it all sound like a good reason to start packing my stuff…

I was eating my breakfast (I had to replace bread by almond biscuit… that was just perfect with my chocolate spread!) a guy in a surf suit come to me. He seems to be surprised that I didn’t have a car. We talked for a while… I tell him my plan to go to Alice Spring soon (the reader will have more news soon about this). He seems to be very enthusiastic. We keep talking, I take his phone number and email address, wish him a great day, and tell him bye. He’s name is Ben, he is an engineer  and inventor. He drive a van fueled with fried oil, with a solar panel. I’m looking forward seeing him again!

I’m ready to leave. Backpack on my back, I just have a nice little hike to do before I go. Lilly Pilly Gully. It’s the name of a tree we can find in wet forest. We saw a couple of them in Tasmania. I heard that this walk was nice and quiet. And Daniel was also planing to do it. Could be a great timing to meet them again, and see if they are leaving.

There’s no blue van at the parking… but I meet them a little bit after that, and they confirm that they will be leaving soon. I can find them in the parking. I do the walk quickly. There’s nothing really inspiring there. Except this group of old people, with whom I have a great little chat.

I still can’t find the blue van when I’m back to the parking. Don’t really know what to do… are they already gone? Lets start walking… maybe someone will take me. Or maybe they will arrive…

I’ve been walking for a little bit more than 10 minutes when the first car stops. In ten minutes, I saw less than 10 cars. The way back, a succession of nice meeting, confirm me that hitch hiking in Victoria is as easy than it is in Tasmania.

It started with this surfer, in his fifties, who gave me a 30 kilometers ride, and tell me that I should go to Fish Creek, not to Foster.

Then, there was this farmer, in his forties. He told me than Foster was better, because it’s on the highway. He is going to Foster, but is ready to make a little detour to Fish Creek for me. Foster and the highway sounds good for me.

Then, it was this old woman, who apologies for taking me only up hill, because she was not going any further. But she offered me two amazing mini muffins. And wished me good luck. And concluded by “god bless you”.

The young guy, who stopped a little while after, blow in a Breathalyser 5 minutes after I get onboard. If it might worried some, it didn’t worry me. Because the thing didn’t start biping. And the car didn’t explose. So he was probably clean. Anyway… the beer bottle, on the front seat, were all full.

The next guy was a sikh. When I sat in his car, he told me that his friend advised him not to stop for stranger. That was not safe. But he doesn’t believe that. He’s sikh, and according to the sikh faith, God is everywhere, in everyone, as he explained to me later. So, I can guess than God is in me to. Now, I’m asking you this question: if you see God, hitch hiking on the side of the road, you’ll give him a ride, right?

He dropped me, after a really interesting religious chat, at a train station, where I was able to catch a train to go back to Megan and Tao house. Really happy by this small three days adventure.

I was supposed to have a good night, in order to wake up early, and in good shape. But the wind has been blowing. Without stopping. All night. And my tent has this bad habits of shaking and being really noisy in the wind. I almost didn’t sleep, and when I feel good enough to start moving, it was past 10 already.

The Prom remind me Freycinet in Tasmania. Nice peninsula, with a few mountains/hills for the view, a couple of awesome bay, and a long overnight hike. The one I was supposed to do. Unfortunately, it means a 21 kilometers hike for today. Knowing that the sunset is at 5:30PM, I definitely didn’t have the time to do it. After a little while, trying to find what to do, I decide to take my backpack. I’ll sleep… hum… somewhere.

The walk start following Norman Bay beach, where the campground is.

After the beach, the path start going up. Just a little. Because of Mount Oberon. Nice little mountain over the peninsula. It’s usually possible to hike to the summit, but because of massive flood last year, there is a couple of closed path in the Prom. I keep on walking.

My backpack is to heavy. I don’t understand why. I feel a lack of energy and motivation. Those, I know why. Would definitely have enjoy a few more hours sleeping… so I take my time and, when I arrive at Little Oberon Bay, I even take a little break, to enjoy the beach.

I’m not sure. I don’t really want to go any further. I know that I won’t have the time/energy to go where I was planning. If I go further, it means that all I’ll be able to do tomorrow is to walk my way back. I choose a compromise. I leave my backpack behind a rock, et walk up to the next beach. I’ll come back later, sleeping again in the main campground, so that I have sometime tomorrow to explore other part of the park. I like this option.

I like Oberon Bay, a few kilometers after Little Oberon Bay. The weather, despite of the grey sky and the fog, give amazing effect. I know it won’t look good on a picture, so I take all my time to enjoy. It’s cold. I don’t mind. I like it.

Happy of that little extra hike, I walk back, take my bag, and come back to the campground. The Prom is nice but, according to me, far away to be as amazing as Freycinet. But yes, it was just a short preview, under a bad weather. In a perfect world, I’d have to come back for 5 or 6 days in the area…

It’s still quite early, and I have some time to walk around the campground. There’s a nice little river, with a nice little bridge. I sit on a rock, on the other side, to play the flute. Until I realize that, in the sand bellow me, there’s lots of mini crabs, walking everywhere. So cute !

Sunset… I take a few extra photo. The light is just perfect, and the beach is a great place to enjoy it. In the background, mount Oberon remind me mount Freycinet. I really hope I’ll be able to see the view from the top one day…

I stop by Daniel and his girlfriend again. They are quite surprised to see me, as I was supposed to sleep far away from here. We talk for a little while. Time passes slowly. Clouds are gone. Stars starts shining. I wish them a good night, in order to eat some food, and take a couple of picture. And hopefully, after that, get some sleep. There’s no more wind. It will definitely help.

The sky is perfect. Absolutely clear. The result is amazing. I’m happy.

I walk back to my tent. Hear some noise inside. Open it.

I don’t know why wild animals in Australia like my breakfast so much. Maybe it’s easier for them to open a plastic bag with bread, than a beef can… I guess…

Anyway… if possum is a easy to frighten animal, the wombat is placid, and will ignore you. He was happy eating my bread, and didn’t care moving from where he was. And a wombat is a pretty heavy animal! I tried to push him… with no success… I didn’t want to go… and when you see there claws, you want to be a little bit careful. I don’t really want to fight with him. I just want to sleep…

After a little while, Mister Wombat finally decide to go. Well… there’s no more bread. Only can. No reason for him to stay I suppose. Virginie was laughing at me because of the possum. She now has an other reason…

Anyway… I have my tent just for me. Time for me to jump in my sleeping bag and fall asleep with no problem!

The day starts slowly. I have a hard time putting everything together to start moving. But finally, I manage to be active at the end of the morning. Backpack on my back, I walk to the train station. This is going to be quite a long ride. Starting with 2 hours of train, in order to reach the furthest suburb of Melbourne, and from here, hitch hike the next 160 kilometers.

Going through the never ending suburb of Melbourne is all but inspiring. But the train finally arrives in Pakhenam, its terminus. My backpack is a little bit to heavy. I don’t know why, but I’ll have to deal with it. I start walking. That’s the very first time I’m hitch hiking on the mainland, and I’m wondering if it will be as easy as it was in Tasmania. The first car to stop, less than 10 minutes after I started walking, make me think that it’s going to be an easy ride, even if he just gives me a 15 kilometers ride. The second vehicle won’t even stop: he was already parked on the side of the road. A blue van flashes his lights as I’m trying to understand which way I had to go. Daniel, the driver, tells me that they are going… to Wilson Promontory. His girlfriend, an other name that I forget, is just doing a quick stop at the bakery. Ten minutes later, we’re back on the road, via the touristic drive. Seating in the back on the van, I can’t really talk with them. I’m to far. Can’t really take photos either. It’s not a problem. I still have a few exchange, and I just enjoy the landscape. They are coming from Darwin area. They are both german-australian. In holiday in Victoria for a few weeks before flying back to the northern territory.

We arrive at the Prom just on time to see a nice sunset and catch a few pictures.

Wilson Promontory is one of the favorite place of lots of Melbournian. They are proud of the Prom, and talk a lot about it. And I was quite curious to see what it looks like. Being close to the city make the Proms a very popular place, and the park offers a giant 450 places campground. But off season, during the week, it just mean that you’ve got plenty of room just for you, and that you might eventually heard your neighbor if he starts screaming. That’s perfect. Daniel and his girlfriend find a little spot for the van, and invite me to come back later to spend the evening with them. It’s quite windy down there, so I decide to try to find a place sheltered by the tree.

When the tent is ready, I take 5 minutes to catch the last sun light on the beach.

And I go back to the travelers in the blue van. They welcome me with a glass of wine, and we spend a short evening talking about all and nothing. Small, simple little moment, as I like them. At some point, they say that they are planning to go back to Melbourne in two or three days. Just a perfect timing for me!

Little bit later, I’m rolled in my warm sleeping back, on my thin air mattress, under a shaking tent. It’s not even 8PM, but I’m tired, and I’m planning to fall asleep early, as I have quite a long day planed for tomorrow !

Things are going slower on one side, faster on the other. I was supposed to leave this morning for Wilson Promontory, but when I woke up, Richmond had posted on its Facebook wall that there will be more details tomorrow for “Richmond 365”. Sounds like a good reason to stay one more day here, in order to know what it is about. Keeping my fingers crossed, of course !

In all case, I’ve decided to interrupt my Melbourne experience. It was quite a hard decision to take. I met so many great people. Tammy, Drew, Nick, Ned, Rosie, Paul, Pamela, Heather, Hripsime… and I like being with Tao and Megan. Like it even more as I’m having fun with there two daughters. It took me a while to create this little friends network. People I don’t see often, but I’m just happy to know they are not to far. So… why leaving? Because my legs have been resting for to long. As I don’t have a job, days are some time a little bit to long. And I’ve been saying that for a little while now… I’m missing the desert. And the dust. Strange feeling…

What’s coming next? I really hope the next step will be a plane ticket to Vancouver. I really want 2012 to be a 367 days year. But if unfortunately Richmond doesn’t keep my profile, my next step will be Alice Spring. I let you check on the map. A cue? “In the middle of nowhere”. Not very far (500kms) from the famous Uluru. That I’ll definitely visit. If you remember well, I wasn’t sure between Perth and Brisbane. Being me as usual, between two choices, I take the 3rd one. I have a friend in Alice Spring at the moment, and she told me a lot of good thing about it. But she got me when she told me about the “Wide Open Space festival”. A festival in the middle of nowhere… Really appealing, don’t you think so? Departure saturday next week… if I’m not in a place!

For the next three days, I’ll forget gastronomy. Forget the hours spend in the kitchen. I have lot of fun cooking those last days, I’ll do a stop for a few days. Mode hiking, alone, with my backpack and my mini gaze stove!

 At first, it was just a little breeze. A very quiet one, without any consequence. We did not really know where it was blowing. Light swirls start to form soon after, bringing with them what seems to be a salty smell. He ignored all that, before realizing that he won’t be able to fight against the wind. Instead, he decided to let it goes. To let the wind carry him one step further. He sees, far away, an amazing peninsula. Trees, mountains, beaches… but he knows that there will be other steps. This was just for a couple of days… there was a rumor running. Winter was coming… further, way further, there was something else. Dust. Lot of dust. He remembered. No dust. Only happiness.

A flute starts playing. Will he start playing back?

I like it a lot when I’m staying at a place where the people are happy to let me cook. It’s a nice opportunity to experiment, and try new random recipe, improvised from what I can find in the fridge.

I’m really happy with the result of this one. Chicken drumsticks in a white wine and nuts (peanut, cashew, almond) sauce. Served with tomatoes “à la provençale” and Quinoa. And I just discovered that the hazel nut taste you have in Quinoa just fits very well with the nuts sauce. I’ll definitely have to look at that from closer!

Fry some garlic with some ginger, in olive oil and butter. Add grounded almonds and onions. Then, add some maple sirup, to help the onions to caramelize, and some peanut butter. As I didn’t have enough peanut butter, I just add some cashew butter to. Complete with some white wine, add the chicken, salt, paprika and cumin seed. Cover with a lead. Wait. Eat.

I find the challenge really interesting. I took my camera with me, and decided to spend a whole day in Richmond, one of Melbourne suburb. Took 13000 pictures, used 3 camera batteries and 18 gigs of memory card. All in one day. Hope you’ll like the result.