CURRENT MISSION

I want to colour my world map with more colours - both as a visitor and being visited

ABOUT ME

Change is disconcerting but growth cannot happen unless you do - so I am constantly looking at ways to improve; myself, those around me and life in general. I'm too serious most of the time so I am working on being more light-hearted and living in the present...its working, there have been some incredibly cool things happening and it all involves CHANGE. Of course I love travelling and anything to do with it. I love people and experiencing anything new (and re-experiencing the stuff that I already know is good).

PHILOSOPHY

"Live life on the edge otherwise you are taking up to much space". Unk...There is no tomorrow, no yesterday, only today. Be happy. Remember the kid you were. Savour every moment; all the not so good things are not so bad. Hows that for a bucket of truth?

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'll be offering a couch shortly - just finishing getting rid of excess material crap in my life to make room for visitors! I love the concept of couch surfing and I can't wait to meet you all.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Best CS experience to date was here in Australia up in the North of Queensland. I was travelling solo on that trip, heading to Cape Tribulation. The bus driver picked up a local Indigenous lady who walked 20km into town and back again every day looking for work; she was on her way home. As a white city-girl, I'd never really had much contact with the traditional land-owners of Australia so it was a real experience just to talk with her - she sat next to me. Then she invited me to her home when the bus stopped to let her off; I was on the way to PK's Jungle Village youth hostel (yeah you know the one...) but decided spur of the moment to go with her instead. I hopped off the bus; the torrential rainstorm had just stopped so it was very wet. I had to walk barefoot for 1/2 km through the Daintree rainforest to her 'house' (wood huts and a shed, no electricity) - my shoes wouldn't stay on in that much mud. We had Sao's (crackers)with vegemite and milo for dinner by candle light outside under the stars. I slept on a floor of an elevated hut with a cane toad and pet snake as sleeping companions - I didn't sleep a wink, it was pitch black and the night jungle sounds were incredible - it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life and although her face and name have faded over time, I will never forget her kindness and generosity in opening up her home and life to me, a stranger, that night. I want to return that favour to others.

Interests

Everything. Particularly wines, books, cooking, DVDs, hiking, laughing, teas - and more recently as I'm new to it, coffees - watching sports, cycling, running, beaches, 4WD & camping, festivals, concerts, being with friends, watching the sun rise and set - but my favourite thing of all is the (my) 'holy trinity of travelling - food, people and places'.

• pets
• arts
• books
• concerts
• festivals
• dining
• cooking
• running
• traveling
• watching sports
• cycling
• hiking
• camping
• surfing
• sports
• history
• beaches

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

As a traveller, every little thing is magnified and is beautiful; its all too good, too amazing to pick any one thing. But for the sake of showing you who I am, I've done a lottery on my many hundreds of entries in this category, and the winner is...hiking up a couple of km's and then watching the sun set on Mt Sinai; life felt eternal doing something one of the most well-known characters of ancient history (Moses) did 2000 years before me...when time stops for just a second and it feels like forever (you all know THAT feeling, even if it only comes around once or twice in a lifetime) - that moment is the most amazing no matter where it happens or what you are doing.

Teach, Learn, Share

It sounds a little pompous but I want to teach trust. There is a line we all have to walk and we can either trust each other - or trust nobody. I can tell you which side of that line I prefer to walk! I'd like to learn the fine art of patience - I have some (as a traveller, you have to otherwise you'd go insane!) but you can never have enough.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Canada, United States

•