BYRON BAY

Went for a drive on Saturday to Byron Bay in NSW. We heard it had breathtaking sceneries at Cape Byron and wanted to take a look at the 'eastern most point of mainland Australia'. So, we packed lunch and headed off in the morning, hoping perhaps to catch the farmer's market there as well. It is a pleasant one hour's drive from Gold Coast to Byron Bay but alas, we were kinda late to make it there, since Byron Bay is in New South Wales and therefore an hour ahead of Queensland. The market closes at 11am- there are a few there, in Bangalow as well as Mullumbimby. Plus, it was unfamiliar territory so we took some time finding our way around. Well, I must confess, we left with no maps on our hands with the intention of getting some info at the information centre when we stopped by the town centre.

Anyway, we decided that the lighthouse and Cape Byron was a better 1st stop, so we parked downhill (to avoid paying for parking uphill: $7!!) and walked up to the lighthouse at the top of the hill. Good exercise, definitely...There are steps leading the track down to the eastern most point from the lighthouse, so we could catch a scenic view of the waves crashing upon the rocks below.

Beautiful place, and we even saw an outdoor wedding being held there. Romantic venue to get married for sure, that is if the wind isn't too strong to lift off the tablecloths or mess up hairdos ... We walked right till the end of the track where it was officially the eastern most point of mainland Australia.. gotta have this "been there done that" badge, rite??

Cape Byron was named after Lord Byron the famous English poet's granddad, (don't ask me why his grandad and not him. Ask James Cooke) and the lighthouse built in 1901 still functions till this day, guiding ships away from the rocks. The place: Byron Bay was originally known as Cavvanbah by the indigenous people here who are the Arakwal tribe- a subtribe of the Bunjalong people. The name Cavvanbah means 'meeting place'. Today, the Arakwal people are the official custodians of the area. They take care of the parks & the aboriginal reserves of the place and participate actively in decision-making for natural resources here.

 

Cape Byron has been cited as the spiritual 'east gate' of Australia and not surprisingly, Byron Bay has drawn a lot of spiritual-related activities here, including new age, yoga and stuff.. It's very hippy and well-known as a physical hub for spiritual guides and alternative healing and for tolerance towards different religions and lifestyles. There's hooroos for gurus with psychics and astrologists, yoga, pilates and tai chi, day spas, crystals, body care, massage therapy, naturopathy, homeopathy and aromatherapy for relaxation and healing. There are also strong communities of both major and minority mainstream religions and dedicated devotees to the more eclectic spiritual sects. Eccentric place and rather quirky in its own style. You will see many leisure and health-related shops in the town area.

There was this shop with the amusing name of Happy High Herbs. I will leave you to your own imagination what it possibly sells.....

On the way back, we also took at peek at the Macadamia Castle, right beside the M1 highway hoping to see perhaps some factory for producing those nuts and peek at how they might roast those nice wasabe-flavoured macadamias.. ahh let down.. just a shop cum cafe with some playground for kids and a few nut-crackers for free nut sampling. Macadamia ice-cream is divine, though...but not a hit with us. No kick this place...

EPISODE 42: NEW ROLE, NEW RESPONSIBILITIES

So, yes, finally Jordie did get the position. He was so happy to get voted in.

He and another girl will represent the class for student council. ..And we were glad that he was popular with classmates enough to get voted in. New job, new responsibilities...but we are proud of him.

EPISODE 41: RUNNING FOR STUDENT COUNCIL

Jordie comes home today to tell us he is running for student council. I am amazed they actually get the kids to vote in their class rep for student council. Each candidate is supposed to stand in front of the class to give his or her reason why they think they should be voted. Well, good shot at instilling some democracy in children, I guess... He seemed very eager to try and confident about himself and asked us to help him to prepare his 'electoral' speech.. So this, perhaps, is the beginning of his political ambition..haha...

"OM... WE HAVE A PROBLEM HERE.."

NERANG is the wrong 'cultural' place for a 15m-high Thai Buddhist temple, say some Gold Coast councillors who asked if Buddhism was even a religion. Councillors were alarmed by the proposed design which features a traditional steep-pitched roof. Nerang councillor Peter Young, a devout Christian, led opposition to the proposal, one year after he opposed the Gold Coast's first Muslim school in Carrara. Cr Young said the Thai temple would become a regional Buddhism centre that could draw as many as 5000 people to major events, although the applicant expects a maximum of 300.

"I'd say it's culturally relevant in a Buddhist community, it's not culturally relevant in Nerang," he said. "What hasn't been taken into account is the cultural elements of the Nerang community." Cr Susie Douglas said the temple would make people believe Nerang may be a Buddhist community. "Is Buddhism actually a religion or is it a way of life?" she said. "It's going to become such a landmark and it will influence the way people think about the area, in that it will become a Buddhist community.This is a massive building ... to have this in the next-door paddock is beyond belief, this was never envisaged in this area."

Cr Young will move at Monday's council meeting to defer a decision on the development application to allow negotiations to reduce the height of the proposed building. The temple would be built at 133-137 Beaudesert-Nerang Road and five monks would live on the site. An enterprise named Wat Sangharatanaram Inc lodged the application at the council's request after operating at the address without a permit since 2005. Wat Sangharatanaram treasurer Robert Fraser said temple roofs were traditionally tall to remind worshippers to show reverence. He said the building would be set back and concealed by trees. "Anybody that's travelled to Thailand would understand that this is a symbol of Thai Buddhism and we would like people to recognise that," he said.

TSUNAMI: THE RIPPLE MISSED THIS SHORE..PHEW!

Australia has all but escaped the wrath of a Pacific Ocean tsunami triggered by a devastating 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the coast of central Chile. The earthquake struck off the coast of central Chile about 5.30pm (AEDT) on Saturday, killing hundreds and sending shockwaves throughout the Pacific.

Beaches today on Sunday were closed and emergency services were on patrol as the brunt of the tsunami waves travelled in a northwest direction, narrowly missing Australia's east coast. But tsunami waves were recorded along the NSW, Queensland and Tasmanian coasts, with Norfolk Island recording a 50cm surge in sea levels. The Gold Coast saw a 20cm increase in sea levels. In Tasmania, Southport and Darlington experienced a 17cm increase.

The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre (JATWC) issued a tsunami alert, declaring a "potential tsunami threat" for Queensland, NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. Dangerous waves and foreshore flooding listed in the warnings did not eventuate but the JATWC was focused on strong ocean currents affecting people in boats or in the water. "In all likelihood (the tsunami warning) will be cancelled later today or tonight." The JATWC rep, Mr Hainsworth said shockwaves from an underwater 8.8-magnitude earthquake could be devastating. "We in Australia have been very, very lucky indeed," Mr Hainsworth said. "The focus of the energy from the earthquake was definitely to the northwest from South America. "So we were much on the periphery of the seismic seawave events." But JATWC kept its tsunami warning in place for Sunday, because the quick changes in sea levels around Australia's east coast could cause severe currents.

So tomorrow, the surf dudes can hit the waves again... or is it too early to venture in????

WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER-PT. 4

Whew, glad that was over! The talk went very well and the kids from both classes had a great time. I think the teachers enjoyed the information about chinese culture too. The powerpoint software behaved very well and everything went smoothly. Thank you God!

Had a nice chat with Jordan's teacher, and found she had travelled to many countries including Korea and China, so she was very familiar to Asian culture. She was very helpful and even taught me some new tricks for powerpoint. Even at the beginning of the presentation, I found that most kids here were very exposed to chinese culture and they were certainly interested to know more.

I also found the Aussie kids here don't just sit quietly and listen to you talk. They participate very actively in the classroom and treat the talk like a discussion. From an Asian perspective, it would seem rude to put up your hands and ask questions in the middle of a talk, but it is perfectly acceptable here. So, my talk went on longer than expected... busily answering questions as I went on each slide.. Jordie very sportingly wore a traditional chinese costume for them to see.

I think they enjoyed the 2 quiz questions at the end to try for the angpow prize!! They also had a great time munching on the keropoks and squishy konyakku jelly. So, yup glad it pulled off well and I probably won't be doing this for quite a while...

WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER - PT. 3- NOW MY GUTS LIKE JELLY MELT

Yup, like those konyaku jelly that emerged in disastrous soft lumps ready to break , . I am stressed. Now why did I volunteer myself for this talk? I examined myself asking what is the big deal. Kids only after all, so why am I so worked up?

One of the reasons is that this week has been a real stressful week for me. When it rains, it pours. Beryl needed me to help edit her book in time to pass to Pastor Lily before she flew off tomorrow. Coupled with the fact that I had to attend a meeting today at Caroline's place. Pastor Dexter was sharing to a group of people tonight. I was late and then found myself being the last minute standby for song-leading to a roomful of Aussies,, not prepared...AARGH!! THEN, my konnyaku jelly which I was making for the kids tomorrow all went gooey and wouldn't stand firm even after I tried making another batch with less water. Ban JIM WILLIE BRAND for Konyakku for life. BOYCOTT!!

The other reason is that it is my first time ever presenting with Powerpoint, so not really familiar or sure if it would pull off tomorrow.

The main reason (DRUM ROLLS/ CYMBALS) is ... after some soul-searching : I am a control freak....... I admit it,.. I want to do things nicely properly and not a hair out of place. The best CNY presentation the kids could ever get with fun, food and quiz. and then...So far, only the keropoks I fried turned out nice. The rest is pretty much in shambles... The konyakku was disappointing...I also had initally wanted to pass out some nice red packets to every kid there in the mood of Chinese New Year (of course with chocs, not money, not that rich, you see) but my despatch for angpow packets had not arrived until now!

Okay, I just came out of a christian meeting so I must not have murderous thoughts..... And this uncertainty and unfamiliar ground of Jordie's classroom and 50 pairs of eyes staring up at me expecting a nice talk is eating me up... So, what do I do? Gulp down some more smashed up Konyakku jelly and comfort myself...that I am after all human.

WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER - PT. 2

Went into Jordie's class today to check out the equipment available for the Chinese New Year talk I was giving this Friday.. and it turned out I was lucky his Technology teacher was around, so he agreed to help test out tomorrow if my Mac notebook could be hooked to their projector for the powerpoint presentation.

Yup, we need to go high tech these days, I hope NOT to have to print out bubble jet pictures of images I wanted to show or paste them arduously on manila cardboard,... Powerpoint is so much easier and effective, if I could pull it off, keeping my fingers crossed........

This is supposed to be a SMART school, his teacher agreed, so we need to get on with that technology thing, or face being called a backward institution...anyway I think his teacher was just so amazed I was going so out of my way for this thing... don't ask me why, I just feel it is a good thing to do...