ironbark grange

We arrived at Ironbark Grange on November 14th after a few days of camping at Springbrook National Park. It is our third WWOOF spot on the trip so far and we have three more to go; although, I'm not sure how they could ever top this. Peter and Ann Van Velzen built a beautiful, modern-style home on Tamborine Mountain almost twenty years ago. They have two great kids: Alex (19) and Zoe (13). Peter is a retired engineer and Ann is a practicing physician in the community. They built Ironbark Grange from the ground up - the house, the orchard, the garden, the "chook house" (chickens) and finally, the tennis court. They organically grow most of what they eat, everything from coffee to grapes (wine) to artichokes to paw paw (papaya) grows in the orchard. They have hundreds of fruit trees. It's definitely a full-time job which is why they have had over 450 WWOOFers stay with them over the years. When we arrived, there were four other WWOOFers here already from Italy, France and New Zealand. The first night at dinner felt like an international dinner party with amazing food, great wine and hilarious conversation. The Van Velzen's have been extremely generous to us in terms of the accommodation, food, knowledge and spirit they've provided us during our time here. So far, we've learned to bake homemade bread and croissants, dance salsa, cook delicious Asian food, prune the orchard, take care of the chickens (and the duck, Madeline) and we have yet to learn about brewing beer, beekeeping and making homemade cheese.We honestly couldn't ask for a better experience. Check out their website...it's pretty awesome.

yes, we're alive

Hello friends and family. I'm so terribly sorry about the lack of posting for the past couple of weeks. Our charger for the laptop broke so we don't have regular access to internet. In addition, we spent two weeks in the middle of the rainforest in Cape Tribulation where we had no cell reception or internet access. I have to say, it was surprisingly theraputic to be so isolated. So, here's the update: After crossing the car ferry, we arrived at Rainforest Hideaway Bed & Breakfast on a beautiful sunny day in Cape Tribulation. Rob, the owner, is a sculpture artist and built the entire B&B by hand. We slept in an elevated bungalow in the middle of the forest amongst all the little creepy-crawlies (bugs, snails, toads and spiders) and rainforest birds (including the "brain fever bird" which sang the same tune over and over again 24/7 for the entire duration of our stay). Mosquito nets served as our walls and the bungalow was attached to the rest of the house by a swing bridge that Rob crafted by hand. Rob was extremely laid back and good to us. Our "work" consisted of us taking care of the B&B and helping create a Buddha sculpture out of concrete (pictures to come soon). There are two cassowarys and their baby chicks that roam the property. I ran into one just about every day we stayed there which was pretty terrifying at first considering they look like dinosaurs, stand about 6 feet tall and have rapter looking feet/claws. One day, I found myself staring face to face only with the female which is about as tall as Robbie. Craziness. It was an incredible and unforgettable experience. We're now in Byron Bay where the sun is shining, the majority forget to wear shoes, the waves are high and the food is delicious. We treated ourselves to a hotel room last night and ironically didn't sleep very well. I'm actually looking forward to sleeping in the car again which is pretty hilarious. Gotta run. I hope you are all warm, happy and know that I'm missing you as you read this.