As we start the New Year we are sending our love to you across the miles and we wish you  all a Happy and Healthy 2004!

It is a time of changes, of new beginnings. If we don’t like something, it is time to change it!  Self responsibility is what it’s all about.  We are used to turning our power over to others.  We give the responsibility for our spiritual life over to priests, ministers, or gurus.  We give the responsibility for our safety and daily lives over to our government. We give the responsibility for our health over to our doctors to heal us or fix us.  Since it’s desirable to be an active participant in our own lives, I thought of the above quote.  It is a poignant reminder of what life could be like.  This quote also sums up what our trip is all about. Each day is like a clean slate and we never know what will happen.  As slowly we detach from all the details and routines of our life in a large home in Hawaii, we are left with our simple life in the Kombi.  We definitely spend a good portion of each day just being in the present moment and being open to what comes along.  We give thanks daily for our health, each other, family and friends, and our wonderful life on the road. I’m sure your list is a long one too!!

We drove on to the large Star of Tasmania ferry the eve of Dec 4th and have been discovering this amazing jewel ever since.  We stayed with warm and welcoming Servas hosts in the north.  Joseph was invited to talk to a group of approx. 40 people about his background, health, and world affairs.  It was a lively and  interesting talk and well received by everyone.  He has a lot of information to share and it was reassuring from the comments to realize that people are questioning what the media is feeding them. Thinking IS good! 

We have worked our way around the rugged and windy west coast.  Around every bend there is another beautiful beach, untouched coastline, flower filled pasture or shady forest.  It’s like living in a travel brochure, only these glossy pictures are even better!  The people are down to earth and easy going.  When someone in Australia says, “No Worries” they mean it.  Joseph has a knack of finding the best secluded spots to pull off and we become a ‘view with a van’.  Sometimes we stay for a couple days and just read, relax and hike around.  Otherwise we batten down the hatches and go out to see what we can see!!! 

We’ve climbed “the Nut”, near Stanley, a 1000 ft. rock with 360 degree views of the north coast.  We drove to “The Edge of the World” near Arthur River (next stop South America), then down through the mountains to Strahan.  There we met a couple who has been traveling around Australia in a van for 7 years.  They went off after he took early retirement and haven’t gone home yet. They love it!  Together we went to the local BBQ and Christmas Carol sing in the park.  Onward into the gold, tin and silver mining ranges we stopped by a great mining museum in Zeehan,  then drove through the eerie moonscape which is a by-product of mining in Queenstown.  There we parked in a new friend’s private quarry, turned park, for the night.  In the water were enormous 2 ft. rainbow trout that he fed every morning. Good thing we were vegans or there would have been some fishing lines thrown in that night! We found a small peninsula only the size of the van, near Toolah, with water on three sides and not another soul for miles.  It was our private resort and swimming hole for two nights and three days.  It really is a camper’s paradise in Tasmania.

We met my daughter Mariah and her boyfriend Shane, in New Norfolk on Dec 23rd.  On her 26th birthday I took her out for lunch and a good long visit.  For Christmas we treated to a tasty Chinese dinner then we all went back into the hills near Ellendale to camp. On the way there we asked for instructions and 2 guys dressed as elves took us home to a party. The waitress at the restaurant wanted to know where we were going for Christmas and invited us to camp free on her families’ remote, picturesque land.  There were platypus, wallabies, Tasmanian devils, kookaburras, opossums, quoles (wild cats) and always a hope to see a Tasmanian tiger (only legends now).  We took a long walk through a mystical rain forest and communed with enormous old growth gum trees, with bases that took 6 to 8 people to go around.  After the hike Mariah and Shane cooked up mashed potatoes and cranberries, while I whipped up gravy, mushrooms and tofu, and stuffing on our 2 burner stove.  We had our small decorated tree, lit up our string of lights, and the computer played classic carols.  We finished with apple and walnut Christmas bread, compliments of a local bakery.  We sat by a big roaring fire that evening.  What a Christmas!!  Home is where the heart is!

And so it goes………………………………………………….We have another month to explore Tasmania.   The weather got really cold in the mountains but now it is warm again.  It’s that Antarctic wind!  Until then we hope that we all have a year of “Living with Intention!”  Take care  and Keep Smiling!  Thanks for keeping in touch!