Why I Didn’t Marry Heath Ledger

Wwoof, Willing Workers on Organic Farms, is a worldwide volunteer organization. It is a program available around the globe in which travelers exchange a few hours of work per day for room and board. What an incredible concept. You can get around the world for the cost of transportation and beer while living with locals and really experience the indigenous lifestyle, while participating in programs that promote the regional economy. In all, it’s sustainable tourism at its best.

After meeting the Aloombra Lavender beast, I was gravely concerned about our Wwoof host. I’m glad to tell you that my reservations were completely unfounded. Greg is awesome.

The home at Broadwater Headland is a total hippie house with different people coming and going at all times. I love it, as I get to meet loads of people from around the country.

The main project here is dune regeneration, which I am particularly interested in having grown up vacationing every summer in north Florida in the United States. Here, dune regeneration consists of removing the Bituo bush that was introduced to the area by mining companies in the past. The tree grows quickly so was used to stop the erosion in places that were mined. The tree became a pest, much like kudzu. It takes over the indigenous plants and kills them. So, this is one hell of a job and won’t be complete in many years, if ever. I’m glad to be associated with a group who is making the effort to do this work. It’s an interesting contrast to the Florida dune regeneration projects that consist of building the dunes up and is needed as a result of erosion due to over-development and hurricanes.

- Carrie

I think blowing a few chunks in the ocean is a small price to pay for seeing a sea turtle swim in the wild. But don’t tell Heath, I don’t want him to have the mental image of his future wife spewing into the Pacific. I know, spoken like a true bulimic.

So we went snorkeling at Julian Rocks, a short boat ride from Byron Bay in the Pacific. As well as being a marine reserve, Julian Rocks is a Bird Sanctuary. That means you’ll get no relief from your nausea by sitting on the rocks. You can’t even touch them. And you surely don’t want to touch anything below the surface, as you might get stung. That was the only safety advice provided by Sundivers. Seems pretty straight forward to me. Don’t climb on the rocks and don’t touch anything, especially the blue bottles.

The company we used, Sundivers, was a little bagiggedy. They just didn’t have their stuff together, so we ended up with no gear.

Imagine that. Me with no gear - again.

Luckily, another company was in the area and loaned us snorkels and fins. In addition to leaving our gear, Sundivers didn’t provide water. You aren’t out there for long (about 2 hours) so you aren’t going to get heatstroke, but you way want to take a bottle along.

They made us wear super buoyant wetsuits, which means you don’t have to make any effort to stay afloat, but you also don’t have the range of motion to dive down. It’s like being trapped inside a giant fishing bobber. If the blue bottles (scary stinging jellyfish-like creatures) aren’t too bad, I’d skip the wetsuit.

Julian Rocks is more of a scuba destination in that the majority of the sites are around 15 to 20 feet deep. You can see a lot snorkeling, but you can’t see it up close. It’s worth the trip only because it’s inexpensive. Contrasting this trip with a previous trip to the coral reef outside of Key West, Florida, I believe this is much more of a scuba spot.

We saw AMAZING iridescent blue fish, the sea turtle, an angel fish, coral, sea urchins and other organisms. I’m not sure what most of the things were, but they sure were pretty. No shark sightings, despite all of the “Come to Julian Rocks and Swim With the Sharks” press. Before we took off, one of the (hottie) Sundiver employees made the statement that you’re more likely to get hurt by being hit in the head with a coconut than by a shark. Now I’m afraid of coconuts.

Unfortunately, the stomach issues (otherwise known as the sea-sickness hangover) kept us both out of commission for a good part of the day. We rebounded in time to par-tay for the evening, though.

NOTE TO SELF: You know you get seasick when you snorkel, it’s happened before and it WILL happen again. Next time, stop being a jackass and take some Dramamine.

- Carrie

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