The last few days have been a whirlwind.
After leaving Cradle Mountain we made our way to the Henty Sand Dunes…which was so much fun….sandy, but fun. We all made the steep hike (and I mean steep) up to the top and spent about 20 minutes enjoying the view, playing around, watching people "sandboard" down the hill and as always, taking funny photos.
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| Practicing yoga on a sand dune |
Strahan is a fantastic little harbour town…they have a timber mill! I love the smell of fresh cut timber on a hot afternoon. This area of Tasmania is known for Huon Pine…a rare tree found only in this region of the world. I bought my parents a lovely little cutting board as a memento since this would be right up their alley (wow, it sounds like I come from a lame family, doesn’t it!).
We stayed at the local YHA for the night and planned a BBQ. This is really the first night that we are all eating together as a group…ironically it is the last night we will be a group. We went to the supermarket to get some food for a BBQ. While preparing the food for the big BBQ someone turned on the TV that was in the kitchen…at this point, we have seen zero television in 7 days so when we turned on the tube and saw the Japan had recently had an earthquake and a tsunami we were all in shock. As I’ve previously posted, I’ve missed every natural disaster by just a few days…so when we saw this, I immediately looked for Momoko and Kyoko who were from Japan…the girls I had just hiked a mountain with…my heart sank again. They were both so calm and collected with their emotions. We all stared at the TV intently trying to figure out where the damage had occurred and if it was near where the girls were from…sadly it was very close to their home town. They both went to find internet access to email family and friends. I offered to let them use my cell phone but when we tried to call all the phone lines were down. They each sent off emails to their families and friends with the hopes of a quick reply. Before bedtime, Kyoko had received a response that in fact her family was alive and well. Momoko on the other hand did not hear anything until the next morning….We were all in the same sleeping room and while I was laying there I couldn’t help but think about her and everything that must have been going through her mind at that moment. I kept checking on her to see if she was okay and surprisingly she was very strong…I think that might be part of the Japanese culture but I’m not sure I could keep it together like they did. Luckily the next morning, she got up at 4am to check email, she received a note that her family was also alive but she had lost some friends. She was a nurse at one of the hospitals that was destroyed in the tsunami and lost several co-workers. Through it all, she held it together….I would have been a mess. When things like this happen, you realize what is truly important in life.
Once everyone was awake and on the bus we made our way back to Hobart where we would all unload from the windy ride though the mountains, say our goodbyes, exchange some email addresses and gear up for our next big adventures. I stayed in Hobart for the night and flew back to Brisbane this morning…I ended up having fresh fish for dinner on the dock in the harbor with Momoko before she caught her flight back to the Melbourne where she is studying…we talked about the future she thought she would have when she returned to Japan…she was hopeful…since she is a nurse she is really ready to go back to help those who were injured. When we parted ways, for the first time showed some emotion…she grabbed my hand and said “thank you so much for your kindness.” I was so touched by her words…there really is a gift in giving and even though she felt like she received a gift…I felt like I received one as well.
Surprisingly, I received another gift this morning before my flight. I was waiting for a shuttle to the airport that never arrived but a few kind strangers helped me out at 5am and gave me a FREE lift with them in their taxi so I wouldn’t miss my flight. It’s so weird, I keep offering to pay my way and no one will take my money…you would think it grew on trees around here….or maybe I just look really desperate or something.
After seeing first hand all of the devastation from the recent natural disasters I was really excited to return to familiar faces. Grams, Ken and Kenny picked me up at the airport and I couldn’t have been happier to see them. Kenny and Leanne invited us over for a family dinner tonight…nothing beats a home cooked meal prepared by a wonderful cook after a month of traveling and either eating in a restaurant or some god-awful concoction I’ve created out of a can.
On our drive from the airport to their house, they showed me some of the destruction from the floods…it is seriously awful but one thing is for sure, these Aussies know how to do a quick clean up…the city and the suburbs are starting to take shape again.
It’s good to be home.
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