Arrived in Sydney I stayed for one night in a hostel. Somehow the whole hustle and bustle of the city and the high prices surprised me so much that I had to escape it right away. My friends, Ruth and Giancarlo, whom I met on the TA, happened to be on their way south past Sydney. So it happened that they picked me up at the train station for a little adventure into Royal National Park, south of Sydney. It was nice to be able to spend a little more time with them here. Somehow, it’s always more about the people you meet than the place you’re in.

We had been watching some paragliders fly for a while, taking advantage of the good winds on the coast. One of them really took off. He was doing all kinds of tricks. He flew very close to us, sailed down in a vortex, and did flips. Everything was so impressive that I paid my respects to him. He then asked me if I had any desire to fly with him. Of course, I did. That was another item on my bucket list anyway.

The following day we went our separate ways again. Them in their car and I in a train to the beginning of a trail that led me along the coast, back to Sydney. It was a very touristy trail, most of it on a boardwalk over the cliffs, but it allowed me to walk relaxed from beach to beach without getting too exhausted.

Due to a landslide, access to one of the more popular beaches was closed. What is the disadvantage for drivers, is in this case my advantage. I had the whole beach to myself. On the recommendation of an older gentleman, I found a place to camp that gave me direct access to the cliffs and a natural pool in the rock. I love being able to take a dip in a lake or the ocean after hiking. There is nothing more relaxing to end the day.

In the following days many colorful birds and funny creatures crossed my way, not only humans but also actual wildlife. A reptile tried to steal my bag. A raven followed me for a while and kept an eye on me. Surely he wanted something from my lunch, but didn’t dare to ask.

My favorite place to camp is where no one else is. But sometimes, like on this day, that was not possible. On the beach with a small forest, two groups had already settled down, a pack of men and a youth group. Since theoretically the wild camping is prohibited, I waited first how all behave. Later I looked for a nice, secluded spot where the other groups didn’t bother me.

For the next days I had an appointment with Josie to go hiking in the Blue Mountains. Since she had problems with her connection from New Zealand, she arrived in Sydney a bit later than expected. I took the opportunity to stay a little longer at the coast instead of staying in a way too expensive hostel again.

I am so happy to be traveling with the tent. I especially like the opportunities it opens up. I don’t have to be anywhere. All I have to find is a place where no one will mind me pitching my tent overnight. In the wilderness, where there is no one to bother, it’s no problem as long as I find a flat spot and the ground isn’t rock so I can get my pegs in the ground.

Meditation

I started meditating again a few weeks ago. The calm that had settled into my mind while hiking seems to have evaporated. Thoughts try to take up every bit of free capacity in my mind. What this is due to, I can’t really pin down. I guess my brain has simply been trained to divide smaller and smaller snippets of attention among more and more different thoughts and things. I have a hard time reading intently, following thoughts discussed in my meditation app for longer than 5 minutes. Especially when I’m back in civilization, I’m bombarded right back with things I need/want/could do; messages that need to be answered, thoughts I want to write down, plans I need to make for the days and weeks ahead. I try to practice daily being more in the now, just doing one thing at a time and not trying to immediately follow up and identify with every little thought.