Sacred Space.

“I rubbed my eyes and saw a red sun glaring off the water top and there were waves coming in and crashing” Oscar whispered in our ear on our first early morning wake-up in Australia. His description is perfectly fitting of how I imagined our ocean-side existence over the past 3 years. We have “figuratively” rubbed our eyes and awoken to a new country, filled with a host of exotic sights, sounds and smells. You can find us hunkered down in Cairns (Northern AUS) as we enjoy the first of our 25 nights of Home Exchanges that we’ve managed to stitch together on our travels along the coast of North Eastern AUS. A year ago when we signed up for Home Exchange*, and were in the throes of preparing to receive International guests, I wasn’t quite sure what I thought of the program. But today, in this moment, it has been worth every effort, hesitancy and frustration. Our tropical beachfront artist residence surpasses any expectation we could have ever made in our wildest dreams.

Fast forwarding a few weeks, we are now on the third of four Home Exchanges and our sentiments about the experience have remained as enthusiastic as that first morning. Our lodging in Machans Beach, Cairns (pronounced Caines) was akin to spending time with a wildly bohemian woman full of passion and creativity. Her entire being exploded with colour and art, inspiring those in her presence to join her. India was the first to pull out the tin foil and begin her sculpture collection with Oscar (surprisingly) following closely behind. For days on end, they ravaged the foil roll, sketched with vigour and curated a gallery viewing which drained their proud parents of every loose coin (and then some). Oscar was especially proud of his accompanying musical playlist and Indie of her ticketing machine which she created by ferociously sawing holes through a cardboard box.

Sleeping with the ocean is a little less romantic than one may assume, her decibel rating far exceeds an ambient background noise and her rhythm frequently changes, disrupting sleep patterns a fair bit. Combined with the infrequent and startling chirps of at least a dozen geckos that called our passionate residence home, bedtime turned into a bit of a semi-conscious rollercoaster. All being said, if you ever have the opportunity to eat- live-and dream ocean-side, snatch it up without hesitancy, as the hazy dream-like edges of a past experience have already begun to unfurl.

If our Home Exchange wasn’t epic enough in itself, this was also the jumping-off point for our tour of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). I’ll let Oscar do most of the briefing about our experience but will add a few strong adjectives to give you a mental image of our tumultuous start. Envision an hour and a half of lurching motions as our boat repetitively heaved into the waves. If you were lucky enough not to be “heaving” into bags, then you were making bemused eye contact with other passengers every time the boat slammed into a surge and recoiled back, sucking in huge chokes of sputtering water which soaked the walls and floors. The hour spent at our second-dive sight, put every bewildered memory to rest as we drunkenly grazed over a world of unearthly corals and sea life. Within a fingertip's reach, lay a sacred space electrically charged with vibrancy, mystique and watery murmurations that disappeared when you popped your head out of the water. A dream. We were in a dream.

Wow! I went snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef and it was so exciting! We saw so much coral - some of the coral was blue and some red and some purple. Some of the coral looked like an intestine. It was twisty and windy. It also looked bubbly. We went to two reefs. The first one was not the best because there were so many waves and the wind was so strong. But the 2nd one was great because there were so many colourful fish. Oh did I mention I saw a moray eel, shark and 2x sea turtles! It made me feel excited and a bit scared but mostly excited. The boat ride was so wavy! - Oscar, 8

Four hours east of Cairns + a short 20-minute stint by ferry, landed us in a new dream. Stepping off the local bus and into a traditional Australian stilt house ushered us into a new reality, one that I dare say, rivalled our underwater snorkel experience just a little. For four lustful days, we stepped back in time to a place without internet that was outfitted with simple wooden shutters which perfectly channelled the island breeze. Where crackly radio tunes were the only sounds that competed with the cacophony of squawks, coos, chortles and songs of the parrots, kookaburras, and curlews (just to name a few.) A place where Monopoly sounded like a good idea (until it didn’t!) and Friday night fun was a bus jaunt across the Island to hang our heads over the pier to fish-watch. Our Home Exchange dwelling affectionally named, Daggoombah, was a natural beauty. White-washed and simple, she was set amidst an immersive 5D tropical background that delivered an endorphin rush every time we stepped into her bounty. Complete with a kookaburra family which curiously observed our every move, we didn’t miss a moment of being fully present and alive.

Here is a real-time scribble from my bedside notebook on April 27th:

“My semi-conscious awaits the sounds of the nocturnal forest at night - one that is teeming with screeches, rustles, caws and croaks - nature’s lullaby, a feasting frenzy, a gang fight??? I have never awoken to such ferocity and vigour. The wood shutters offer protection only from the creepy crawlies but the rest of nature is fair game. Turns out it is strangely melodic in its own right.”

Magnetic Island, affectionately referred to as Maggie Island by the locals, is a world heritage site where over ⅔ of the 52㎢ island is a protected national park. It is teeming with green vine forests and choke full of distinctive eucalypt woods, which provide refuge for Northern Australia’s largest colony of koalas living in the wild. It was given its name after its discoverer, Captain Cook, felt as if it held a magnetic force. Turns out it scientifically didn’t and while I am no scientist, I did wake each morning feeling electrically charged. In fact so much so that my balance was directly affected. (In hindsight, it was probably delirium from sleep deprivation.)

Twas’ on Maggie Island where we also stocked up on our fill of Australia’s wildlife at its finest. Nattering rainbow-coloured lorikeets which clung to the trees like fruit, sleepy koalas perched in the arms of the eucalyptus, sulphur-crested cockatoos that made you cringe with their sharp, incessant screeches, rock wallabies with joey’s that stretched and prodded from their pouches, foraging flying foxes and impressively ripped red kangaroos which bounded with energy.

Perhaps we can credit Australia’s fauna. Since his first-morning awakening in the land down under, Oscar’s homesickness has been replaced with an impish eye twinkle and a cheeky smile. Turns out, a country jam-packed with terrifyingly cool wildlife lurking along the waterways and hidden within the bushes, can lift even the most decrepit of moods. He quotes facts from his favourite non-fiction books about the aggressiveness of tiger sharks, bull sharks and “salties” (crocodiles) and researched (alongside his Dad) for hours after spotting, what he believed to be, a common death adder snake on a local walking track.

Returning to the mainland, we have landed in our third Home Exchange in the blue-collar city of Townsville where we are bored to perfection. The home we are generously enjoying is tastefully refined and gated with its porch, pool and gardens adjacent to a lush green space. This is where I steal away to write each morning, a piping mug of tea in hand. We are privy to its many luxuries and amenities giving cause to daydream about what our 70-year-old life may look like. I have discovered a jogging trail which runs parallel to a verdant stretch and teems with kangaroos and bird life. In the afternoon when the kids need a change of scenery, we take them to the Strand which offers a large (and thankfully free) waterpark where temporary playmates can always be found. This home, like many others we have encountered in both NZ and AUS, is uniquely situated on an infill lot. Although it is not typical where we are from, we have been amazed by the smart designs and efficient use of urban space giving us cause for contemplation.

At this moment in time, we are 18 days out - 4 days remaining in Townsville, 5 days in Sydney, followed by a 9-day stopover in Hawaii before touching down in Toronto on Tuesday, May 23rd. In all honesty, we are all caught up in a whirlwind of feels - India wavers between intense sadness and euphoric happiness, Oscar bubbles with excitement as he imagines surprising his friends with pop-up visits, Dan and I are pensive yet full of pent-up energy to create. We have definitely drawn a protective cocoon around our remaining time - practicing the delicate art of holding on and letting go at the same time.

*If you should ever consider signing up for Home Exchange contact us as we can both benefit by accumulating additional guest points : )