After eight months of travelling, I was starting to feel homesick for the Yukon …
I love looking back at the synchronicity of how the soulmates that I met on my travels affected each other’s journeys
Except it was November and my original plan was to go back in April, not in the middle of a Yukon winter. So I let Maz talk me into trying to extend my working visa for another month so I could experience an Aussie Christmas before going back to New Zealand, to volunteer on organic farms until April.
Maz, Charlotte and I had just spent a magical two weeks on a beach in far north Queensland where Maz had been living. We decided to hitch together to Cairns, to extend my visa.
To our surprise, the immigration officer told me that I wouldn’t stand a chance getting it extended up there but would have a much better chance in Brisbane — 1700 km away!
Undaunted, we three amigos headed to Kuranda to stay at the youth hostel where Maz and I had met four months ago.
Thumbing a ride with three girls was so much fun. We picked flowers from the side of the road and handed them to anyone who walked or rode by. We danced, laughed and sang while waiting for a lift. We got all sorts of interesting rides
One older Canadian couple, with a dog box on the back of their truck, gave us a whole watermelon when they dropped us off! We were amazed to learn that there are dog sledders in Australia. There are a few places they can race in the snow but many enjoy “dryland mushing” using scooters, bikes or karts.
From Kuranda, we hitched to Townsville where we rented an on-site van in a caravan park with a swimming pool for $20. The next day we had to split up so Maz could hitchhike the inland highway south to see her family in Victoria and Charlotte and I could stay on the coastal highway to Brisbane.
Charlotte and I were lucky enough to be picked up by a nice bloke, hauling bananas in a Mercedes-Benz semi truck that took us all the way from Townsville to Brisbane. It was a bit of an “eye-opener” to experience how he drove straight through the night, when he shared his “beans” with us so we could stay awake and keep him company.
We got to Dalby at 5 a.m. and helped him clean the truck until his boss arrived and gave us a lift into Brisbane in his convertible.
Although we were exhausted, we hit the town to get my visa extended. After a wild goose chase and lots of frustration we found the building and had little hassle extending it.
While fighting our way through the crowded street this older guy noticed the scarf tied around Charlotte’s hand that she was using to open doors with. We told him she had city disease and he became very interested and told us he was a counsellor.
While I went to the bank he quizzed Charlotte with heaps of questions about her hatred of cities. Finally she started crying to get him to go away.
“One more question,” he said. “Can you picture a babbling brook?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Can you put your hand in it?” he asked.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Crocs!” Charlotte answered.
That got rid of him, but minutes later we were accosted by a guy doing a questionnaire. Before we knew it, he bustled us into an elevator and sat us in front of a “personality test” with no explanation at all.
It was 200 questions long but we filled it out anyway. I thought it was a university project. Then Charlotte lay down on the bench and had a snooze while we waited to find out what our test revealed.
I was enjoying the air conditioning and quiet surroundings, when an older lady came storming up the stairs carrying a book, with a volcano on the cover, called “Dianetics”. She tore a strip off the receptionist for giving her son this book and trying to lure him into their cult.
As soon as she left, I woke Charlotte up and said we should leave. Suddenly, the receptionist said that someone was ready to see us.
“Sorry, gotta go,” I said and dragged Charlotte out the door. I had heard of the Church of Scientology, back then in 1987, but was in such a vulnerable state that I didn’t realize we were being reeled into it until it was almost too late.
We had only gone around the block when we were stopped by another canvasser! We scared him away quickly, by peppering him with questions about how he feels about what he is doing.
From Brisbane, Charlotte headed south and I went to Kingscliff to stay with my old traveling mate Caroline. She was staying at her Mom’s place, across the street from the beach, for her university summer holiday.
A few days later, (the night that I was originally supposed to be flying out of Australia) I met my fourth soulmate. I saw him the minute that he entered the crowded Kingscliff bar. His bushy beard stood out in the room of clean shaven men. When he came to talk to Caroline, whom he had met the week before, he quickly turned his attention to me as soon as he heard my accent.
I love looking back at the synchronicity of how the soulmates that I met on my travels affected each other’s journeys. I inspired Charlotte to move to the Yukon. Caroline encouraged Maz to settle down in Lismore (because of its great art school and hippy culture). And their encouragement to extend my visa and hang out in Kingscliff resulted in me meeting that fourth soulmate — my husband!
In Part 3 of this series, I reminisce about how I fell in love with the little town of Murwillumbah the first week I was in Australia. I even bought a lotto ticket, planning to buy a house along the river if I won.
I didn’t win the lotto, but I did fulfill that dream because Murwillumbah is my husband’s hometown and where we lived for many years – in a big old house beside the river.
The End.
Thanks to all of you who have followed my journey.
All 9 parts of Thumbing It Down Under can be found at whatsupyukon.com/author/donna-lawther/
