Back to the beginning

The next day we headed to Ballarat to play Babushka bar! The owner/soundman, Garth, was a really cool dude.  He named the bar after a Kate Bush song (WIN!) one of my faves.  The sound was excellent and our bartender, Steve, was a sweetheart.  At first we didn't think anybody was coming, but then the place filled up with awesome people.  We had an excellent show, one if our best, and he even recorded us!    It was our first live recording of The Belle Miners.  Special!  We even got a review in the local paper! Thanks Daniel!

That night a lovely woman named Jude (who Marina found through couchsurfer.com) put us up for the night.

Jude and her cute old deaf doggie

Giddyup!

 Yay for beds! The next day we were on a mission! It was the gay pride parade in Melbourne! Marina hadn't been to gay pride for 6 years because she's always in her tower, so we got pretty excited about it.  Jude told us her first husband (of 20 years) who was the father of her children, was gay.  She said she always knew, because they always ended up liking the same guys!  She told him he needed to go explore himself and be free.  The way she told the story was humorous and compassionate bringing Marina to tears!  She's so happy to be openly gay and feel the support of her family and friends. 
Sadly we actually missed the parade!  It was a long, very hot drive.  We had big dreams of being painted in rainbows and dancing in the streets but REALLY, it WAS 40c... so we ended up making the end of parade beach party.  Our friend Nicolette Forte was playing a set with her band. We enjoyed that and then went and sat in the shade.  Later I went and got my dance on in the sun to the DJ set with some lovely gay men.  We made up some great dance moves!  Of course, after that I was literally MELTING.  So I needed an ice cream.


After that we only had time for a quick shower and freshen up before our gig at Graceland, a local artist showcase.  We got there and, sadly there was NO AIR CONDITIONING.  It was held in a funky building right next to the cop shop and they fed us dumplings, beer, cider and "magic tea" (which was basically kombucha).  The heat was intense but the talent was a marked step up and it was a full house of very attentive music lovers.  One of our faves was a local band called Indian Red.  There was also a full choir!  Really, everybody was fantastic. Loved it.
 I think I was mildly heat-stroked after that experience but after some Advil and Nepalese food I was good to go.

Our last show in Melbs was the next night just a block away at a place called The Retreat.  It was put on by Rhea (the same person who booked us Graceland) so it was another great event!  Afterwards we went back to Michael's place and decided to finally do some songwriting.  We did get most of the way through a song (and a delicious bottle of red that Jane and Michael's parents generously donated).  It was our last night in Melbourne!  Things got a bit rowdy... there may or may not have been a whipped cream fight...;)

The whipped cream ninja strikes again!

Goodbye Melbourne! We will never understand this strange glowing Kewpie doll... but you're still pretty cool.

Our next destination was back to Berry mountain.  We decided that rather than break the trip up into two days of driving (and risk camping in Parrot country) we would do it in one 9 hour chunk.  We wanted to have a good night's sleep and be rested for our next show!

The drive was definitely very long, but we did get to find out how slurpees get transported! 

Just put it in my face please

We rolled into Berry late that night and wove back up the winding mountain (dodging many a wombat) to our home away from home at Carla and Jacko's!  It was so COLD!  We'd gotten used to the overwhelming heat in the city.  Well, best to begin our acclimatization early... back home it's -2c!
Coming back to this place felt VERY strange... like going back in time.  Wow, a lot can happen in six weeks! It was so hard to believe that we would be going home in 5 days... and saying goodbye to Jaime for another year! Heartbreak!

The next night we went back to Woolongong to play the Howlin' Wolf Whiskey bar!  Also such a trip!  It felt like it was ages since we'd been there. The staff were lovely and welcoming - they even offered us another show for Friday night - score!

Soaking in the sun in Berry

The next night we were booked at The Sourdough Bakery, where Jaime used to work.. They had organized a community dinner of wholesome vegan food and the place was PACKED!

Featuring such delicious items as Massaman pumpkin curry, marinated pesto mushroom salad and the most delicious moist polenta I have ever had... I wasn't surprised!  Not to mention delicious  fresh sourdough bread spread with garlic butter and fresh basil, mmmmm.  Dessert was a decadent array of goodies such as chocolate chia pudding, gluten free mousse cake (yay for Marina) and fresh fig crumble!   We were so full we could barely sing but, well, we made it through.  Here's some amazing footage of the evening featuring us: Berry Community Dinner 2014








Yum!

Adam, Jaime, Marina and Jelle at the Sourdough

Feeling full and fulfilled, we went "home" to Carla and Jacko's to have a nice sleep.


The next day when I woke up, I felt the need to go for a jog to get some much needed exercise.   As I set off the gravel road in the warm morning light, I saw something in the distance... could it be!? IT WAS! The elusive male Lyrebird, in all his glory, was standing right in front of me!  His feather spread was glorious and his song was just as beautiful.  What a good omen!

After my jog, shower and breakfast, we packed up the ute to hit the road one last time!  It was sad saying goodbye to Carla and Jacko but at least we'll get to see them next year at Jaime's wedding - she's getting married at their house!  Can't imagine a more perfect spot.  After that we went to a beautiful tea tree river, soaking in the beautiful serenity.  We had the place to ourselves!  We may or may not have been naked as the day we were born, and swimming like mermaids with the tadpoles and fishes, cleansing ourselves from head to toe with the crisp fresh water in the golden light...  hey, you (may or may not) only live once! ;)  Powflowl.

That night we played another show at the Howling Wolf Whiskey Bar! Now, how can I put this... we love them, and they seem to love us,  but we're pretty sure nobody can actually hear us at that place... oh well!  Paid the petrol to Sydney!  We rolled in at around 2am to an Air Bnb that Marina had found us, we were quite exhausted. It sounded like a real deal (accoms in Sydney are priced astronomically  and many were booked)!  She had been messaging a guy named "Tony" who had told her that the space was "unfinished" and he hadn't moved in yet.  A very slender young woman met us at at the front door.  People seemed to be moving in at 2am!  It had a very strange vibe. 

The entire space (which was a total of 7 rooms and 2 kitchens) was empty.  The floors were slanted and some of the doors didn't actually close. We sat on the bed and it collapsed! This place was hilarious.  THEN we realised why it was so cheap!  Let me put it this way: when you're looking for a place to stay in a big city and you actually want to SLEEP... google the location and make sure it's not RIGHT BETWEEN TWO HIGHWAYS. It was so warm, we had to keep the noisy windows open!  Well, there's always caffeine.

Jaime's various fancy coffee fixes

That's ok, we wrote a song about it... because that's what we do!  There WERE little owl statues in the living room!  I guess we needed to learn that lesson.  Could be worse!!  Some Spanish people were crashing in the room next to us... when the two left they seemed very confused. The next night we came home to find that she had put all of their stuff on the front porch.  She told us they would soon be leaving. When they came home they were very weirded out.  We let them in (how could we NOT!?) and the next morning, they (and their their belongings) has disappeared. SKETCHYYY... We later put together that this strange, slender woman, actually WAS Tony.  She was likely running this place as an unofficial hostel (perhaps one of many) under the radar.

Aside form this strangeness, we really had a wonderful time in Sydney.  We saw the opera house, went to (yet another) pride festival and explored some great markets.  We found little PowerfulOwl stopwatches! We decided to set them all to eachother's time zones so that we'd always know what time it is for each other when we want to Skype. Jaime's is on BC time and ours are set to Perth time.

Marina has been on a search for Blundstones, she even started a Blundstone fund that people could donate to if they liked her music!  She found a great pair in Sydney.  Now she's a happy camper! I forgot to get a picture of them, but they are just right for her summers in the tower.

Marina met a new rainbow faced friend on pride day!  They were glorious.

Our last day of shows was epic. We played a lovely market for FIVE hours and they treated us so well! Donating delicious food and even freshly pressed fruit and veggie juice!  A much needed pick-me-up.  As the time grew nearer, it began to sink in that our amazing adventure in Australia was truly coming to an end! 

After that, we went to yet another gig at a fun little venue called Sappho books in the district of Glebe (a grand total of seven hours of music in one day!).  This place was really cute!  The front half was a cozy old fashioned bookstore with two floors and and a coffee shop that turned into a beautiful little open air restaurant and bar at the back. The trees were FULL of parrots (who I had more than a few stong words with - what a racket!!) and they had TWO KITTENS.  KITTENS!!! Oh. My. God. Kittens. The bartender kept coming by the table holding either kittens or drinks. It was heaven.

The waitress (Ally) was so sweet to us and brought us a bottle of champagne on the house!  As soon as the bubbles started flowing, so did a few tears... what an amazing experience.  Well, you wouldn't believe all the sappy love messages spilling gushily into the mic as we tried to keep it together during that one!  We made lots of great friends and the food and drink were fantastic at this place.

Some friends we met in Port Maquarie even showed up and bought us a fine whiskey toast... which definitely didn't help us become less emotional.   Jaime was having an especially hard time, we have to leave her behind for a whole year!  Lucky us she's asked us both to be part of her wedding party... shucks, I'm even the maid of honour!  What lucky souls we are.

We went back to the highway apartment and much celebrating ensued. We definitely shared many a hug and of course, the waterworks were spectacular.  Jaime was the first to break down... this has been an intense process for her, booking her first tour! A lot of work and responsibility!   I was fine until she took me in her arms and said "I'm sorry I didn't spend more time with you when I had the chance".  I felt a small piece of me that had become hardened inside, release.  I'd spent so many years trying to fill her shoes after she left me in Canada 5 years back, but of course, it was impossible.  Love you Jaime!

Well nothing like a good cry! Really, you should try it. One of those deep cleansing, soul soaring cries;  it's just part of your body's natural maintenance - kind of like going to the dentist! ...Which reminds me... I have a hole to fill. 

Until next time Australia!!

PS BIG thanks to all of those who have helped us so much this year - we couldn't have done this without you!  Special thanks to Todd Hooge and HoogeStudios for recording, mixing and mastering our live album!   You helped make our dreams come true!