Australia

Zen and the art of weeding

Well, yoga to be precise. I've found this thing called inner peace and enlightenment, well, thats a slight exageration, I've found a volunteer organisation that sets up backpackers and other social miscreants with places to stay in exchange for half a days work. Its called Willing Workers On Organic Farms and my first experience has been at a yoga centre outside Perth.

The deal is, you buy a book which contains a big list of places all across Australia who are part of the scheme. The cost of the book also goes to cover some very basic insurance while your working at these places. You call up the places see if they have any room and go and stay there for a few days or weeks, whatever you negotiate with the owner. In exchange for half a days work, you get food and a bed to sleep in. The best bit from my point of view, is that it doesnt cost me money, so I can try and repair the hole in my bank balance that my car has made.

So, the place I'm at is the Kookaburra Creek Yoga Centre which runs 17 yoga classes a week. Its run by a very cool and no doubt very flexible man called Robert and he and his partner and various children live on the property which is about 10 acres worth of gum trees. The centre itself is a big hexagonal building with a beautiful wooden floor, a very nice to do yoga, with all the sounds of the forest outside. Theres even a creek, or wee burn, as us Scotlanders might call it and I have seen a Kookaburra, so the centres name is pretty accurate.

I've also seen, a dog called destiny, some hens, some guinea fowl, a camel, two sheep and a cat. I've also seen all manner of insects, and other assorted creepy crawlies including a spider with a red back, opinion is divided over whether it was a red back or not, but it didnt bite me so I'm not too bothered. There are loads of little lizards darting around all over the place and I've seen at least one big blue tongue, which is the portly gentleman of the lizard world, he looks like hes eaten one too many blueberry pies.

The primary reason I decided on this place instead of any of the other places around Perth or in the Southwest of WA is that along with food and a bed for the night you can attend any of the yoga classes you want. Never having done Yoga before it seemed like a good opportunity to see what it was like without spending any money. Like I said the yoga centre itself is a really nice space, very tranquil, which is what you need when stretching your body into various different positions. I've been along to a couple of classes now and I have to say they are pretty good, lots of emphasis on breathing and control and its quite nice for the focus of the whole one and a half hour class to be on stretching unlike Capoeira or most other martial arts and sports where if anything, stretching is only a brief part at the start and end of the class. Its also very good for relaxation, just because your focused on what your doing your mind doesnt have much chance to wander.

Unfortunately I have to work for my keep, so I've been put to work with a strimmer, or whipper-snipper as the aussies know it, clearing grass around the centre. I did that for a couple of days before I was joined by Marleen a German girl. Yesterday we did a good few hours weeding and general gardening, today I spent my morning with a fork digging up weeds and making a bed in Roberts Garden. We were also joined by Daniel, Roberts son, who stays in the little cottage that the WWOOFers inhabit when they live here. Hes 15 and pretty chilled out for a teenager of his tender years. He even cooked dinner last night.

All in all its been a pretty relaxing little break, but I think the time is coming for me to move on south towards margaret river and some wine tasting. So I think on Sunday I will take my leave and give my car a little run down south.

Posted by Craig at November 6, 2003 08:32 AM