Tuesday, January 8, 2013

New Years Day




If you follow me on instagram and Facebook then you'd probably already know that I have been taking bush walks in my backyard aka the Booderee National Park throughout my summer holidays. I grew up walking through the bush with my Uncle Barry in and around Wreck Bay.

So this is how my life played out on the last day of 2012. Woke up, exercised, ate breakfast, out to lunch with my family, watched the Hobbit, packed our bags and brought last minute supplies before we left town to go to Wreck. Arrived, drove off to the fireworks at Huskisson and then back home to dance with more family members. Slept at 3:30am. Woke up at 6:00am to leave on our little expedition.


We initially wanted  to go on an 16km hike but we thought about the amount of sleep we had, the heat in the bush and our families (especially the nieces and nephews) waiting at home to go to beach. So with all that, we decided to take the 6km total route to Whiting Beach instead.

I hadn't been there since I was a child and I think I had only ever been there once before.

I remembered this beautiful green isolated haven with clear waters. I remembered the adventure of making a fire with my friends, finding witchity grubs and eating them for the first time. This was the 8 year old me; off trying not to be worried or scared because there were no adults around and I had wandered off a lot further than what my Mother would ever have permitted. I remembered thinking that it was the best place on earth.


As I took the last few steps down off the bush track and onto the rocks I was immediately taken back to that time and to those exact feelings. Here I was again, at the dawn of another new day and another brand new year with my sisters Theresa, Sia and Moala. We promised ourselves we wouldn't waste the night with the cliche "I'm so cool" party scene. We wouldn't sleep the new day away. We would get up and start another new adventure.



When he was alive he would take thousands of people through the bush and teach them about the local bush tucker and Aboriginal way of life in our local area. Since his passing I have never felt more drawn towards the bush because that's where I feel most connected to him. I can hear his voice and I can see him walk vividly in front of me. Thanks Uncle for taking us wandering again. Thanks for igniting our childhood feelings of discovery and awe. Thanks for bringing me back home.





Big Love,




Falala Mele






12 comments:

  1. Waht a lovely post. It's a beautiful thing when you have somewhere you feel so connected to a loved one.

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  2. Great pics! Loving the earthiness of this post. I love reading your blog x

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    1. Thanks for reading Sophie. Sometimes I struggle to find the time to share real stuff but I'm trying to do it more because it's kinda like a virtual diary so it's important for me to record these moments.

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  3. South Coast beaches ROCK........and that's a big thing for me to say as I generally don't like beaches. But as a someone who went down the coast before I was 6 months old, I understand the pull. We have a holiday place at Cudmirrah and love me some Jervis Bay and South Coast beach. Looks like a lovely new years.......

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  4. south coast beaches rock - and this is from someone who doesn't generally like beaches. but i went down the coast for the first time before i was 6 months old, so i understand the call of their beautiful beaches. I love me some jervis bay beaches (murrays is my fave) but as a Cudmirrah gal (my grandfather built the holiday house in the 1960s), I love the distinctive colour of the sand at Cudmirrah........
    Looks like you had a great new years day...

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    1. Claire you have every right to hit me but I have never been to Cudmirrah so that's my newest to-do thing that I have to check off. My Uncle used to always go fishing at Murrays so when you mention it, it was like another lovely reminder of him <3

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    2. make sure you stop in at Swan Lake as well. Nice to just sit in the lake on a hot day....

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  5. This looks beautiful! What a wonderful thing to do to start of your new year! x

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    1. It was so nice I hope you had a great one too x

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  6. Last paragraph...too true sista! :)

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  7. i havent visited u for ages but meleee i still think that your photos are so cheerful, relaxing and colourful!
    xoxo
    nessi from hungary
    www.ourdrug.blogspot.com

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  8. love this post,and you look so cute n your swimmers, love the picture of you diving into the water!

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