One Man's Junk Is Another Man's Treasure

I was in a bad mood for the duration of the one hour train journey from Caboolture to Nambour on Sunday. I was sad to say goodbye to my host the catwoman, Ivan (the Dutch helper), and all the cats. It was a good thing we had going there. We all got along brilliantly and the evenings spent chatting (did you know that in Utrecht you can buy bicycles off homeless people for €5?) surrounded by kittens alternating between nap and play will be missed. During my final night in Caboolture there was an adorable moment that summed up life in the house nicely:  Ivan was cooking another delicious dinner, chopping onions with Imogen the cat resting on his shoulder having climbed up earlier to observer the food preparation. Both Ivan and Imogen emerged from the stove and into the sitting area with onion eyes! There were smiles all round as little Imogen walked around rubbing watery eyes with a paw. I was also in a bad mood because I was concerned about my flight home, or lack thereof with Virgin no longer operating between London and Australia. But the main reason for my discomfort was probably my hunger. I don't do well when I'm hungry - I get agitated and downbeat very easily when fuel supplies are running low. At Nambour, a Sunshine Coast town 60 miles north of Brisbane, I was met by my next helpx host and driven to their home, where my mood instantly changed. What an amazing property it was! And it became even cooler when I was shown around after a very well received cup of tea and lunch.

The house looks out onto a huge garden that leads down to a big pond created by a dam, but that's not the best thing about it. Around the edges of the grass are an incredible variety of trees including bamboo, pine, and paperbark, but that isn't the property's greatest asset. The place is very quiet and you can only just make out other rooftops through the trees, which is remarkable given the home is just 1.2km from the centre of town and surrounded by other houses, but that isn't the number one feature. The house and garden are both full of cool stuff acquired from garage sales -  old barrels, a giant wagon, a permanently waving model of The Queen, interesting decorations, even the cars came from garage sales, but this result of a belief in the 'one man's junk is another man's treasure' adage is not the icing on the cake. Nope. Undoubtedly, the most brilliant aspect of my home for the next week is The Pirate's Tavern. The Pirate's Tavern is a small standalone structure in the garden that was built by the previous owners as an aviary. The current residents, a retired British couple, didn't want the birds, so instead they threw in a table and chairs, a bar, cutlasses, wooden bows, a soft toy parrot perched in a cage, a collection of 100 year old books, a fish net ceiling decorated with shells, and numerous other interesting trinkets. Finally, they hoisted up St George's Flag and The Jolly Rodger and stuck up a wooden sign - which was a great find at a garage sake - reading 'Pirate's Tavern: Strong Ales & Loose Women'. While being shown this marvellous creation I must have said "cool" a hundred times and I think I even said "wicked" for the first time since I was eleven.

It takes a lot of work to maintain and improve the whole property, so that is where helpx helpers come in. Since joining the system in 2010 my hosts have had around 125 helpers! That doesn't mean the helpers are treated as mere labourers though, already I've enjoyed some wonderful conversations and terrific meals with my hosts and another helper, from Germany. My 4-6 hours of  work a day here will be a lot of fun.

The Pirate's Tavern