Post Walk Update – Wednesday 6th January 2016
It’s been a number of days since I last posted about the walk I did. Sunday I slept most of the day restoring my body’s energy reserves. I didn’t realise how depleted I was of energy. I must have been running on Universal strength and spirit from you, because I had nothing left. Many times throughout the day, I missed being out and about “doing something of value” for the children of Bangladesh and the many other countries we are yet to visit. I felt great that I had achieved my goal of walking to Byron, yet I’m not ready to do that again anytime soon. It took a lot out of me physically and mentally. The blog posts became scarcer and scarcer as I was exhausted at the end of each day and to write up a day of reflections took a couple of hours. I have been writing each day since I returned. Today, I get to finish writing about the walk, however, I will continue to write and video about the work that we are doing overseas and some insights about the children and the conditions they endure each and every day, that make their daily living a challenge. You’re receiving the reflections from Day 8 (28th Dec) onwards.
I am extremely grateful and honoured to have received all the donations we did. Every one of you is to be congratulated for offering so generously to this cause. The children of Bangladesh will benefit for many years to come from the work we will now be able to do there. We didn’t raise the $45,000 that we wanted. At last count, it is just over $2,000. Still a wonderful effort. You can still support us through our Crowdfunding site or website or Facebook page. All links are below. I thank you in deep appreciation for your continuing assistance.
https://www.facebook.com/oasisnaturalhealthfoundation/
https://www.chuffed.org/project/blind-walk-for-the-children-in-bangladesh/
http://www.oasisnaturalhealthfoundation.org/
Day 8 – Monday 28th Dec
Alberta and I were up early to start walking from Burleigh Heads to Palm Beach. It was lovely having an angel walk with me today. In fact, I had a number of angels walk with me over the course of the day. I spoke to Alberta about living and working at Burleigh Heads when I was pregnant with my middle son, Timmy. That was so long ago. He has children of his own now.
I’d had my children when I was very young. I decided that having them while young, meant that when they left home, I was still young enough to have a life, without being old and decrepit, and unable to enjoy life.
We walked along the main road on the footpath, over Tallebudgera Bridge into Palm Beach. I mentioned how there used to be a nightclub near the bridge called The Playroom. It was an awesome live music venue. I remember seeing INXS there before they became famous, along with other big name artists.
We compared places we’d lived at on the coast as we walked along. I was meeting my friend, Kimmee at 19th Ave, Palm Beach. Alberta decided to walk back to her car at Burleigh Heads. It was so wonderful having her company.
Kimmee and I went to breakfast at Genki Cafe at Palm Beach. Coffee and the meal were both yummy. They have a light ornament going up a pole inside that gives the illusion of a tree. I call it the Tree of Life. It was very pretty. It was great to catch up with Kimmee.
We had done lots of training together over the years and she helped me to realise that I was a medical intuitive healer. That knowledge has definitively shaped my working career since then, as I’ve focussed on healing more intuitively and ultimately developed a training course called Energy Systems Healing that encompasses Bowen Therapy, Massage and Intuitive Healing all together. It’s the healing technique I use when working on children overseas.
I train therapists here in Australia, then we train local therapists overseas. I live my life according to this quote:
“Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; Teach a man to fish, and you’ll feed him for a lifetime.”
Giving the therapists, doctors, parents, schoolteachers and carers of children in developing countries the knowledge and skills to heal themselves and others, in turn saves lives, reduces medical treatment, increases work capacity, helps eliminate poverty. All aspiring attributes from one natural therapy.
After breakfast, another friend Agnes, showed up to walk with me. We returned to 19th Ave, Palm Beach and started the GPS tracker from there. It was lovely being with another angel. Crossing over Currumbin Creek bridge, going past Currumbin Sanctuary (which I visited as a young child on a school trip), and into Tugun, we stopped at Fresh Mynt Cafe, Tugun, for a juice. I spoke with one of the owners, Joy, about my walk and she offered valuable information about travelling over Barney’s Point Bridge into Chinderah and Kingscliff, which I’d be doing the next day.
Ken and Leanne turned up ready to walk with us for a while. They lived in the area and showed us a track along the beach behind the houses, which was much more pleasant to walk along than a footpath. A little way along, Ken and Leanne’s children met us and expressed how proud they were of me and the work I was doing. They all offered donations to support the Bangladesh project. What a beautiful and loving family!! We continued our journey into Kirra, where Ken, Leanne and Agnes all left.
Thankfully, my next angel, Darleen, showed up. We walked around Kirra Point to Coolangatta Surf Lifesaving Club, where we had lunch and chatted for ages. Darleen, a medical intuitive, and I met through Facebook. One of the benefits of Social Media is connecting with and developing great and lasting friendships. I mentioned to Darleen about the many changes that have taken place on the Coast since my childhood days. She was fascinated about the historical changes.
We started walking again in the late afternoon, now being cooler. I continued to regale Darleen with historical trivia about the Tweed/Coolangatta/South Tweed area. We hugged and said goodbye just before I went over the Boyds Bay bridge that crossed the Terranora Inlet. I still remember the old rickety 2-lane bridge that spanned this stretch of water. I have an antique tea set that has a picture of the old bridge on it. It was my Grandmothers.
As I walked along the riverbank through South Tweed, many memories from my childhood floated up. The places I swam (in the river, the dry dock, at the quarry, over at Ukerabah Island), the fishing I did (and crabbing), the walks through the bush (I love the bush), the people I’d grown up with (family and friends), school days (primary and high school), so many good and unfavourable thoughts. I’ve come a very long way in my personal growth since those days. Many of the know-how’s I learnt from my older brothers when I was a kid, have been beneficial on this trip. Reading the weather, listening to bird calls, sensing danger in the bush, approaching wildlife carefully, observing conditions at the beach are just some of the skills that have kept me safe.
I finally arrived at Tweed City just before sundown. I waited for my friend, Colleen to turn up. We had planned to continue walking, though it was too late for both of us. We chatted for a bit and she drove me back to Tweed, so I could catch a bus back to Elanora. We’d catch up again before we went to Bangladesh together.
After a delicious meal prepared especially by Geoff, I fell asleep instantly.
Inspirational Thought – Only you knows what YOU wants. Other people can be guided by your words and actions, and sometimes, they stuff up.
Day 9 – Tuesday 29th December
I woke up with a bit of apprehension today. The further on the walk goes, the more I get concerned because I don’t have places to sleep from tonight onwards sorted out and the areas I’m starting to go into are unfamiliar. The distances between townships are long and there’s no cell or internet coverage. It’s a bit daunting to think about. I know I will be looked after like I have been so far and I will have a warm bed to sleep in tonight. Have faith the Universe will provide once again. “Now, get up and get going,” my inner voice says.
I get ready and Alberta too gets ready to join me once again for some more walking. She enjoyed it so much yesterday, she wants to do more from now on. After a cup of tea, we head off to Tweed City to start again. There’s a coffee cart outside and I grab a coffee to drink on the way.
The roads in, under and over the motorway are very confusing at the Banora Point/Terranora junction. It took a few mistakes to finally get onto the Barney’s Point bridge. I’d walked over the old bridge many years ago, this new one had been constructed in 1996. At the other end in Chinderah, Alberta decided to head back before it rained. I told her I had specifically asked the Universe to keep the rain off us. I found out later, she was driving to Tweed Heads when it starting raining. However, I only ever received a light drizzle on me the whole trip, not even enough to make droplets.
I took the route through Chinderah to Kingscliff I’d been told about the day before by Joy. It was easy to follow. When I got to the beach, I slipped out my joggers and walked barefoot on the sand. It was heavenly. I came to the Kingscliff Surf Lifesavers Club and decided it was time for breakfast. I found a cafe on the main street that had a table inside as it had started to rain and the wind was blowing terribly.
A couple, John and Leonie, asked if they could join me as there were no more seats. I said yes and waited for my breakfast. When it came, they exclaimed at the size of it. I explained that I’m doing this walk from Brisbane to Byron and needed the fuel. They asked many questions about the walk, the work being done overseas with the children and the challenges I’ve had being blind. They offered a donation to support the work we are doing overseas. Just as they were leaving, my friends Trudy and Barry turned up to have breakfast too. We all talked about the walk I’d done so far. I’ve known them since High School. They offered for me to stay with them the next night. (Alberta had said I could stay tonight if I needed it. Bless her.)
Trudy, Barry and I parted ways expressing they’d pick me up at Cabarita and take me back to Elanora, instead of me catching three buses and taking nearly three hours. They’d explained the easy way to get to Cabarita along the boardwalk. I followed their instructions and had an enjoyable walk. Once I got back to Elanora, I had a soak in the bath, a yummy dinner and a warm bed was all I needed.
Inspirational Thought – When you start going forwards, it’s too far to go back.
Day 10 – Wednesday 30th December
I was off early with everything in my bag. Once again, the Universe had provided a bed for me to sleep in tonight. Tomorrow night’s sleeping arrangements were for another day. I caught a number of buses to Kingscliff where Trudy would pick me up and deposit me at Cabarita to start my journey today. I gave her half the contents of my bag so it wasn’t so heavy. Today was a big walk.
I started walking on the footpath beside the Coast road towards Hastings Point. I had friends there that I wanted to see. Karen and Rob had been clients of mine years ago. I popped in for a cup of tea and Christmas cake and talked about my journey so far. Karen also is an intuitive healer and said it would be lovely to do a trip overseas one day to work on the children.
I continued on my way to Pottsville. I stopped to buy some water and asked someone if there was free wifi anywhere. The young woman I spoke to suggested a coffee shop a few doors down. When I got to the Henna Cafe, I met Peter, the owner. He said he didn’t have wifi, though he could get me on his internet. The last post I’d done on Facebook hadn’t loaded properly. After that was complete, I explained to Peter what I was doing. He suggested coming back the next morning for a coffee before I start, to share more with him.
The walk from Pottsville to Wooyung is a lonely walk along the road, yet I don’t feel alone, it’s only because I’m on my own for most of the journey. It’s nice to walk with others. They can see the road ahead, where I have to be constantly vigilant of where I’m stepping. This stretch of the journey was very hazardous for me. I had to walk on the road, as the side of the road was too uneven. I couldn’t hear the cars coming behind me to get off the road in time, so I walked with the cars coming towards me. I could see the sun glinting off their rooftops and knew when they were coming towards me, so I could get off the road before they had to swerve around me. Pretty hair-raising nevertheless!! This was all well and good while the sun was overhead, then as it became later in the day, the shadows from the trees on the side of the road would cut out the reflections off the cars. I really needed my wits about me to avoid being a road statistic. That used up such a lot of my mental energy. I wanted to curl up on the side of the road and sleep but I knew I had to keep going. I couldn’t see in the dark.
By the time I finally arrived at the Wooyung Caravan Park, I was completely fatigued. There was no internet or cellular coverage out here in the bush. I needed to get a message to Trudy to let her know I’d arrived and to obtain a reply from her that she had received my message. I prayed that this one message and reply would get through. It did!! There was nothing else after that until I came closer to a bigger township. This miracle fortified me to continue asking for assistance from the unseen powers about us.
While I waited for Trudy and Barry, I reflected that during this walk, I realised just how blind I really am and how I have other people around me usually to see for me even when I go overseas. I am so blessed and appreciative for this arrangement.
Trudy and Barry took me back to their place and the first thing I did was get in the spa…..aarghhhh….it was cold. The wind had cooled the water. I placed my legs against the jets of warm water, while the rest of me shivered. After that, a hot shower. Trudy and Barry had a friend coming over, Lloyd, and we all talked and ate. I went to bed while the conversations were still in full swing.
Inspirational Thought – There is more power in the unseen world, than there is in the world you see.
Day 11 – Thursday 31st December – New Year’s Eve
I woke to a beautiful sunny morning. It was going to be a big day of walking today along Wooyung Beach (6km), then stop at South Golden Beach, New Brighton, up into Ocean Shores, then down into Brunswick Heads. 17kms all up. I’m not sure I’ll make it all that way. I am already exhausted and my legs are still very sore and tight from yesterday. I tell Trudy that I’d text her once I arrived at South Golden Beach, and if she doesn’t hear from me before sundown, then come looking for me along Wooyung Beach. She was very concerned.
Out walking on the beach, it was extremely windy with the sand stinging my legs. The sky had become overcast, and occasionally the sun would come out blazing. As a consequence, I became sunburnt on my legs, back and neck. Later on in the afternoon, I felt it stinging and ouchy.
While I was walking on the beach, I asked myself why I’m doing this? I’m enduring pain and stiffness in my body, sunburn, physical exhaustion and most of the time I’m on my own throughout the day. What is my BIG WHY? This is madness!! I told myself, I’m doing it for the children in Bangladesh to have a better life than what they have had up to now. Would it matter if I didn’t achieve this goal, I questioned myself. What is really driving me to do this? An image of a young Eleni came to the surface. I had been born severely vision-impaired, yet no-one noticed as it was a matter of survival of the fittest in the family I grew up in. There was so much physical, emotional, mental, sexual, financial and spiritual abuse, that each moment required nonstop vigilance to protect one’s body and sanity. I lived in a constant state of fight or flight. Expressing myself in any way, meant being belted, ridiculed, pushed around, or called hurtful names, at home and at school. I just shut up and kept to myself.
What difference would there have been in my life, if someone like me, had come along and offered a genuine, loving, caring helping hand? I certainly would have gravitated to that person to receive more of the same. And if they taught me that I had this gift of love within me already, then I’d be happy, joyful, giving and loving towards others. I would know that I can achieve anything I put my heart and energy to. I would feel that I belong in this world. I would feel useful. I would feel alive. I would feel loved, really loved. I started to cry as the realisation that I missed out on love as a very young child hit me in the heart. In that moment, I wanted to hold and nurture and pour intense love into that little girl who had suffered so much. She deserved so much more to life. She had a human right to be loved and cared for tenderly, yet here she was as a grown woman, yearning for her little girl to be held tenderly in loving arms. And she puts aside her own needs to give unconditionally to these children in Bangladesh and other countries, so they can have an amazing opportunity that was never given to her. She wants more for them than she had. That’s Eleni’s WHY!
I continued sobbing for some time until I felt the peace and comfort from within take over. That was one powerful realisation! I now see why I was chosen to do this work. It’s so much a part of me and my upbringing. Every moment of my life has led me to this work with the children. I’m doing it for them; I’m doing if for my little girl; I’m doing it for me.
I made it to a cafe at South Golden Beach, and sent a text to Trudy that I had survived the walk along the beach. There was no internet or cellular connection again (even my GPS tracker failed to connect during the walk), yet by some miracle, the message got through and so did Trudy’s reply. After a coffee, it was back out on the beach to walk to New Brighton. I had to go up a beach access to get to the roadway. If I missed the access point, I’d be walking for hours and no way to get to the road.
Where was that beach access point? Had I missed it? There are times when being blind can be such an inconvenience. A dog ran up to me and jumped excitedly over me, depositing wetness and sand all over. The owner and his daughters apologised profusely for their dog’s behaviour. I asked them about the access point that would take me to the road I needed to get to. I had over-walked about 1km. They offered to walk with me and show me where to go. I was grateful. I explained why I was walking and that I couldn’t see very much. They were inspired. I saw them as angels that guided me at a time that I required assistance.
Once I was on the road that wound through New Brighton, up into Ocean Shores, I stopped to have a snack and rest before going down into Brunswick Heads. My friend and fellow therapist, Rosemary was going to be picking me up there. I texted her and let her know my estimated time of arrival. Once we met up, we celebrated my journey so far with a cool drink at the Brunswick Hotel. Then off to Rosemary and Neil’s for dinner and sleep. I will be giving the New Year celebrations a miss this year. There was a few extra friends of theirs for dinner. They went out later to watch the fireworks at the riverside at Ballina while I slept soundly. I could sleep in tomorrow as I was having a rest day…..yayyyy!!
Inspirational Thought – The goals and intentions that you set today become your reality tomorrow. Be outstanding!!
Day 12 – Friday 1st January – A New Day
It felt great to sleep late and not have a schedule. I am very grateful to Rosemary and Neil for offering me their beautiful home to stay in for a couple of days. I talked with Yinarra (Rosemary’s friend staying with them) over breakfast. She too is an intuitive healer and she expressed that she would like to come overseas with the Oasis team and work with the children. It would be a pleasure to have her join the team. After we ate, I retired back to bed to rest a bit more and catch up on some badly neglected blogging. A trip to the riverside at Ballina and a coffee were welcome. Rosemary and Neil were great tourist guides as they showed me a few of the local sights. Later in the afternoon, I had a sauna, spa and then Rosemary gave me an amazing healing massage.
Rosemary and I have done a considerable amount of Myopractic (a type of Bowen Therapy) training together over the years. She works from home at her Amber Day Spa and Massage. And she is incredibly good at making me feel pampered and loose.
After this awesome healing session, I checked Facebook to see how the posts were going. I had some sad news. Yesterday, a sweet young boy, named Ketut Adi, has passed away in Bali. I had worked on Ketut Adi a number of times on my second visit to Jembaten Senang, the school for disabled children in Candidasa, Bali. He had Type 1 Diabetes. Because he had not been diagnosed till he was 6 years old, much of the damage to his body had already taken place, with his kidneys not working properly. He was also blind and had a stroke that left his right arm paralysed. I was able to help restore some use to his arm and gave him my white cane so he could move around unaided. He would visit the hospital many times over the next 5 years for treatment. His parents lacked the education to properly treat and care for his body’s needs. Plus they were poor, so medical treatment was too costly, even though, it meant their son could die without medical intervention. The school eventually paid for his hospital visits. Sadly, his kidneys were too badly damaged to sustain him and he gave up his human life. Rest in Peace Ketut Adi.
Inspirational Thought – The body you have now is all you get in this life. If you stuff it up, it won’t serve you the way you want it to. Take care of the beautiful gift of this human body you have.
Day 13 – Saturday 2nd January
Today, I anticipate that this may be my last day of walking. That’s if I don’t get lost on the walk through the bush, or pass out on the long walk on Tyagarah Beach. I’ll do my best. I still have tomorrow if I need to come back to finish the walk off.
Rosemary gets up early and prepares a smoothie for me before my walk, as well as some food for breakfast while on the walk. Neil drives me back to Brunswick Heads (a 45min drive) to restart my journey from the Brunswick Hotel, where I’d left off the other day. “Good luck Eleni!” “You’re nearly there.” These were some of the sentiments sent to me as I walked along on this part of the journey (I read them later). I’m sure I felt the energy behind them.
The walk through the bush was the best part of the journey. I didn’t have to be concerned about avoiding other humans, cars or waves washing over me. It was a straight path. I love walking in the bush. I’d done a lot of it as a young girl and really enjoyed the peace and serenity of the surroundings, along with the sounds of the birds and the smells of the different plants. I even met a goanna. I have no fear of snakes, spiders or lizards. Even running into a couple of big spiderwebs was fun trying to disentangle myself from the sticky mess of the spiders home. The 10kms went by quickly (the sign said 7kms, the GPS tracker said 10).
I sat under some shade at Black Rock Rd and ate my breakfast before heading out onto Tyagarah Beach for a 3km walk to Belongil Beach, which would give me access to the roads that would lead me into Byron Bay, another 2km on. I thought it would be longer as it looks a long way on Google Maps. I should’ve known better than to trust Google Maps. Plus I had a creek to cross on the beach close to Byron. I had no idea how deep that was going to be.
Tyagarah Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve been on. It is not a tourist beach, though it is well-known as a nudist beach. I stay covered up as I’d received sunburn a couple of days ago, and didn’t fancy re-burning. I would have to revisit the beach another time to experience the freedom of being naked while sunbaking and swimming. Hmmmmm….food for thought. Being blind meant that I couldn’t anyone else’s nakedness either. Maybe that was a blessing……
The walk along this stretch of beach was easygoing. I decided to continue along the beach at BelongilI, instead of going up onto the roadway. It was another half an hour walk, the road would take an hour. My legs were starting to get tired. I came up onto Main Beach at Byron Bay. 183+kms of walking for 11 days. Woohoo!!!
I did it! I enjoyed the journey and the accomplishment of achieving this goal. Pretty cool way to start 2016. It’s now got me thinking what else can I do as we still need more funds. Something to think about another time. Right now, I need a coffee and a feed. My best friend, Amelia will be here soon to take me back to Brisbane. I am looking forward to seeing her and the girls. It’s been two weeks since we said goodbye. I’m getting excited!!
To put things in perspective for you about the level of blindness I have and how challenging this walk was for me, I’ll share with you an analogy. Imagine you’ve just finished 8hrs of work in front of a computer screen. Your eyes are tired and maybe a bit blurry. It’s now dark and you get in your car and drive on a country road that you are unfamiliar with, at night with only your low beam on. How hard would that be? How long could you do that for? Could you do every night for two weeks? What sort of incentive would you need? That’s what it’s like for me during the day. It takes a lot of energy and mental stamina to stay that focussed for 4-6hours a day while walking.
Inspirational Thought – Even when you don’t think you can accomplish something, give it a go anyway. You may surprise yourself at what you can achieve with the right incentive.
Eleni and the Oasis Foundation would love for you to continue supporting us and sharing our story with others to build awareness of the work being done in Bangladesh and other countries for the sick and disabled children. Thank you deeply from our hearts to yours.
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https://www.facebook.com/oasisnaturalhealthfoundation/
https://www.chuffed.org/project/blind-walk-for-the-children-in-bangladesh