Paradise Lost

Perhaps it’s time to make it clear that I really despise AirBnB. It’s a tax dodging scheme that gives ‚landlords‘ an unfair advantage by allowing them to ignore regulations that ‚official‘ businesses have to adhere to. Alas, it is impossible to find accommodation outside this scheme in some areas, so I have to use it sometimes. And the experiences have been mostly fine so far, the same in Australia. With one big difference, here it is totally impersonal, you don’t meet the hosts because apparently all the juicy real estate has been gobbled up by mainlanders and they now rent it out to tourists. Sounds like some parts of Berlin, right? And I’m pretty sure this will come back to bite them, because it aids in transferring even more wealth to outside of the community.

So much for that. I made a shocking discovery the other day. The Reisebegleitung doesn’t know Monty Python’s Spanish Inquisition sketch. I’m lost for words. Growing up in the GDR is not an excuse here. So I will have to tie her to a comfy chair, poke her with some cushions and make her watch the entire DVD box containing all Flying Circus episodes ever made. I’d call this education or even humanitarian intervention.

It’s only a short drive from Coles Bay to Binalong Bay, so, after breakfasting at Pasini’s in Bicheno, we added a little detour to the route by circling through St Mary’s. Nice driving up and down the mountain, and a cute little cafe and store called The Purple Possum. They carry some interesting stuff, best of all some coconut raw chocolate drink without any added shit that has been making the Reisebegleitung very happy ever since. Just found it’s actually a company from London, Rebel Kitchen, and will try to order thru their German wholeseller once I’m back. The upper east coast is fantastic, the beaches along Scamander are beautiful and apparently have some nice breaks. Still won’t go surfing here because the water is too cold for, I just don’t have enough body fat to be able to stay in longer than a few minutes and I don’t want to buy a thicker neoprene suit for just a couple of days. A side road in Scamander led us to the culinary highlight of our trip: Eureka Farm. Seriously, if they offered me a place as pet dog or sth like that, I’d take it. Please adopt me! What a nice little gem! The chocolate pavlova is worth dying for, served with homemade ice cream and berries. The berries are fantastic of course, but the ice cream tops everything. I eat a lot of ice cream and I’ve sampled ice cream all over the world. Most of it is way too sweet, even the homemade stuff. But this here, that’s the real thing. It’s perfect. Can’t be done any better. In a way that’s sad, why don’t more people do it properly? But hey, we came back here three times, it’s worth every detour! ☺ 😊 The almond-berry cake was fantastic as well, as were the black currant and the apricot smoothies. Especially the latter, I’d never dare and order sth like this anywhere else because I’m convinced it would be just sweet. At Eureka, the apricot ice cream and the smoothie are a piece of art, a rare instance of true perfection, a taste of paradise. Please adopt me!
In addition to the quality of the produce I totally dig their style, slow food at its best, never hectic, always super friendly and relaxed. ♥