Total: 1745.9
Total Vic: 524.34
To my delight when I woke up the rain had stopped. I woke up feeling a bit heavy after having a bit of a disrupted sleep. Last night my mind kept thinking about supporting a non-profit organisation that could help kids who may find themselves in my brothers situation. I kept thinking what type of organisation would be most effective, this thought has been on my mind for a while. I didn't want to support an organisation that deals with kids after they've been affected by drugs, but one that dealt with them before they get into it. The main organisation I found was Whitelion, who help kids with little direction and support in there life. They provide mentoring, help them with job hunting or possible career paths. From when I was young I realised that many of the dealers and other troubled kids didn't have anyone to resort to, they only had other dealers or kids from the street. When I was in an environment with these people I was fortunate enough to have an escape route, support and direction. Unfortunately my brother was impacted by drug use and couldn't get out of that scene. A lot of the other guys were actually quite smart yet knew and probably still know no better.
I decided to help support this organisation and set the fundraising amount to $8000. Whitelion told me $1000 would be a good target however I thought I had nothing to lose. I don't mind if I end up raising $50 or $8000 the best I can do is give it a crack and try get the most support for Whitelion.
Anyway after going through this all night I managed to wake up this morning and get on my bike towards Port Fairy. I spoke with my friend from Hong Kong and found out he caught a lift to Warnambool and then rode to Port Fairy last night. I was hoping to catch him at some point on the ride today but it didn't happen. I had to stop in Port Fairy as I left my jacket in Warnambool and a kind lady from the hostel offered to drive it to me. As I was waiting in Port Fairy I bumped into two German girls from the hostel. Instead of waiting in lite rain and being cold, I decided to go with the girls for a walk to the local lighthouse. During this walk I realised what a beautiful place we live in, and how many nice people there are around the world. This is perhaps the best thing about this trip is that I have many realisations like this.
After Port Fairy I did a 72km stretch to Portland. I luckily pulled into to town while it was still daylight. I crossed paths with a local footy club having a training session on there bikes. I decided to ride with them and they couldn't believe I was keeping up with all my gear on the bike. I had a good chat with a few of the blokes and then pulled short to jump in for a swim in the beach.
I jumped back on the bike feeling fresh. It's a great feeling after a beach swim as I feel all the natural elements that extra bit more. As my muscles have become more cold I feel the legs spinning on the bike, the wind on my skin and the water wicking away from my hair. The comfort is multiplied by the fact I know the ocean here is a lot purer then the city area, despite parts of Portland being a shipping dock.
Feeling fresh and riding into town I saw an Aboriginal flag flying high. It was surrounded by a couple of tents and other bits and pieces lying around. I saw a man sitting down, by himself and what looked like to be scanning the perimeter. I went up and to my surprise he was very welcoming. He was a dark white fella with Aboriginal facial features. The first thing he said with much pride, after i asked what the setup was about, was "This is the tent embassy brother". He said it was so much conviction, having a sense of pride about his mob running some sort of political system within the fringe of Portland town. As my senses were well on alert after a swim in the ocean I really took in everything around me. We had a conversation for about an hour or so, talking about local clans, his family name, some other names that I knew of from his clan and also the way things were in Portland.
The one thing that really clicked in my head, although probably entering my mind in the past, is that nearly every aboriginal person I've met, spent time with and gotten to learn about, have shared very similar qualities. They do not change one bit on whether the person is white, black or in the middle. If they are of Aboriginal descent they seem to have similar mannerisms and point of views. Out of these mannerisms possibly the best one is the fact they do not judge you or anyone else. They take time to listen to every person, no matter what you look like or where your from. I have a feeling this stems from there own cultural teachings and also the feeling of displacement they might feel. I always seem to notice a constant feeling Aboriginal people have, that they are being judged. This is something unique for Aboriginal people and would not be the same for other non-white persons. For Aboriginal people it is built by learning of Australia's dark history. Using common sense, it would certainly have an impact on a group of people if they are judged every day, as when you think about it everyone has some sort of opinion about people of Aboriginal descent. I think this also contributes to why many Aboriginal people have similar mannerisms, even being white, black or living on the other side of the country. They are not snobs, not discriminating and would definitely listen to you if you have something to say. A complete opposite to a modern western culture. If you had of put this man together with a friend of mine in Broome, you would almost think they are the same. The fella in Victoria is white, my friend in Broome black and neither of the two have ever left there own towns, yet there personas bear many similarities.
After this chat I had to quickly rush off as my Hong Kong friend was waiting in a camp ground for me. He was going to sleep in a hostel for $35 but after I asked him if he would like to share my tent for a quarter of the price he was very happy. I wasn't to keen on sharing a small two man tent with a sweaty cyclist but after negotiating with him to pay $15 and me $5 I thought it was a good deal.
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