Swim Between the Flags – Wollongong, Australia

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Fairy Meadow Beach is in the northern suburbs of Wollongong, on Australia’s south-east coast.
Shannon and I have spent a lazy, sunny week here.

This is a spot that could hardly be more convenient for low budget travelers. There are plenty of dumpsters nearby, overflowing with fresh fruit and vege’s. We have set ourselves up in a leafy, secluded clearing, in woodland barely 100 metres from the beach. There are free barbeques, a free shower block at the surf club, and a free bus to the city centre running every ten minutes! Set up for gypsies.

(Top pic: Shannon loafing on Fairy Meadow Beach.)

Notice the red and yellow flags in the photo above?
The flags on Australian beaches show you where it’s safe to swim. A lot of beaches here have dangerous currents. You can swim anywhere you like, but the lifeguards only watch the water between the flags.
When I was in my teens, I almost drowned in a strong rip current at Bondi Beach. I pay attention to the warning flags now.
There have been some wicked rips and undertow on the beach here, this week, so we’ve been staying inside the safe zone (mostly).

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(Above and below: our hidden away camping spot in the woods behind Fairy Meadow Beach. There are ‘no camping’ signs everywhere of course. But you don’t want to pay too much attention to signs, hey?)

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(Above: dumpster divers feast on the free barbeques.)
(Below: I got a couple dozen mangoes and about a dozen nectarines out of the supermarket bins in the city today.)

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(Above: the food storage rig I set up in our camp. There’s a hungry bush rat running around at night, and this is the best way I’ve come up with to keep him from tunneling into our supplies.)

(Below: some weird stuff turns up in the woods. Maybe this was abandoned here by some pre-historic blogger?)

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I went busking in Wollongong today. This is a transcript of an interaction I had with some “security guards” in the Mall.

EXT.   DAY.   WOLLONGONG CITY MALL.

(EMMANUEL is busking. It’s a bright, sunny afternoon. The passers-by are ambivalent, but EMMANUEL is having a good time, playing the blues in the sun, anyway.
Two ‘SECURITY GUARDS’ approach.
)
EMMANUEL: (*Playing harmonica*)
SECURITY GUARD 1: (A short, pale man in his fifties) G’day, mate. Do you have a permit to busk here?
(EMMANUEL continues to play. He indicates “1 minute” with a raised finger. He finishes a rather lengthy solo with a flourish.)
EMMANUEL: G’day. I’m Manny (extends hand).
SECURITY GUARD 1: (Confused) Oh. Hi. Bill. (They shake hands). Er… you need a permit to busk here, mate.
EMMANUEL: No, I don’t. I’m exercising my right to free speech in a public place. If people want to give me money for doing that, that’s up to them.
SECURITY GUARD 1: No, look, that isn’t how it works here. If you want to busk in the mall you need a permit from the council.
EMMANUEL: Not me. I’m a free person in a democratic country. My right to free speech and self expression is protected by the federal government of this country, and the United Nations Convention on Human Rights.
(A LITTLE OLD LADY stops beside the group, and begins fishing around in her bag.)
LITTLE OLD LADY: I’m going to give you some money, young man. I just need to find my purse…
EMMANUEL: (To LITTLE OLD LADY) Take your time, I’ll be here all day.
(SECURITY GUARD 2, a chubby, brown faced man in his twenties, chuckles a bit and covers his mouth with his hand.)
SECURITY GUARD 1: (Lowering his voice, and sounding a bit flustered) Look, I know what you’re saying, mate, about… democracy, and human rights and all that… But, I’m just trying to do my job here.
EMMANUEL: And I’m just doing mine.
SECURITY GUARD 1: Everyone gets a permit to busk. See that lady up there playing the violin? She has a permit. That little girl up there, singing christmas carols, she has a permit. Sorry, but that’s just what you have to do around here.
EMMANUEL: Everyone makes their own choices, friend. If other people want to buy permits for something they are free to do anyway, that’s up to them. Me, I’m making a stand for freedom. Every one of us makes our choices. Some of us put on a uniform and pick up a gun, and go to war to defend freedom. Some of us play music in the street. If I buy a permit for something that is my basic human right, I would feel like a traitor to everything this country is supposed to stand for.
(There is a lengthy pause. The LITTLE OLD LADY finally finds her change purse, drops $2 in EMMANUEL’S hat, smiles and shuffles away.)
EMMANUEL: Thank you very much!
LITTLE OLD LADY: You’re very welcome, young man.
SECURITY GUARD 1: (Huffily) Do you want me to get the police down here?
EMMANUEL: You can if you really want to, but I’ll just ask them what law I’m breaking and they’ll ‘um’ and ‘ah’ and wish me luck.
(SECURITY GUARD 2 coughs nervously.)
SECURITY GUARD 1: (Leaning close to EMMANUEL) look, mate, my son’s a musician too, you know? I understand your point of view, but…
EMMANUEL: Oh! Perfect. So there’s nothing to argue about then is there?
(The SECURITY GUARDS look at each other and the younger one jerks his head, as if to say “come on, let’s go”.)
SECURITY GUARD 1: (Sighs) Alright, listen… I’m going to let you busk here without a permit today, but I need you to go get one, ASAP, OK?
EMMANUEL: (Smiling) I’ll get right on it…
SECURITY GUARD 1: …Promise?
EMMANUEL: Absolutely! Scout’s honor, mate.
(The SECURITY GUARDS depart.)
EMMANUEL: Have a lovely day, guys!

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(Above: maybe they should start putting up signs saying what you can do, instead of what you can’t. Probably be able to make much smaller signs. Save tax payers dollars.)

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