We enjoy hosting young or young at heart solo travellers,
who are friendly, positive, and independent explorers.
However, you must be a verified member of Couchsurfers, vaccinated against Covid, and non-smoking.
Please check you've completed your profile, stating your age, occupation, education.
We are able to host you for 2 nights - 3 is too long, 1 is too short...
If you are new to the organisation, please ask your friends to write you a personal reference.
We speak English at home but I'd love to practise some French.
As we lead very busy lives, do give me enough notice to see if we are available to host you.
Please write to me in language that is appropriate to and respectful of my age.
We will offer you breakfast, and also cook dinner for you on your first night staying with us. There's a supermarket just across the road, and you can use the kitchen to prepare your own breakfast or packed lunch.
Please can you cook a simple meal for us on your second night?
Your help in the kitchen is welcome, but leave the dishes to us.
You will be able to independently explore the beautiful Sunshine Coast, either walking, on our bicycles or using easily accessible, and currently very cheap, public transport.
Two full days will help you to explore our beautiful coast, north to Noosa, then south to Caloundra. If you have your own transport, you could drive up to the beautiful Blackall Range.

Once accepted to stay with us, please keep us informed as to your travel plans, and ask for our address and WhatsApp number the day before you arrive.

Our home is a town house in a resort with a swimming pool, a tennis court, and a park. There's a shopping centre, bus service, and a beach close by.
We will provide you with your own bedroom and a single bed for your stay, and a bathroom for you to use.
The laundry is available for hand-washing. We are not able to provide WiFi.

While you stay with us, your bedroom is your own private space.
However, please leave the room as you found it, and do check that you have all your travel gear when you leave. Do ask before stripping the bed as wash day concurs with the sun shining!

As we are out and about during the day, please plan to arrive late afternoon, and leave by mid-morning. Do advise if you would like to arrive earlier or depart later by plane or train.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

We originally joined Couch Surfers to find hosts in our first round the world trip together. Since then, we have continued to host an extraordinary range of very pleasant young people who have come from a range of countries - Austria, Canada, China, Finland, India, Italy, Morocco, the Netherlands, Pakistan, the Phillipines, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and USA - who bring joy into our lives and are interested in learning more about Australia and sharing their own life journey. We understand that they may be travelling on a tight budget, while possibly looking for employment in the area.
We now prefer to host solo travellers, as our experience shows that those travelling solo make a greater effort to communicate with their hosts, although we have also occasionally had the most lovely couples to stay. The challenge is, when you are travelling as a couple, to make sure you are both positive and friendly, otherwise communicating can become hard work!
A good clear photograph on your profile will also help us to recognise you when you arrive.
Please make sure you can fulfil the requirements listed above if you wish to stay with us, that is: a stay of 2 nights, to verified Couch-surfers, with good references, who offer to cook a meal for us on their second night.
We do read your previous hosts' references carefully. In 7 years, I have only had three horrible experiences, when I ignored the warnings: - 'loves to talk' was a huge man who talked non-stop through every mealtime and even walked into my bedroom to continue talking; 'will show you how to eat his way' forced us to eat with our fingers; and 'communicating in English was difficult' was a tragic woman with no contact details, travelling with her mother's ashes, looking for a place to commit suicide, who stayed with hosts, then cancelled immediately after leaving them so the host could not write a reference warning the next host!

Interests

• dancing
• walking
• swimming
• table tennis
• public speaking

Music, Movies, and Books

I love live music, from the monthly Palmwoods Blues session, to jazz with "Girl Friday" or the "Jazz and Blues Collective", to Karen Law's folk music at the Blackbox Theatre, and a range of popular to classical music with the Sunshine Coast Concert Band, to an annual smorgasbord of multi-cultural music at Woodford Folk Festival.
I love my books, from the classics to science fiction and nowadays I enjoy listening to library audiobooks while driving, or watching a great movie version.
I have been studying French daily for 4 years via DuoLingo, French Club and Alliance Francaise. I love having the opportunity to practise with native speakers.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Balloon riding in Cappadocia, seeing Sufi dancing in Kayseri, exploring King Minos' palace of Knossos, seeing Queen Clytemnestra's view from her palace at Mycenae, resting in 'the navel of the world' on a Delphi mountainside, climbing Hadrian’s Wall, exploring the volcanic cliffs on the island of Santorini; riding the sea to sky gondola and tobogganing in the snow in North Vancouver, flying in a 16 seater seaplane from Victoria to Vancouver, standing under the spray of the Victoria Falls, going to the top of Cape Town's Table Mountain in a cable car, riding the rapids of Huka Falls in N.Z.

Teach, Learn, Share

English teaching, with one-on-one tutoring sessions, for students from primary through to university, as well as EAL students and refugees through Buddies. I also enjoy helping drama students to improve their public speaking and preparing for eisteddfod performances. I have just finished a five year stint as president of Sunshine Coast's University of the Third Age, where we run about 140 courses for some 2000 members.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I have a huge range of DVD's and I'd really enjoy just watching an entertaining movie with my guests. While I am very interested in hearing about the travel experiences of our guests, I have absolutely appreciated those rarest of guests, who are interested in seeing my own photographs!

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Costa Rica, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, South Africa