I travel with my partner, Ian, almost full time either around Australia in our caravan or around the US in our old motorhome which we used to keep in California. We plan to be in South America for the next year hence my interest in the Spanish language.
Ian has a house near Narrabri, NSW, Australia where we would love to host during the months of October through to March next year when we get back home. There are some beautiful mountain hikes near us which Ian loves to take people on.
Ian is a retired cotton grower, we live in cotton country and if you’re interested (and sometimes if you’re not!) he’ll take you around and show you how it all works. Picking season is fun and he’ll have you sitting on a huge machine that picks and packs eight rows at a time.
When we’re traveling in Australia we can offer a seat in the car and a space for a tent outside our caravan or a swag (sleeping bag) under the awning.
We stay at a lot of nudist retreats and only wear clothes at home if it’s cold or if we have guests that aren’t comfortable with that.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

We are on Couchsurfers because we recently met a couple at a retreat in South Australia, she an American and he an Irishman, of vastly different ages, who have stayed at each others places. They were traveling together, he sleeping in the campervan and her in a swag under the awning. We really like them and thought what a good idea it is. We love meeting new people and we sold the motorhome during Covid so an occasional bed when traveling North & South America would be a big plus. Right now I especially want to meet people who speak Spanish as I really need the practice.

Interests

I’m very interested in parrots and I’m looking forward to seeing the Macaws at the clay licks in the Peruvian rainforest. Ian has learned a lot about birds since we got together so he’s also looking forward to that. Spanish of course, waterskiing, we both like to get out there when we’re home, reading and adventure travel. I used to scuba dive and will do some of that in South America. I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie, Ian not so much and I’m looking forward to ziplining, I’ve jumped out of a plane and bungy jumped (Ian would rather go for a hike). He’s going to raft the Grand Canyon in July, lots of hiking (too much hard work for me).

• south america
• parrots

Music, Movies, and Books

We love most music except maybe the twangy country style but we do go to the Tamworth country music festival in January whenever we’re home in Oz. I love to watch movies on Netflix but I’m not good at sitting at the movies too often and I’m not into the arty foreign stuff. Love the theatre especially musicals. We read a lot, mainly good fiction but also non-fiction about anything we’re into in at the time, currently South America and the Spanish language.
My favourite movie of the last few years is The Dallas Buyers Club.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I’ve been very lucky in my life and have done some amazing things but the thing that comes to mind at the moment was swimming with the enormous whale sharks near the Ningaloo reef in Western Australia. Ian has done some wonderful bush walks that lasted weeks (not my thing). He especially loves the Kimberly.
We now hope to eclipse those experiences in the Galapagos and the clay licks in Peru.

Teach, Learn, Share

Even though I’ve lived in Australia for more than 40 years my English is excellent and I enjoy helping people with it. I’m used to speaking slowly and enunciating well as I’ve lived and spent time in a lot of places without speaking much of their language.
I’ve been learning Spanish for about three years (Ian not so much) and I’m desperate for conversation in that language.
I was a good waterskier in my day and still love to get out there when I can. I have taught a lot of people to waterski over the years and get a lot of satisfaction from that.

What I Can Share with Hosts

First of all, we are very happy to pay our way and to contribute to our hosts in whatever way we can, cleaning, painting, sewing etc. and Ian can fix anything.
We love all animals but my absolute favourites are parrots. I love working with animals and teaching them things like fetching a ball and actually giving it back. With pet birds I like to get them out of their cages, flying and coming back when called.
We look forward to sharing a bottle of wine, good conversation and making new friends.

Countries I’ve Visited

Algeria, Aruba, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Jersey, Lesotho, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Vatican City State, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Algeria, Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom, United States