travel review: thursday plantation aloe vera gel & tea tree antiseptic cream

I've come to realise that even though I started this blog with a wholefood focus in mind, travel has become part of it with my family and I traveling for third term each year.

We travel for my husband's work with Elders in remote Indigenous communities so we find ourselves in places that are hot and where mosquitoes and sandflies love to buzz around. The problem with mosquitoes is not only do their bites sting and itch but they can also pass on nasty things like Ross River virus, Dengue Fever and Barmah Forest virus. The other potential problem is that if bites are scratched until they bleed there is a risk of infection which my husband was hospitalised for once many years ago.

Our trip this year to North East Arnhem Land is no exception. Our youngest son Sol must have had 60 bites at least on his bare legs during our time out bush, despite our futile attempt with homemade repellent that just didn't seem to work.

The super strength repellent available to buy includes a chemical ingredient called DEET included in various concentrations depending on the brand. The use of DEET comes with many warnings due to its strength and potential side effects that range from skin irritation, headache, burning eyes to more serious and extreme effects including seizures and death.

Needless to say we steered clear of repellents containing DEET and instead made our own repellent of tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil, dettol antiseptic and baby oil.

As dusk fell we sprayed this mix on our skin and then put on our long cotton clothing. It helped but wasn't 100% effective, I don't know if there is anything that's 100% effective. The sandflies found my ankles and we weren't quick enough covering Sol up so we had to find relief from the bites which we did in the form of Thursday Plantation Antiseptic Cream. More about that soon.

The other peril of outback travel is the blazing hot sun. Again, despite our best focused efforts to stay protected from the sun's burning rays sometimes we've been caught out and had to soothe some sunburn.

So today I'm sharing with you my favorite remedies for sunburn and mosquito and sandfly bites. What we put on our bodies is just as important as what we put in our bodies.

Thursday Plantation

Thursday Plantation is an Australian based company that makes a range of products for hair and skin using natural ingredients including plant oils.

Their products are free from synthetic parabens, sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS), sodium lauryl ether sulphate (SLES) and no harsh detergents.

Thursday Plantation Aloe Vera Gel

When we're traveling my favorite soothing remedy for sunburn is Thursday Plantation Aloe Vera Gel.

When we are at home we break aloe vera leaves straight from the plant in our garden and crack them open to rub the gel onto skin that's been exposed to the sun.

It's a bit difficult to travel with an actual aloe vera plant so on the road I like the Thursday Plantation Gel because it is immediately cooling and soaks nicely into your skin without being too sticky and the tube is a handy size to store in small travel spaces like a tent or caravan or in my handbag. It lasts well too as a little bit goes a long way and it is readily available in chemists and supermarkets.

Depending on where you buy it it will cost around $8 or $9 for 100g tube.

Thursday Plantation Tea Tree Antiseptic Cream

A friend who lives in Arnhem Land put me on to this fantastic antiseptic cream to use as relief from insect bites.

I was so grateful to have this on our recent trip out bush. The cream is very light so you don't feel like your skin is being smothered and it immediately is cooling and anti-inflammatory.

The other benefit is that if like my youngest son, someone in your family scratches their bites until they bleed you can wash the bites with clean water and then dab this cream on to prevent infection.

I will be keeping this as a permanent addition to my travel kit and my first aid kit at home too.

I bought this product at the Chemist for around $8, again depending on where you buy the price varies from as low as $6.95 at this online chemist to $11.36 at this online retailer.

If you have some tips or remedies for insect repellent or relief from bites, stings or sunburn I'd love to hear.

Happy travels!

thursday recipe: lauren's chocolate brioche

We fell in love with Cooktown. As with all great loves, it is that element that you can't quite pin down or put into words that is the most seductive and that's the case with Cooktown. I can't quite put my finger on what stole my heart but stolen it was. (Ok so the consistent hot weather, palm trees and spectacular views of the mountains and sea had something to do with it).

The township of Cooktown is pretty basic, one pub, one bank, bakery, butcher, post office, a souvenir shop, an Italian restaurant, Indigenous art gallery, a couple of petrol stations, an independent supermarket with 4 aisles of groceries and a few accommodation options ranging from a caravan park and a back packers to guest houses.

Oh and there are a couple of cafes but don't bother with the coffee there. Pete decided he would brave a take away chai from one of the cafes, I went in and ordered it for him. The waiter asked, "Would you like coffee in it?" say no more.

One Sunday morning I visited the bakery thinking I'd buy River and Sol croissants. I scanned the few racks of bread and couldn't see anything that resembled pastry. "Do you have any croissants?"
"I could defrost some for you," came the reply. Thanks anyway.

So you can imagine our delight when we left Cooktown with our friend Dave who had flown up from Byron Bay, and headed out to Eddie's camp at the remote Elim beach and were treated to French and Vietnamese inspired campfire cuisine by our newfound friends French born Lauren and her boyfriend Josh.

It was out there at Elim beach where the heat was relentless, the showers cold, no swimming allowed of course because of the crocs, that we enjoyed good coffee brewed in Lauren and Josh's coffee press and Lauren's handmade chocolate brioche made using her Dad's recipe.

One afternoon while Pete, River and Josh went out fishing and crabbing, Sol, Dave and I watched Lauren create her French delicacy. The previous night in a stockpot over the campfire Josh had carefully prepared a wonderful Vietnamese fish curry. The spice kit they travelled with was better than the selection in my pantry at home!

This recipe isn't paleo, or raw, definitely not vegan, gluten free, sugar free or egg free. No, it's French. And having this made for us, in a remote location while listening to Lauren talk about her Dad and her life in France was as much a gift as the brioche itself.

Given we had been eating mainly fish and salad for days, the brioche was sheer decadence. (I did have a moment out at that camp where I thought I can't possibly eat fish again, and immediately felt very ungrateful!)

The day after making the brioche, we took some of the catch back into Hope Vale to share with our friends in the community.  The brioche however, well, leftover chocolate brioche? Whoever heard of that.

Lauren's chocolate brioche

60ml milk
3 eggs, whisked
140g butter (melted + cooled)
50g sugar
430g white flour
14g of yeast
a few drops orange essence (optional)
200g dark chocolate

In a large mixing bowl, place the flour, yeast and sugar and mix with a fork.

Make a well in the centre and using a fork, whisk in the eggs, followed by the milk and melted butter (and orange essence if using).

Mix until you have a dough.

Leave in a warm place for 2 hours or until it doubles in size.

Break dough into approximately 10-12 balls and press 2-4 squares of chocolate into the centre of each ball and cover the chocolate over with the dough.

Lauren baked the brioche in a camp oven over a campfire until it was golden. At home you can preheat the oven to 200C and bake on a tray until golden, approx. 12- 15 minutes.

stills collection: road trip

1. Driving up Elim beach at low tide to see the coloured sands

2. So many mangroves. Elim beach

3. Fisherman in the making

4. Sand dune fun

5.  River gave his AFL footy card collection to his friends in Hope Vale

6. Sunset Hope Vale

stills collection

 

1. Yoke. A friend gifted me this new mag which made for great reading at our camp.

2. Cooktown stole our hearts.

3. Home made pasta is the best!

4. My man Pete with the beautiful Dr Tommy George Snr of the Kuku Thypan clan, in Cairns at the launch of the book they worked on together: Fire & the Story of Burning Country.

5. The beautiful Natalia Mann (home made pasta maker extraordinaire!) tuning up to play harp at the Fire book launch. Thankyou Natalia.

6. As we drove south out of Cairns we followed this cutie.

hope vale: hot chips, fresh fish and healing

Two weeks ago I logged off here and we headed to Hope Vale, a remote Aboriginal community 46kms north-west of Cairns.

The plan was to stay about six days, but as I explain regularly to River and Sol on this trip, plans change. Especially on the road.

Six days in Hope Vale turned into twelve. And in one week we will be going back for more. There was a timelessness as days rolled into nights and we settled into the home of our friends Uncle Des and Aunty Estelle Bowen getting to know their family and community.

The kettle never stopped boiling. I drank more cups of tea in twelve days than I have my 39 years. I loved every cup because with tea comes a yarn, seemingly endless yarns, at the kitchen table or around a campfire. (For readers wondering why you would have yarn with tea, in this instance yarn is another word for story not wool!)

A deep friendship was born between our families or as Aunty Estelle said to my mother-in-law on the phone one morning “they family now”.

Uncle Des and Aunty Estelle are such beautiful people. Their strength, humility, pride and commitment to their family and community inspire me greatly.

It is hard for me to find precisely the right words to paint a picture of life in Hope Vale to you. 

There is so much to say. This post is a beginning.

 

Adventures to local beaches to catch fish and mudcrabs happened every couple of days. Despite the heat there was no swimming of course because the waterways here are home to crocodiles.

(Aunty Estelle fishing with a handline, her great great grandaughter playing by her side)

While the fresh seafood was wonderful, the dominant diet in the community is white bread, hot chips, ice cream, weet bix, sweet biscuits, soft drink, cordial and convenience food bought from the small supermarket/convenience store.

Kids not eating enough nutritious food is not unique to Hope Vale of course, what is unique is the remoteness which limits access to top quality fresh produce and also that before the introduction of sugar, salt and grain based diet Indigenous people lived with health and strength on a natural diet.

If you are interested in the work my husband Pete is doing with Elders you can read more about it at Culture is Life and Be Part of the Healing.

We are back in Mossman for a week where I have internet access so I will post more soon. 

Thanks for reading! x

thursday recipe: banana cake with chocolate chips

We were staying at our friend Seva's house just south of Cairns and her neighbour had given her a pile of beautiful bananas from their tree, they sat golden and ripening in Seva's fruit bowl.

On her way out the door to work Seva said, "Take as many bananas as you like". Banana bread came to mind, but really banana bread is banana cake isn't it? We've talked about this before.

River, Sol and I tried settling into our morning at Seva's house while Pete took the car in to be serviced before we headed north to Hopevale where Pete would be working with Elders and community leaders on the Culture is Life project.

I say tried to settle in because River was tired and grumpy and of course Sol had picked up on that and they were niggling each other no end.

By 8.30am I was sitting at the table with them and we were writing up a list of rules that included the obvious ones like no hitting and name calling. It was going to be a long day.

They then decided to ask if they could have some of the chocolate in Seva's fridge. That would be a "No". I had already mentioned that we'd bake banana cake later in the day, "Can we put chocolate on top?" Sol asked hopefully.

I reminded them that the chocolate in the fridge wasn't ours but that depending on how their behaviour went for the rest of the morning when we walked to the local shops perhaps we could buy some chocolate for the cake.

No, not a proud moment bribing my children to behave with the lure of chocolate chips but there you have it, I'm being honest!

Once we were out of the house they were different children. Not because of the prospect of chocolate but because they were outside burning off their energy, running along the street, playing at the park, climbing, swinging, more running. Just as it should be. Sigh of relief from me.

And so for afternoon tea, we made this decadent little delight that is decidedly cake not bread.

Enjoy!

Banana cake with chocolate chips

Ingredients

1 cup of white spelt flour
1 cup of buckwheat flour
1.5 teaspoons of baking powder
2 bananas mashed
2 eggs whisked
1 cup of chocolate chips
1 cup macadamia oil
1/2 cup maple syrup

To make

- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and line a loaf tin with baking paper
- In a large mixing bowl place spelt flour, buckwheat flour and baking powder stir to combine
- Add in all other ingredients and stir until combined
- Pour batter into tin
- Bake for 45 minutes or until golden and when a skewer is inserted it comes out clean

stills collection

 

1. So much beautiful wholefood shared with our friend Seva in Gordonvale just south of Cairns.

2. We are sprouting on the road, one jar to take with us, one jar to leave for Seva.

3. FYI there is wifi at Cairns public library but no power points to charge up your computer battery!

4. Sweet Sol in the shade at Cairns lagoon.

5. "16 more days mum til I turn 8" River is counting down.

6.  Cane trains are a common feature in Far North Queensland.

7. Happy NAIDOC week. Shopping at Yum Yum's in Mossman.

8. "Let's do a selfie" said River.

on the road again

Today we leave our home-away-from-home here in the Byron Shire and make our way north.

Having spent our winters here for the last eight years, the spectacular beauty of Byron Bay and surrounds, its beaches and hinterland, has become a familiar haven for us. In some ways I feel like as we travel beyond what we know, beyond our close friends, it sounds cliche to say but that is where our journey begins, beyond what we know.

Pete and I did a road trip to Cairns a couple years before River was born, but River and Sol haven't been past the Gold Coast. I'm looking forward to travelling to new places with them. And of course the sun and warmth will be a bonus, with the chill of Victoria's winter pushed to the back of mind. River and Sol are excited about sleeping in the tent, about campfires and fishing.

What they're not excited about is saying goodbye to Uncle Dave our friend who generously opens his home to us each year, and who this visit has sat through pages of doing Star Wars sticker books, taken the boys to movies, introduced them to Hello Dolly! and practiced doing circus tricks with them following our trip to Spaghetti Circus.

Remember that aunt or uncle who gave you their undivided attention when you were a child? Who let you choose the game/movie/book? Who was patient and funny? That is who Uncle Dave is for the boys and he will be missed by all of us but we'll be back in September.

Life on the road is a string of hellos and goodbyes, seeing old friends, making new ones and finding places to fall in love with.

I have to admit I was caught by surprise by a twang of homesickness yesterday. All of a sudden with three months of travel to go, the time away from home felt lengthy.

I've pushed through that feeling before when traveling and this time it is no different, except this time I am travelling with my little tribe and its true wherever they are tent, caravan, hotel is home.

So this post is just a little update that the regularity of my posts will vary from here on. I have plenty to post about but finding the time when there is no school day and when we are about to head into areas where wifi is not guaranteed will be a bit of a test.

If you are of the facebook or instagram world join me there @wholefoodmama. You can also sign up (top right) to have new posts delivered to your inbox if you like to do things that way. More soon!

What's happening with you? Are you travelling? Dreaming of travelling? I'd love to hear in the comments.