Couchsurfing

The extent to which I am grateful toward the people who have hosted me on couchsurfing is indescribable. They have not only housed me, but they have enriched my travelling and afforded me experiences I would not have thought possible and provided the comforts of a home.

Couchsurfing is a network of people who offer their couch (or some form of sleeping accommodation) to travellers. The system is self-policed by references we leave one another after a positive or negative experience has been had. Couchsurfers are usually welcome to stay one to three nights and each experience is different. The idea is to immerse yourself with locals and experience the culture, so CSers and hosts usually interact with one another, whether it is sharing dinner and long conversations or trips to the beach or a tour of the town. Couchsurfing awards travellers the insider’s perspective and knowledge to the area they are visiting.

My experiences have all been rewarding.

At the Latham’s household, where I stayed in Sydney, I was given my own bedroom, which had been the eldest son Dean’s room before he moved out, with computer and view of the backyard pool. I had ridden with Kim Latham (the mom) to Ulladulla, which saved me bus fare for the three hour trip to the south of Sydney, hung out with Brett, the 23-year-old second son who picked me up from the city center upon my arrival and drove me to the airport when I left for Tasmania, and Chloe, the 21-year-old daughter who shared a love of books, dance and horses with me. I also attended an Australia day BBQ with Brett, hosted by his friend Izzy. The party lasted from 11 a.m. until we made it home at 5 a.m. the next day. It was a great party and town outing, followed by the worst, completely immobilizing, hang-over I have ever experienced. I won’t go into detail.

Then my first two days in Tasmania were spent with Sally and Paul Snell, and couple with two kids, Millie and Lachy aged three and four. While I was at their home, again I was given my own room with a queen sized pullout bed, we adopted Todd, a fellow couchsurfer and American, who was stranded and homeless in McDonalds. (Sally felt bad and thought he might be a possible travel partner for me- she, like my real family, was concerned about me travelling alone. She was able to convince Paul to bring him home.) The four of us shared many great meals accompanied by Tassie wine, lot’s of laughs and a trip to the Gorge, a national park surrounding a huge water dam in Launceston, a northern city in Tasmania.

Leaving the Snells I was joined by another couchsurfing host, but instead of staying at his house we decided to buy a $20 tent from target and hit the coast. We went on a road trip and landed at a beautiful beachy camp site where we shared a fire with a family from the northsouth area of Tasmania.

These folks and others have my deepest appreciation, which can only be paid forward to the travellers who I will host in my future abode.