All along the way we have had locals feeding us. It is most interesting how differently they do it. If we are generously invited to stay in people’s homes overnight, the supply of meals ranges from full service to no food service, with the kitchen for us to use.

What a journey this has and is continuing to be. We are just leaving the Gosford area and will be in Sydney tonight. Our walk into Warnervale was tinged with sadness as Dawn left the group to return to Brisbane. Dawn has been a very important member and her attention to the finer details (eg recording every walker, seeing everyone has an opportunity to write in our message book for Kevin Rudd and money management) is already greatly missed.

It seems ages since I last blogged, I have an hour to spare this morning as I wait for the library and Information centre to open. I waved Cassie and Dawn off at 7.30 from our motel room, yes a motel room, what a wonderful gift from the Tuncurry Bowls Club.

Thought we would let you all know that the next few days we are retreating into National Parklands rather than playing with B doubles on the Pacific Highway.  We may not get as much exposure, but we are not too sure if people really notice us anyway when they fly past us at 100km/hr.

So since we haven't got any accommodation / events planned were going to enjoy more of the coastline and head to Myall Lakes and pop out at Tea Gardens, where we have an excited host to meet us and walk with us for several days.

Thought I'd share with you the wonderful things that are happening whilst enjoying life in the slow lane.  

Yesterday I reunited with a friend who is reliving the life of a swaggie.  Steve York who I regularly bump into at Northey Street and other Green events in Brisbane is walking home after attending the Sustainable Living Festival in Melbourne.

As we travel further south, there are some gaps in our accommodation planning. Thank you so much to Linda and Arwen and the very cute Kaylan for sharing your home with us at short notice. Today a bowls club rep stopped to tell us he had seen the FootPrints for Peace walkers leaving Port Macquarie - on Channel 7 in Queensland! It seems the item went national! David was excited to catch up with the flag-bearing women walkers. He offered to help with a roof for tonight and with the ready assistance of Brett, manager of Tuncurry Bowls Club, we are now enjoying our motel room. As well as bed and breakfast, we were also given full use of the motel laundry. Brett, Cassie, June and Dawn were photographed outside the bowls club and the story will be sent to the local paper. With the bowls clubs of Australia sponsoring our cause, surely Kevin Rudd will realise how broad our support base has become :)

Peace and strength, Dawn

These symptoms of inner peace were provided to FootPrints for Peace walkers by Pam and Peter Clarke in Kempsey.  We thought this wisdom would be useful to share...

Be on the lookout for symptoms of inner peace. The hearts of a great many have already been exposed and it is possible that people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions.  This could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now, been a fairly stable condition of conflict and violence in our world.   Here are some signs and symptoms of inner peace:
- a tendency to act and think spontaneously, not on fears based on past experiences
- an unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment
- a loss of interest in judging other people
- a loss of interest in judging self
- a loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others
- a loss of the ability to worry.  (This is a very serious symptom.)
- frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation
- contented feelings of connectedness with others and with nature
- frequent attacks of smiling
- an increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

After 10 days of walking for peace and a nuclear free and sustainable future, I'm back home in Kempsey.  From Grafton I walked about 200km along country roads, through towns, along the beach and finally along the Pacific Highway.  Five women - Cassie, Dawn, Di, June and Sue - had started the Peace Walk in Brisbane.  Liz and I joined in Grafton and Cath in Toormina.  Many other people walked with the group for shorter distances, more than 150 in total by the time we reached Kempsey.

Our FootPrints for Peace entourage has diverged a little from the direct route to enjoy the hospitality and company of the friendly folks at Bellingen.

A dozen extra walkers paced it out from the old Butter Factory into the town proper. We were welcomed by the Mayor and Uncle Tom, an elder of the Gumbayngirr people, beside the inspiring David Helfgott sculpture. A delicious supper awaited us at the showground pavilion. As the bats flew out to the forests for a night of feasting and pollinating, the walkers took their rest. From the pre-dawn the returning bats reminded me of the schism between the bat lovers and the bat detesters.

As I listened to their chorus I was happy to celebrate their presence and trust that people who appreciate their contribution to the local ecology will be drawn to this lovely town.

Dawn Joyce

Blog by Liz from Woy Woy: On  our footprintsforpeace walk we will cover the distance  from Coramba to Coffs Harbour today. It is a shorter walk of about 16k and we have made arrangements to meet short distance walkers at the outskirts of Coffs at 3pm. This means a SLEEP IN (just for once).