Australian CS Newsletter March 2009
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MARCH 2009
Welcome to the monthly Australian CS Newsletter!!
Your one-stop-shop to all things CS in the Australian community. News from around the states, Aussie CS and general CS updates, stats, opinions, hints and tips. READ ALL ABOUT IT!
Done something fun yourself lately with your fellow CS members and guests?? Wanna boast about it and get your photos seen?? Then help in the making of this newsletter each month and let your CS community shine!
We are always looking for people who would like to contribute to the newsletter.
This could be on behalf of your local area, for the State News section - especially in Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin, and outside the capital cities. Or, it could involve writing a Couchsurfing stats summary or an overview of media on CS from the month, etc.
Join the Aussie Newsletter Production Mob if you are interested. Just join up and post something or email the moderators.
News from around the Australian States
The following news is brought to you by your Aussie Newsletter Production Mob
Macalla watch - Our Aussie CS mascot, Macalla is jet-setting the Planet !!!
Last word had Macalla somewhere in Austria - have you seen Macalla on her travels? Let us know in Macalla's official group.
And who is Macalla?? - read more here or have a look here.
Queensland
We would be extremely happy to get some CS news from regional Queensland. Please join the Newsletter Production Mob if you are interested in helping out.
Brisbane in February
Brissie invades Toowoomba - 8th Feb
The long-awaited and much-talked about Brisbane invasion of Toowoomba happened on the 8th of Feb, when 18 or so Brisbane-based CSers piled into a bunch of cars and convoyed up the range to party with the fine Toowoomba community. A picnic, some sights, some pubs and some good times were enjoyed by all. Thanks go to Geoff, Beni, and everyone else who contributed to a good day out.
Aussie Ambassador - 10th Feb
With amusement for some and annoyance for himself, we celebrated Beni becoming (unwittingly) an Oz ambassador for about 6 hours.
CS BRISBANE ZONE – 5th, 19th Feb
The Brisbane Zones at the Plough Inn continued to attract a modest crowd of 40-60 Couchsurfers. As per usual, the locals made an appearance but there were also a lot of new faces from Brisbane and international visitors. We also spread the word about CS to some randoms at the pub who saw us having a whole lot of fun and joined us. The meet on the 19th was also Alice's Birthday so it was great to have her there! Let's see what fun March brings us; the staff at the Plough Inn are convinced we are there to stay!
Last-minute and Emergency Couches in Brisbane
A new CS Brisbane group ‘Last-minute and Emergency Couch’ was created to help those whose plans have left them stranded in Brisbane. We’ve got some good local support but it’s still early days; hopefully this becomes a helpful tool.
15th Feb - Adrian hosted a massive Birthday Instrument Party. Who would have thought "birthday" and "instrument" would sound so wrong together? After a pool-side BBQ in Fortitude Valley, some 30+ revellers wandered across the road to Birdee Num Nums for a mad Sunday Session party. Security didn't know what hit them when the conga line came in from the street armed with music and beach towels. Much fun was had while Security and bar staff either turned a blind eye or encouraged the crazy antics. 25 Surfers were identified in photos along with a pile of international students, travellers, soon-to-be couchsurfers and local mates.
21st Feb - About 10 CSers rocked up to Alice's birthday party, with a few bringing well thought-out presents for the host and the pool. Cassandra & Vojtek brought a blow-up gladiator set for endless pool fights until someone got smashed in the nose... Food and jelly-shots for all!
Farewell!
One of our long-term Swedish residents, Mahssa, left us on Valentines Day. To celebrate and commiserate, 30-something couchsurfers and friends rounded up along a very long table for dinner at Tibetan Kitchen before heading to the pub. It was a good night and we wish the small girl all the best.
Coming up in March -
March 1st is Clean Up Australia Day and we are getting together with the 4ZzZ mob to clean the creek behind Northey Streeet Farm in Windsor. Come along and get our local community radio talking about us! BBQ and jam at Beni's afterwards!!
As per usual, Monday (taco and burrito) and Wednesday (steak and trivia) nights at the RG in Fortitude Valley are still populated by Couchsurfers. Make a post in the Brisbane group to touch base with the regulars. Come one, come all.
The Brisbane ZONE meets will be on the 5th and 19th of March at the Plough Inn (South Bank).
Of course other things will happen. Check the Brisbane group to see what's going down.
But don’t take our word for it. Come to Brissie and see it for yourself.
Victoria
We would be extremely happy to get some CS news from rural Victoria. Please join the Newsletter Production Mob if you are interested in helping out.
February in Melbourne
After the massive week that was CS Summer Fest at the end of January, February has been a little quieter around Melbourne - partly due to people needing to recharge the batteries but also with a bit more of a sombre mood around town following the tragic bushfires. Plans are afoot to organise a working bee where we will head to some of the affected areas and offer up our time and efforts to help with anything to do with the cleanup/rebuilding. If you're interested in helping out with this, please post in the Melbourne group.
There have been some happenings however, with Katrina organising a couple of nights out - one to the James Squire Brewhouse for drinks and another to Dracula's Cabaret Restaurant.
There's plenty planned for March already, so if you're interested in getting out and about, keep an eye on the Melbourne Group or book mark the Melbourne CS Calendar
Don't forget, the Melbourne CS Zone - Every second Tuesday from 7pm, one or more of Melbourne's City or Nomadic Ambassadors will be on location at our summer venue - Section 8 (27 Tattersalls Lane, Melbourne) to welcome new & old travellers and help out where possible. This is getting to be a bigger and bigger event each fortnight! For more info read this and check the Melbourne CS Google Calendar to see when it's on.
Happy Surfing !!
Western Australia
Welcome Shaz our newest Perth ambassador.
Blair's return to Perth was celebrated with his wedding to German twins!
Many CSers ventured to Fremantle on the 22nd to watch Tropfest at Princess May Park, others are heading to MadFish Winery in Margaret River to the films on Mar 2nd.
In what is turning out to be the year of housewarmings ...
- Rafeena and Ayesha rocked Fremantle with a B-52 inspired 60s style Love Shack party on Valentines Day
Perth Ambassadors Dhugal, Matt and local host Belinda were featured in an article about couchsurfing in the local newspaper The Sunday Times.
Our fortnightly Wednesday night meetings at the Brass Monkey are still as popular as ever, with many travelers in town enjoying the delicious Perth summer. Keep an eye on the Perth group for all our meetings, parties, hijinks and adventures.
Coming Up in March
- Future Music Festival
- Soundwave Festival
- The Cat Empire at Fremantle Arts Centre
- International Food and Drink night 2
- Flickerfest
- Perth International Arts Festival
We would love to get some CS news from regional Western Australia. Please join the Newsletter Production Mob if you are interested in helping out.
New South Wales
Sydney has had another busy month - activities in February included:
Opera in the Domain Saturday 31st January the final Domain concert was attended by around 15 Couchsurfers who joined Jane, and shared a marvellous picnic and then were treated to a performance of the Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci – Cav and Pag to their friends – which transported us to the passionate heart of Southern Italy. The evening was rounded up with a visit to the Spiegeltent which became a firm favourite place to visit during the festival. After a month of Jazz, Symphony and Opera, Sydney Couchsurfing is feeling very cultured. Sydney Festival provided us with so many events in January that we are already eagerly anticipating January 2010.
Mardi Gras Fair Day Sunday, 15th February, Victoria Park, Camperdown. Despite the rain a small group of Couchsurfers joined Amy and enjoyed the starting festivities of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival at the Fair day. Drag queens, dancing and winning free tanning sessions were the order of the day!
Tropfest, Sunday 22nd February, The Domain Sydney. The rain cleared for a glorious afternoon for one of Sydneys biggest and iconic annual events. Amy organised over 70 couchsurfers and friends mostly wearing red and joined 150,000 others in the Domain, for an afternoon picnic and then watched some amazing, moving and funny short films. One of our members (who so far remains nameless) even ended up on the 9 o'clock news, dancing with a parasol (which he says was to enable people to find him - however those of us who know him say he really just loves to dance)!
As the newsletter goes out Jane will be hosting her next Foodies night: H - Hamburgers and Home movies on Saturday 28th Feb. Keep an eye out for news and photos of this event in the next Newsletter.
Some of our regular events include: Trivia Every Tuesday at Fringe Bar Paddington which has become popular for our brainy couchsurfers as well of those happy to watch the spectacle and enjoy cheap food and booze. While we haven't won yet it is only a matter of time!
A small but growing number of couchsurfers are going to Salsa most Tuesdays at Establishment. Beginners Salsa lessons start the night then dancing begins.
We have had lots of new arrivals to Sydney and people posting on the Sydney group for informal meetups. In the last month these have included dinners, pub nights, gigs (including Cat Empire!), beach visits, touring and movie nights. If you want company for something don't hesitate to post on the Sydney Group!
Coming Up in March
It's official!!! CS Sydney can now call the historic Harts pub home. We have had events here semi-regularly over the last 6 months but will be having a regular event day now - on the first Friday of every month.
For those who haven't been to one of our Harts nights before, the pub provides us with a free sausage sizzle in the beginning of the evening, free pizzas throughout the night and $5 pints. Pete, our resident CS DJ, often keeps the night hopping with his tunes.
This is always a great opportunity to meet old CS friends, make new ones, find a host and have some fun. Join the meeting Harts on Friday, 6th March, from 7pm ! We will also use the opportunity to introduce the Sydney Organising Group , which has been responsible for creating many events over the last few months. A suggestions box will be available for future event ideas. We regularly update the Sydney group events calendar and update a new wiki we have created and now trialling called Wots on in Sydney.
The Independent Women Group has arranged the 2009 IW Meeting Sydney to coincide with the one being held in Gothenburg, Sweden. This event's purpose is to enable those in the Independent Women group and those who are interested to be social, to meet each other face-to-face after seeing each other online and to discuss issues relevant to IW and to women generally. An interesting line up of workshops has been planned.
Of course March is when the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade is on! A few couchsurfers and their friends and family are going to be in the parade so rock up for Sydney's liveliest parade.
For all the details on what's happening with this and more, keep an eye on the Sydney Group and bookmark the Wots on in Sydney wiki.
We would love to get some CS news from regional New South Wales. Please join the Newsletter Production Mob if you are interested in helping out.
South Australia
Adelaide CS Update
Recent events:
- Despite 44 degree heat, around 15 CouchSurfers came out to enjoy drinks and cheap pizzas at the Duke of York pub on Thursday 29th January.
- A Potluck Dinner proved to have an interesting mix of CSer-prepared dishes on Sunday 1st February.
- CouchSurfers put their hands to the fine art of Lawn Bowls at Adelaide Bowling Club on Sunday 8th February. Around 18 CSers attended and enjoyed the DJs and drinks throughout the afternoon, before heading to Cafe Primo on Rundle Street for dinner to share conversation and (generally exaggerated) stories of their bowling prowess.
- Some of the more energetic CSers took a scenic bike ride along Linear Park from the city to Henley Beach and back, during the day on Sunday 8th February.
Adelaide CS group:
- Aside from CS get-togethers, the Adelaide CS group has also had a lot of banter recently with offers and requests for travel partners, rooms to rent, cars for sale, jobs, sport team members, and lift-sharing.
- You’ll also find the popular “Around the World in 80 Pictures” thread, which has CSers putting their thinking caps on to guess the location of photos submitted of world attractions. Can you pick them?
- See it all at: http://www.couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=1326
We would be extremely happy to get some CS news from regional South Australia. Please join the Newsletter Production Mob if you are interested in helping out.
Australian Capital Territory
We would be extremely happy to get some CS news from the Australian Capital Territory. Please join the Newsletter Production Mob if you are interested in helping out.
Tasmania
Janet passes on news from a CS experience shared by a fellow Tasmanian:
- I recently hosted a lovely lady from the US who had just completed the Overland Track basically on her own. She walked with different groups of people over the days, but made it through taking photos as she went. She came to stay with me in Hobart and we had a wonderful copuple of days chatting about our travels, lives and experiences. On her last night with me, I had also organised to have another CSer from Portugal to stay. He was a very engaging, charming young chap who had never been to Tasmania before and was full of excitement being here. We all got along famously, somewhat interestingly as there was 20 years between each of us...Miguel (about 30), me (about 50) and Julie (about 70). Neither of these folk had been to the top of Mt Wellington and as I woke the next morning to a beautiful view of said mountain, crisp and clear at 6am, I woke both of them up (one - the elder - quite happy to bounce out of bed and the other - the younger - not quite so, and we went to the top to look at the view!
A glorious early morning view of our city and surrounds and some time shared that none of us will forget. Just goes to show the Couch Surfing covers all generations! Thanks for being there Julie and Miguel! Gail Joyce (who lives with the mountain view every day!)
- February has been another busy month for the couches of Hobart. Many surfers have wound up in the capital after a pleasant yet challenging trek on the Overland trail from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair.
A monthly CS get together at the ever popular Rektango down at Salamanca has been started up by Claire. It was great to see some local Couchsurfers as well as international guests catch up and discuss the important matters of the world while listening to music and sipping on Sangria."
Northern Territory
We would be extremely happy to get some CS news from the Northern Territory. Please join the Newsletter Production Mob if you are interested in helping out.
The Boxing Kangaroo Awards
Each month, we like to bring attention to the efforts of CS members who have made a decent contribution to the CS community in their area. It's our way of saying thanks and of bringing attention to some of the great work being done around the country.
This month's award goes to Agata from Sydney for her involvement in tipping off the Sydney mob about the One80Project (see the write up in the Sydney news section). Agata is also an active member of the Sydney organising group. Although she is often not listed as an organiser, she is often involved at many events doing her thing. Thanks for your contribution Agata!!!
To nominate someone, just join the Newsletter Production Mob and submit your nomination.
Don't forget if you want to become an Ambassador for Couchsurfing you can do so easily through applying here - we could use the support and extra hands. Get on board, it's all about participation!
Our Ambassadors
Looking to track down an Ambassador for whatever reason? Your Aussie ambs are listed here.
New Australian Groups
Australian Statistics
If you are interested in how many surfers there are now in Australia and where they all are and what they are all doing go and have a look at the statistics pages - it is all quite fascinating and you get to check out the rest of the world at the same time ..... ever wondered how many Couches there are in Madagascar??
Melbourne CS Summer Fest: 24 Jan - 1 Feb 2009
As you may be aware, Melbourne hosted a week-long CouchSurfing festival at the end of January that turned out to be a huge success. Following is a brief account of some of the events that took place during the festival. We look forward to turning this into an annual event and already starting to plan for 2010!!! If you did attend the festival, to help with our planning, we'd love to get your feedback on the festival which you can provide using this Survey.
Graffiti Party - 24 Jan
This was a huge hit with about 60 CSers happily drawing all over each other all night - a great way to get to make new CS friends from all over the world. Many drinks were consumed but all in all, we were a well behaved bunch. A great start to a truly awesome festival!
Great Ocean Road Trip - 25 Jan
22 degrees, a light breeze and 14 intrepid happy CouchSurfers fuelled up with Chapel St coffees ready for the Great Ocean Road! Perfect! We stopped for more coffee at Airey's Inlet by the river then on to Lorne. Thanks to long-weekend mania we were forced to have lunch further on but found a beautiful little inlet. From there it was koala spotting at Kennet River. After sighting 4, half the group pressed on up the dirt road for 10 mins and were rewarded with a bold koala feeding on the ground 1 metre away! Moving on to Wye River we had a brief ocean walk (some snoozed) and then a beer on the deck of the pub with the best ocean views in Australia. Then it was back to Melbourne where some of the group finished off the night with a vego pizza in St Kilda.
Lawn Bowls - 25 Jan
The meeting page might have said 17 but around 35-40 people showed up - some from the previous free hugs/flash mob event and some just to have a go at the truly popular sport. For many, this was their first try at lawn bowls and they all did pretty well. Teams mixed and matched throughout the day, but no-one really minded, they were all just happy to have a go.
Australia Day Picnic - 26 Jan
Over 60 people converged on the Botanical Gardens to celebrate the national day with a picnic in the park on an absolutely perfect summer's day. Plenty of food and drinks, along with games, juggling implements, instruments and of course the Triple J Hottest 100 were shared amongst locals and visitors, both domestic and international. By the end of the day, a large group decided to head into the city to see the fireworks by the river.
Day at St Kilda Beach - 27 Jan
The day before Melbourne's truly ridiculous heatwave hit where it was ACTUALLY bearable to be out in the sun - a mere 38 degrees instead of 45. Lena, as the host, spent a happy 6 hours lounging around on the sand whilst CSers drifted in and out, entertaining her as they passed through. Around 15 people came and said hello throughout the day, enjoying the sunshine and cool water of St Kilda Beach.
CouchSurfing Zone - 27 Jan
While this is a regular event on the Melbourne Calendar, the turnout was much larger with many new friends meeting at Section 8 to catch up again over a few beers.
Scavenger Hunt - 28 Jan
Although a sweltering heatwave had taken over the city, 20 or so interepid couchsurfers met up at Federation Square to compete in a scavenger hunt designed to help them seek out some of the hidden gems in the city. Although some of the participants stayed a little longer than perhaps necessary in bars the hunt took them through, the day was overall a success and reports are that everyone enjoyed themselves and found new haunts to frequent.
City Walking Tour - 29 Jan
In the midst of the sizzling heatwave a group of surfers gathered in the city and embarked on the fantastical magical CBD walking tour (which was promptly renamed the CBD death march). There were surprises around every corner including hidden shops, concealed bars and bizarre Melbournian art. After several hours the group decided they now knew more about Melbourne than their hometowns, and Trunk was settled upon for one last afternoon drink.
Launch of Sleeping Around - 29 Jan
Travel writer Brian Thacker, himself a CouchSurfer who had just finished writing a book about his experiences on the road meeting and staying with CouchSurfers decided he would launch his latest book to coincide with the Summer Fest. A large crowd, mixed between the literary fraternity and the CouchSurfing community turned up at Gold Lounge in Windsor to see what the fuss was all about. Between a few amusing excerpts from the book that Brian shared and cold drinks from an open bar on a stinking hot day, an enjoyable evening was had by all.
Foodies Night - 30 Jan
After several days of sweltering heat, Friday evening was fortunately a lot cooler, coming in at a pleasant 31 degrees. About 30 CSers showed up at Rich Maha for the start of a night of food, drinks, and socialising. The restaurant didn't seem to believe in fans for some reason, but this didn't stop people from having a good time eating and chatting with one another. Afterwards, most of the small mob headed on to Three Degrees in QV square, where they spent the next few hours drinking and socialising, further helped by a continuing plunge in temperatures. All in all, a good evening!
International Potluck Dinner - 31 Jan
Jan was kind (silly???) enough to offer her house up as the venue for the International Potluck Dinner where attendees were encouraged to bring along food (or drinks) from their culture to share with the rest of the group. Over 50 people turned up and ate, drank and laughed the evening away, enjoying the company of new friends they had seen regularly over the past week. As always there was way too much food ensuring nobody went home hungry.
Farewell Picnic - 1 Feb
With over 60 attendees, clearly people were keen to celebrate the birthdays of two active members of the Melbourne CS group, Kim and Shell. Either that or they just needed another excuse to meet up again! Nestled under a massive tree near the Collingwood Children’s farm, everybody feasted upon what was probably far too much food, followed of course by birthday cake! It was the perfect relaxed ending to the first Melbourne Couch surfing festival.
A HUGE thank you to everyone involved in organising such a wonderful week that everyone seemed to enjoy so thoroughly. And an even bigger thanks to those who came along to the various events, be it from near or far, making them the successes that they were. We look forward to putting on the 2nd Annual CS Summer Fest next year and hope to see YOU there!!!
International CouchSurfing News
CouchSurfing has announced a site redesign and new logo to go live on 1 March - read more about this here
Couchsurfing in the Media
The call for experienced editors As you may have heard, CS Org have created a CS News Channels page which will allow for communication to members and volunteers on a scale they have not had yet. Some of these channels are member-made, some are created by volunteers, and others are newsletters adapted for the web.
To receive news from the official channels just edit your subscription settings.
Website Technical Developments
If you are interested in following the Tech developments you will find what you are looking for here.
What is the current Status of your Couch?
As you know you can edit the status of your couch.
Did you know that if you have your Couch unavailable the "Request to Couchsurf with" button is removed?
So as not to receive CouchSurfing requests while you are travelling or unable to host, make sure the status of your couch is what you want it to be. It will solve a lot of unwanted emails. At the same time, it will help those looking for a couch so they don't have to spend time messaging people unable to help them!
Tips and hints for better CouchSurfing
For more tips and hints to improve your profile or your experience of Couchsurfing go to: Australian Tips Hints and links to better CouchSurfing
Other Helpful Links at a Glance
Other CS areas that might interest:
- A new overview of Couchsurfing has been provided called the Cheat Sheet
Aussie Newsletter Archive
As you can see below there is a wealth of other Aussie CS Newsletters to look back on if you wish - enjoy!!
- Australian_CS_Newsletter February 2008
- Australian_CS_Newsletter_March_2008
- Australian CS Newsletter April 2008
- Australian CS Newsletter May 2008
- Australian CS Newsletter June 2008
- Australian CS Newsletter July 2008
- Australian CS Newsletter August 2008
- Australian CS Newsletter September 2008
- Australian CS Newsletter October 2008
- Australian CS Newsletter November 2008
- Australian CS Newsletter December 2008
- Australian CS Newsletter January 2009
- Australian CS Newsletter February 2009
- Australian CS Newsletter March 2009
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