The best way to lose weight is to change what you eat: fresh ingredients, good-quality food, portion control. 
With the Flip Mino 8GB HD Camcorder it is simple to shoot in HD. Shoot up to 2 hours of stunning HD video on the easy-to-use MinoHD. 
This blue multistripe is a very dashing, attractive necktie. 100% Woven Silk. Colour: Blue 
See Frankie J Holden and family retrace the steps of John McDouall Stuart's legendary crossing on its 150th anniversary. 
Never run out of gas again! 
The Crystal Castle is not exactly in the middle of Mullumbimby, but well and truly out in the country. This is about the third time we have been to this lovely place, and it really is worth a visit.
The first thing you notice after you have paid your entrance fee is the peace and quiet. It does not seem to matter how many people are there, it is just quite. Even the kids seem quieter and calmer! The gardens are just delightful with a huge range of plants from ground cover to superb trees. Some of them have names plaques to help the amateur gardener add a few more names to their Latin plant list.
The walks are well signed, and the brochure you get at the entrance has a very clear map to show where the points of interest are, and help you around the walks. The grounds have special areas in them, like the pond, the labyrinth or maze and statues all over the place. As you would also expect there are plenty of crystals in the cards, big ones and little ones. The really big ones have explanatory signs to give you their history and ‘parentage’. It seems that some of them came from overseas, but that does not detract from their visual impact.
My favourite garden and quiet spot is the Buddha garden, with a spiral of pink crystal on the ground and a huge Buddha sitting over a pond which is fed through bamboo water pipes. The clever people at the Crystal Castle have put up umbrellas over the seats to give you a cooler spot to sit and think.
When you walk through the gardens you can see coins on the statues, and these are collect every day and used to support a range of charities including a Tibetan Kindergarten in Northern India, which is dedicated to supporting the Tibetan culture and language. There is no pressure on anyone to do this, but it has just happened, and feels right to do.
Peter and I took the opportunity to have our Aura photos taken, which we have done before. If you have never had one, it is an interesting experience and the photos are different. Ours were ‘read’ by a very able staff member who does enjoy the whole experience. It was interesting to see the changes since the last time, which do actually reflect the changes to our life. I have no idea how it works, and do not want to have the mystery explained – that would spoil the fun!
The Crystal Castle is well worth a visit, you can enjoy the gardens, the statues with their history really well explained, the café (good muffin!) and the essential shop with crystals in all shapes forms and uses. And why not give the Aura photo a go – you might be surprised by what it shows.
Crystal Castle
81 Monet Dr
Mullumbimby NSW 2482
Ph: (02) 6684 3111
www.crystalcastle.com.au
Review posted by Alison Huth February 2012
Photos by Alison Huth
