Went over Christmas eve, but Kev was super late because he 'passed out on someone's floor' (uh huh) so he didn't know if we were gonna go to The Left Bank. Well, I showed up and the lads are already drinking so i grab a beer. After a few we decide to go to the left bank and it's a right party! I had a good time. So good of a time, in fact, that I neglected to have dinner. Not the best idea. Well when we were leaving the club (after someone decided to take a cheeky nap and got caught by one of the bouncers) I fell, scraping both my knees to shit. Good! Kev met 2 randoms on the bridge (he and the lads live across from the bar, right on the swan river) and brought them back and the party continued (I heard one of them leave the next morning and I'm not going to repeat what Kev said but it was hilarious. Something about a white xmas....) while i slept it off.
Christmas day! I'm the only one not hungover, so we have a bit of breakfast and start again. Off to the beach, more beers, then back to the house for a BBQ. I took a cheeky nap before and after, so I was well prepared to stay up the rest of the night. Jez went to bed at 9pm and a few of us went swimming in the swan river. Skyped my parents and spoke briefly with ryan and went to bed.
Boxing day! All the lads are in a bad way, of course I'm not so they just lounge in their own filthy house all day (oh yah Xmas day there were some glasses/bottles broken but instead of them being cleaned up right away, a towel was put on top in order to warn/protect people, I guess.......frat house I tells ya). So im wearing my thongs (flip flops) everywhere in the house and decide to check out fremantle. GORGEOUS!!! I go back the next day to do museums and the Fremantle Jail, then I'm back in Padbury, thank God! Kev is in Sydney for new years with Graham, they left on the 27. Dunno how he's gonna deal with MORE drinking, since he didn't drink the 26 or 27, but whatever.
Stayed in all day on the 28th because it was 40 degrees, and when Gav came home from work we went to the beach. 6pm and it was 39 degrees. Damn that ocean was nice! Cooled up down and we had a lovely dinner (Jazz went to Europe to see his gf and won't be back til jan 28, so now Gav has his house to himself while I'm away. Joe is back the 8th, since he went home to london for the holidays). The 29th I packed, sent out some CVs, and went to a pub with Gav and his longtime friends. The 30th I left for my exmouth adventure!!!
Day 1 - We visited the Pinnacles, went sand-boarding, and had a wonderful BBQ the first day. I sat shotgun, since mike (tour guide AND driver!...that's important for later) had offered the front seat if anyone wanted it. Of course I waited to see if anyone else chomped at the bit, and when there were no takers I went for it. That is THREE consecutive tours in a row (all my tours) when I've been in the front. Woo hoo for travelling solo!! :D
So I was co-pilot. I think I was a very good one, too! I rarely slept in the van during the tour (three times tops) which is a pretty big deal because WA (Western Australia) is HUGE and there's not a lot in it. The biggest state, it's mostly desert (inland), but coast-wise the stops are few and far between. So I didn't drink as much water as I normally do, since there was no toilet on the bus (UGH small buses suck - there were only 20 of us) and I chatted with mike, played dj, and looked for wildlife...successfully! Spotted wild kangaroos, wallabies, emus sheep, lizards, eagles and cockatoos. But a lot of road kill, too :(
Day 2 was new years eve. At Kalbarri National Park I did abseiling!!! Propelling yourself down the side of a cliff! I got two tries and a rope burn on my side. Fantastic! I would definitely do it again :) we saw z-bend gorg and nature's window before entering the Shark Bay World Heritage area. Then we went to shell beach (a beach of shells and shallow for a really long way out), and settled in to Monkey Mia for the (wild) night!
During the course of the day we were wondering how to celebrate new years eve, seeing as we were going to be in Monkey Mia for the night (it's basically a resort). Skye (Australian chick in the air force) suggested counting down for every time zone associated with our tour. Charlize (South African) did the planning and we started with New Zealand, the first country to ring in the new year, at 7pm. Then it was Victoria and New South Wales at 9pm, South Australia at 9:30pm, Northern Territory at 10:30pm, somewhere else at 11pm, Perth at midnight, Bangladesh at 2am, South Africa at 6am (we missed that one, LOL!), England/France/Switzerland/Holland at 8am new years day then Canada at 1pm and California at 4pm! It was a night. Bottles of $15 bubbly that we had bought and put in the fridge were stolen (stupid backpackers) and lots of shots and drinks were consumed. Good thing I have a natural body clock cuz I did not set any sort of alarm and I woke up 17 minutes before breakfast, where all our stuff is supposed to be packed and near the van already.....luckily our tour guide was out til 2 with Skye and I, so he was late. He also slept for a couple of hours while we frolicked on the beach, waiting for the dolphins to show up for a feeding that, in the last 20 years, they had only missed 6 days... All of which we directly before we got there. They isn't show up, so we just hung out. two hours later, I'm taking photos of dolphins close up. Didn't get to feed them (couldn't be arsed to stand there in the sun. Needed a beer) but I did feed the pelicans the night before, and that's much more exciting lol. I also saw a sea turtle!
Day 3 - besides the drinking, we went to the stromatolites (living rocks) and ended up in Coral Bay to sleep.
Day 4 - snorkelling in the Nigaloo Reef! This is argued to be better than the Great Barrier Reef, since pollution, climate change and dumb tourists touching corals (NO-NO!!) have deteriorated the East coast must-see. I paid to "swim with manta rays", as did other folks, including snorkelling and a buffet lunch. It *was* worth it, but here's the story:
It was the first time I had snorkelled!!!! The Nigaloo reef is absolutely gorgeous and seeing all those fish and coral was breathtaking :) the coral actually 'hiss' and you can hear them...I was wondering what that sound was LOL! saw a lot of different species of fish and coral and a turtle and dolphins from a distance. Then it was time for the swimming with the manta ray! the tour company usually has a plane that circles looking for them, but they have mechanical problems so when we finally found one (only one), it was feeding in a plankton-rich area, so the water was cloudy. I was in the third group to go into the water, so by that time the manta ray was still moving, and i was the last one into the water :( so i had to swim fast to try and keep up to the group. but being at the back, i didn't see the ray. i think *maybe* i *might* have seen it, but it was a murky shadow and it probably wasn't it. PLUS the water was VERY choppy. well i have always prided myself on being a competent swimmer (after all the lessons of my youth and the year of synchro that i did when i was 11), definitely a good swimmer, boardering on very good..... but that was the scariest moment that i have experienced in water:
i could not control my breathing. i had given up on trying to get to the middle of the group so i trailed behind a bit and tried to slow my breath. but since i couldn't, i started to freak out. told myself to calm down cuz freaking out would not be good. my mask was off, i was riding the waves on my back, my breathing was slowing, but i couldn't find the girl with the flotation help device. then i asked another girl in the water (loudly) where the girl with the thingy was and i let out an 'UGH!' but it was all good i was staying above water, working it out, then the boat pulled up to get me. i was upset, they said they would go back in the water with me so i could see it, but that was the first time in my life that i felt uncomfortable and unsafe in the water, so i declined.
during the final snorkel the water was calmer (we were in a different area) and i swam out quite a bit, but i missed another part of the reef because i was worried i couldn't get back to the boat. i DID make it back, but was tired, couldn't calm my breath (again), and was still freaked from the manta ray incident. so i called it a day! it was a good experience (snorkelling is AWESOME!!) and the food was to DIE FOR, so i guess it was worth the price. mom and dad you can stop freaking out now.
Day 5 - After a bit of a hike to a gorge somewhere (where I spotted a wild wallabie and mentioned it to Mike) we spent a few hours at Turquoise Bay (named for the gorgeous colour of the water, which unfortunately i did not take photos of BOOOOO) working on my tan and snorkelling, where I saw a sting ray, a starfish, lots of different fish and coral, and i swam with a school of fish that were each double the size of my head!! that night was the last for seven of the tour group, what with the different tour options, so we had a few drinks but the previous night was more rowdy (we went to the beach late at night cuz we couldn't make noise in the park after 10pm)
Day 6 - a lot of driving. Mike is a freaking PRO. he just drives around Australia when he's not working.....kinda lives out of his car, he was telling me. dunno if he was joking or not.....then we stayed on a farm that night, i was the ONLY one who took the $5 option of sleeping in a swag (sleeping bag with foam 'mattress' in a canvas sack covering you) under the stars. the coolest part was hearing the sheep BAAAAA to each other conversationally at 11:30pm ;)
Day 7 - on our trek back to Perth we stopped at the Principality of Hutt River Province, which is it's own country (got my passport stamped by Princess Shirley). Prince Leonard succeeded from Australia in 1970 after WA implemented some wheat sanctions. it's a fascinating story and Prince Leonard is a very, very smart man. We were unable to meet him, since he had not been well, but i got a picture with princess shirley (and you'll excuse my lack of HRHs, but the monarchy and anything resembling it does not butter my bread)
Then we went to a Rescue Wildlife Park where I held snakes and a joey!!! then there was more driving and i was home. Gav made a wonderful dinner, i had a great shower without thongs (remember: they're flip-flops!), and slept in a double bed. nice nice nice.
Friday I went to Hillary's boat harbour with CVs in tow and i have a trial at the Breakwater (awesome restaurant/bar where Gav and i had brunch today) on Tuesday night. Three-hour shift, unpaid, and I find out at the end of the night if i get the job! HERE'S HOPING I DO since the restaurant is only a half-hour walk from where I live. Plus if Joe ever gets new inner-tubes for his bike (he prolly won't cuz he's dumb lol) then I can use it for the next month. they already know i'm not available from the 19-23 (BROOME!), and said it was no worries. LET'S HOPE I GET THE JOB!!!!
yesterday Gav and i did some errands and just chilled. I met up with Shawna and Marty (bro and sis from Cali, she's been in sydney for a couple years, though) and Duncan (brit) for a few in Fremantle (the left bank then The Loft, since little creatures wouldn't let us in with our non-aussie IDs.....it a law in WA or something. sorry but it's not regularily enforced! I don't have an oz id and i do NOT walk around with my passport on me so i guess your establishment loses my beer money!) but it was reallllllly cold and i had not dressed for the weather and we missed the train by a minute and had to wait for the one 30 minutes later and then i missed my last bus from the station (i assume) so i went to the next station and took a taxi AND THEN i get in and Gav's still up! I had texted him an hour and a half earlier but when i got no response i figured he was sleeping, so i took a cab. turns out i could have called him and saved $15 (money added on for BOOKING the cab and also because it was 'after-hours' those greedy pricks) but i thought he was sleeping, so why would i call?! and then nothing much today except laundry.
that's it. longest update ever but now that you're all caught up i PROMISE to write a little bit each night. it'll be pretty mundane, most likely :P
joe gets back tonight at 2am. i have moved into jade's room while he's away. good thing these guys come and go as they do, i always have a spare bed to stay in!! :D
goodnight everyone. i hope you all enjoyed the first saturday of the year, because i certainly did :)
xoxoxoxo
Some more news from daughter darling
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures and quite a long post.
Tsk, Tsk - frat house partying,
Just want my daughter safe the most.
Seems you're having a blast
with beach, BBQ and booze.
Remember, you once had a cast
Go slow and stay loose.
Went on quite a trip
holding snakes and a joey.
With animals, always keep a good grip.
Kissing it, though, is just plain gooey!
Always nice to hear from you,honey
and miss you every day you're gone.
Good luck with the job = real money
Right now, you're having way too much fun!
Stay safe XXOO