Autumn in Oz

Y'all, can I just begin where I ended the last post and say that working at the Trussy on ANZAC Day was a BLAST. It was 8 hours of controlled chaos, the other bar tenders who signed on to help out that day were really fun to work with, and I spent an awful lot of time telling my pub regulars who were there for the day that yes, I'd be back to serve them at the Potshot again - I wasn't changing jobs permanently. Definitely would sign up for that again!

One of Jess' friends fosters joeys (baby kangaroos) whose mothers have been killed - usually when they're struck by cars - and she invited us around to meet some of them!

I made friends with the puppies who live there, too

They spend much of their time living in fleecy pouches that are meant to replicate the ones they'd have grown in on their mamas, and holding the pouches is good for making them feel secure, up against a warm, living body. So we had all kinds of fun snuggling the little critters!

One a day off a couple of weeks back, I went on a little 4WD mission with my friends Corinne, Tash, and Jossy, and one of Jossy's friends, Tommy. We took two of our cars and travelled over the Cape Range (the "mountain" range in the National Park that extends like a spine up along the Exmouth Peninsula) via 4WD tracks. It was SO FUN. There were some really hairy bits, where we had to get up over steep, rocky parts or steep sandy parts, but two cars meant we had fallback options if someone got bogged or into difficulty. Corinne and I were in one car and the other three rode in Jossy's, and it was such a good way to spend the day. So frequently, I soak up the watery wonders that Exmouth has to offer then then I forget about the dry stuff also being beautiful!

From the top of the Range

Overlooking the Indian Ocean on the west side

Corinne

Our intrepid driver

Corinne is one of the giggliest people I know and we spent the entire expedition cracking up laughing at the wonderful-ness of it all. On one particularly snarly bit of track, the sand was so deep on this steep bit of dune we had to get over that we had to give it 4 tries before we got up and over the thing. That meant getting partway up a hill before the tires would get stuck and we'd have to reverse back down, get a "running start" and try again. I'm learning so much about how much tire ("tyre" hah!) pressure you need to get across different terrains and how much of a runway you need to get momentum to get over sketchy patches. It's really, really fun. But anyway, this particular hill was such a mess and Corinne and I just could not stop laughing at the folly of it all. But by that point we'd already made it over the range itself and just needed to get through a series of dunes before we were back to proper road way, so there was nothing for it but to forge on! We laughed and laughed and made it work. When we finally made it to the other side I was literally clapping with glee... what an absolute thrill!

The first video is us backtracking down a rocky path that we THOUGHT was going to lead us up over the range but was actually a dead-end. Patty, for reference, is the name of Corinne's car. The second video is our 3rd attempt at The Hill. You'll notice us slowing down at the end of it because we still didn't have enough momentum to get us up and over the sandy bits. The video perspective doesn't really convey how steep it all was but just take my word for it!

Saw my first scorpion! Didn't love that he was on my kitchen floor but win some, lose some.

I've been on a couple of snorkeling missions with Tash and my other friend Carly, and it's been so lovely. The water temps are unseasonably warm (remnants of the summer) which makes for amazing water time but isn't actually very healthy for the corals. The Dept. of Parks and Wildlife is apparently getting worried we may have coral bleaching pretty soon if the water temps don't drop, but for us it means comfortable snorkeling for ages. It's easy to stay in 80F (30C) water! The other girls get cold after an hour or so, but I stayed out for 2 hours on our last outing and got to see 2 octopus with the extra time!

Tash & Carly

For my friend Chiara's birthday, she wanted to get out for a camping trip on the west side and I was so excited to get out camping for the first time since February. Because the National Park doesn't have cell phone service, I ended up spending most of an afternoon hanging out at the campsite by myself, reading a book in the shade of a tree in a gentle breeze. It was heaven. By the time everyone else rocked up after sunset, I had spent a relaxing afternoon and evening by myself and was recharged and ready for more people time! I dunno how I managed to take no photos (or maybe I just didn't because everyone else arrived after dark!), but it was such a good way to celebrate. Hopefully we'll get back out some more in the coming weeks!

Sunset from Ned's Camp

Moonrise over the dunes at Ned's

Two weekends ago was Sophie's 21st birthday and she had a huge party with family and friends to celebrate. The theme was 2000s fashions and we had so. much. fun. Jess and I at age 30 were the old ones who managed to stay late (I left around 2:30, but the party went on til after sunrise), but man was it fun to celebrate. Even though the legal drinking age here is 18, 21 is still very much a milestone birthday. It's kind of a welcome-to-adulthood age here. Puppy came back to town from Perth (she's going to university down south) and we had so much fun catching up and dancing, and I brushed up on my beer pong skills! Any time I wake up with sore legs from dancing is a night well spent!!!

Me, Puppy, Jess, Mia, and Andrew (Mia and Andrew are some of the new hires at the pub! We love them)

The Cake and Sophie's brother, Ethan. He was part of a group costume with Sophie: the Power Puff Girls. He was the pink Power puff girl, hence the dress.
Pink dress + curly Aussie mullet + that 'stache = Confident dude.

Sophie's Mama

Soph as the blue Power Puff girl, plus some creative glo sticks. Andrew in the foreground.

Jess as a Mighty Duck

Puppy

Puppy again

It's Monday night now, but this past weekend Jess and I did a little roadtrip to Karratha, the nearest city with chain stores! She's been wanting to get out of town for a little trip, and it's looking like we'll skip past Karratha in July when we begin our roadtrip to Tassie, so we decided to drive 6 hours to get avocados (only $2 a pop, versus $5 each here!), KFC, McDonald's, and Kmart. So worth it. 

Dinner at Blanche

Full fat, real chocolate, Chocolate Milk! I drank the whole liter in about 25 minutes. And now have 2 more bottles that I brought back to Exmouth with me!

Happy Hour at the Mermaid Bar in Dampier on Sunday

Red Dog of Dampier

We bought sunnies at the store next to Kmart

We spent way too much money (some of which was justified as prep-for-our-roadtrip-in-July, some of which was not), but man was it ever nice to just get out of town for a little bit and see someplace new. We made friends with some folks at the Mermaid last night and ended up staying out past 3am hanging out and singing and laughing, and the drive back to Exmouth this morning to make it to work on time came awfully early. But when you've got an Egg McMuffin to sustain you, anything is possible! We both came back to work today feeling refreshed from the trip (me especially, because I had enough time to take a nap before going into work!), and I'm so super glad we did it. Not only am I so pumped to have road trip buddies like Jess, but I'm so grateful that we CAN road trip! Life in Australia continues to be wonderful. 

Now before I sign off, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MAMA! I know a blog post is a poor excuse for a gift, but here we are. Can't wait for the borders to open so we can do our own Aussie road trip. Love and miss you!