Forays into Travel Blogging: Headed out

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. We've been training so many new staff in preparation for 5 of us leaving for a month. I've been working every week on the boats. July school holidays wrapped up a week ago, but that was 2 solid weeks of families with school-aged kiddos inundating town, and this part week hasn't seen the crowds die out - just fewer children around. It's been exhausting and satisfying. But man am I ever ready for a vacation! Good thing I leave for my road trip in 5 hours :)

Some changes have come about in the plans since my last post. For one, all five of us are returning to the Pub! Mia and Andrew had originally planned to continue their road trip past the Gibb River Road and carry on home to Sydney. With the current Covid outbreaks leaving Sydney in lockdown, that's not a good option anymore so they've just decided to come on back to Exmouth! For another, we've added a 6th amigo to the group, Oceane. She's a French backpacker that Jess met through a mutual friend and she didn't have anyone to do the Gibb with. So we scooped her! She's up in Broome already, so Jess will fly solo for the first two days of travel (unless Gaia gets sick of me and swaps cars during the day), but from there she'll have company.

Gaia and I have spent the last few days doing prep for the journey. Filling water jugs, fuel jerry cans, cleaning out the fridge, cleaning the house for my friends Tash and Benji who will be looking after the place while we're away... it's been hectic. We had planned to have two days in a row to pack, but then I got rostered on the whaleshark boat yesterday and two days shrank to one. It hasn't been the worst 11th hour scramble of my life, but it was a bit more rushed than I would have preferred. Especially because there was a fun Latin Party planned at the Pub and I wanted to be there on the other side of the bar! Alas, I didn't get to spend much time there, but it confirmed that the co-workers we're leaving behind won't burn the place down in our absence.

Moon setting as I drove to the boat ramp for work

Sunrise on my way to work

Plan of attack is to drive to Karratha tomorrow (~6 hours), do some grocery shopping (ahem, buy the really really really good chocolate milk that we don't get in Exy because we have a different grocery store), get some McDonald's breakfast and then keep going on to Broome (~6 hours). It's gonna be a long day, even more so because it's coming up on 10:30pm and we're planning to leave at 3am. We'll see if that happens. From there we'll spend a few days in Broome and up on the Dampier Peninsula. Then on to Derby and the start of the Gibb River Road. Two full weeks on the Gibb and then down to the Bungle Bungles and Wolfe Creek, then bee line back to Exmouth for a triumphant return at the end of August. So very excited. I'll keep notes on each day of the journey, but no telling when I'll be able to post next. That said, it should be worth the wait if photos I've seen of the area live up to expectations!

Last week, Gaia and I decided we needed a little adventure before our big adventure so we went out hiking for the day in the National Park at Charles Knife Canyon. So beautiful. And then met up with Mia for some drinks at one of the breweries in town, Froth.

Gaia in Charles Knife Canyon

Mia and Gaia

This seahorse was my exact mood that day

Froth has the coolest mural

All the travel prep and excitement has really messed with my sleep schedule, so the other day I accidentally woke up about 5:30 and just decided to commit to the day. I walked down to the beach from my house and got to the top of the hill overlooking the dunes just as the sun popped over the horizon in the Gulf.