Welcome to Cunderdin,WA

18 May 2009: Monday
My first day of work went well. It was very slow, which of course is ideal for training. I began learning what beers, pre-mixed drinks, and wines we sell. I have an idea of how the stock is sorted in the fridge, how to pour a beer, and what buttons to push on the till. I’m still far from confident, but I know that will come with time.

I learned a bit about the history of the pub yesterday. The first hotel was destroyed by an earthquake, the second by fire (on Valentine’s Day!). The shire – YES, SHIRE (aka township) – of Cunderdin built the pub/hotel about 5 years back. It was leased by a NZ couple for about a year. It was quite funny, because as Brian (my boss, co-owner of the pub) was showing me the photo album I noticed the Maori dancers at the opening ceremony! Maori? But we are in Australia! LOL (Laugh Out Loud). As I said, the first lease was run by a New Zealand couple. Apparently one of them was Maori, so they had Maori dancers. 4 years ago Brian, and few other guys I haven’t met, bought the pub from the shire. The previous operators had taken everything out of the pub before they left, but that allowed Brian to stock the interior with wood tables and chairs instead of chrome and plastic. It looks quite nice.

The pub is based on an Aussie cartoon, created by Ken Maynard and published in the "Australian Post". Hence, the outside of the building actually looks like a cartoon! There are many of these Ettamogah pubs around Australia, Dave’s Grandma visited one in Queensland. Fortunately, the inside does not follow the outward appearance. As I mentioned, all the wood is quite tasteful and the walls are nicely decorated with large prints of the cartoon.

The set up of the place: hmmm…. I work in an L shaped area. The long L side ends in the kitchen, with a food till for taking orders and long bar for serving drinks. The short L side ends in the bottle shop (liquor store) and faces the public bar, with 2 pool tables and a juke box. A doorbell sound alerts me to people in the bottle shop, while a simple table bell is rung when orders are up for delivery. My job is pretty much all over the place. I take food orders, deliver the food, clear the tables, set the tables (with napkins and utensils before people are seated), and eventually I will help in the kitchen. I also ring up purchases in the bottle shop, take bar orders, serve/pour drinks, stock the shop and bar, and do random cleaning and tidying. Apparently the cleaning staff is given the weekends off, so I will occasionally be cleaning the hotel rooms too.

I get on well enough with the staff – so far. (na, they are all good people, and I can get along with most anyone). Brian is quite a serious guy, but I got a few smiles and even a chuckle out of him by the end of the night. Karen, the bar manager who generally works in the kitchen, dropped me off after my second shift. Oh, yeah. I worked 12-3 today and then 5-close (which was round about 8:30 or 9). The house I live in is only a 5-8 minute walk away from the pub, but I took the ride anyway. Karen had picked me up from the train station on Sunday, but had to get straight back to work so I wasn’t treated to the typical tour around town. So, she took me up to "the hill" before dropping me at home. We could see the lights of the town and airport – where pilots are trained in night flying. I plan to take my camera up there sometime. Karen told me that if I got up to the hill early enough in the morning I would see kangaroo!


19 May 2009: Tuesday
I woke up pretty early – before 7! I don’t want to get in the habit of sleeping in, as I just continue to be tired and I would really like to use this time of isolation and slow country living to get into some good habits. So, I got up and spent an hour doing stretches and yoga. After a small bowl of cereal I decided to walk up to Cunderdin Hill, where Karen had taken me the night before. I knew it was to late for kangaroos to be out, but I figured it would be good to see if I could find my way when it was light – rather than trying to find it in the early morning or some evening after dark. After making a pointless loop around my block I tried another path. I recognized the dirt road and followed it to the sign pointing to the hill. I didn’t bother taking my camera – I figured I would have plenty of other chances to snap photos. Of course, I’m probably lucky that there wasn’t anything I HAD to take a picture of! I would have kicked myself. However, I figured the bright green parrot-like birds would be around again, as would the white ones – cockatoos? (they have pink under their wings!). Having my camera wouldn’t have been useful for the onekangaroo I did see! I heard a rustle, looked over, and saw a small kangaroo bounding away! Sweet! My first roo sighting!!!!!

Well – I’m off to work now. First shift: 12 – 3….
Had a good shift. We had a rotary club in for lunch, so it was busy. Lunch was all prepped and easy to serve, but we had a slight rush on the bar. Lots of oldies wanting this and that, plus some drinks I hadn’t made before and one I had never heard of! I think I have the hang of lemon-lime and bitters now; enough bitters to change the color and a good dose of lime. I had never heard of a "shandy"! I’m not sure why you would want to drink half lemonade and half beer, but okay! Hmm, maybe I should try it sometime. Later in the day a couple of older ladies ordered lunch and lemon squashes (which we serve in a can). One kept telling me she didn’t want soda water in hers, just lemonade. The other lady wanted soda water. I tried to clarify with them what they were asking, but in the end just charged them for 2 cans of squash (kind of like Sprite, I think). They went down to pick up the drinks and luckily Leena was down there. Apparently they thought we made our squashes by hand! I have no idea how that works, but we don’t do it. Leena made them some lemon-lime and bitters instead! Funny, the things you learn!

My second shift (5-close) went quite well too. Though I was supposed to be in the bar, Brian figured it would be good for me to learn the kitchen side. I was pleased with this news, because I still felt very much like an outsider in the kitchen. I didn’t like going in to often because I didn’t want to get in the way! I don’t cook any of the meals – Thank Goodness! – but I do help with whatever Karen asks. This shift started with peeling and cutting carrots and then was pretty much just doing dishes afterwards. I learned to look at the tickets and make the garlic bread for any appetizers or as the side for pasta and soup. It was good to see how everything works and where things belong.


20 May 2009: Wednesday
I did stock today. I went in at 9 and basically got my weight lifting in for the week! It was good for Brian to have me stock – as he had a hernia operation a few months back and is also dealing with arthritis in a knee that just started playing up. It was also good for me to find how our stock was sorted and to deal a bit more with the names and drink types. It was also good to see some of the wines – though I’ll never remember them all! It would be really, really neat if I could afford to try all the labels! Ha ha, get an idea of what a Chardonnay Pinot Noir tastes like!! Hmmm, is it pink? Chardonnay would be white, but pinot noirs have always been red when I buy them. I find it interesting how much mixing of wines there are here and in NZ. In NZ, almost ever bottle is a mixed wine – such as merlot cabernet. Anyhow, I had a good afternoon shift. I went through the opening procedures and we had a few lunches. It went by pretty quickly.

The night shift, however, was very different. We had several large groups in for dinner and quite a bit of bar business. I made quite a few mistakes, but Brian wasn’t worried. He showed me how to fix them and smiled about it. I think he is just pleased that I’m telling him when I screw up and genuinely worry about the small things! :-) Ha ha, Leena is quite pleased with my work too. She is leaving next weekend, to continue her Australian travels. She was worried that I would turn out to be another girl like Camilla – not to into the job and wanting to leave early. Leena was quite pleased that I’m quite a hard worker and picking up on things quickly. She is hoping the new girl is good too. Anyhow, it was a long shift but I learned a lot. The other co-owners came in at the end of the night and all sat around drinking with each other. Eventually Karen let me go home, around 10:30. I had done as much clean up as possible, but the guys just kept drinking! LOL.


21 May 2009: Thursday
Today has been quite boring! When I arrived home last night, Leena was out (it was her day off). So I vacuumed Camila’s old room and made up the bed – as a favor to Karen, who didn’t have time before the new girl arrived. Since Teresa (?) was arriving on the train at 9:30 I wanted to do it before bed, so I could sleep in! LOL

Theresa arrived at the house around 10 am. I was still in bed, though I was awake. I had slept relatively late, 8:30, had breakfast, and gone back to bed with a book! It was glorious! I was so sore, from the yoga and stocking! But, when Theresa came in I went out and greeted her. She seems to be nice girl, from the UK traveling on a "round the world ticket" (you book flights with stops in 5+ countries I think). I’m only slightly worried for Brian, because she too wants to see the Whale sharks in Exmouth/Coral Bay. She is thinking of staying only 6 weeks. So, I suppose if I stay 8 that would take me a week past her. I already like the place and people enough to not leave them hanging. It would be kind of lame to have both of us leave at the same time. But – we’ll see, as long as they had a capable person like Leena it wouldn’t really matter too much.
Anyhow- the day has been quite lazy. I did get my yoga and a bit of exercise in, but the rain has finally arrived. The farmers have been dying for the rain, so it’s a very good thing. However, it doesn’t lend itself to much exploring on my day off! I had intended to finally visit the library and maybe even inquire about the community gym that Kathy (Dave’s mum) read about on the internet. Instead, I’ve been sitting on the couch reading! Anytime someone is home the TV is generally on. I’m not much into TV – it either captures my attention and I forget about all else, or it’s just an irritable noise spouting nonsense (as in "The View") . Anyhow, I read a magazine for a bit while the TV rambled on. Then, the power went off! So, I read a book and chatted with Leena for a bit. Funny, just after Leena went off to work with Teresa the power came back on! First thing I did? Turn the TV off! LOL. I would probably think differently of the TV it wasn’t for my laptop. I do like noise in a house when I’m the only one – so my music has been on pretty much everyday.

Well – that’s me. I didn’t get the pictures taken of the pub, since it was raining. I don’t want to take interior pictures during the evening either – since it will be so dark… and full of people! I don’t do photo sessions in front of people – I am a highly self-conscious person after all! LOL….. So – back to my book and maybe some e-mail writings for my next internet session.


22 May 2009: Friday
Well, it’s just after 11am and already it’s been a productive day! I had not problems getting out of bed when I woke up, since it was such a lazy day yesterday. I did my morning thing and then headed into to town with my camera. I got some decent shots of the pub – though I’ll have to wait till afternoon (when the sun is behind me) to get a good shot with the truck on the roof. Yes, I know there aren’t people in my pictures. I am fully aware that I will need to get some group shots at some point – many of you like to put faces to names. I also had a bit of a wonder through town – actually going a street beyond the main street! I passed the bowling and tennis club and then found the shire council. I asked where the library was, about gym membership ($3 per use for casual user), and about any groups to join. The nice gal, Brooke, mentioned a lot girls play hockey (field hockey, obviously – it’s not terribly cold here!). Unfortunately, I’ll probably be working on Saturdays – but we’ll see. She also said a lot of the girls would be in the pub tonight, for a going away dinner at 7. Cool! I work 2-5 and was figuring I’d finally give some of our beers a try during our 6-7 happy hour. So, hopefully I’ll meet a few people today!

I took lots more pictures on my way home – flowers, playgrounds, houses, my house, my room, the spiders hanging out in our house! It is really great to live in a house, rather than in the motel rooms where the girls used to live. It really isn’t a bad house either, once you look past the brown yard and all the junk in the backyard. The cobwebs and lack of a good vacuum when I first arrived was slightly depressing, but there are no spiders in my room – and that’s all that really matters! I have a double bed and have hung my Idaho calendar on a wall (using dental floss! LOL). I have only just gotten the vacuum working better, so I haven’t done the clean up I’d like, but I think even if/when I do I will be leaving the spiders on the ceilings and corners. I’d rather have healthy, established spiders hanging out then clearing them out and having new ones wandering around looking for a good spot! Ha ha ha.

Anyhow – hope you all like the pictures I took today. The sun was out, though I had to be pretty patient for some of the foliage pictures; I had to wait for the massive gusts to die back down to strong breezes with lapses of calm. While there was blue sky with clouds on my way into the house, I can see some dark purple on the horizon behind my back fence. Looks like the farmers will be getting more of the much needed wet stuff.

From Piss to Pub

Well, it was an interesting day; at the end of it I am safe, sound, and mostly settled in Cunderdin.

Saturday 16 May, I wandered downtown to buy some theater tickets and look for a map. I was in the pedestrian mall when I noticed a line of people with cameras. I looked up and over and noticed the white building with brown trim that always reminds me of Swiss architecture (though I have no basis that Swiss is correct!). The clock reminded me of the only glockenspiel I have ever seen – in Stratford, New Zealand. As the clock struck 11, the bells started chiming and the two jousters on their horses proceeded to go through several rounds of jousting. It was an interesting discovery in Perth! After this small show I continued on to the bus station for transport to Cottesloe Beach.

I had considered going all the way into Freemantle, but the bus was an hour ride and I couldn’t be bothered walking back to the train station for a half hour ride. So I opted for the popular surf/swim beach instead. The Indian Ocean was a beautiful blue color, with the mottled darkness of underwater rocks/grass. In the distance, past the large anchored ships, a hazy Rottnest Island could be seen. The sand was lovely and warm, but the water was freezing – especially with the presence of a stiff breeze. So, instead of hopping in and going for a swim, I read on the beach and refreshed my tan. I treated myself to a light lunch at a busy and fun café and then indulged in a double scoop of some delicious gelato. I walked down the beach path for a bit before coming across the Cottesloe sundial. It seemed to run about 10 minutes fast, but it was neat to discover a large working sundial! I walked on for a quite a while; watching surfers, photographing flowers, and enjoying my last view of ocean that I would see in many weeks.

I arrived back in Perth with plenty of time to shower and have a cup of coffee before attending "The Alchemist" at His Majesty’s Theater. I got a smoking deal on the ticket - $25 for a $65 seat! It wasn’t the play I wanted to see, but the "psychological thriller" was sold out, so I went for this comedy. I was quite pleased that I had spent so little on the ticket, as the play itself was far less entertaining than I had hoped. However, I’ll spare you my full review and move on with my main story. I had thought I might stop at a pub on the way back from the theater, but none of the bars seemed really appealing. I didn’t really want to feign interest in a live band and I didn’t want to drink a solo beer in a crowded bar. So, I smiled my way up the road and to my deserted hostel (everyone was out partying themselves). I put on some music and packed up my bags for my departure. I was hoping to get up early and store my bags while I explored Kings Park for the afternoon.

Unfortunately – I never made it to Kings Park. Instead, I got up quite early on Sunday, 17 May, and made my bowl of muesli and orange juice (yes, it sounds a bit weird, but it’s really yummy). There was a girl sleeping on a couch in one lounge, so I went to the lounge in the other side. I was greeted by two happy Irish guys, Kenny and Ronan, that had yet to go to bed after a night on the town. We didn’t talk much; mostly I ate breakfast while they played music (based on my imminent departure and ranging from the "The Beattles" and the "The Doors" to the "Fraggle Rock" song). I smiled and had a laugh when they busted out with a serenade. Ronan gave me a couple happy hugs before we went our ways for the morning.

I went back to my room to finish packing and check out. As soon as I walked in the guy in the bunk above me, Sam, told me to be careful where I walked as "a guy has just come in here and pissed"!!! What?! Where!? Sam showed me the corner Kevin had decided to empty his bladder. I turned on the light to confirm my dread. Yep, Kevin had leaked ALL OVER my backpack!!! My pack which contained my passport, my wallet, my camera, my diary, and the book I was reading. Oh, I was livid! Sam says he really tried to stop Kevin, but he obviously didn’t try hard enough! I slammed the door on my way out of the room and found one of the guys I knew worked in the hostel - just finishing up the nightshift. I asked if he knew Kevin and what I was supposed to do when he had just pissed all over my things. Keith was shocked and told me that he would wake him up and he would have to clean it up. He said I could have Kevin kicked out if I wanted. Still furious, I went back to my room, grabbed my clothes (laid out for the day), and changed in the toilet. I can honestly say that I felt like having a massive cry in the toilet, but instead I let only a few tears roll out while I shook in incredulity. When I came out of the toilet, Ronan and Kenny were looking for me. Ronan gave me a big hug of sympathy and then wanted to know where my things were. Kevin was their mate – and "the nicest guy you would ever meet" – and they were going to clean up the mess for him. In my room, I showed them the soaked pack surrounded by a lake of urine. Sam recounted what had happened and Kenny checked the top of the bed to make sure Dominic, my teddy, hadn’t suffered too. After ensuring that nothing else was defiled, I headed back out to see what the boys were doing with my stuff. I followed the trail of large liquid drops down the hall, where I found Kenny had taken my camera out of my bag. Luckily I had zipped it up in its case properly – the case was absolutely soaked, but the camera was only barely damp! Thank God! I helped Kenny ensure that everything was out of the case before it was put in the washer. Next, I found Ronan had emptied the contents of my bag: later he would recount to Kevin just how much liquid he had had to put his hand in to scoop things out of the bag; I think it was up to his ring finger when he made a scooping gesture! Kevin is now nicknamed "The Camel" for how much water he can retain!

Anyhow, the end result was that Ronan pronounced my book (which he had read and claimed to be a very good book) was not to be returned. Instead of binning it, he put it on the hostel rack! We are pretty sure it was gone later in the day! Eww! While Ronan would have liked to bin my diary, I would not allow that! It was far worse for the wear – the cover is very loose now and obviously waterstained – but the writing is still readable. I am pretty certain I won’t be using it again, but I couldn’t throw away the thoughts and stories of my New Zealand travels (the ones not posted on my blog, the thoughts from my plane travel and great walk; the ones I had recounted to Dave in the airport before leaving for OZ). Later in the day, when I finally met Kevin and was having a laugh about the whole incident, I had Kevin sign my diary!

Luckily… LUCKILY, I keep my passport in leather wallet, along with spare credit cards and a print out of my working visa. The wallet was wet, but my passport was perfectly dry!!!! Ugh, I don’t even want to think about my passport being soggy with urine!! Eww, gross! Everything that could be washed was put into the washer and I rinsed other things – money, credit cards, etc. Ronan used an iron to try drying my diary and passport wallet (which I had given a thorough wash, to avoid any smells or water stains when it dried). The iron saved the paper with the address of where I was working, but the sun is what dried the wallet best. The diary is mostly dry :(

During all this I was able to lose some anger and see the humor in it all. At least I wasn’t the one with my hands covered in my friends waste! Nothing of value was lost, even my poor cell phone that had been out of the bag, but in the large puddle; so I couldn’t be too mad. Ronan went around and made a collection from people he knew (and were up) and shoved $45 into my pocket. I half heartedly tried to decline, but he wouldn’t hear of it. I would have been happy with just $25, to buy another book. After everything was salvaged, and my bags were on the line to dry, we all sat on the patio rehashing the event and having a laugh. Soon, they were ready for the pub (opening at 9) and its chips with a "beautiful special sauce". They reckoned I would need a drink after everything, and since I’d never had a beer in Australia I figured they were right. I paid for one round with the money I had been given, but made sure I had enough to replace my book. After a few rounds we headed back to the hostel. I checked out and stored my gear for the next hour until catching my train. While I would have loved to go downtown and buy some books, I opted for being a good sport and continue socializing. By the time it was time for me to call a cab I was sitting on the patio with Keith, Kenny, Ronan, Kevin, Sam, and several miscellaneous people. Every time somebody new would arrive on the patio they would have to hear the story too! Poor Kevin, he was pretty much mortified. The bizarre thing is, Kevin’s roommate had gotten up in the night and pissed in their room too! Only, Ian had only peed on his own things! He hadn’t gone down several doors and defiled someone else’s stuff. Ha ha ha, not only stuff – no, it would have been easy if he had weed on my clothes – they are very washable. No, as Ronan kept pointing out "You pissed on her documents! Documents!!". Ha ha ha ha. How could I not laugh?

When I left, I gave hugs to Kevin, Keith, Kenny, and Ronan telling them that they would each be mentioned in my blog. I also gave hugs to my roommate, a lovely girl named Nicole, and her friend Mark, who I’d talked to a bit in the past and who helped me with my bags.
I didn’t have to wait too long on the train platform before I was loaded up and sitting in a window seat. I decided that I had best buy a sandwich on the 2 hour ride; though I was far from drunk I certainly didn’t want to show up to my new employers smelling like I’d just spent the entire morning drinking beer! As I watched the landscape slide past I realized I was in Australia! The hills were covered with tall leafy trees – gum trees I’m sure, with their tall, branched trunks and pale bark. The ground beneath the trees was brown with grass and some shrubbery. Occasionally the train followed a creek, which sometimes was narrow and full of water and other times was just patches of water spread over a wide rocky bed. I allowed myself to be awed by the fact that I was in the environment of National Geographic issues!

I’m not sure how much of the country I will see while I am based here in Cunderdin. I guess it will depend on how well I get to know the locals and how friendly they are. I went to the pub for dinner last night and got a full tour. I start my first shift and training this afternoon (Monday 18, May). The pub was really busy last night, and that makes me pretty nervous. However, I know I can handle things – I just can’t allow myself to get stressed. It will be a great experience for me, as the pub is not only a bar but also a bottle shop (liquor store) and restaurant. That means I will have many new skills to put on my resume.

I am not allowing myself to be even slightly disappointed by my situation. I have my own room, with a double bed, in a rundown house. I will share the house with my co-workers, 2 female backpackers. One of them, Lana, I will work with for the next several weeks, the other, Camila (?) is leaving today – to be replaced by a new girl tomorrow. There is no landline, which is the major disappointment ( as it was what Dave and I were counting on for cheap communication) and the internet is going to cost $3 an hour. I do have cell reception, in the streets, and most stations on the tellie are clear. Luckily, there are a few books floating around the place too – though I wish I could have finished my "Love in the Time of Cholera"! I also have an entire room that I have filled with the contents of my bags. I will be evaluating what is of importance to keep and what I can do without. I am a hopeless sentimental, so I will have to think less of where I’ve worn certain clothes before and think of who can wear them again (or how much it will cost to replace them)….. It is a desolate area, but I am sure that I will do fine – I already did some yoga this morning and hope to get into the habit of exercising daily. Like I said, I’m not allowing myself to be disappointed. It’s the country, not the city, and it’s what I signed up for!

Rottnest Island

When the first Dutch sailors landed on a large island just off the coast of Perth they named it (in their tongue) “Rats nest island”. To this day, that is what the island is still called - Rottnest. Of course, it’s not actually a nest for oversized rats. It is, however, the only place that one can find the endemic quokkas – little marsupials that look like a tiny kangaroo and have a tail that looks exactly like a rats!

My day trip to this vacation hot spot for Western Australians started early, early in the morning of Wednesday, 13 May. Actually, I woke up an hour earlier than I wanted – thinking my dim watch said it was 5:45 – not 4:45! So, after another hour of not quite sleep (but not up and about either) I had breakfast, made a lunch, and dressed in my swimmers. I had thought the ferry left at 8, so I rushed down the not so busy streets to reach the docks; only to find out that the ferry left at 8:45. I sat in the sun and watched a shag dry its wings while I waited for departure. My hostel roommate had suggested that catching the ferry from the Fremantle port was faster and more entertaining “there is nothing to see down the river”. However, I am more than pleased to have included the Swan River in my journey to the island. We were told what bits of the town we were seeing as we passed by – the university, kings park, the millionaire strip from the 80s, the millionaire strip for today, what house recently sold for 20 million, which house was on the market for 85 million….you know, a typical tour down a river :-) I didn’t bother taking pictures on our way down– I hid out in the cabin having a look, knowing that I could get my snaps in on the way back upriver, not wanting to get a head start on my dose of sunshine about to come.
Rottnest Island is a massive holiday spot for Western Australians – weather it is for a day or a week. There are several tour busses that run around the islands, but that’s nearly the only automotives that you will see on the roads – besides the few ranger/science vehicles. Everyone else uses a bicycle or walks. I picked up my rented bicycle from the jetty, headed to the information center, and then set off. I was told it took about 4 hours to cycle all the way around the island, but I decided to see how long it took me to get to my snorkel destination and go from there. Ha – it only took me 15 minutes to make it to the Parker Point snorkel trail! The coastal journey was absolutely beautiful. Clear blue/green water with patches of dark blue where the sea grass grew. While most of the shorelines are rocky and covered in scrub, Rottnest Island is renowned for its sandy coves and bays. It’s also known for great surf. I, however, was just interested in seeing my first Australian fishes (yes – fishes is the correct term: plural fish = fish when it is of the same species, but = fishes when it is covering fish of many species).

It was still fairly early in the morning (11 I think?), but the cycling had warmed me up enough to consider doing the snorkeling now rather than later. Parker point is noted for its pink coral and I didn’t want to miss it if it wasn’t found at other sites. Since it’s coming into winter here in the southern hemisphere, I was expecting pretty cold waters. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that walking into the water didn’t cause me to gasp and run back up beach. I was even more pleased when dipping my whole body into the cool water didn’t make me hyperventilate in my snorkel! I don’t own any fins, and wasn’t going to bother spending money to rent some (though I don’t think the rental clerk noticed that I hadn’t purchased that package – she had seemed to indicate to the big crate of snorkel gear when I gave her my ticket). So, I slowly swam over the sea grass beds towards the line of bouys that marked the sanctuary boundaries. I saw a few fish here and there on my way through the semi-cloudy water, but the large schools of small fish only appeared when I was near the bouys. Once in the sanctuary, it was like all the fish knew where they were supposed to be! I can’t say there were HEAPS of fish, but larger fish started appearing and weren’t terribly worried by my presence. I dove down to read the first trail marker (a plague set in concrete with hand holds and a white marker bouy), and scared a large striped fish with lovely red markings. Unfortunately, it hid under a rock and refused to be photographed – YES, I had remembered to not only pack my camera, but to go snorkeling with it too! LOL (laugh out loud). There really isn’t any describing an underwater scene, it’s just other worldly. I found the knobby pink coral and also some intricately convoluted coral (brain coral?). I saw several colorful fish, many black ones with blue tips at the end of their fins, quite a few bland looking ones, and a few fairly large ones. I saw long thin fishes (one all white, one with a red band on its eye), I saw parrot fish eating bits of coral (creating a small dust cloud as it broke bits off the sand floor and when they spit bits out again), and I saw a jelly fish (I even got a decent picture!). I made the slow swim back to the now “crowded” beach. I was feeling the chill of the water and my mouth was dry from the salt water my snorkel leaks. However, when I was less than 300 meters from exiting the water, I had to stop and hover in fascination. I knew what I was seeing wasn’t a sting ray – it’s dragon like snail head told me that much – but I didn’t know what this MASSIVE creature could be. It undulated its wide wing-like appendages to swim towards me, but before I could get my camera turned back on it had hidden its large head in the sea grass. The only pictures I have are of an ambiguous black blob. My only guess is that it was some sort of giant sea slug. But when I say massive and giant, I am NOT exaggerating. It could easily have rested on my face and wrapped it’s “wings” around my head. I reckoned that it wasn’t anything poisonous or terribly aggressive, so I did take one of its “wings” (which were floating straight up together, like a butterfly at rest) between my fingers – it had a slightly rubbery texture, but really it didn’t feel like anything; just soft!

Once out of the water I was freezing. I drank some water and considered drying off, but I opted for keeping my towel dry until I could rinse off (after all, I have to use that towel for showering too!). I packed up all my stuff and headed up the stairs, having a brief conversation with an Aussie about what we had seen on our snorkels. At the top of the stairs were a couple of kids with their bikes. They were giggling about something, and then I realized they were watching a quokka!! No way! Before landing on the island I had decided not to be disappointed when I didn’t see a quokka; the video played on the ferry informed us that quokkas were nocturnal and the best time to see them was early morning and night. I figured I’d have to come back on an overnight visit to glimpse the critters. However, these little things have realized that humans, generally only around during the day, are a great source of food. So, here was one being cute looking for handouts. I put my stuff down, opened my pack, and proceeded to unpack everything to get to the camera I had buried. Well, the quokka thought that was great! I must be ready to feed him! In fact, he must have smelled my bagel sandwich because he made a good effort to climb in my bag! LOL! Ah man, he was SO cute. I gave him some pets, which he didn’t seem to mind, as I kept him out of my bag. Finally I got most everything packed pack up – having to pick his little 3 toed foot out of the plastic bag I had brought for my wet things. Oh man, he was so, so cute! He/it was pretty soft too; slightly course hair, but not rough. I’ll tell you, if the snorkeling hadn’t made my day that certainly would have. I took more pictures and video before heading off to a shower (which made me cold all over again). When I returned to my bike, I found two quokkas! So, I had to take more pictures before pedaling off again.


Well, by the time I started biking further around the island it was nearly 1 o’clock! I’m not sure how long I was in the water snorkeling, but it must have been a while. Of course, it was a decent swim without fins. I had wondered how hard the cycling would be, since it’s been more than a year since I took the cycling classes in Idaho. While my bike gears weren’t terribly great, they at least worked; so I was able to make it up the hills without totally exhausting myself! However, it was still quite tiring – not to mention that sitting on a bike seat for too long takes its toll! I knew I needed to stop for lunch, but kept pedaling down the phenomenal coastline. I was hoping to find a nice beach from which I could watch some surfers, but I only ever saw one surfer and he just lay on his board while the waves rolled in. Eventually, I found a spot that looked like a good place to stop and look at the map (I had passed several junctions without knowing exactly where I was going). Green Island was just a bit of rock off the beach, but several snorkelers could be seen out in the water. Many more people were enjoying the sandy beach, and a quokka was hanging out hoping for bits. Looking for seclusion, I walked past the quokka, over the sand dunes (dotted with what must be quokka pooh), and made up a spot on some of the rocks in the next cove. If I stood up I could see the inland lighthouse, but when I sat down I had the view to myself. I had seen a sign, near where I parked my bicycle, that osprey bred in the area. I didn’t expect to see any, since the signage mentioned them arriving in July, so I wasn’t sure what kind o bird was sitting in the massive nest on the rocks. I knew it would be an osprey nest – it must have been near as tall as me, built of large branches and twigs on a rock that obviously stays fairly dry at high tide. After lunch, I had forgotten about the bird in the nest when I started walking down to the small sandy bit of beach amid the rocks. I kind of surprised myself when I took some more pictures and realized that it was definitely a bird of prey sitting in the nest! The bird flew away and I headed back to my spot to have a read. I’m not sure what the noise was that caught my attention and pulled my head out of my book, but when I looked towards the nest I saw 2 large birds flying in!! I couldn’t get my camera out (and turned on… slow thing!) in time to catch a shot of either bird landing in the nest, but I have a couple of them sitting in the nest. I didn’t want to scare them away, so I only went down towards the beach a little ways for a better photograph. Then I decided that I had better get on my if I wanted to see more of the island before catching the ferry.


It was just past 2 when I set off again, meaning I had missed all of the volunteer tours of the lighthouses, tunnels, or gun (the tunnels were dug when a massive gun was erected during WW?). So, I opted to avoid the uphill cycle and just cruise through the inland hills of the island. I passed several of the salt lakes, stopping to take pictures of one particularly pink lake. I guess the pink bits were the salt? Everything (including the pink crystalline bits and the bottoms of the plants on the edge) was covered in white strands. I initially thought the white strands blanketing everything was the salt, but they had a tough, fibery feel to them. Oddly enough, when I pulled a chunk of white covered pink stuff off the soggy lake bed, it came up with gold colored “roots”. So I’m not real sure what’s going on in this environment!

I continued cycling around, making my way back towards the jetty. I passed a fabulous bay loaded with yellow bouys and lined with yellow apartments. I would guess that many of the people owning boats in the Perth and Fremantle harbours anchor their boats to the yellow bouys and live in the yellow apartments during school and summer holidays. While there were only 2 or 3 boats anchored up, there were still several people enjoying the sandy horseshoe cove and its blue/green water. I continued on only to stop again at the bottom of a hill to look at some seabirds foraging at another lake. I’m not sure what they were; they appeared similar to the pied stilts I’d seen in NZ, but had different colorations and seemed a bit larger. I also don’t think pied stilts have a beak that bends slightly upwards at the tip? The Australian shelducks looked (and sounded) very much like the paradise shelducks of NZ though (those are the ones that were all over the paddocks, mom). Soon, I found myself back in “The Settlement”; the only place on the island where there are buildings, a windmill for 35% of the power, and water treatment facilities. I was early for the ferry departure, but they let me hand in my bike and board the vessel. While waiting on the back deck of the boat, I had a pretty good yak with a couple from the UK that had been in town for 4 weeks visiting their daughter.

I took a few pictures of Rottnest Island and some of the massive anchored ships we crossed. The funniest was when I looked to the side and saw a huge ship’s bow! At first I thought we were going to be run over, but then I realized it was anchored! LOL. Our ferry made two stops to unload Fremantle passengers before heading back up the Swan River. Despite the sun being right in my camera, I made a point of photographing the side of a large ship. It was from Kuwait! It wasn’t unloading oil, it was loading live sheep! LOL Upriver a bit further and after we passed the three traffic bridges the bar reopened and I headed down with my free voucher (for booking a day trip). I considered the wine tasting, but then decided to be good and have tea instead. The guy figured he’d give me both though – he even gave me both cake and biscuits (cookies)! Ha ha ha. So, I drank my tea, had my sugar, and then had some small tasters of two local red wines. Though the sun was setting over the ocean (and through the trees and multi-million dollar homes), the color behind the city was a lovely site. Just for the one picture of approaching the city, with all its lights on (particularly the Perth wheel), from the water was worth the ferry trip up the river.

When we disembarked, right next to the wheel and the bell tower, I realized that the bell tower was lit up too. However, it wasn’t just purple lights; it changed to blue and red too! Very pretty. I took some pictures of the bell tower and the brightly lit wheel before heading up the road and back to my hostel. I was definitely pleased with my day out!

I had my RSA (responsible service of alcohol) course yesterday (14 May; Thursday). It was an 8 hour course instructing me how to recognize an intoxicated person and what the laws of Western Australia are for licensed establishments. I was surprised at how many fines could be handed to the staff at the bar and how often law suits were won against establishments when it came to drinking misconduct and accidents. Though it made me a little more nervous about my upcoming post in a country pub, I am hopeful that I will have a good manager that isn’t too lax on the rules (I certainly can’t afford a $4000 fine!).


Today - Friday, 15 May - I met with my placement contact again. I was told WHERE I would be working and what train to book. I am in Cunderdin, a 2 hour train ride east of Perth. The "Ettamogah Pub" looks just like a cartoon! It's picture can be found on the Cunderdin wikipidia page! I've filed for my tax number and now need to buy my train passage and open my bank account. I'm not sure how I'll spend my weekend, but I think a "thriller" play may be involved tomorrow! Whoo hoo - I ship off on Sunday!! I have high hopes for this position - I am an "All rounder" which means I'll work in the bar and kitchen, as well as do some cleaning. There are already several girls working there (backpackers also) that I've been told are really nice. My room and board is provided and I should earn (after taxes I believe) over $300 weeek (possibly up to $400, but I don't want to get my hopes up). Since I'll be in the boonies, all that money should be savings! So - hopefully I'll have some good pub stories to keep you entertained through the upcoming weeks. I'll stay for at least 6 weeks, maybe 8, before taking off to snorkel with the whale sharks that are off the coast right now!!! (the link shows a picture from Ningaloo reef - which is where I'll be going, far north of Perth).