Goodbye to Cunderdin

Well.... Here I go... Back to the world of travelling! I'm nervous, sad, excited…. I’m OVERPACKED!!!! Far out! I make the worst backpacker! Oh well, it’s manageable.

I catch my train to Kalgoorlie in less than an hour. Brian has lent us his car, Cat (Catherine, the Irish backpacker that’s been here almost 4 weeks) will drop me off at the station before work. Tasha (Natasha, from England, just arrived Friday afternoon to be my replacement). I am extremely stoked that I won’t be walking my bags to the station!!!!!

Anyway… as I hoped in my last blog – here are some pictures. First are pictures from my going away celebration Friday night. I don’t have any pictures from Saturday night, because there wasn’t much on in town or at the pub. We closed the doors near 10 maybe? Brian bought us girls rounds for over an hour. It was a great time to chat with Brian, Backy (co-owner of pub), Cat, and Tasha. We had lots of laughs!

Aaron (Tomo), Will (the butcher), and Craig (Fish)

Adrian and Me

Claire and Me

Lynn and me in front of the Pitstop Diner (she gave me a free ice cream cone after that!)

Lynn and Glynn, next to their Harley. They own the Pitstop Diner (cheap internet, good coffee, friendly service ;-)

Brian

Tchae's Kitchen (she wouldn't let me photograph her)

Tahsa (left) and Cat (right, obviously)

Two birds that will dive bomb you if you get to close to the nest next to the bottleshop ... Just met them today!

Ooops - I somehow lost the two pictures I was going to post with Flat Eli! :( I can't add them now... to little time to move things around. Guess I'll just have to post another Flat Eli update sometime!

Flat People around the world

I acquired a new travel partner last week. He arrived direct from the U.S – Idaho actually. His name is Flat Eli. Flat Eli is the outline of my mom’s 8 year old neighbor boy – Eli. Eli’s 3^rd grade class has just read a book called “Flat Stanley”. In the book, Stanley gets flattened by a bulletin board. The benefits of being flattened are his ability to fly like a kite and to be posted through the mail to see his friend.

As a class project, the Purple Sage Elementary kids outlined themselves on paper, cut their flat selves out, and posted them to friends or family. As a caretaker of my “flat person” I am requested to take pictures of my flat person at various places. The class would like to receive postcards, pictures, and memorabilia from the adventures the flat people have for the next 8 months. I have every intention of keeping up with the responsibility – I even sent a post card right away; it had pictures of all the various animals in Australia (including the platypus, kangaroo, and koala) and told them how long it took to arrive in Cunderdin from Caldwell (13 days). I really look forward to taking Flat Eli around Australia and back to NZ with me. Before I send him back in May, Flat Eli should have seen South Australia, Sydney, Tasmania, Uluru (Ayer’s Rock), and various areas of northern New Zealand! I’ll probably send some Aussie candies back with mom too!

I must say – I’m really quite excited. I haven’t taken Flat Eli around town for pictures yet – it’s been SO windy, but I do have pictures of Flat Eli attending a class presentation with me!

My friend, Adrian, is a teacher of a mixed 6/7 class (age 10/11). He thought the class would enjoy having an American backpacker come in and talk to the class. I tried my hardest to put together an interesting PowerPoint – with lots of pictures. The presentation went over really well, I had many questions and I think the kids really enjoyed the photographs. Before launching into my PowerPoint, I introduced my travel companions; both Dominic (my teddy bear) and Flat Eli. A few of the kids had heard of the “Flat Stanley” book, but many hadn’t. I explained a bit about the flat person project, but I’m afraid the kids interest in my presence might have been more for my being American than my traveling with a flat person; I didn’t get to many questions about Eli. But that’s okay, the important part is that Flat Eli has started his journey – and has made his first appearance in my blog!

I am going to try my hardest to keep this blog updated for frequently from here on out. I’ll be leaving Cunderdin in 3 days!!!! Yep, only 4 more shifts (2 shifts a day) and I’m out of here!!! WOOHOO, onto travelling!!!

P.S....

I now only have one shift left!!! WOOHOOO. In less than 24 hours I will be on the train! I had a GREAT night out with friends after work last night. I have some pictures to post, but will wait until my final goodbye tonight. Hopefully I will get a chance to post a blog (even if it's all pictures) before hitting the train tomorrow afternoon. Big loves to everyone! I'm SO HAPPY!!!

Friendly Folk _ Cunderdin

I know I’m not doing this blog properly – in sequential order of Dave and I’s trip… but, oh well. Blogs really are just about what’s on the writer’s mind at the time – and I just haven’t been able to pic out my favorite cave pictures for the next installment…. So, here’s another tangent.

I’m feeling quite blessed today. Not because I’ve been hit, again, by a stupid bug I’ve been fighting for WEEKS now; though I am quite fortunate that my ear is not hurting from the bug settling there. No – I’m feeling quite lucky because I have spent my time in a town filled with lovely people. While I am good friends with only a few, every person I talk to in the pub or on the street is a genuinely good person.

A few examples:

My friend, Craig, took us up in a “cherry picker” last Tuesday (8 Sept). Cat (my new Irish co-worker and roommate) and I had the day off, Craig had mentioned taking me up to the heights the week before. Craig’s boss had a big smile on his face when we met him; he was happy to let us use the machine to get a view for miles over Cunderdin.

A few weeks previous (28 August), Aurelie (the French co-worker/roommate Cat replaced) and I spent the morning checking out tractors at the shop by the pub. The manager there was happy to let Chris (Craig’s brother) spend some time showing us the wares and letting us hop in the brand new rides (half million dollars at least).

My boss, Brian, took me to York on my day off this last Wednesday (9 Sept). He had no business there, but he took me anyways. The rain stopped while we looked in the shops, we walked around town and over the swing bridge under beautiful weathered skies. (okay - this doesn't show the sky, but it's the inside of an sweet shop. They even had some American candy!)

That same Wed. (9 Sept), Adrian and Claire took me out towards Meckering. We all finally got to take the pictures of the yellow canola fields – I got my artsy pictures……

While they got their colorful portrait ones.

I was surprised on Thursday when my co-worker, Tchae, gave me a small souvenier from her 3 day vacation north. It was only a simple bookmark – listing various “Aussie Lingo” phrases – but it was such a thoughtful gift (especially since I’d been using napkins and paper scraps to mark my place in books). Or course, it would be greatly helpful if the definitions to a few of the phrase were on the other side of the bookmark – but I guess I know have a mission to be sure I know what each one means by the time I leave. I do know now, however, that “chuck a wobbly” is like “having a go” or going off on a rant.

Despite such a great week, I was really quite over the whole place by Friday. I know! Talk about taking life for granted (how easy it is to forget the happy times of a few days back!). But really, I’m just so ready to travel again and – well – we all know how work is. Just ‘cause it’s not bad doesn’t mean you really want to go everyday! Anyhow, after a great day of feeling healthy (for the first time in weeks) on Friday, I was a bit unhappy at feeling sick again on Saturday. I was letting it get to me, when one of the pub’s semi-regulars (and well known about town) gave me a gift! I didn’t know what to say. “Lofty” and I had discussed (during my first stint in Cunderdin I think) an old doll that used to be popular in Australia. It’s quite fallen out of favor these days – being classed as politically incorrect and possibly racist. However, Lofty was surprised I hadn’t heard of “golliwog” and though he explained well enough what it was, he still wanted to find one for me. So – I was extremely surprised and humbled when I opened the bag and found the small, black doll with spikey (but extremely soft) hair inside. Talk about not knowing what to say! I put the doll in my tip jar and it made a good conversation piece throughout the day. Several people remembered having large “golywog” dolls of their own when they were kids. They are quite out of fashion and frowned upon now as they are considered a derogatory and racist representation of the black people. (I thought it was regarding Aboriginal people, but my internet search has found it's really African descendants). However, if one has an open mind then one can appreciate the doll for what it is – a piece of cultural history.

I don’t have a picture of my next lovely gift, but the brief account is an example of how nice and lovely even the young kids are here. Macey is the daughter of a regular here (really – the pub is a meeting place for many families and it’s quite common for babies to be crawling while kids are on the playground; whether it’s during a family dinner or dad’s few cold ones during “footy”, the town pretty much grows up in the pub!). Macey turned 8 yesterday (12 Sept). She had a “lolly bag” (lollies are candy) full of candy and prizes from her party. She had helped me fold napkins during the long, slow time between lunch and 5 o’clock beers. We talked about her birthday, school, and aspirations to be a chef (where “Mister Backy said I could work in the kitchen when I was 18”). She gave me a pink pencil decorated with fairies. She said she had two and I could have one if I wanted! How sweet is that!

While I took my little black doll home that afternoon, to keep it from getting covered in alcohol, I left the unsharpened (easier to travel home with me) pencil in my tip jar – as a reminder of all the friendly folk that live out here in the country.

Living Fossils, tall trees, bounty of the sea, ocean sunset

Continuing the adventures of Southern Western Australia (WA) with Dave:

SUNDAY 26 July (Day 1) continued: Perth to Dunsborough

After Dave and I finished playing in the circus of sculptures and walking the waterside walkways of Mandurah, we continued south to Lake Clifton.

Lake Clifton is “one of the few places in the world where ‘living rocks’ (microbialites) grow. It is the largest ‘lake-bound’ microbialite reef in the southern hemisphere”.

I wasn’t actually sure what to expect of these prehistoric creatures. I had read about them while planning my aborted trip to Northern WA, so I was stoked that there was a place I could catch them again. Apparently, these small creatures are somewhat like coral? “As the microorganisms photosynthesise, calcium carbonate is drawn out of the lime-enriched lake water to form rocklike material”. So, that should explain why, when we walked down the wooden jetty into the lake, it appeared we were really just looking at lots of rocks under the water! LOL (laugh out loud).


It was a beautiful lake though! Through the clear water, we could see baby fish (no idea what species) swimming along. We also noticed that the shape of the “living rocks” changed as the water depth increased. In the shallows, the rocks appeared to be flattened on top; which makes sense, as they wouldn’t be able to grow ABOVE the water level. In the deep area the “rock” appeared rounded and bubble like.

I LOVE the picture Dave took of me with the rounded rocks stretching behind me, like beautiful stepping stones leading into the reflection of sky and clouds.

We stopped briefly at the Tuart Forest. Apparently large expanses of these native forests have disappeared, they can only be found in a few places of this southern area. I am afraid to say, though, that I really didn’t notice a massive difference in flora composition from any other area of bush land! I know! How horrible a naturalist am I? Part of the problem is that the trees here (generally all some sort of species of eucalyptus (aka gum tree)) are tall enough to great a screen through which you cannot see far. So, picking out the even taller Tuart variety was near impossible. The other problem was – well, it’s the only place on our entire one week tour that the rain actually. We did get out of the car and walk around a bit, but we really couldn’t tell if there was supposed to be a trail we stuck to or if we were supposed to just wander. It’s really too bad, as the water began to fall (in decent sized drops) just as we got off track and found a very tall giant indeed. I would have loved to wander some more… as the area is supposed to be home to quite a few birds. But, I imagine the birds were hunkered down as well. So – we got back in the car and headed south again…. Just as the sun came out!

The day was getting fairly late, so we didn’t bother stopping in Bunbury. When we arrived in Busselton

we headed straight through town and to the jetty. We had both really been looking forward to the underwater viewing experience at the end of the jetty. An old, REALLY long wharf has been fitted out with a viewing enclosure beneath the waves. Supposedly a person can see fish, invertebrates, and the occasional sea lion move within their watery habitat. Unfortunately, the managers of the wharf had chosen this winter to upgrade the jetty – apparently it was becoming a bit dilapidated and dangerous. So, no underwater views for us. Instead, we were able to get a good view of the weather out to sea and watch some of the locals fish.




One lady was nice enough to answer a few of my questions – such as, what kind of crab is that. She looked at me a bit funny when I didn’t know it was a blue crab and she looked at me even more funny when I asked if I could take a picture – LOL! I would have liked to snap many pictures, capturing the bright blue coloration under the front appendages and the purplish tint on the tips. However, I didn’t want to push the women’s patience – I had already started drawing a crowd of tourists! When we left, the women went to measure her catch; on our way back down the wharf I asked – the crab was large enough to keep, it would be dinner.

As we made our way back to the car, we passed other people that were line fishing. One person had apparently forgotten to throw their catch back in…. I got a FANTASTIC picture of this remarkable fish…. Note the turquoise color on the head spine and the electric blue spots running down the top and bottom of the fish. As I finished my photo ops, a buy came wandering down the jetty with a pole. I asked what fish this was and why it was on the dock (I felt REALLY bad for the thing, struggling for air). He said it was a throw back, but for the life of me I CANNOT remember the name of this fish! I was greatly relieved when the guy toed the poor thing back into the water.

Dave and I ended our explorations in Dunsborough. We had an overpriced motel room for our anniversary night. Before getting all dolled up and going out to a Thai restaurant, we used our remaining daylight to make a quick run up to the Cape Naturaliste lighthouse. Unfortunately, the grounds were closed for the day and the sun was setting – so we didn’t have time to explore the trails or lighthouse.

Instead, we headed back down the road and took a detour to Sugarloaf Rock. Here, we were able to watch the crashing waves as well as see the lighthouse over the hills. Dave took this fantastic picture of Sugarloaf at sunset.

It’s funny, we probably wouldn’t have taken the time to note Sugarloaf on the map, except I had found a beautiful card at the Busselton Jetty souvenier shop. It had such lovely colors that I HAD to buy it for someone (Dave’s grandma just got my belated mailing last week). Since we had bought the card, I made a point of trying to see it – why by the card if we weren’t going to? I was pleased we were able to find it on this evening, as we wouldn’t have had time to come back – our trip really was too much of a whirlwind tour of an area that could be luxuriated in for weeks on end.

International Holidays .... a tangent

Happy Father’s Day…. Well, Australian Father’s Day.

I find it quite interesting how far off holidays can be world wide. Christmas and Easter – yeah, they are the same time internationally. Halloween, not really celebrated in NZ or Australia – but random costume parties are had throughout the year. Thanksgiving, obviously, is a uniquely American holiday – though a lot Americans forget that and ask what I did for it (I think I’ll celebrate it this year in NZ – it’s a good excuse for a green bean casserole!) Then there is “Queen’s Birthday”, which is celebrated in the UK, NZ, and Australia (I’m not sure about Canada). However, Queen’s Birthday in NZ is like 2 months before Queens Birthday in Australia. And even within Australia the public holiday date is different; with each state/territory taking the day off at different times of the year! How bizarre!

Two other “holidays” that are celebrated in NZ/AUS as well as America are Mother’s and Father’s Day. I left the US on Mother’s Day 2008, only to arrive just before Mother’s Day in Auckland…. “I (heart) Mum” t-shirt s were displayed in all the stores. While I find myself occasionally slipping, and calling my mom “mum” in conversations with people, I typically try to keep the term mom separate from mum. Dave and I use the difference to distinguish which of our mother’s were referring too (particularly useful in texting): his mom = mum, mine = mom. So, while the actual dates are different for Mothers Day between continents, they are still within the same month. Not Father’s Day though.

Father’s Day in the USA was on June 21. I know because I travel with the Idaho calendar I was given for Christmas. I wasn’t sure when Aus Father’s day was, but I knew that in NZ it was Sept. 6 (I wrote the NZ holidays on my calendar). I hadn’t thought much of missing the American version – I figured dad would get a kick out of a random fathers day card from Australia – or a random call (I think I did FB messages for Mother’s Day – which was the same day in NZ and America this year). I hadn’t even given a thought to missing Father’s Day, until my sister mentioned it was one of the last times she visited with dad before he went into hospital….. Then I got really sad I had missed it – why didn’t I at least call!?

When I returned to Australia, I was eating lunch in the Northam Mall with Dave. I looked up and saw an ad for the upcoming Father’s Day gift giving (still a month away at that time). I got a bit sad, but luckily Dave was there to cheer me up. I have been really pleased that hearing the Father’s Day radio ads since then hasn’t bothered me much. I still have my periods of grieving and sadness, but I’m able to comfort myself in knowing that dad was proud of me. I am so very fortunate – when I came home mom showed me the binder containing my NZ blog. It was MASSIVE – more than a book! Dad had taken the time to copy by blog (pictures and all) into a word document. With pictures properly placed, dad then printed it all out! Mom showed me the binder and thought I could come up with headings and “chapters”. Dad was really looking forward to my Australian blog, wondering if he would need a whole new binder!

Dad was proud of both his girls! I am just fortunate enough to have such a tangible reminder of how much dad enjoyed my travels, stories, and writing. It guts me that he isn’t around to read about the caves and trees Dave explored. It brings me to tears to know that he will never see the purple carpet of flowers blossoming on Cunderdin hill. While dad was never going to travel to Australia, I always feel closest to him when I’m in nature. And that’s the important thing…. He may be gone in body, but his spirit lives on in all our hearts

Happy Father’s Day dad!!