Happy Anniversary

Tonight I am celebrating 12 blissful months in Tom Price, with a lovely bottle of pinot! Shouldn't that read a xxxx stubbie? Honestly, who would have thought?

So what have I learnt?

1. A flat out no is the best way to ward off advances at the pub. (This does not however mean that the same man will not try again the following night. Points for determination I guess?)

2. A simple hat is the best way to ward off nits.

3. Eating world record sized insects helps to (marginally) reduce a fear of all bugs!

4. All snakes are bad snakes, even the common household variety.

5. Tears get me quite far (especially with telstra!), but give me an ugly face. Was this the actual reason for my 'allergic reaction/swollen face'?

6. Having a child before the age of 20 is always a terrible idea... all my patients are a glaring tribute to this!

7. The best way to make friends is to flash half a town!

8. I can do some pretty great things when I'm challenged... including climbing a 1235m mountain!

9. I like physio, and I'm not too shabby at it:)

10. I can survive by myself, in the middle of nowhere, with no support, and make the absolute best out of it!! That's my best ever lesson!

And what do I want to achieve this year...

1. ... some life direction... perhaps in the form of a five year plan?

I promise I'll get started tomorrow...

(Ps: This photo is taken at Tiger-eye pool, a local waterhole that fills up only after heavy rainfall. You need local knowledge and a good 4WD to get there... I guess that's me now... a local:)

Road trippin' with cyclone Iggy

On an impulse, I spent the weekend just been in Karratha... despite an imminent category 4 cyclone alert. I knew I'd made a great decision when my last patient for the day rocked up rolling drunk... and no, a mid-week public holiday is not a good enough excuse, surely you can still call to reschedule? This just confirmed what I already knew Tom Price to be... 'a drinking town with a mining problem'.

So, feeling sufficiently dirty and with nostril hairs singed from the smell of booze, I closed up shop and crashed Binnie and Ross' road trip to Karratha... but I can't say I was super happy about it. We drove via the unsealed access road... parts of which were flooded with water. I very bravely closed my eyes as water licked our bonnet, and truly felt glad to be alive when we arrived in k-town!

Needless to say, our holiday plans were rained out, thanks to cyclone Iggy. I even had trouble sleeping for fear our cabin would blow away! But it did make for some good relaxing, shopping (not that you can even call it that in the Pilbara), catching up with friends ands eating out.... to my great delight, they even had a McDonalds!!

2 wet days later, the cyclone forced us to drive the long way home, all 7 hours of it!! This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We headed up to Port Hedland, then travelled via Auski to Tom Price. Along the way we stopped at Point Samson, a beautiful, lazy beach side town, boasting the best fish and chips in the Pilbara. Sadly, the high heat, along with all the rain made for some wicked humidity... I couldn't un-fog my glasses, let alone my camera lens! Next stop was Cossack, for a real history lesson. It was built in the 1880's and was actually the first port in the north west, a centre of trade for the burgeoning pearling industry. My favourite part was the old courthouse, it still held records of the types of offences committed in the early 1880's! Who knew bathing out of hours was a punishable crime! We also strolled through the old cemetery, separated into Japanese and European sites (a lot less romantic than I made it sound...) The view atop the lookout was pretty amazing too! I was astounded by the leprosorium! We drove past Whim Creek, and the oldest pub in the Pilbara, on the way to Port Hedland. I can say with surprising ease that Port Hedland was not worth the visit, perhaps the biggest hole in the Pilbara?

So really, cyclone Iggy ended up making my weekend! I am so glad Binnie and Ross dragged a terrified me along!