Team Glee Glamp in Karijini

I seem to be on a roll with amazing weekend adventures! This past weekend, my friend Prid cam up for a visit. She arrived on Friday morning just in time for french toast and champagne. She also managed to coincide her trip with the rio tinto picnic day, and what a day it was!! Prid and I had our own picnic in my backyard to kickstart the night, and enjoyed chilli and garlic prawns, chorizo, fantastic cheese and of course... a few wines. We then headed down to the oval where rio had organised a band, outdoor movies, showbags, magic shows, a licensed bar area (phew), boost juice, and ... fireworks!! A group of us then headed off to the pub... I obviously had to show Prid how pumping the pub can get .Our table was on fire, and we actually attracted a huge group with our games of fingers and general rowdiness.

We learnt the hard way that this probs wasn't a fab idea as we had to get up early to begin our Karijini Adventure. We headed off in a convoy, trailing Megan, Brent, Andew, Matt and Ciara. Luckily for Prid we played a quiz on our two-ways the entire trip... I'm pretty sure we won too! The other alternative was listening to me belt out my recently purchased 'glee' cd.... sub-optimal... (This gave us the nick name 'team glee'. Despite surely losing the quiz, the other car seemed to think they were the A-team!?) Our first stop was Weano, where we smashed Kermits and Handrail pool, spider walking and everything. It was such a lovely day, with a great group of people. We even took tyre tubes to just relax in. Prideaux and I actually had an S-tube, a tube in the shape of an S, (so that your chairs are romantically attached...) sparking many renditions of S-club... "there ain't no party like an S-tube party!"

After this Prid and I checked into eco retreat, camping (glamping) in pretty great style. It was the perfect way to relax after a hard day of climbing. We felt so pampered... we had dinner (australian game) under the stars, wines on the balcony, showered in the open (with about 7 frogs) and relaxed in our cosy bed reading matching 'red dog' by the gas light! (We seemed to have a lot of matching things that weekend...)

The next day started with breakfast on the barbie and ended relaxing in our s-tube at Dales gorge. It was heaven. And lucky timing... Since Prid left there have been flash storms. Right now I'm actually watching a lightening show in what must definitely be the cyclones eye!! It's scary (exciting!!) Surely my next few weekends can't be this great...I am living the dream!!

My trip to the top of WA... Mount Me..Harry

Since I last posted, I have travelled to Karratha, Roebourne, Exmouth and Mt Meharry. I've seen more of the Pilbara in the past 3 weeks than my entire 8 months up here! It's been fantastic!!

KARRATHA AND ROEBOURNE

I tagged along with Kirsty and Binnie under the guise of work, and meeting my fellow colleagues. I really just went for the road trip (and how country am I... we drove along the dirt access road listening to unofficial australian anthems!), as well as the chance to stay with Lil, who is doing a 5 month locum. It was brilliant, girly movies, nachos, Indian... it was like we were back at Hendry House. Karratha is actually a bustling metropolis now, very different to Tom Price! And well worth the visit:) Not sure I can say the same about Roebourne... it was eye-opening, and I left there with an overwhelming sadness.

CURO VISITS!!

Curo came up to Tom Price again for the AFL grandie and most of his holidays. I think I was in a much better mind space and so hopefully showed him some fantastic aspects of my life up here. We enjoyed the grand final from my friends outdoor spa, of course with a few (many) drinks and meat pies!! I was supporting Collingwood which did not go down well...

The next weekend we road tripped to Exmouth, via Nanutarra. I didn't think I would handle the 5 1/2 hour drive, but i LOVED it! We played many a car game, rocked out to the belken, saw some amazing countryside and wildlife (emus galore!!) AND almost killed 2 kangaroos, which was sufficiently terrifying! We arrived for late check-in and was surprised with a room upgrade! Don't mind if I do! The next day Curo and I toured the town and the closest beaches, before meeting up with Lil, and some of the other Karratha crew. We enjoyed fresh prawns and delicious wine, and showed the locals how to party at the potshot pub!!

The next day we went to Turquoise beach, I have never seen anything so amazing. You only have to snorkel 10 - 15 m offshore (good if you're a bit wussy...) to see some amazing sights! I saw at least 50 different iridescent fish, a turtle and a big manta ray. Also, you just drift along in a current.... so even better, I expended zero energy!! The boys did see a big reef shark and baby, which ended my snorkel adventure. We actually spent 7 hours on the beach, I still have a sore throwing arm from the woboba and zuper ball! That night we went out for italian... in a restaurant that boasts better cuisine than italy!! It wasn't far off (and I have recent experience...) It was beautiful, and a lovely way to end our weekend. Needless to say, I'm still missing Curo after such a great trip.

MOUNT MEHARRY

Dave, Nikki (and Jess and Trixie), Kath, Jason and I, ventured out to Mount MeHarry, the tallest mountain in WA (a whole 12m higher than Mt Bruce)... we were literally on top of the world! It's accessible via a very hairy gravel 4WD track. My stomach was absolutely churning on the way up. We seemed to be sliding down faster than we could get up! (it didn't help that we were driving a 22 year old 4WD called Elsie!!) But the view from the top was definitely worth it. We set up camp right on the peak and calmed our nerves with some well deserved bevvies and sausages from the hot plate. I even survived a night in the wild... swag only, no tents!! Unfortunately I set my swag up in face of the wind... everyone else was clever enough to hide behind the cars... I'll never forget the experience. I think 4WD'ing, collecting our own firewood, cooking on a campfire, drinks with great friends and braving it in a swag is what the Pilbara is all about!

Mein Dirndl

I'm feeling incredibly sorry for myself today... stuck to the couch with frozen peas on my ankle and a heat pack on my very sore neck...

Last night was the Tom Price Beerfest and I feel the need to share my disappointment at being the ONLY person (in a crowd of 200) that dressed up!! It was almost as if Tom Price was 'too cool'... not me!! Beth's daughter's even thought I was Alice in Wonderland!! You can imagine how irate I was when the advertised door prize for 'best dressed' was not awarded...

Other highlights included rolling my ankle quite badly on the walk there. That serves me right for trying to text and walk... and sets the feminist movement back a few hundred years, proving women aren't as good as we think at multi-tasking...

This didn't stop me from having the time of my life though... I'm fairly certain I have dancing induced whiplash...I actually did consider presenting to hospital with neck pain... but then I remembered how dramatic I sometimes get:)

Needless to say, I'm expecting at much higher standard from the locals at next month's Oktoberfest.

lazy poster

I am so ashamed of myself... 2 months since my last entry!! So much has happened, I don't even know where to start!!

-I played in a women's AFL match, the 'powder puffs'... honesty the MOST FUN I've ever had! I thought I was playing so well... I even kicked a goal!! But then, at the end, I was awarded the Princess Award! (For being a bit of a dud girl.) But as I said to Nain and Taid, anyone would look like a princess next to some of those ladies... I told my boss that I was an award winning player and she guessed within 10 seconds it was for being 'princess-y'. It probably didn't help that I told everyone I was a tackle-free zone... Sadly I also seemed to be a catch-free zone.

-Then I headed out to Wakathuni (our closest indigenous community) for a real Aussie Barbecue... We were to have a whole kangaroo, cooked on a fire-pit!! Sadly though, the family that went out hunting didn't get a roo, so we just had boring old sausages.. not quite the same element of excitement! It was still a great arvo though... we played 2 hours of basketball... which was quite tricky as Zakyeus and Aleaka like to hang off each of my legs, we were a force to be reckoned with. All the kids got awards for being part of our 'after school club', and they wrote me a lovely thank you card. Then we played hide-and-seek, skipping and peg chasey! (I also witnessed a true feral dog fight... it was TERRIFYING!! The dog that got attacked came over to where the kids were playing and shook his head, and dog blood splattered all over the kids... I'm still disinfecting with aquium.. YUCK)

-THEN... Curo and I headed to Europe and got all 'cultural and shit'... a far cry from the likes of Tom Price and Paraburdoo. Our trip deserves a whole journal of separate entries... it was truly fantatstic!! Some of the best bits: travelling with Mr Map, no need for a GPS! Driving through Austria with team GETRANKE and being subjected to much bowel talk, mountain boarding down the swiss alps, waking to constant chiming in Salzberg, A Sound of Music tour with the world's most flamboyant man, a Moulin Rouge show during which Curo couldn't keep his eyes open despite being surrounded by boobs, homemade pasta and at least 100 chocolate croissants, biking through Barcelona, partying till 6am with the bucks group!! (and matching them stein for stein), mystery shots and chin master... and finally... ending in a small town (Suhr) in Switzerland for Steve and Mirjam's wedding... in a CASTLE!!!

-Since returning, I've suffered a life and career crisis... met my idol on an 'explain pain' course... decided I want to famous like him (how?)... marked the start of touch season with our first training session (drinks in a spa) AND driven over my first snake! It's a lot to process I know ... I best keep on top of entries from now on.

A truly HORRID weekend

Now this has ACTUALLY been the worst weekend of my life. I hosted a going away party for Meaghan (our fab student) this Friday... only to come down with the worst bout of gastro i have EVER experienced. AND I had 3 people staying here... now you all know how public toileting is perhaps my worst nightmare... and hence, made for my WORST weekend!! To cap it off... I accidentally sent a message to one of the footy boys detailing some of the worst moments... it was actually meant for a close girlfriend. I can probably never return to the football oval?!!

Today, I am just starting to get back to my normal self. Aside from hideously sore tummy and neck muscles from vomiting... this is definitely going to be a memorable Tom Price weekend, and not for all the right reasons!!

Tom Price Panthers

In an attempt to get even more into the country life... I have decided to become the trainer for the Tom Price Panthers footy team. I feel however it may have just added to my drinking problem:) It's actually been great fun, as nervous as I was to start with... being the only girl in the change room is quite daunting!!

And who would believe this would lead me to rub shoulders with the rich and famous... in Tom Price?!! One of the players is a mens's health 'man of the year' 2011 finalist... massaging him is definitely a reason to go back!!

And in another crazy move for mons, I have also joined the State Emergency Services... WA's most active branch of the SES no less. Perhaps soon I'll also be saving lives...

Mum and Dad crash Karijini

Writing after a truly fantastic week in Tom Price. Mum and Dad came up to visit over the long weekend and took me out to the Eco Retreat in Karijini National Park... it's like camping in the golden triangle... very squish tents and right up my alley! We conquered Dales, Joffre and Weano gorge... and to reward ourselves, we enjoyed some (read lots) great Australian wine and cuisine, crocodile, emu and kangaroo... Everything is solar powered and because there is not enough power to run a kitchen, all meals are cooked on the bbq... which only made it more of an experience... (Mum particularly loved the kitchen as she made a friend in Francis.. a fellow Saints supporter) I have to say I loved every moment of the weekend... from riding in Dad's truck (even though he looked like a ridiculous ranger in matching beige and an akubra) , swimming in the now freezing gorges (cold ankles!!), the fab barbecued brekkies and take away coffees, nibbles and wine on the balcony, oxer lookout, the outdoor bathroom (frogs and all) and the great company.

Mum stayed with me in Tom Price for the week following this. I couldn't believe it, the one weekend I had mum here was the one weekend Tom Price decided to pour down... in the dry season! It was very bizarre... and meant we got 10m up Mt Nameless before being washed down again. We made the most of it though... we slept in to the rain on my tin roof, were the number 1 customers at Nameless cafe, watched movies and became masterchefs, making some delicious carrot and corriander fritters (even though they may have contained some blood... I was a bit vigorous with my knife work, trying to impress mum, and managed to slice my fingernail in half... in true mons melodramatic style, I then managed to nearly pass out, require a vomit bucket... and utter the words... "this is worst day of my life!" ) Needless to say I was really sad when mum left, I'm even feeling a bit teary writing this... but the good news is... with all the rain, and not being able to experience all we wanted... mum will have to come back!!