Life's a Coastline LOL

I was going to title this post," Life's a Beach" but on reflection, why be so stingy when in fact I live and work and sometimes play on a goodly chunk of the Western Australian coastline,  and why be small when you can be grand, lol.

I make comment on said coastline as last weekend I got to explore just a bit more of it.  Friend Jude and I as some of you know, have this bucket list of places to go, things to do in WA as she is determined I get to experience a goodly amount of the place while I reside here.  Jurien Bay which is about 2 hours down the coastline towards Perth was on the list and has now got the big tick/line through it as being completed.

I came off four nights of night shift at 7am Friday having carefully managed sleep quotients during the week, zooming through my jobs at work and having a wee power nap around 4am,  I shot home for perishables having packed the car the night before and was on my way to Dongara to Jude's arriving not long after 8am.  Woohoo and new inventions,  - several staff have copped speeding tickets in the past week and being a lead foot occasionally  lol I thought I might just finally try the cruise control doohicky in my car.  It was with some trepidation that I had a go as I seem to recall dark stories of people using it and crashing as control was limited in case of emergencies..... I can safely report, not so in my car.  I got to the correct speed in the built up areas (70k heading out of town) then 90k a bit further out and finally 110k on the open road and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to use, being quite confident should I pass any speed camera I could say ya boo hiss and suck, poking out tongue, lol,   to that,  and be quite safe from incurring a fine and/or demerit points.  With my car, once you get to the right speed you press the side of the cruise indicator and push it down and a mere touch of the breaks, accelerator or the side of the cruise control indicator and cruise control comes off and you have total control of the car again. With such excitement of trying something new and singing along to Leonard Cohen loudly, lol I got to Jude's still wide awake and raring to go.  After some fortification of toast and coffee, I changed to Jude's car and we were off.  She drives and I am the DJ on our trips so feeling very much like Thelma and Louise (no Brad Pitt lurking anywhere though), with a Readers Digest hits of the 60's fairly blaring, we were off.

Leeman is a small township on the coastline on the way down followed by (photos beneath the writing  of each place )

 Greenhead where the CD got changed to ABBA - still played loudly, lol. 

 Jurien Bay.  As you can see, the coastline is much of a muchness all the way down.  I thought I had taken more photos but seem to have either lost them or it may have been when the batteries were too flat which is a pity but oh well, another road trip will have to happen, lol.  All the towns between Geraldton and including Jurien are based on fishing and mainly crayfish is what is caught. It is the expanse of the coastline that is impressive and my photos do not do it justice. 

We reached Jurein late afternoon after the side trips to the other townships and went straight to the bakery to purchase some fresh rolls which we then took onto Jude's sisters holiday/ soon to be retirement home in the township.  Jurien Bay has a huge motor camp right in the middle of it and tourism plus fishing would be the main attractions. We had the house to ourselves as Jude's sister and brother in law had left for Perth the day before to farewell family back to Darwin.  The house was awesome - tall ceilings and open plan with an enclosed porch, garden, games shed where there is a pool table, big kitchen,  just perfect for entertainment.  After making ourselves lunch I went to bed to get some sleep before I fell over and Jude watched some of the Australian Open tennis before having a zzzzz herself. 

On waking we decided we would have fish and chips for dinner.  Jude took me for a drive along the foreshore and about the town before we went to order our meal.  OMG, we had the single best fish and chips from Jurien Seafoods, that  I have had since coming to Australia.  We ordered a fisherman's basket - 4 fish pieces (battered, small) 2 crabsticks, 2 crumbed prawns, 2 squid rings, 2 sea scallops, $2 chips, with tartare sauce and a piece of Red Spot Emperor (a fish I had not heard of before, which we shared) with a tub of coleslaw and had a veritable feast.  We had to wait nearly an hour for our order as the place does a roaring trade, but it was well worth the wait.  The fish - all of it - was FRESH, not thawed out under a tap or thawed out at all. It melted in your mouth as you ate each morsel, perfection with each bite.  I wax lyrical but this meal was worth it and I would be severely tempted to do a road trip some other time there and back in a day just for a repeat experience. 

Whilst in the fish and chip shop, as you do, Jude bumped into a woman she knew from when she lived on a station as their respective children were growing up.  It transpired that Cathy's son owns and runs the local (and only from there to Geraldton) crayfish pot making factory and she invited us to come for a look the following morning.  So after a leisurely breakfast of cumberland sausages (yummy), free range eggs on toast with orange and feijoa jelly on toast (my contribution from NZ, lol, and also delicious I might add) we set forth for the day.  As I had gone to charge up my camera batteries earlier that morning, there was a pfffffft sound and small bang and the light went out. The power point still worked  but the charger seemed to have died so first port of call was to buy a new one.  We stopped by the local Better Electrical which we found was closing down and yes they had a charger but it was $47 and only charged two batteries at a time even though it only took 15 mins so I thought I would try somewhere else first as it was not exactly what I wanted.  While Jude was chatting to the manageress (Jude would talk to a post when she is out, lol and strikes up conversations with just about anyone) I wandered round the store which also had some furniture on sale as well.  I happened to go past the shelf with two or three dvd recorders on sale and my eyes lit on a Sony HDD recorder at a huge reduction and I made the decision on the spot to get it.  So saving $47 I spent $315 which was $235 of the price before that and when I got to the till, the manageress said that it had started at $849 originally.  I couldn't get it in the car quick enough, lol,  (this was another tick off my bucket list of things I have wanted for ages).  We then wandered to the hardware shop next door and I was in luck there - a four battery re-charger for $36 so all good and on our way to the crayfish pot factory.

Cathy and her friend Murphy (they have been friends for 57 yrs and reminded me of sister Kay and friend Viv,- same amount of time) showed us around.  I had imagined that crayfish pots were knotted rope type things but no, today's pots are made of wooden slats onto a metal frame that have anodised thingies covering screws to delay rust and other metal bolts welded on to deter seals from helping themselves to the crays that are caught.  Cathy said that fishermen on the whole were extremely superstitious, some only using pine slats, some jarrah, some karri, some were ok with nail gun nails, others would only have a certain type of screw, etc etc.  Who knew.......  She showed us the furnace that they make the anodised thingies (think about 3" square sinker type things) that I wondered  would pass health and safety.  It was surrounded by corrugated tin, seemed pretty open and just in a corner of the shed. She said it gets to temps over 1000o which seemed pretty amazing to me.  

It was nigh on lunch time by now so we decided to go get some things for dinner from the local IGA and instead of driving further down the coastline to another attraction Jude thought I needed to see, we decided to call it a day and headed back for sustenance and an afternoon of tennis. It felt so nice to just relax and just what being at the beach should be like in my opinion.  We both wanted to watch Federer play the Australian Bernard Tomic, a relative new comer, and it was a good game with Federer going on to the next round.

Sunday, again after another of Jude's cooked breakfasts, we cleaned up, repacked the car and were on our way to visit Jude's son who works on a farm in the middle of nowhere half way inland between Jurien Bay and  the Brand highway.  Before we turned off Jude found another place she wanted to show me which was 7k's off the main road over the bumpiest gravel and dirt road I had been on since Tardun.  We got to the end of this road and it wasn't the place she thought so back again and on the way out we passed a place where they mine salt from this lake.  There was not much water left - the lakes fill when it rains and as it is a salt pan, the lakes are salty and as they dry out, the salt left behind is gathered. There were wetlands across the road from this and it was all part of a huge national park.  

 On arrival at the farm we found Jude's son drenching and inoculating 400 head of cattle. He had been up since 4.30 and it was on midday when we got there.  He did the cattle in bunches having purpose built the yards below with gates that slid across the race to block off groups of cattle, with a crusher in the oldest bit to hold each beast's head as he injected them in the neck.  The temperature was in the late 30's so it was hot work.  We stayed at watched for awhile and then had lunch with him when he took a break, before heading back home.  

 The cattle he was working with looked to be yearlings with some older beasts. The had been trucked down from a station at Marble Bar which is in the north west,  to fatten up for buyers such as Woolworth's for example.  I asked about water as the surrounding area was dry as dust and they had artesian wells on the property and plenty of water for stock.  There were feeders out in the paddocks as they are fed pellets to supplement any grazing that is about.  

We were not far from Eneabba when we got to the Brand highway, so stopped for a toilet break and an ice cream before the last leg to Jude's and then for me back to Geraldton.  I got back just after 6pm tired but really pleased to have achieved so much in such a short space of time.  We definitely plan on going back to Jurien Bay, and next time without side trips on the way down, we will try for Cervantes and the Pinnacles then (with my camera fully charged, lol).  The trip home was to Roy Orbison, Elvis and a CD called Summertime with all the songs having something to do with Summer so the time flew in the car.

Yesterday was the dreaded house inspection.  I was here this time and met with the property manager who is lovely.  She was thrilled with everything and said she wished she had more tenants like me.  (Yay).  I have been putting a lot of time into the gardens and back lawns and the place looked great, and inside sparkled, having done all the floors at 11pm the night before when I got home from work.  Hence, I have had nothing to do this morning so am writing this while the weekend is still fresh in my mind.  Have Thurs/Fri off  and working two 12 hour days on the weekend - am hoping the kids want to go to the pools at least one if not both days to keep cool.  Speaking of which, it is time to move for today's shift so will close now and say goodbye :)

When is a snake not a snake ........

Answer:  When it is a legless lizard or skink in WA.  Hello people and Happy 2013 :):).  I mention the aforementioned possible snake as I had one of those uniquely," I must be in Australia" moments on Sunday morning.  In my post Christmas spring (summer) cleaning /pre house inspection mode, I was putting the sliding screen door at the side entrance to the games room/kitchen area back on its runners, and then sweeping up accumulated leaves/flowers etc that had gathered where the screen door had been resting on its side, when, after the second scoop of said leaves onto the side garden ....... a small (4 inch, roundness of a number 12 knitting needle), possible snake,  shot out of the remaining leaves and wriggled snakelike  backwards and forwards on the footpath in front of me (me with bare feet at the time).  I am amazed that after over 50 years of my life without sight nor sign of a live snake as NZ (does not have them), my first thought on seeing the wriggling movement was not eel, but SNAKE.... followed by OMG if this is a baby one, where are the others (they lay multiple eggs don't they).... and where is Mama?  And yet, again it was so small, though I am reliably told that a small snake will kill you just as fast as a large one, hmmmmm.

 As I pondered my dilemma, I heard my as yet unmet neighbours moving and talking outside so after 5 minutes thinking am I going to feel dumb about this, I moved with the possible snake still in sight,  closer to their place (we share a drive) and yelled out,  would somebody mind coming and looking at something for me.  Paul (or call me Bones) immediately came over and I said as a   Kiwi I wasn't sure what I was looking at but was this a snake?  He did not immediately  fall on the ground helpless with laughter but a chuckle did ensue as he said it was not a snake but a skink or legless lizard - if I should see something about a foot long, yellowish with a stripe behind its head - that is a snake (right, I am getting close enough to spot a stripe so to speak,).  Panic over, the skink by now had moved near a crack in the wall and scuttled away, Paul (who hunts pigs and has them strung up under his back porch, slightly screened so not totally confronted by what looks like the killing fields for porcine creatures) went back to his, and I resumed my day, laughing at yet another Australian wild life interaction.

You may wonder why I was on high snake alert.  First of all the temperatures at the moment are prime snake lurking temps. Secondly,  two people in Geraldton  have been bitten by snakes in the last fortnight and last night a work colleague told me of his barking dog yesterday who had found a metre long snake in the back yard, so not wanting to have an up close and personal experience with a snake myself, I am wary about the great outdoors of my back yard, and  the garage, finding myself  looking for tell tale signs of wiggly lines in the sand as I go to the compost bin at the back of my garden  each and every time.

Summer has finally struck with temps in the 40's down to mid 30o Celsius over the last few weeks.  Further up the coast towns were on high alert over the past week for cyclones coming in , that resulted in a spectacular lightening show here the weekend before and finally thunder,lightening and rain on Sunday evening in Geraldton.  The upside to that is I did not have to water the lawn or garden that day, the downside was that immediately post rain, there was an outbreak of flying ants and grasshoppers/locusts (large) are appearing.

I note today that we are halfway through January already  as I check my diary.  I had a lovely Christmas with the WM and family.  We all went to midnight mass at the cathedral on Christmas Eve.  Gerard picked me up early as the choir were singing Christmas carols before the service which provided a lovely start to the festivities.  It was 3am before I finished my preparations as I had worked the few days before Christmas, having Christmas and Boxing Days off this time round.  I woke with a start at 7am, flying round loading gifts and food in the car to be round at the WM's place by 7.30am  where gift giving had just begun.  I loaded up all my parcels from NZ as the family have become accustomed to sharing my joy as I open each one.  They were not disappointed as I oohed and ahhed at the undoing of each parcel.

Bronwyn went to make pancakes for breakfast however as they had no golden syrup or maple syrup, Gerard did a Macca's run for hotcakes and hash browns instead so was an easy start to the day  (and what you can do when you run two Macca outlets,lol).   I shot home to skype family mid-morning here as they were sitting down to lunch at sister Kay's and to make some phone calls before returning for our Christmas lunch at 2pm.  We had roast pork, roast chicken and veg with baked ham (mine), crayfish and prawns with several salads to choose from as well and sat outside with trestle tables up under their back porch area.  It was a unanimous decision to save dessert which was in effect dinner later that night. New board games were played in the afternoon followed by watching the dvd "The Sapphires" in the evening. It was a lovely day with Bronwyn's sister's family in attendance (six extra adults) along with me and their six so lots of laughter, sharing of meal preparations etc which is what really makes the day.

Boxing day we collectively decided to go to the movies that evening. Half the group went to see " The Hobbit" and the rest of us went to see "Les Miserables".  What an experience that was!  It would seem I am lacking in the area of big shows as although I knew of " Les Mis, " being a huge show, I neither knew the story line or anything about it.  I went mainly because I wanted to see Hugh Jackman in the role and thought it was time I got a bit of culture at the same time, lol.  WOW, it was brilliant and totally riveting.  The WHOLE movie is SUNG - over two hours long. I found myself on the edge of my seat and totally entranced by the whole experience.  It is not a pretty movie, lots shot in grim surroundings, darkish, with the un-pretty poor.  Russell Crowe does a great job as does Ann Hathaway with some wonderful bit parts with the inn keeper and his wife who provide some comedic relief to the grim story of pre-revolutionary Paris.  I have found myself humming one of the main tunes since as it seems to have lodged into my head.  Gerard has downloaded the music from the film on his ipod so at some stage I will get him to put it on mine.

In between Christmas and New Years of course I have been working.  When not at work, I have had my little lad to stay several times for one or two nights at a time so have been kept fully occupied.  He helped me decorate the place before Christmas and then the week after came with much excitement to receive his gifts from under the tree as Donna had left things behind for both us on her last visit up.  At work I have been spending hours at the local swimming pool, usually tucked up with a book while the children from work and  have been at lessons or just playing for the fun of it.  It means we are out of the house, they are gainfully employed in healthy activity and I am chomping through my library books, lol.

Post Christmas, as I have taken decorations down and put the Christmas tree away, I have been back cleaning and sorting.  I have gone through drawers, cupboards, mopped floors, polished furniture, cleaned windows, weeded gardens and caught up on laundry so am feeling very virtuous with my start for the new year.  I have a you beaut diary that I compose lists of things to do for most days and am enjoying ticking things off as I proceed.  I have to pick my moments of business and tend to have a siesta the afternoons I am not working to cope with the heat - especially the humid heat post the rain.  I am down to sleeping at night just in night attire on top of the bed with the fan on in the ceiling non stop.  For all that I have only had the air con on about half a dozen times at its truely hottest when sitting in a darkened room has you perspiring like a tap.

This weekend I hope to go to Jurien Bay which is down the coast on the way to Perth.  Jude's sister and husband have a place there and though they will be in Perth, they have said Jude and I are welcome to go stay.  This is another place on my bucket list so am looking forwards to it.  I am doing four night shifts in a row this week, so sleeping throughout the day and will hopefully be awake enough to drive to Dongara at then end of shift Friday morning and then Jude and I will set off.

I hope all of you reading this had a great festive season.  My new years was spent watching the fireworks go off in Sydney on the telly before going to bed just after midnight as I had work for 12 hours the following day (which was spent at the pool) so win win for me, lol.  :)