I should've taken my camera with me to the salon when I got my hair cut yesterday, but, as with most photo worthy moments, I didn't have it with me. A before and after would have been great! But it was a 'hairy' sort of day to begin with and my afternoon was a bit chaotic. As usual, I overcommited myself and undermanaged my time, therefore, chaos ensued.
I started out working a two-hour tea and coffee shift in the city at 7 a.m. It's always nice to get a good early start to the day, so I felt pretty good about the morning. From work I walked a few blocks had breakfast at a cafe (bacon and egg toastie, orange juice, latte) then to TAFE (jr. college) to be an extra in a video production for Gail who studies video production at WAAPA, the arts college on ECU's campus. I was a waitress. Very apropo as I had just come from my job and was already adorned in my waiting attire. From there I walked home around noon. On my walk home I noticed my fingernails were breaking and tearing and looking rather ragged, so I decided it was time for a mani. I haven't had one since I was home in June and I was getting my hair cut in the afternoon, so I decided it would be a day of beauty and I should go all out as a reward for my hard work on my thesis this week.
This is where the day starts to go wrong. I got to the manicurist a little later than I should have because I had been immersed with email when I got back from the city. I thought the mani wouldn't take more than 45 minutes or so, but I must have gotten the most talkative lady in the shop, so the mani lasted an hour! It was good though and she did a nice, thourough job. This little bit of time mismanagement made me half an hour late for my much anticipated hair appointment. Then the hair appointment ended up lasting two hours, which then made me over an hour late for an evening work commitment (I was doing a favor by filling in for someone at the last minute so they were understanding). What a day, I tell ya!
So here's the goods on my hair, which you won't get to see photos of until the weekend because I am utterly swamped with work and finishing my thesis. But I just have to tell you all about it because it was the most delightful salon treatment I have ever had!
What started out costing me $180 for hair color, cut, wash and style ended up costing me only $125. This is an exceptional price for a haircut and color in Perth. Trust me! This is why I only get my hair cut when I come home - then again that costs me the price of an airline ticket from Australia and travel time. I got a flyer in the mail last week for a promo at this place called Spoilt, so I called and cancelled my other appointment and probably got 10x the treatment I would've at the other place. I really did get spoiled! When you get there, they let you choose from a selection of coffee, tea, water or soft drink on a beverage menu. You can enjoy your drink while getting your hair done. I got a cup of peppermint tea that came with it's own little teapot and a little biscuit and some water with lemon and they serve champagne on nights when they are open late! As a part of the promo package I also got a deep conditioning treatment and scalp and back massage that included some aromatic lavender. While I was waiting for my hair color to set I was put under a "heater" not a dryer chair. The heater was rolled over to my chair and had a circle shaped metal ring with a built in heating element through it that slowly rotated in a halo fashion around the back and top of my head. High class! So the "spare" $50 I saved from that experience bought me a bottle of salon color care shampoo and paid for the manicure I got prior to that! I was very pleased with the experience, price for the experience (compared to what I would've paid for nothing like it), and the haircut and color!
I hope you are all enjoying the cooler weather there, while I bask in the warm Australian sun here!
29 October 2008
12 October 2008
I sprung into Spring in the Valley but crawled home
Aussie word of the day: plaits = braids. I guess this isn't really slang, it's actually formal British English and the Australian language is full of that.
OMG! I think this is the first time I have posted two days in a row! Well, I had a great day yesterday and I couldn't wait to share it with you guys.
Spring has sprung in the Valley - This weekend Perth celebrated "Spring in the Valley", an annual spring winery event tailored around the wineries and breweries in the Swan Valley, just outside of Perth to the north of the city. As you may have guessed, there are several wine regions around Australia and the Swan Valley and Margaret River are the two main ones in Western Australia. If you remember, I also attended a wine fest in MR earlier this year with SM. However, SITV is a big piss-up as they say here in Oz. This means you pay $15 to get a sexy, fluorescent green, paper wristband to ride a hop-on hop-off bus to all of the wineries/ breweries you want in the Swan Valley. Basically, it's a GIANT, miles-long, pub crawl... which also means it's polluted with Perth's 20-somethings.
There were large groups of people who hired personal buses and vans to take them around. Some people pulled out all the stops in their fancy frocks, others wore scanty club wear, while some groups came in themed costumes. We saw everything from neon-colored 80s Flashdance attire and Christmas elves to bumble bees and 1920s flappers. Don't ask me what it is about Australians and their love of theme parties that they can't even go to an event without showing up dressed as an action figure or cartoon character. I guess when you live in a country that doesn't offer much more than kangaroos and red dust you have to come up with some way to entertain yourself. I'll admit it made things more interesting and one girl was having her hens "do" at the event - that's what the bachelorette party's t-shirts read, "Sara's Hens 'Do'". The weird thing about Hens (implying that women cackle like chickens) parties is that the male equivalent or bachelor party is called a Studs night/ party. Since when did chickens and horses mate? Why isn't it called the Rooster night or a Mare's party? Things that make you go hmmm... I think I'll just stick to the classic American names - bachelor/ bachelorette - that way at least there aren't any unfair animal comparisons.
But I digress, our party of six dressed smartly in semi-casual spring apparel: jeans, sleeveless shirts, cardigans, sultry sundresses, and sandals. Or for the one guy in the group - khaki cargo shorts and a striped, cotton, button-down shirt. Don't we look like a stylish bunch. Here we are getting our "taste" on at Little River winery. L-R my four Dutch friends: Debbie, Elina, (in back) Brent and Fleur and the lone Norwegian, Ida front and center in floral print.
We only made it to two wineries in the course of a few hours. As the afternoon wore on each of the venues became more and more packed and the breweries had huge queues. We waited half an hour to get into Ambrook Winery, where it was one in one out entry. One guy kept coming over to the fence and "feeding" us sips of his wine because he felt sorry for us having to wait to get in.
We enjoyed our day of slow inebriation as we polished off a few bottles of vino and ate bratwurst while sitting in the grass listening to live music in the late afternoon sun at Ambrook Winery.
We thought we would beat the rush and leave a little early to get a bus back into Midland and catch a train into the city from there. We stood at the bus stop, watching as one bus after another passed us by, too full of people already to pick up an
y others. This winery was unfortunately one of the last stops along the route, so, of course it was a lost cause to get a ride back. So we walked...
and we walked some more... on the road to Guilford.
It was probably only 5 miles into Guilford, but God, it seemed to take forever and there wasn't a sidewalk half the way. Halfway along our trek me and my girlfriends got that unfortunate urge to use the restroom and without a toilet in site. Finally, we made it to a servo/ convenience store only to find out that they didn't have public restrooms! After much cajoling we convinced the kids (seriously, they looked about 12 and 14) to let us use their private restroom if we bought something and by telling them that no one would find out.
This is a view of the Swan River in Guildford. It was the first time for any of us to walk across it - most of the time you are driving across it. We got to Guilford train station just in time to catch the train back into the city and, thankfully, get to sit down. When we got back to the city, we were all hungry from walking and grabbed a bite at the 50s diner-style Moon Cafe (more walking), where I indulged in a caramel latte and strawberrry pizza. We then continued our intoxication at a post-party at Brent and Elina's house in West Perth (walking again) where I relived my earlier college days playing drinking games and cards. I learned to play Texas Hold-Em, but only won one hand. Guess I'll just have to practice with my brother sometime. At midnight, Debbie and I called it quits. We had been drinking for nearly twelve hours... eek! Walking again, we dragged our sorry asses, with me hiccuping all the way, a few more blocks to our house. These boots are made for walking, but my flat sandals aren't and my feet were in blisters by the time we made it home at half past midnight :( I think I will give them a good foot scrub and some cream in a bit.
New housemates - The house is filled with the smell of cooked meat, some delicious-smelling concoction the new Iranian couple made. Muhammed and Marian moved in on Friday when one of the Korean guys moved out. They are nice, but hard to talk to and they don't appear to be Muslim, not that it matters, but I'm sure you would all be wondering. He studies accounting at TAFE and she seems to be a housewife, which would now make her a roomwife. She told me an Iranian recipe today - spinach, yogurt, garlic, salt, and pepper makes a nice sauce for meat dishes. She also said that in Iran only Friday is considered the weekend. People and children go to work and school six days a week from 7a.m. until 4p.m. Saturday through Thursday. It's the most interesting thing I've ever learned from anyone I've lived with in Oz.
The Malvern Star - SOLD I sold my bike today. The old Aussie icon Malvern Star went to the caring hands of my friend Anne who will probably get a lot more use out of it than I have in the last year. The money from that sale will pay for my groceries this week or maybe go towards a much-needed and long-awaited haircut. Stay posted for pics of that - I think it's time for something drastic. I haven't had much work in the last few weeks, but feel that it's not something to stress about because I need all the time I can get to work on my thesis and another essay over these last THREE weeks of the semester. I will be working again this week, but have been lucky to have a little income from things like the sale of this bike and a medical refund from an exam I had done a month ago. Also I am getting fit for the summer. I just joined a pilates class for 10 sessions and have been swimming and walking/ jogging as well. I just need to stop drinking like I did this weekend and I will be sweet! The day Debbie and I turn our completed theses in we are getting in the car straight after and literally heading off into the sunset. We are taking a celebratory road trip to Esperence (beautiful beaches and surfing) and Kalgoorlie (gold mining), two towns south and southeast of Perth. Then it's back to Europe, family, Christmas and Ruairi for Debbie and my life turns into a great big ?
My memoir - One thing I am planning on is writing my memoir: My first 30 years and some unexpected secrets from a smalltown girl! What do you think of the title? My brother (and his big ideas again) planted the seed a few years ago at Thanksgiving. I can remember the very moment he suggested it. He was reclining in my mother's armchair in the living room while watching football and preparing for his pre-Thanksgiving dinner nap. Little did I know the reason behind his suggestion at the time and perhaps I still haven't quite figured out how or why he came up with it, but I suppose he perceived that I have had my share of the seedy and scandalous for a smalltown girl. The second suggestion came today over a late night (for her) instant messenger chat with a good college friend of mine. She simply told me I could write a book and that was all it took to convince me that it's meant to be. I could write a whole chapter on the misadventures I had with her.
There's also my whole experience in Australia. How and why exactly did I end up here, not only in Australia, but at this point in my life? Maybe I will finally truthfully fill in the blank and answer these questions. Curious? Maybe you are someone who thinks you know, but do you really? What would I say? How would I say it? How far am I willing to go? How much am I willing to spill and who will I take through the journey with me? Wouldn't a lot of people (I won't say everyone because I can see Teagan objecting to this, although she knows most of my secrets), especially my family, be interested in the secrets I'm harboring about my life? Isn't that why people read memoirs anyway? There are plenty of memoirs out there about little known people who simply have interesting stories to tell about their lives. For instance, one of my favorite bloggers and an inspiration for my own memoir, Christine Coppa, is publishing her memoir Rattled! about getting knocked up which is due out in April 09, but is already available on Amazon.com. I would love to release some of my issues out on paper and having people read it would cleanse my soul, removing the dirt and filth from the early chapters in my life while validating and establishing my career as a writer! It makes perfect sense. Maybe that was my brother's point all along!? How am I just seeing it now?
OMG! I think this is the first time I have posted two days in a row! Well, I had a great day yesterday and I couldn't wait to share it with you guys.
Spring has sprung in the Valley - This weekend Perth celebrated "Spring in the Valley", an annual spring winery event tailored around the wineries and breweries in the Swan Valley, just outside of Perth to the north of the city. As you may have guessed, there are several wine regions around Australia and the Swan Valley and Margaret River are the two main ones in Western Australia. If you remember, I also attended a wine fest in MR earlier this year with SM. However, SITV is a big piss-up as they say here in Oz. This means you pay $15 to get a sexy, fluorescent green, paper wristband to ride a hop-on hop-off bus to all of the wineries/ breweries you want in the Swan Valley. Basically, it's a GIANT, miles-long, pub crawl... which also means it's polluted with Perth's 20-somethings.There were large groups of people who hired personal buses and vans to take them around. Some people pulled out all the stops in their fancy frocks, others wore scanty club wear, while some groups came in themed costumes. We saw everything from neon-colored 80s Flashdance attire and Christmas elves to bumble bees and 1920s flappers. Don't ask me what it is about Australians and their love of theme parties that they can't even go to an event without showing up dressed as an action figure or cartoon character. I guess when you live in a country that doesn't offer much more than kangaroos and red dust you have to come up with some way to entertain yourself. I'll admit it made things more interesting and one girl was having her hens "do" at the event - that's what the bachelorette party's t-shirts read, "Sara's Hens 'Do'". The weird thing about Hens (implying that women cackle like chickens) parties is that the male equivalent or bachelor party is called a Studs night/ party. Since when did chickens and horses mate? Why isn't it called the Rooster night or a Mare's party? Things that make you go hmmm... I think I'll just stick to the classic American names - bachelor/ bachelorette - that way at least there aren't any unfair animal comparisons.
But I digress, our party of six dressed smartly in semi-casual spring apparel: jeans, sleeveless shirts, cardigans, sultry sundresses, and sandals. Or for the one guy in the group - khaki cargo shorts and a striped, cotton, button-down shirt. Don't we look like a stylish bunch. Here we are getting our "taste" on at Little River winery. L-R my four Dutch friends: Debbie, Elina, (in back) Brent and Fleur and the lone Norwegian, Ida front and center in floral print.
We only made it to two wineries in the course of a few hours. As the afternoon wore on each of the venues became more and more packed and the breweries had huge queues. We waited half an hour to get into Ambrook Winery, where it was one in one out entry. One guy kept coming over to the fence and "feeding" us sips of his wine because he felt sorry for us having to wait to get in.
We enjoyed our day of slow inebriation as we polished off a few bottles of vino and ate bratwurst while sitting in the grass listening to live music in the late afternoon sun at Ambrook Winery.
We thought we would beat the rush and leave a little early to get a bus back into Midland and catch a train into the city from there. We stood at the bus stop, watching as one bus after another passed us by, too full of people already to pick up an
y others. This winery was unfortunately one of the last stops along the route, so, of course it was a lost cause to get a ride back. So we walked...
and we walked...
and we walked some more... on the road to Guilford.
It was probably only 5 miles into Guilford, but God, it seemed to take forever and there wasn't a sidewalk half the way. Halfway along our trek me and my girlfriends got that unfortunate urge to use the restroom and without a toilet in site. Finally, we made it to a servo/ convenience store only to find out that they didn't have public restrooms! After much cajoling we convinced the kids (seriously, they looked about 12 and 14) to let us use their private restroom if we bought something and by telling them that no one would find out.
This is a view of the Swan River in Guildford. It was the first time for any of us to walk across it - most of the time you are driving across it. We got to Guilford train station just in time to catch the train back into the city and, thankfully, get to sit down. When we got back to the city, we were all hungry from walking and grabbed a bite at the 50s diner-style Moon Cafe (more walking), where I indulged in a caramel latte and strawberrry pizza. We then continued our intoxication at a post-party at Brent and Elina's house in West Perth (walking again) where I relived my earlier college days playing drinking games and cards. I learned to play Texas Hold-Em, but only won one hand. Guess I'll just have to practice with my brother sometime. At midnight, Debbie and I called it quits. We had been drinking for nearly twelve hours... eek! Walking again, we dragged our sorry asses, with me hiccuping all the way, a few more blocks to our house. These boots are made for walking, but my flat sandals aren't and my feet were in blisters by the time we made it home at half past midnight :( I think I will give them a good foot scrub and some cream in a bit.
New housemates - The house is filled with the smell of cooked meat, some delicious-smelling concoction the new Iranian couple made. Muhammed and Marian moved in on Friday when one of the Korean guys moved out. They are nice, but hard to talk to and they don't appear to be Muslim, not that it matters, but I'm sure you would all be wondering. He studies accounting at TAFE and she seems to be a housewife, which would now make her a roomwife. She told me an Iranian recipe today - spinach, yogurt, garlic, salt, and pepper makes a nice sauce for meat dishes. She also said that in Iran only Friday is considered the weekend. People and children go to work and school six days a week from 7a.m. until 4p.m. Saturday through Thursday. It's the most interesting thing I've ever learned from anyone I've lived with in Oz.
The Malvern Star - SOLD I sold my bike today. The old Aussie icon Malvern Star went to the caring hands of my friend Anne who will probably get a lot more use out of it than I have in the last year. The money from that sale will pay for my groceries this week or maybe go towards a much-needed and long-awaited haircut. Stay posted for pics of that - I think it's time for something drastic. I haven't had much work in the last few weeks, but feel that it's not something to stress about because I need all the time I can get to work on my thesis and another essay over these last THREE weeks of the semester. I will be working again this week, but have been lucky to have a little income from things like the sale of this bike and a medical refund from an exam I had done a month ago. Also I am getting fit for the summer. I just joined a pilates class for 10 sessions and have been swimming and walking/ jogging as well. I just need to stop drinking like I did this weekend and I will be sweet! The day Debbie and I turn our completed theses in we are getting in the car straight after and literally heading off into the sunset. We are taking a celebratory road trip to Esperence (beautiful beaches and surfing) and Kalgoorlie (gold mining), two towns south and southeast of Perth. Then it's back to Europe, family, Christmas and Ruairi for Debbie and my life turns into a great big ?
My memoir - One thing I am planning on is writing my memoir: My first 30 years and some unexpected secrets from a smalltown girl! What do you think of the title? My brother (and his big ideas again) planted the seed a few years ago at Thanksgiving. I can remember the very moment he suggested it. He was reclining in my mother's armchair in the living room while watching football and preparing for his pre-Thanksgiving dinner nap. Little did I know the reason behind his suggestion at the time and perhaps I still haven't quite figured out how or why he came up with it, but I suppose he perceived that I have had my share of the seedy and scandalous for a smalltown girl. The second suggestion came today over a late night (for her) instant messenger chat with a good college friend of mine. She simply told me I could write a book and that was all it took to convince me that it's meant to be. I could write a whole chapter on the misadventures I had with her.
There's also my whole experience in Australia. How and why exactly did I end up here, not only in Australia, but at this point in my life? Maybe I will finally truthfully fill in the blank and answer these questions. Curious? Maybe you are someone who thinks you know, but do you really? What would I say? How would I say it? How far am I willing to go? How much am I willing to spill and who will I take through the journey with me? Wouldn't a lot of people (I won't say everyone because I can see Teagan objecting to this, although she knows most of my secrets), especially my family, be interested in the secrets I'm harboring about my life? Isn't that why people read memoirs anyway? There are plenty of memoirs out there about little known people who simply have interesting stories to tell about their lives. For instance, one of my favorite bloggers and an inspiration for my own memoir, Christine Coppa, is publishing her memoir Rattled! about getting knocked up which is due out in April 09, but is already available on Amazon.com. I would love to release some of my issues out on paper and having people read it would cleanse my soul, removing the dirt and filth from the early chapters in my life while validating and establishing my career as a writer! It makes perfect sense. Maybe that was my brother's point all along!? How am I just seeing it now?
10 October 2008
Pop Rocks and home-owning clocks
Aussie word of the day: frieze = wallpaper border. That was just something random that popped into my head on this morning's walk.
Something else that popped up today that I found entertaining was a link on one of my favorite blogs to an interesting recipe for Pop Rocks Chocolate Cake! But good luck getting ahold of some of the once popular candy - it has been out of commission since the mid-80's, which I honestly can't believe. You can, however, still buy Pop Rocks on eBay - go figure! Did you all hear about that house that some girl bought in... was it Michigan.. on eBay!?! I think she paid less than $2 for it and is planning on reselling it. Have you seen a pic of it? It's a shambles and looks like it's located in the ghetto. Good luck to her and her $2 house!
Speaking of houses, my home-owning clock (rather than my biological clock) is tick-tick-ticking away. I practically drool over furniture ads, I always have a peek at the property pages in the newspaper and I longingly admire the houses that are on the market in my neighborhood. Most of the houses in my neighborhood are selling for upwards of AU$800,000 (more than half a mil U.S. dollars) for modest 3-bedroom, 1-car unenclosed garage homes with tiny yards. I would ask my devoted readers if anyone else has the burgeoning desire to have a... HOUSE (not a baby), but most of you, I believe by now, are or are soon to be happy home owners. In fact, some of you are even on home #2... and three and four for some of the older folks. I guess that sort of comes along with marriage, because not only are most of you home-owners, but most of you are also married. Not that I believe, by any means, that I have to have a husband to buy a house unlike my brother who once told me when I told him I wanted to buy a house, "wait til you get married for that." If that wasn't one of the most pseudo-sexist comments I think that ever intentionally came out of his mouth. What it really showed me was his naive sense of financial investment - thank goodness his wife holds the purse strings. Most people know that property investment is one of the best things a person can do with their money. A house is almost always going to increase it's value.
On the (Australian) news the other night it was reported that a young girl had won millions of dollars and when the reporter went around asking similarly aged (early 20s) Australian uni students what they would do with that kind of money most of them said buy a house. Of course, who wouldn't do that if you had millions to spend, but I think buying a house was actually one of the furthest things from my mind at that age. Props to my bro for his insightfulness because I think in my early 20s I was more concerned with finding a boyfriend and getting married before buying a house. After being around some financially savvy minds for a few years at Baby Banz, I think I got my mind on the right financial track (I also realized I was living beyond my means, got control of my credit card debt, and created a budget for myself). Well, as I'm staring down turning 29, I have the boyfriend, but marriage is still a long way off, I'm just hoping the home-owning isn't.
Something else that popped up today that I found entertaining was a link on one of my favorite blogs to an interesting recipe for Pop Rocks Chocolate Cake! But good luck getting ahold of some of the once popular candy - it has been out of commission since the mid-80's, which I honestly can't believe. You can, however, still buy Pop Rocks on eBay - go figure! Did you all hear about that house that some girl bought in... was it Michigan.. on eBay!?! I think she paid less than $2 for it and is planning on reselling it. Have you seen a pic of it? It's a shambles and looks like it's located in the ghetto. Good luck to her and her $2 house!
Speaking of houses, my home-owning clock (rather than my biological clock) is tick-tick-ticking away. I practically drool over furniture ads, I always have a peek at the property pages in the newspaper and I longingly admire the houses that are on the market in my neighborhood. Most of the houses in my neighborhood are selling for upwards of AU$800,000 (more than half a mil U.S. dollars) for modest 3-bedroom, 1-car unenclosed garage homes with tiny yards. I would ask my devoted readers if anyone else has the burgeoning desire to have a... HOUSE (not a baby), but most of you, I believe by now, are or are soon to be happy home owners. In fact, some of you are even on home #2... and three and four for some of the older folks. I guess that sort of comes along with marriage, because not only are most of you home-owners, but most of you are also married. Not that I believe, by any means, that I have to have a husband to buy a house unlike my brother who once told me when I told him I wanted to buy a house, "wait til you get married for that." If that wasn't one of the most pseudo-sexist comments I think that ever intentionally came out of his mouth. What it really showed me was his naive sense of financial investment - thank goodness his wife holds the purse strings. Most people know that property investment is one of the best things a person can do with their money. A house is almost always going to increase it's value.
On the (Australian) news the other night it was reported that a young girl had won millions of dollars and when the reporter went around asking similarly aged (early 20s) Australian uni students what they would do with that kind of money most of them said buy a house. Of course, who wouldn't do that if you had millions to spend, but I think buying a house was actually one of the furthest things from my mind at that age. Props to my bro for his insightfulness because I think in my early 20s I was more concerned with finding a boyfriend and getting married before buying a house. After being around some financially savvy minds for a few years at Baby Banz, I think I got my mind on the right financial track (I also realized I was living beyond my means, got control of my credit card debt, and created a budget for myself). Well, as I'm staring down turning 29, I have the boyfriend, but marriage is still a long way off, I'm just hoping the home-owning isn't.
02 October 2008
The Pilbara buzz: Installment 2
Now that you've all read the first segment of my Pilbara journey and ogled over all the wonderful photos, here is the second part....
We drove into Dampier via Karratha on Monday afternoon. SM couldn't wait... for what I'm not sure, but here we were in the industrial capital of the Pilbara, perhaps even the industrial capital of Western Australia. Dampier boasts of being the highest export port in all of Australia. I'm not sure how many tons of iron ore are shipped from Dampier every day, but there were three large steamers waiting in port the last day we were there, half sunken down into the water from the weight of their loads.
The first day, we stopped into the visitors center in Karratha to check if we would be able to go out sailing during the week. At first it was uncertain because we had to have six people to go out. A few others joined and we were set to go sailing on Wednesday. In the meantime, we thought we might hire a dinghy, unfortunately we had to have a boat license to drive it, so that didn't work out. We checked into the Dampier Mermaid Hotel/ Motel - it really was both a hotel and motel, I think because hotels are generally pubs and motels are where you stay. It was certainly not flash 5-star accommodation. No, it would be more like 2, maaaybe 3 stars at best, but it was clean and had pleasant staff and a nice little pool. It also had a lovely view overlooking the harbour and some palm trees along the shore, but the majority of the guests were "fly in" workers for the surrounding industrial facilities. Sometimes I felt like we got stared at because we were the only tourists staying there even though we were driving a work ute like the rest of them. One lady that went on the sailboat with us even said they had tried getting a room somewhere that didn't take tourists, the hotel only accommodated workers.
The first few days we bummed around Dampier exploring nearby Hearson Cove, Burrup Peninsula, and Point Samson for good snorkeling and fishing spots. I thought I might even try my hand at crabbing, so we went back to Hearson Cove at dusk, fishing net in hand in hopes of finding some crabs along the shoreline - no luck :( The snorkelling didn't fare well either as the water was too rough and murky, so we tried a little fishing, but SM ended up fly bitten from the sand flies. So we settled on a little swimming and saw a sea turtle pop his head up briefly on the beach in Point Samson. That was the height of my excitement the first few days.
Burrup Penninsula didn't offer much more than a large liquid ammonia plant that produces 760,000 tons of liquid ammonia a year all of which is exported. The plant is the biggest Indian investment in Australia and the young Indian tycoon who owns it is building a mansion mini version of the Taj Mahal in one of the wealthiest suburbs in Perth.
There is also the salt industry which produces 4.2 million tons of salt annually and is primarily used by chemical industries, only 20% is used for food processing and human consumption. It is for this reason that the neighboring town of Karratha seems to be experiencing significant growth with housing subdivisions popping up all around the town. The photo at the left are some of the salt resevoirs along the highway going into Dampier with a 2.5 kilometer long train in the background. The sea water has evaporated leaving a sparkling layer of salt to be harvested.
We also drove through the town of Wickham because SM's nephew had played their t-ball team in the tournament on the weekend, so we thought we'd have a look. Pretty standard Leeton-Chilhowee-Holden (for you Warrensburgians to compare to) sized town.
Finally, Wednesday rolled around and we were ready to do some sailing and s
erious snorkeling! Our skipper, Brad, was a white haired ex-army man who looked at little like Kenny Rogers and sounded like him too. He took us and three other couples out around Dampier Archipelago. Along the way he told lots of stories and shared his extensive knowledge on the history of the area. Dampier was named for William Dampier, a real pirate from the Caribbean who explored the area... a long time ago. William recorded in his journal that the area was only good for minerals and set on his way. It wasn't until about 40 years ago that Dampier began as a port, so it took all this time for someone to exploit the mineral resources William Dampier had found available in the Pilbara.
As we sailed out to Mallus Island we came across two huge manta rays swimming near one of the islands and feeding on the floating flotsam that had gotten churned up from the ocean floor. It's mouth is the large white oval shape you see near the waters surface. The tips of their big wing-like bodies looked like shark fins as they broke the surface of the water. They were really beautiful to watch.
We arrived at Mallus Island where there were several beach shacks nestled on top of the dunes. Skipper Brad said the saddest thing about the industry was that people were rich in wealth, but socially poor. They work long days and hardly get much time off to spend at the beach shacks they bought to enjoy. When we stopped at Mallus Island for lunch we got to enjoy a bit of snorkeling around the coral reefs which were wonderful and full of brightly colored fish, sea cucumbers, spikey black ball things, and huge clams that I played with by waving my hand across the top of them so they would quickly snap shut.
We also had a look at some of the whaling pots that were left on the beach
from the American whalers hundreds of years ago. There is still whale bone all around the area from when the whalers would melt down the whale blubber into oil in the big pots.
On the way back from the islands we had sailed past Sam's Island named for Sam, a Serbian guy that had come to Dampier and built a small castle home on the island. He also planted the palm trees on the island and moved hundreds of rocks in order to make a beach. When Sam died the Dampier community had a big funeral on the local sporting grounds for him then buried him atop his island. It was an amazing day all around and the best one we had while in Dampier. The next day we headed out to Port Hedland, our last stop on the trip.
We took our time getting to Port Hedland as it was only a few hours from Dampier, so we stopped at the heritage town of Cossack which used to be the main port used for the pearling industry back in the late 1800's. Cossack had a life span of less than 50 years as the pearling industry moved north, cyclone devastation to the area wiped out many of the remaining buildings that had been there, and the harbour clogged with silt which restricted access for larger shipping vessels. A few buildings are left standing there today like the old gaol, police barracks, post office, courthouse and mercantile store. We also stopped at a roadhouse in Whim Creek, also the site of mining operations, to look at a tree where SM had received one of his many childhood scars and we met a friendly cockatoo in the aviary there who let us pet him through the fence.
Port Hedland is where SM grew up, so when we got into town he drove me around South Hedland a little community outside of PH where he lived and showed me the house he grew up in and told me stories about his childhood there. That was the day of his dad's birthday so we stayed at the yard and celebrated with him. The yard is where his dad's
company keeps their exploration equipment, bull dozers, loaders, and donger's - mobile units with bedrooms, bathrooms and office space. At one point I went to the toilet and heard some chirping coming from inside. I thought it was only some crickets, but when I got inside this is what I saw.
These beautifully colored tree frogs live in the toilet's tank. When I first came in there were two sitting on top, but one had gotten scared and crawled back into the toilet tank for safety. I was really tickled by them being there. SM's dad said that frogs are a sign of a healthy environment. Good to know.
I don't know what it is about toilets lately, but when I got home, I found this sign posted above the toilet in our bathroom. (photo coming later)
The next day SM drove me into PH for a look around and to have some lunch. I rather liked PH for a small town and that's as far as my trip took me. I hopped on a plane in PH around one o'clock last Friday afternoon and headed back to the grit and grime of city life and the hardships of thesis writing.
We drove into Dampier via Karratha on Monday afternoon. SM couldn't wait... for what I'm not sure, but here we were in the industrial capital of the Pilbara, perhaps even the industrial capital of Western Australia. Dampier boasts of being the highest export port in all of Australia. I'm not sure how many tons of iron ore are shipped from Dampier every day, but there were three large steamers waiting in port the last day we were there, half sunken down into the water from the weight of their loads.
The first day, we stopped into the visitors center in Karratha to check if we would be able to go out sailing during the week. At first it was uncertain because we had to have six people to go out. A few others joined and we were set to go sailing on Wednesday. In the meantime, we thought we might hire a dinghy, unfortunately we had to have a boat license to drive it, so that didn't work out. We checked into the Dampier Mermaid Hotel/ Motel - it really was both a hotel and motel, I think because hotels are generally pubs and motels are where you stay. It was certainly not flash 5-star accommodation. No, it would be more like 2, maaaybe 3 stars at best, but it was clean and had pleasant staff and a nice little pool. It also had a lovely view overlooking the harbour and some palm trees along the shore, but the majority of the guests were "fly in" workers for the surrounding industrial facilities. Sometimes I felt like we got stared at because we were the only tourists staying there even though we were driving a work ute like the rest of them. One lady that went on the sailboat with us even said they had tried getting a room somewhere that didn't take tourists, the hotel only accommodated workers.
The first few days we bummed around Dampier exploring nearby Hearson Cove, Burrup Peninsula, and Point Samson for good snorkeling and fishing spots. I thought I might even try my hand at crabbing, so we went back to Hearson Cove at dusk, fishing net in hand in hopes of finding some crabs along the shoreline - no luck :( The snorkelling didn't fare well either as the water was too rough and murky, so we tried a little fishing, but SM ended up fly bitten from the sand flies. So we settled on a little swimming and saw a sea turtle pop his head up briefly on the beach in Point Samson. That was the height of my excitement the first few days.
Burrup Penninsula didn't offer much more than a large liquid ammonia plant that produces 760,000 tons of liquid ammonia a year all of which is exported. The plant is the biggest Indian investment in Australia and the young Indian tycoon who owns it is building a mansion mini version of the Taj Mahal in one of the wealthiest suburbs in Perth.
There is also the salt industry which produces 4.2 million tons of salt annually and is primarily used by chemical industries, only 20% is used for food processing and human consumption. It is for this reason that the neighboring town of Karratha seems to be experiencing significant growth with housing subdivisions popping up all around the town. The photo at the left are some of the salt resevoirs along the highway going into Dampier with a 2.5 kilometer long train in the background. The sea water has evaporated leaving a sparkling layer of salt to be harvested.We also drove through the town of Wickham because SM's nephew had played their t-ball team in the tournament on the weekend, so we thought we'd have a look. Pretty standard Leeton-Chilhowee-Holden (for you Warrensburgians to compare to) sized town.
Finally, Wednesday rolled around and we were ready to do some sailing and s
erious snorkeling! Our skipper, Brad, was a white haired ex-army man who looked at little like Kenny Rogers and sounded like him too. He took us and three other couples out around Dampier Archipelago. Along the way he told lots of stories and shared his extensive knowledge on the history of the area. Dampier was named for William Dampier, a real pirate from the Caribbean who explored the area... a long time ago. William recorded in his journal that the area was only good for minerals and set on his way. It wasn't until about 40 years ago that Dampier began as a port, so it took all this time for someone to exploit the mineral resources William Dampier had found available in the Pilbara.
As we sailed out to Mallus Island we came across two huge manta rays swimming near one of the islands and feeding on the floating flotsam that had gotten churned up from the ocean floor. It's mouth is the large white oval shape you see near the waters surface. The tips of their big wing-like bodies looked like shark fins as they broke the surface of the water. They were really beautiful to watch.
We arrived at Mallus Island where there were several beach shacks nestled on top of the dunes. Skipper Brad said the saddest thing about the industry was that people were rich in wealth, but socially poor. They work long days and hardly get much time off to spend at the beach shacks they bought to enjoy. When we stopped at Mallus Island for lunch we got to enjoy a bit of snorkeling around the coral reefs which were wonderful and full of brightly colored fish, sea cucumbers, spikey black ball things, and huge clams that I played with by waving my hand across the top of them so they would quickly snap shut.
We also had a look at some of the whaling pots that were left on the beach
from the American whalers hundreds of years ago. There is still whale bone all around the area from when the whalers would melt down the whale blubber into oil in the big pots.
On the way back from the islands we had sailed past Sam's Island named for Sam, a Serbian guy that had come to Dampier and built a small castle home on the island. He also planted the palm trees on the island and moved hundreds of rocks in order to make a beach. When Sam died the Dampier community had a big funeral on the local sporting grounds for him then buried him atop his island. It was an amazing day all around and the best one we had while in Dampier. The next day we headed out to Port Hedland, our last stop on the trip.We took our time getting to Port Hedland as it was only a few hours from Dampier, so we stopped at the heritage town of Cossack which used to be the main port used for the pearling industry back in the late 1800's. Cossack had a life span of less than 50 years as the pearling industry moved north, cyclone devastation to the area wiped out many of the remaining buildings that had been there, and the harbour clogged with silt which restricted access for larger shipping vessels. A few buildings are left standing there today like the old gaol, police barracks, post office, courthouse and mercantile store. We also stopped at a roadhouse in Whim Creek, also the site of mining operations, to look at a tree where SM had received one of his many childhood scars and we met a friendly cockatoo in the aviary there who let us pet him through the fence.
Port Hedland is where SM grew up, so when we got into town he drove me around South Hedland a little community outside of PH where he lived and showed me the house he grew up in and told me stories about his childhood there. That was the day of his dad's birthday so we stayed at the yard and celebrated with him. The yard is where his dad's
company keeps their exploration equipment, bull dozers, loaders, and donger's - mobile units with bedrooms, bathrooms and office space. At one point I went to the toilet and heard some chirping coming from inside. I thought it was only some crickets, but when I got inside this is what I saw.These beautifully colored tree frogs live in the toilet's tank. When I first came in there were two sitting on top, but one had gotten scared and crawled back into the toilet tank for safety. I was really tickled by them being there. SM's dad said that frogs are a sign of a healthy environment. Good to know.
I don't know what it is about toilets lately, but when I got home, I found this sign posted above the toilet in our bathroom. (photo coming later)
The next day SM drove me into PH for a look around and to have some lunch. I rather liked PH for a small town and that's as far as my trip took me. I hopped on a plane in PH around one o'clock last Friday afternoon and headed back to the grit and grime of city life and the hardships of thesis writing.
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