Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Sun, Beaches, then Farm!

Saturday was a lovely day!  I went on a solo adventure to a gorgeous place called Hillary’s Boat Harbour.  It’s a huge harbour with little market type stores and docks that are raised over the water with coffee and ice cream shops and some other nicer restaurants.  The weather couldn’t have been any better – clear skies and a cool wind.  I made my way there early, by train and then bus, arriving around 10am.  My real reason for heading towards the harbour was to go to a touristy spot I’d heard about called “AQWA,” which is like an underwater world idea, with tours and touch ponds and exhibits, one of which was one of the coolest exhibit I think I’ve ever seen.  The main attraction for AQWA is a huge underwater tube that you can walk through, or stand on a slow moving conveyor belt to move through an underwater ocean bottom habitat with sharks, sea turtles, stingrays, and copious amounts of different species of fish!  I went through it twice, because I was just so amazed at the sites.  What a neat experience to be under water, and have sharks swimming beside and above you!
I left the AQWA and did one more tour around the little shops, before making my way back to the bus, then the train, and into Perth by early afternoon.  I changed at the hostel and was planning on another sunset over the Indian Ocean, but at a beach further south called Cottesloe Beach.  On my way there, which is nearly a 40 minute bus venture from the hostel I was staying at, the weather turned quickly and I found myself arriving to a beach where the skies had turned grey and stormy, and the waves had turned into dark and angry curls.  I figured I had to stay for a while, so I found myself seated at a burger joint on the main strip overlooking the ocean, and met a lady doing the same thing from the states.  Her name is Pam, and she’s a 39 year old nurse; six months ago, she quit her job, sold her car, and took the money she’d been saving to put a down payment on a house and booked an 8 month adventure around the world, inspired by a 48 year old man who was on his death bed.  Pretty wild move, but all the power to her!  She has no husband, no serious boyfriend nor children, making things easier for her.  She sure seems to be enjoying herself!
Saturday night in the hostel dining room area, I ran into Christine – the girl who was in my room the night I arrived, and a friend of hers named David from England.  We talked for quite a while before deciding to head to the hostel pub for a few rounds together, where we sorted out our Sunday adventures. 
Sunday, we met in the kitchen/dining room around 9:30, and Christine’s friend from Germany, Sabina, picked us up out front around 10:30.  The goal was to go snorkeling at Trigg’s Beach, north of Scarborough Beach – but that didn’t happen because the place to rent snorkeling gear wasn’t open… and it was bloody cold!  We ended up enjoying the rays regardless, and spent a few hours on the pretty white sand, watching and listening to the waves break along the beach and over the coral.  It was so relaxing!  We eventually headed back south towards Scarborough Beach, where we ate, and played cards for nearly two hours at the Dome Café, waiting for the sun to drop to watch the sunset together.  It was chilly and the wind was sharp, so we waiting until nearly 6:00pm before going out and watching the last and most picture perfect half hour before it disappeared.  There were several ocean liners that night, and it was a little cloudy, presenting us with a gorgeous show of oranges, yellows, and hints of red.  The sun tuckered us all, and we were in bed after our dinner back at the hostel, with plans to get up early and meet in the dining room at 6:30am before leaving on our respective adventures.
So 6:30am this morning, we met up in the dining room and ate our breakfasts together.  Today was a big day! I traveled down to the farm today!  Christine and David were going on a rather incredible journey today themselves, and I am really looking forward to hearing all about it!  I made my way to the train station, rode three stops east, then got out and bought my bus ticket south on the TransWA bus towards Albany.  I admittedly dozed off a few times, missing some of the green and yellow countryside, but nonetheless, made it to Kojonup where I was collected by the current nanny here at the farm.  For privacy’s sake, I’m going to keep names and in depth details of the farm to a minimum, as I totally respect this family, their employees and the efficient and well known business that they run!  So the nanny that collected me is from Ireland, and she’s lovely! I will be following her around this week, learning the ins and outs of the nanny job I’ll be taking over officially on the 18th of this month.  I met four other girls that work here, all from around the world, who live in the workers’ house about 15km from the farm.  Everyone here seems so great, ad I’m really excited to be here! I got a tour of the workers’ house, where I will be staying starting the 18th, and a tour of the farm and house.  I even got to pack up meat from the twelve lambs they had butchered this week! Nothing like diving right into farm life! Bring it on! I got to join one of the girls who works here in feeding on of the litters of puppies!  There are currently 17 puppies on this farm! Ten in one litter that are ready to be sold, and another litter of seven, that are only a few days old.  I cannot wait to watch them grow!  For dinner, K.’s parents and sister and her husband came over, and we had fresh meat, potatoes, and green veggies and corn.  I was in heaven, considering I’ve been eating like a backpacker for the last two weeks with the exception of the time spent with my friend Kristen and her family!
As for tonight, fighting to find internet reception, I’m calling it a night with Word.  I will try my very best to keep up with the blog and my updates and emails, but we are so far in the middle of a field that reception is hard to come by with both internet and phones.  But I’m alive and well!
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!

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