July 2010

Two months of winter have now passed and the temperature has not dropped below 30C. This really is the way to live. When we left you last month we had just had a few days in Broome before heading up to Cape Leveque. The road up which can be a horror, was actually not too bad with it taking us just on 3 hours. We arrived in time to unpack, say gidday and then go 'on call' for the weekend. For the first 3 weeks we were staying in the flat at the back of the clinic which is really comfortable and only two metres from work. There is no need to allow for traffic to get to work on time living there. The weather for most of week 1 was still pretty ordinary (as was part of our time in Broome) and we in fact had a lot of very unseasonal rain, so much so that the road up here was closed for nearly a week, on and off. For that to happen at this time of year is most unusual to say the least. It must be that 'Global Warming' thing. It seems anything that is slightly out of the ordinary is blamed on global warming so that clearly must be the cause. By the end of our first week it was still raining on and off , but that didn't slow us down with what seemed like 10 social engagements already under our belt.

Out fishing

The Fishing Trip

On Saturday Dave (these guys are the neighbours at the other health house that we lived in last year while up here) thought it would be nice to take us out in his boat for a few hours to try and catch dinner, in the rain I might add. Well off we went and yes, it did rain lightly for the first hour but when it's so warm it doesn't seem to matter that much. We fished, moved spots, fished and kept moving spots. We did really well with everyone catching fish except Chris and myself which was most likely due to the fact that we spent our entire time baiting, untangling, de-snagging or re-attaching lost tackle. Both Harry and Alex did well getting 3 or 4 fish each. We then cooked the fish over the open fire at Dave's house, together with a few beers and tales about the ones that got away. What a great way to end a great day out. What started as a fishing trip for a few hours ended up taking all day and then into the evening.

One Arm Point- Cape Leveque

Now I don't wish to rub salt in the wounds of those of you who are down south currently wearing more than shorts and a t-shirt, but this area really is very, very hard to beat. It is so pure and so unspoilt that it is hard to believe we are so close to Broome and that it actually is 2010. How long it will stay like this, only time will tell, but hopefully the locals are intelligent enough not to be lured by the big bucks and therefore keep the large multinational hotel chains and mines out of here for as long as possible. If they continue to seal more of the road, I think it will be shear numbers of people that will eventually destroy this place. While the unsealed section of the road is as bad as it normally is, the number of people prepared to tackle it will remain at an acceptable number. Unfortunately, like most places, things are a-changing.

I think one of the things I really like about these places is the complete freedom the kids have. They ride their bikes all over town, they ride to the beach and explore, make things and generally act like kids used to many years ago. They have freedom, they are safe and they are being kids. This is how it should be. Harry and his little mate Sharnie have been inseparable, cooking (or is that making one hell of a mess), kicking the footy and playing basketball.

Three weeks into our nearly 3 month stay we had to change houses again which while a bit painful, really doesn't take that long. We moved into the same house we stayed in last year which is about a 5 minute walk from work. Now I will have to get up earlier to be at work on time!! The boys are as happy as a pig in, you get the picture, as our neighbours, Dave and Tamar have 4 kids, two of which are the same age as Alex and Harry. As if that is not good enough, they also have a big trampoline that the kids seem to spend all day on, inventing all sorts of new tricks.

We then had a 4 day break and again went to Broome for some shopping and R/R. July, August and September are our busy birthday months so we had some serious birthday shopping to do. We had a great time, again being tourists. We went to the open air cinema and saw Toy Story 3, which was excellent and well worth seeing, regardless of your age. I love these shows and they really get you reflecting on your childhood, and get you thinking about your mortality. Very clever those writers at Pixar. Sunday night, along with half of Australia, we watched the final episode of Master Chef. It is now time to admit that late in the series we became addicted and wished we had got onto it earlier. We lobbed in on some friends with a large T.V. and scoffed pizza while watching the show. A great night was had by all - thanks Hannah and Brad! We again visited Matso's Brewery, did sunset at Cable Beach and did everything but relax. It was go, go, go. I had more new tyres put on the car and the camper trailer, which worked out well as they were on special at BF Goodrich. We also scored a free $300-00 air compressor for our trouble, which was good timing as the old compressor is starting to make funny sounds.

Matso's Micro Brewery

I love to have a beer at Matso's

Back to work on Wednesday and then Thursday we (me and the boys) spent the day on a school cultural excursion down at one of the beaches crabbing and fish spearing. Chris decided to stay home and have some alone time. What a great day out and what skills the locals have and are willing to share. I filled the ambulance up with as many kids as could be seated and off we went. There was a convoy of about 10 troopies. Our destination was an area called Mudnun about 20 minutes away. Let me tell you it's called Mudnun for a very good reason. The tide was dead low and up the small creeks we ventured, on the hunt for crab holes, and therefore hopefully crabs. The creeks started out sandy which was great but soon turned to mud. In fact quicksand mud. At times we were up to our knees in the stuff. Watch out if you lost your balance. With your legs held tight falling meant your head hitting the mud. What a mess. The group got about 12 crabs in total and speared about the same number of fish, mainly rock cod. The locals are pretty good with the old spears, spearing fish that I couldn't even see. For lunch they lit a fire and had a big cookup. Now that's fresh. Then to clean up we had a short drive to a swimming beach for a well deserved swim. The water was warm, crystal clear and fairly shallow for a long way out which apparently makes it easier to spot incoming crocs. I kid you not. While swimming a fairly large shadow quickly made its way towards us. My heart did skip a few beats until I realised it was just a stingray. We then dropped the kids back off at school, cleaned out the back of the ambulance and off home for a well deserved shower. They have these cultural days every month, and yes, I will be throwing my hand up again next month. Pick me!!!!

School Cultural Day at Mudmun

Cultural Day at Mudnun

The last weekend of the month was a time of great celebration as it was Chris's birthday (not quite the big one. Yet!) Of course in true female fashion the celebrations had to be a huge event (someone has to get the troops moving! - Ed) with the expected gifts even bigger (Ha! Ha!) We booked a campsite at Kooljaman (yes, I know that was extremely romantic) and booked the new restaurant for dinner (is that better?) to celebrate the auspicious event in style. Saturday, (the actual day) was a great day with 'she who must be obeyed' apparently happy with the bucket full of pearl jewellery that we had acquired for her. The weather was almost as beautiful with us spending the day at the beach and then it was down to the Western Beach for sunset before dinner. We had an excellent meal at the new restaurant with plenty of laughs. Unfortunately, during the night mother nature turned up the fan and boy did it blow. The camper trailer stood up to it without as much as a flap of the canvas but I must say that the very large limbs of the ghost gum (widow maker) that hung above us did make me a little nervous. By the time the sun had poked its nose over the horizon it was really blowing, so instead of packing up and spending the day at Kooljaman, we instead packed up and went home, the whole 15 kms and had one of those inside type days.
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Chris's Birthday

I'm not that old!!!!!

So that is it for July. We will be here at One Arm Point until the middle of September and have all sorts of activities organised. There will be fishing, sightseeing and a trip to the local pearl farm to have a private tour of the seeding shed and the seeding process (opening the pearl shell and implanting a small round foreign body in the gonad that will hopefully become a pearl in years to come). This will be really interesting and certainly not something that the general public gets to see.

Short and sweet. Catch you next month.

'Too much of a good thing can be wonderful, believe me'

Cable Beach- Broome