KatieTheKat

First, a blast from the past
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I just have to quickly mention one thing right away that I was thinking about earlier today and was somehow skipped over in my previous entries (I can't imagine how that happened!), as it was one of the most exciting parts of our hike in Lake St. Clair National Park (to me) (I know, that was weeks ago). What happened is this. People up at the Pine Valley hut who had hiked the Overland Track were telling us stories about getting attacked by leeches as they crossed through mudpits on the track. Despite the number of people who mentioned this and the lacerations they showed us, I still found it rather hard to believe that a leech could really find and latch onto a person in the short time during which your foot was in a particular patch of mud. I mean, surely squishy mud isn't that easy to move around in, don't you think? I figured you would have to be standing around in a puddle in order for a leech to clamp onto you. Well, I'm sure you can tell where this is going, but let me relate the story anyhow.

Firstly, mom and I saw no signs of any leeches on the way into the hut or at anytime on our hike out to the hut by the lakeside (I forget what it was called). On the last day (and for part of the previous day as well), I was hiking out in only sandals due to my old hiking boots having caused some horrible pain in my ankle (maybe a pinched nerve?). Though I might have been tempted to spend my time squishing my toes in the mud had it been smooth and gooey, it was full of uncomfortable little bits of this and that so I tried to mostly take the dry route and never lingered in any puddles for long. I took a look at my feet in my sandals when we reached the lodge and proclaimed them to be leech free, and this of course
increased my skepticism concerning the tales of leeches in the mud. Yet, after I had finished a hearty meal and we had been sitting in the lodge for about an hour (though my feet were still rather muddy as I had not bothered to rinse them off in the lake when we arrived), I suddenly felt something cool and wet on my right foot. I looked down to see a chubby little black leech rolling around on the floor, and a red stream of blood trickling down my foot from under my sandal strap. My first ever leech! I'm sorry now that I did not get a picture of it, but everyone else seemed to be quite disgusted with the little black being as I carried it out the
door and tossed it off the edge of the balcony. The experience was nothing like the tales I have heard previously about horrid little leeches that latch and and won't let go - while it was on me, I wasn't even aware of it.. it dropped off of its own accord (probably because it was too full and would have burst otherwise).. and despite all the warnings about itchiness and such, at no point from the time I was bitten until the present day did I experience any discomfort in the area of the bite. So I remain unconvinced about the horrors of leeches, though I now must accept
that it is possible for them to seek out a victim even given a very small opportunity.

Now where am I?
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Ok, that was fun but it was all in the past. What's going on nowadays, you ask? Well, as of about 5:45AM this morning, I am now a solo traveller. Despite chaos at the Qantas check-in counters, mom managed to make it on to her morning flight to Perth without any problems (I have heard from her and she is now set up at a sydney hostel). I proceeded to drive around the city for half an hour in search of a gas station so I could return our rental car with the full tank of gas that was agreed
upon. This car had taken us, during the last 3 days, to the town of Bunbury where we waded with bottlenose dolphins, through a magnificent Karri forest where we climed up a 65m high tree to an old forest fire lookout tower (I also climbed the 75m high Bicentennial Tree and a man-made lookout tower at a forestry museum), and to some cute little country towns where we viewed what may well be the world's largest collection of framed jigsaw puzzles. Prior to the car-based adventures,
we spent a couple of nights camping near the Mundaring Weir (a weir is a dam for those who, like me, had no idea). There was an absolutely wonderful outdoor theatre at the campground where we saw "A Good Woman" one night and "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" on New Years' Eve. It was fantiddlyastic.

But that is all about where I have been. Where I am is in the library at the University of Western Australia where I managed to sniff out some free internet access. I am currently killing some tiem till 3pm when I have a telephone rendezvous with someone who may be able to hook me up with a volunteer project involving sea turtles (oh I do hope it is true!). If that does not work out, then tomorrow I will most likely be heading off for a month-long hiking trip down a 964km track (The Bibbulmum) which leads from near Perth to Southern West Australia. The only thing is that some I have talked to have tried to dissuade me from doing so, saying that it is too hot at this time of year. I will have a chat with the "Friends of the Bibbulmum Track" later this afternoon and see what they say about it, but unless the sea turtle thing works out I will probably at least get started on the track and see how things go. This does not mean I will be in email blackout for the next month though, as there are towns along the way where I will be making soem stops.

For tonight, I am stationed at what is apparently the 3rd-best youth hostel in Oceania. It is next to the beach to the west of Perth (a short bus/train ride to town). If, after getting up shortly after 4 this morning, I am still awake enough, I might take in yet another outdoor movie here in Perth. I wish we had these things in Vancouver, but I suppose sunshine in liquid form could wreak havoc on the equipment.

Bye bye!

the lone Kat