Tuesday, July 18, 2006
The past month or so
Yes, it has been a while.
The past 4 weekends or so I have spent in Busselton, home of the parents of Michael.
The first weekend, Michael and I planned an overnight hike on the Cape to Cape track, starting at Cape Naturaliste. We packed our packs. We drove to the Cape. In a downpour. When we arrived, it was pouring, and the wind was strong. We decided to take a little walk without our packs to assess the situation. We got out to a lookout and the pelting rain stung our eyelids. I was soaked to the bone in minutes. We decided to postpone the trip. Then the sun came out - it was gorgeous - we walked further and saw hundreds of seals/sealions down in the water. Then the rain came again. We stopped at Simmo's ice cream shop on the way home. As we sat in front of the wood stove with our hot teas, the rain pelted down upon the roof...
The second weekend, we did take two. Thoroughly waterproofed all of our belongings in our packs. Michael's friend Ryan and his girlfriend Tammy joined us for the first segment of the hike, then refueled us with some donuts before we parted ways. The hike to Mt Duckworth Campsite was beautiful and sunny along the clifftops overlooking the ocean. After a warm night in the tent, we hiked back out again. We probably stopped at Simmo's on the way home.
The third weekend was the 'fishing trip with the boys'. Only one of 'the boys' cancelled, and another also had his girlfriend along. So really the boys hardly outnumbered the girls. As for the fishing, it was too windy. The usual fishing spot was splashed with waves and spray. But there was a campfire, there were marshmallows, and there was an australian football that ping ponged its way among the trees. We stopped at Simmo's on the way home.
The fourth weekend was last weekend. My bus arrived in Busselton on friday night. Saturday morning, Michael and I set out to rip some invading bracken out by its roots in order to free the native bush (and to open up some lovely holes for the relentless arum lilies to flourish - these are to be sprayed next weekend). The result was a towering pile of bracken fronds, 4 blisters on the middle finger of my right hand, and 3 blisters on the middle finger of my left. This weeding extravaganza was interrupted by an excursion into the swamp and paddocks beyond where we came upon a vast herd of kangaroos that fanned out before us as we advanced. Saturday evening I partook in the family watching of the footy and tried to show my enthusiasm for the West Coast Eagles so as not to be sent out to sleep in the yard. I still don't understand half of the rules of that game. Sunday, we set out in the rowboat with a pile of crab traps tantalizingly baited with chicken wings and beef spleen and fish heads. A little bit of fishing while we gave the crabs some time to find these tasty meals resulted in me catching and throwing back my second-ever fish. Michael, meanwhile, had a new fish each time his line touched the water. In the end, we brought home four blue mannas and five king george whiting. The crabs here are very different than the ones back home, as you can see in some of my pictures from the previous crabbing trip, in which we also managed to catch a pufferfish (this too was returned to the water after some photos were taken). Michael's dad taught me some crab-eating secrets and so the feast was far less frustrating than the one I attempted back in Malaysia. Sunday afternoon we all took a trip out to, surprise, surprise: Simmo's! :)
thekat.
The past 4 weekends or so I have spent in Busselton, home of the parents of Michael.
The first weekend, Michael and I planned an overnight hike on the Cape to Cape track, starting at Cape Naturaliste. We packed our packs. We drove to the Cape. In a downpour. When we arrived, it was pouring, and the wind was strong. We decided to take a little walk without our packs to assess the situation. We got out to a lookout and the pelting rain stung our eyelids. I was soaked to the bone in minutes. We decided to postpone the trip. Then the sun came out - it was gorgeous - we walked further and saw hundreds of seals/sealions down in the water. Then the rain came again. We stopped at Simmo's ice cream shop on the way home. As we sat in front of the wood stove with our hot teas, the rain pelted down upon the roof...
The second weekend, we did take two. Thoroughly waterproofed all of our belongings in our packs. Michael's friend Ryan and his girlfriend Tammy joined us for the first segment of the hike, then refueled us with some donuts before we parted ways. The hike to Mt Duckworth Campsite was beautiful and sunny along the clifftops overlooking the ocean. After a warm night in the tent, we hiked back out again. We probably stopped at Simmo's on the way home.
The third weekend was the 'fishing trip with the boys'. Only one of 'the boys' cancelled, and another also had his girlfriend along. So really the boys hardly outnumbered the girls. As for the fishing, it was too windy. The usual fishing spot was splashed with waves and spray. But there was a campfire, there were marshmallows, and there was an australian football that ping ponged its way among the trees. We stopped at Simmo's on the way home.
The fourth weekend was last weekend. My bus arrived in Busselton on friday night. Saturday morning, Michael and I set out to rip some invading bracken out by its roots in order to free the native bush (and to open up some lovely holes for the relentless arum lilies to flourish - these are to be sprayed next weekend). The result was a towering pile of bracken fronds, 4 blisters on the middle finger of my right hand, and 3 blisters on the middle finger of my left. This weeding extravaganza was interrupted by an excursion into the swamp and paddocks beyond where we came upon a vast herd of kangaroos that fanned out before us as we advanced. Saturday evening I partook in the family watching of the footy and tried to show my enthusiasm for the West Coast Eagles so as not to be sent out to sleep in the yard. I still don't understand half of the rules of that game. Sunday, we set out in the rowboat with a pile of crab traps tantalizingly baited with chicken wings and beef spleen and fish heads. A little bit of fishing while we gave the crabs some time to find these tasty meals resulted in me catching and throwing back my second-ever fish. Michael, meanwhile, had a new fish each time his line touched the water. In the end, we brought home four blue mannas and five king george whiting. The crabs here are very different than the ones back home, as you can see in some of my pictures from the previous crabbing trip, in which we also managed to catch a pufferfish (this too was returned to the water after some photos were taken). Michael's dad taught me some crab-eating secrets and so the feast was far less frustrating than the one I attempted back in Malaysia. Sunday afternoon we all took a trip out to, surprise, surprise: Simmo's! :)
thekat.
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