So its been a while since our last update, don't worry we have not been eaten by crocs or sharks (although we have had close calls...more on that soon).
So I (Chris) have been busy at work back up t'north in't outback, not a lot to report on there still lots of red dust, big machines and its chuffin hot everyday. We are now heading into cyclone season so there may be some more excitement to post on in the next couple of months.
We had one road trip from work on our day off which was fun. We headed North from site to a town called Nullagine. It is the largest town for around 200km with a population of approximately 7 people and a cow. Anyway we heading into the local store and they kindly gave us a hand drawn map to follow to some watering holes. This covered approx. 200km and had instructions such as turn left at broken down tractor, or bear right at oil drum... really glad nobody got around to fixing the tractor!!
It turned out to be a pretty accurate map and we found a few really old mines, a few termite mounds and some cool swimming spots along the way.
The Map
Old Mine
Me and my mound
So that's life in the outback covered, Naomi has been equally busy sampling EVERY café in Subi, and the greater Perth area. She has also become slightly addicted to avocado, which has earned her the new nickname of the avocado aficionado. She has also been busy fixing people in her spare time, but mainly eating cake, drinking matso's (an amazing mango beer from Broome) and watching films at the rooftop cinemas.... Slacker!
Anyway on my week off in November we headed for a short break over to Rottnest Island, or Rotto as it is known to us Sandgropers (someone from WA).
Rotto is a small island approx. 10km x 5km just off the coast of perth.
Naomi had been desperate to come here since reading about it 12months ago online. Rotto is (apart from a small park on the mainland) the only place in the world where you can find Quokkas. These are small marsupials that have been named the happiest animals on the planet.
Other than the quokkas, Rotto is also home to some of the most incredible beaches I have ever seen. The whole island is closed to cars, and so we spent 2 days cycling around,
stopping off at all of the bays around the island. At each beach we were pretty much the only ones there, and you could step straight into the water to see some incredible reefs where you could snorkel.
On Rotto and on the mainland we also met a couple of new friends native to the country
A Dugite snake, seemed quite friendly to pose for photos as we cycled by but can give a killer bite.
Monitor Lizard - Pretty big, this was about 1m in length, but can grow to nearly double. They are all out of hibernation now and a regular site at work.
Bobtail Skink - See a lo of these when out biking, if you get too close they show you there blue tongue as a sign of aggression.
Huntsman Spider - Look pretty nasty, but actually a good ally to have around as they eat all the nasty spiders like redbacks, and they are pretty harmless to humans. They have been known to cause serious injuries though, as they like to hide behind the sun visor in the car causing people to crash when it falls on their head!!!
So up to December now... my break in December fell a bit Naff as Naomi had to work for a lot of it, but she did manage to organise one day off which was good, so we planned a fun day out...
Last week I decided to sign us up for Ingkerreke mountain bike race. It is a 5day 7 stage race around Alice Springs in May. In preparation we decided to head out training up to Kalamunda in the Perth hills to hit the trails.
I should explain, we decided before we went to rotto to get a go-pro camera (hence the underwater photos), and they are also great for capturing mountain biking footage.
So we had done the majority of the ride and were just commencing the last down hill when a rock jumped out at me and threw me off...
Unfortunately for me there was no way I could disguise this for a tactical topple, it was a full on stack and the go pro captured everything! (see bonus footage below)!
Well after a bit of dusting down and Naomi laughing we managed to finish the loop and head back to the car park. It was only then when trying to wash myself down that I found a nasty gash to my elbow... the prognosis from Dr G wasn't good... although I would survive it would need stitches!
So on Naomi's day off we headed into Charlies Hospital, luckily having a private Doctor we jumped to the front of the queue and Naomi set about her work, with me receiving a bit of stick from some of her colleagues, asking if I needed gas!
After lots of anaesthetic, poking around, scrubbing, 3 stiches and a tetanus jab I was all good to go! Well done Dr G you passed!
Bonus Video!
So that is all for now guys, I need to get to the airport to have a couple of weeks rest at work! We have a few fun adventures planned in the next couple of months, including beach Christmas so keep your eyes peeled!
Oh nearly forgot about the close calls... so we have recently found out that WA is one of the worlds most dangerous places for shark attacks according to National Geographic, and there have been a couple of fatal attacks in the last few months. Luckily there is a chopper spotting sharks that patrols, and the beach had to be shut the other day as I was leaving as a 'pointer' was spotted. Naomi also had a close call at rotto with a fish that was at least 2 inches long that she insists was a shark!!!!
Bruce and Shiela / Team Stack!
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