Moving on...

It's about time to leave Broome.

After being here for five months, it will be bittersweet to move on. I will be leaving behind good friends and a job that I really enjoy. However, new adventures await in the Philippines, which will be my next destination.

If anyone has been to that part of Asia and has recommendations on what to see/do, please let me know!

In the meantime, an homage to my adopted town of Broome:



One thing I will not miss: high prices on fruits and veggies!



Our lovely home at 97 Herbert St.

Pink Flash, the only mode of transportation I've had these past few months.
She's not much to look at but she gets the job done!

Banana pancakes & bacon at our neighborhood cafe... yuuummmmm!

At work!

Town Beach



Gantheaume Point



Quandong camping

We recently got out of Broome for a weekend of camping in Quandong, a beach about 45 kilometers north.




I volunteered to squeeze into the back of the 4x4 while the others sat in the front bench seats



As we got closer to Quandong, we saw there was a bush fire close by.
Luckily, the winds were in our favor and were blowing the smoke away.

There were jellyfish out.

One of my housemates "dissected" a jellyfish.

Greg enjoyed the fishing.



Walking from the camp to the beach after lunch.



A late afternoon game of cards

Me & Holly

Cooking dinner out the back of the ute



Friends



Impromptu dance party



Some fun on the beach the next day



All photos courtesy of my lovely housemate Sophie!

Aussie speak

As a follow-up to my entry entitled "Kiwi lexicon," I'd like to familiarize my friends and family with the lovely lingo of the Australians. Here are some of my favorites:

Common words
Arvo: afternoon
Barbie: barbecue
Brekkie: breakfast
Bloke: guy/dude
Bush: the wilderness, countryside, outback
Bogan: a hick/someone who is unkempt
Cheers: thanks/you're welcome/goodbye
Chook: chicken
Footy: Australian Rules football
Lollies: candy
Mate: friend
Midges: small sandflies
Mozzies: mosquitos
Muddy: mudcrab
Pommie: someone from England ("Prisoner of Mother England")
Prezzie: present
Rego: registration
Rock up: turn up/show up
Roo: kangaroo
Stubby: beer can holder
Skull: to drink a beer without taking a breath
Sparkie: electrician
Sunnies: sunglasses
Swag: rolled up bedding used for camping in the bush
Tassie: Tasmania
Tinny: beer
Ta: thank you
Tea: supper/meal
Ute: utility vehicle
Vego: vegetarian
Whinge: whine

Common phrases
No worries! You're welcome!
Too right! I agree.
No drama! No problem.
Too easy!  No problem/you're welcome.
Good on ya. Good going/good for you/you go, girl!
How you going? How are you?
She'll be (al)right. It's ok.


Classic example of the advertising out here in Western Australia (aka, the bush):

Out come the jellies

A couple weeks ago, Chloe and I went kayaking at Gantheaume Point. It happened to be a record-setting day for the jellyfish: there were an abnormally high amount of them both in the water and washed up on shore. Have you ever smelled thousands of rotting jellyfish? It's not nice.
The jellies even made the news (though it doesn't take much to make the news up here in Western Australia!).

Lovely! Dead jellyfish on the beach!

We were still excited to kayak.

You can see the incredible amount of jellyfish in the water around our kayak:

I was trying to pick them up with the paddle... but they were a bit slippery.

Looking out over Gantheaume Point:

It was a lovely morning, but I don't think I'll be doing any swimming on Cable Beach any time soon! Now that we're moving into the wet  season (remember, there are only two seasons up here, the wet and the dry), all sorts of creatures are coming out: the crocs, the jellyfish, the mozzies, the flies (they were always here though), the midges (sandflies), the frogs, and other assorted little (and big!) things.

Where the wild things are

One of the perks of working at a hotel: going on "famil" tours, which are geared towards getting me "familiarized" with the tours I am selling/booking as part of my job. This particular day took me and a couple friends to the Malcom Douglas Wilderness Park about 16 kilometers from Broome.

Where I held a python named Olive:

And a baby crocodile:

Where we saw dozens of Australian crocodiles. The wilderness park actually breeds these lovely creatures.

We had the privilege of watching these crocs being fed... yum! At the park, they are fed every day, though in the wild, crocs don't need to eat every day. In fact, they often go weeks or months without food.

Then we moved on to some of the less threatening species:

For my bird-loving Mom: here's a kookaburra

A close up of the cassuary

Beautiful owl

Chloe & Susi talking to the birdies

A dingo, the ancient link between wolves and today's domestic dogs

One type of wallaby

Kangaroo and joey

To me, these were the coolest thing I saw in the park:

Flying foxes

They literally look like foxes with wings

I'd much rather be face-to-face with one of these guys than with the scary crocs! I guess they're all part of the Western Australian experience!