On the Road Again

Term 1 is finished!  Three week holiday here I come!  This is the reason to be a teacher!  We've enjoyed the last few days before we all head out in different directions for our holidays - easy last week of school, a few beautiful sunsets, and having an old friend for dinner.

Just beautiful.

Last photo of the late Peggy.  She was delicious.  First time I've eaten a pet/lawn-mower.

I'm heading out on Monday for a long road trip to Brisbane where I'll be for a few days, and then to Sydney at the end of the week.  Not taking my laptop, so I'm sure some of you out there will be happy to have a break from lengthy adventure essays.  Expect some short, mostly photographic posts from the road!

Lots of love, keep in touch!  

The Forgotten Post

Sorry folks, I swear I had posted this a week ago but apparently not!

The morning I put up my last post was also the morning we were supposed to leave Carnarvon and head to Emerald for 'mini-school'. This is where all the distance ed. Families come into town and the kids get to go to 'real school' for a week, usually once a term.

Random Photo:  Teaching the importance of punctuation.

Now there were some pretty strong wills built up prior to this event. On the human side, some of us were pretty excited to go into town. We weren't sick of Carnarvon by any means, but we had mostly run out of groceries (some food, mostly insect repellent), were in desperate need to talk to a bank person face-to-face, and needed a good shop for some 'bush clothes' because everything I own is developing a layer of dusty debris.

On the nature side, after months of drought in what should be 'The Wet' season, Carnarvon finally got some rain. A nice big storm that lasted about two days – 130 ml at the homestead if anyone is keeping track. It was amazing, immediately everything on the station came a bit more to life. The stream rose, at least a dozen birds showed up I hadn't seen before, and the mud. The glorious mud. So much of it. Every step forward was like taking two back. When heading to the schoolroom in the morning, I had to bring my things to shower at the family house because I'd be so dirty by the time I walked up there that I'd have to have a rinse.

Bush high heels.  After the rain, there is about 5 lbs. or 3 inches of mud being carried by my boots by the time I get from the cottage to the schoolroom.

However, being a nature reserve, the mud causes some problems. We can't just four-wheel it into town like crazy folks. If the mud is too deep and driving will ruin the roads or the terrain...we can't go. This was the threat the few days leading up to our departure.

The good news is that we did get the green light (and left within an hour of it). The odd news is that we couldn't drive the usual way to town. The normal drive takes us to Emerald in about 4 hours. Due to road conditions, the only way off the station was a three hour drive to a town called Injune, and then another 3.5 to Emerald. We stayed the night at a lovely little motel (conveniently owned by a family member of the Watson's) called Injune Haven, which is also for sale if anyone is looking for some business.

Wild Brumbies at Digga Digga Digga (Doologarah Station)

The week at mini-school was its own adventure entirely. We stayed at the 'Outstation' which is hard to describe because I doubt things like this exist in other parts of the world. Its essentially a giant one room building used for camping on the school property. There are showers/toilets at one end, and the rest is a big room where everyone who is staying for mini-school 'rolls out their swags' and 'camps' for the week. And by everyone I mean about 60 people, mostly children all cozied up for the week. That sounds like a recipe for disaster, but it really was great and you get to meet all the other kids and parents and govies that do distance ed.

The "Your going to be in trouble when Mom gets here and she sees what you got for me" face.  

Part of my time was at the school but I also had a bit of free time to enjoy the amenities of town life. I really thought that after so long at the station I'd be dying for civilization, and was absolutely shocked to find that after a few days I was actually eager to get back to Carnarvon. The best part of the week was that I literally got to run all my errands – get things sorted at the bank, go on a bit of a shopping spree, pick up a few cases of beer and cider.

The metropolis of Emerald has Rekorderlig!  Landstuhl doesn't even have that!  I didn't get a case because that stuff is too cray for everyday.  I went with the one next to it, an Australian cider which I actually really like, 5 Seeds. 

But after all that...I'm not sure, I might just be going through a hermit phase or something. Do you ever get the feeling that you know something is changing, you're just not sure how or what or from where or what will happen? That's how I'm feeling.

Our return from Emerald was great, we got to go the regular 'short way' (4 hours) and it was amazing how green and lush the property had become since that little spot of rain!

One rain storm makes a big difference out here!

 We also had a chance to meet one of the station locals...I think I'll be okay if we don't see each other for a while!

Pretty big fella welcoming us home...

Black Headed Python

Home on the Range

The last few weeks have been so fantastic to say the least. We've been here at Carnarvon for about 3 weeks now, and I've just been so enjoying living in this new place.

Anyone that was expecting new locations every week and jam-packed-ultimate travel blogging well...that's just not happening right now. For now, I'm still getting used to working from 7:30-16:00, doing laundry every other day, and living on this beautiful property in the Australian bush.

It also takes getting used to the fact that we truly haven't left the homestead for 3 weeks. Most days are spent between the cottage, the schoolroom, and the family house and a night out always includes a barbecue and perhaps rum and Coke's on the verandah, rum and Coke's by the fire, or rum and Coke's looking at the stars. Basically if you're into rum its a great place to be.

The newness definitely keeps me from getting stir crazy...but even 6 months from now I have a feeling I'll still be just as floored by the amazing sunrises, beautiful sunsets, and those giant stars that make you feel completely insignificant and utterly special at the same time. And truly, it isn't just the scenery. The folks here just blow me away every day, just the absolute easiest people to get to know. It probably helps that we're the only people around to get to know, but I fancy us quite an amiable bunch.

Right now I couldn't be happier that I'm doing what I'm doing. This is how I love to 'travel'. I like to go and experience what real life is like in a new place. I like to go to local supermarkets, ride public transit, go to a movie theater, try and figure out Southern-Hemisphere constellations. Bond with the wildlife sharing my cottage, be chased around the yard by the cow, realize how muddy everything gets when it rains, get stranded here because of said rain, shoot guns and make moonshine. Just normal stuff. And right now, I'm just in this perfect position to appreciate all the little things not mentioned in travel guides and must-see lists.

But you're reading this and really in need of a travel tip? Find some people, sit around a fire, tell embarrassing stories, discuss questions big and small, share some music and laugh. This ritual is literally one of the earliest things that made us human. You'll feel the rightness in your DNA.  

Kuh-nah-vin

We left Emerald for Carnarvon Station just over a week ago, but already I feel like I've been here for ages. The name of the station is one in a series of words that can only be properly pronounced with an Australian accent, so instead of saying Car-nar-von it is rather like Kuh-nah-vin. Enjoy that one, they sure got a laugh from my American pronunciation.

The trip was a long one in the car, though not so far as the crow flies. The last three hours of the four hour journey were on dirt roads through neighboring properties and national parks accompanied by sightings of kangaroos, bush fires, and at least 100 woo-boys (essentially gigantic speed bumps that help drainage should there be flooding). As the bank man on the phone said when he was taking my new address, “Woah, you really are in the thick of it.” And he was Australian.

We were lucky enough to arrive during daylight, and I found myself surprised by the environment we have here at the station. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, but it definitely was a surprise. Big rocky hills and mountains, broad grassy plains, and very dry dark soil. It really looks the way South Africa is portrayed in films...dry, plains, scrubby trees. The area is going through a drought (this should be their 'wet' season and its hardly rained at all!) so I suppose its a bit less lush than usual.

As far as accommodation, there is a sort of base camp about the size of a city block. The site includes houses for the manager and his family, the property ranger, a sort of barracks for visitors and the cottage for myself as well as an office, a big garage, and a few various sheds all within an easy walking distance.

My cottage, which I've already taken to calling my house (as in “We've been in the schoolroom together all day, you are not allowed in my house for at least three hours”), is next to the visitor barracks and is, in the nicest way possible, a very nice rustic dwelling. My bedroom, a spare room, and an open kitchen/living room make up the main of the house. Still connected though having to access by going out the front door and into separate doors will bring me too the pantry/laundry room, showers, and an outdoor toilet. Sure its not 5 star and there are some things that will take getting used to...being one with the bugs that are sort of unavoidable, the drinkable water coming out of a spigot outside, ordering groceries on the phone and having them delivered twice a week by mail (and having to say 'to-mah-toes' because they asked how many pounds of potatoes I wanted when I said 'to-may-toes').  

But I'll manage.  A few nights ago I was sitting here reading about Dana's next adventure, though, and looked around thinking, this is really a pretty grand set-up...it could be a lot more challenging. The one thing I am a bit worried about though is this sucker:

That's a big fire place. That's like a 'I make a mattress out of blankets in front of this so I don't freeze while I sleep' fireplace. While the Watson's did mention before I came about how it gets cold here, I just sort of mentally went, “Right, sure I bet its freezing. I've spent the last 7 winters between Germany and Scotland...I'm sure it'll be so much worse than that. I might have to wear a hoodie...the horror” Well. I guess there is a reason Uggs come from Australia. I have two pairs of jeans, one pair of sweatpants, a hoodie and a rain-jacket...might need to do some unexpected winter shopping sometime soon.

Besides teaching and settling into my little cottage, life on the station has been a blast so far. We've been here about 10 days and have had three 'barbies', movie night, pizza night, and entertained a family who came out to camp for the weekend. The Watson's have two dogs, Peggy the playful poddy calf, three 'chooks' (who lay eggs randomly all over the place) and a rooster. The girls also briefly found a pet baby python, which they named Kaitlyn, though they decided to let her go.

Snags on the barbie with a few XXXXs.  Australian classic!

Peggy and The Cottage in the distance!

Evenings and free time usually includes putting on some bush clothes, hopping in the back of the truck, and heading off with the family for some little adventure somewhere on the station.

My trauma-nurse mother's worst nightmare.  

Climbing 'Fig Tree' an absolutely gigantic tree (there were 10 of us climbing in it at once) and the oldest fig on the station.

Cave paintings of the Bidjara people, anywhere from 300-40,000 years old.

For now, I couldn't be happier with the family or the location. When I was looking for governess jobs most were on cattle stations or farming properties, which would probably be great...but just different. This family though...they're my kind of people. We just enjoy going out, having a little adventure, not really minding if we get dirty, and just enjoying the nature around us. I'm really happy they're keen to include me, hard to imagine asking for more!