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!

Emerald

From Brisbane I took a very easy domestic flight to Emerald, Queensland. I'm not sure what domestic travel is like in the US, but Qantas beats Ryanair (Europe) in full. Plus they even have my favorite ginger beer in wee cans for free!

The metropolis of Emerald boasts a two room airport with both male and female toilets, a snack bar AND exceptionally speedy baggage return. This is where I met and was collected by the Watson's. The first few minutes were a little bit awkward, as it can be when all of a sudden you meet someone you're going to be working and living with for the next 6 months.

That lasted about 5 kilometers. Before long the girls were asking all sorts of questions and telling me about what life was going to be like at Carnarvon. Once at our accommodation, it took about 10 minutes to get into our 'swimmers' before we hit the pool which washed away any unfamiliarity that had existed. Note to self: Make new friends by swimming with them for two hours straight. Really relieved to say that since then the girls and I have got on famously with statements like, “I'm so glad you're our governess” “You should live with us forever” and “Can we pretend your our big sister” within the first few days. D'awww.

We spent two days in Emerald for a school workshop attended by most of the families in our distance education program. After the girls fought over who would get to introduce me to their friends first, they went off with classmates and teachers, while the home tutors had a workshop of our own to familiarize ourselves with the program. The school looked a lot like my own middle school – but the design fits a lot better with the climate here than Philadelphia!

Probably the best part of our time in Emerald was getting up early with the girls to have a visit with the locals. We happily dined with sulphur-crested cockatoos, rainbow lorikeets, and an old scrubby kookaburra on our last night!

The bashful kookaburra

Mr. Cheeky Cockatoo who stole a whole piece of bread

With the truck packed to the brim we headed out on a four-hour trip for the station right after school on Wednesday. If nothing else, please take the following from this post: it is always a good idea to ask “Is X tied down to the roof?” because sometimes people put things up there and completely forget about them. The face of realization is also not to be missed.

I'm at the station now and will be updating you guys soon on my first few days here...much to action packed for one post!