Another Week Down Under

Former grog running car

wild roses in bloom now...sweet

Yeah, they catch the grog runners now and again. They are almost always driving a Holden car like this one here. This one is parked in Yuendumu, a bush community about 3 hours drive northwest of Alice Springs. The weather is pretty warm these days, but thankfully no bushfires lately (knock on wood). The road was on the way to Papunya. The fires had gone through some time ago, so things are getting green again, although the trees won't be back just yet. The wildflowers are starting to come out though, like these wild roses just down the street from me. Things seem to flower all year long here in central Australia. And the grasshoppers know it. Where there are flowers, there are bugs to eat. This guy jumped on my work car (Toyota Land Cruiser aka Troopie) while I was driving back from one of the town camps. He hitched a ride for a few minutes and then decided I was either going too fast or too slow and hopped right off again.

bush road post bushfire

bloody big grasshopper hitched a ride

sandstorm coming into Alice

     While the bushfires have settled, we now have sandstorms like the one in the photo. This one wasn't too bad, and didn't last long but looks pretty intimidating as it approached Alice Springs. The riverbed is still dry, so there aren't really crocodiles in the Todd River like these drinks might imply. We don't have crocodiles in central Australia....no real water sources other than a few waterholes. The drinks were quite tasty though if you can handle the sweetness of liqueurs. My friends F. and K. plowed through enough of them after K. won on the pokies (VLT's). The only bummer this week was my flat tire. I had picked up an Allan key in my tire at some point, and it was in there awhile I think because I had a slow leak and pumped my tire up once with my air compressor but then after I parked at my friend F.'s house, the key must have been on the bottom and all the air leaked out. So I had to change it out and take it into Bridgestone to have it repaired. Can't have a bum tire when I'm going on a road trip next week!
     So that's the week...next week will be full of excitement as my daughter lands in Alice on Monday. She is flying as I write this, jetting her way over the Pacific Ocean for the first time ever. She lands tomorrow in Melbourne, and overnights at the airport hotel before catching a flight to Alice in the morning. I'm so excited I could scream. I think I will scream. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Croc Attack on the Todd River

flat tire...booo

The Countdown is ON!

12 more days and my daughter will be arriving in Australia. Actually she arrives in Melbourne in 11 days, but she won't get into Alice Springs until the following morning. I'm not sure who is more excited - she is thrilled to be coming to Australia for the first time and I have missed her so much, saw her last Christmas. She arrives on my birthday so I'm having some friends over as well to help celebrate it all. I couldn't ask for a better birthday gift!

After the birthday celebrations we'll spend a few days checking out Alice Springs and surrounding area. I'll take her to the desert park, Standley Chasm, and we're going for a camel ride in the foothills of the McDonnell Range at sunset. Then we'll pack up the Rav 4 and head south, stopping at King's Canyon and Uluru before crossing into South Australia and camping overnight at Coober Pedy, hoping for a space in the underground campground to escape the heat. Then we're off to Adelaide, with a possible stop along the way to check out the beach. We'll spend Christmas Day/night at a hotel before taking off for Kangaroo Island to check out their gorgeous beaches. From there we'll be taking the Great Ocean Road towards Melbourne, stopping to do some hiking, cave exploring, and enjoying the beach. She leaves Australia again on New Year's Day and I'll point my car north again and head back to Alice Springs, returning to work on the 4th...

Yup, Christmas is going to be a blast with my girl. Our last travel Christmas was not at all what we planned and ran into snow again and again, and had to forgo camping altogether, particularly when we arrived at the Grand Canyon and it was -27C and 3 feet of snow...I have promised her absolutely no snow this time around. I told her if we run into snow in the desert, I'll be leaving with her!

11 more days!

Sunset at Simpson Gap

 For some reason, Blogger does not provide a function for rotating photos. I had them rotated before I uploaded but it doesn't recognize that. 

Was feeling a little caged in today after spending all weekend at home, playing Wii games and watching movies, so I pointed my car west and headed out to Simpson Gap. I haven't been there since April when I first arrived in Australia, and that was rather early in the morning, so I wanted to see what had changed and how things looked at sunset. I had hoped to spot some wallabies as they come out at dusk, however while I was seeking solitude at the gap, a big group of twentysomethings arrived making lots of noise, hooting against the cliffs for an echo, so that was the end of that. I have to say though, I never tire of the red rock against the brilliant blue sky here in Australia.

That Dundee...aka that little bastard

     Kittens - they can be fun, and often are. Then they are little bastards. Dundee is very cute and loveable but when he gets wound up, look out. He will race through the apartment from one end to the other, leaping over whatever is in the way. He'll fly up the screen door cage to the top and then drop down and fly back through the apartment. And sometimes when he's particularly wound up, he will try to climb up and over the privacy screen I have in my bedroom, knocking it over and smashing parts of it off. Then there are the times when I let him play in the courtyard garden. For the most part, he has settled down a fair bit out there, and can prowl around for hours, usually while I'm out there with him either hanging out clothes, sitting with my friends having a drink, or sometimes I take my laptop out there and write or chat with friends. He often leaps up the fencing after lizards or bugs, and actually caught a lizard some weeks back. The birds will come in and taunt him, chirping and squawking at him, dive bombing and flying away. For the most part, he is pretty good.
    And then there was today. I was about to hang out clothes, and he was playing in the courtyard for a bit while I cooked breakfast, and did the laundry. Except when I went out to hang out the clothes, he was gone. I figured he might have just climbed up over the fence and was in the driveway next door or the carpark where my car is. No, not this cat. He was on the roof of my building. Dumbass. He was prowling back and forth along the building, on the neighbor's roof, and on the pergola of my courtyard and the neighbor's courtyard. I got out the rather ridiculously heavy iron ladder the landlady left here and leaned it up against the fence to see where he was so I could grab him.

     Then of course the phone rang, it was the computer guy coming to pick up my fried computer. Great. Come on over and if you can't find me, I'll be on the roof chasing my damn cat. When he arrived I was on the ladder, yelling at that little bastard to come down. He of course saw it as a game. So I got the computer for the guy and went back to coaxing him. He finally walked within reach of me overhead while I stood on the cooler under the pergola and grabbed him by the legs. He thought he was going to get away again, but I had a death grip on him. I pulled him down and chucked him in the door. Then it started to rain, so back into the house I went with the laundry basket of clothes and just as I was coming in, didn't that little bastard run back out into the courtyard. I had to chase him around and around and around. Little fucker. I was steaming mad by that point and managed to catch him again by the legs and chucked him into the bathroom this time. I was so mad I didn't want him anywhere near me.

     After about 20 minutes in the bathroom, I let him out again where he sauntered up to me as innocent as you please, looking for attention. Reminds me of Stormy. He would be a little bastard and when he came out of his time out he would act the same way. Probably why I love the little guys in spite of their naughtiness. Too damn cute.

Gotta Love the Language - Beware of Profanity...

So since I first arrived in Australia, there has been a few words that I wasn't expecting to be so common as a part of regular Australian language. "Whilst" is one of them, and it sounds hilarious each time I hear it. "Cheers"," mate", and the famous "how are you going?". Cheers is used to say goodbye, or thanks, and used so very often in emails at work, as is "ta" for the same purpose. People call each other "mate" all the time, whether you know them or not, whether they are a friend, associate, a client, or someone at the checkout at Woolies... (aka Woolworth's - a grocery store). The one that really has me reeling though is the abundant use of the word "cunt". Yup, it isn't a pretty word and not one that has ever been in my vocabulary, but there it is. It isn't always used in anger, and often used in jest with friends you know won't be pissed if you call them one. It is also often used to refer to idiots or people that piss you off, very often. And then a couple of nights ago, an interesting scene played out just outside my courtyard, out into the car park, and into the street. This was the dialogue from my neighbor...I couldn't hear the fella's replies, but I certainly heard her!
"Fuck off!! Fuck off!! Fuck off ya CUNT! Get the fuck out of here you CUNT! Don't come back here you black CUNT! FUCK OFF!!! I hate you ya CUNT!!!"
     Yes, very colorful indeed. I had my windows open and couldn't help but hear her. Then a friend came on scene after the cunt left, and calmed her down and I heard the story about what earned him such a name...he had been visiting in her flat which is a few doors down in our building, and stole some things from her place such as her internet stick, and she caught him with it in his pocket. I don't know if he was Aboriginal, or if that was simply a descriptor used to insult a whitefella. Either way, it was highly entertaining. At first when the yelling started I was worried she was being abused, but she certainly could handle herself and chased the cunt right off the premises.
     So yeah, the language has been interesting to settle in with. More commonly used words or phrases that I hear often here, and rarely in Canada are:

• The whole bathroom thing. Everyone says they are going to the toilet. They never say bathroom, ladies room, or washroom, just toilet. I can't get used to using it myself, as it just sounds a little crass. I don't need to know what you're doing in there, so don't need to hear the word toilet as that just conjures up images of what you will be leaving in the toilet...
• Ordering draught beer. One must ask for a schooner of beer. I'm sorry, when you say schooner, I am looking for a BOAT with sails. Not a glass or mug. 
• Shopping - shopping carts are called trolleys, and the parking lot is the car park, and the line-up at the checkout is called a queue. And let's talk about these stupid trolleys with their four swivel wheels so you end up chasing your cart by holding it by the side and not by the handle. 
• Red peppers...they looked at me like a fool when I asked for some. Red, orange, yellow or green, they are all called capsicums...strange word. Peppers to folks here are the hot ones, like jalapeno.
• Getting shirty. Wtf? Apparently it means getting cross with someone, cranky. 
• The use of the word piss and shit. And neither refers to things you do in the toilet. One can be "cracking the shits" meaning getting very angry about something. One can be "taking a/the piss" meaning they are kidding you about something. One can also go "on the piss" meaning one is getting drunk. And then you can tell someone to piss off, which is also quite common in Canada. 
• Crook. I would think it meant a criminal...nope. One can be "crook" when they are sick. If you are still crook, you are still not feeling well. 
• The kitchen counter - is often called a bench. Not because one sits on it, but because that is just what they call it. I have no idea why.
• A camping cooler is called an "Esky" simply because that is a common brand. If I ask for a cooler, folks have no idea what I'm talking about. They don't call their fruity bottled liquor drinks coolers either, but by another brand name as well. I can't for the life of me recall what that name was, as I don't drink coolers much.
• The liquor store. One would think that wouldn't be different, since they sell lots of liquor here, however it is called the "bottle shop" because of all the bottles I guess. And there are many bottle shops here, including two drive-through ones in Alice Springs. 
• The lounge. I think sequins and Las Vegas and polyester wearing lounge singers...not here. A lounge room is your living room, and a lounge is your sofa. Go figure. I guess because you lounge there on the lounge in the lounge. 
• Gas. Yeah, I knew they called it petrol here, but I thought someone might still know what I want when I ask where the nearest gas station is. Nope. They send me to where I can fill my propane tank. 

It has been very exciting to learn this new language. And now I have a few translators for my Canadian. They often have to ask me to repeat myself because they can't understand the Canadian accent...funny, I thought they were the ones with the accents...

Things that don`t make sense - or do they?

first mystery Christmas card

I got the first Christmas card in my mailbox yesterday - no envelope, no idea who it`s from. Then today, I got this card in my mailbox today...we have home delivery here, and I live in a block of 7 flats. There is a nice wooden mailbox house out front with its own roof, and they all have slots on one side for mail to go in and our own locks on flip up doors on the back.

random baby stroller miles from nowhere

second mystery Christmas card

I went on a bush trip yesterday to Papunya. We come across this totally random stuff all the time. Yesterday it was this stroller, miles away from any town and just sitting on the side of the road. What crosses someone's mind here? Okay, I'm carrying the baby from here...

Australian Life

Newest tattoo - John Lennon font 

Santa and his kangaroos...

I can't believe the price of Coke here

found some real maple syrup yahoo!

Yup, kangaroo kebabs

I used to make these from scratch for years

I can't think of anything more disgusting

Dundee with his first lizard kill - already ate the tail

KD - so overpriced!

the gum trees lose their bark each year - who knew?

I've been busy these past weeks, many bush trips and more coming up. I was in Yuendumu, Yuelamu, Hermannsberg, Laramba, and Ti Tree last week. This week I'm heading to Papunya, Hermannsberg, and who knows where else! Love bush trips. 

Life in Alice Springs has been ticking right along. Got a new tattoo as pictured above from the local tattooist. The font is John Lennon's script, adapted from some of his own handwriting. Craig did a fantastic job, and it was so quick too, which always helps.

Dundee is busy being Dundee...racing around the apartment or chasing lizards in the courtyard. I let him out in the courtyard from time to time but he has to be closely supervised or he will abscond from the courtyard, up and over the fence. He sleeps well at night now, but this morning I didn't know he was so close to me on the bed when he walked by me and swished me with his whiskers - thought a HUGE spider just walked over my face...he is still actively chasing all bugs and eating them. He doesn't eat the bush cockroaches though, too big and crunchy I guess. He just likes to bat them across the floor or run around with them in his teeth. I dispose of them when I find them...flush...

The temperatures are heating up these days, with the hottest so far being 41C...thank goodness I have air conditioning at work, home and in my car. The nights are still pleasant though with temperatures in the 20s, or even in the high teens. Suits me just fine!

Oh Yeah, I am in the DESERT!

the beauty of the desert

     With the temperatures reaching 40C and higher this past week, I definitely know I am in the middle of the desert climate. The heat is pretty intense, but what is even more intense is the sun and how it feels on my skin. It's like putting my hand over a lit gas burner. I can feel it burn in just seconds of exposure. I have sunglasses on, and have resorted to an umbrella at times to create my own shade, but my feet and calves (if exposed) feel like someone has a blow torch on them. BURN! I'm going to have to break down and start applying sunscreen all over when it's this hot, as I'm certain I burnt in the few minutes at a time I was outside.
     I have begun driving to work. It is pleasant enough to walk in the morning with temps only in the mid-high twenties, but by the time 4:21pm rolls around, it is just BAKING out there. Sure my car gets hot, but with the air conditioning, I just need to give it about a minute of running and the car is fit to sit in again. I understand now why new vehicles come with custom carpeting on the dash. It would melt otherwise. I also am super glad I bought a steering wheel cover - purple fun fur - it doesn't get nearly as hot as the bare wheel or a rubber one like I had on my Corolla would have.
     As hot and humid as it was in Cambodia, this is nothing like it. I sweat some, but not as much as I did in Cambodia. We were at least moist in Cambodia, but here my throat dries up so very fast, and I am choking to even lift my tongue to speak, so have taken to carrying a water bottle around with me again out of necessity. Can't really interview clients when I can't speak, and many of our home visits occur outside, as we are never invited in. We try to find some shade to speak to folks in but when it's noon, the sun is directly overhead and there is no shade unless you have a tree nearby.
     This is just the beginning I'm told. I am so glad I have air conditioning at home, in my car, and in my office. I would die without it, I'm certain. I don't need it on when I sleep as the air does cool considerably at night, although tonight it is still 32C at 8:15pm. It will cool after midnight to the mid twenties. I have a fan on me all night, and sleep in just a tank top and undies, with no blankets on. So far I am managing. It doesn't get much hotter than this, but it will be hot like this off and on until about March or so. The highest temperature on record here for November is 42.9C so it can't get much hotter unless we're looking to break a record again. Humidity is at 30%...nice. Of course, the highest temperature on record for January is 45.2C...gross.
     When you look at the UV index rating - it is purple - Extreme...my poor skin. So here we are, heading into a hot summer. Apparently last summer was rather rainy and colder. I'm fine with that. Bring it on. The fall, winter, and spring has been just awesome as far as I'm concerned.
     Heading out bush on Thursday to Nyrripi, Yuendumu and Yuelamu and on Friday to Laramba, Ti Tree and possibly Utopia. It's gonna be stinking hot. We fly/drive in air con, but that's where it ends. When I'm out bush, my office is wherever the client is, typically at home, so we meet outside in the shade if possible. I would love an air conditioned bubble suit...

Alice is centered between these deserts

     Despite the heat, I am still loving Australia. I would still rather the heat of the summer compared to the frozen days of winter in Canada, particularly in the north where they already have several inches of snow. They can have it. I'm wearing flip flops, tank tops and shorts...and not a shovel in sight.