Bugs, bags and a Bobcat

Sometimes when I cycle, or work, I suddenly think of something I would like to share with you. I then quickly write it down before I forget. This is what I wrote down the other day while working;

“A good thing about this job is it got me over my fear of spiders. Instead of jumping and screaming every time I see one I’m now not even slightly bothered by the sight of our eight-legged friends. Wich is good other wise my job would involve a good amount of jumping and screaming….”

It was only a minute later I jumped. And screamed.

I felt a terrible sting at the top of my leg and my first thought was of a spider…

I’ve seen many redbacks and they can be mean.

But as I pulled my pants down something fell on the ground and wriggled away. An enormous multicoloured centipede had found his way all the way across my shoes, over my socks and up my leg ’till it couldn’t get any further and bit me. That hurt.

It was a beautifull centipede. But no matter how pretty I still did not like it in my pants.

So after contemplating what to I decided to finish the job and make my way back to camp where I spent the rest of the day with a bag of ice between my legs… And feeling lucky it wasn’t a spider that bit me. Or worse even, a snake.

And now, to make my work seem slightly interesting, I pretend I’m on the hunt for new species, surely there is some out there. I take pictures of every spider, bug and lizzard I encounter instead of just re-habbing drillsites. (= taking away green bags)

And sometimes I do a little dance with my work mates,

Or I paint drums, I like painting drums.

 

 

 

To give you an impression of what I’m upto out here I put together another little video… So here you go:

😀

I still seem to have a small issue with cars. I’ll take two wheels over four any day.

The problem is not that I’m a bad driver, eventhough I’m still surprised each time some one lets me drive a car (… ) The problem seems to be that cars don’t react as fast as I do…

-I can’t give you an example, the boss might be reading this-

The other issue I’ve got is trees and bushes jumping in my way, but -as I noticed recently- I’m not the only one with this problem. In this country, even rocks randomly jump behind the car when you least expect it.

In my world, driving a car is not something you actually do. It’s a foreign thing from a different world. The same place as where morgages and bills come from.. The kind of stuff I am completely un-familiar with.

That might explain my surprise when I came out of camp on my break and my phone wouldn’t work. Apparently in order for a phone to work you need to pay bills…

Who’d have thunk it?

I’ve now taken the bus a few times (safer then driving myself) It’s not as bad as a 5-hour bustrip might sound. You see nothing though, except for some exceptionally bad movies. It’s not a great idea to leave a phone sitting on the bus either… well, unless you enjoy trying to track it down and cancelling/re-activating accounts.

I can think of better ways to spend a break.

Like going to Esperance. A town at the South-coast of WA where the hills are green and the water is blue. You can see whales out there! And if you look very closely you might see Peter.

Peter spends most of his life underwater.

Looking for shell and looking out for shark.

But when he’s on land he doesn’t mind guests. So I went and stayed in his house 🙂

 

And had a wonderful time,

He even made time to show me around and we took a trip up to Cape Legrande where the rocks hit the sea and where we heared whales scream. It’s great going new places, meeting new people and doing things you never done before…

Like a line-dance class with the Esperance Bay Bootscooters 😉 (yes she did..)

Or just chilling at the esplanade under the enjoyment of a coffee.

Talking about,

The other day, out in the bush, I discovered a brilliant new way to make a brew! Just heat the pot up by lighting a little fire under the bobcat, works a treat 🙂

But I don’t take the bus to Esperance every break so sometimes I have to fly…

I don’t like it much. But with only one week off  a month a bicycle isn’t gonna get me far 😦

Last time I rented a car and talked a guy I met on the plane into getting in the car with me under the pretence of being nice and offering him a lift. While the actual motive was not wanting to drive into town by myself, I needed some one to show me the way. He found out quickly the plane was a lot safer. First thing I did was hit the curb. Seriously, those cars react so slow!

But once out on the open road I’m good.

Well. That’s what I keep telling myself.

So I just keep driving (and it’s not because I’m too worried to park in case I hit something… true!)

I drove North, back to Veronica. My friend in Jurien bay whom I’ve known for over a year now. And further, past Dongara where I cought up with the farmers I worked for last seeding season and further up to Geraldton and Mullewa. Where the harvest is in full swing again. I can’t believe it’s been a year since I was there… Time really flies when you stay in one place for more then 3 months.

But I kept driving and made a big loop back to Perth airport, where I managed to return the little car unscratched.

A proud moment indeed.

Just before heading back to camp I noticed a bicycle,

 

It was loaded up and standing next to a lady fiddling with straps. Ofcourse I had to go and check it out. The lady was Anneke. A fellow Dutch-woman. Who, now she’s retired, figured she might as well visit her daughter in New-Zealand and cycle back home! An excellent idea.

At first she seemed a little apprehensive when a random stranger came up and started interrogating her… But quickly we discovered it wasn’t that random at all. She’s been following my blog for ages and was excited to meet me, she even told me she got some inspiration from my blog.

That is nice to hear 🙂

3 coffees and a lot of talking later it really was time for Anneke to start moving South and for me to hit the road up North. If you like to see how she’s getting on check her out @ www.annekeopdefietsmetpensioen.waarbenjij.nu (in Dutch, and if you’re not Dutch… try and pronounce that 🙂

Back in the Netherlands my niece turned two last month (happy birthday Stella!)

And she got the best birthday present a little girl could wish for, A bike!

Here a picture to compare.

 

She might just follow in my tracks… Although, looking closely. She’s got a slightly less frantic look then me on her face… She might be just fine 🙂

Although I don’t seem to ride my bike much these days.

It’s sad.

But untill I find a way to get cash without working I better get jobs every now and then. (now that is…)

There is a little ride coming up though!

And Im rather excited about it.

I’ll let you know more about that one next time.

-x-