Dear Mammy,
How are you? I am fine. I think I’ve just about recovered from The Incident. I’ve been having a great time and am glad that I’ve got a couple of chill out days by the beach - badly needed!
So! Well I think one of the most memorable experiences so far, in fact possibly in my life was the whale watching trip I went on. I was extremely lucky as they put on an extra afternoon trip due to demand. That meant that there were only about 30 people on the boat with me so I was able to get a good view! We had to drive (sail? Uh, boat?) to where the whales were, which took about half an hour. Once they were spotted we pulled up alongside them and THERE THEY WERE!! There were 5 of them all swimming along being all whaley. They were simply magnificent. We had a good hour with them and my jaw just hit’s the floor every time I think about it. The best bit was when one of them swam right up by the boat. Seriously, this thing was about 6 feet from the boat and huuuuge! I nearly fainted. I think it’s something I’ll remember for a very long time to come. The guide said that we were lucky too, because the group that morning had not seen half as much as we did.
Wait til I tell you though, and I’m so embarrassed to have to admit this right… As we were pulling away I figured the show was over and was feeling a little peckish so I decided to have a rummage in my back pack for some biscuits I had stashed in there. Well, the next thing all I hear is this big “wooooooo!!” from everyone around me. I looked up and what could I see only a big bloody splash. Apparently one of the whales had breached! And of course what was I doing at the time?? Rummaging in my bag for a feckin biscuit. It wasn’t even a *nice* biscuit, it was a boring one, a bit like a dry digestive (actually, it was one of the ones that the knock-off kit-kat thief left behind). Typical me! That said, it was still an awe-inspiring and very special afternoon.
Sunday evening I went to see a comedy show by the Umbilical Brothers. Look them up on You Tube (get Scott to show you) - they’re fantastic. All they do is mime and make sound effects, they don’t have any set but my goodness, for such a simple concept they’re incredible!! I went with Emma (from the train) which was cool, it’s nice to go to something like that with someone else.
On Monday I went out to Rottnest Island with one of the girls that was sharing my room in the hostel, Sharon from Holland. It’s about half an hour from Freo by ferry, and it’s a real holiday island. There are no cars really, and everyone’s just there to relax. I saw some beaches that could have come straight off a sun tan lotion add, I very nearly stayed! We were also really lucky to see some quokkas. They basically look like little kangaroos and no, they weren’t wallabies smartie pants! Interesting story actually; a Dutch explorer (I’ve forgotten his name) discovered the island. When he landed he saw all these (what we now call) quokkas but didn’t know what they were. They looked like big rats to him, so he named the island “Rat’s Nest” island - et viola - Rottnest. Anyway, I digress…
We decided to rent a tandem bike and cycle around the island. It’s pretty small so we figured it would be easy enough. Yeah, nobody mentioned the hills… Seriously, one or two of those hills would put Patrick’s hill in Cork to shame, so I’m not too proud to say we actually got off and walked. The problem I suppose, was that we didn’t get enough momentum, and my giggling fits weren’t really helping.
That evening when we got back to the hostel Sharon and I decided to go out and grab a bite to eat. Well, that was the plan anyway. It didn’t really work out that way. She had heard of this place called “The Dean” which had a backpackers night on Mondays so we said we’d check it out. Unfortunately when I found out that the FREE food was hot dogs I was a little fed up of being a non-hot-dog-eater. I didn’t cave though, the idea wasn’t too appealing.
Anyway, yes, so, we got there and there was a big bunch of lads at the bar. We went looking for seats and to cut a long story short, one of the most handsome guys I’ve ever laid eyes on in my life had us settled at a table about 30 seconds later. Conveniently surrounded by football players. Mental note to self - if you’re going to go to a bar, bring a Dutch girl, the fellas seem to like that heehee! We had a great time hanging out with them, and we found out that their football (Ozzie Rules not Gaelic obviously) team had just won the league so they were out celebrating. And celebrate they did! Be jaysus they were knocking into those drinks like the sun wasn’t ever going to rise again… I have to say I did have to do a bit of ducking to avoid the advances of one particularly amorous dude but I’m pleased to say I escaped. I know, I’ll never find a husband this way but you know, a lady must have standards mother!! He was very handsome to give him his due but also VERY drunk. Ah I couldn’t be doing with that now. It was a very fun night to be sure!
The following day I moved down to Cottesloe to spend a few days at the beach. I decided that, after the madness of the Swan Barracks I had to get away from Northbridge, party capital of Perth before my liver packed up and left. I got lost on the way to the hostel but I was rescued by a nice man called Ken in his van who showed me where the town was, and brought me directly to the hostel.
Cottesloe is lovely. It’s a little beach suburb of Perth with a glorious beach and an alcohol free hostel - just what the doctor ordered methinks! Initially I had an 8 bed dorm to myself so I did a bit of naked twirling around just because I could. 3 others have moved in since to the naked twirling is no more. I don’t mind though, my derriere was getting cold anyway. Today, down at the beach I thought I saw a shark in the water!! Well, I think it was a shark. It could have been a dolphin because it did move through the water like a dolphin. That said, I’ve never seen a dolphin with 2 dorsal fins before so I‘ve a sneaky suspicion that that wasn‘t no kind of dolphin if ya catch my drift! I’m a little glad it’s a bit cold yet for swimming. I contented myself with lolling on the sand reading. My life is, like, sooo hard… hehe.
So that’s it from me. I’ll be moving up to Coral Bay on Friday and I’m planning to stay there a week anyway. I’ve decided that I’m going to give myself a PADI course for my birthday so hopefully I’ll be able to do that there. Otherwise I’ll move up to Exmouth and do it there. I’ll keep you posted either way.
Hope all’s well at home. Did you check the light in the attic? I think it might still be on…
Love you lots!
Your Daughter (the one who ran away)
No comments:
Post a Comment