Sunday, February 21, 2010

Visiting the Northern Territory!

I have become friendly with one of the other Mum's in Milly's class at school. They are new to the school as well after doing School Of The Air for the last few years. Also bizarrely enough during getting to know each other, we discovered she was good friends with my brother during their high school days! They live just over the border and so today we just popped over for morning tea! A mere 45 kms down the road, over the border then a left turn a few kms in! It looked the same as WA, but hey, I can now say I have been to the Northern Territory!!!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Kermit!

Helping me hang out the washing earlier this week.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Black Rock Falls.

Yesterday started with a fantastic breakfast and ended with an even better swim. This is the real reason you come up to this part of Australia, to have this in your back yard. We don't have a 4WD (yet!) so when fellow teachers asked us if we wanted to go for a swim at one of the local falls, we said yes! A 30 minute or so drive later, we parked and walked up the track...

And then around the bend to see this!

Walk in a bit more, as you can see the girls are really excited! I was quite proud of them, they were sitting in the back for the drive and Grace was looking out the window saying "This scenery up here is just stunning Mummy! Look at that tree!"

This was the 30 metre rock face that greeted us. We haven't had any rain in about 4 days so the waterfall was just a trickle but the water was so cool and refreshing. Swimming over to sit underneath it on a little natural ledge was great. And no, we didn't climb up to jump off like those crazy backpackers were doing. Sent shivers up my spin to watch them jump in.

Daz having a swim. Got him a beer just after I took this shot!

The girls after going for a swim were off exploring. They found a black frog. This part was a little gravel beach that the water eventually flowed down to and trickled away into a creek.

They built a mini dam too. Just had a great time, whinged when it was time to go.

And the perfect sunset on the way home. A great end to another great day.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Valentines Day Breakfast!

Valentine's Day is pretty much a non event in our house, no cards, no red roses, a kiss and a "Happy Valentine's Day" in the morning is about it! But that's okay, we just don't do Valentines Day, it's also the anniversary of Grandad passing away, we'll toast him with our beer tonight. But this year I decided we would go out for breakfast using Valentine's Day as the excuse. Ha! As if I needed an excuse. Conversation up here soon turns to where you can get a good coffee and someone earlier in the week suggested this place, so I booked a table for four. And here was my first real coffee in awhile and boy was it good.

We had an outside table. Much to the delight of the girls as leaning over and looking down....

.... all these catfish just waiting for toast scraps to be thrown over!

This was our view to the left.

And this was the view to the right. You can drive your boat up to their jetty, if one has a boat that is! We drove. :)

And this was the view if you just looked straight ahead and stared into space. Water and blue skies in all directions. I love the openess of the country up here, breath taking.

So when you come up to visit, yes, you! We'll go here for a coffee or a beer or maybe even dinner!

Friday, February 12, 2010

It Rained!

The day before school started the other week it rained! Really rained! I need to get a rain gauge to do my own little backyard weather recordings. We had been stuffed inside so the girls grabbed their raincoats and went out the front.

They played in the mud hole that was created by the removalist truck when he backed in.

No raincoat for me, I just stood in it! So cool and refreshing. See in the background there are no gutters on the roof up here, it is corrugated tin and the water just rushes straight off, its like a shower. Lovely!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

First day of school for 2010!

School started on the 1st of February here and I was glad to see them go back I'll admit! Milly looks pleased to go but Grace looks like she wishes she was anywhere else in the world rather than wearing a new uniform about to go to a new school!

As we all expected, Matilda was all smiles and excited to start the day. She loves school. She has a lovely teacher, the perfect pre primary teacher, young, fresh, full of joy and enthusiasm for her little 5 year old charges. She was one of two new girls in her class but that didn't worry her at all, she is now friends with every one and has taken a particular interest in a little Indigenous boy who "Is very shy Mummy, he catches a bus to school with all his brothers and sister, how lucky is he? And sometimes he comes to school with no shoes on, but that's okay cause we are all friends".

And those of you who know Grace in real life would have known that she wasn't at all impressed at leaving her old school and her best friend there. The expression on her face sums up what she thinks of her first day! And this was the best photo I could get out of the ones I took! Her teacher is lovely though, she has a high bar to meet though to be as lovely as Grace's teacher last year though! But she was buddied up with a little girl who has been at the school a few years and they became instant best friends by the time the lunchtime siren went. She has already had a playdate at her house and in turn she is coming over to our house for a play this weekend.

'So by Thursday she was all smiles. So in all, the first week of school wasn't as bad as I had expected.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Arriving In Kununurra!

On Saturday the 23rd of January we left Perth ready for our adventure.

Here we are on the plane!

Goodbye Perth! You can't really see it in this photo but in the distance was Rottnest. Wonder when we'll be back there again? Not for awhile I think.

Three hours into the flight, nearly there, I look out my window to see my first glimpse of Lake Argyle. It is Australia's largest body of fresh water. And it is now in my backyard. No water restrictions up this part of Australia! It was nice to see that red dirt at last, felt a little bellyflip in my tummy like I was home again.

Landing in Kununurra I was suprised how green and lush it all looked from the air.

The first boab tree we saw, growing alongside the runway!

And at last we arrive at our new home! We made it!