Coming to you from Margaret River

Long time no write! I'm in Margaret River currently (wow, life's tough!) and enjoying a piece of dark chocolate.

Since I last wrote I've traveled around WA a bit and seen some beautiful sights!

The day after Easter Tuesday we left windy, rainy Melbourne for warm, dusty Perth. After a 4 hour flight and a 3 hour drive we arrived in Merredin. The theatre was a very small town hall converted into a theatre. IThe theatre only had two volunteers do to tech so we all pitched in to help bump in. After the majority of the work had been done we went to the Emperor Palace Chinese restaurant (apparently the best place in town). There were chinese horoscope sheets of paper as placemats with all the different animal signs with the years which were those signs underneath. It was pretty funny when I realised the page didn't have 1992 listed - which made those pieces of paper older than me. We knew we weren't in Melbourne anymore when the rice came out with a piece of lint attached! Aside from that the meal was pretty delicious. Merredin was a nice little town, everyone was friendly and it was so small that they all seemed to know each other.

The next day we had one show at 1030am. It was very sweet and the audience was appreciative (but a bit awkward to talk to!). But the best bit was the cupcake stall in the foyer selling cupcakes for Year 6 camp! They were amazing and creamy! After the show we bumped out and started the 4 hour drive to Kalgoorlie. We were staying at the Rydges in Kalgoorlie (fancy!). The best part of the hotel was that there were lots of gumtrees planted around the grounds and the smell reminded me of family holidays to the Sunshine Coast when I was little. For dinner Neridah and I went to the pub and it was quite delicious! I had chicken breast with a yummy creamy sauce and chips and salad. When we were leaving the pub I saw the pub around the corner which had a big blackboard sign outside that said "Skimpies for this week: Jazz, Danni, Alyce". Later on I told Will and apparently a skimpy is "A female bartender who takes her clothes off if she collects enough in tips. Common in the city of Kalgoorlie." So it was a cultural thing!

The next day we got some groceries and went to look at the Super Pit (the main attraction of Kalgoorlie). The Super Pit is basically a big gold mine. It was very impressive and kind of scary to look at. We had two performances at 1pm and 6pm, then bump out! There was a very cute boy who was the son of one of the technicians. He was very excited about the show and told me that his favourite colour was red! I had a microwave curry for dinner and watched So You Think You Can Dance.

The Super Pit

Friday was ANZAC day. We set off in the morning to catch the ANZAC Parade. There were bagpipers, army cadets, police cadets, contingents from New Zealand and families marching. After the march we all headed into the Town Hall for the service. It included all of the standard ANZAC service features such as the slightly out of time and out of tune choir, the brass band, the several monotonous speakers, the ode, minute of silence and ANZAC day hymns. It was comforting to have all the same things as back home except I was missing being in the march in Brisbane and playing my drum. The service happened in this beautiful old town hall from the 1800s and it was nice to partake in a community event. Afterwards we all headed to the RSL for a sausage roll and a beer. There was Maori singing, more bagpiping and two-up. We definitely felt a bit odd one out though, as we clearly were not from Kalgoorlie! Then we headed back to the pub and had a delicious lunch. It felt like time for a nap but a few of us wanted to find the infamous two up school (also described as the two up arena or two up shed). Apparently it was down a dirt road 15 minutes out of town. So we all loaded into a car and set off. Strangely there was no address for the shed and it was pointed out directly on any map! We searched for about 30mins down dirt tracks and saw some truly bizarre things along the way. We enjoyed freaking ourselves out with several sinister scenarios (my favourite was that the two up arena was a farce to lure unsuspecting tourists in!). Finally though we found the two up arena!... It was an old shed and there wasn't even a two up game on!! Not even on ANZAC day. Instead we made up our own bastardised version of the game. We all went a bit crazy and hysterical!! It was a lot of fun!

The Kalgoorlie Town Hall

The Two Up Shed

 On Saturday we had one more visit to the Super Pit and began the 390km drive to Esperance. When we arrived there however there was no one at the All Seasons Motel! Apparently no one works on the weekends so all of our keys were in our rooms. I didn't actually see any staff for the whole time we stayed in Esperance. After a trip to Woolworths Neridah and I went to look at the port and go for a walk. The water here was absolutely beautiful!! Fi made us all creamy salmon pasta for dinner which was delicious. It was nice to share a dinner together like a little family, made me realise how much I miss eating in a group. After dinner we all went a little crazy considering we had the whole hotel to ourselves and no staff there!! We all ended up going to bed about 1am and it was good to let our hair down after a lot of traveling.


The next day (a few people woke up with sore heads!) we went to see the lookout. You could see more of the fantastic beaches and we ventured across lots of rocks and cliffs to look over the landscape. The wind up there was pretty blustery but the view was great! Afterwards we drove along the Ocean Road (I think it was called) and viewed more of the stunning coastline. We eventually stopped off at an inlet which was near a rock formation called Frog Island. The sand was so white and the water was such an incredible water! A few of us decided to risk it and take a dip! It was incredible! Such a scenic location, beautiful clear water, fine white sand and crazy rocks around us! We all rubbed some sand on our faces and it was a great exfoliator! Even though cold at first the water was actually a great temperature. After our beach adventures we went back to the motel for a carpark barbeque. It was a great spread with chilli corn, marinated chicken, greek salad, fresh bread, mixed vegetables - yum!

Frog Island is the one to the left in the photo

We had Monday off as well! I can't remember much of what we did that day but in the afternoon the girls decided to try a Michelle Bridges abs, bum and thighs DVD Fi bought. Michelle worked us hard! Then we did an hour of yoga! So we did a big exercise session which was a bit hilarious and fun (but hard work). Afterwards a few of us went to a place called Pink Lake and got there around sunset. Another stunning feature of Esperance. Great feast for dinner, this time a Mexican mix of vegetarian chilli con carne, guacomole, tacos and rice. Yum! Pretty impressed with my chilli con carne - will have to make that one again!

Tuesday was kind of a day off as the performers only had to come in for lighting plot in the afternoon. Neridah and I decided to take a trip to the Cape Le Grand National Park. IT WAS AMAZING! One of the best things I've seen. It was a massive park with rocks and cliffs and red earth and heaps of stunning bays! It was almost too much to take in. I would love to go back there and stay in a camping spot. It was definitely a must see.

Cape Le Grand National Park

By Wednesday it was finally time to perform again! I felt a bit grumpy today but the shows were alright. Bump out and pizza for dinner! Thursday was a travel day to Albany. It was actually a much bigger town than Esperance and they had a great new theatre there right on the waterfront so it would have been good to perform there but we were just passing through. Neridah and I went for a look around town and it seemed a little bit like Montville. There were lots of poshy shops for tourists and beautiful old buildings. There were also a few grocers and health food stores that had yummy looking beans and spices and produce. Time for another Michelle workout! After Michelle I went and helped Cam with a self test for a Griffith film school film which was interesting (and looked like a scary thing to have to do!). Then it was time for dinner, we got take away from an Indian place down the road, I had Saag Paneer which is a spinach and cheese curry, it was amazing and the garlic naan was delicious! I also watched the So You Think You Can Dance finale and Paula Abdul's dress looked so ridiculous!!

Friday saw us continue our travels to Margaret River. I was a bit tired and grumpy today but the drive was beautiful, full of trees and forests. We all wanted to stop off at the treetop walks and all the fudge and chocolate cafes along the road. But there was bump in to be done! After lunch at the pub (it's a really fancy pub!) I was REALLY tired and grumpy!! Went straight to bed for a big nap. Woke up feeling a lot better and went for a walk. I met a Shetland pony and fed him some grass from my side of the fence. Horses have such funny big lips! It was very furry and had a cute fringe. It's always comforting smelling log fires. I called Will and had a nice chat. After the lighting plot we went back to the pub for dinner (the boys love it there!). This time I had a thai beef salad but the best bit about the meal was the gluten free brownie with salted caramel icecream. It was a real cakey brownie and it was so delicious!!

My Shetland Pony

There were only 40 tickets sold to the first show this morning and 80 to the second so we got to the theatre early and walked around the markets close by and handed out flyers. Lucky for us, 100 people ended up coming to the first show and 180 to the second!! They were really lovely audiences, the audiences in places where there are farms and fresh produce always seem to be friendly, happy people. There were a few really big Tashi fans there too! I also received my third loom band! They are like rubber bands all threaded together to make bracelets. I had been given two already but the one today was extra special. His mum told Neridah he had been thinking about the band all week trying to decide which colours Tashi would like. I have all three bands in my wallet, it is very special! After bump out Fi, Neridah and I headed straight to the car to get to the chocolate company and cheese factory before they closed. It is so comforting and relaxing being out amongst the farms and animals. The chocolate factory was overwhelming - so many different kinds of all chocolates! We also had afternoon tea which was delicious. We headed to the cheese factory and bought some cheese as well. Yum yum! In the car I was talking to Fi about her sister who is a farmer, it reminded me of our plans to live together self sufficiently in grade 8, Luisa haha. When we got home I went for a quick run and then the girls all went to dinner at the hotel. I had a curry and a white wine, more deliciousness! We are truly being spoilt!

Tomorrow we are going to look at caves, wineries, have a nice lunch and watch the sunset over the water with our cheese. Pretty grateful right now!

Please write soon! I'd love to hear from you and what's going on! (Sorry I write so much, I'm keeping it for a diary too so I don't forget what I did!)

Love! xx