Australia

Broadband in the Bush

I have been missing my Aussie mates and here is a sample why. Thank you to Elizabeth for sending this to me and giving me a good laugh to start my day! Aussie Computer Terminology Getting ready for Broadband in the bush!!  Just A little bit of Aussie culcha. LOGON: Adding wood to make the barbie hotter. LOG OFF: Not adding any more wood to the barbie. MONITOR: Keeping an eye on the barbie. DOWNLOAD: Getting the firewood off the ute. HARD DRIVE: Making the trip back home without any cold tinnies. KEYBOARD: Where you hang the ute keys. WINDOWS: What you shut when the weather’s cold. SCREEN: What you shut in the mozzie season.. BYTE: What mozzies do MEGABYTE: What Townsville mozzies do. CHIP: A pub snack. MICROCHIP: What’s left in the bag after you’ve eaten the chips. MODEM: What you did to the lawns. LAPTOP: Where the cat sleeps. SOFTWARE: Plastic knives and forks you get at Red Rooster. HARDWARE: Stainless steel knives and forks – from K-Mart. MOUSE: The small rodent that eats the grain in the shed. MAINFRAME: What holds the shed up. WEB: What spiders make. WEBSITE: Usually in the shed or under the veranda. SEARCH ENGINE: What you do when the ute won’t go. CURSOR: What you say when the ute won’t go. YAHOO: What you say when the ute does go. UPGRADE: A steep hill. SERVER: The person at the pub who brings out the counter lunch. MAIL SERVER: The bloke at the pub who brings out the counter lunch. USER: The neighbour who keeps borrowing things. NETWORK: What you do when you need to repair the fishing net. INTERNET: Where you want the fish to go. NETSCAPE: What the fish do when they discover a hole in the net. ONLINE: Where you hang the washing. OFFLINE: Where the washing ends up when the pegs aren’t strong enough.

Turtle Cove to High Island

FINALLY, I had beautiful weather and to make the day even sweeter, I caught my first fish.  A Black Tip Reef Shark, 1.1 metre and so beautiful.  I got some great photos and video, and then I let him go on principle, I don’t eat sharks.  I’d like to thank Finn, from Turtle Cove, an eager 10 year old who went through my tackle box the night before and recommended the lure I used to catch the shark. Still making progress slowly, but surely.  Mostly technical issues.  I hope to have video up within a week or two.  At least there’s a map update!  Check out the Journey Map page.  Cheers, Mates!! Teresa

SITUATION ASSESSMENT

Every muscle in my body cried out in pain, but it felt good.  My mental game never failed.  I used the information I had, made sound decisions, and executed them.  I learnt a lot that day, mostly about planning, and back up planning.  I will be much more attuned to alternate landing sites even very early into the paddle.  I should know every beach I can land on from start to finish.  Things can get ugly in the blink of an eye. This is what I woke up to the next morning:

LAUNCH: DID I EVER!!

It was a Ripper of a Storm and I was absolutely determined that I would NOT be sending out an SOS on my very first day paddling.  This tempest would pass, just like the other one.  With complete 100% focus stabilising the kayak,  I stabbed my paddle into the crest of each oncoming wave and slid down the other side.  What there was to do was manage each forthcoming wave.  I braced against every sideswiping wave.  These conditions lasted for 30 minutes, then very slightly, the rain began to ease.  The swells decreased, but the wind maintained southerly at 30+ knots.  After about another 15 minutes, suddenly as if a switch had been flipped, the wind became light and variable and visibility was 15-20 kilometres.  The bad news was THERE WAS CAIRNS AGAIN!

TRINITY BEACH

In October 2011, I ran into a fascinating man, Mel Patterson, at this very spot.  He was sitting next to his canoe, and since I talk to everyone, I strolled right up to him and said, “Hi, where did you come from?” “Oh, I just came from Darwin,” Mel replied, “and I am heading to Sydney.” “In that canoe?” “Yep.” “Oh wow, that sounds like so much fun.” “It is, it’s a great lifestyle.”

THANKSGIVING 2014

The American Thanksgiving Holiday is one of the biggest family gathering days.  It is a time to reflect on what we are grateful for and sometimes make a gratitude list. I AM THANKFUL FOR:

THE KIMBERLEY BY LAND NOT SEA

All’s well that ends well.  By the time you read this, I will be well down the Gibb River Road in Western Australia, likely hiking a Kimberley Mountaintop, swimming in a freshwater gorge, or eyeing a crocodile from a safe distance, venturing forth to my next Adventure…  

DARWIN DREAM DEMOLITION

After enduring three and a half weeks of unprovoked diatribes, I had concluded that no amount of money was worth it; which coincided perfectly with John throwing me off the boat!  A big shout out to Murray for the friendship, kindness, courtesy, and support that I will never be able to repay. On 18 Jul 14, I travelled south to Katharine, Northern Territory.  As I approached the town, mixed feelings of emotion welled up inside me.  Upon arrival, I found two Backpackers establishments that had been in business in 2001.  I travelled to both, but if I had stayed in either of them, the surroundings were unrecognisable to me as they had both been remodelled and refurbished.  I wanted to sit in the room where my life had been transformed irrevocably.  Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia was where I was on September 11, 2001…

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