Friday, November 12, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Margaret River
This past weekend, me and a couple homies rented a van from Wicked Campers and took a trip down south to the city of Margaret River for few days. The city is a little tourist location about 3 hours drive south of Perth, multitudes of little shops, a great beach and great weather. We drove down on Saturday morning and and after stopping for a quick lunch in Bunbury, spent a day at the beach where the mouth of the actual Margaret River meets the Indian Ocean. There was a giant dune overlooking the beach which gave an awesome view and I found myself standing at the top after a long climb and looking out at the water for quite some time. I couldn't give you an estimation on exactly how long it was, all I can say is it was the right amount of time. It was a moment when there wasn't anything in particular I was thinking about, just letting my mind go where it will, memories and experiences swimming towards the surface for air and displaying their shimmering brilliance of everywhere I've gone and everywhere I have yet to go. And suddenly I noticed the way the clouds veiled the hills in shadows that revealed different hues of green as they crawled. I felt very small. Very young and green myself yet close to the inescapability of time and the sour taste of regret. An interesting combination yet I felt the sun was on my back as I ran down the side of the dune back to the sand. Back to earth.
After the beach, we found a campground and set up camp and found that 4 people is too many to sleep in the van. The next morning, after waking up and wriggling my way out of the packed van, I walked over to the bathroom and on the way walked past a Kangaroo just chillin, eatin' breakfast about an arms length away. We exchanged looks of curiosity and went our separate ways. It was cool. Later that day, we went back to the beach, spent the morning there and in the afternoon took a trip to a giant labryinth that took us about 30min to finish only after discovering that the way out was concealed by a false wall! Attached to the maze was a cafe with puzzles and games galore and I enjoyed a chocolate milkshake while playing monkeys in a barrel and trying to turn a series of four rings into a bracelet. At the end of the day, we returned to the campsite and made up our minds that it would be better for some of us to sleep in tents and I welcomed the opportunity to stretch my legs.
Our adventure continued as we went back to Denmark after Margaret River, one of the first places I visited in Australia. It only seemed fitting that my trip comes full circle. But now, I gotta go hang up my laundry and then get my study on for this Criminology Exam on Saturday. So it remains a story told at a later date, hopefully tomorrow.
After the beach, we found a campground and set up camp and found that 4 people is too many to sleep in the van. The next morning, after waking up and wriggling my way out of the packed van, I walked over to the bathroom and on the way walked past a Kangaroo just chillin, eatin' breakfast about an arms length away. We exchanged looks of curiosity and went our separate ways. It was cool. Later that day, we went back to the beach, spent the morning there and in the afternoon took a trip to a giant labryinth that took us about 30min to finish only after discovering that the way out was concealed by a false wall! Attached to the maze was a cafe with puzzles and games galore and I enjoyed a chocolate milkshake while playing monkeys in a barrel and trying to turn a series of four rings into a bracelet. At the end of the day, we returned to the campsite and made up our minds that it would be better for some of us to sleep in tents and I welcomed the opportunity to stretch my legs.
Our adventure continued as we went back to Denmark after Margaret River, one of the first places I visited in Australia. It only seemed fitting that my trip comes full circle. But now, I gotta go hang up my laundry and then get my study on for this Criminology Exam on Saturday. So it remains a story told at a later date, hopefully tomorrow.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Quote
"Poets are like baseball pitchers. Both have their moments. The intervals are the tough things." ~Robert Frost
I was searching and for some reason I liked this quote.
I was searching and for some reason I liked this quote.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Karijini National Park
From Coral Bay we made our way inland to our third major stop on the trip which was Karijini National Park. The first night we got there, we had to keep our shoes, food and other things of odorous nature on the bus because of Dingoes. Apparently at night, they have been known to come into the campsites (even tents) and steal things that smell good to them, not just babies. One morning, I was still delirious from sleep, kind of on the cusp between the dream world and ours and I hear this growling. Not yet at my full senses, I think, "Oh God, ferocious ass dingo... Right outside our tent" Being still mostly asleep, my panic was comatose. When I fully came to, I realized that it was nothing more than my tent-mate Russ sawing logs.
Our day was full of hiking through vast gorges with red cliffs and freshwater pools that are held sacred to the Banyjima, Kurrama and Innawonga Aboriginal People who have inhabited the land for over 20,000 years. The water of these pools was some of the freshest, cleanest water that I have ever swam in. In some places there were waterfalls crawling down from the gorges above and this water, warmed by the sun, was as warm as shower water. You could feel it's connection to the spiritual ancestry of the Aboriginal People and although we had fun and enjoyed it, I could not help shaking the feeling that we were not there alone, as if something else beyond nature and us was inhabiting the space. When we returned from the trip, I talked with my rather eccentric Aboriginal Studies professor about my experience and he said plainly, "Oh Karijini? That's a magical place." with a smirk and a wink. And I can't tell you much beyond that myself. It truly was a magical place.
Our day was full of hiking through vast gorges with red cliffs and freshwater pools that are held sacred to the Banyjima, Kurrama and Innawonga Aboriginal People who have inhabited the land for over 20,000 years. The water of these pools was some of the freshest, cleanest water that I have ever swam in. In some places there were waterfalls crawling down from the gorges above and this water, warmed by the sun, was as warm as shower water. You could feel it's connection to the spiritual ancestry of the Aboriginal People and although we had fun and enjoyed it, I could not help shaking the feeling that we were not there alone, as if something else beyond nature and us was inhabiting the space. When we returned from the trip, I talked with my rather eccentric Aboriginal Studies professor about my experience and he said plainly, "Oh Karijini? That's a magical place." with a smirk and a wink. And I can't tell you much beyond that myself. It truly was a magical place.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
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