Broome!! red dirt, crabs, mangrove madness!

I just went on one of the most amazing trips ever! Last week during spring break we headed up north to Broome. We stayed over night there at the Notre Dame Broome campus for a night. It was so hot when we got there that we pretty much went straight to the beach. The water was amazing, warm and clear. The beach itself was ridiculously beautiful. We went on an hour long camel ride at sunset. It was so fun. I never knew how slow camels walked. It was really relaxing though. My camel's name was Lazy Daisy, who happened to be male. Interesting. He was 14, and until he was 4 he was a race camel. (Didn't know you could race them...) Now he just spends his days walking along the beach. Rough life. There were a couple of other camels that were famous. They had recently starred in an upcoming Nicole Kidman movie called Australia. We felt famous as we were riding them down the beach because people kept taking pictures of us. The sunset was probably the best part. I notice that up in that region of Western Australia the sky is very hazy, so when the sun is setting you can look almost directly at the sun, and the colors around it are so vivid.

We headed out the next day. The town we were in is called Lambadina, about four hours out of Broome. The ride was long and bumpy, but the road was really pretty. I'm still amazed at the color of the dirt here. On the way out of town we stopped at an important historical place. Beagle Bay was one of the first missions to be built in Western Australia. Children who were a part of the stolen generations were taken from their homes and placed on missions or in institutions. Beagle Bay is still standing today. We were able to look around the church, as well as see the buildings the children slept in. It was interesting to see because I had read about it in my Aboriginal Studies class, and to see it sort of put things into perspective. It's so much different reading about something, and then actually being able to see it yourself.





While we were staying with the Bardi people we were able to learn about their culture. They were kind enough to show us their way of life and customs. First, we learned how to make spears. They use a branch from a certain type of tree. Putting the branch in the fire and heating it up makes it soft, so you're able to bend it; which is how the spears are made straight. The next few days we learned how to make boomerangs. It is amazing how much work is put in to making one. Starting from a board, and using an ax to create the right shape and thickness. I can't imagine the days before the ax and how difficult it must have been. No one in our group had realized where boomerangs had come from before this trip. We had all thought that they were just another form of recreation, and that was it. They're actually used for hunting. An interesting story we heard is that they were once also used in battle. If two men were upset with each other, they would each get a certain number of boomerangs to throw. They would then "fight" by throwing the boomerangs. No matter the outcome, as soon as the last boomerang was thrown, the fight was over and all bad feelings were set aside. This last picture is a girl named Samina. She was

helping us peel the bark off the branches after they had been heated in the fire. While watching her I thought to myself how different her culture is from mine. I could just imagine if Michaela had a stick in her mouth and was biting the bark off of it what a fit people would have. Grandma, mom... everyone would tell her to get it out of her mouth, it's too dirty. She probably wouldn't put it in her mouth to begin with. Yet this girl didn't think twice about it. It's just the way she was brought up, the way her people live. Very interesting to think about.

We took our spears out a couple times and went hunting. It was soooo cool! :) We mostly looked for crab. We looked in the water, on the beach... and in the mangroves. I have never seen trees like the mangroves. The roots of the trees grew above ground, so there was an entangled mess everywhere. Just walking around in them was a chore, like an obstacle course. It was actually a little scary. We weren't really sure where the crabs would pop up, or which pool of water had a crab hiding under the sand in it, so it was very nerve wrecking thinking about where to step. I was the first to catch a crab both days we went out. The first day I used a spear. It was hard to get (with just one hand). Plus, when I missed it the first time, it ended up stirring up the sand in the water, so I had no idea where the bugger went. I ended up just moving my spear around until he clamped onto it with his claw. But when I lifted it out of the water I realized that he had donated his claw to the cause, and he was still in the water. I finally caught him though. The next day I had a metal rod with a hook at the end and was able to catch my second crab with that. HE WAS HUGE!!! I'm pretty sure he's the one in the first picture. We put all the crabs we caught in the yellow bag so they couldn't pinch us while we were still hunting. In the photo is "Uncle Vincent", he is the T.O. or Traditional Owner of the land. Basically the government has acknowledged that his people have had a tied to the land for thousands of years, so he "owns" the land. (Although, he cannot sell it, or profit off of it, and it can be taken away or surrendered at any time). This last picture is a few of us walking/climbing through the mangroves in search of dinner. It really doesn't do justice to the massive, entangled roots. By the end of our hunt we were all dripping in sweat from the exercise.




I can't begin to explain how perfect the water was. The beaches were so beautiful. The sand was white, and the water was clear blue. We went swimming almost every day, which was such a relief since it was so hot. It was at least 100 degrees every day. The Aboriginals would come with us. It was fun to swim with them. "Uncle Brian" was particularly nice. He was the one who taught us how to make boomerangs. While teaching us, I couldn't believe how much patience he had with us. Again, watching him in the water with the small children... you could just see that he was very patient. Hard to explain. He reminded me of Grandma Tschiegg though.

If you dug around in the sand under water, you could find clumps of clay. The Aboriginals were painting each other's faces with it. I had my face painted too (sorry I couldn't get ahold of any of the pictures). After getting our (Shelby and I) faces painted, we rolled around in the sand with Tarek. It was funny to watch him cover himself with it. Shelby and I would take handfuls and put it on our arms or legs. While he just did a complete face plant into the sand. He would literally lay there, on his stomach, with his face in the sand.

I only thought it appropriate to put all the swimming/water pictures together... so the next couple pictures are of us... and the water. Don't worry Mom, we didn't go for a swim this time. This first picture is of our group, trying to decide how close to get, and looking in amazement.

Anyone see it? Someone had recently gone turtle hunting and decided to gut the turtles on shore when they were done. Which, of course, attracted some sharks. There were about 6 or 7 of them. I'm pretty sure I saw the same one that I ran into while surfing. He was swimming around in circles, I don't think he could see very well. :)

I was shocked at how easy it was for the Aboriginals to spot the sharks in the water. We were driving when all of a sudden I hear over the CB radio "Pull over!". We got out, and sure enough there were sharks swimming in very shallow water. I actually have a few pictures of the sharks with their fins sticking out of the water. Pretty cool.

These last couple pictures are just some of my favorites that I decided to include. There's no real explanation behind them, I just like them. The black & white is where we were crab hunting the first day. I'm pretty sure no one actually lives there, it's just a place set up for use when people are hunting and what not.
The other is just a shot of the beach where we were staying. Why don't we have beaches like that in Oregon?


Sorry for the wait guys. I'll try not to take so long with the next blog. :)

surf camp

Bright and early on our first day of surf school. We caught the train at 5:45am to get to Perth where our vans picked us up to take us to Lancelin. It's a rural town about an hour.5 out of Perth. Population 800, which is pretty common for rural towns around here.

My roommates catchin' some surf. "hang ten!" (Helena in the blue & Rachael in the red.)

My roomies again. And then a picture of the group... minus me. This picture was taken after my accident, while I was still at the hospital.

For those of you who haven't heard, I was on my board, catching this awesome wave when I saw this shark sneaking up behind one of our girls. I raced over to her on my board and leaped off towards the shark. I got him in a head-lock and was wrestling with him, desperately trying to save the life of my fellow surfer. I stuck my thumbs into his eyes, to blind him (you know... how mom tells you to do it when someone it attacking you). Anyway, I poked his eyes with such force that I dislocated my thumb and possibly broke it (still waiting on x-ray results which apparently take a few days in Australia).... ok how it happened wasn't really that cool, but I did do all the breaking and dislocating that I mentioned.

I ended up surfing for about an hour out of the whole weekend that I was supposed to. I was pretty bummed about that. But I was able to do some sun bathing and became the designated photographer. I waded out in the water and took pictures of almost everybody while they were up and on their board. And, not to worry, I was able to get up within the first five minutes we were out on the water, so it wasn't a complete waste.

Maybe some day I'll get the chance to surf again?? It was sooo much fun, I'll just have to bring the bubble wrap next time. :)

Love you guys & miss you all!

mom... don't read!!!

We went bungee jumping last weekend! It was awesome! We took the bus to Bungee West before noon. We took the first bus, and waited at the next stop, but the bus we thought we were waiting for didn't stop... so we ran to the stoplight and tried getting on, but the bus driver just shook his head no. So we got a head start while the light was red, and ended up chasing it to the next stop, only to find out we needed the bus going the other direction! We ended up just crossing the street and waiting for 30 minutes for the next one, but the excitement didn't end there. (These pics are us waiting at the bus stop. The girl in black is my roommate Rachael, and the blond is my roommate Helena.) We only needed that bus for a few stops, then we had to get off and walk for about 2 miles. I just laughed and wondered what people driving by thought of 18 kids walking down the highway.

It was pretty nerve racking that we could see the tower we jumped off from about 1/2 a mile away! Here's a picture of Helena and I just standing next to the stairs to get to Bungee West. I think the tower was 120 feet high. We jumped over a pool, and if you were lucky enough, you could touch the water with your hands on the first bungee. Some people didn't touch at all, while some had their entire head dunked! One of the worst parts of jumping was having to walk up the humongous stairs. Half way up I was thinking, "Are we almost there!?" But we still had several flights to go. We stopped to take a picture, right around this time we were all wanting to turn back... LET ME OUT!! We finally made it to the top though, and were prepared for the jump. The entire time we were up there, the employees were cracking jokes about it being scary, and what not. And then one said, "I haven't done this forever, did I do that right?", or when a girl asked what all the levers and pulley systems were for and what they did one guy said, "Oh I don't know, I just know that I need to pull this one, tie that one, let go of this one, and then you jump!" Very ensuring!

Here's Helena, trying to boost my confidence. I was SO SCARED! After the jump everyone was commenting on how quiet I had been all morning before the jump. I was pretty nervous!

After having my feet tied up, it was time for my jump! I had to shuffle my feet to the edge of this platform where I was supposed to jump off. I got about halfway out and then realized how high I really was. I'm not sure was I was so nervous about, but it was pretty scary. The bungee chord was attacked to the tower from underneath me, so as I was standing on the platform, the chord was hanging over the edge... and it was very heavy! I felt like my feet were going to be pulled out from underneath me. I finally made it to the edge though. The guy kept telling me not to look down, but how do you shuffle your feet and get closer and closer to the edge and not look down? Especially when you can feel the tips of your toes hanging over the edge? To the left is a picture that the girls took as I was getting ready to jump. Halfway there... just trying to regain composure. :) And then... the jump! Right after I felt my feet leave the platform I thought, "I didn't want to do that! I take it back!" But the view was amazing! You could see Perth to one side, the Indian Ocean to the other side, and just a gorgeous view the whole way around. The group on the ground took pictures right after we all jumped! Some people looked more like Superman, but I think they caught me right about the time I was wishing I hadn't jumped! :) But after a couple metres of free falling, it was great!

We took a group picture with the 18 of us who went after the last jump. It was really fun! Some of the people had their jump taped and got it on DVD, which was really cool. I wish I would have done that, because watching them afterwards was hilarious!

Laverton

Last weekend I took a trip to Laverton, Western Australia. It's about a 10 hour drive from Perth, so we ended up flying there. The plane was the smallest thing I've ever seen. It was called a "flying cigar"; there was one seat on each side of the plane, and about 10 rows of seats. I had to bend over to walk to the back of the plane where I sat in the only seat available. I felt a little crowded to say the least. :) This is a picture of the plane we took there, after we landed. The airport we landed at was a funny sight to see. The "airport" was a small she no bigger than the kitchen at mom's house!

We didn't do much Friday night. Settled into the house we were staying in and went out to the sports club to meet some of the locals. There were six of us who went to volunteer. We headed to bed pretty early because Saturday was going to be a big day. A town about three hours away, Kalgoorie, came to play sports against the Laverton/Lenora team. First the boys played footy (Australian rule football), and we helped referee. Then the girls played soccer. I joined in for a couple minutes. :)

After sports we all headed out with the kids and went to Jiles Breakaway. It was the most amazing view! They say that there used to be some sort of water mass nearby because of the way the rocks were formed. We hiked around and climbed down the side of the rock wall and looked around a few small caves. In this first picture I am standing on one side of the breakaway. The cliffs form a 'U' shape, which resembles a bay. It's a bit of a climb to the bottom. In the middle there is a small rock formation. Maybe what used to be an island? It's in the second photo of Jiles Breakaway. Jiles was about 40K outside of Laverton.

After Jiles we headed back to town. While the kids were playing basketball we BBQed over 100 sausage dogs. (I ate 3.5 myself!!) After dinner and basketball we helped put on a "blue light disco". Blue lights are events put on by the police. Blue light means that it is an alcohol free event. We stayed there until about 10:30 when we headed home for some well needed sleep.

Sunday morning we went to church. The church is Christian based, while the members still try to incorporate important Aboriginal customs and beliefs. The elders of the town were kind enough to invite us on a ride out 'bush'. We drove around for a while, and they pointed out a few interesting things. We stopped to look at a mining town from the 18th century. All that remained was the doorway to the town pub (in the picture). We drove around for a while longer, until we found dinner. They shot 3 roos. It was interesting to see what they did after shooting the kangaroos, and the children's reaction in helping (which is a bit too graphic to explain on here). While shooting roo I saw some emu running across the road, a gaona (giant lizard), and many other interesting creatures. We drove some more until finding the perfect place to make a fire and cook the meal. It was very interesting to see how the kangaroo was cooked. First, an incision was made in the belly and the organs were removed. Then they sewed up the roo with a stick, which was kept in place by wrapping the intestines around the ends of the stick. Then the roo was placed in the fire and pulled out once the hair was singed. The singed hair was scrapped off. Then they placed the roo in a hole that had been dug and covered it in hot ashes. About an hour later, they pulled it out of the ground and dinner was served. When they were cutting the meat, they caught the blood in a container and the boys passed it around drinking it. They were actually fighting over who could drink first and how much each person should get. It was pretty gross. We also had baked potatoes and damper. Damper is a type of bread made with self-raising flour, regular flour, and water. Everything was cooked by covering it in hot ashes. We left after eating and saw an amazing sunset on the way home.

After all the excitement everyone was ready to head home and relax. Everyone else had dinner and a bit of wine while I headed over to the town hospital. It was much different than anything I have ever seen, and I am glad to say that I live in a metropolitan with several hospitals within driving distance. There was an "emergency room" at the hospital that consisted of ONE bed, a childrens ward that was one room with a few beds and a few cribs, and another ward for overnight patients that had another six beds. After seeing a warmer for newborns I asked if they delivered babies there. The nurse responded by saying, "Oh no! We make sure to send them to another hospital LONG before their due date!"

We woke up bright and early Monday morning and walked up to the water tower to watch the sunrise. It was beautiful! Then caught a plane back to Perth. It was a bit bigger than the first one!!!

I met some great people over the weekend. There was a girl named Ashleigh that I met (imagine that... I think I just attract people with that name. :) ) She goes to a different University, but lives pretty close. I'm glad to have finally made an Australian friend, and am excited because she wants to show me around. Overall I had a great experience. I brought tons of red dirt back as a souvenir. :) I was put out of my comfort zone, and experienced some amazing things. I'm glad I had the opportunity to go. :)