- Aussie Aussie Aussie -

OI OI OI!!

Australia Day this year was fantastic! Noddy, Jules and I went out on our friend Duncan's boat to celebrate and see the fireworks on the Swan River. Apart from the day reaching over 40 C! It was awesome.

The Aussie spirit was so alive... there were flags, boxing kangaroos, water bombs, party boats, bbq's and plenty of beer! Fun was had by all, we had to jump into the river to cool off throughout the day.

(I cant believe this shot worked out....)

The city of perth put on a air show with old war planes doing acrobatics which was fantastic. Then the fireworks kicked off... spectacular!! It was amazing viewing it from the water (a first for me) and the soundtrack the local radio station put together was really good.

(One of many awesome explosions of colour above the river)

So to all Australians.... HAPPY AUSSIE DAY!!

(Noddy getting into the true Aussie spirit.)

(Jules enjoying a refreshing Aussie beer after a swim in the river.)

(Jules and I )

- Coxswain Ticket -

The past few weeks have been busy.... I've been studying at the Swan Maritime Institute for my coxswains ticket. The coxswains ticket allows me to drive a boat up to 12 meters in length and 15 nautical miles out to sea. Its been most about safety procedures, marine radio, and first aid. At the moment i'm learning about nautical knowledge and basic engineering... so its been great picking up extra information.

Hopefully with this ticket i'll be able to get a job on the boats at Cassini Island... one step at a time though...

- Photo's Published!?! -

(Cover of this months Scoop Traveller Magazine)

I received a phone call this morning from Steve Tucker, (The skipper of Waverider, the game fishing boat i went on in Broome) To my surprise he was ringing to let me know that some photo's i had taken have been used to advertise Cassini Island and the new game fishing adventure charter company that debuts there this year! A photo of me, catching a red emperor and several photos i took of sail fish have been used to promote island getaways in this months Scoop Traveller Magazine!! How awesome is that? I never thought those photos would end up there!

(Main artcle featuring some of my photos...)

(More information about Cassini Island.... see the sailfish photo?)

(Check it out... )

- A boggy windy weekend -

This past weekend Noddy and i decided to camping just north of Two Rocks. Throughout the week we planned what to bring.... what food to spoil ourselves with... and what beach activities to indulge in. By the weekend we were quite excited to get going, once we packed the car and finally hit the sand tracks up from Two Rocks in search of an ideal camp spot.

We set off late afternoon... its amazing how you can fill your day with daylight savings! Bumping over sandy tracks, sometimes with really soft sand or a rather steep sand dune was en counted and needed a second attempt with a little run up! It was quite fun.

Heading north we came across a few ideal spots to camp, although still rather close to Two Rocks and high up in the dunes. So we decided to head along a track dad and i explored with the Rhino some weeks before. What a mistake!! or rather a learning adventure! The sand was so soft! The track came out onto the beach... the ideal spot nestled between the dunes was already taken by some keen fisherman so after letting the tyres down we drove down the beach a little way to in search of a camp....SOFT as... we came up to a embankment, which forced me to drive up into the softer sand... and my car didn't like it... she slowed right down to a crawl and eventually stalled.. i tried to reverse and get a run up... however with the sand so soft it wouldn't allow for enough speed! We weren't going anywhere... on the second attempt to reverse the softness of the sand pulled the front wheels on an angle and she bogged right down... BUGGER! This wasn't supposed to be the relaxed beginning to our camping weekend!!

(It isnt really that bad, though i kept a close eye on the tide!)

We had to let the tyre pressure down to a low 10! and some guys camped near by came and helped us dig the sand out and pushed the car backwards a fair distance to get back onto reasonably harder sand. I rang dad and he was on his way out to help just in case we couldn't get out... Ain't he the best? By this time the sun was beginning to set and we were completely over looking for a camp, so once out of the boggy mess we settled for a high flat spot we had seen on the way in.

(We were camped closer to the point up in the dunes... a lovely view!)

The sea breeze was howling, but we managed to get the tent up and stable... Just caught the last glimpse of the sun setting and a relaxing drink before snoring into the night!

The next morning we moved the tent a little way down from where we were in order to get extra protection from the dunes when the breeze returned in the afternoon. We put up some shade and got into the days activities... swimming, walking along the beach... gorging ourselves in camp cooking! it was great!

(This is our "second" camp, comfortable with shade and a great viewing point for sunset!)

(Sunset... was lovely. As they always are!)

We had a wonderful time... a little shaky to begin with, but really enjoyed getting away and doing something a little more adventurous... and we certainly got that!

(Noddy and I playing around while waiting for the sun to set.)

- Beach,Fun and Sun! -

(Dad and I ready to set off on our adventure!)

On the last day of 2006 my dad and i set out on a beachy adventure with his toy... the 4x4 Yamaha Rhino... Our aim was to travel along the beach past a few local towns up to the crayfishing town of Lancelin and back again, which is usually a 120km round trip by road!

We set off, with lunch and plenty of water packed and camera at the ready. It was great fun... bumping along the tracks and the beach, sometimes you have to lean right over to keep the Rhino balanced and prevent it from sliding or tipping due to the angle of the beach!

(We had to get through the surf here...)

We quickly skipped over some rocks and through a little surf to reach our first town of Guilderton. Only to the find the Moore River had broken the sand bank and was flowing out into the ocean. Unfortunately it was too deep and flowing a little too fast for us to cross safely.

(Its not very often the river breaks the sandbank and flows out into the ocean.)

(Some people just seem to do things the hard way....)

So we headed back following the tracks in the dunes and searching for some good camp spots...