Sorry for the hiatus folks. After I recovered from the weird
infection in my neck I started working 7 days a week and didn’t really feel
like I had anything interesting to write about. I have had a few fun adventures
in the past two weeks though so I figured I should probably update the blog!
When I arrived in Collie I committed to working there for
three months and I started counting down the remaining days very early into my
three-month sentence. Things there did not go as planned. I was told I would be
working a minimum of 40 hours a week and would get at least one day off every
week. I ended up working 7 days a week and was lucky to get 35 hours a week. I
was not impressed so when the end of the three months was approaching I started
looking for a new job like it was my job and eventually I was offered a
position in Augusta, a small town on the southern coast of Western Australia.
Before I left Collie my coworker Amanda offered to take me
to a few of the “attractions” in town since I hadn’t had a chance to check them
out yet. I still hadn’t even seen a kangaroo and was starting to think they
were about as real as unicorns. We set off in the early afternoon and visited
Black Diamond (an old quarry that is now a lake), The Collie Dam (not actually
in Collie, and a pretty lame dam as far as I’m concerned), The King Tree (the
only thing that made this tree stand out from the rest of the forest was the
sign on it that said ‘King Tree’), and Gnomesville (a piece of land covered
with thousands of garden gnomes). The most exciting part of this little
adventure for me was when I saw my first kangaroo. We probably saw about 50 by
the time the day was over and I squealed with excitement every single time.
When I left Collie I had a few days to kill before I was due
to arrive in Augusta so I decided to check out Bunbury along the way. There is
a dolphin centre in Bunbury that offers daily trips to swim with the dolphins
during the summer months and I desperately wanted to do this so I had the city
built up in my head leading to my disappointment when I finally arrived.
Especially since I had missed the opportunity to swim with the dolphins. There
didn’t seem to be much to do in the town so I enjoyed a few lazy days,
recharging the batteries before starting the new job. I did however see a
couple of dolphins while I was walking down the jetty one morning, which was
super exciting.
Today I had the day off and decided to take advantage of the
connections my employer has with the whale watching company in town and went
out on the boat in hunt of Moby Dick. The nausea set in pretty early but I was
determined to see a whale so I stood at the front of the boat holding on for
dear life for as long as I could but when the girl standing next to me started
to puke over the side of the boat I had to call it a day. I didn’t manage to
get any pictures of whales but I did see a few before curling up in the fetal
position at the back of the boat for the rest of the trip.
I have now been in Augusta for a little over a week and am
enjoying it far more than Collie. I am getting full time hours with days off
and the view from work is absolutely incredible. The bar I am working at over
looks a river that connects to the ocean and it’s pretty spectacular. I’ve
started to make a few friends as well, which is exciting because I don’t think
I have ever been as lonely as I was during my time in Collie.
Hopefully I will have more exciting adventures to write
about in the next little while and not take any more extended breaks from
updating this thing!
