Other places: Trip to Wollongong (and P.S., I'm back!)

Well hello there! That was a longer break than I intended. Which is to say, I didn't really plan on having a break from here, it just happened. What better to break the blogging ice-come-rut than a photo-laden post from my recent trip home to Wollongong for my best friend's wedding.

Since my last post in June, I have done approximately this many things:

• Travelled to Darwin three times
• Travelled to Cairns and Mission Beach for a wedding
• Almost finished a semester of Contract Law
• Drank at least 140 coffees
• Attended one rodeo, one camel race, one 'bust the budget' rally, one fete, one eco fair, one festival and the Alice Springs Show
• Rescued my phone from a coma
• Received one strange parcel from Turkey*
• Rescued/dealt with one wayward kelpie, on two occasions
• Failed miserably at ten pin bowling
• Read many books**
• Read all your blog posts, and probably didn't comment (sorry!)
• Got two head colds, one of them current, both of which I'm blaming on planes
• Blogged nil times
• Possibly purchased new shoes, a couple of times.

And now, about my trip home:

1. One of my favourite things to do is get a big fat dose of ocean air. The weather alternated between moody and overcast, and bright and sunny. This day was the former: perfect for a walk along the beach followed by breakfast.
2. The Continental Baths are the quintessential east coast saltwater pools. This day they were being refilled by the high tide, following routine maintenance.
3. Wollongong City Gallery: I used to work here, starting out as a volunteer gallery assistant and guide during my uni days, to regular casual work as a gallery assistant working on front of house and in the gift shop, along with work as a curatorial assistant. The building was the former council chambers and was designed to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth.
4. Mount Keira, through the grounds of the Botanic Gardens and Gleniffer Brae, an historic building that now houses the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music. Terrible photo, but nostalgic place.
5. Lunch with a magazine and a sea breeze on the balcony at Lee and Me on Crown Street.
6. Family lunch at Burrawang Village Hotel in the Southern Highlands.
7. Beautiful flowers from my parents' next door neighbours' garden.
8. Gorgeous sunny Saturday afternoon at Bulli. We spotted a humpback whale and calf frolicking off the coast and watched, mesmerised, as they splashed and played.
9. Since I usually wear my Saltwater sandals in the desert, I thought it only fitting that they meet their namesake.
10. Many a coffee was consumed, this one from Diggies at North Beach.
11. Another beach stroll on another overcast day, with spots of rain.
12. The wedding was just perfect, a day bursting with love. I was honoured to be a bridesmaid and share in a very special day.
13. The earth turns red, which means I'm almost back in Alice Springs.
14. It's not a trip away without bringing back new reading material.

* False alarm! It wasn't a stranger trying to hack my life, just my mum buying a scarf on Etsy.

** Will post about things I've read!

In which Darwin becomes a little less muggy.

I'm back in Alice Springs after a week in Darwin. This time around, I got a first glimpse of the Top End in the dry season. Whilst it was still hot and a little bit muggy, the air was decidedly less thick and there was even a bit of a breeze some days. My Darwin week is always very full on — work usually hectic with lots of meetings (on Friday at 4.00pm I stepped into my seventh meeting for that day) — and to top it off, I had a Criminal Law assessment due during the week. I also discovered I had failed (miserably) my first assessment (ever). Not just a smidgen-under-fifty-per-cent fail, but a walloping great capital 'F' fail.

Nothing says quick fix like eating a dripping mango and butterscotch ice cream next to the sparkling ocean. We spent a lazy Saturday wandering along the jetty and foreshore, spotting fish (well, Peter pointing them out to me) and always on the lookout for a crocodile. Being the paranoid desert dweller I kept imagining that I'd see them in any and every waterway, and even dreamt of crocodiles while I was there.

On Saturday night, we went to the Deck Chair Cinema and sat under the stars to watch the movie 'Tracks' about a woman's camel journey from Alice Springs to the Western Australia coast. (I wrote about the book that inspired the film here.) The movie is wonderfully shot and many of the scenes were just as I had imagined in the book itself. It also helped having the Pitjantjatjara translated quietly next to me by Peter during the scenes with Mr Eddie, the elder from Docker River who accompanied Robyn along a section of the trek.

And now, I'm back home with the dogs and the chooks and the gum trees in dry river beds.

Other places: A week in Puerto Galera {a 'stills' post}

We just returned from the most blissful week's holiday that I've had in a very (very) long time. I'll post more about the actual trip over the next week, however here's a 'stills' post to kick it off. Puerto Galera is a small town in the Philippines, situated at the northern end of the island of Mindoro, and sits about 130km south (and across the sea) of Manila. 

1. Looking up at the mist-covered peak of Mt Malasimbo from the back windows of the villa in which we spent the week.
2. Dappled afternoon light, coconut tree and thatched roof of the villa.
3. Looking down at a boat on the cove from the front balcony of the villa.
4. From the balcony, looking to the right to the dense foliage.
5. A busy morning in downtown Sabang.
6. A stairway, painted pot and beyond at White Beach.
7. The main supermarket at Puerto Galera is painted this shade of green - we saw it used so frequently and in so many applications. I named it 'dreamy green'.
8. Buildings and textures in Puerto Galera town.
9. In the busy hub of Puerto Galera's main local shopping strip, Conception Street. Festive decorations were still going strong.
10. After the busy chaos of town and the beeping of tricycle horns, back in our peaceful home-away-from-home the afternoon light catches the leaves of this plant.

Linking with the fabulous Em at The Beetle Shack for your weekly dose of life in pictures!

Stills: Warmth and home.

1. Glowing afternoon light from the backyard. We had a couple of cloudy days (some that ended in a little bit of rain!) and on this particular evening, the light was dappled golden through the gum trees.
2. The story of the kelpie who wanted to be a hen continues. Any chance for Missy to be near the chooks, she's there. She just loves to be around them. It's so sweet, except that she also likes to let them into the vegie garden - which the chickens also love.
3. Lantern-like window.
4. Quiet night in.
5. Colour and pattern.
6. On the wine rack.
7. It's the first day of the official summer season, but here in Central Australia it's been summer for a while, with quite a few months of searing heat to go. Swimming pool and air conditioning make it liveable.

All iPhone pics from me this week! Please excuse the graininess. 

Linking, as always, with the stills collections at The Beetle Shack.

Other places: The heady top end.

My introduction to Darwin was, as I recall, in Peter Goldsworthy's Maestro, one of the texts studied for my final year English class. I don't remember the specifics, but on my recent first visit to Darwin the sense of place created by the novel is what came back to me.

Living in Central Australia, I've grown used to sparseness; trees are purposeful and signify many many years of slow, steady labouring. There is luxury in growth; grass does not come easily and red dusty earth takes prominence. Colours are clear and strong: rich burnt orange, deep azure blue, golden yellow.

In Darwin, the air is thick and laced with the white noise of crickets and cicadas. Hues are muted: dusty pinks, pale blues. There is water: ocean, rain, heavy-laden humid air. Things grow almost before your eyes, it seems. Heat is heavy, cumbersome. Sweat beads and pools in channels down your back. Hair becomes wild and unruly, constantly escaping and twisting into flyaway strands. Glasses slide.

Breathing in the ocean was overwhelming after so many months of being in Alice Springs. Here in Darwin, I like the frangipani trees that are bursting with sweet-scented flowers. At home, in Alice Springs, the air smells rich with gidgee when it rains.

Stills: Something old, something blue.

1. Cheer-me-up flowers from a lovely colleague.
2. A blue day. A date with my bed and Frankie magazine helped, at least.
3. Raided a friend's pre-lawn sale stash and came up a winner. I'm not exactly sure what this gorgeous cage-like thing is (cue someone with more worldly nous than me! If you know, please do share!), but it comes apart and I'm guessing you can put little pastries in it or something. Next to it are some little cacti/succulents that I potted on my sick day.
4. Another new-to-me find: a leather and woven straw bag. It's a great size to fit all sorts of things inside, such as my camera or iPad or a book or two and a cardigan or scarf.
5. As was this woven carry basket from Kalimantan, the Indonesian section of Borneo. Goes well with my woven basket from Malaysian Borneo featured in last week's Stills post - in fact, they're hanging together on the curtain rod in the sunroom!
7. & 8. Making a spinach and feta pie for friends to farewell them as they move from Alice Springs back to the coast.
9. Table set for dinner.
10. And, yum! Dessert made by my clever man.


Linking with Emily at the Beetle Shack!