Its Us again!

Hi everyone,

Well it's getting a long time between blogs but maybe that isn't such a bad thing...too much information can sometimes be filed in the overkill folder! But yes, definitely time for an update as so much has changed.

We are still living in Bunbury, W.A. and are now home-owners here! We bought a cute and already renovated workers cottage back in December 2009 and moved in January 2010. In typical Scott/Alisha style we only decided we would like to stay a bit longer in 'Bunners' in November, thought we should buy, and had the house picked and bought a month later...And its great, we are really happy with the place, it is a 2 bed, one bathroom (our bathroom sink is above a wine barrel which basically sold the house for me!), big kitchen and living room and a study, 2 fireplaces which have had a good workout in the past couple of months, big yard with lots of trees, front and rear decks and a guest house out the back! We are currently putting in a second bathroom into the guest house as we will need the 2nd bedroom soon for a nursery! Yes, thats the other big news, we are preggers and due mid November! Cant believe it? Neither can we!! But very excited is understating it at this point. So i know not everyone that starts travelling Australia ends up buying a house and having a kid en route, but we do see ourselves back on the east coast one day so for us the journey continues...we really like it here though so happy for now!

What else, we have had a few visitors since i last blogged....Shazza, Selly and Ben came to spend Christmas with us and we had bought the house but had yet to move in but they got a walk through which was nice, and mum was still over here when we moved and was such a great help to us. It was a great chrissie, us all together like that (even if Benny nearly went insane from the flies) and I couldn't help comparing it to the year before when it was just Scotty and I eating xmas lunch in a chinese restaurant in Esperance! Fun as well, promise! Then we had my Dad and my stepmum Lek stay which was so nice too (although they did catch me in my 'i'm throwing everything i eat up stage', sorry guys!), and our beloved marty the smarty pants came for a while too (2nd visit to us in WA, big points there bear). We saw lots of family and friends in February when we made it back to the east coast for a whirlwind tour of, wait for it.....Melbourne, Ballarat, Sydney, Brisbane, Stradbroke Island, Tweed Heads and Alstonville. If you think we were exhausted after that trip, you would be right. We managed to squeeze in an AC/DC concert in Melbourne as well as my sisters 30th in Brisvegas (sadly missing Scottys bro Michael's 40th) so we were pretty pleased with it all. Sorry if you are reading this and going "hey! where was my visit?" We did our absolute best with the time and cities we had to cover (and frankly, we just weren't interested ok? hehehe).

We have also been back to Bali again (in June this year) and this time did a 3 week jaunt. It was our 'babymoon' ie. last trip where a third party wouldn't be tagging along....We had our first week up in diving and snorkelling paradise in Amed, a couple of nights in a safari park and then the last fortnight in Sanur. Very relaxing and just the right time to escape Bunburys winter and get some sun. Yes, the whole thing was pretty tough to take. Only crap parts of the trip was a bit of bali belly for both of us (just watched a hell of a lot of cable tv for a few days) and the fact that i definitely have the baby brain syndrome and left my i-pod on the plane, still devestated with that one.

I started working in a new healthfood store in Bunbury that i helped open on return from our east coast trip and will be there until roughly mid - Octoberish when i may start to need to prepare for things like, oh, a baby coming!! Still sound surprised dont i? I kinda am. And Scotty is still in his job, still loving his RDO's and is turning into a bit of a Don Burke character. He has the vegie patch going and herbs and trims trees like there is no tomorrow. I've actually been pleasantly surprised about how handy he is with handyman stuff, he is making lots of lovely refurb touches around the place and is constantly at what he calls 'man-land' (bunnings). I guess until you buy a house with someone, how are you to know how handy they are? Poor Morrie (our campervan) is up for sale as it has no where to put a baby seat (or sleep a baby for that matter) and we bought a grown up car for the impending occassion. Scott appeased me with Morrie on sale by saying we would upgrade to a larger van to fit a baby later on to finish the trip and i do so hope that happens!

So that's us over here in the west. We miss you all and hope all is well with everyone, lots of love Leashy, Scotty and the bump xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I would like to dedicate this blog entry to my friend Karri who is my westside sis, a very funny and inspiring girl who is teaching me courage xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Where have we been?

Hi everyone,

almost forgot about my blogging but thought i would get back in the saddle today after nine months, ooops. We are still living and working in Bunbury, W.A. and very excited about the approaching summer. Its been a long and cold, wet winter but that is now a distant memory as I have my hammock back on the verandah and wearing a sarong around the house instead of 20 odd layers of clothing. Things have been nice and relaxed over here, I think its the general vibe of the place......and we have been getting more social the longer we are here and making new and old friends again!

Taking us back to earlier this year.......

I found work in a lovely gourmet whole foods store called Rusticana, we sell bulk grains, legumes, flours, cereals, etc. and have a deli which sells italian meats and cheeses from France and Italy and antipasto galore. We also sell specialty food lines like truffle oil and imported chocolates, turkish delight, bulk chocolate and confectionary, oils, spices, coffees, specialty teas - you name it! If you are throwing a dinner party, a foodie or entertaining in this area, you shop with us! We also make up gourmet hampers and get especially busy towards xmas/new year period so will be initiated into crazy time soon. I really love it and in my element of course and when things get less hectic, will be starting up a nutrtional type newsletter with recipes etc. for the store.

I also did a brief foray (5 weeks) into government work at the Departmant of Transport but issuing licences and number plates didnt turn out to be my cup of tea so thankfully my lovely boss took me back with welcome arms. Also did a bit of casual work at the 2 healthfood stores in town but at The Rusticana store full time now. Scotty is still really enjoying work with the watercorp and does a bit of travel with it, mostly to areas in the southwest here like Margaret River, Busselton, Bridgetown and up to Perth occasionally. His fave work days are when he goes to the National parks with the park rangers! (his childhood dream occupation).

In February, we had my sis Selly come and stay for a wee while which was great, it was sooooo lovely to see her! Took her for her Birthday dinner to a popular Freo eatery, little Creatures Brewey and had many lovely swims down south. Then for Easter break we had Marty and Ad come and stay for a week and we also had a couple of nights in Margaret river. I drove the boys around the breweries one day and then Scotty drove the following day around wineries. Very nice time, even if we were feeling our age at a noisy backpackers combined with some of us being a bit physically challenged. Ad (hoppy) had done his ankle at soccer and I (spazzo) had a bung knee after a very co-ordinated stunt of racing Scott to the water at the beach and basically tripping (or was i pushed by dear husband? jury is still out on that one) and face planting it in the wet sand at full speed. Landed on my knee, bending it to the side, arse in the air, all while Marty and Ad were behind, pissing themselves. So embarrassing.

We had a rough time in May, as we suddenly lost mum's partner and fiance, Robert. It was an awful time but she is getting there. We had Shazza over here to stay with us for 5 weeks in August/September and that was wonderful to have her here and she's made lots of new Bunbury friends (of course) that she will catch up with when she flies back to us in December.

Other news.......recently had a relaxing week in Bali. It is most definitely a WA rite of passage, everyone we know over here has been like 5 times so because we jump off bridges if other people do, we went. Did nothing much but lie by the pool, eat and drink and swim. The perfect holiday really. Was a good way to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary!

So the warm weather is here and we are excited about weekends away in our beloved and slightly neglected van again. Next sunday, I will be starting a stall at the waterfront markets here in Bunbury that run until March. Will be doing my flower essences. Scotty joined the golf club earlier this year and has been playing competition on Sunday mornings (he won the b grade championships so that was exciting!) Not sure on our movements next year, definitely staying for the summer, and then after that it will be should we stay or should we go deal, no anwers there yet! Hope you are all well, Leashy and Scott xxxxxxxxxxx

Back on the chain gang....

Hi everyone, again its been a long time between blogs. Thought we would do a quick update of our whereabouts for those of you who dont know (and those of you who dont care as well). So eventually we thought it best to top up the travel fund and that means work, icky sticky. Anyway, Scotty secured a job in Bunbury WA with phone interviews while we were still in SA and he's started as the safety guy for the water corporation which supplies water the whole of the south west. Bunbury has lots of advantages, its a regional city so it has things like sushi (believe me, that gets exciting after a long time in the middle of nowhere), it has beaches, diving, a bay where dolphins swim with you and its close to all the getaway spots. We are an hour from Margaret River and 2 hours from Perth and Fremantle and there is lots of walking and amazing beaches in nearby spots of Donnybrook, Balingup, Yalingup, Dunsborough, Collie, Capel etc. The list goes on, its where everyone comes in WA for holidays if they aren't up in Broome. So we landed here mid Jan and found a flat quite quickly. We are ever so proud that we furnished our 2 bedroom place in a week very cheaply thanks to some wheeling and dealing at garage sales. You can walk to the beach in 5 mins and walk to the main street (Victoria street) in the same amount of time, it has the bars, cafes, pubs, shops, cinema and scottys work. To get to Koombana bay (with the dolphins) and the posh eating and drinking area takes 10 mins! So we are in the thick of things...I'm looking for work still and settling in and walking around lots getting to know the area. My best discovery was a fruit and veg man who sells spray free and local fruit and veg from the surrounding farms, from the beach carpark 4 days a week. So that us in a nutshell at the moment. Will leave you with highlights of travel since we last blogged....

- Happy hour every night at Streaky Bay Hotel (SA), where the free bar food involved prawns in shells, chicken wings, etc. We dont know how they make any money??
- Flinders Ranges (SA) were so spectacular and the walks, though hard, were so worth the pain. The views from some of the peaks were unlike anything we had ever seen.
- A visit to Adelaide and seeing my Mum and Robert who were on a quick holiday there, and going bezerk at the fresh food and asian markets and food halls.
- Crossing the Nullabor and seeing the cliffs of the great Australian Bight (quick lowlight- got into huge argument with border security at SA/WA border and was nearly arrested because i was trying to hide all this fresh food we had just bought and she took away our cactus named Doc! Only state line we have crossed so far that this has happened..)
- Esperance and nearby Cape Le Grand National Park (WA) where we planned on a few nights and stayed for 8 as the water was so blue and the kangaroos were so friendly....
- The green pools in Denmark, best snorkelling so far
- Last weekends concert at Leeuwin Estate Winery in Margaret River where we saw The Waifs and Ani Di Franco - great setting (BYO picnic blanket and food hamper)
- Winning a gourmet food hamper on Australia Day!!!!! (In a karaoke competition...just kidding)
- Scotty going back to work (just kidding again.....)

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE, HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY, LOTS OF YUMMY FOOD, DRINKS, FAMILY TIME, RELAXING TIME, PRESSIES, A FEW WHACKS OF THE CRICKET BAT, A SATISFYING NANNA NAP, AND A HAPPY AND HEALTHY 2009. MISS YOU ALL, LEASH AND SCOTT XXXXXXXX

Lots of Driving Later.....

Hi there, well so much has happened in the last fortnight that i don't know where to begin. When we left Mt Isa we kept driving west and eventually hit the Northern Territiry border, yay! my first time in the territory (Scotty had been 20 years ago on his year 10 school trip, i know, how old does that sound!!!). So that in itself was exciting, we finally made it out of Qld! Our first stop was Tennant Creek where we had a lovely night stay at a friends place. Alan, a naturopath I used to work with in my first clinic in Woolloongabba, Herbal Nature, now lives there due to his new job teaching nutrition to the aboriginal communities in the area. It was great to catch up and hear all his stories and he cooked us a very yummy chicken curry, so a nice meal, wine, chats and a stay in a house was very lovely indeed.

After that stay we started travelling south and saw the devils marbles (large boulders clumped together in the desert) on the way to Alice Springs. Once in Alice we stayed in a caravan park for a couple of days and waited for the water that was blocking the southern part of the Stuart highway to recede. There had been massive storms (not as bad as our poor Brissie copped) and the Todd river was once again flowing. It was fun watching all the excited aboriginal kids running around in the water fully clothed. I think it had been a good while since that much water had flown through Alice. After leaving Alice it was time for the big guns of the desert - Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kata Tjuta (The Olga's) and Kings Canyon (Kings Canyon!). They were all so amazing, I think I was most blown away by Uluru followed closely by Kings Canyon. Our first night we indulged in the 'Sounds of Silence' dinner. You are taken in a bus into the desert where you watch the sun set from a dune with Uluru (Scotty kept calling it 'big fella' which I quite liked) on one side and Kata Tjuta (means many heads) on the other while you sip champers and eat Australian themed canapes. Vegetarians might want to skip the next few lines. Kangaroo blinis with mango mousse and crocodile pastry cups and smoked salmon rolls to name a few. Then we were led down to an area where tables with white linen tablecloths and candles waited for us and we dined on a yummy buffet and lots of good Aussie wine. Sorry vegetarians, same deal for the next few lines...crocodile caeser salad, kangaroo skewers, wild barramundi, chicken sausages, lamb cutlets and lots more!!! We had a man on the didgeridoo during mains and after dessert all the candles were blown out and oh my god, the stars. Never seen anything like it. An astronomer did a star talk for us (using massive spotlight to highlight), explaining constellations and telling us the aboriginal stories that went with some. It was incredible. Then the night ended so brilliantly, as an irish tour group were at one of the tables (15 of them all up, and our wine glasses that night were bottomless) and they started to sing with amazing voices and all in harmony (of course, they were Irish) and sang a few Irish ballads. We were all so silent afterwards and i got the meaning of the name of the dinner finally. It was magic. The next day, we explored the rock, walked around the base and stuff and then explored Kata Tjuta. The next day we drove another 3ookm or so to Kings Canyon. We did the canyon rim walk and that also turned me into a frantic japanese person with their camera. Spectacular. We were really hot after the walk, the beginning was pretty vertical and although we had left at 8am, once we had finished a few hours later it had been 40 degrees for a while. So then, a long drive south to Coober Pedy in South Australia. O.k. so now I was yet again in another state I had never been in and I was excited as I had always wanted to visit Coober Pedy (Scott had been saying I would be disappointed but I wasn't). Sure, it is in the middle of the desert with nothing else around but my fascination with underground dwelling could not be quelled. So Coober Pedy (this is mostly for you Gillie) is the world's largest opal mine and everyone who lives there has something to do with the mining or selling of opals. The name Coober Pedy comes from the aboriginal words of Kupa (white fella) and Piti (holes). Due to the extreme temperatures, most of it is an underground community. Most houses, underground, are called dug-outs, there are 4 underground churches, underground cafes, bookstores and hospital!!! We stayed in an underground motel (I was so excited, felt like Wilma Flinstone getting dinner ready in our kitchen) and the next day went on an old opal mine tour and saw demo's of the machines and opals in the sandstone walls and stuff. Our guide was a miner (he did tours part time) and had been for 30 years, he was a very interesting character.

Then we were off again, still driving South and yesterday afternoon reached Port Augusta on the coast of South Australia. Even though we had only been inland for 3 weeks, my relief at seeing the ocean again was huge. It will be so nice to be able to drive for 1 hour between destinations instead of 6-8 hours. So now we will slowly meander along the coastline, heading West along the Eyre peninsula until we cross the Nullaboor plain and get into western Oz. Morrie, our van, has done so well with not a single problem (touch wood) and today is being rewarded with a service and tune-up here in Port Augusta. I like this state already as we have free wifi internet at all libraries across South Australia, hence this very long blog and well done to you if you have read this far! Tomorrow we are off to some national parks in the Flinders Ranges to do some walks as it's only 2 hours drive from here. So that's it for now but I will leave you with some of our terminology we use on long desert drives:

1. Road Trains - These are massive trucks that are about 50-60 metres long. They are like trains with wheels and use these outback highways to transport petrol, stock and god knows what else. On narrow one lane highways such as the Kennedy highway, you have to pull off the road when you see one coming to let it pass you. Morrie shakes like anything as they thunder past.

2. One finger Salute - You need to wave at any oncoming vehicle to show comraderie out here. This is is the most common wave. It is where one finger is lifted casually off the steering wheel in acknowledgement at the other driver. This wave and the waves below are only allowed by the driver and not the passenger.

3. Whole Hand Job - This wave is less common and occurs for a few reasons. If the driver feels suddenly energetic, or hasn't seen another vehicle in a while or the approaching vehicle is a high top van like Morrie, then the whole hand comes off the steering wheel in a wave.

4. Big Excitement - This wave is very rare. It is when the hand actually leaves the vehicle and waves out the window. It has only happened twice. Once by me when I hadn't seen any other cars for a whole day and once by Scotty as he noticed the oncoming driver was wearing driving gloves and this apparently warrants a big excitement. This wave is not to be used carelessly.

5. Wasaroo - Unfortunately quite common. It is the deader version of a kangaroo.

6. Rock Shower - When stray stones are flicked up on the windscreen by road trains passing. We now have 3 small star shaped patterns on our windscreen.

7. Botticelli - Game to pass the time that Soph and Lin taught me on the Camino. One person says the initials of a famous person, alive or dead, and the other person has to guess who it is by asking questions that can only be answered with a yes or a no.

8. This game does not have a name yet and we are open to suggestions. One person has to say any word and the other person has to sing a line of a song that contains that word. Very Fun and sometimes very hard. If anyone knows a song where the word 'pantaloons' is featured, I'd be most grateful.
Well, thats it for now, stay safe, Love Leash and Scotty xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I'm not an outback person after all......

Hi everyone, sorry no photos with this entry as we're using a library in Mt Isa which has this massive sign "Storage devices from outside the library are NOT permitted in this computer (NO USB's, Discs etc.) so yeah, sorry , gotta follow the (stupid) rules. Well the last part of our stay in Port was heaps of fun. Took 2 trips to Cape tribulation and did lots of rainforest walks and in the middle of nowhere camping and we quit our jobs (so fun to do after 6 weeks) Scotty quit a week earlier than me as he just couldn't hack the high pressure scenario of room cleaning and my boss was like WHAT???? but we were a bit over Port by this stage....then it got really fun again. My Bday came along, drinks were had, Mick, Elissa, her sister Kristen and our adorable niece and nephew, Charlotte and Findlay arrived and more drinks were had. Melbourne Cup Day, drinks were had, a day on a pontoon boat out on the river with Tina and her new bf Wayne, fish were caught, we brought an esky so more drinks were had (i caught a trevally and Scotty caught a Bream). Then we had our last dinner in Port with the Melbourne crew and more drinks were had. Then we left and haven't looked at alcohol since, it's only been 8 days......
We went through the Atrherton tablelands which we really loved, 3 days of rainforests, lakes incl. Lake Tinaroo, granite rock, cheese and chocolate factories, bliss. Highlights were the waterfalls (everywhere) and a visit to the biodynamic Mungali Creek Dairy. It's such an area of lush green rolling hills and farmland. Then in complete contrast we headed inland on the Kennedy highway and stayed 2 nights at the Undarra Lava tubes experience and that was incredible (promise to put photos soon). Then on our merry way into the centre, yesterday we stayed a night in Charters Towers and I thought that was hot! Today, another 450km west and we are staying in jolly old Mt Isa and it hit 40 degrees by half ten this morning. We left at 5am from last nights camp to get the bulk of the driving done in the morning. I can't stand the heat!!! I am definitely not an outback girl, i am always fondly thinking of city stuff when I am this far out of the way. Keeping me going is the thought that i will see Uluru, Kings Canyon and the olga's in the coming week. We are only 190km east of the Northern Territory border so yep, we are going to whizz through some sights and Alice Springs and head down to South Australia for the summer months. (will do top of NT next year) Well gotts sign off as library closes, bye bye air conditioning........

Finally! We are Back!

Hi everyone, sorry it’s been so long since the last blog (special apologies to Helly and Gillieweed as they have put in requests for more). Hard to know where to start this time……we have been through something that has made us realise that this trip is a very special and important thing to be doing, I won’t go on about it but I have to write that if anyone I know and love feels like life is too short sometimes and that they wished they were doing something else, make it happen. It might take a while to come to fruition but get the ball rolling or the wheels in motion or the kettle on the hob or however you want to think of it. Sometimes just one little action towards what you want snowballs into living your dream. And just knowing that you are being proactive with what you want can make life feel more meaningful. Heaps of you may already be living your dream, this is just a little shove for those who are currently living life like I did before this trip (well for the last couple of years anyway) Living with the feeling that there may be something I would like to do more than what I was currently doing. Ok. With that out of the way, oh sorry, one more thing, I love you guys. Ok. Now really back to blogging about the trip instead of preaching.
So, we had an unexpected trip back to Brissie and stayed with Sel and Ben (again! thanks guys) and with our favourite island girls Soph, Lin and the Tonester. Also had more time at mum’s apartment while she treks over the top of Spain (hi mummas – buen camino!). Then we came straight back to beautiful Port Douglas where we have been living and working for about 3 weeks now. (Gillie, I know I haven’t added the map of oz for you yet but you can google surely?) We had come here for a 10 day holiday about 3 years ago and knew that on this trip we wanted to hang here for a bit. It’s such a nice place to be, for those of you who haven’t been before, it’s an hour’s drive north of Cairns and Christopher Skase basically developed the place in his hay day. Palm trees everywhere, a 4 mile beach aptly named ‘4 mile beach’, ocean that you can walk into easily as the water is tropically warm. Bike tracks and paths everywhere. Long main street with lots of shops, cafes, restaurants and dive places. Of course, very importantly, Port Douglas is the main access point to the Great Barrier Reef. Markets every Sunday in the park by the water. Nightly cane toad racing at 8.15pm at the Iron Bar and one of the best pubs in Qld, The Court House Hotel with an upstairs verandah where you can watch the sun set over a cold one. If it sounds like I am making it sound irresistible on purpose to lure visitors up here, I am (we have room for 2 extra people….) So I started working straight away as I am so legendary that I just have to walk in to a place and managers and owners fall over themselves to offer me a position. Yes, anyway, I work in a chemist! Always said I never would, but there you go, I’m temporarily working for my enemy - the pharmacist (no, I admit everyone has their place and they dispense a lot of life saving pills but sometimes I feel like throwing the codral bottles and other cold and flu syrups on the floor). Scotty is, wait for it, cleaning 5 star holiday units in a resort ! I have said to him of course, that when we are back in a house one day and his housework isn’t up to scratch that he will have no excuses as he used to do it professionally! We work the same days 3 days a week which gives us 4 days to explore the surrounding area – Mossman gorge, Cape Kimberley, Cape Tribulation (I love that name), Cooktown, the Daintree etc. We are living at Tropic Breeze Van Village, 24 Davidson St, Port Douglas, which is one street away from the beach and 5mins walk to the main drag (Macrossan St). We have a sweet little set up with our Oz tent erected next to our van, hammock, camp oven, swimming pool (oh, yeah, it gets quite hot up here, as soon as you finish exercising or riding bike, you need to jump straight into the pool, I am often beet red faced after any exertion). So that’s us for the moment…..we have a friend Tina up here who lives across the road, she has been in Port for 8 months now and has no plans of leaving so it is nice to hang out with her again…tonight for our 4th wedding anniversary (how time flies) we are off to the restaurant she manages, On the Inlet, a seafood restaurant right on the water, famous for their daily feeding of George the Groper, a fish that measures about 3 metres long and half as wide. It reminds me of something out of a movie. Also we were so lucky to see my good mate Iain, up from Melbourne for a few days to relax in Port, got to meet his beautiful new girlfriend Jacqui and drink far far too much wine (bloody Scottish - yes Iain, I blame you for not being able to lift my head without stabbing sensations over my scalp and temples for the best part of the next day and you broke the phone). Finally, we are looking forward to seeing Scott’s brother Mick (Pickle), his wife Elissa and our niece and nephew Charlotte and Findlay. They arrive from Melbourne on Nov 3rd (wonder what else is on that day??? Hmmmm) for a family holiday and we can’t wait as it’s been way too long since we’ve seen them. So guys and gals, if you need a break somewhere warm, drop us a line, take care and be good (sometimes). Leashy and Scotty xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ps. We are now addicted to the tv series Weeds, have seen 2 seasons so far…1 to go
Pps. Over and Out winking puffin xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx