Life in the land down under

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Greetings one and all!

It has been some time since my last update but I do not apologize at all as I have been having a great time!

Let us see. On my last break I managed to get around a fair bit. I had a day or so of relaxing in Brisbane again before I ran down to Surfers Paradise to see my good friend Stuart who had driven up with his brother to help him move into residence for university. We had several nights out on the town and a couple beach days which were awesome. I made some sweet friends down that way as well including one fellow who randomly is a friend of a mate who'd lived in Brisbane last year.

After getting Stuart's brother suitably settled in and making him some friends, we headed out of Surfers and drove to Byron for the night to stay with Stuart's friend for the night to help break up the drive. Sadly, no one was at their house... We slept in the car for a few hours then Stu's mate arrived early in the morning as they'd be out at Billy Connely's show in Surfer's and threw us in the guest house. I hadn't realized how nice this house was that we'd gone to stay at. It was most likely the nicest house I have ever been in. It was not a mansion but an absolutely beautiful house in the mountains of Byron Bay with a massive pool, a giant guest house, a great view. I would definitely love to visit again. The drive out of there in the daylight also really felt like I'd been thrown into the Shire from Lord Of The Rings.

We did most of the trip the following day stopping to have fish and chips along the coast in sleepy little towns and ended up in Newcastle to visit some more of Stu's mates on the way down. We tore down to Wollongong where I was reunited again with a bunch of my mates. We had several nights of catching up and going out just like the good old times. I even managed to run down to Jervis Bay to visit an Australian named Hanne that I'd been introduced to in Canada by Annicka. That was a definite highlight because it is a beautiful spot to visit and she's the type of person that I feel like I've known forever despite only having met three times before.

I escaped up to Sydney for the afternoon to visit another mate I met in Canada before my flight to Brisbane. I went into the office the next day then left for site the next.

This stint at the mines was really different then the others. I won't go into much detail as I am unsure of what might get me in trouble. Basically my rigs duties have changed and instead of finding one site for my rig to move to every few days, I have been finding two sites average per day. This is a fair bit of work considering I have to find all the information, look for special considerations such as where the underground is, calling people to verify what needs to be done can be done, issuing site prep and checking the sites themselves. Basically I had to get well ahead of my rig and fast so I've been flat out and running around hectically. Once I got that sorted out I have been taking the initiative and fixing some problems that I've seen people neglecting and catching on on heaps of old or forgotten paperwork. It hasn't gone unnoticed either which is a good thing. I was told that the company isn't about poaching people from contractors but if I were to quit I would likely have a number of people backing me to be employed. So pretty much I could have a job if I wanted from the sounds of it. Watch out people! I may not come back. I do really miss Canada though and the mountains so the chances of this happening is still in the lower percentile.

I had an RDO, or required day off, because of mine fatigue policy as I'd worked more the 12 days straight. I decided to go and spend it with my mate Mark Hood's parents up at their cattle station just outside my mining town. For those who read my blog during my previous travels, this was the same place that I learned to ride motorbikes on a red dirt airstrip with David Dockman. The day was spent drinking tea on a porch with butterfly's flitting around, helping to muster cattle on a dirt bike, driving a quad back from mustering with two flat tires (they spell it tyre here?) which is an interesting and tiring experience, and herding cattle around in a stockyard.

I am on break yet again and have great plans for the next few to come. I am taking it easy this time and hanging around Brisbane, hoping to hit up the surf a few times, go to visit Stu's brother in Surfer's Paradise again, and maybe run up the Sunshine coast to climb some mountains and go see glowworms! I am tossing the idea of a trip to Melbourne to visit my Mark and Jacqui with whom I visited several times last year and had some great Aussie adventures with, and then maybe out to Perth to see some friends and hit up a Swing Dance workshop with a really good mate of mine from work. I will keep you posted with these wild wacky adventures.

Here are also a few photos for your enjoyment. I sadly have not been taking as many as I'd like as there are no cameras allowed on the mine site and it is a little hard to carry around my massive camera. Also feel free to give me a shout if you ever want to chat, my number is 0428 772 155.

***For some reason I cannot upload photos so you shall have to wait on them... SORRY!

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Comments

[Hardcore]

Yarrrr!!!
Glad to see that all's still going along super well!!! not at all surprising, mind you, but excellent nevertheless!