Karaoke, kangaroos and cocktails

So the first trip out to the rig went well; no major dramas and the work was easier than expected. Now I was back on dry land for an uncertain amount of time I had to make the most of it and spend my first Australian pay cheque (obviously this was not going to be a problem).

I hadn’t been shopping in ages and to be fair for once I actually needed stuff rather than just wanted it. Winter was approaching on 1 June and the 40 degree days that greeted me in Oz had dwindled to mid 20’s. Mandurah is a really small town but it does have a shopping mall and so off I went purchasing a jacket, some jumpers and a shawl for the cooling temperatures. 

The one thing the rig lacks is a bar and if you think the UK has a drinking culture you can think again (Mum, I know that sentence is not going to make you happy but that’s real talk!). The Aussies start ridiculously early and drink is companion to every activity; canoeing, boating, cycling, cinema, kids assembly (no joke - a fellow rig pig confessed this to me) and obviously the traditional Aussie Barbi. Any and no occasion warrant a good drink and my to-ing and fro-ing from the rig was no exception. On my return I hit the town with Jimbo and his harem of women, The Pussycats, consisting of me, Lady D, Miss Danger and Scratch and Sniff. After sampling an array of cocktails and various watering holes we landed up with free entry into one of Perth’s clubs. These were the kind of hook-ups I needed to establish in a new city and succeeded in in free entry and queue jump the following week. It was nice to establish a social network and to know which clubs and pubs to go to. 

Jim's Harem

As well as establishing friends and knowing the spots in Perth I also had to explore Mandurah which has a grand total of four pubs (one of which isn’t recommended for women!) and two clubs. I’d already been introduced to a friend of a friend from England (thanks Liz!) and had found out that a rig buddy of mine, Bunney, lives down the road from me with his wife Mel (who, may I add, is a professional chef) so I was starting to form a local crew! Sampling Mandurah’s pubs I found that Murphy’s does brilliant pub grub and hosts karaoke on a Wednesday night. After song number two me and Suz were taking requests and treating the pub stage like we were headlining at Glastonbury; we rocked the place and are full blown locals now with the bar staff knowing how to pour our drinks and security not needing to check our ID’s. 

Mandurah also has a lot of tourist things to do based around the canals. To make use of our water front property we decided to hire and boat and go canoeing so that we could go pass our house! Hiring a boat costs $90 an hour and it was a real treat. We cruised around the canals admiring the villas, mansions and yachts. I thinking boating is something I will be doing a lot of especially when summer comes back around. Canoeing was a little more strenuous but fun none the less. I was soaked by the end and despite sharing a canoe with Suz my arms ached the next day! Like surf clubs there are canoe clubs a plenty and Suz enjoyed it so much she is thinking about joining one. Me, I’ll stick to the motorised forms of transport.  

Canoeing in Mandurah

So not be become total Aussies and spend all our free time drinking we opted for a trip down to Margaret River; an area two hours south of Mandurah. Margaret River is packed full of things to do; wineries, cheese and chocolate factories, caves, lighthouses, water sports, you name it, it’s got it. Planners that we both are we unusually decided to play this one by ear and just drive and stop when we felt like it and see what happened. When we hired the car it didn’t come with any special tips for driving in Oz so off we went feeling confident and liberated in our little Mazda 2. The trip started well; we explored, Bunbury, Busselton and Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse and then made or way to the town of Margaret River. It was in the last 5km’s that we had a rather too close for comfort encounter with a kangaroo leaping onto the bonnet of our car! Luckily, we were both okay but unfortunately, the Roo had broken its legs and had to be shot to end its suffering. After managing to drive the last few K’s peering out through a shattered windscreen MR turned out to be a lovely little place with quirky stores and organic cafes. Our fews days didn’t really get much better after ‘meeting’ the Roo and but we were determined to keep our spirits up and so hired another car and managed to get to the caves which were stunning. Since this trip I have learnt:

• Getting hit (yes, drivers you don’t hit them, they hit you, believe me!) by a kangaroo is a normal thing here and 11, 000 claims for kangaroo related accidents costing $21 million in damages are made every year in Oz. 
• Roo encounters can be avoided by slowing down during dusk and dawn (when Roos feed and are most active) and by fitting a bull (Roo) bar to your vehicle (which we will both do when we buy our own cars). 
• To never ‘wing’ anything ever again.