The Aussie Salute

Update from my zany friend Carol on her horse trek in the outback.

September 25, 2015

Left Woodlands camp this a.m. Into Norseman for fuel and food and water. Norseman is very small town named for a horse that reputedly discovered gold.

th-3{Note from Jan: That must have been a mighty smart horse! I googled Norseman – according to Wikipedia, the town of Norseman was founded in August 1894 by Lawrence Sinclair, his brother George Sinclair, and Jack Alsopp who discovered a rich gold reef and named it after a horse named Hardy Norseman.}  

It felt weird being out of the woods.  Faucet, flush toilet, paper towels all seemed wildly extravagant. But I sure enjoyed the grocery store.

th-1Woodlands was our harshest camp site. Hot hot hot  w flies that never stop harassing u.  Many species of ants that bite. One poison deadly snake that did not bother us.

You have to wear a veil to keep the flies off ur face.

hatswcorksAussie insect repellant.

{Google Note: A search for “Australian flies” brought up “Aussie Salute.” The bush fly in Australia (Musca vetustissima) is attracted to bodily fluids such as sweat, nasal mucus, saliva, blood and eyes. The Aussie Salute is actually a swat. If you don’t know how to do it correctly you must wear either a hat with corks dangling from the rim or a veil or the flies won’t stop pestering you.  Of course, the wine helps too.}


We split off from Diane and r heading south to Esperance. Spending tonight in a caravan park in Salmon Gums. Took a shower! Ahhh. 

{Google Note;  Salmon Gums is a grove of eucalyptus trees whose bark is salmon colored. I have no idea if Diane is a person or place.}  

Still I regret leaving the woods and G says no more wilderness camps. Probably. Looking forward to seeing  the coast. Hope to swim.

Note from Jan:  The G she refers to is a horse woman in her eighties. So far Carol’s trip is not tempting me to camp in the outback!  How about you?  Getting tempted?

Carol in Oz, Episode 1

Carol

Carol in the creek for some reason: “Hot damn, that water’s cold!”

Nothing my friend Carol does surprises me though often I’m left scratching my head and vowing to never again get involved in any of her shitteries (being stranded at three in the morning outside a hospital after a horse kicked her in not one but both legs comes to mind!). I’m sure she’s felt the same about me from time to time. But long ago I realized: friends are like condiments. You need a combination of the spicy and the sweet. Sometimes you need a jolt of tabasco and a wild ride through the mix-master to make a memorable meal. Besides, she’s a clever and amusing writer, generous and loving towards her friends and quite a hoot to hang out with (unless she’s getting you into trouble).

(shitterie – a Carol-made-up term generally meaning a misunderstanding that ends up tussles and tantrums!)

CarolTopofMount

“What’s taking you so dang long Jan?” (Carol on the ridge prancing around while I’m huffing and puffing to get caught up!)

Anyway, her latest adventure is a ten day trek through the Australian outback with a couple of elderly horse women. Since these jaunts generally result in some amusing tales I’ve asked her if I can share them with my blog readers and she said yes.  So everyone – welcome the first episode of Carol in Oz  (via her friend Griselda’s iPad, thus the shortcuts):

Good morning,
We r packed except for final items and will leave around 10 after breakfast, run and showers. Taking loads of food and big containers of water. 
We r headed into a huge reserve called the great western woodlands. G. has a book on it which I’ve been reading. Natural areas w all sorts geology plants animal life but also gold mines and grazing. 
It’s cold this morning!  The neighbour is bringing me all sorts of large mens clothing to borrow bc he is worried I will freeze. 
Still waiting for unlock code to use my phone. Will keep msgs  minimal while using G,s iPad, she has data limits and pics or calls can eat that up fast.  
We r taking iPad and my phone in case the code comes and I can make it work on my own. Connections available only when we r near towns I think. Will b gone roughly 10 days. 
Will use a roo (kangaroo) as there r no alligators in my vicinity.  So far anyhow…
Wish me luck. My dear old bod is likely to b challenged
🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲

According to the Nature Conservatory, the Great Western Woodlands in southwestern Australia is “a blossoming bullseye of biodiversity.”   I’m not sure what Carol plans to do with the roo – I guess we’ll have to wait until the ladies are near civilization to find out.

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The Great Western Woodland, picture from the Nature Conservatory