Adventures in West Oz

Again, this post is coming to you via the airport. I just landed in Perth and I'm en route back to Melbs this afternoon effectively cutting my trip short by a week do to my pointer finger being slightly mangled. It makes typing a bit difficult since I have a splint on it but it is healing and should have a stellar scar to show of my adventures. Chicks dig scars right!?

Back up a week....

I landed in Newman, Australia last Friday and started my official adventure in the desert off with some sort of stomach flu. I headed out to Parnngurr (pronounced Bung-Ore) early Sunday morning after a day of rest. The community is located 360 kilometers north east of Newman and is literally at the end of the road. It's dirt roads (tracks) for 95% of the trip and the term washboard is effectively the best way to describe it's condition. I arrived and got into helping finish off building the addition to the community school and then woke up Monday feeling crook again. Fast forward to Tuesday and our ute got lifted so no tools for the day and not much work. I did get to go out with a local and a few groms to provide our early Thanksgiving "bush turkey" feast. Good times. Fast fwd to Wednesday, I cut my finger and drive back to town Thursday. I spent Thursday arvo volunteering with the Martumili art center helping them get ready for there Holiday Sale yesterday evening. Fun people, amazing experience and I have a couple stellar canvas's and stories to bring home!

I will post more pics when I get settled back in Geelong and hope everyone had a stellar Turkey Day!

Saeth

Australian TRAVELS!!

This post is coming to you live from the Melbourne International Aiport via Quantas and it's stellar $5/ hour internet access! I'm not going to take the time to edit my post so deal with the spelling errors or run on sentences! :)

I'm headed off to a village in the middle of the Australian desert near a place called Cotton Creek, Western Australia. I'm getting there via Perth via Newman then via a 5 hour road trip. The name of the village you ask? Doesn't have one! It's a tribal village with a population of about 200 native Australians. We are finishing up building the school village and it will definitely be a stellar experience!! I'm stoked! It will be in the mid 40's (90-110 degrees) and dry! I assume lots of red dirt and lots of nothing! Epic!

I'm going with a crew that has been over there for the last few months building. I'm the extra dude to help get the project wrapped up before Christmas and it gets even hotter! I've packed my carpentry hand tools and a few pairs of work shorts. My flight, room + board, food and return flight are all taken care of. They also are paying me a healthy wage! How good is that!?!?

I got my fill of waves this week with 2 surfs in on Wednesday and 1 on Thursday am with solid 4 footers rolling in. Bells centerside. Yeah, bells beach!

I've charged and packed my actual Nikon camera and will definitely have a heap of photos to post in roughly 2 weeks when I get back. I hope Victoria will have gotten over its bad weather habits and finally turned the corner into summer. Keep your fingers crossed!

I miss all of my family and friends and look forward to catching up soon!!!

Take care,

Saeth

Update

It took me a few trys at the password tonight. Maybe it's a sign I need to update my blog more often. I'll give that a go! Internet is running out tomorrow but I'll go searching for some more! Then come some pics.


What's new. Melbourne Cup on Tuesday. So we are going to a concerte Sunday night. Yes, they take 2 days off for a horse race. Good times. I'll probably work because horse racing does not interest me. Take (2)two days off for a NFL Super Bowl. That would be my style. Watched ESPN today for the first time in about 3 months. Seriously, 3(three) months. That's a long time. Brett Favre. Vikings 2-4. Most coverage a NFL team with that record gets that much coverage. Anyways, life goes on. I've been jamming on the guitar, snagging surf, chillin, and just enjoying a bit of the ride downunder thus far! Good times.

Pete and I (Pete's the guy taking the epic dive on the video on my facebook page) are heading to an Irish Pub for a hearty meal and a few Guiness draft. Rain predicted for the next few days. Sitting on a low pressure system so the surf is below average and weather crappy-calls for something chill. Winds will hopefully go offshore again for a short period on Sunday! Might be neat.

More photos in a few!

Adios
Saeth

Geelong

It's not LA, it's not Melbourne (Melbs would be epic if you could surf the beaches) but its home for now! I prefer a bigger city with a few more entertainment options (ski, surf, skate, hike, bike, nightlife, restaurants) but I'm slowly adjusting!

I just finished up a 3 week project in the CBD (downtown) of Geelong for a friend of mine and took Friday off to snag some surf and sun! It was 27 degrees here with a light offshore wind. Perfect conditions if the swell was a bit more consistent but fun none the less! What else is new....At the house we have a quiver of about 12 surfboards (single fins, fishes, performance, etc) and I've been riding a few old school boards lately but still enjoy the Rusty for its consistency and familiarity! I can ride 2 footers or 6 footers and it's good! A new swell is coming through tomorrow and hopefully the wind stays relatively calm for the evening! I've spent a few nights cruising the hills around town on the long board. It's nice in the evenings to be out in shorts and a t-shirt with minimal traffic!

I miss my family and friends and hopefully will be able to catch up with all of you soon! Did I also mention that I'm an Uncle!?!? Anna Rebecca Kolell is awesome and enjoying the many pics my sister and brother from another mother post. Keep 'em coming!

Adios

Uncle Saeth

Some pics of the Geelong waterfront...

UNCLE SAETH!!!!!

Anna Rebecca Kolell! So begins lots of Skype-ing and pictures from my sister! STOKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've moved to Geelong last week as well. Closer to the surf, friends, and good times. I live in a cool house thats old and a bit run down but my room is clean and the company is awesome! We have already had some epic times and looking forward to plenty more!

Uncle Saeth

Project complete!

Here are a few phots of the completed bench and enclosure around the palm tree! The whole thing is spot on level and square to within 10mm. I was happy with the outcome!!

Enjoy

Current Project (continued...updated...)

Here are a few updated pics of the massive bench/pot I'm building around the palm tree. I know it's not the most exciting thing to look at but it's the most exciting thing I've done this week! haha. Had a good weekend with a bunch of guys I surf with and have started to hang out more. Good times. Caught a few waves, sunny spring weather, about 22 degrees and now back to highs of 12-17 all week! Oh and lets add some wind, rain and clouds to the mix. Yes, spring is starting to finally appear here it just does it 1 out of every 10 days!

Pics...
Posts secured and yes that level is level! :)










The first part of the bench in place