Long Off

Counting Up

Some days on the road I need to travel as far as I possibly can. On these days, it is easy to clock up the kilometres. Every little milestone is an accomplishment and a motivating force encouraging me to go further – to do another hour, to reach the next roadhouse, and then drive some more.

Counting Down

Other days’ drive has a distinct, distant destination. On those days, driving seems harder; a chore. Are we there yet? Progress seems slower and more tiring. Less motivating. “Has it only been half an hour? It felt like an hour”. It’s 300kms to go. I’ll never get there. Are. We. There. Yet?

Panoramic photos

The swag suffered an injury the other evening. One segment of the pole snapped, compromising the structural integrity of the swag…

…leaving me to hitch it up to a fence. I didn’t lose any sleep over it.

I popped in to see the South Fremantle Football Club, reigning WAFL premiers.

We are the mighty Bulldogs
Always fighting on
With victory and flag our goal
With guts and determination
We put the rest to shame
Because our fighting spirit wins the game.
We're the Bulldogs (yes we are)
And we're the greatest (yes we are)
The mighty red 'V' which stands for victory
The rough tough Bulldogs (yes we are)
South Fremantle (yes we are)
The Southerners for ever more
Down by the Port of Fremantle
We hit them really hard
With true grit and courage we win
So come on Souths let's show them
How to play the game to win
South Fremantle for ever more
We're the Bulldogs (yes we are)
And we're the greatest (yes we are)
The mighty red 'V' which stands for victory
The rough tough Bulldogs (yes we are)
South Fremantle (yes we are)
The Southerners for ever more.

Field trip for GEOG315 Environmental Change and Management

Aim: Assess the sustainable management of environmental and cultural values.

Hypothesis: Unmanaged human activity has detrimental effects on sensitive ecosystems and historical values.

Procedure: Study the historic lighthouse site at Cape Leeuwin and draw conclusions about:

• The various ecosystems present
• The geomorphology of the coastline
• The cultural and economic significance of the site
• The built environment
• The semiotics applied to manage tourists

It had not occurred to me that Perth’s afternoon breeze, known as the Fremantle Doctor, famous amongst the cricket following community for disrupting the momentum of a days’ play, was not solely aimed in a narrow beam at the WACA Ground and in operation only on game days.

Surely it blows over other western sporting venues, postcodes and suburbs. Even other Local Government Areas, farming districts and mobile phone coverage regions.

Like dozens of cricketing elevens, I have been caught out by the afternoon breeze coming off the Indian Ocean. Unprepared at first, and unorganised of late, for the predictable change in conditions, I failed to adapt my game to suit the conditions. I tried to combat it head on. Bazball camping, they might call it. Parking straight on into the wind instead of square. Audaciously unfurling awnings into the breeze without first laying out the guy-ropes. Bazcamp was not going to be successful in the West.

Mergard, I c. Doctor, F b. Ocean, I 17(40)

Yours truly has experienced some wind this trip. Everyday has featured wind. It’s usually OK in the mornings but I wind up getting wind every afternoon and into the evening. It’s a wind up, this wind.