Berkley River Trip - Don and Eldon

Every year the volunteer Search and Rescue boats take a trip to "practice" their skills. (Sounds like just a bunch of guys going fishing to me!) Don Major asked if Eldon wanted to come this year...what do you think the answer was?

They put in at Wyndham, which is on the Cambridge Gulf, and from there go out to the ocean. Then they head around the coast to the Berkley River. Berkley River is unlike any river you've seen...high cliffs on both sides and very deep. Eldon flies over it when they do the works tour to spot dolphins and crocodiles.

They had a great weekend and caught lots of fish (so much we can't fit it all in our freezer) and had only one run-in with a crocodile trying to steal their crab pots. :)

Eldon's 1.3 metre mulloway...they each got one.

The waterfall where they had a "shower"

Fishing wives are long-suffering....

Texas Chapter

Texas Happenings

Well.... I got around to thinking its been a long time since i last wrote on this- something like 10 months!! So today i thought i might write again--- might be something to do with all the espresso in my starbucks this morning!!!




Life here in Tejos is going well, had to believe that ive been here over 11 months!! My contract hours are decreasing and so im getting excited planning whats next!! Im going to be doing shorter term assignments so it means i get to travel and see more of the USA, looking forward to it. Although currently i have no idea where im going from here!




Its been great having so many visitors down here, its been fun doing the tourist things and seeing places i didnt know existed. Recently when Mike came down we got in a bit of hiking- one place we went was to the Lost Maples National Park, im looking forward to going back to see the leaves changed in a couple of weeks.

Summer is well and truely over now, but it was great to get in some toobing down the local rivers, hiking, sun bathing( i even got a slight tan!) and catching up with friends/family. Fishing at Canyon Lake was fun and travelling through the beautiful Texas hill country with the top off the jeep has been a blast.

Rare Visitor

We had a visitor this morning on our doorstep! These are somewhat rare lizards and, according to Eldon, get a lot bigger than this. I thought it was big enough!!! We attempted to get it to raise its frill, but it was too quick for a photo.

Chief at last!

Congratulations are in store for my wonderful hubby who is finally the new chief pilot of Alligator Airways. He flew up to Darwin on Wednesday afternoon, had his written and oral tests on Thursday, and his flight test on Friday. He was pretty shattered by last night! But, he passed, and that is the main thing. Now he can start doing the work he has been trying to do since August! Woohoo!

New Desk!!!

My new desk finally arrived!!! It took me two nights to put together but I love it! It fits in our little house so much better! Eldon and I bought an ergonomic chair each also, one for me at home and one for his new office.

Float Plane Ride

I went for my first float plane ride! We had to get up early to get the best weather. 6am we were out Lake Kununurra ready to take off. One of Alligator Airway's pilots flew Eldon, me, and Zoe (marketing manager) around a new route to see what we thought. The water on Lake Kununurra was amazing and smooth, but when we got up to Lake Argyle, it was a bit more choppy. We skipped the touch and go there but still got some good views around that area. Then we went over the dam wall and followed the Upper Ord River back to Kununurra. Beautiful scenery...would be even better in the wet season!

No News is Good News????

Well, it's been a while since you heard from us....more than a month actually! We don't really have any nice pictures to put up or anything....so I'll just update you a bit on our busy lives!

The most exciting and interesting news is that Eldon has taken on the job of Chief Pilot for the company he works for, Alligator Airways. He will be in charge of all the pilots including hiring, firing, training, etc. So that is a step up for him....and very challenging! He will be doing that for approximately 2 years. So we will be here in Kununurra for another 2 years. (That was my subtle hint to those of you who MIGHT want to visit!) Anyway, before he actually starts the job, he has to sit a 2-day CASA (like the FAA or CAA) flight test. So, it is not for the faint-hearted! He will have to know all of Australian Aviation Law and things like that.

In other news, I'm still only halfway through my course....I suppose I'm kind of dragging my feet (or dragging my tail, as Mom would say). Working fulltime on the computer and then coming home to spend a few more hours in front of the computer doesn't always sound all that fun! Anyway, I'm planning to be finished by the end of the year! We'll see!

We are planning on being home for Christmas this year....home in the States that is! Very exciting! I haven't had a cold, snowy Christmas since I got married!!! I am very much looking forward to it! With a bit of luck, the whole of my family will be together, a rare occurrence these days.

The weather is getting hotter...the buildup is here finally! The weather here is just so different to other places. Between April and August, we have wonderful, cloudless, summery days and then in September comes the clouds and the humidity. It rains occasionally starting in about October and then around January, it rains everyday after lunch almost without fail. It's crazy. I can't wait for our "cold" winter in the States! Bring on the sweaters and the boots, apple cider and wood fires, big cuddly socks and flannel sheets!!!

Well, I should probably wrap it up. We are going out to eat tonight with the owners of Alligator Airways so I should probably spiffy up a bit.

Love and hugs, Sarah

Four Wheel Driving with Don and Louise

What a blast! We originally went out to see some big crocodiles on the Lower Ord River, but on the way, Don decided to show us some of the tracks he takes his students on for the four wheel drive course. We only saw two crocs and they were too far away for pictures. There was lots of bird life though, and the scenery was amazing!

Going over Ivanhoe Crossing (this is the old road to Wyndham) not passable in the wet season as you can well imagine!

The edge, right outside our window!!!

Stuck in the sand...bring out the shovel!

The ladies (Louise, Marlene and I) stayed out of the truck for this one. From the inside it looked really scary, but doesn't look so bad from the outside!

Our fishermen....

...and Louise and I trying to get their attention! :)

Lovely scenery!

Mum Patterson's visit and El Questro tour

Well, Eldon's mum has been and gone already! Time flies when you are having fun!!! And we did have lots of fun! These pictures are from the day Mum and I went to El Questro Wilderness Park.

WALK THROUGH EMMA GORGE

The huge red walls were amazing to see....

This is looking into Emma Gorge. The waterfall is at the end....our goal!

There were some magnificantly coloured pools along the way. This one is called Turquoise Pool because of the algae that grows in it.

Interesting things: Me swimming in the freezing cold water at the end of the gorge!!!

And a Merton's water monitor sunning itself on a rock. It was still in the same place on our way back through!!!

ZEBEDEE SPRINGS

These are thermal springs which come out of the ground at about 32 C (85-90 F), not really hot, but lovely and warm. We walked into the springs and had a quick dip. I was too interested in taking pictures so I didn't get in this time.

CHAMBERLAIN GORGE

After lunch at El Questro township, we went on a boat cruise on the Chamberlain River. It was so still and the reflections were almost perfect. Unfortunately, we didn't see any crocs :( but did see a few wallabies and birds.

Interesting things: Croc trap with a horses leg inside. Apparently they had spotted an 18-foot croc in Chamberlain Rive and they were trying to catch it. Unfortunately, we didn't see any crocs!

And last, but not least, a "cute" little turtle who tried to bite my finger off when I was stupidly coaxing it to the surface!!

Well, I think I've bombarded you with enough pictures...if you want to view the whole album, go to Our Pictures .

Long overdue "new" house pictures

We've been in our "new" house since April...and I've been promising pictures since then. Here they finally are. Not much, but enough for us!

Small kitchen..only room for one!

Living Room...lovely with the sun coming in

Living room again from the hallway

Guest Bedroom....hint hint!

Kitchen/Living room area

...On the street where we live. Hospital on the left, complex on the right

Eldon and I in front of our block

BACK ONLINE!!!!

Well, here we are, back again. Sorry for the long delay...you've probably given up on us!!! :)

Since our last post on March 30th, we've moved house, lost the internet for more than a month (ahhhhhh), bought a new laptop. and a lot of other boring stuff like that.

On the exciting side, we had our special meetings and 3 of the workers came to stay with us! Our four workers were Gary Packard and Winnie Melville from WA, Linda Larson and Pauline Turner from SA. (It is about equal distance for each pair to come up here.)

Here is Gary in his nice apron, our chef for the night! Eldon and I are with Linda Larson (Eldon knows her and her family quite well). The last picture is the four workers; Gary, Pauline, Linda, and Winnie. We felt very privileged!

We are loving our new little flat...pictures to follow once I get it clean enough :) .....and our lives are going along pretty normally.

We've adopted a cat, or rather it has adopted us! We are really just like grandparents; invite it in, give it a pat, and send it on its way again! His name is Buster and he's very much like our cat at home, Hugo. He lives in a flat just down from us, and he is very, very friendly!!!

My studies are getting along just fine. I'm into the practical portion of the course, and I have a feeling I'll be there for a little while!

Eldon is working flat out, as you can see. These pictures are from his week at Drysdale Station, where Alligator Airways base a plane in the dry season.

I'm not sure what kind of spider this is...but it sure made Eldon forget about going to the toilet! It is sitting on the cistern at Drysdale Station.

These are amazing falls...King Falls I think. An American actress was killed by a crocodile under these falls in the '80s.

Now that we are into our dry season, these bush fires will happen more and more. Some are accidental, some are not.

Well, that's a quick update in our little lives. I'll try to be better at posting new stuff on here!

Hope everyone is well!