The Road to New Zealand

Out of all the flights I have been buying over the last few months, the time has finally come to start using them! 

I finally said goodbye to yet another home that I had made. Broome was good for a relaxed atmosphere, constant sunshine and some new experiences. As hard as it was to say goodbye, and try and shove everything back into my backpack again, I was ready to move on. Everyone knew proper American beer pong rules, my job there was done. Considering I had been to the weekend markets a few times to try and sell my paintings during my time there, it was a bit of a shock, and a welcome surprise to have been able to just lay them out on the table a few hours before I had to catch my flight, and be able to sell them straight away, especially when they are all to people that I know. Even Fabio, the manager of the Kimberley Klub Hostel, bought two paintings, and hung them up by reception straight away. I’m famous! At least in Broome. 

Where to next? To Mackay! To be reunited with Lauren!

We had about 1 week to drive from Mackay to Mildura. Here are some highlights:

I finally saw a platypus!

Lauren and I camped down the coast... in the middle of winter.... in a tiny tent... with a mattress that was too big to go inside the tent. 

Each night got significantly colder, and each night, we got sneakier at throwing our tent on TOP of the mattress, when nobody else was looking. But as terrible as some of the nights were, we always woke up to beautiful places :)

No roadtrip is complete without a visit to the big banana :)

When we camped in Noosa, we got caught in a torrential downpour, spent our evening in the warmth and free wifi of McDonalds, before returning to our sad little camp, with a too-small tarp tied to the top of the tent. We spent the night sleeping very still as to not disturb the moat of water that had pooled in the corners of our tent. 

Although it was a successfully dry night, we were glad to spend the next night visiting and staying with the Richards’ in Newcastle. It’s always so bittersweet seeing them and then having to say goodbye again.

On the final night of the roadtrip, we weren’t in the mood to brave the cold again, and decided to “splurge” on a cheap motel for the night. Maybe we were a little eager, but the heater, the stove and microwave all at once, may have been a bit too much for the tiny room’s smoke detector. Or maybe I’m just trying to shift the blame away from solely my cooking....

Finally in Mildura, I got to see where Lauren grew up, and spend a few days with her and her parents. Mildura was very Ellensburg-like. Morning walks with Lauren’s mom and her friends. Last minute shopping errands before New Zealand. And a few final home cooked meals. 

From Mildura, along with Lauren’s parents, we drove down to Adelaide, where we stayed with Lauren’s friend Bethany and had a night of cooking and hanging out with a bunch of Lauren’s friends for somewhat of a farewell party. The next morning, Bethany and Stacy took us into downtown Adelaide to show us around. 

The big balls of Adelaide. 

From Adelaide, Lauren and I made a short flight to Melbourne, where we stayed the night with another one of Lauren’s friends Amarah, another fun hangout night. A quick impromptu training session at the park in the morning, a few more goodbyes, and we were FINALLY on a plane to NEW ZEALAND! 

Miss Cable Beach!

Miss Cable Beach....



It was the first walk of the night. I was a bit nervous, walked too fast, and to top it off, they gave us a number paddle to hold, which totally threw off my game plan, but I was able to still make it work. Happy smiles for a friend who was coherent enough to accurately throw the ball for me, for being able to see past the lights and see the ball coming at me, and for catching it... not with my face :) Woo! Got that one out of the way, and already got a whole new group of fans for it ;)

Next up: Swimwear #1

Everyone from the hostel came out to support me! And boy did they do a good job! I by far had some of the loudest cheers for the night! :) They also get credited for all of the photos I am posting, although, as their vision got blurry throughout the course of the night, quite a few of the photos did as well.

Round 2: Beach/Resort wear round

YAY for doing well! Making everyone proud :) Time for a quick break while they do a round of Mr. Cable Beach and all the guys come out dancing to "I'm sexy and I know it".

Sick of the spa music they kept playing for the girls, I secretly asked if they could play the same song for me when I came out for the next round (because I wanted to mimic some of the funny dances/poses/pushups that the boys had just done for their walk), to which they initially told me yes.... and then at the last minute, said no :(

Round 3: Swimwear #2

That moment when you spot another friend in the crowd who points at you haha

As the night dragged on, there were quite a few girls who seemed to lose interest, and really any sense of fun in the situation. But me and a few others happily danced in the prep room, took advantage of the free champagne and made the most of the night. 

One more time out on the runway....

And the winner of Miss Cable Beach 2015 is....

Not me

:(

haha

Not even top 3... which everyone was quite upset about.

It's terrible, but the girl that won, got very little applause, and even a few boo's...

Everyone seemed pretty confused over the judges pick's.

The tall girl to my left was 3rd. And nobody even remembered the first and second place girls.

Yet again, I was the crowd favorite, feeling like a celebrity mingling with everyone in the crowd afterwards. If only that titled had $5000 attached to it. 

I'm a good sport... but gosh darn it, I hate losing.... especially when it doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense. But regardless, I had a great time, and I am pretty proud of myself for my fun/bubbly personality. 

I had a welcome home party waiting with their congratulations, condolences, hugs, and drunken rants and raves about how ridiculous it was that I didn't win haha. 

At the end of the night, I was named Miss KK, got late night kitchen access to stuff my face with food and chocolate, and went to bed feeling proud and loved by all my friends :)

No Photos... Just Living :)

Is it weird that I don’t have a car? Or even need one to get around? If it is, I haven’t noticed. In fact, I only just realized that I walk everywhere, and can count on one hand, the number of times I have caught the bus. That, is Broome in a nutshell. The daily routine of going to work, walking to Coles get my groceries, maybe stopping in one or two of the few shops that there are, walking home, hanging out by the pool for a bit, going for a run once the sun and the heat have gone down, stopping to lay in the grass and staring at the stars for a while, before going back to the KK to whip up something AMAZING to eat ;) and mindlessly watching wannabe-American reality TV. It’s a rough life. I do appreciate the fact that there isn’t a need to constantly do something with every minute here. It is perfectly acceptable to enjoy doing nothing. Which I am taking full advantage of for the next few weeks, knowing that it is now less than a month before I am reunited with Lauren and we start a new adventure, which will undoubtedly be full-on, nonstop fun and craziness!!

I might not have major stories to tell about my time here, but that certainly does not mean that days have been lacking in excitement. Work always seems to deliver in that department, ranging from the funny stories I get from dealing with all sorts of interesting people at the front desk, to accommodating people in town for an Aboriginal Convention, and having to deal with the repercussions of a massive fight/disturbance during the night and trashed rooms with broken windows. 

On my days off, I do manage to get a little more creative with how I spend my time, like going out to Gantheaume Point early in the morning with Charlie, to walk the 5k along Cable Beach, and reward ourselves with the breakfast buffet, overlooking the beautiful scenery, and watching whales leaping out of the water in the distance. This week I even have a hair appointment, IN AN ACTUAL SALON! That’s a first. But don’t worry, I’m still not paying for the haircut ;)... Why yes, unknown call that I answered at work, I would like to be a mystery shopper for the expensive salon down the street, thanks!

I keep wanting to go out to eat here, as there are quite a few cute looking little cafes. But I have been warned over and over that food in Broome is really not worth it and is overpriced, and that, along with the fact that I desperately need to save money for the next part of my trip, keep me from giving in. Not to mention, I have already been to the local brewery Matso’s, and eaten at the best place in town, The Mangrove Hotel (with a 50% staff discount! Woo!), of which I have to say, was nothing special, and for how much build up there was to it, I have never been so heartbroken over a brownie in my entire life. They should hire me as their dessert chef. Seriously, it was THAT bad. And so the brownie craving lingers on.... The struggles of living without an oven. 

Probably because of the relaxed atmosphere, Broome has been somewhere where I have been able to settle down and actually start painting again. Having worked up a small collection since being here, and having a free weekend, I finally decided to have a go at selling my stuff at the weekend courthouse market. Not thinking it through fully, I pretty much picked the worst day of the worst weekend to give it a try. It was the weekend of the “staircase to the moon”, during which, they also do night markets. So the Sunday morning that I went, it was pretty dead, and I wasn’t able to sell anything. But nevertheless, I made friends with some of the other vendors, and got a taste for what it was like. I’ll just take it as a warm up for the next weekend. 

I did go to watch the staircase to the moon again, as it will be the last one that I am here for. To avoid the crowds, I decided to walk out to the sand dune hill that I walk by every day on my way to work. Great location! There were only a few people, and I was amongst others who decided not to spend the entire moonrise hiding behind a clicking camera. It was nice and quiet and peaceful just sitting and watching. Unfortunately, I paid for the peacefulness over the next few days with the agonizing pain of itchy sand fly bites.... I swear, I don’t have chickenpox... or bedbugs. Ugh. 

Needless to say, Miss Cable Beach has been quite an experience in itself. It’s not something I ever thought I would do, but it has been a lot of fun and been a much needed focal point for the competitive side of my personality that has been suppressed far too long now. Tomorrow is the big day! $5000 on the line, it may be a longshot, but gosh darn it, I will try my hardest! Whatever that may mean in pageant terms... At the very least, it has been something to look forward to, and I’m excited to have a reason to do my hair and nails and makeup tomorrow, and just in general, feel like a normal girl for a day. Who knows, in the spirit of it all, I might even get a little crazy and actually try and match my clothes in the morning. 

Over the past few weeks, I have received all kinds of jokes and funny remarks from my coworkers about being in Miss Cable Beach, but through it all, they have been really supportive. Everyone from the front desk staff, to housekeeping, kitchen and maintenance have periodically commented that they are going to come and cheer me on. “I’m going to be like “YEAAAA CHARLIE!!!!”.... umm my name is Jennifer, but I appreciate the enthusiasm Arnie :). The supposed cheering squad also includes my boss, and even the general manager of the hotel... Weird? Maybe. But also kind of awesome! Like I said before, my work atmosphere is very family-like. If they all show up, along with my supporters from the KK (assuming they actually make it out to the bar this time), I should hopefully have a good fan-base from the start this time. 

One more sleep! And less than 24hours!! Eeek!

Oh how I’ve missed you, my beloved Nutella....

Miss Cable Beach

So besides the insane amount of nerves all day leading up to the Miss Cable Beach competition.... how did it go?

Considering all week everyone had been telling me "oh, you will for sure win!" and I continually came back with "but watch, there will be a 6ft-something blonde girl, and I guarantee you she will win"... of course it was just my luck that I was the first one to arrive to the venue... followed by two girls who fit that very description. 

When you are paying really close attention to the director, who is nonchalantly telling the directions for your catwalk and where to stop and pose, it really doesn't help settle the nerves, especially when all of the other girls seem so calm. Luckily, we were allowed to go out into the bar area and mingle with our friends before the start, and inbetween each walk. 

Considering I was more than a foot shorter than all of the other girls, I knew I was going to have to do something to stand out (in a more positive way). So for the first walk, which was just in jean shorts and the Miss Cable Beach shirt, I made the executive decision to accompany my outfit with my Nike's, my Seahawks hat, and some eye-black. Strutting out onto the first two catwalks, hat backwards and posing the best I knew how, I then walked down the middle, dramatically flipped the hat around, and gave a cheeky smile. Yes, I just established myself as the fun one in the group. 

We had to do walks in two different pieces of swimwear, and one in a more formal beach/resort-wear outfit. 

We also had to answer a couple of questions, like "what is our favorite thing about Broome?" and "What is your most outstanding feature?" And I have to say, when the girls before you answer that second question with "bum.." "my legs..." "legs".... I am really quite proud of the laughs and cheers that I got when I answered "My smile... or my left hook... and the fact that I could give it to ya WITH a smile on my face"...

So what was the result?! I got 3rd. The tall blonde (second from the right) won. And the tall blonde (second from the left) got second. Did I call that or what?! $100 and a free camel ride tour for a third place finish.

BUT! Here is the kicker. Afterwards, the presenter approached me and told me that I had actually tied for 2nd, and that the three of us were so close that they had to count and recount the scores, and because of it, I was guaranteed to go through to the finals anyways. SO! This adventure is not quite over! Which I'm glad, because it was actually a lot of fun! And I am WAY too competitive to let it end there ;)

The number of strangers (and judges) that came up to me afterwards and told me that I was the most fun and that I was their favorite, was a win in itself. I like to think that if it were fan vote, I would have won. But hopefully that means I will have a bigger fan base for the finals.

Save the date. August 9th. Miss Cable Beach Finals.... Let the preparation, plotting and scheming commence!

Broome Time

Over the past few weeks here, I have accumulated a number of beautiful (seemingly permanent) sandfly bite marks, developed an unhealthy addiction to Nutella, and been fully accepted into the KK family. Feeling right at home, I have joined the rest of my room in unloading my backpack to my designated spot on the floor. My 12th man flag hangs proudly above my bunk (except for the days that Charlie - the bandwagon Broncos fan - decides to place it elsewhere). The same bunk that generally makes me fear for my life, when I climb into at night, knowing that it was completely incorrectly assembled by two fine, completely hungover gentlemen, despite the better advice from the ladies. Typical. But with a brand new bunk, and the better mattress that I strategically stole, as far as sleeping arrangements come in hostels, I'm living the high life. Now if only I could teach people to open and close the door quietly, especially between the hours of 1-4am.

While I have been working quite a bit, I have been to the weekend markets a few times, gone out with the family at night, and I did make it over to Cable beach for the sunset (before my bike got a flat tire and was shunned to remain locked up on the bike rack forever more). George and I have also made multiple trips out to Gantheume Point to hunt for dinosaur footprints!! (yes, real ones). 

Stegosaur :) ... (the one with 5 toes ;)

Low tide at Gantheume Point

In hearing me talk about the upcoming 4th of July, the KK staff decided to try and create a celebration for me, including volleyball and a bbq. Although it didn't seem too promising in the morning, everyone got involved and it was actually a huge success!

Happy "Be nice to us" day!! because it's America day! and we are American! :)

Sunshine, bbq sausages (because it IS still Australia...), and pool volleyball, while listening to Kid Rock. Probably one of my favorite days here yet! Running around in my American flag bandana, I think that was the day I became that much closer with everyone here... or it might have been karaoke night, when I busted out some Nicki Minaj (completely sober), and shocked everyone with my awesome rapping skills ;)

As for current events, one of the "big" things going on in Broome at the moment is Miss Cable Beach, a pageant type competition that kicked off last Sunday and continues for the next 4 weekends. For the last week or so, I have been harassed by everyone at the KK to enter the competition. What started out as a joke, turned into serious attempts at convincing me to do so... Maybe part of me wanted to try it, maybe I just caved into peer pressure, and maybe it had something to do with the $5000 prize money on the line.... but so help me, with the promise of everyone coming to cheer me on, my application was submitted. I am competing in Miss Cable Beach this Sunday.... Maybe I should cut back on the Nutella :/....

Excited and even more nervous, at the very least, this competition was an excuse to go swimsuit shopping guilt-free!! In need of a more formal outfit, and with very little time, and the very few shops that Broome has to offer, shopping has been a struggle. Mom, I need my shopping consultant! My roommate Sunny eagerly offered to help, but shopping has continually turned out to be more successful for her... 

2 days and counting....

I came home yesterday to Charlie giggling and telling me "you have maillllll...."

This just got real.

Anyone know how to walk down the catwalk?? 

Can I have more time to prepare? 

I don't even remember the last time I wore high heels... 

the answer to all questions is world peace. Right?.... 

Yikes!!

Welcome to Broome!!

Well, I am now living and working in Broome, Western Australia!! The home of bright red dirt, some intense sand flies and where every single day is 33*C (91*F) with a 5% chance of rain. If looking at Broome on a map doesn't convince you that it is out in the middle of nowhere, or the fact that it was an 11 hour trip to get here... let me tell you, it's in the middle of nowhere. But a very beautiful nowhere.

I am living at the Kimberley Klub hostel, where I will most likely stay for the duration of my time here, because it is easy to meet people at a hostel, and moving out doesn't seem to be a cheaper option. But it's very chill here. There is a nice pool that I use regularly, and a tv room where I have become part of the Master Chef fan club (really, I just always happen to be eating dinner around that time). Living in a small town, and going back to the slow-paced lifestyle has also brought out the desire to start painting again (yay!), so I have my chair in the sitting room that I frequent quite often as well. How do I know those are the most important aspects to tell you about my living situation? As one of my favorites, my roommate Charlie, said to me yesterday evening "Where have you been?! I couldn't find you! You weren't sunbathing by the pool... I checked the tv room, and you weren't in your chair painting... I panicked."

So where was I? At work. I am now working as a receptionist at the 4* resort the Mangrove Hotel. A beautifully renovated hotel with a back lawn/restaurant that has an amazing view out over Roebuck Bay. A view that I cannot see from behind the front desk haha. But I at least get to admire it during my breaks. A solid 2 weeks into the job now, I have mostly gotten over the new job anxiety, and am finally starting to settle in and feel more confident at work. My coworkers are fans of sarcasm, and keep a chocolate stash, so naturally, I like them. Sandra is the front office manager and my direct boss, she is hilarious and awesome, her and her husband picked me up from the airport when I first arrived in Broome, and they drive me to work in the mornings when I have opening shifts. They are very mom and dad-like. Janine is also very parental, she is the accounts manager, and may be one of my favorites. At the front desk, I work side by side with Karla and Shontell, who are my age. It is a nice little family atmosphere at work.

Knowing that there is not a whole lot to see and do in Broome, and that I will be here for awhile, I haven't been in any hurry to go out and explore. When I first arrived, I was able to witness my first "staircase to the moon" a natural phenomena that happens once a month here, where the reflection of the moon-rise in the water over Roebuck Bay looks like steps leading up to the moon. I didn't have a place to set my camera, so it's not the greatest photo, but I will have at least 2 more chances to see this while I am here :)

As of a few days ago, I have a bike! (Thanks to Shontell for giving me hers!) So I have a form of transportation! And a quicker way to get my groceries home, than walking in the heat. With my new bike, I made the 20min ride over to the other side of town, to Cable Beach, the 5km stretch of GORGEOUS white beach and bright blue water.

 

My pink bike ;)

Cable Beach is the ultimate place for the most beautiful sunsets!! I have yet to be there for one, but I am tortured every night at work as I stand behind the front desk, with a direct view out the window of the sun setting behind the trees, and seeing the STUNNING colors in the sky! I can't wait to make it out there to see one up close!