One Girl's Round-the-World Adventure » 2007

Archive for April, 2007

Margaret River, Western Australia

Well…the winds seem to have taken me to just the right spot this time – I’m in Margaret River, a beautiful little beach town full of surfers, artists and hippies on the south western coast of Australia, about 4 hours south of Perth. A very big change from Thailand!!! The air is so clean here, the beaches are incredible, the people are so very friendly and genuine and the energy here is just right. Before a week ago, I had never even heard of this place….I just flew to Perth from Thailand on a whim thanks to a very cheap airfare special. I landed in Perth with no job and no plan (as usual), but somehow knew it would all fall into place. Especially because my first day in Perth I was welcomed to Australia with the West Coast Blues and Roots Festival…to see Xavier Rudd and Cat Empire and John Butler after 10 months in Asia – wow! I was so happy! And I got to enjoy it with my friend Tamara who lives in Beijing and Shaz, one of my Lizard Island pals…. It was a great time.

I stayed with Shaz for a week in Perth, exploring the local area and amazing beaches and trying to deal with the culture shock of being back in oz…Shaz suggested that we drive down to Margaret River for the weekend and said, well I might as well bring all my stuff – in case I like it – and that’s how it all came to be. We arrived on Saturday after taking our time exploring our way down from Perth…ended up in the local pub for a great night out …Sunday we recovered on free chocolate and cheese from the local factories (leave that bit out of the raw food website!!), and then Shaz left me here at the backpacker and she made her way to Perth.

Monday I had no plan but decided to explore the area on my own – wound up getting a great hitch with Wayne, an Israeli guy living in Perth – we spent the day checking out some caves and getting down to Augusta to see the merging of the Southern and Indian Oceans. Pretty cool! Thanks Wayne!!

Tuesday I hit the pavement on my job search – found work at the 2nd place I tried – doing housekeeping at some very nice holiday apartments about a 6-minutes walk from where I am staying. So lucky! And I needed to find work right away – it’s much more expensive here than in Thailand!!!! I needed some work clothes for the cleaning, so I then headed to the Red Cross shop where they told me it was $5 bag Tuesday, and promptly handed me a bag saying whatever you can fit in there is $5. Are you for real!!!! I got 4 pairs of pants, 3 shirts and 2 heavy fleeces – all for $5!!! I love this place!! I started my new job the next day and have been enjoying my hours – every day I’ve finished btween 2 and 4 where I thereby walk straight out to the road and hitch the 8km to Prevally Beach – one of the best surfing spots in the world to those who are into it – and laying on the beach in the sun is a great end to any day I reckon! It’s a great little town here – the people are so nice and helpful and I’ve been meeting all the locals while hitching around…stay tuned for some good stories there!

Xavier Rudd at the West Coast Blues and Roots, Freemantle WA