The Pilbara Trifecta

An enforced day at home prompts this post. Red Alert! Severe Tropical Cyclone Lua is pretty much on our door step, in Pilbara-distance terms, and we’re not allowed outside. So we’re getting to know our fibro-walled, lino-floored, proper hovel rather intimately. And to its credit, it has not shuddered yet. Excitement, bordering on anxiety, has been building in our town for the past couple of days. The checkout line in the supermarket extended to the back end of the shop, and ditto for the bottle shop. And we missed the boat there, because once it goes Yellow (Yellow Alert, not our skin from jaundice), the bottle shop had to shut. So we’re sober, but alert, as the coffee machine is well stocked, to see this one out. Let me see, we’ve suffered through 45 degree plus days, swallowed flies, paid $6 for a sausage roll, become blind to the general red stain on everything, and now a cyclone. Thoroughly christened to the Pilbara, indeed. Question is, do we like it? The Streety boys (junior) are quite oblivious to where they are. They are so adaptable and have not complained yet about moving to the other side of the country. Mikey and I are both so proud of them. They enjoy seeing lizards, hermit crabs, the odd jabiru, sand crabs, tiny frogs (no cane toads here yet) and just generally playing in the red dirt. They have become quite adept at pulling out from their feet the huge ‘triple G’ thorns that thrive in our prickle patch of a yard. We are well-known patrons of both the local pool and recreation centre, the latter which offers rollerskating, the rollerskates being the ones you and I used to hire at the local rink. And for the record, the falls hurt just as much as when we used to go at the rink at Burleigh 30 years ago, given Magi’s expressions and bruises. And parents should wear steel-capped boots when accompanying two roller-skate -clad newbies. Fishing, both from the boat and bank, has become a pastime for us, with a notable catch of a sizeable barramundi by me the other weekend. Well at least we think it was a barra as it flipped around on the muddy creek bank, extricated itself from the hook and bounced back into the creek before our surprised eyes. Mikko insists that quad bikes, a very popular ‘toy’ around these parts, are not as fast as motorbikes, but I reckon neither of the boys would say no if they were offered a ride on one. The big Mick reckons quad bikes are for retards, quote unquote, for those who can’t ride a motorbike. So I don’t think we’ll be joining the Pilbara chapter of that club. We don’t have the inkwork to go with it, anyhow. So that’s a yes for the junior half of the family. And far from landing in a culturally-deprived mining-town, I am now the dance teacher at the local high school, which runs a Specialised Arts Program. For the first few weeks I was feeling muscles I haven’t felt for years! I’m quite enjoying it, but working full time makes for a busy week and we’re all pretty tired come Friday morning. Mikey works long days and likes to get out and explore on his only day off. He frequently mistakes the Big Green Bus for a Big 4WD Bus and pushes the limits as to where it will go. So the BGB may be retired for something more Pilbara-appropriate. Just something we can hose out, is my request. What do I miss? I miss a corner store, swim squad at Yeronga, cycling around Brisbane, kids playing on Bolan Street and friends. Do I like it? Yes. Does Mikey like it? He’s coming around. I think the new 4WD that’s been occupying his thoughts for a while will take the edge off. So friends, we’ll be back in Brisbane around December 8 for a few days so please keep a day free and we’ll catch up and you can comment on our tans (it’ll just be fine grains of iron ore embedded in our pores, but I like to think of it as ‘mineral tanning’). See ya.