I was blessed to be able to catch up with my youngest sister on her stopover in Perth on route to her FIFO (fly in fly out) job on the northern coast of Western Australia where she works as a chef on a barge which takes supply’s to the oil rigs. I picked Kath up at the airport after 10pm, getting lost on the way as it has totally changed from what I knew and somehow I was thinking international instead of domestic! The airports are in the throes of a big revamp. Not only the airports themselves but the roads to and from. They are no longer called international and domestic just Gate 1 through to 4 which is even more confusing as they are about 8 km which is 11 mins apart on different turn off along a major road.
I had just about reached the international having taken the last turn off when I realised I was supposed to be at the domestic Gate 3. Fortunately I was a little early so had time to turn around but that wasn’t the end of my difficulties I had no idea where to go and my GPS needed a road name to guide me! grrrrrrr
Heading back to Perth I stopped before an exit to check online. Thank God I had data on my phone and the domestic terminal came up as being Gate 3 + 4 which was the exit that was right in front of me. Thank you Lord!
To avoid paying exuberant parking fees I parked before entering the airport service roads. This time of night the offices were closed. There were three other vehicles parked I suspect doing a similar thing with pickups from the airport. I had only waited about 10 mins before Kath gave me a call to say she had arrived and would wait in the pickup area. It was lovely to see her again and to catch up on some of the things she had done over my time away.
We had a few hours together the next day before I flew out for Broome. Mum, Kath and dog Suzie were heading south to visit friends in Dunsborough so kindly dropped me on route, at the International Airport, from where my Virgin flight was leaving. All domestic and international flights will eventually be moved to the same airport which will make things much easier in the long run but before then it’s very confusing. Fortunately Kathy knew that Virgin had moved otherwise I would have been going to the wrong airport. There had been no update email sent to say they had moved and my original ticket had the domestic gates! Very confusing!
I was early as usual with a bit of a wait before my two and a half hour flight to Broome. The flight was a bit bumpy, arriving just before 6pm. As I stepped off the plane I could feel the difference in temperature from Perth’s cooler days. It was the wet season here with temperatures in the high 30’s with very high humidity. I was dripping wet within minutes! I hadn’t seen my sister Jen since December 2014 when she visited Perth before Christmas. It was lovely to see her and be able to stay awhile. We drove back to where she lived with Phil and her son Matt whose birthday I had arrived on.
The next day which was Tuesday 8th March, Jen and I drove two hour to Derby where she works twice a week at the Derby Madalah Employment Related Accommodation Centre. She is the Broome and Derby manager which keeps her very busy. Jen has been here for over three years even though it is a very demanding job as she wanted a change from Geelong’s cold weather. She had planned to leave this year in June but had now decided to stay on till the end of the year as Matt has recently accepted a computer maintenance job here.
Just before I arrived one of her Derby workers, Ingrid, has asked her permission to use one of the empty houses to train her 13 month old baby to sleep. It was then Jen suggested she would ask me if I wanted to help out. Being a real softie for a baby in distress I accepted. My payment being a tour around, a visit to their block just out of town and a horse ride at the Birdwood Downs Cattle Station.
It was also a lovely way to fill in my days in Derby while Jen worked. We had Tuesday and Wednesday night here with me assisting with sleep routine for baby. He caught on very quickly, especially as mum had been receiving advice from Ngala (where I had originally trained in 1992 at South Perth).
In between sleep sessions I was taken around Derby to see the jetty, mudflats, prison boab tree, Ingrid’s block and the cattle yards where many years ago was my starting point for an overland horse trek from Derby to Fitzroy Crossing. The tides here are enormous going over 11.8 meters. During our drive around I took some amazing photos. I just love the harshness in the country up here and the bright red dirt which reminded me so much of parts of Africa especially with the boab trees, ant hills and scrawny scrub.
Jen and I had two nights in Derby, the thing I found most frustrating was that my phone had no reception here so internet or phone. Australia’s major telecom has monopoly in most country towns which is very unfair. The first night Ingrid and I were up a few times settling the baby who woke early but fortunately went back to sleep till sunup at 5am. The second night we had to get up early as I was booked in to do a horse ride at 7am before the heat overtook the day.
Jen joined us for dinner and our 6:30 am drive out to drop me off at the cattle station for an hour’s horse riding while they visited Ingrid’s country block. I had a lovely time yarning to Greg on our ride. He worked on the station looked after the horses and took visitors out on the trail. He rode a young two year old who hadn’t long been broken in which was quite obvious with his skittish behaviour. His three dogs came along for the run and were constantly ahead of us chasing kangaroos into the bush or soaking in the water troughs while waiting for us to catch up.
After picking me up we headed back into town, Jen to work and Ingrid and I dug up and replanted the cassava. This is where I believe I lost my ankle bracelet which I had only recently fixed while in India. I was really quite annoyed. I hunted the area where we had been digging without success. It could have come off anywhere! Baby now settling very quickly for the morning sleep Ingrid was able to attend the staff meeting with me babysitting. He had a good two hour sleep settling himself twice before waking and having a happy time with me before his mum came in for lunch. The afternoon sleep was not so successful. He took some effort to go to sleep and woke after only 20 minutes. I suggested Ingrid let him sleep in the car on their way home after dropping me off to another home where I had been asked to help a three year old with their behavioural sleep problems.
Jen had returned to Broome leaving me in Derby to get a lift back with the family I was staying with who just happened to be travelling to Broome the following day for a week holiday. This family had a challenge on their hands with their three year old who was very strong willed. It took a while before he realised we were serious and would not give in to his demands. It didn’t take him long to fall asleep even though it was behind the door where we left him till he woke later and took him back to bed without too much of an incidence. He woke again during the night but quickly settle after mummy took him back to bed.
We were all up early getting ready for the trip to Broome, while dad made himself ready for work. He was joining the family later in the week. Their nanna was visiting from Perth so room was made for their daughter to sit in front and me in the back seat with the two boys. I’m sure there would have been lots of fights if I hadn’t assisted with distractions, songs and entertainment along the way.
Photos: 1. Gumtree flower, 2. Drive out to the farm block 3. My new friend 4. Derby jetty 5. Locals enjoying the shade on the bay 6. Boab tree 7. Boab nut 8. Prison Boab 9. Ingrid her baby and Jen 10. Getting ready to ride 11. Mounting up 12. Riding out into the sunrise
Prayer & Praise Points:
Praise the Lord for a safe flight to Broome and for time with my sister Kath and Jen.
Praise Him for an opportunity to help a struggling mothers and time with my family.
Praise the Lord for air conditioning while I’m in the tropics.
Praise Him for a new chapter to Sally’s Adventure…. New horizons, new opportunities and new beginnings.
Please continue to praise Him for His protection, provision and my general good health while I’m in Broome and Derby northern Western Australia.
Thank you for your prayers for Mum especially for her acceptance of me staying with her and her openness to having me help her. She had a lovely time in the south of WA with my youngest sister last week. Please continue to pray for her physical health especially for her memory.