the week has gone by fast ... we have been watching the skies as this possible cyclone could possibly come to yirrkala ...  so far it has travelled over to us and then back again to Darwin as a low bringing the most intense amounts of rain ... we live in hope we can make our flights out of here on monday but the forecast changes every 8 hours and it is all very unpredictable!

I have a cyclone box packed and a back up christmas day plan should we need to evacuate but so far so good ... fingers crossed Santa doesn't get blown off course ....

 

Merry Christmas !

Last week was a blur of christmas parties, concerts, graduations and visits from santa in the most intense heat BUT the build up has finally broken with a big monsoon trough hitting us and we have had thunderstorms everyday since saturday ... it is pouring with rain right now and it is so good 

bring on the mould !

 we had an early xmas dinner with jane and rob on sunday

jane fashioned a wreath out of leaves and wove garlands for the ladies ... 

rob and kade made three different types of pork dishes with roast potatoes and brussel sprouts - so very traditional (ish) and perfect food for the heat - hah - 

i added dots

 

and dessert

the golf club put out a huge waterslide last weekend - which with washing detergent and a hose and about 50 kids made for an excellent afternoon -

a native apple

the world's best playground exists at the Yacht Club - our new fav place to go on a sunday - there is cold beer, a view of the sea and a room for the kids plus this cool tree jungle climbing break-ya-neck adventure playground to entertain em while we relax ...

cheers to that

(possibly the longer we stay here the more bogan we become ...)
(see bogan fish photo below)

the fish

the mixture

the fry

the fishcakes

 
with an asian restaurant inspired salad
 D E L I C I O U S

We went to Oyster Beach for the day - with a car load of oyster lovers - sailor slept on the way (late night) getting energy for the big run around, swim and play for the day. Was a great day - the tide was super low so we were able to walk right around the back of the rocks and swim in the rock pools underneath the hollows in the rocks. . .  (prepare yourselves for a ton of photos ....)

cape arnhem

kanesha in her sand bed

charles in the sand

digging holes

rambo-style

stripy style

in the waves

a storm blew in around midday but we escaped with only a few rain drops and the sound of thunder

hunting crab

round the rocks to the oyster hunters

the ladies sit at the rocks and collect oysters for hours - filling up containers of them to take home

landscape !

 

the strangest thing is that I G G Y who will only eat meat, bread and cheese ( i have never seen a vegetable pass by his lips) just  L O V E S  rock oysters -  i can knock them off the rock for him and he'll sit and happily eat em up ... charles loves em too ... although i think in this photo he is drinking saltwater ... it was a cup fill of oysters at one time ...

rockpools 

swimming through the rockpools under the rock arches - tres cool

charles spotted a M A S S I V E crab hiding up under the rocks and so kade, man that he is, set about trying to capture and kill 

trying to stab it with a stick that kept breaking ... everyone was squealing and jumping around

until Watjumi wandered oh-so-casually over and knocked off its claws with a hammer ...

doesn't look so scary without its claws ... 

but still so Y U M

on the drive home we managed to not kill ourselves thanks to Kade's driving as the steering shaft on the Will's car decided that it would break as we drove 80kms an hour down the dirt road - we were flung off into the ditch but managed to miss all the trees and rolling over ... bloody lucky really ...  a little quiet sit on the side of the road while Kade went to get Rob's car and we were home ... the adventure never stops ...

waiting for someone to drive by and rescue us