Yeah, the Pilbara is not quite what I thought it would be. Stephen said it was more "hilly" than the Goldfields, which are as flat as it gets in my mind. He was right, there are little dolomite ridges all over the place, and I even spotted a small cliff that overlooks a grassy prairie quite similar to Danny Archers' (spelled A-R-C-H-E-R bru!) final resting place in Blood Diamond. When I stumbled upon this treasure I even thought about making a long-distance call on my sat phone to tell the receiving person "Betty! T.I.A.! T.I.A. Betty!!!" but I didn't know if the joke would carry. Plus, I had colleagues in my presence and I have a certain obligation to appear sane to them. Well, would you want to live in the bush with a mentaller?
Nonetheless, the landscape is odd. It seems much softer than it acutally is. The rolling grass from a distance looks lovely. But that's spinifex for you... it cuts the skin off your shins and in the summer it gets so hot that even driving your truck over it can cause it to bust into flames. I've heard that the only way to describe the heat is as follows: "The Goldfields are hot. The Pilbara is fucking hot." Quite an agreeable sentence, I suppose. I was expecting a few weeks more of cold that can make you shiver, but for the last two swings the heat has already begun picking up. It's now about 32 degrees during the day out there, and it's going to rise to about 50 degrees by December. Yeoucheeze! Ah well, it's only heat-stroke, right? As long as I buy a cornetto in the morning, what can go wrong?
I took some photos of my office to show you guys. One is a panorama that looks quite bitchin'. Except for that dark vertical smear where the photos didn't quite link. Not to worry, you get the idea. This is the Pilbara, mid-winter. It's really really lovely. Enjoy!
- Daisy.
P.S. - Muchos gracias por me hombre Simon, qui (okay as it turns out my Spanish is sparse at best, and I don't know the word for brother so... and... ) yeah for the new nickname.
P.P.S. - I've started writing my novel again. Can you believe it's been seven years? I thought I'd be rusty and it turns out I am. Nonetheless I've the first two chapters written, and better still, the entire plot is summarised!! Oh I'll be rich I tell ya!!
