The first weekend after we arrived Clinton and Sarah Snow invited us to go out on their boat to go Whale watching and stop for a picnic lunch in a small bay. We headed out early to beat the heat of the day and met Emi and Mick Rodoni, and Rowena and Nathan Winter out on the water. It was fantastic to watch the children's excitement at riding in a boat and seeing a Whale out in the ocean. It was the first time i had experienced seeing a Whale up close. It makes you feel really small and insignificant to think at how we pale in comparative size, and yet i also felt so infinite at the same time. The kids had a blast once we anchored the boat and set up for lunch. I enjoyed watching them frolic in the shallows and make new and old friendships strong. They were so happy and content. It was a great welcome to the Pilbara and i cant help but feel so grateful for this overall experience. The boat ride home was just as thrilling and i loved reconnecting with Sare and seeing Clint in his element on the water. We are so thankful to have wonderful friends here who have been so generous with their time and resources and who have made our lives so much richer thus far.
Our second weekend saw us hit up the Pannawonica Rodeo with the Rodonis (our new mates). Pannawonica is a 2.5hr drive south east of Karratha. There was some beautiful scenery along the way to this small town. Kent and I enjoyed listening to TED talks as we headed to our very first Rodeo experience. The kids sang the occasional "are we there yet?" from the backseat, but its not a real roadtrip unless the kids complain, right?! For our first rodeo I would have to say it was a great learning experience. we learnt that we needed to provide our own seating for one thing, but we also learnt that we should have prepared India a little more for what a rodeo was. At one point she looked at me and with a little grimace on her face said "mum, i don't know if i like how they are treating these animals. it doesn't seem right?!". But the excitement of the overall experience trumped her doubts in the end i think. The little ones loved lining up for free tattoos and loved Daddy buying them an icecream. At one point, whilst the children were positioned close to the fence watching all the action unfold, a horse attempting to evade the lasso skidded past and hit the fence, hard, right in front of them. it seemed as though it was going to jump right over and land on them so all the kids dove backward and gave a collective "WOAH". Reeve turned to me with a massive grin and lashings of dirt spread across his face. he was in heaven! we decided to head home around 2pm and got in around 4.30pm. the kids slept most of the way home. It was fun and we enjoyed getting to know Mick and Emi, and their gorgeous kiddies, Tom and Millie, a little better. I can tell next year's Rodeo won't know what hit them when we arrive prepared with chairs and full gourmet picnic on hand.
Karratha is proving to fit our family well. I can see us thriving here as draw closer to one another and tackle our adventure head first, hand in hand.
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