Orange star rising

Nearly three years ago, I skated and passed my first Orange Star test with Canberra Roller Derby League. Since then I have had to do the equivalent thing three more times. Twice with Perth Roller Derby (where the test is just called the Level 3) - the first time to transfer and the second (in February this year) because I had skipped 6 months of training!

Today I did it again with CRDL, because I was transferring back to the League after more than 2 years away. I passed, and even though I already have one orange star sticker on my helmet I thought I'd add this second one too, because I really feel that I have earned it. In so many ways returning to the League feels like I've come full circle.

Returning to Canberra also feels like I've come full circle. I feel so much more grateful now for everything I have here! After being stripped of so much of my support network while living on the other side of the country, I realise now how much being close to my friends and family means to me.

I feel revitalised and rejuvenated. I know part of this has to do with the fact that I haven't been at work now for over a month (which always helps!), but a lot of it also has to do with feeling connected once again to the people and places that matter in my life. I am incredibly, unbelievably happy to be back in Canberra. Which wasn't something I ever really thought I'd say!

Between returning from Tonga and leaving for Perth I was pretty down on this place. It did occur to me while I was in WA that perhaps the whole life lesson I was supposed to learn was about how good I'd had it in Canberra, so I'd be able to embrace it when we returned. Whether or not that's what the Universe was trying to teach me, it certainly reflects how I feel!

Wave Rock and surrounds

Day one and two of my little road trip with Dog Friday comprised the area around Hyden, including the various rock formations known as Wave Rock (a small part of a larger granite outcrop known as Hyden Rock), the Humps and Mulka's cave. These rocks were amazing, as were the wildflowers.

Despite its beauty, the area is seriously affected by salinity, which has rendered all the once-fresh water systems salty.

 

  

 

 

 

The Tin Horse Highway

Way back when I first moved here, I attended a conference paper given about the Tin Horse Highway, a stretch of road running from the wheatbelt town of Kulin to the local bush racetrack. I pretty much decided then and there that I had to see it for myself, and now, in closing my Westralian Experience, I have done (am still doing!) a little week-long road trip, encompassing the wheatbelt and the south coast, and including the Tin Horse Highway.

Below are pics of some of my favourites, though eventually I got sick of pulling my car over every hundred metres, and decided to stop photographing after the first two dozen or so!