Day 127 – 20th May 2018 – Giralia Station

So today is our last day on Giralia Station as we head off in the morning to Karijini Gorge.  I seriously cannot believe it has been a month already.  Both Col and I have loved the experience as well as the people on the Station.  It has been a privilege to be part of the Giralia Station Crew.  We will definitely miss our time here, it has been a highlight of the trip so far.

I met up with Joyce and we did our 8km walk on the airstrip, the last one as I will need to do the final pack up tomorrow.  Usually Bunjil accompanies us on our walk but today Hunca Munca and Rosie joined us.  Rosie is terrified of everyone and fiercely protects her parent’s bus, John and Kate.  She is a little dog that was adopted, her previous owners were abusive and she doesn’t trust anyone now.  But both Hunca Munca and Rosie walked with us for the first 2 and a half kilometers of our walk.  It was very cute but both Joyce and I were super paranoid about them wandering off near the edge of the airstrip, so called them back frantically anytime they got close to the edge.  It was interesting that they walked with us for the first time today in the absence of Bunjil who usually accompanies us on our morning exercise regime.

After the walk I cleaned the camp kitchen and we continued with the pack up of our camp.  In the afternoon I met Joyce at the Homestead and we cooked up another batch of bread, this one didn’t go quite as well as the others.  It was still good but didn’t cook through completely.  I then did a clean up of the ensuite, but by this time it was getting dark and I was meant to be getting ready for our goodbye dinner at the homestead.   I was walking over to the shower block in the dark, carrying the bucket and mop so had my hands full and I couldn’t work out how to also carry a light.  I decided at the last minute that I really should have a light and be safe, so fished my iPhone out my pocket and flicked on the torch.  So glad I did.  There on the path in front of me was a small snake!  I am not sure what type it was, but I stood still and watched it slither off the path towards the rocks.  I thought it would be a good idea to grab a photo of it so we could identify the type.  I clicked on the camera and to my great distress, this switched my torch off and I was then standing in the dark with the snake somewhere in close proximity!  I quickly worked out how to switch on the torch and could still see the tail of the snake poking out behind a rock.  Joyce was walking past and I alerted her to the situation, then I managed to unglue myself from the spot I was standing in and went to alert Col who was in the shower at the time.  I thought I had gotten away without seeing a snake up close during my month at Giralia, but unfortunately this was not the case.  I say that, but I don’t actually freak out when I see one and am actually a little bit intrigued by it.  But if I didn’t turn on the light there was a good chance I would have stepped on it.  Then that would not have been a good outcome for me or for the snake.  So the lesson is to always carry a torch at night and watch where you are walking in any remote Australian area.

That evening the Giralia Crew got together for a shared dinner for our last night and Jen kindly cooked up a BBQ, salad and cheesecake dessert.  Joyce did her famous plait loaves and I did a potato bake and Kate a pavlova.  They got a fire going and it was just a fantastic last night to share with our new friends.  We are going to miss these guys!!