Yesterday was Australia Day.
We were hoping to be making our citizenship pledge, but apparently we didn't get our applications confirmed in time for this round, so instead we will become full citizens in a couple of months.
So once we got over this disappointment, we made the most of both being home together to celebrate for the first time.
We joined the hoards and headed to the beach for the Thong Challenge, like I did last time I was in Perth for Australia Day. I generally freak out in open water, but with so many people in and splashing around with our yellow inflatable Havaianas, I figured the sharks would have a hard time picking me out. Plus, there were at least 4 helicopters flying over, so they would see anything as it approached... And I won't listen to any suggestions to the contrary!
Western Australia came out tops with 2088 people all chained together. Apparently people are more willing to go to the beach when its 42 degrees C than when its cold (and rainy) as it was in much of the rest of Australia!
The surf life savers were obviously not too happy to be there, as when it was announced that we had enough people in the water to beat the record, the ones at our end started sending people back in. We kept trying to explain that the record attempt hadn't actually begun- we had to wait for the horn and link up etc etc, but he wouldn't listen. Kind of spoilt the occasion, but we stayed out despite his insistence, so managed to be part of the record anyway :)
Once the heat and sun got too much, we headed home, washed the salt and sand off and met up again at a pub close to the city, had some drinks and food then walked down to the foreshore to see the fireworks.
When we got out of the pub, the clouds were looking very ominous... when we got to the foreshore, it started raining a bit, on and off...
When the fireworks started, the heavens opened and the lightening put on its own show!
I spent the 20 minutes of the show hiding under the trees, freaking out about being under the tree, going out in the rain, getting too wet and going back under the tree again...
We weren't too sure if this was the planned big ending, or if the lightening just made them all go off at once :)
In previous years we've attempted to Drive home, but its only 5km, so we got the train down to the pub (delayed because of the heat... the tracks warp is its over 40 so the trains have to go slow) then walked all the way back. Luckily the rain held off! By the time we got home, the heat and salt and beer and excitement was quite enough for us, and we fell straight asleep.
2008 - I don't think I even knew it was my first Australia Day! I was in Kambalda... I remember a bit of a poster about there being an event at the pub, but I was crazy busy at work and it just wasn't on my radar!
2009 - Australia Day breakfast BBQ in a truck stop on the Newman-Marble Bar road
2010- Dave flew in from work for the fireworks
2011 - I flew in from Work
2012!
Happy Australia Day!
