Busselton: 23rd Feb - 16th March- I've not gone travelling, I've moved here.

As of today (16th March) I have been in Busselton for a staggering 5 weeks...rather a long time considering I orginally planned on staying here one, perhaps two weeks! It doesn't feel anywhere near that long and I'm at a bit of a loss to account for where the time has gone really! I know I've spent a fair chunk of it working, an even larger chunk at the beach and even more time (especially the evenings) in the hostel itself...ha, excluding work I've not set foot outside the town in over a month, surely I must have something to talk about!

Let's start with work, it's as good a place as any.

After we returned to the hostel after out firey adventure it was an annoyingly quiet week until the Friday. I say 'annoying' because, although to those of you back in wintery Britain this may be hard to believe, there's really only so much time you can spend on a picture perfect near desrted beach under the burning sun in a cloudless sky before it gets a little...well, a little boring really (I'd ask you not to quote me on that as I'm sat there shivering upon my return but I know not to expect miracles.) However after some early morning (I'm sure half four is technically not yet morning) work the beach magically regains its charm...there's no grapes there for one thing. After several weeks of consistent grape picking I swear it got to the point where I could see them when I closed my eyes, turns out I wasn't alone in experiencing this odd vision but that doesn't make it any less unsettling...or funny. It probably didn't help that the hostel was full of the things too, as we could take some back after each day, there really was no escape!

The work on Friday 26th was a bit more of a slog than before as there was a lot of disease in the crop meaning we had to sort through for the healthy grapes, which could be pretty slow and frustrating. However on the bright side it was hourly paid so speed wasn't so much of an issue, for 6 hours work we got 110 dollars (66 pounds), so at 18.3dollars (11 pounds) p/h it was good money. There was more work on Monday 1st March which was smiliar though slightly less diseay and paid 90 dollars (54 pounds) so 15 dollars (9 pounds) an hour. Our pay is reaching us via our employers swinging round the hostel a few days later with a cheque or cash and while this is all very nice and relaxed it can be a bit un-nerving at times, especially when people don't show up at the time they said they will and then seem incapable of answering the phone! Still, nobodies done a vanishing act yet, even if one (who shall remain nameless) did take their time a little too leisurely for comfort!

After a solitary day off the intensity shot up with the first of what would prove to be six consecutive days in vineyards. Actually it was only the shere number of days that would create such intensity, as a matter of fact the first day would prove to be one of the easiest days so far. It was nice work for a start, the grapes being at hand height so no crouching or jumping and being outfront instead of being buried behind a veritable sea of stems, branches and leaves. It was also not too hot a day, meaning we weren't reduced to puddles on the ground by the end. Helping out on the heat front, though annoying in every other way, was that we finished at 10AM, having only worked for 4 hours. We got paid 60 dollars (36 pounds) for our pleasure and also got provided with tea and biscuits...why didn't this place have more work available!

The following two days we returned to the place I'd first ever picked grapes at a fortnight beforehand. Of course I didn't realise it was the same place right away, one series of grape vines looks pretty much like every other series out there, but once out employers poped up it became kinda obvious. It was back to piece rate work and I'm glad to report I've made some progress over the last 2 weeks and picked 45 buckets the first day and 50 the second. True we went on a little later (half 12, the horror) than usual but never the less that's much faster. We were set to work there Monday too sof or the sake of chronology I'll leave this one on a cliffhanger for the next paragraph (no skipping ahead please, you'll ruin the effect.)

Over the weekend we worked 2 days at the worst place we've been to yet. Giant obstructing vines, wedged in grapes...these I can deal with but giant buckets for appaulingly low piece rate...this I do not like. After a tough first day I was rewarded with fifty dollars (30 pounds.) Let's just say I wasn't best impressed. Out of the 6 of us from the hostel who went the first day only myself and one other braved a second...I don't know why I went back, maybe the idea of a grape free day scared me. It turned out OK though as after an hour I got transfered onto the truck going round collecting buckets, it was hard work as it was basically lifting all morning but it came with an hourly rate so I was happy enough. Plus we stopped for a break in a nearby cottage where I blagged myself some tea. Would I work for tea? No, but I like it all the same. For the 2 days I got 126 dollars (76 pounds), which still isn't all that great but could have been a lot worse.

And so for the 6th and final day of the run it was back to the Thu/Fri place. It turned out to be a long day, we didn't finish untill 3.30, but that gave me the chance to fill 75 buckets and, really, would I have accomplished anything productive in the extra time? I do wish ants hadn't broken into my bag and eaten my sandwich though, I wanted that! At the end of the day we all sat around with our employers and had a couple of beers, it was a relaxing end to a sweaty (the sun had not let up since it had risen) day and it was good to reflect that a lot of work had got done. Even better was a few days later recieveing a cheque for 389 dollars (234 pounds), at 19.45 dollars (11.7 pounds) an hour (and that's after tax) it's a real shame there's no magive way to extend the harvest.

Since then it's been a bit sparse work wise, after the run I was enjoying some time off, having massive lay ins till 8AM but I quickly became restless. We had one more days work on Friday 12th but it was only a 4 hour shift and so only provided 60 dollars (36 pounds) for my pocket. I'm currently waiting around to see if anymore picking work presents itself but it looks like it's dying down, or may even have stopped. Maybe it's just the weather, it rained for the first time since I've been here earlier in the week. It was a little scary to see rain again after a month! I may soon have to take the unprecidented decision to, gulp, leave Busselton...I hear there's a whole state out there after all...

I was going to leave this entry at that but then though I didn't want to give the impression that I've done nothing other than work and wait around for work for 3 weeks (I've not done a great deal so watch as I try and stretch this out!) I went into an art gallery right here in Busselton, it was housed in the old courthouse which was a pretty cool setting and allowed me to take a look at the cells there. They were bigger than I thought they'd be but I wouldn't like being confined to one all the same! The art was...good...very...erm...yep my descriptive ability in relation to art doesn't seem to be blossoming quite the way you might have hoped but all the same I enjoyed it. They were 'good'. That'll do.

I looked at the jetty again. It's still closed for repairs. Right...that's all Busseltons many attractions ticked off then.

Aside from the beach (which you really don't need any more flowery prose about) I spent a lot of time in the hostel, more specifially the garden which is massive taking in a large undercover are complete with a stone oven in which it's possible to cook the tastiest pizzas known to man, a hammock in which I plead no contest to falling asleep in several times, a chicken coup that doubles as a place for the cats to stare at and masses of green that people can generally be found lazing around on from the afternoon onwards. I spend a lot of the daytime playing uke, reading and doing a bit of poi practise (that counts as the constructive part of my day) before spending the afternoon and evening talking, playing cards and generally chilling out with one and all over a glass/bottle or 2/6 of wine. As always, it's a hard life.