Tutunup diaries vol 10

Friday at work went by like a breeze, the miracle new kinda job does! We are now trimming the grape bunches, positioning and cutting off the tails. At times, they are like huge puzzles there tangled all together on the bush. That's where I came out with an idea in my head, that it resembles deactivating a bomb, deciding which wires to cut and all. Today I was still sleepy and while untangling a big bundle, dropped my scissors, when picked them up, a proper fountain hit us, they had fallen straight into a tube. (I guess you can call that an explosion in my deactivating theory.) Luckily there's nothing that a bit of tape can't fix.

Headed toward inlands on friday late afternoon with Keiu, Bruce and Clair, needed to pick up a pork roast on the way from their friends place, somehow ended up on deserted roads in the forest again, the roads being even worse and we were not in a truck but a regular car. Survived, got the meat and made it to Hillman Farm skydivers about 160 km away from Capel. 

An old airport from WWII days, now used as a sheepfarm. There is no phone reception whatsoever. The closest civilization is a small small town called Darkan (with about 500 citizens) which is about 12 km away.

It was Bruces' skydivers club meeting, which they have in every two-three weeks. This time was also a Christmas celebration. I love how people take Potluck seriously here, everybody always makes an effort and end up with heaps of delicious food and desserts. This time was not an exception!

Friday night we were around 15 people, Saturday close to 30. The members have been going there for years, their children with them (some since 3 months old), some of them now grown up and jumping themselves. Most people have their caravan set up there for years, some looked so nice and cosy inside. For visitors they also have a bunkhouse. Amazing times with these “mad skydivers” as they were introduced to us before, which was not a lie. The stories they tell, you just listen amazed. Playing pool, darts, foozie, talking, laughing, drinking, eating, laughing more and more. Most people knew each other for decades, as open and easygoing as they all were, we soon felt as we knew them for years as well.

The car for driving on the fields, go pick up parachutes and stuff after the jump. Even 7 or 13 year olds are welcome to drive it. 

Clearly he doesn't like his photo taken 

Coolest caravan with coolest people

Saturday early afternoon Bruce, Russ, Brown and Dan went skydiving despite the sky being cloudy. As to that they jumped twice, whereas usually people may go 6 times a row. Some have jumped all over the world thousands and thousands of times. There was a woman who did over a thousand jumps in her first 2 years.

We didn't jump, as it is mainly a club not a public point, we most definitely will jump in a very near future!! 

After their jumps, everybody thought we should go and have a ride in the plane. You do not have to tell us twice! A 20 minute tour in that awesome tiny plane followed. It fit around 4-6 people, and only a pilot has a chair. We were just sitting there at the back of the plane, seat-belts were not an option as they didn't exist. And the door was designed for skydiving - it may pop open at any point, we were advised to sit back and not move too much. 

Darkan from up air 

Mooning is one of the old skydivers traditions. Our awesome pilot was flying to Bunbury on Sunday morning and this tradition was followed when the plane was leaving..

We got pranked!!!!! Somebody had found the head and put it into Keiu's sleeping back, on the side, facing the wall, and shaped the bag as a humans body were inside it. We were talking silently, trying not to wake the "person" up, wondering who is that and is he still breathing, until Jake came and revealed the truth

Meet this cutypie: Pocket! 

Once again, I feel blessed to be here and to have met all these wonderful people, it has two months and we have already made memories for a lifetime, and this is just the beginning!