i got a job as the 2nd chef in a restaurant called swanson's . i also got my own house for super cheap that i'll be renting for the next month or so. i'll be able to save some good coin since there's not much to spend your money on and all the hiking trails and beach dwelling is free. i'm also getting paid even better than my leaving rate as head chef at my last cooking job and it's just a starting wage!
so coming over to the island i took a vehicle barge which was so rocky i had to sit on the bike the whole time and just try to keep it steady. started driving the perimetre of the island and was blown away by the views; in particular seeing oz from beyond a short distance of ocean water. once i got to my camping destination i saw a sign for cooks wanted and imediately knew i would be staying here for a while.
since then i've hiked countless hours around mountains and boulders separating beautiful white sandy beaches each one with it's own unique personality. yesterday and the day before i went snorkling with my lady friend mikala whom i met on the island the first week i was here. we swam amongst all kinds of tropical fish, coral, reef sharks, sting rays to name a few. breathtaking . the hikes are always really interesting too. mikala's job here is being a ranger for the zoo that's right beside the restaurant so it's like having my own personal forest tour guide telling me what each animal and plant is and what it does etc. there's really such an abundance of things to do here that don't cost a cent so i'm able to save my money for the next leg of the trip.
my camera is being really weird and i can't preview and chose the pics i want so whats up here is kind of a crap-shoot. that's the jist of my life so far here; i've met some really good people too, and many of them spend there island life pursuring the arts who then make up an interesting bunch. it's really nice to become familar with locals too instead of only talking with travelers and backbackers.
i started working on a bamboo version of my xaphoon. it acctually works! (although it's a little flat.)
those are lorakeets which are everywhere like the sparrow or seagull here, i call them mini parrots
thats a curlew which screams like a small child in the middle of the night, really freaky sometimes
koalas are protected everywhere in oz but one of the only places their population is growing is magnetic island everywhere else they mainly only have 2 babies that survive thus only replacing the 2 that created them.
these guys are in my house all the time.
art project
mikala in the middle of creating
my first beach boulder walk here, which was not the last.
