Day 2 Norseman - Nundroo (AKA - The middle of nowhere)

Before 5 am we both begin to stir as the sun pours through the thin smoke stained curtains. Considering we were in bed at 830 pm the previous night and have at least 12 hours of driving this day we jump out of bed to make an early start. We check out the BP adjoining our hotel to find that they must also run a pig slaughter house as the only menu options are built around bacon. We resort to continuing on without coffee, food or even one of the tempting $7 Red Bulls.
As it is early we are on serious edge as Mum told me that this is when the Kangaroos like to jump in front of you and stuff up your whole adventure.

 

As we drive, the landscape changes continuously and is what i can only explain as the real Australian Outback.


We have also noticed that since we passed Kalgoorlie we have the road to ourselves with the occasional caravan. All of the Road Trains that we see are heading west bound which makes us breathe easy. We have seen a number of brave (or crazy) people slowly cycling the long out back route. A special mention to the man we have spotted doing the journey on foot!

Still we haven't seen a live Kangaroo. We spot another Emu and more chicks but they camouflage themselves so well that our photos do not do them justice.

As the sun lifts higher in the sky, the site of once lively bouncing roos are everywhere. Thanking our lucky stars that we were not responsible for any of their untimely deaths. Along the horizon we notice what looks to be another of our bouncing friends. This one however appears to be moving! As we get closer it spreads its 2 metre width wings and flies over the top of our car spiraling into the clouds. The Kangaroo however remains on the road with its neat tyre marked face and missing eyeballs. As we drive along we see many more of these massive eagle and some smaller ones too. The larger ones turn out to be Wedge tail Eagles. Their wing span is on average 2.3 metres!

520 kilometres in and we have no idea what time it is as every petrol station has a different time zone. As we drive the road in front of us appears to be water as the heat and distance confuse our eyes.

We traveled the 90 mile straight which is supposed to be the longest stretch of straight road in Australia. We were under the understanding that it was also a very boring 90 miles. However with music a blaring we were pleasantly surprised that the landscape change dramatically every 10 or so kilometres going from very arid with no scrub to a forest of leafless trees to very green.

We made it to Eucla where after hours of hoping to see the ocean we were not disappointed. We stop at the Eucla Roadhouse (or was the Roadhouse the Town?), and see an amazing view. Little did we realise but that was probably the worst of the coastal views we were going to see. We cross into South Australia after 15 total hours of driving over the last two days. The scenery has changed to a much lighter soil with lots of short scrubs typical to coastal areas. We make our way to the first Tourist Photo Spot where we are amazed with the whole vista.

We drive and drive till my hands are sore from gripping the wheel and Trevor is almost nodding in the Passenger seat. So we pull into another Tourist Drive which takes us to the edge of the earth. The cliffs cascade down into the rough ocean which is as the opposite colour to the light of the sky. The waves crash formidably around the cliffs below. We have reached the Great Australian Bight!


This world of The Nullarbor just seems to be completely unending... The road seems to carry on forever and when you look out in any direction the distance is unreadable.

We have seen more wildlife again. Three dingos! Casually searching for babies. I haven't seen any children at any of the stops so perhaps they have already found them. In all seriousness they were stunning. However they were so lean i do not think that they have eaten much for a while.

As we enter the Western Nullarbor Plains we pull into the Nullarbor Hotel Motel where a grim, filthy, rotund man greets us at the counter. "Wadda ya want boys?" We check the prices of accomadation and make dust tracks at the thought of the food we will receive as his grimy emu export tee had the words chef lazily written on it in felt marker.

We drive along desperate for a feed and further desperate to be away from the Nullarbor Hotel Motel.

As we crest a hill we see a cute little homestead style cottage and a sign saying Bed and Breakfast. We zoom down the little dust driveway to a perfectly cobbled parking bay.
We open the door to find a well dress (Chanel I believe) young lady standing in the quaint but beautifully decorated entry way. She had such a beautiful smile!

We enquire to a night’s accommodation to find it is cheaper than the Nullarbor Hotel Motel. We have then taken to our room which has the softest bed coverings and a mattress that looks like a pile of feathers.


We leave our case in the room and make our way to the dining room for dinner. We are surprised with freshly squeezed orange juice, fresh home baked bread, free range chicken eggs and a vegetarian feast! To wash it all down we endure a chilled bottle of Bollinger in crystal glassware. All to do now is to lie down under my warm soft floating doona and enjoy our first good night’s sleep since this adventure start.

I awake to a screaming and screeching and rattling and shaking. I start with a cough. I am certainly choking on something... I brush the dust from my eyes and open them to see the ass end of a road train whirring down the road. I begin to focus as i spit out the sand and gravel from my mouth. I recoil in horror as i see Trevor lying straight backed in shock underneath what looks to be a kangaroo carcass. The smell is awful and i realise I also am lying under a carcass with crows picking the tasty bits out of my warm soft floating doona.

DAY 1 Perth - Norseman

Day One


The Champagne is mostly out of our bloodstream and the tears are now dry. The car is loaded and there is just enough space for us to squeeze in. The sadness is a distant memory as our excitement starts to bubble.

On Day one we journey from Perth to Balladonia (Well that was the idea.)One thing we didn't realise was that leaving late on day one would mean that our original stopping locations would change for most of the trip.

Our transition from our farewell festivities to hitting the road may have been a factor in not leaving at the desired time resulting in only making it to Norseman before night fall.

We left at 9 am and traveled through Perth Hills slowly noticing the change of landscape, fly numbers and quality of mullets. Heading towards Kalgoorlie the landscape was extremely lovely with the contrast of Greens versus Reds being the most notable part. We saw an emu and its babies along the road just before Kalgoorlie.

All the other animals we saw were by the looks of things on the menu at the Glamorous Norseman Hotel Motel. Road Kill Cuisine! Road Kill Steaks, Road Kill Soup and Road Kill Dessert! Apparently Vegetarians are not supposed to drive across Australia. We had to settle with a $15 tinned Asparagus Soup with a touch of dried Parsley, followed by a Garlic Prawn with Sauce that reminded me of the 1958 film TheBlob! 
However we were pleasantly surprised with the selection of Wine. Later finding out that the Hotel Motel is owned by Sandalford Wineries. We had a bottle of 2010 Sandalford Cabernet Merlot, which due to our exhaustion almost had us sleeping in our Soup.

Accommodation was simple and expensive. $145 to lay our weary heads down in stained bedding (we used our own) with the room smelling like cheap, nasty disinfectant.

Goan Fish Curry

In thinking about how I (Joshua) would differentiate my posts from Trevor's, I came to the conclusion that I will relay stories and adventures that go with my favourite dishes to cook ...

Last year before I met the wonderful man Trevor, I spent an amazing month in India. What a place; a place of culinary and cultural masters!

Before leaving for India I had a lot of people telling us the dos and don'ts of travelling in a place such as India including, for example - 

• “Do not talk to the Beggars”

• “Do not eat the meat”

• “Do be cautious. Everyone is there to cheat you”

• “Don’t touch the cows”

Perhaps to my surprise, all of above was proven to be absolute codswallop! Well, except for one .... “Do not eat meat …” 

Probably my favourite meal these days comes from when I ventured down with my lovely travel companion Ascher, to the restaurant on a little beach in Goa, where we could  sit at our table and wriggle our toes in the sand and then, as the tide came in; wriggle them in the warm salty water. 

I ordered the dish most know to Goa. Fish Curry! Oh me oh my was it the most amazing thing I ever tasted? Oh yes it was!The aroma of the fresh coconut milk and coriander seeds; the slight heat of the green chilli, crunching into a stray cardamom pod and, the perfectly cooked fish; the result utterly amazing. Oh the thoughts of it make my mouth water. 

ANJUNA BEACH, GOA, INDIA

At round 4AM I awoke in my scarcely furnished, mosquito filled beach side accommodation to find out that "Do not eat the meat" is something I perhaps should have listened to. 

The following day I contemplated how something so amazing could have made me feel so ill. That was the last of the meat I ate on my travels in India. Even with the absence of meat there were so many amazing food experiences that followed.

Since being back in Australia it is the main dish that I remember so amazingly that spurred me to try and recreate this dish in the same amazing and memorable way as I had enjoyed it in  India (well minus the toilet trips!).

So how does this dish tie in with both myself and Trevor? We both made the decision to go Vegetarian about six months ago. One week in and I had lost three kilograms. Those of you that know me are aware that I didn't have three kilograms to lose. EVER! For those of you that do not know me I am a pretty attractive pile of skin and bones even If I do say so myself! 

Trevor and I decided we had to get smarter about our decision to go vegatarian so resolved we were going to change our diet to include fish making us pescetarian. This was something new to me as fish was something I had never really eaten and certainly had never cooked. 

Trevor has since taught me the basics behind cooking fish and then left me to my own devices. Once I had the basics under my belt I decided to replicate the Goan Fish Curry I had eaten in our little piece of Paradise on Anjuna Beach in Goa. So after trying many different recipes I have found the perfect combination of 4 or 5 recipes!

It is now a dish that Trevor and I will eat at least once a fortnight. To think I had never cooked Indian or Fish before meeting Trevor! Pretty cool I think!

Goan Fish Curry

First thing! Make sure that you have fresh fish. Not fish that has been sitting on the beach with the temperature at around 35ºC for half of the day.

Ingredients

4 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

3 Cardamon Pods (Bruised)

1 tsp tamarind paste

1 tsp turmeric

1 red chilli

1-2 green chillies

olive oil

2 garlic cloves (squashed and chopped)

a small stump of ginger

2 brown onions

2 x 400ml tin coconut (use the better stuff)


650g of Firm Fish like Snapper, Barramundi (We like to use Red Emperor)

1. Pour yourself a glass of wine... I like a Pinot mostly or if it is warm I will have a glass of bubbles..
2. Toast the Coriander, Cumin, Cardamon together in a dry pan. Continuously agitate the pan so that all of the surfaces toast. You will smell the cumin seeds start to char when they are done. Take out of the pan immediately as they will continue to cook in the pan otherwise. Grind them up in your spice grinder or in a mortar and pestle.
3. Heat some oil in a large pot and fry the onions on a medium heat slowly. Let them sweat it out a little! When they start to brown slightly add the ground spices, turmeric, garlic and ginger. Fry for a further 1 or 2 minutes. (The house should be smelling heavenly at this stage)
4. Now add the coconut milk, tamarind paste, and all the chilli (obviously to your taste). Let it simmer on low heat for about thirty minutes... (Very very low simmer. Just tiny bubbles!)
5. Turn up the heat to medium and add the chunks of fish. Allow to cook for only 3-5 minute!
6. Serve with Steamed Rice! My method is melt some butter (40 ish grams) in a wide pan. Toss the dry rice (300grams) through the butter. Ensuring all the rice is coated. Add boiling water (500ml) and cover for 15-20 minutes. Lift the cover to check only at 10 minutes and 15 minutes. 
7. If the rice is not ready after 15 minutes remove the lid and allow to cook uncovered until ready!Cook plenty of Poppadum's and serve the Curry in a pretty red bowl like the one above... Or however you wish, I suppose.

For you wine drinkers out there try this Goan Fish Curry with a lovely Gewurztraminer. Speaking of Gewurztraminer we love the Goaty Hill Gewurztraminer.

Operation Cherry Red

Our morning cups of coffee have a real exhilaration about them. It give us a spark to whatever we have planned for the day and perhaps even inspire what we do every day.

Heading out for a morning coffee has become a ritual for us. No day starts without coffee! Our favourite at the moment is an Ethiopian special called "Operation Cherry Red" (OCR). OCR is made from 100% Ripe Red Coffee Cherries sourced for small micro lots in Ethiopia. The micro-lots are only 1500 to 3000 Kg per farm. They are combined to produce a coffee with an almost one of a kind aroma and taste. Think sweet cherry, red berries, something along the lines of elderflower with a seductive mouthfeel; light but with the right amount of acidity and lingering darker notes.

We start almost everyday (except Sundays) at Ristretto in Northbridge where the wonderfully stylish Roxanne makes the best coffee with the coolest soundtrack bopping away in the background.

Here she's making us OCR on V60 dripper. For you curious folk; shes got a timer in her hand. The coffee will drip for 2 minutes and 30 seconds using 18 grams of beans. The coffee drips into a decanter sitting on scales. Once the clock ticks 2:30 the scales should be about 250 grams.

It must be coffee time again ...

365 days + many more to come

Yesterday we celebrated 365 days of being a couple. 

Winding the clock back those 365 days, it was a Saturday night. In Australia it was AFL Grand Final Day. In my mind (Trevor) I was a little nervous and tried to play it cool inviting Joshua to come to my house at about 7:00PM "just a few drinks". Despite me casually pretending it was "just drinks" I knew it was something more. On his arrival there was a spark. We had a wonderful night! 

Had we sat there that night and wondered what would be 365 days later, I suspect neither of us would have thought we would be packing up our home in readiness for a move. Today, we celebrated our year together doing exactly that. On the morning of Sunday, 13 October we will hop in our car and start an adventure from Perth, Western Australia to lovely Hobart, Tasmania.

We intend to drive some 5,264 kilometres. Our drive will take us across 6 states and territories of Australia. We will pass some of the most isolated pockets of Australia; see family and friends as we adventure across the semi- arid Nullarbor Plain to the greener (and cooler) pastures of Tasmania.