JANUARY

2005 has now pasted but the summer festive season mood is still around. My Broome studio has been shut down temporarily as I travelled back to the East coast to eat, drink and say hello to 2006 with family and friends.

The route from Broome began in a four wheel drive heading south towing a boat through an extremely harsh and dry landscape. Watching a number of willy willys twirl about above the rather beautiful desert terrain and massive road trains bolt along the road past us was all good. In the car we kept amused and awake with nonsensical chitchat about small goods from across the world. Mikey the car owner did over 2000 kilometres of driving through the villages/towns of Sandfire, Port Headland, Hamersley Ranges, Newman, Meekatharra, Cue, Mount Magnet, Paynes Find, Wubin and New Norcia finally arriving in the pretty city of Perth. In the capital city of Western Australia I visited the impressive Kerry Stokes art collection, various other galleries and I strolled through the Kings park to appreciate the wonderful Western Australian flora. The kangaroo paw shrubs stood out with their unusual forms and velvet texture.

Next was a flight to Sydney to arrange a future exhibition and drink some Argentinean red wine before I flew to Melbourne just in time for a very odd Xmas party. This annual function that has been going for 2 decades selects a different theme each year to entertain or confuse the guests. This year the theme was TOGA- A -GO GO. What ever that means. It was a grand and messy party as always. New Years eve was celebrated on Phillip Island near Melbourne with vermouth, beach swimming, a late dinner and a big selection of old friends. I had to have a little lie down on the floor at 4.30 am so that means I had ample fun.

Preparations for another voyage to Antarctica is next on my list of chores. The Kapitan Khlebnikov heads south from New Zealand on the twentieth of January and I need to be onboard. This trip to the Ross Sea will last about one month after which I will be plonked in Tasmania where I will post my next intransit, so until then…