Mike and his team braved ‘dangerous roads’ to get to a small community on a place called Blue Mud Bay ( Dave’s stomping ground , or so he tells me ! )
Anyway , I was in stitches because these guys were taken out to learn traditional Aboriginal hunting and fishing skills – and had no idea what the hell was going on half the time . This is mostly due to the fact that they couldn’t understand the local lingo , but also because when you go out bush you don’t exactly stick to a set schedule – something Mike seemed to have difficulty with .. ( hey try travelling with Dave , you think your headed to Sydney and you end up in Perth hahaha ). Anyway here is a small clip from You Tube and some links to the full episode on the Discovery Channel . If you have time check it out its great viewing
24 months ago A bloke from Arnhem Land met a lass from the Gold Coast. After 2 weeks she flew home packed her bags and moved to one of the most remote parts of the world ( East Arnhem Land , NT Australia ). The young lass lasted about 3 months in this environment before realizing that she loves the bush – but she also loves shops , sealed roads and facilities such as the gym … and the pub. So they compromised. She would go to Darwin and go back to working as a ‘skimpy barmaid’ ( my favorite job in the world by the way – $60 an hr to do sweet F/A !) and he kept making roads in the bush. The result ? 12 months after they first hooked up they were the Northern Territory’s star couple. Last Valentines day they found themselves on the cover of Signature Living due to their ‘unique’ relationship ( the way they live is pretty much standard in mining and building industries so I’m not sure what was so ‘unique’ about it … )
So it seems this time of year has a special meaning for us – we got together about 10 days after Valentines Day 2011 , we were made ‘ famous’ in February 2012 and now , this year we are expecting a baby any day now ( in fact the baby almost made an early entrance last week but that my friends is a story for another time ! )
I’m not with my big scruffy boy from the bush today but he has already given me the best present I could ever ask for – a family of my own
Hello my long-lost fellow blogger’s ! I have been a very slack girl in the blogging world lately and feel I owe it to you all (again!) to explain why .
First of all my two mates from WA arrived a week ago and I have been playing tour guide again. We have been to all the hotspots such as Litchfeild National Park and a few pubs on Mitchell street ( can’t remember which ones , the girls were feeding me double vodka’s … ). After a great recommendation by my mate Phil O’brian Monday and Tuesday saw us soaking up the awesome landscape and serenity on this really cool houseboat
We floated along the Mary River for 2 days on this bad boy and I know you all wont believe me but I have NEVER seen so many crocodiles IN MY LIFE !! No shit there was one every 20 meters along the bank. The girls made a Kels Gone Bush video for my You tube and blog so I wont go into more detail lets just say you’ll find it quite amusing .. I did kind of take the piss out of the show Swamp People .. and made my first bush tucker recipe for you all to enjoy woo hoo !
As well as all this excitement I have just started my new company and website http://www.instyleeventsandpromotions.com for anyone who wants a gander ….. This has been taking up most of my spare time and if you do check out the site you will see I still have stacks of work to do .. but I’m getting there !
So I hope you will all excuse me for my absence – Dave and the girls fly out Sunday so I will be back in fine form next week to block out the pangs of loneliness I will no doubt experience come Sunday night ! At least I still have my blogging fam to catch up on I cant wait to sit down and read all of my favorite blogs for 4 hrs solid !!
Before I go I would just like to ask am I the only one that has a thousand awesome ideas a day but absolutely no time to ever pull them off ??? Maybe I should sell them
I just had the best weekend in ages. Once a year the V8 Supercars and Utes come to Darwin for a 3 day event that brings people from all over the country. I was representing Kim Jane and his ute on the grid and in the pit lane.Kim Jane is the nephew of one of Australia’s biggest known race car drivers and the owner of one of the largest national tyre companies , Bob Jane.
I shall now proceed to tell you the story using pictures cos hey that’s heaps more interesting than reading a post where I try to describe anything to do with motor sports ( not my best subject !).
So Day one I had a photo shoot with the ute which was a bit of an on the spot thing – I had just arrived and next thing I know I’m climbing all over a ute . Fun !
Picture by Wade Aunger and courtesy of V8 Supercars , Kim Jane & crew and TR Management & Promotions
After my shoot I did my first stint on the grid , where they make you hold a race flag , stare straight ahead and try to look pretty ( hard to do when your flag turns into a parachute ). The first one went well and I headed back to the pits to hand out promo gear . A little while later a familiar looking bloke and a young guy approached me with a camera. Now I don’t know if many of you have caught on , but I’m not shy. At all. In fact sometimes I can be a down right bloody show pony but I like to think in a good way – I love to make people laugh and tell a good story ! So when I saw the camera my first instinct wasn’t to run and hide. In fact I was like “hey how ya goin’ , what’s the camera for ?” . It turned out they were filming people around the track to put on the big screen so I did a little spiel for Kim Jane and the Bob Jane Tmart products for him on camera. When that was done we started chatting away when I looked down at his name tag …. “OMG your Phil O’Brian , your my hero ! I love your shit ! Wow this is awesome , YOU inspired my blog !!” I think I nearly scared the poor bloke with my excitement but after .05 of a millisecond he recovered and we had more of a chat about the Territory , Gove , and his projects. We both agreed to catch up and have a beer and that made my day because c’mon , how many days do you meet one of your heroes and get them to agree to drink with you ?? Well for me its NEVER so I was stoked !
One of his AWESOME books if you like my blog even slightly then you will LOVE his adventures he is funny as fark !! You can buy it here
So it wasn’t even lunchtime on the first day and I had been photographed climbing all over a ute in front of oh I don’t know a hundred people , had met at least 2 famous race car drivers and my very own hero !
Next I was told that the second round was ready to go and we had to get back on the grid. And this time it was being shown on live television. With me right up the front on my own , holding the V8 supercar ute flag . Great ! As I said , I’m not shy but the flags were hard to hold in the wind and who wants to look like a dickhead on national TV ?
This was result ….
Pic credits same as first pic
That was pretty much it for Day one. Day 2 started off nicely with the wind not so bad I managed to hold onto my flag in the first round. Unfortunately things didn’t go so well for Kim. I wont tell you what happened , you can watch for your self ….
Vid uploaded by V8 utes Australia
He said afterwards he tried to turn the power off as he was getting out to prevent a fire – amazing forward thinking under pressure !
This is his ute afterwards
That’s it race over right ?
Wrong. We’re gonna fix this shit ! They had an hour to do it and they made it just in time. Craziest shit I’ve seen in a long time – next time my mechanic tells me to wait 2 or 3 days I’m going to tell him I know better !!!
He didn’t win in the end but he did win down at Perth and the Series is not over yet. It was a great experience meeting all of these awesome people and getting to see the other side of car racing.
By the way I can’t end this post without telling you that while Kim had no more drama’s in his next round , I had to have the bloody flag taken off me while I was ON THE GRID because it was literally about to take me on a trip to the sky !
So I’m gonna end this with 2 more happy snaps – the man who saved me and me pretending I won an award !
Ok because I am so exhausted I’m seeing triple I’ve been lazy and am explaining my most fantastic day for ages with my latest facebook post ( private , not kels gone bush ) and I have even left in all my spelling mistakes because lets face it I’m tooo tired to spell hehe
I will tell you just in case you are wondering Peter Obrian is a Territory personality that goes bush , gets in to mischief and writes about it .. And is funny as FARK !!! I will do a more in depth post about my crazy weekend but as I have to do it all again tomorrow I ll leave you with this preview .. again please excuse the spelling mistakes !
Truly fantastic day I was at the V8s representing Kim Jane’s ute on the grid hanging out in the pits with taking photos with race fans THEN I got to meet one of my idol’s , the man who inspired me to write kelsgonebush.com Phil Obrian who then interviewed me for the big screen and after I told him about my blog and stuff reckons we should collaborate !!! Best F*cking day in a long time ! (sorry mum and mimi but sometimes that word is called for lol )
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Sheena Evans and 2 others like this.
Diane MurrayWow!!!! Your life just gets more amazing Kel Bel! xxxxx
Kellie Theotherone ArrowsmithNot all te time but today was one I wont forget in a hurry … Phil Obrian !!! , Ive been dying to meet him since I read his book …and the car stuff was really cool I got photos on top of the ute and on the grid – apparently it was on TV too didn’t see but only thing I can complain about is my feet …. they are killing me ! Xox
This is a video clip I took when I was on the Adelaide River Cruise with my brother. As I mentioned in my last post the Territory is home to a species of birds who like to spread fire by picking up burning twigs and dropping them in another area. Check out the commentary , these birds really are cheeky little buggers …
Recently my favorite-only-brother came up to visit me. It was his first Darwin experience so I took it upon myself to be his personal tour guide. First on the agenda was a trip to the Adelaide river where we took a cruise to check out the Jumping Crocs
Todd with his first croc ….
This one was a bit more active
Check out the “jumpin croc dance”
Moving on from crocodiles which to be honest is a relief as they are all I have had to write about lately !!
A few days after the croc cruise we headed off to spend the night at the Bark Hut Inn which is famous for being made pretty much entirely out of bark ( who’d of thunk it ????). It was built in the early days by this old guy called Terry Baldwin and a bunch of local Aboriginal people . Its history revolves around the buffalo industry and it remains pretty much the same today as it was back then which is why I love the place.
The pub also, like a lot of NT pubs, has a little hobby farm where you can find emu’s , snakes , buffalo , and a shitload of ducks. Here are a few pics of our trip to the Bark Hut including our roadside antics …..
On the drive to the pub we had to get through this massive cloud of smoke which was so thick I couldn’t see the road . It was the result of a burn off which is normal here as burning the grass controls bush fires (weird I know). The birds you can see in the pic are cheeky little shits and pick up burning sticks , dropping them somewhere else to start another fire .. so you need to watch those buggers !!!
It took this pig a while to struggle to her feet but she made it eventually !! This was taken at the Corroboree Pub/Caravan park/Service station/General store …..
We then decided to show off with the only fish we caught on this trip !! Check out the little girl below us , she ran in to pose with us and changed her mind at the last minute . I have no idea who she is.
Yay we made it !! Out the front of the Bark Hut
We are now officially in buffalo territory .. watch out after dark !!!
The only safe way to drink and drive is to do it in a car with no motor This is an old buffalo hunting car. I had to kick 2 little kids off to get this pic I hope you guys appreciate my effort !!!
All my brother wanted to eat was road kill
This snake was drinking water before I interrupted it – looks pissed off !!
What every Aussie bar should look like ! I bloody love this place !!!
Over the past month 9 pet dogs in the Daly River township mysteriously disappeared without a trace. Aliens have been ruled out now , as it has been discovered an evil 4.4 meter crocodile had taken a liking to people’s pets. And not because these dogs were wandering around a river bank , nope , this croc was that cheeky a bloke spotted him one night lying under a mango tree in his backyard ! When I first moved to the NT I remember asking if crocodiles hung out in people’s yards and I was laughed at. Well this is the second report of this happening in the last 6 months – remember in March I blogged about the family that woke up to a salty in their lounge room ?? So the person who laughed at the thought is probably not the right person to advise any newbie to the NT about croc safety …
I personally wanted to hunt down this horrible animal and kill him myself ( not that I have any idea how to – aim and shoot ??) but the experts bet me to it. Yesterday was a victory for the dogs of Daly River as the croc was trapped and caught by rangers. You can check out the video here.
On the way to the croc farm the rangers had to get fuel and pulled into the servo , croc and all …….
Hi guys today I am bringing you the top ten craziest story’s I have heard and seen around the Territory.
1. First I have a video that was taken last year and supplied to the NT news. It shows a couple of Darwin lovers gettin it on the balcony of their apartment , providing entertainment for tourists and city workers below. Check it out …….
2. Staying on the topic of public nudity the Deputy Mayor of Palmerston was accused by two teenage girls of causing offense with his apparent ‘public nudity’. The guys name is Geoff Carter , 65yrs old , he is also the founding member of The Australian Army Band , Darwin. And is now publicly branded a pervert. The poor guy was in his own bedroom , probably getting dressed at the time .. but the fact it was made national news means he will forever be remembered as ‘The Naked Deputy Mayor”
3. Former NT man Dr David Bowman made the ridiculous suggestion that we should introduce “Mega Fauna” AKA Elephants and other gigantic beasts into the Northern Territory and other outback areas to reduce the risk of fires caused by Gamba Grass , a type of grass that is so high Buffalo’s and cows cant reach it . This is stupid for a few reasons the main one being that it’s not really in the interest of public safety to have wild ‘Mega Beasts” roaming the streets….. Also , the cane toads were introduced here for similar reasons , now we cant get rid of them and they are more of a problem than a solution …. (source http://www.abc.net.au ).
Pic conservenature.org
4. A guy gets shot by his mate whilst being eaten by a saltwater croc .. yes that’s a true story although not as bad as it sounds. The 2 crocodile farm worker’s were collecting croc eggs from a remote NT station when one was attacked by a saltwater croc. The other guy grabbed a shotgun aimed and fired at the crocodile accidentally shooting his mate in the arm in the process. All ended well though , the croc let go and disappeared and after a few days it was work at usual for both men.
Zac Fitzgerald , the man who saved his mate in action at work: pic NT news
5. Drunken parrots are seen falling from the skies in the Darwin area every dry season. The birds are thought to be getting drunk after eating a mystery plant that then renders them unable to fly. For more on the drunken parrots check out this link
6. Woodley the dog had the ride of his life when he decided to take his masters double-decker bus for a ride in Darwin last year. A shop assistant passing by could not believe his eyes and quickly chased the bus down . He managed to pull the hand brake on before the bus hit a parked car. Woodley’s owner explained that the dog watches him put the handbrake on and off and was just copying him. Apparently this has happened before …. And I thought Chaos was alone ..
8. This 5 legged cane toad was found by Dylan Wells, 11, of Berrimah and the 5th leg is attached to his chin .. makes me worry about drinking the water up here !
9. Last year one smart NT tradie handed himself into police after breaking into the Hidden Valley Tavern (coincidentally also where I work part-time ). The reason the man handed himself in was because he recognized his bum crack on the cctv footage reported on the news. He was so drunk he cant remember the robbery. You can check out the footage here ..
10. This is the story that more crazy than anything else I have read in any newspaper. Ever. Last year it was reported that there were concerns the Territory’s talking cat , Mischief, had been abducted by aliens. Yes Im deadly serious folks. Siberian air-traffic controllers claimed a female-sounding alien spoke to them in a cat-like language. It turned out to be ok , Mischeif was safe and sound at home with his owners.
So there you have it folks – but this is not the end of my crazy tidbits from the Territory , I’m sure I will find ten more very soon …
As I mentioned in a previous post Just over a year ago – Easter weekend to be exact – I flew with my partner Dave to the remote bush community of Ramingining NT (aka Ramo ).
Check out the airport !!
Dave works for the East Arnhem Shire as a Grader operator and it is up to him to fix all of the public roads around East Arnhem Land. Most of these roads are not sealed and every wet season they are damaged by flooding.
The reason he was sent to Ramo was because this road below is the only road to the barge landing where the community receives their food and fuel supplies ………..
Until we got there they had been using this awesome machine to get food into town
I then decided to use it as my own personal tour bus ……
Despite the fact they were told not to use the road until Dave had it fixed locals kept trying to get down to the barge landing as it is also a great fishing spot .. most of the time they were unsuccessful
Dave used gravel , trees ( yeah I was like tree s , WTF ?, but it is the bush !) and sandbags to fill in the road enough to get the trucks through.
The most memorable moment for me was when Dave needed to get the dump truck to the barge and no one else was around to help him ( he also had to have another vehicle there to get home in). I ended up driving the truck along the boggy road in the dark. Dave was supposed to be following me but when I looked behind me he had gone. Worried , I stopped the truck and flagged down a car load of locals ( who shouldn’t have been driving on the road but hey cant tell them that ). I asked them to let Dave know I would keep going until I got to the barge and to tell him to pick me up. I got back on the road and made it to the barge landing. I was there for 5 minutes until I saw headlights coming towards me which I assumed was Dave.
It wasn’t Dave , it was the locals I had stopped earlier. They pulled up next to me and told me they would wait with me until I got picked up. I asked them if they were worried I would get attacked by a croc or buffalo and they just shook their heads and said “no no ghosts will get you “
Just great like there isn’t enough living shit around here that wants to kill me now I have to worry about ghosts ??
Dave eventually showed up and I thanked the locals for staying with me and got in the car. On the way home I asked Dave about these ghosts and he told me that there are a lot of spirits out in Arnhem Land but he would not talk about them especially in the bush . To this day I’m not sure what they thought would happen to me but apparently it wouldn’t have been good.
After 2 weeks of no alcohol , trashy gossip mags or newspapers of any kind we finally were allowed to leave ( I make this place sound like prison – it wasn’t that bad we got more than one hour a day to exercise ). Dave absolutely loved it but then you can fish anywhere in Ramo even the on the side of the road -
the Barramundi were huge !!
To give you an idea of how remote and flooded Arnhem Land is at this time of year I will finish this with a pic I took flying over the floods to get into Ramo.
I cant wait to sit down and read all of my favorite blogs for 4 hrs solid !!
kelsgonebush
