Last night, via the Internet, we sorted out some details of an extremely nice trip that we’ll be taking while in Australia. How nice is this?

Rebecca is one of Yolanda‘s best friends from Whyalla and is getting married on the 17th of February, 2 days after I arrive. I get to be one of the ushers for the wedding, and Yolanda is the Matron of Honor. It should prove to be a really good time, getting ready for the celebration and then having fun with everyone involved. The couple appear to be really happy with each other, and although I haven’t met Paul yet, he seems like a really nice bloke, and that’s exactly what Bec needs, someone to always be there for her and be a partner rather than a drain. Seems like Paul is that sort of guy; I hope to get to know him better.

At any rate, after the wedding they are going on a 2-week honeymoon, the first week being spent on a houseboat on the Murray River, which is apparently a pretty popular vacation destination. However, the second week they’re going to be going a few hours down the coast from Whyalla and staying at a place called Tumby Bay.

Now, this is one of the things that’s so charming about Australia — they have the most entertaining names for things. Just navigating around a city can be an exercise in linguistical enjoyment, a tourist trap for your mouth and phonetic synapses. You spend a lot of time trying to figure out how masses of letters, thrown (seemingly) randomly on signs and establishments, are really pronounced, attempting to do so, being laughed at by the locals near you, and then being kindly yet chidingly corrected with a smile. I cannot see “Tumby Bay” and not think of Pooh. Likewise, “Coober Pedy” sounds like it requires a urinary tract condition to visit, and “Whyalla” is almost a question. “Whyalla? Why not alla?” It’s a fascinating journey.

Back to Tumby Bay: Bec and Paul are going to be spending a week there (or around there), relaxing, sunning themselves, seeing local attractions, etc., and they’re taking us along! Apparently they had a talk together and decided that they’d like to hang out with us more and, since the place had room for it, invited us along to share in the experience. At first we refused because we didn’t want to encroach on their honeymoon (seems…tacky), but they insisted that they’d enjoy having us along, and so we are, most thankfully, joining them.

The place seems extremely nice, with pretty beaches and water, cute little businesses downtown, and lots of local fauna and wildlife — they even have PELICANS! Of all the birds in the world, you have to appreciate a pelican (whose mouth can hold more than its bellican — apologies to Shel Silverstein).

Another aspect I’d like to walk through is the mangroves, which are these dense stands of trees that grow along the water’s edge and provide a rich and diverse mini-ecosystem for the plants, fish, crabs, and other animals near the shallows of the ocean. They are extremely adapted to the environment, forming entertwined masses of roots that hold air during high tide and branches that form nooks and crannies in the water for fish to hide in while they grow. The town (or someone) has built a very nice 70m boardwalk through the mangroves so you can check it out without trudging knee-deep in the mud, something I am forever grateful about.

Other than that, the seafront apartment where we’ll be staying has a full kitchen and is just a stone’s throw away from the ocean, which sounds like my ideal environment to be a complete and total bum. I suspect we’ll be spending a lot of time just enjoying the sun and forgetting about the world in general so, hey — if someone blows up something big during that time, send me a letter, eh? I might forget I’m anywhere but paradise.

All in all, we’re extremely grateful to Bec and Paul for hauling us along on their holiday. It’ll be nice to break up the time we’re staying in Whyalla, get away with some friends for awhile, and see some places that we haven’t before. How nice are they???