Tuesday, Oct 5th 2010 - Outback Reunion

This morning I had to check out of my private villa at 10am, but my family was not landing until noon.I wandered over to the hotel next door for a quick brekky and then lounged by the pool and completed the final touches on the wetland brochure I was compiling as part of my co-op placement.Next thing I knew I was being bombarded by Simon screaming "There she is!!! There she is the wonderful lady!" from across the pool!My family had arrived and checked in without me even noticing (the pool was beside the reception)!After a few hours of reuniting and catching up on life we decided to go for a stroll through town.

We stopped in at a really unique outback-style restaurant called Bojangles.The place was decorated with the most eclectic collection of Aussie gear including: crocodile heads, cowboy boots hanging from the ceiling, rifles and guns embedded in the fiberglass bar top.The washrooms (or toilets as they call them on this side of the world) are just as hilarious!The toilet seats have barbed wire and razor blades on them (under fiberglass of course!) and when you go to turn on the tap, the water turns on but 3 sinks over!I can't forget to mention the disabled toilet… it must have had 8 or so handles to open the door!Our waiter had just as good of a sense of humour.My mom asked if we could sample some of the Northern Territory beer, so the waiter poured a sample and handed it to my mom. "Oh, it's dark I won't like it… mmm actually it kinda tastes like rootbeer, not bad", Simon: "tastes like rum and coke", me: "tastes like coke!'What a little b*****!He just gave us coke to sample.Then when my parents ordered a "pitcher" of it (clearly lacking the experience of ordering beer in Australia... it's called a "jug" in this end of the world) our waiter brought us a picture he had drawn and asked for $13.50!The menu was just as entertaining!My mom and brother split an "Outback Grill" which consisted of: buffalo medallion, emu sausage, camel on a stick, kangaroo and crocodile risole!I opted for pasta!

The rest of the evening was spent over a few drinks and great conversation before retiring early to bed so that we would be well rested for our 6am tour start!