More stories from The Den

15th November - 7th December 2012

One last slog at the Den before I finished for Christmas.

I went for a walk to Black Mountain on one of my days off. It was about a 2 hour walk and it was bloody hot especially when walking on black tarmac! Black Mountain is a really weird mountain that has a lot of theories about its origin and all kinds of rumours and superstitions about it. It supposedly formed by a mass of magma solidified below ground before being pushed up slowly over time. As it became exposed to the elements the water dissolved the minerals in the granite allowing it to slowly brake apart. This was enhanced when a layer of lichen which was black covered the rocks so that when they expand and contract in the heat they explode apart. It is said that these fractures in the rocks can be heard for miles around.

Black Mountain

Planes avoid flying over it as there's a strange magnetic energy that interferes with their systems. Lots of people have gone missing whilst climbing it as they fall between the rocks into vast caves underneath. There's even  species of geckos and snakes that have adapted to the conditions that are unique to this mountain.

The aboriginals who used to own the land in the area have their own story about it:

The story has it that Kalkajaka (Black Mountain) is the site of a struggle between two brothers of the Rock Wallaby totem, who both wanted to marry the same girl of the Rock Python totem. They decided whoever built the largest mount, using the huge black rocks which were laying around, could have her. While the brothers were building their two mounds, with the girl looking on, none of them noticed the approach of a cyclone. It blew the two brothers into the cracks of their boulder mounds and drowned the girl.

The aboriginals have some really cheery stories!

View from the lookout

I ate my packed lunch I had made and set off back. Faith saw me walking back and gave me a lift the rest of the way which was helpful as I'd run out of water already.

The following week I went for a walk up to nearby Mungumby Lodge which was about an hour and half walk. From there there is a path to a waterfall. I say path. There were lots of pink ribbons tied to trees that make the way to the waterfall and whilst it started out like a path it wasn't long before I was climbing over rocks in the river and crawling under fallen trees. It was a proper outback adventure and I really enjoyed it until I walked face first into a spider web.

the 'path'

climbing up this

I found my way to the waterfall and it was all definitely worth it. I went for a swim in the small pool at the bottom of the waterfall and after trekking and climbing my way here it was very refreshing. I had another pack lunch and walked all the way back to the Lions Den.

Pool at the bottom of the waterfall

Laura wanted me to take a picture of her with the thing I would remember most about her. This would be the bottle of Jim Bean that so often she was drunk on.

Laura and her addiction to Jim Bean

Local John

This is John, one of the locals. I got to know most of them. Jack, Col, Daryl, Donna, Lyn, Jamie, Barramundi Charile, Miss Margie the teacher and loads more that I've already forgotten the names of. Most of the locals were alright but there was one that took a dislike to me from day 1, Mitch. We had a full blown argument one day and he really pissed me off. If it wasn't for the fact that he was a local and a friend of Max and Faith then I would have told him to get lost which is probably what I should have done anyway. He asked Max a few days later whether or not he should apologise and Max said if you have to ask then your clearly not sorry. He did apologise in the end though. Not that it was much of one. No other morons apart from him though.

Christmas lights

We decorated for Christmas in the first week of December. Faith did most of the tree but let us do the rest which was fun. I put me at the top of the tree as a joke but when it was still there a couple of days later I took it down!

Amanda artistically putting tinsel on the tree

Im in angel!

Xmas decorations!

Posing

A crown for the lion

Festive

I left my camera on the bar on the last couple of days to get a few photos of people and stuff but one day when I was cleaning the kitchen Sam and Amanda had a wrestle in the bar while Laura took pictures. Max came out and bollocked Sam coz he was supposed to be working and he was making Amanda "scream like a hyena!" I found these photos on my camera the next day.

Sam and Amanda

Fight!

The pub had been getting quieter and quieter as the weeks went on and it got further into the supposed 'wet' season but it had rained like twice by the time I left. So the shifts were getting more and more boring as their was less to do and I think me and Amanda cracked one day when we started saying things in various accents like saying "you like ma donkey dick" in a Scottish accent. You had to be there! Then we started talking about crazy religious people. The kind you get in America with all the gospel songs and screaming things like "I believe!". Again you had to be there but it was a fun shift!

Amanda wearing some decorations

Festiveness!

A couple of days before I finished work I left my message on the roof behind the bar which is full of names of people that had been working there.

Writing my message

The stickers we sell in the shop

My message. tis funny, no?

My replacement arrived 2 days before I left, a Canadian called Stu and what an absolute mong he is. Before I left you could tell he was a bit lazy and he just stayed in his room when he wasn't working. He was late for his first few shifts aswel and didn't seem all that bothered by it. I've heard since that he keeps sneaking off and hiding when he's working and he's been found just sat in the cooler doing nothing.

My last shift arrived and it was time for a few drinks. I was doing the close on my own so I had a bit of a free reign but I tried to be sensible. I didn't start drinking till 9 and tried not to put the music on too loud. There was a bit of party going on outside with a group of army lads anyway. Max and Faith came onto the bar about 10.30 for some drinks. They'd been having their own party in there tent I think coz we could hear their music. Max said all he could here from the bar some guy laughing and then he started doing this manic laugh imitating him. I didn't expect him to come out with a noise like that and he had us all in stitches! They must have realised I'd been drinking too but they didn't say anything.

They went to bed and Amanda demanded shots so we did a few of them aswel before Amanda starting dancing about on the bar and whipping her hair around. Quite random! Surprisingly I managed to do everything properly when I closed.

feck awf!

SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS

I stayed another day before I got the bus back to Cairns the following day. It was an interesting experience working at the Lions Den and it was mostly enjoyable. Easy way to save money as there is absolutely nothing to spend it on. Im gonna keep in touch with Laura and Amanda but Sam isn't on facebook so that's a bit too difficult. But its on to my next adventure