...underground, that is (for Christmas)
Someone in the office - who shall remain nameless - decided we should get adventurous for our annual Christmas party and suggested we do the tunnels tour under the famous Fremantle Prison. Sure, we all said - it will be fun!
Little did we know it was going to involve a climb down a 17 metre ladder in harnesses and hard hats, that we'd have to do sumo squat walking for hundreds of metres in confined dark spaces, and then paddle (sometimes in the pitch black) along limestone aquifer-filled tunnels. It was hard work but super interesting, and we did it. Even Nic ("I don't like heights, boats or water") and Carolyn ("I definitely don't do heights") survived the ladders, and Martin made it all the way through the tunnels with his bad back (well done). Greg was regretting the decision to not wear shorts, but loads of laughs and teamwork to get through it all.
A look down the ladder - a 17m drop!
You aren't allowed to take your cameras underground but Claudine very cleverly took a photo of the tunnels that was part of the above ground display - it did look just like this!
Elation that we made it back above ground, or sadness that we're locked in the prison grounds?!
Then, once we dusted off the limestone and freshened up some, we walked into the setting sun on the hunt for Fremantle's best sangria or gin cocktails, whichever came first. There's nothing like a Christmas adventure that involves miles of walking, drinking, and the occasional tunnel scramble. With sangrias sampled at the Freo Social, we settled into the Republic distillery for gin cocktails. Claudine ordered the fanciest and fun-est and then managed to not be looking when her gin bubble popped. Lucky Amy was on the job with her phone catching the before and after...
The BEFORE: a theatrical bubble on top of Claudine's gin...
The formal part of the evening was our fab Asian fusion dinner at Tonic and Ginger. Sitting up in the rafters amongst their gorgeous glass lights made us feel like we were in a Christmas tree. The food, drink and company was awesome, and so, so tasty, except for perhaps the firey hot cauliflower satay which almost blew our tops off. Only not for Pete who boldly declared he'd finish it all off (and perhaps regretted it for the remainder of the night!). As we were heading out the door Greg decided we needed to see the secret wine room at the bottom of the staircase in the neighbouring Arbor bar, where we were lucky enough to snare a table and wait for the entertainment. Oh, and perhaps a dirty martini to finish off the night! And boy was it entertaining. The "piano man" belted out so many classics that he had the whole room singing and dancing, and enticing in others from the next door rooms. At one point it felt like we were in that "escape room" which was the other suggestion for a Christmas adventure. Perhaps next year?
So much fun and happy times. Merry Christmas to our great DEA team, and happy holidays to our lovely customers and suppliers. See you all in 2023. Stay safe.
