Thursday...31 October 2013

We got on the road this morning at a fairly reasonable time, (for us anyway!), and had a trouble free trip down to the roof repair man. He seems to know his stuff and is confident of being able to fix our problem, so we are feeling a bit more positive. We left the caravan with him and checked into a cabin in the local caravan park, so it would seem we are having a holiday from our holiday. Given how hot it has been my first priority was to make sure the air conditioner worked. A quick trip to the shops for supplies and we have settled in. Tomorrows shopping will include Aeroguard and bug spray! And sugar, lots more sugar. There is never enough sugar in motels, hotels and park cabins. They give you lots of tea bags and coffee sachets but only ever put half a dozen packets of sugar in the welcome basket. I drink a lot of tea and run out of sugar quite quickly. Might have to source some headache pills too. I am supposed to be relaxing and I have another of my debilitating heads. Damned annoying!

Tuesday...29 October 2013

Finally! We have found a place that seems to think it can fix our roof problem.
Apparently there is a product that comes in a can like paint and is applied like paint but turns into rubber as it cures. It is very popular with caravan and boat people. A roof the size of ours is not cheap but it does come with a 10 year warranty and added side benefit of being able to deflect direct sunlight thus making things a bit cooler inside during summer plus they guarantee it to be water proof. What more could we want? At last an answer to our all consuming problem.
Nearly time for us to leave and when we do the caravan is booked in for the rubber treatment and then we will be off and travelling again. Happy campers at last.
As always it can be sad to leave some places but knowing we will be back eventually makes the leaving easier. And there is knowing that along the way we will meet new people and perhaps even meet up with old friends and enjoy new experiences as we wander around our great land.

Saturday...26 October 2013

So after waiting and waiting and waiting some more for the repair kit we finally have answers to our phone calls and emails. Seems the seller delivered to the courier but the courier says they seem to have lost it!
So today Himself has taken off on a day trip to the first place you come to on the other side of this town as he has heard of a place down there that repairs boats and caravan roofs with something that is painted on and then turns to rubber as it cures. Fingers crossed it is not another wild goose chase and that we can get an appointment this millennium to have them fix our problem.
Meanwhile the sun continues to shine. Still cool in the evenings but not freezing. This is much more to my liking.

Wednesday...23 October 2013

The sun shines! Oh the bliss of warmth on my skin.
Still no sign of the missing repair kit. Delivery was to have been two weeks, a month ago! Enquires are not helpful either. One confirms it has left, others insist they have no paper trail on it. Frustrating. Nice and all as this sunshine is, we really do need to start moving if we are to achieve the remainder of this year's planned itinerary. We watch the ebb and flow of the caravan park and we are not part of it. We sit and wait.

Saturday...19 October 2013

I do not believe it! It's raining again. Woke up to grey skies and the rain started before I had even got dressed. What is it with this town? Do they like being depressed? Instead of looking for dirt behind their ears in the shower these people must look for mould.
Grrr, definitely NOT a happy camper.
Yes I know the planet needs water to sustain all forms of life, but seriously just how much of this wet stuff do we really need? And.... how come fish stay wet all the time but they never go mouldy?
It has rained for 28 days out of the last 39 and it is not even winter! The gas and electricity mobs will be rubbing their hands in glee at the extra income from heaters and clothes dryers. I feel for anyone with small children. Too wet to play outside and too wet to get the washing dry.
Still waiting for the repair kit for the roof, but we need to dry off the water damage to the roof before we can repair it and this is becoming a game of hide and seek with the sun.
It's enough to drive a sane person to drink.....is it happy hour yet?

Friday...18 October 2013

Is it Friday already? But I have not stopped hurting from my outing on Tuesday, it cannot be Friday!
Still no sign of the repair kit for the roof and the clock is ticking.
But guess what? It did not rain yesterday and so far it has not rained today (although the forecast is for showers). Life is improving, even the temperatures are climbing, very slowly, but they are inching upward. I even took the extra blanket off the bed. Still got the flannel sheets and doona but being able to take off one blanket is a huge leap forward into warmer times. Maybe the cold, wet, miserable weather is slowly moving away at last. Unless we have an unexpected cold snap it does not matter that I cannot buy a heater as the shops are only selling fans now. Bring on the sun.
Himself has gone to buy various oils and fluids to give the ute a service before we tackle the Nullabor again. A few last bits of shopping and a final round of farewells and we will be off, back into the wide blue yonder as we begin another loop of this great land.

Tuesday...15 October 2013

After nearly 40 years we have finally ticked a long overdue box.
Today we were up before dawn to catch the ferry for a day trip to Rottnest Island.
While we were waiting for our ferry we were able to have a look at the Leeuwin II. It is a Tall Ship with over 810 square metres of sail and an overall length of 55 metres. It is a working ship and all voyage participants are expected to be involved in most aspects of ship operations, from sailing, steering and navigating to cleaning the ship and climbing the mast. Must be exciting for the lucky ones who get to work on her.

Rotto as the locals call it is an island half an hours boat ride off the coast of Western Australia and is loved by all for an affordable family orientated island holiday. The entire island is an A Class Nature Reserve which means it is a National Park and owned by the state and managed by the state on behalf of the people of WA. The only means of transport on the island is by walking, hiring a push bike, or on the bus that does loops of the island every hour on the half hour.

We began our day by jumping on the bus and riding it right around the island to get an idea of the terrain and layout. Along the way the bus slowed four times to give way to snakes and was constantly slowing as well to allow bike riders to move to the side of the roadway and let us through. After lunch we took the trip up to the old WW2 gun emplacements and the tunnel system under them. On arrival we were met by a volunteer island guide who showed us around.

The men in our group certainly enjoyed the event and the chance to get up close to a huge cannon. It definitely was good although a few of us found the many stairs and steps a bit daunting. Going down was super easy, but the coming back up was hard work for more than one of us!
Of course we eventually encountered the famous Rottnest Quokas. These cute little marsupials wander happily among the tourists and most of them seem to have no fear of humans.

We finished the day with a slow stroll around the main township and looked at some of the oldest buildings and the history associated with them before boarding our ferry back to the mainland.

A very good day out.

Saturday...12 October 2013

It's raining. Why am I not surprised!
Yesterday there was sunshine but it was cold enough to have a jumper on most of the day, today it rains and they tell me there is more to come. Would like to leave but there is still things to do before we can move on with our travels. Fairly certain this town will be on the do not visit again any time soon list! It is cold, wet and noisy.

Thursday...10 October 2013

Heavens, time flies as you get older. I can remember how it took forever when waiting for exciting events as a much much younger person, but these days the event is over and old history before I even have time to catch my breath and say well that was fun!
Our friends arrived in our area and we had a lovely time with them one afternoon catching up on the news of their travels and then last night we went to a pub for dinner and chatted our way through the meal and ended up being the last customers in their dining area and did not realise it until the staff rather nicely asked if we were finished. Back to our place afterwards for coffee and a heap more chatting. Such a good night. Do hope we can manage to fit in another visit before they leave on the next leg of their journey at the end of the week.

Sunday...6 October 2013

Caravan Parks can be interesting places. They are usually quiet on the surface but a hive of activity underneath. There are always people coming an going. Two weekends in a row now we have had groups attending weddings accompanied by noisy late night activity as these well oiled guests return to their accommodation! Surprisingly the same people manage to make even more noise early in the morning as they depart again on their way home after what was surely the best wedding ever (if they can remember any of it).
Yesterday Himself cut the wood to make a computer desk to fit along the back of our caravan. It will be nice having a permanent area for our communications.
Later today we will be visiting with old friends who are travelling around Australia on their retirement trip and are now in our area. Really looking forward to seeing them and hearing of their travels.

Thursday...3 October 2013

Back on the tourist trail yesterday. We went to The Pinnacles.
We saw Burns Beach, Yanchep, Two Rocks, Ledge Point, Lancelin and Cervantes, all places we have never been before even though they are within a couple of hours drive of Perth.
Yanchep was home to a some beach shacks until it was chosen by Alan Bond as a base for the Americas Cup challenge.
But anyway, back to the Pinnacles  Another of our natural wonders and quite something to behold. Formed 25,000 to 30,000 years ago after the Indian Ocean coastal winds eroded the surrounding sand, leaving the limestone pillars exposed to the elements, it was interesting to see the colour variation of the yellow sand created by the weathering of the formations contrasting with the pure white of the sand dunes from the nearby Indian Ocean. And there are so many of them, that was a bit surprising. These unusually shaped rocks have been likened to tombstones, termite mounds and even fingers. Vehicles must stay within the designated paths but people may walk around the formations, which allows for a close up look at the composition of the rocks. The formations vary in size and shape, some as small as a mouse whilst many are as big as 3.5 metres high.
The information centre had some good displays too. So very glad we finally went to see them.
Could have done without the mini bus load of Asian tourists who were noisier than a mob of parrots! Why can't they show some reverence for the wondrous works of Mother Nature?

Tuesday...1 October 2013

Now you would think that after more than two weeks of continuous rain, the local water storage would be near or at least close to the top of the dam wall. But it is still a fair way off the top. Maybe that will change as water filters down through the catchment zone. I hear that another storage is full and over flowing down south a bit. I guess it is not as big as this one. Note to the bloke in charge; we do not need to try harder to fill the above dam. A few days sunshine would be appreciated by the populace so that they can soothe their somewhat depressed souls!
Spent the last couple of days visiting with a special friend. We like catching up with her, she has such a warm and relaxing home. She sure is good at cutting wood for the wonderfully warm heater! And happy hour is long and happy. Perfect.