Australia wide internet? I don't think so

18.5.2014

We left Perth on Monday and spent the first night at Cliff Heads North or South then moved the next morning to Cliff Heads North or South.  This is the spot we usually go to and where Peter hangs out.  He’s an old guy who was there the second time we went.  I was a bit annoyed with him because I was looking at something in the ocean through the binoculars and he came and stood directly in front of me.  How rude is that?  He was telling Steve about the Dampier pipeline and other stuff and I went and sat down because I didn’t want to be anywhere near him.

I’m so over old people.

We had two nights there and then came to Yuna.  Doubtful we’ll stay here any length of time, as it seems there’s only one resident who lives in the tavern, which is up for sale.  He told Steve he’s living there so it doesn’t get trashed.  As if one old guy is going to make a difference.

Yes, I’m very negative today; don’t know why because I’m still taking the happy pills.

Poor Timmy is being walked to death; he’ll be a shadow of his former self by the time we get home. 

We have two televisions in this caravan and I was in bed yesterday at 6.30 reading because that TV wouldn’t tune in.  We’ve had a few problems since we picked up the caravan.  The most recent was no hot water.  It was barely luke warm but we didn’t want to complain because the warranty ladies aren’t very nice at the dealer.  No name and shame on this blog but the dealer is on Albany Highway at Maddington, opposite a primary school and close to Silver Chain.

I would recommend that people stay well away from this mob.  Before you sign up they’re great, afterwards their customer service is pitiful. Actually non-existent is more accurate.

Last night I felt we were going to be floating.  The rain was torrential and it was humid.  We have a shelf behind our heads when we’re in bed and when I lifted my ipad it dripped on me.  Water had come in through the front window, which doesn’t open.  Upon further investigation water has gotten into the front boot.

Steve’s walking around like Ivanhoe with his antenna for the iinet dongle.  If he can’t get a signal off that he’ll give the Telstra dongle a go.  If he can’t get one from either of them he may as well throw them in the river.

We moved to Galena Bridge this morning.  We’ve been here before, its where the black swans are.  We watched the cygnets for hours last time; some of them were little tinkers because they kept veering off from where the older ones wanted them to go.  It was quite amusing but then it doesn’t take much…

Looks like the dongles are going swimming and that means I can’t post this.  Not happy Jan or Telstra or Optus which is who iinet go through.  It annoys me, we pay nearly $200.00 a month for our phones and the internet, we had neither when we were at Chris and Yvonne’s place in Pickering Brook and that’s only 25 kms from Perth.  Every other block had cover; it’s just that their land is in a black spot.  We used their Internet whenever we went into the house but we didn’t want to be walking in as if we owned the place.  They never said anything and we know each other well enough that if they didn’t want us there they would have said.

I need the Internet because I have to know how our children and grandchildren are.  I remember Lee telling me I had to cut the apron strings to Louisa (and this was over 10 years ago) and I asked him why.  They’ll always be my babies and their babies are mine as well and if they’re not well, some of them have viruses this week, I want to know how they’re doing.

Ooh, you lucky people, we have cover.  I’m posting it quickly before the signal takes off.

APOLOGIES - BIG TIME

My apology is sincere, I didn't know that so many people read my words.  I received a comment from a lady yesterday and thought I'd have a look at it and heaps of people check it out every day so I'm trying to redeem myself today.

Lots to tell you starting with the fact that this time last year we were in Tasmania.  After we teamed up with Andre and Paula we had a heap of laughs, it was good for the men and they bonded over fishing.

While we were away our house was sold and Beth, Louisa and James packed everything up, moving stuff into Beth and Louisa's garages.  We have a beautiful 12 seater solid wood table with 8 chairs if anyone is interested.

We spent a few nights on Beth's verge then moved to a caravan park for a few weeks.  We then went to our friends place in Pickering Brook.  During this time we decided that since we were living in the caravan full time we needed a bigger one and ordered a Supreme Spirit LEX.  Its the one with white cupboards and the shower and toilet are between the kitchen and bed.  I didn't like our previous van where you could sit on the toilet and talk to anyone through the door.

We took the new van at the beginning of November while we were looking after Andrew's parent's place in Coolup which is south of Mandurah.  We've had a few issues, mainly with the warranty people at the dealer but I won't bore you with that.  I just get so annoyed that these people have no empathy for this customer.

Chris and Yvonne go overseas in the middle of March so we'll move into the house.  They return at the end of April and then we're away.

The 'plan' is to go North so that we can go across the top during May, June, July and August.  We were told the best time is to go when there's no 'R' in the month.  Our son-in-law's brother is in Darwin and whilst I'm not bothered about going there Steve wants to so we'll catch up with Scott and his family, especially as Scott used to work for Steve.

So this is just a little update of where we are now.  Its hot here in Perth and I have reading to do.  I just finished Julie A Richman's Needing Moore Series.  They are fantastic, made me smile and cry at the same time.  She's a hellagood writer and I now have to wait until she finishes another offshoot she's working on.

Seeing as I'm almost in writing mode I may have a go at updating on a more regular basis.

Making our way home

My boy is not happy this afternoon.  We left Tasmania yesterday after waiting in line for 2.5 hours.  It took only six minutes to get in position and we were right next to the exit door.  There were some people filming a new advertisement for Spirit of Tasmania but I didn't have my make up on so kept out of their way but you may see a side shot of us both somewhere.

When we were off the ship we made out way to a shopping centre somewhere where there's an Apple shop because Steve's phone has packed in.  We circled the place but couldn't park up because it seemed as if it was all under cover and Steve didn't want to be fannying about with the caravan so we had a nice drive around parts of Victoria that we weren't expecting.

He had to make minor repairs yesterday because he pulled out the electric fittings so as not to use the battery when the engine is turned off while we shopped at Aldi.  Apparently it's my fault he didn't reconnect them because I wanted to stop at Aldi.  We needed food so whether we got it there or somewhere else he still would have pulled them out (and forgotten to put them back in) but I have  broad shoulders and I don't mind him blaming me if it makes him feel less of a wally for forgetting to put them back.

So then, it was another drive around, first looking for a repairer then deciding he could do it himself so looking for Repco/Supercheap Autos etc.,  Found one, bought the bits, did a bit of fiddling and taking bits from the old one to fix to the new one and within 15 minutes we were 'On the road again'.

We're now about 90kms East of Adelaide.  Today's little job for Steve is ascertaining why his special diesel tank in the back of the truck keeps leaking fuel.  

We've met some great people on our travels.  Robin and his wife were at Evandale, they're from Queensland and also there was Chris and Sue.  She has such a sense of humour and we were pleasantly surprised when they pulled into the scout camp at Kingston.

We kept meeting up with Andre and Paula who live in Liverpool.  They came from France over 40 years ago with their son and they have a daughter and grandson now.  They are leaving Tasmania today and Paula is desperate to see AJ.  I know how she feels because I can't wait to see all of our littlies, especially the new one, Harry Patrick Foster.

We spent at least three weeks with our Frenchies, we're a similar age although as usual Steve is the youngest.  Andre took him fishing a few times and we'd all spend time enjoying Happy Hour while Andre told his stories.  I never knew whether to believe him or not.

Flappers

10.4.2013

We’ve been across the top of Tasmania from Devonport to Stanley and also through the mountains down to Port Arthur and everywhere in between.  We’re now in St Helens, which is on the Eastern side, and we’re working our way back to Devonport.  If Tassie was a clock we’re at 4 o’clock with Devonport at 12.  We’ve not been down the South Western side because that’s wilderness and national parks.

The story about the old girl and nearly parking in her backyard happened when we were driving up to Moulting Bay.  The gps said to turn right and there was a sign saying it was a no through road.  When you’re free camping a lot of sites are at the end of roads and to see a no through road sign was no big deal.  However, there was a fork in the road and Paula shot out of their car and took the left hand road and Steve took the right hand side and both came back saying there were houses at the end of each road but Paula’s had a field that we could turn around in.

So, into four-wheel drive and up the road we went.  When we were almost at the top this old bird appears, arms flapping like a distressed swan, shouting that this wasn’t the road to the Bay.  Obviously she was right because there was a house plus a garage and Paula’s field was the back yard, perfect for lots of caravans to park on because it was short grass and level but the flapper said we had to get out and that caravans were always coming up her road.

How hard would it be to have a sign erected at the bottom of her drive, where the street sign is to say it’s not the entrance to the Bay?  Steve started turning around in the back yard and the flapping started again when she told him to take a little track which led to the main road.  Paula was hysterical because as Steve had driven over the crest of the drive the caravan had gone into a plastic marker at the side and Paula was trying to hold it up and straighten it before the old bird noticed it was bent.  I had no idea what was going on behind us because I was watching the old bird.  She was like the Road Runner.

So we’d entered at her front, turned around in her middle and exited through her rear.  (Steve’s words, not mine).

She was short tempered with us but Andre’s French accent calmed her down.

Not quite secrets but stuff that doesn't need to be openly discussed

While we were away last year James’s house was sold.  Later that year Louisa’s house went the same way.  Both sales took about six weeks.  Just before we left for Tasmania we put our house on the market.  That sold in two weeks.  This time we were a tad more organized and had a printer on board for printing off documents from the settlement agent rather than having them posted out to a post office somewhere.

The two houses were between 15 and 20 years old and ours is 6.  There were no issues with those houses and everything went through smoothly.  Can’t say the same about ours.

The buyer wanted a building inspection done and this showed that the roof wasn’t built to code.  The builder said it was and wouldn’t fix it but I turned on the charm and explained we were ‘overseas’ and that we didn’t want to lose the sale and I’d had nothing but good things to say about Summit, blah blah blah and within a few days a crew of roof carpenters had been round and sorted it out.  I have to say that when they were building the house they worked on it every day and we were very pleased with it.

We’ve sold all our properties and possessions.  Actually various people, mostly our daughters, have snapped up the possessions although James is having the washing machine, fridge and other stuff.  To keep our house we would both have had to go back to work in order to pay the mortgage.  If we were both working we wouldn’t be able to travel.  We thought long and hard and discussed with various people and (especially after Steve had experience of his mum’s affairs after she died) we decided to clean up our own affairs now rather than leave it to Louisa, James and Beth to deal with after we died.

Our children have dealt with everything, from packing up the house, to getting the spa removed and the house cleaned.  I’m told that Beth’s garage is full of our stuff, they moved into their new house a few weeks ago and also during this time Paige has been in hospital and Louisa had Harry Patrick Foster on the 2^nd April.

I loved that house; it was the best house we’ve ever owned.  I loved that the living area was so big.  People would walk in and be overwhelmed by the space but we had to be realistic.  Did we really need such a large house that had two spare bedrooms and two bathrooms for the two of us?  It was too easy for any of the grandchildren to stay over; they got to choose their own bed although they usually ended up in ours.  We’d even bought a king size bed to accommodate them and us.

So, from next week we are no longer homeowners.  We leave Tasmania on the 23^rd April and after a trip to an Apple store in Victoria to get Steve’s iPhone sorted we’ll be making our way to Beth’s house.  No definite plan, we hope we can get the caravan in her backyard but we’re not stressing.  One plan is to travel North for the winter and South for summer. 

We haven’t advertised the fact that we’re officially Grey Nomads, living out of a caravan and we’d rather you didn’t mention this on Facebook.   You are more than welcome to leave a comment on this blog.

The next update will be about Andre and Paula and Steve and myself almost setting up camp in an old lady’s back yard and Steve’s fishing plus any other dribbling that comes to mind.

photos to come

A beautiful day south of Swansea, Tasmania.  We are camped up for the Easter weekend, apparently in a place regularly visited by the police.

We sent Andre and Paula ahead to ascertain the spaces available and they sent a message saying there were plenty of spots.  By the time we got here the following day some of the residents had their heavy rock going, loudly and it didn’t stop until 11.00pm.

I’m saying nothing more on that other than I saw an old guy, a younger one and a young woman.  After my reading my imagination is going crazy.

We were sitting round the table with Andre and Paula and a skinny woman who looked older than me and wearing a bra and thong (not a good look as even though she was thin there was a lot of loose skin hanging) and who was drunk came past us.  She’d fallen into the ocean and another lady had rescued her.  Apparently she was embarrassed because she wasn’t fully clothed but she stood there talking to us and swaying.  Andre said later he was frightened to look at her in case she put him off women.

 We’ve been here for three nights and we’ve seen the police twice.  So, it looks as if we could be in for an interesting weekend.

Andre took Steve fishing and they caught three Wrasse

 between them.  Steve made a stuffing with leeks, breadcrumbs, lemon juice, olive oil and chives and cooked them wrapped in baking paper in the baby q.  He left the heads and tails on and they looked awful but they got eaten.

When we were at the scout camp and Steve had the fire going I thought it would be nice to have some baked potatoes so he got two ready, wrapped them in tin foil and put them in the fire.  When we were all talking around the fire he kept checking them to see if they were done and eventually he had a look at them.

Ever wondered where the little charcoal bits that you put on the bbq come from?  That’s just what they looked like, hard and black on the outside and hardly anything worth eating on the inside.  Needless to say, they weren’t worth eating.

We were behind a motor home today which had ‘Free Spirit’ on the back.  We said it was a good sign until we saw the registration number.   

We went to Dunally last week.  We arrived the day they were having a music festival to raise funds for the bush fires.  There was so many people there and we were directed to a field which was full of cars and Andre and Paula. 

It was so sad driving down because the homes were burnt and some of the owners were living on the block, some in caravans and others in tents.

We had fun last night.  Yesterday a pretty large tent went up then a few cars with women and children turned up.  The kids ranged from about nine months old to perhaps 18.  The little kids were so excited and got their places and marked it with their sleeping bags and pillows.  When everyone was in bed it started.  Shouting and swearing from the older girls.  Andre and Paula’s caravan was closest and Andre was looking out of the window.  No point in us doing that because we need to put the contacts in and clothes on and Steve slept through it all anyway.

It went on for about an hour, a mum from further away came to them and tried talking to the most drunken girl, then a guy came up and took one of them away for a walk.  Very exciting times in Tasmania.

Funnily enough, there’s a heap of young men here as well and they started drinking early yesterday but we never heard  anything from them.  Most of the locals bring their boats.  Between them, the caravans and tents there’s hardly room to move.  If there’s a fire its doubtful we’d get out and we’d have to make our way down to the beach.

photos to come

Saturday 23.3.2013

I know, I know and the only excuse is that I’m supposed to be on holiday and taking it easy but when we get messages in the middle of the night asking where is the blog it makes me think that I have to get onto it and tell you stuff.

We’re in Sorell, which is on the eastern side.  Before I forget I have to tell you that nearly everywhere we’ve been there’s lakes and water.  They’ll never run out of it.

So, Sorell is a nice little town and it has a Macca’s which is always a good sign although their Wi-Fi isn’t too crash hot.  We’re camping on the cheap ($21.00 for five nights) with Andre and Paula who we met in Burnie I think.  We kept running into them so more or less decided to travel together.

We’ve visited Richmond, which has the oldest bridge in Australia and a lovely bridge it is too.  There’s ducks and other water birds hovering round.  It also has a bakery where they serve the best coffee we’ve had whilst being in

Tasmania.

We spent a few nights in the scout campground in Kingston.  This was in the middle of the bush and Chris and Sue, who are from Queensland and who we met at Evandale turned up so there were six couples there.  Rain poured from the sky the second night but on the first night Steve made a fire and we sat round it talking.  It was quite smoky and there were thousands of little bugs in the smoke, which we all thought was strange because they usually disappear.

It was in Kingston that I took a tumble and landed on my back.  I’m very aware when I’m falling and it’s unusual for me to drop what I’m carrying.  When I fell over my floppy foot and broke two bones I didn’t drop the cup I had in my hand and this time I kept hold of the stuff I was taking into the caravan.  

Chris and Andre both shot over to help me up.  I just lay there wondering if I was okay and I was.  I could say my pride was damaged but I’d be lying.  I’m just pleased I’ve got this far without anything serious happening to me.

We learnt this week that Paige, who left hospital yesterday after being in for three weeks, has diabetes.  This is part of Cystic Fibrosis.  I’m unable to enlighten you further other than to say it’s to do with her pancreas.  Perhaps when Beth isn’t as busy as she is she’ll be able to type up something and I’ll put it on here.

So, along with all the other stuff Paige has to endure she also has to have insulin injections.  I’m hoping that by the time we get home she’ll be confident about it all and there won’t be any dramas.

Strange how stuff works out:  On Facebook Beth mentions about Paige and diabetes and the very next post is from my cousin’s granddaughter, Gemma, who lives in England and also has C.F.  She’s an adult and she’s just been diagnosed with diabetes.  Out of all the posts that are typed up these follow on from each other.

We went to Port Arthur earlier in the week to see where the convicts were brought.  This place was also the scene of a massacre in 1996 when a guy lost the plot and started shooting people who were in the café.  Not sure how many people died but I was told he got 34 life sentences.  Apparently when the shooting started people thought it was a re-enactment and walked towards the area and they got caught up in it all.  The café is no longer used and the roof has been removed.

There’s almost nothing else at Port Arthur other than the remains of the prison and associated buildings but it’s very tidy and overlooks the bay. The day we went a cruise ship was anchored in the harbour and it seemed that most of the passengers were also visiting.

The following day we went to the coalmine.  I stayed in the car because the entrance is via a walk through the bush.  There were cells that the convicts slept in which were 8’x6’ with no light.

First few weeks

It’s a bit of a worry when you’re parked in the bush and in the middle of the night you smell smoke.  We’re at Lake Mackintosh, can’t actually see much of the lake because the ‘permanent’ campers have got the best spots.   Obviously we’ve not been caught in a fire but my acute senses did smell smoke, Steve says someone had a fire going – I sincerely hope it won’t be going again.  

                                                  

                                                                                                                        

To get to this spot we had to drive over the dam wall.  There’s a sign saying no overtaking which is quite unnecessary as the wall is only slightly wider than the caravan    

The sign over the dam, has been changed by someone

I was in charge of breakfast this morning so I made something in line with my capabilities in the kitchen.  We each had a replacement meal shake.  I came down the step and shook them both and half of Steve’s went all over the place because, again in line with my kitchen expertise I’d not secured the top.  I laughed, Steve didn’t.

I broke another tooth.  I’m thinking it must be an age thing although there are some people who still have their own teeth in their 80’s.  I don’t understand why my health is so bad.

We spent a night at Beaconsfield, where the mining accident happened. 

We also spent time at Evansdale where they have a penny-farthing race but we didn’t stay for that.

Some time ago we saw a program on t.v. about Sheffield where they have heaps of murals on various walls around the town.  They’re really good and it was here that we bought tee shirts for the littlies.

We haven’t done any rushing about.  We’re taking it easy and enjoying the peace and quiet.  We’re here until the 23^rd April when we sail back to Melbourne.  We haven’t discussed what we’re going to do when we’re back on the mainland because it’s so far away.

We have to be back in June or July as I have an appointment with my orthopedic surgeon.  I have to have x-rays to make sure my hips are okay.  If they’re not I wonder what he’ll want to do.  So far this year I haven’t had any disasters, apart from breaking a tooth.  I have to make a conscious effort to walk carefully and take time getting in and out of the caravan because the last thing I want is to fall.

They have sparrows and starlings in Tasmania.  We’ve also been told they have blackbirds and I haven’t seen one of those since the last time we were in England.  I’m surrounded at the moment by big fat bumble bees, complete with yellow stripes, buzzing around.  We don’t have these types of bees in Perth, we have wasps which are referred to as bees but they’re not ‘real’ bees.

Before we left home Steve fitted two tanks in the back of the truck.  One is for diesel and the other for water.  I have a real fear that we’re going to run out of water, even though we carry litres of the stuff for drinking.  I don’t know if it’s because water is so precious in Perth but I do feel a lot better knowing we have plenty with us.

We had a laugh when he went to fill up with diesel when we landed at Devonport because he’d had to use the spare diesel and he wanted to make sure we didn’t get caught without some.  When he was filling the tank a lady asked him what he was doing and she thought it was hysterical and told him there are plenty of service stations to fill up.  When we were getting to Victoria we filled up at every station we passed because you never know where the next one will be.

We also carry a jerry can of petrol for the generator and because you can’t take spare fuel on the ferry Steve gave it to some German boys who were at Inverleigh with us.

Because of the solar we had fitted and the spare water tank we don’t need to go into a caravan park.  Like so many other caravaners of our age we don’t want bouncing castles or playgrounds and don’t like having to pay $30.00+ just to fill up with water and charge everything.  We are now totally self sufficient.  We charge the phones and ipads through the inverter and caravan battery which is charged by the solar.  If we want to do some washing then we use the generator and we also use this when we want coffee from the machine.

Since my hair has grown I don’t use the hair drier so don’t need power for that.

Trees, trees and more trees

New video about, the start of our trip around Tasmania

We've been in Tasmania for almost three weeks and I'm fed up of mountain roads and trees.  Yesterday we went from Queenstown to Strahan on the West Coast Wilderness Railway train, climbing up mountains and using the rack and pinion method (yes, I do understand how it works since they gave us a little model) and then we changed from a steam engine to a diesel.  Not my idea of fun.  I was bored to tears and spent most of the time trying to work out what jobs the various people in the carriage had done before they retired.

Today we felt as if we should be in Italy, driving up mountains with sheer drops on one side, double lines in the middle of the road which some motorists choose to ignore.  Steve pulls in whenever there's traffic behind us which means it takes us longer to get where we're going.  We travelled almost 100ks today.

They have sparrows, starlings and blackbirds here, also big fat bumble bees, Scottish thistles, rose bay willow herb and foxgloves.  I haven't seen any of these for years.  There's lots of bee hives around the place and the bees are very friendly.

The weather has been brilliant, blue skies and sunshine.  We're making our way towards Hobart, we're at Derwent Bridge, parked in the pub car park today and possibly tomorrow.  Yesterday I heard on the news that Hobart is on fire so I'm not in a hurry to move closer to it but we will have to move because I want to do some washing and it wouldn't be a good look to have the washing line out with knickers and socks waving around in a car park.

on our way

Saturday 17 February 2013

Well, here we are in Tasmania.  We had an uneventful crossing, actually there were a few moments starting with being in line for nearly two hours while all the cars and a whole heap of motor bikers got on the ferry but we were told that last on first off which was some comfort.

A few things happened on the boat.  Firstly, even before we got in the shower the en-suite floor was about 2cms deep in water.  Not our problem so we put a towel down so we wouldn’t slip.  Twice through the night I woke unable to breath, I don’t know what that was about.  Steve asked me from the comfort of his bunk was I all right?  I felt blue in the face but being the soldier I am I took, to the best of my ability, deep calming breaths and carried on trying to sleep.

At 3.00am Steve started on the chips, crunching me awake so I had a few to keep me going through the night.

At 5.45am a very nice lady told us we had to get up and be ready to collect the caravan at 6.30.  When we had struggled to get past it (because it’s a tight fit) Steve told me the battery was flat so out came his portable jump starter thingy that we paid a fortune for in Geraldton only to realise that too needed charging.  Fortunately it happens on a regular basis and the lads from the boat came to the rescue and jump-started us and away we went.

 We have no plan as to where we’re going and we have ended up in Deloraine.  On the way here we called into a bakery and had breakfast while we waited for the RAC man to come and start the truck.  We decided we’d take some yummo looking cakes with us but forgot.

The RAC man got us going and we’re now parked in a little area in Deloraine and we’re going to stay here for two nights.  We went back to the bakery today and I told Steve what to buy but he’d been listening to some other conversation and came back with the wrong cakes so he had to go buy the correct ones.  We ended up with 8 scrumptious cakes.

Photo of cakes to come

While we were in Melbourne we had a few moments.  First was when Steve ploughed through a red light with the caravan in tow, strangely enough it changed to red when we got to it and was green by the time we’d got through it.  Then he sallied through a train crossing when the barrier was coming down.  He prides himself on being observant but didn’t notice the red flashing lights or clanging bells.  In his defence he was in an unfamiliar place, trying to negotiate the traffic with me reading my book and being  ‘no help at all’.

11.2.13

Sorry it’s taken so long to update this.  Reception has been a little sparse.

We left as agreed at approximately 7.30 on Friday 1^st February.  We’d spent the night in the caravan because Beth and her family had already moved into the house and Andrew and Beth were in our bed.

I have decided that the country towns do little to enhance themselves ie. Norseman.  There’s only a few shops and they were closed and it was only about 2.00pm that we went through.  I was all for stopping and having a coffee somewhere but there was nowhere to go.

The Nullarbor was interesting – not.  I thought there’d be signs saying ‘You are entering the Nullarbor’ or something on that line but there was nothing other than a little wooden sign to the left of the road which, if I’d been looking straight ahead I would have missed.

I don’t remember where we’ve stayed until now.  We’ve had only one night in each place apart from a few nights ago when we were parked on the outside of the oval and there was going to be a cricket match the following day so we thought we’d support the local team which I think was called Mallala.   It’s in South Australia.  Unfortunately one of the locals told Steve the game had been cancelled so we moved on the following morning instead of staying.

I was so excited because at 8.30pm it was still light and we got to enjoy twilight after all these years in Perth when the sun has disappeared by 7.30.