Home now

14.10.12  Sunday.  We're at home now.  We left Cliff Heads on Friday.  I'd not been out of the caravan the previous two days because of the wind and flies.  When we first arrived it was great, there were a few flies and bees but we weren't too concerned.

By Friday Steve was taking Timmy for a walk with my fly net on to keep them off his face.  I don't know where they came from, there were thousands of the little suckers.

We did some shopping in Dongara and had called in Geraldton a few days before.  We leave Timmy in the caravan now when we go to the shops.  Fortunately his little legs can't get him onto the bed so he sleeps on the floor under it.

We have a list of stuff we have to get before we head off to Tasmania.  We've spoken to a few people and Steve has almost decided on solar panels to keep the battery topped up together with an inverter that does something with the t.v.  We also need a digital satellite finder because the one iTech sold us is worse than useless.  In fact I would go so far as to say that we should have researched satellites more comprehensively and bought a different make.

Steve has made a few short films.  I'm sure you'll find this one particularly riveting.

We've got the 'guide to Free-Camping in Tasmania' by Sue and Steve Collis and we'll be using it together with Camp 6 (or 7 if its published) when we leave in February.

We come back to Australia in April and were going to spend time in the Eastern States but we now have a new baby due in April so it's good that we're free spirits and not time poor because we may have to change plan a to plan b or even c.

Forgot to tell you:  In which country is it acceptable to get off your push bike and attend to your toilet needs (knickers and shorts around her knees showing her thighs and bum) on the gravel a metre from the bitumen?

We've seen and passed this couple before, just not that much of her although it could have been her in a bikini and fly net over her face a couple of days ago on her way to the toilet with her toilet roll in her hand.  Steve has waved to them a few times and they've ignored him.  Obviously from a country where privacy and discretion is not embraced.

Cliff Heads

8.10.12 Monday:  We were surprised when we pulled into Cliff Heads.  We thought there may not be any room with it being school holidays but there were only three other caravans here.

It’s a lovely spot; overlooking the ocean with cliffs at the back of us, mostly windy but the flag is flying (the right way up this time thanks to a lesson from my brother-in-law) and the sun is shining.

We just had a visit from the people who we were parked next to in Kalbarri.  They have a trailer tent, which they’d parked at Dongara and had come to check this site out.  They recognized the flag and called in.

Yorkshire Rose Flag

Steve and I had a laugh last night during Happy Hour.  One of the guys was talking about an old couple.  ‘Oh’ he says, ‘they were old, in their middle 50s’.  This guy was no spring chicken (obviously not yet 50) but we thought it was hysterical that he thought middle 50 was old.  We didn’t let on how old we are.

There’s 4 other dogs here and no fighting between them so we’re not fastening Timmy up.  We have to keep him out of the long grass because there’s ticks, snakes and goannas hanging around.  Timmy has been really good; he’s a little ball of fluff with a big bark and doesn’t let anyone who he hasn’t seen before get too close without alerting us.  

Kalbarri

4.10.12  Thursday     We’re at Murchison Caravan Park in Kalbarri, getting up close and cosy with the people on either side of us because the sites are so small.  Steve said last night that if they were any closer they’d be in bed with us.  I have to say that being so close to people is a tad inhibiting, we can hear them speaking and snoring so they can hear us. 

We leave here on Friday and will be free camping now until we get home on the 14^th October.

2.10.2012   Tuesday.  The flies are terrible.  I’m sitting here typing with a fly net over my head.  Steve keeps making facetious comments but I’m not laughing.  The alternative is go inside but I don’t want to do that.

A family has just approached us from Thornlie and I thought they were going to ask about Cystic Fibrosis but she wanted to talk about the caravan as they’re upgrading their pop-top into a larger one with a shower and toilet.

We’ve been parked at Galena Bridge ,#444 in Camp 6 since yesterday morning.  We were going to have a night at Water tank rest area  #445 but the flies there were even worse than here and there was a lot of broken bottles and cans around the place.  We were at Nerren Nerren, #446 the night before and ran into a couple who’d been at Shark Bay.  He explained a few things about the satellite dish to Steve.  We just cannot get a signal and now Steve knows why.  More expense I’m afraid.  I really feel ripped off by iTech who we bought the gear from.  Their after sales service is non existant.

This 24 hour stop is at the side of the river, which is home to black swans, both adults and youngsters.  We watched them yesterday afternoon: One adult was keeping an eye on two little ones which didn’t seem to want to be with the rest of them.  It was quite funny how the littlies kept swimming away from the adult.

Steve took a photo of a lizard yesterday, which was sitting on Timmy’s cushion, and I’ve just seen another one running towards me, and then veering off to go underneath the caravan.  Lizards don’t bother me, snakes do but we’ve not seen any of them.

It’s nice and peaceful; when we got here at about 10.00 yesterday morning there were three caravans.  By the time we went to bed there  were approximatelyt 30.

 I’ve read about ‘Cuddlers’ which are people who get as close as they can to other caravans and we experienced it last night with a family in a motorhome.  We always leave what we think is a suitable distance between other caravans and this motorhome squeezed, yes squeezed, into the space between us.  Talk about being inhibited.  As Steve said, we could hear them so they could hear us, so I put my favourite playlist on to drown them out.  Don’t know if they appreciated some of the songs and classical pieces but I really didn’t care.

There’s only five of us left now.  The people behind us are waiting for a space at Kalbarri, we move there tomorrow for two nights.

Steve disappeared inside the caravan and when he came out he’d made scones for morning tea.  What would I do without him.  He’s the most special person to me, takes care of me in every way, complains about it but smiles when he’s doing it.


What do I give him in return?  I think you know………..

I think the floppy foot is getting better.  It’s not healing fast but I’m sure there’s more movement in it.  I wonder if I should have another nerve condition test done to see if I’m kidding myself or there is in fact something going on but the test is so painful, really really painful.  It’s a decision I’m not going to take lightly and I wouldn’t have it done until January anyway which will be 12 months since the damage occurred.  The orthopaedic surgeon said it would be 18 months and 12 months is 2/3 of the way but if there wasn’t a significant improvement or even none at all which means I’m fooling myself I’d be devastated.  It’s the thought that ‘one day’ I’m going to be able to walk like a normal person that keeps me going.

This trip has been so much more than the last one when I was only two weeks after having my right hip replaced.  I was unable to walk anywhere, getting in and out of bed was so painful, getting into the caravan and truck was like climbing a mountain but this time it’s been great because everything is healed (apart from Floppy).  I still don’t walk anywhere, Steve goes off a few times a day with Timmy and I read my Kindle.

 

Denham/Shark Bay

27.9.2012  Thursday.  At last we seem to have left the red dust behind.   We’re in Denham/Shark Bay in a caravan park and the ground cover is a fine white sand and tiny shells.  We’re staying here until Sunday morning so that Steve can watch the grand final.  We haven’t seen any television since Saturday.  We have no idea as to what’s going on in the world.  Steve has filled the tanks already, the electric is on and we’ve had coffee using water from the electric kettle. 

We have phone reception so will call our girls later.  Just something to make you laugh:  Lily (age 5) was learning about Italy at school and asked her mum did she know about the leaning tower of penis.

26.0.2012 Wednesday.  We keep forgetting what day it is.  The plan is to stay here tonight then move to Denham tomorrow.  When we get reception we’ll see what caravan parks are available so we can get charged up, filled up, cleaned up etc., before moving off to Kalbarri.

We’re overlooking the Shark Bay Marine Park and the weather today is a bit grey and cooler than it has been for the last few days and it’s just started raining which Steve is pleased about because he’s hoping it’ll wash some of the dust off the truck.

There’s no phone reception here although there was some at #462.  We didn’t feel comfortable when we looked at that site.  It reminded me of the place in ‘True Blood’ where the inbred panther family lived, it was really creepy and there was a guy using an angle grinder.  He had a big sign advertising repairs.  When we were parked at Quobba we were told that someone had been living there for 7 years.  It just seemed a really strange place.

24.9.2012    I’m not exactly sure where we’re parked for the next few days.  It’s supposed to be New Beach (#461 in Camp 6) but we seem to have taken a long way round on a badly corrugated road to get here.  It’s supposed to be 6kms but it had to be over 20, maybe even 30+.

Not to worry, we’re in a nice little spot where we can see water.  The book says not to get too close to the water so we’re back a bit.  It’s doubtful we’ll be doing any paddling and Timmy doesn’t like going in it anyway although he’ll be having a bath when he gets home so he returns to his natural colour of cream.

We called into Carnarvon this morning but didn’t stay, just spent $84.00 on essential groceries and $17.00 on two apple turnovers and two coffees, which we had for lunch.  We like to put money into the country shops.

21 to 26 September

27.9.2012  Thursday.  At last we seem to have left the red dust behind.   We’re in Denham/Shark Bay in a caravan park and the ground cover is a fine white sand and tiny shells.  We’re staying here until Sunday morning so that Steve can watch the grand final.  We haven’t seen any television since Saturday.  We have no idea as to what’s going on in the world.  Steve has filled the tanks already, the electric is on and we’ve had coffee using water from the electric kettle. 

We have phone reception so will call our girls later.  Just something to make you laugh:  Lily (age 5) was learning about Italy at school and asked her mum did she know about the leaning tower of penis.

Steve has videos he'll upload later

26.0.2012 Wednesday.  We keep forgetting what day it is.  The plan is to stay here tonight then move to Denham tomorrow.  When we get reception we’ll see what caravan parks are available so we can get charged up, filled up, cleaned up etc., before moving off to Kalbarri.

We’re overlooking the Shark Bay Marine Park and the weather today is a bit grey and cooler than it has been for the last few days and it’s just started raining which Steve is pleased about because he’s hoping it’ll wash some of the dust off the truck.

There’s no phone reception here although there was some at #462.  We didn’t feel comfortable when we looked at that site.  It reminded me of the place in ‘True Blood’ where the inbred panther family lived, it was really creepy and there was a guy using an angle grinder.  He had a big sign advertising repairs.  When we were parked at Quobba we were told that someone had been living there for 7 years.  It just seemed a really strange place.

24.9.2012    I’m not exactly sure where we’re parked for the next few days.  It’s supposed to be New Beach (#461 in Camp 6) but we seem to have taken a long way round on a badly corrugated road to get here.  It’s supposed to be 6kms but it had to be over 20, maybe even 30+.

Not to worry, we’re in a nice little spot where we can see water.  The book says not to get too close to the water so we’re back a bit.  It’s doubtful we’ll be doing any paddling and Timmy doesn’t like going in it anyway although he’ll be having a bath when he gets home so he returns to his natural colour of cream.

We called into Carnarvon this morning but didn’t stay, just spent $84.00 on essential groceries and $17.00 on two apple turnovers and two coffees, which we had for lunch.  We like to put money into the country shops.

23.0.2010   We left Paradise yesterday, travelling south.  A gorgeously looking French guy was trying to get a lift 100 kms north to where his three wheeled car and mate were.  They’d damaged a wheel the day before and he’d drawn the short straw and had to go back to Carnarvon to get it fixed.  I’d have preferred to bundle him into the truck and take him with us but Steve wasn’t so keen so we gave him a couple of cans of Coke and left him to his fate.

I’m sounding like Jacqueline out of ‘Benidorm’ but he was really rather tasty with beautiful green eyes and long lashes.  Those of you who know us will know that Steve just laughs, he always does.

So, we’re now at Blowholes (Point Quobba)   which is #467 in Camp 6.  It was a 40 km drive after we left the main road but worth it.  The blowholes are spectacular.  There’s a monument to HMAS Sydney which went down in 1941 with all the crew lost.

21.9.2010    ‘Another day in Paradise’ is what the locals say here in Exmouth and we are tending to agree with them.  It’s beautiful.

We went to see Grandpa yesterday, he’s our son-in-law’s Grandpa and he looks really well.  One of his daughters is spending time with him and another daughter will be coming up in a couple of weeks.

Steve has been playing at Spielberg again, featuring Timmy and Moi.  Please remember no makeup is part of this trip, I’m not looking my best on his latest effort but I’m sure you’ll get a laugh out of it and we all know that a good laugh makes you feel better.  He’s put sound effects in this one.

My left foot is still flopping around.  I have a very expensive splint which goes in my shoe and keeps my foot at the correct angle but my foot swells and then the shoe is too tight and it gets painful.  I’ve been experiencing cramp in my left leg which I haven’t had for ages.  I’m hoping that this is a sign that the sciatic nerve is repairing itself and that I’ll be able to walk properly sooner rather than later.

Cystic Fibrosis Awareness

When we were at the shops yesterday we bought some meat from the butcher and the (extremely tasty) young guy said that my tattoo looked interesting so I took advantage and explained about Cystic Fibrosis.  Some times that’s all it needs, just a spark of interest and if he comes across it again perhaps he’ll remember this old bird and her tatts.

Just to clarify:  The red rose to the left is the 65 rose. The red 'c' and black 'f' stand for Cystic Fibrosis.    The triangle is the symbol for 'Delta'., therefore Delta F508.

Delta F508 is the gene that I carry and passed onto Beth who in turn passed it onto Paige.  To be unfortunate enough to get C.F. you need this gene from each parent.  Paige's gene is 

DoubleDelta F508. 

Exmouth

20.9.2012  We are parked in Ningaloo Caravan Park (in the doggy section) at Exmouth.  There’s only two parks that take dogs and the other one is 30kms down the road.  There’s no free camping either.  It’s lovely here but still the red dust is evident.  Tim used to be cream but he’s pale orange now. We’re having three nights here and will leave on Saturday.

Exmouth town centre is only a little place but it has two IGA’s which I find strange.  They’re on opposite sides of the mall. We’re going to see our son-in-law’s Grandpa this afternoon.  I Skyped Beth last night and when she told Charlie and Sienna we were in Exmouth and going to see Grandpa Charlie said , ’Our Grandpa in our Exmouth’?  they are just so gorgeous.

We’re charging everything up and Steve’s phone is working.  We also have good reception for the t.v. and because we have electricity we had bacon and egg in toast.  Although there’s toilets and showers here we still use our own.

The people behind us are from South Australia.  Debbie is in a wheelchair because she has M.S.  I say to Paige that there’s always someone worse off than us and Debbie has shown that to me today.  Because of damage to her eyes she can no longer read.  If I was in that position I’d be devastated, I’m an avid reader and love my Kindle.  Debbie also smokes, saying to me, ‘I don’t give a shit’. 

After a couple of showers I am indeed a different colour, more like myself. 

18.9.2012  An interesting day today during the drive from Forty Mile Beach

to  #489 in Camp 6 – Barradale Rest Area (Yannarie River) which is a large area off the road with heaps of spaces but a dust bowl.  I’m loath to open too many windows because I’m so over the red dust.

It seems that the ocean came a bit close to the caravan last night:  the caravan and truck are splattered with dried red dust and Steve says the sand in front of where we were sitting out was damp so the water must have been splashing.

We lost a mirror before we got off the gravel road.  I suddenly saw it fly off the fitting and shouted at Steve to stop.  When he went to pick it up the mirror itself was broken. I’m waiting for the people at Clearview Mirrors to tell me they’ve made them for our vehicle.  They’re expensive (approximately $800.00) but well worth it.   

Fuel was $2.05 a litre at Fortescue roadhouse and they only made instant coffee so we passed on the coffee and had iced drinks instead with a couple of mass produced muffins.

Then we stopped at the next roadhouse for more fuel (Steve didn’t mention the price so it must have been less than the first of today’s fill up but he did get a frozen loaf of white bread, a Cornetto for moi and a sausage roll for him and this cost $18.00, yes $18.00 for three items, I kid you not and you can see why Tim didn’t get anything other than a bite of Steve’s muffin and a bit of my ice cream which dropped into my Cystic Fibrosis hat.

When we came into the caravan the kitchen tap was loose so Steve has to fix that when he’s recovered from the driving.

I’m getting quite giddy because I’m having a shower later today.  We filled both tanks at Fortescue (no charge, it’s on the forecourt next to the diesel pump).  We were down to nothing again because we’d done a few loads of washing when we were at Cleaverville.  I’m thinking I may have caught the sun because I’m a good shade but it could well be the dust that’s impregnated into my skin.  All will be revealed later.

Pilbarra

16.09.2012 With lots of other caravans but no one too close to us at Forty Mile Beach which is #501 in Camp 6.  Like Cleaverville it’s $7.00 a night and we’ve booked in for three nights.  Only a couple of hundred metres from the beach where the tide comes and goes.  Tim is behaving himself and we’re no longer tying him up to the caravan wheel.  He seems to realise he’s on his holidays and is making the most of being away from The Littlies.

Poor Steve looks as if he has Chicken Pox.  I’ve had to dab Calamine Lotion on him because he’s covered in bites.  I think he must get bitten when he takes Tim for a walk, because I don’t wander more than 10 metres from the caravan I haven’t been bitten.

15.09.2012     Off to Karratha this morning where we pulled onto the verge outside a hardware store and Steve squeezed underneath the van to determine what damage had been caused.  He had to loosen the fittings and a large amount of water drained out but the good news is that he just had to fiddle around a bit and managed to fix the pipe at no cost.

We went round to the visitor centre and filled up with water from a machine, which took coins.  Steve paid $1.00 for 50 litres.  We then had the best breakfast since we’ve been away – Macca’s.  Even Timmy had a sausage McMuffin.

We went to Dampier and took a couple of photos of Red Dog.  Dampier looks really nice,  with boats bobbing about in the harbour.

14.9.2012    Last night and tonight we’re above the beach between Roebourne and Karratha at #506, Cleaverville Beach).  We have neighbours but we can’t see them.  We were going to stay and watch Saturday’s match but we damaged a water pipe when we were coming into the site and Steve wants to get it fixed so that we can replenish the tanks.  We haven’t had a shower since Wednesday, it’s a sink of water and a washcloth I’m afraid.

 Called in Wickham to get some fuel and take a couple of photos of big machinery

12.9.2012    Tonight we stayed at Indee Station, which is #588 in the Camp 6 book.  It advertised water, showers and toilets and was $20.00 for the night.  Unfortunately it didn’t advertise the miners who lived there in dongers, old caravans, sheds etc., but the ones we spoke to were nice guys.

It didn’t have any water we could use to top up the tanks but a few hundred metres away there was a tip where old cars, tyres, fridges etc., had been dumped.

We got talking to a young guy who had been on the road for about 6 months with his wife and two small kids.  They reminded us of Charlie and Sienna, both walking around barefoot in the red dust although our two would have been completely naked.  He’s working at the mine and they’re living in a small pop-top which he’s towed everywhere.

11.9.2012     We are now between Newman and Port Hedland, taking advantage of a free camp near an escarpment and a gorge. (#580 advertising phone reception but we couldn’t find any).  Steve took Timmy for a walk yesterday, they were almost rock climbing and poor Timmy was shattered when they came back.

There were two other caravans here when we arrived and three more joined us.  The existing two were from Wilson and Willetton, one of the others was from the Northern Territory and the last one was a motor home being driven by a couple of oldies who didn’t speak to anyone.

Because of the way we were parked the signage couldn’t be seen so when one of the couples were leaving this morning I sent them to the back of the caravan and they laughed.  Their granddaughter, who lives in Busselton, also has Cystic Fibrosis.

No gold for us I'm sad to say.  Yvonne was really disappointed and they set off at 8.00 this morning for home and we left 10 minutes later going in the opposite direction.

We are now in the NorthWest of W.A.  I'm quite excited about it.  There's a sign saying we're crossing the 26th Parallel and it would have been an ideal photo of the CF signage but Steve was going too fast to pull over.

From Cue to Meekathara no vehicles other than long road trains overtook us.  Steve does the right thing and pulls into the side so they don't have to lose any speed.  One of the drivers called us up on the CB and we were talking about Cystic Fibrosis.  I was hoping he'd slow down and throw us a couple of notes but unfortunately not.

We are parked in an area off the Great Northern Highway and Steve has the generator going and the satellite dish up and running in an effort to watch The Eagles play.  (He's reading the instruction manual.  The game'll be over by the time he has it sorted).

I don't know how long we'll be here for, at least tonight although I'm hoping some more caravan people will join us, there's always safety in numbers.  We're going to Newman, past Karijini National Park, to Port Hedland then we'll start making our way down the coast.

Another windy day at Cue.  Yesterday we all went into the bush, I stayed by the car with Timmy and Yvonne took Urkel for a walk.  Straight away he started eating grass then he spent most of the day walking about, drinking water and throwing up.

Yvonne and I came back to the caravans with the dogs and eventually he settled down, I think he had something stuck in his throat and was trying to remove it.  He's okay today and they've gone back and I'm in the caravan with Tim.

Had a lovely day yesterday.  We were all having a drink outside when we were approached by a man who asked if we were the people with the Cystic Fibrosis caravan.  He gave us a $50.00 donation and told us that in the 80s he taught a boy who had C.F.  When he was 14 and the boy was dying he asked to see his old teacher and they spent some time together.  This guy was so upset when he was talking to us.  It was so sad but heartwarming that the boy wasn't forgotten and his old teacher wanted to make a difference to the C.F. people of today.

This journey is not just about us seeing Australia.  More than that we wanted to bring to the general public the fact that Cystic Fibrosis is affecting so many Australians.  Who could not be affected by the image of Paige being fed an extremely high fat mix through a surgically induced tube in her stomach.  She also has a port under her arm which is used when she has to have massive doses of antibiotics.  This happens on a regular basis and she has to spend 7-10 days in PMH with more time off school while she's treated at home.

Please check out this link for further information on this insidious disease www.cysticfibrosis.org.au/wa

We have merchandise to sell and also will take donations.  Please don't hesitate to contact us if you would like to help.