Day 18 - Batten down the hatches!!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012 at 08:05AM So after last nights disappointing caravan park experience we hooked up the van & travelled 47km to Bunbury. Now all over the news there has been severe storm alerts for the south of WA. So we are bang smack in the middle of it. Time for my Bear Grills instincts to kick in & get us ready for what could almost be a category 2 cyclone (125km/h winds).
The park here has closed all of the sites near trees & they gave us a site with an ensuite (its own toilet & shower block) now the ensuite is a fairly solid brick building so if the Poo does hit the fan we can always shelter in there. Ness spoke to our neighbors who come from Townsville & they said they went through Cyclone Yasi last year & they gave us a few ideas too. So we put all loose items away, locked everything that can lock, filled up all of our water tanks (we can carry 300 litres of water so that is an extra 300kg of weight in the van) and as I type this we are waiting to see what happens.
Don’t get me wrong here we are not being silly, we have checked the forecast, prepared appropriately & have back up plans (the ensuite) but it will be a wild & woolly night. As I read this I am about ready to run for the ensuite.
That reminds me of our last trip, for those of you who remember everywhere we went the bad weather seemed to follow us, floods in Qld, an earthquake in Kalgoorlie. (not exactly bad weather)
Our pet fly. When we were in Adelaide a couple of weeks ago Ness & I were lying in bed & there was a fly in the van, it landed on the TV, then on the curtains & occasionally it landed on us only to be shooed away. Over the last week or so we have seen the same fly (we KNOW it is the same fly) we checked on google & a fly can live for 2-4 weeks, so we will be sad when our little friend disappears. Oh no we won’t…
The cost of washing. Ok so we have an 8 month old with us, and we have me (I’m not the cleanest when it comes to clothes) so we do need to do some washing. I reckon that caravan parks don’t make money out of site fees, but they sure make money out of washing your clothes! All of the sites we have been to charge at least $4 a load for washing & $4 for drying…..and it usually takes 2 lots to get it dry properly!!! I reckon by the time we finish this trip Ness will have paid enough to buy a washing machine!
Ok gotta go, need to get the blog up in case we lose power/phone connection.
But just a quick mention, some of you know of our neighbors Bill & Sue, they live down the road from us & have a B&B on their property. They have a new website & it’s worth having a look. For any of you interstaters it is walking distance to our house or even for those of you who want a quiet weekend away in the Yarra Valley….. This is the place you need. Have a look at The Burrow at Wombat Bend www.wombatbend.com
Reader’s comments & my replies
Hi to Liz, nice to hear from you. Sorry I make you late for work, but I am used to getting blamed for everything in the world so I’ll just cop it!
Sue advised me to ditch the GPS….. Might wait till I find a nice place in the Pilbara Sue & have a ceremonial bonfire & burn it!.... On second thoughts it might like that as it is evil…. Maybe I’ll drop it into a charity bin for a new owner.
Heather told me to give the Collie caravan park owner a demonstration of how I shower & go to the loo? No thanks!!!
Meredith….Yep got a full refund!... I would have been a very angry 4ft high person had we not!
Got some fashion advice from my son Brad!... the son that wore a Pink beanie with pigtails attached to it on our camping trip last year!!!
My mate Dan Cooney sent through a message….. Hey Dan, will hopefully see you in Kununurra later on the trip. You better not be lying about the weather!
Tereasa wants to know if we will still be doing caravan trips in 10 years so they can come on one with us. T, if I had my way we will still be on the same trip in 10 years! I’d give up all the stuff that ties you down just to travel full time!
Dave R pointed out that Collie & Collingwood are both crap! Good one Dave, I agree. But mate, a food smoker in the caravan? Its only 20ft long….. and with all the shoes that Ness brings there is hardly enough room as it is. Oh & we have a Bumbo with a tray, it is great!
Annie’s Blog
How long do I have to wear nappies for? I’m sick of them already. I wake up & the first thing Mum or Dad do is change my nappy, I have breakfast & a play….Then they change my nappy, I have a snooze… Another nappy. It just goes on & on & on! Dad keeps saying to Mum…”Does she need a new nappy?” Oh and they are so uncomfy….. you try moving about with a pillow between your legs! I’m over this baby stage…..Bring on puberty!
Mum has a new favourite store…. Best & Less. We went to the one in Albany & I got this cool purple sleeveless furry hoody. But when she was there she saw other stuff that she wanted for me. Dad said to buy it then but mum didn’t listen. So anyway when we came to this new place (Dad made a joke with me and said it was called Bumbury…..He cracks himself up sometimes) she wanted to go to Best & Less. So we went there & got some new clothes for me, some of the things they bought me were only $4 for a pair of leg in’s….. Bet you they only last me a week!
Tonight the box on wheels is shaky, there is lots of wind & rain. I’m going to sleep soon because if the rain keeps going it will be too noisy to sleep. Well Punky…you are asleep now and it is all happening, so hopefully you stay that way. That is unless you Mum finds it too scare and picks you up and takes you into the brick ensuite.
Goodnight friends & family
AnnieInAVan
xoxo
Reader Comments (6)
Wow sounds like a wild and crazy night in the van guys . . . Hope you all survivce and have some more funny stories to tell. Wish we were away too travelling the country. Maybe sometime in the future :o) Will be on hte look out for tomorrow's post to see how you all fared! Night
Hope your night settled down - perhaps you could have saved some $$ on the washing by throwing all your dirty clothes in the van whilst you headed to the ensuite. Nathan's parents have a washing machine in their van which I always thought was a bit excessive but on hearing how much it costs you I now understand. Not sure though just how many loads they have to do as it's not exactly a family size washing machine....maybe it washes a pair of socks and "smalls" ....
Nathan is due home this afternoon - it's really really cold here today so can only imagine how cold they must all be on board.
Hi Guys just watching the news - hope you are all ok xx
Have been thinking of you all night (except when I was asleep) and worrying about your safety..... we hope you came through unscathed if uncomfortable ! No leaks in the box on wheels, I'm certain of that ! unlike a Landrover camper I could mention ... (but Bill swears he has sealed up every crack and cranny, so he'd better be right !). Hope the next few days are a lot better then you start to head north, where it WILL be better. BTW I think Collie is the pits and Bumbury / Busselton, spare me ! all that country used to be beautiful before it got 'discovered' and overrun by Perth Retirees.
Tell you what James, bring the GPS home and we'll have a joint ceremonial burning of yours and ours. (I did like the idea of dumping it in the bin though. Or you could put it on a nature strip somewhere as hard rubbish for collection.)
Hope you were ok last night! I would have hooked up to the car as an anchor so not to fly away!!
take care xx T
I had to make a run for the ensuite this morning too:)