Day 13 - Jerramungup WA
Thursday, June 7, 2012 at 08:32AM Last night in Norseman was interesting, firstly when we pulled in there was another Trakmaster van setting up, now for those of you not familiar with caravanning there is a lot of brand loyalty out there. Jayco’s are like your Hyundai of caravans, they are cheap & fall apart, Coromal, AVan, Coronet, Galaxy, Kedron all have their loyal owners and of course us Trakmaster owners are better than all the rest! Anyway I had a chat with the owner, he bought his when he retired and spends 4-5 months on the road & the rest at home & visiting his kids interstate!....Nice.
The other bloke I met was a classic, he tows his 1970’s Old style pop up van with a 1993 Falcon wagon on gas & has been doing the same trips for the last 20 plus years, he must be at least 75 years old and was a lovely old guy, He said to me as he was leaving “I better go & see what the wife wants to do for dinner, she sometimes forgets about eating”.
When we stayed in Madura the previous night there was a car with 3 Japanese tourists in it, 2 girls & 1 guy, they also turned up at the same caravan park in Norseman! I joked that they were following us and they said “No…No…We no follow you!” sometimes humour is lost in translation!
Anyway Ness went up to the bathroom later that night & the 2 girls were in there doing their laundry in the sink! C’mon girls, this is for brushing your teeth, not washing your undies!!!
Ness started the day in her usual way, Crumpets & Jam….. Sue our neighbour came to see us before we left and gave us a big jar of Cuncliffe & Waters Raspberry Jam, Sue I don’t think the jar will last the whole trip, but Ness thanks you every morning while eating her crumpets. Hey we can also see why you & Bill love it over here, the difference in the flora & fauna is amazing, we drove mainly on roads with sand verges & the plants that grow in this area are hardy & tough but beautiful. We will post some photos of some of the unusual ones that we find.
Have to give my wife a big blog hug, for the last couple of days she has had some sort of bug & feels like crap. But she still manages to keep me & Annie fed, did a load of washing, went shopping & soldiered on even though she was feeling like crap, Well done darling, I want all of the blog readers to know that me & Annie appreciate the effort you are putting in! She is like an Eveready battery, she just keeps going!.... Big Kiss X
You know there are people travelling the country in so many different ways, Bike (you all know what Ness thinks of these people) car (The Japanese tourists) minibus or camper, caravan and even camper trailer. Now these are the ones I feel for, basically they are a tent attached to a trailer! We are in Jerramungup WA tonight & it is raining & about 10 degrees, we have the option of our reverse cycle airconditioner, our diesel powered heater and the ever reliable hot water bottle to keep us warm, what do they have?..... 1/8th of an inch of canvas between them and zero degrees tonight! And don’t tell me they have really good sleeping bags because that just doesn’t work for me! And I thought I was the caravan snob!!
I want to share something that our good friends Marg & Norm shared with us the other day. Now M&N (no not EMINEM!) are our travelling idols, they have been travelling and living their lives to the fullest for much longer than Ness & I (they are currently house sitting somewhere in Scotland or England),but they shared one of their tips to staying sane while being together nearly 24/7 for months at a time. They used to take it in turns at being right! For one month it would be Marg’s turn to be right……No matter what…. & the next month it would be Norm’s. Think about it, if you knew it was your partners turn to be right it would hardly be worth arguing would it? Makes sense to me.
Hey today we were leaving Esperance it was pouring with rain, just on the outskirts of town there was a bike rider with garbage bags over him (to keep him dry), his bags on his bikes and a hand written note saying Albany. I said to Ness “We should give him a ride” he looked European & I thought we could share some stories & we were heading that way. Ness said “No” I said “Why not” she said…… “Because I’m a snob”….. at least she is honest! (See nothing is out of bounds with the blog) I need to footnote here….if I was feeling better, Annie wasn’t sleeping and it wasn’t pouring rain I might have considered it but then again my mum and dad always told me never to pick up strangers.
Fruit & Nut update, they did not get confiscated at the border!....Bugger
Reader’s replies
Marg & Norm gave us their tips on Peeing etiquette….Thanks, Norm also told us that the Nullarbor is not boring, I agree Norm….Just the road across the Nullarbor!
My sister Heather said that Annie’s snot bubble should be a 21st birthday photo! Yes!!!
Egg also commented on peeing in the bush, good to hear from you Egg, did you read the blog where I told everyone how good the Land Rover was? Would you like me to send you your own personal copy of how magnificent it is?.....Did I tell you I love my Land Rover?
Also heard from Sarah F, thanks for the updates S.
Happy Birthday to our good mate Peter A…The Michelin Man.
Annie’s Blog
My food is drying up, today it was much harder to get the green stuff out of my nose and onto my tongue. Does this mean I am growing up?
Elise my friend from mothers group told me that she saw the biggest TV in the world, Wow I thought we were lucky coz our box on wheels has 2 TV’s. I reckon it’s silly as the box is only small, but Dad insisted on having 2 TV’s in it. When I get back can you take me to where this big TV is Elise?
When we were driving out of Esperance we saw this man standing on the side of the road, my Dad said to mum that we should give him a lift, I wanted to too because he was so cute, he had his hair in a bun, he had dark skin and this really sexy stuff on his chin & face (Mum sometimes calls my dad’s face hair stubble…..so maybe it was his stubble too?) I reckon my aunty Heather would think he was Hot!..... but mum said no. Awwww……. He could have read me my books in his deep voice & spunky accent if he sat next to me in the back!..... I think I’ll have a dream about this nice man tonight.
Today in the car I taught Mum & Dad a trick, I was sitting in the back with my blanket and I put it up over my face and then every time I pulled it away from my face my Mum or Dad would say Peek A Boo!..... It was soooo funny, I cracked myself up, no matter how many times I did it I could always get them to say it whenever I wanted them to…… They are so gullible, I’ll have to think about what I teach them to do tomorrow!
I feel a bit better today, when it was going dark I did not feel that it was my bed time like it did over the last couple of days…… must be getting used to the West Stralian air?
Nighty Night
AnnieInAVan XXX
Reader Comments (6)
hey you three, sorry it's so wet and cold but at least you are snug inside the box. Jerramungup is one of our favourite wildflower places, you are right about the flora being fantastic ... even in winter there are flowers to be found. As you go further north later, it'll be warmer of course and lots more in flower. Pretty cold back here too right now. Am enjoying your wanderings ! James, you are not supposed to eat that jam with a spoon. love, Sue
I had a friend who was doing a Bachelor Degree early 1980s. Mid year in her 3rd year, she and hubby (both in their 50s) did a tour through Central Australia. They had car and tent - and he worked out beforehand every km and the budget for each day and how much fuel would cost, which threw him completely when it was more expensive than he had expected, but that's another story. She did her Sociology paper on the different types of methods used by people travelling in Central Australia - and got a High C. She felt that the ones in Kombie vans were the strangest......
Hi James,
I did read your entry where you expressed you love of the Land Rover. I think it is nice for a bloke to have a love for something other than his family (even if it is somewhat misguided). I'm just waiting for the blog post where the Land Rover is on the back of tilt tray:)
Regards
Egg
Annie, you are so right, I would have picked up the european man in an instant and thats because anyone who is riding a bike in the wilderness must have a facinating life story to tell (in a sexy accent) and of course european men with stubble on their faces and buns in their hair are hot!
I wish uncle brad would grow his hair now Lol!
have a good weekend , I am going to force Uncle Brad out of his office to go see some whales frolick
When Linds an I first got together and went overseas for 2 years, we camped around Europe for a few months in our tiny Peugeot 101, and our tent. It was great fun and we were both always right about everything. How good it was waking up in Seville (Spain ) in a big storm, perfectly dry, floating on a river coming through the campsite. A different version of a waterbed, and super comfy. don't have that in your van , do ya.
PS, I like my car too, just has a few limitations that yours doesn't and I like yours too. Ha ha
Abi also is one of the best bubble blowers I have ever seen, with Issy screaming out "dad there is s balloon on Abi's face".
Safe travels, we go to Dubbo tomorrow to see Simon and Claire, happy days. I'll say hi for you.
Firstly I take offence at your blog James as you know I drive an elantra and its every bit as good as any you have. Now on to annie so glad to hear you are feeling better and forget about good looking men you see as your Dad would just get jealous. I am glad you have got your mum and dad twisted round your finger so make the most of it as it doesn,t work for ever , be good and enjoy your travels lots of love from granny