Day 32 - Kalgoorlie

Short blog tonight as I have just finished work & I have to be up at 4am to go to work in the morning. Awwwwww….. I can hear you all saying as you read that over your late night chocolate (Kirsten) or early morning coffee (Liz, Heather, Meredith, Arama….& others) but a guy has to sleep!

We went to the Kalgoorlie museum today & boy do I have some stories for you, I read up on Paddy Hannan & the Gold Rush, I read about the stolen generation of aboriginal children….Made me sad & we learnt about the hard lives that people lived here even as recent as 40 or 50 years ago, it was a tough place to live. I’ll share more when I have time.

We also took a step back in time today, we needed fuel in the Land Rover so we pulled into a service station & Ness got out to fill up, this lady came running towards us & asked us “How much do you want?” yes….she was actually going to fill it up for us!!! And she then came around the front & washed our windscreen! I would move here for service like that, very impressive.

Reader’s Comments

Celeste, thanks for encouraging me to make up words to well known songs….Stay tuned & I’ll give you my version of “Ride Like the Land rover”

Sandy…thanks for joining us on the blog….We know you read it every night but it is great to hear from you.

Dave R… the movie Home Alone comes to mind Dave…stock up on Pork & chocolate & good movies, Lyndal will not know…..she is in Melbourne!

Carol & Mike…good to hear from you too from Creswick….did you know it is going to be 26-28 degrees in Newman next week when we are there????

Annie’s Blog

My Mum must have said something to my Dad….Because he was quiet as a mouse this morning, I didn’t even hear him leave. But when he came home he made up for it because he made lots of funny noises from his bottom, he was laughing about them….But mum was saying “James that is disgusting!”…..Hope he shows me how to do it.

We went to this place today that had lots of old stuff in it, but I can’t understand why people keep it, if it is old shouldn’t you throw it away?.....Most of the stuff I saw was old & rusty & dirty….. and there was not one thing that was pink!

I think my Mum & Dad are attached to this one shop called Rivers. Whenever we are in a town that has a Rivers store Mum & Dad always go in????

Night everyone.

AnnieInAVan

Day 31 - Kalgoorlie

You know it’s when you do something like we are doing that you get a real picture of some of the things that we hear fleetingly on the nightly news. We are in a caravan park in Kalgoorlie & yesterday we met a family that are over here looking for work during the “Mining Boom” they explained that they are from Tasmania & they had a firewood supply business. But recently the big timber businesses made it so hard for them to gain access to forests & plantations to get wood that they closed the business down. They packed up bikes & some bedding, clothes &essentials & they are now living in the back of a truck! Seriously it is a van so it has walls & a roof but to think that a couple & their 12 year old daughter are living in it while looking for work shows just how “real” things are, they were heating  food on a gas bottle with a basic burner and  pot balanced on top! Yes it really is a reality check, they have told us they will just be living here in the caravan park and try and find work…until whenever. I am incredibly grateful to have work, a home and a caravan.

When we were here last trip we came just after the earthquake did a fair bit of damage to Boulder. Many of the historic buildings were damaged & scaffolding had been erected to stop any further collapse.

Well things must move slow over here in the west because much of the scaffolding is still here & there does not appear to be too much repair work completed. Sure there are a couple of pubs that have been reopened (priorities!) but some of the public buildings still have a lot of work to be done!

I worked this morning at a mine site, I had to start at 6am & the site was 20 minutes away, so allowing  time for a shower & getting dressed I was up at 415am….. so while I’m typing the blog tonight I’m a little tired, but the worst part is I have to go back to work at 6pm tonight!..... and before you all think I’m whingeing….I’m NOT, I’m just sharing!

Some of you have gone quiet, got a lovely message on the blog from Celeste last night, some of you should send us a message or ask us a question about our adventures so far!

Reader’s comments

Celeste read the blog from start to finish so far…..It took her 9 hours! Geeze I can waffle on about not much really. Thanks for the message Celeste, we agree you should buy a van/bus/caravan and come on a trip with us, Ashwin would love it.

Cousin Marc said hello via email…..nice to hear from you Marc. Good to see that you like Karl from an idiot abroad! Hope the move into the new place went well.

Celeste also asked what I think of people that park in wheelchair car parks…. I don’t think too much Celeste, I actually carry a tyre valve remover in my bag & if I see someone park in a spot that shouldn’t be & they have no permit I let down 2 of their tyres, you can guarantee they won’t do it again after that! He ain’t joking Celeste…

Annie’s Blog

Dad woke me up really early today, I was dreaming about the hitch hiker on a bike (remember?) and Dad’s alarm went off. He got out of bed & made lots of noise when he was getting ready for work! Dad can you keep it down a bit? Me & Mum have to play all day & how do you expect us to function if you wake us up so early!

But Dad made up for it when he got home from work, Mum had heaps to do so Dad said “Lets go for a drive Annie” so me & Dad got in the car & went out without Mum. He took me to this drive through place where they gave us some chips & a drink! Dad told me not to tell Mum. Then we went to this lookout place where you can look down on a Mine Site with big big big trucks. It was great. But then I fell asleep in the back of the car in the car park & you know how much my Dad loves me?.... He fell asleep to keep me company! Isn’t that cool!

When we both woke up we drove around for some more time & then we decided that mum must be getting lonely so we went back to the caravan park. It was perfect timing to Annie, as I was really missing you and your Dad. xxx

I like being in different places….. it’s really interesting hearing Mum & Dad talk about history & how things have changed.

Good evening to you all

AnnieInAVan…XXXX

Day 30 - Kalgoorlie

So you know that this is a work trip right? I mean some of you think that we are on a 3 month holiday!....No no no no no! we are working while we are away, I have numerous sites to visit & Ness is liaising with clients about this trip & work for the rest of the year.

However we do have the occasional day that we can do a few things that we want to do. Yesterday & today were a couple of those days, I mean sure we were travelling from Bunbury to Kalgoorlie, a trip of almost 800km, but we decided to do it a little different. We are set up very well for off road travel, so we looked on the map & decided to take the “Road less travelled”.

We headed to Wave Rock which is just near Hyden in WA (that’s for you Susanne…Your old stomping ground)  but we then decided we were going to do a couple of hundred (173 to be exact) km’s of dirt road. We headed north towards Southern Cross & Marvel Loch (again for Susanne). It was awesome, we drove past some huge grain properties & the dirt road was in really good condition.

We arrived in Marvel Loch at 6pm & it was already dark so we could not see too much around the town, but we determined there was no caravan park so we found a quiet little spot on the edge of town and pulled up the van for the night.

The next day we woke & had brekky before going for a tour of the town.

Now the only reason this town is here is mining, gold, Zinc & other minerals & when the mining stops the town dies, we did a bit of research & found out that St Barbara, the company that owns the mines that support the town are pulling out in August this year. The town is basically a series of mine camps, a local store & a pub, no police station, no post office…..Nothing. But the saddest thing is we drove past the school, it is abandoned & has not been used since 2005. It is a lovely old series of buildings, just left as it was the day it closed. No vandalism, no graffiti… you could virtually mow the lawns, clean the windows & move back in! I said to Ness imagine buying this place & turning it into a home or series of homes! But it won’t happen because once the mines close there will be no reason to be there!

From Marvel Loch we headed towards Kalgoorlie on the Great Eastern Hwy, but we noticed a sign that took us off the highway to an “Interpretive site” we had a bit of time up our sleeves so we turned in to a dirt road. We were a little concerned when the road started to wind around & then even crossed over the pipeline. We pulled up at the parking area & all we could see were a few old relics & a sign explaining the history of the area.

But…. I noticed that the sign beside the dirt road pointed to Kalgoorlie & I asked Ness if she was game? She looked at me & said…May as well, so we set off down this narrow dirt road that followed the pipeline. The first thing we noticed was the signs advising a 40km/h speed limit, but then when we saw some mud puddles & bushes overgrowing the road we were almost looking for a spot to turn around.

Luckily we kept going because it was fantastic, the road was narrow & overgrown & we travelled slowly but it was a lot of fun & the car & van handled it really well.

We were actually a little disappointed when the dirt road ended & we got back onto tar!

So all in all the last couple of days were basically just for us to get from one job to another, but we had a lot of fun along the way & saw some incredibly interesting things. Ness will post some pictures tonight….but the pictures just don’t do some of the places justice.

Reader’s comments

Susanne tells us that she grew up in the area that we are currently travelling through & she said she dated Pyjama man when she lived here!

Norm & Marg are currently in France, along with Rob & Juan…..Hey that means the blog is international! I should be charging more for you all to read it now it is international…. What do you mean you are not paying to read it????

Norm had a go at me for promoting another brand of van….. for those of you who don’t know there is a brand called Avan. And Annie signs off AnnieInAvan….. Well Norm thanks for that, but it would have sounded pretty bad AnnieInATrak, or AnnieInABox!!!

Heather went to Nimbin today, I reckon you should move there Heather, Brad could run for mayor!

Quote of the day

Ness changing Annie’s 3^rd pooey nappy of the day “Poo just smells!”

Annie’s Blog

My Dad took me & Mum down some rough roads today! It shook me up so much that all my poo fell out!  So if you are ever having trouble doing a poo…..ask my Dad to take you down a dirt road with the box on wheels behind you….Scary as!

I cracked Mum up today…..I played Peek A Boo with my blanket, she thought it was hilarious (whatever that means!) Mum put it on Facebook for those of you who have it.

Today we went to Coolgardie, Mum told me & Dad that she came here with Nan & Pop when she was younger, and Dad said that he went to school in Kambalda which is near where we are staying. So I was thinking “Why are we here again if Mum & Dad have both already been here?” can’t we go somewhere like Disneyland or somewhere you haven’t been?

Goodnight from where Paddy Hannan found gold!

AnnieInAVan….XXXX

Day 29 - Marvel Loch

Good evening, we have had a travelling day today & you would think that not much could happen during a day getting from one place to another?.....Wrong!

We left Bunbury this morning, we both came away thinking it is a lovely place, nice & clean, beach lifestyle….Not bad, check it out one day.

Ok left the caravan park & headed out through Collie where I had been working during the week. It’s a real industrial town, mining & power stations are the only reason it is there. Oh & it has a Maccas which helps the township with its obesity issues! It’s funny but I do a lot of work in mining towns & in most small mining towns the first fast food shop to set up (apart from the normal café’s & fish n chips shops that are part of any town) is Macdonald’s. Just what lazy miners with plenty of money needs! (No offence to any lazy miners reading this!).

We were getting a bit peckish around 11am & the next town was Narrogin, so we decided to find some food, as Macdonald’s is unhealthy we decided to go with a pie & sausage roll…with sauce & an apple slice & a lamington……  See, good travelling food!

Anyway as Ness was out at the bakery I watched a car pull up opposite us, he attempted to park 4times before he was happy with his efforts. He then opened his door & got out…I was a bit surprised to see this gentleman get out of his car in a pair of bright blue striped flannel pyjamas. I’m not kidding! After speaking about jammies during the week. I decided I was going to try & sneak a picture of him because Ness would not believe me….. but even better, Ness was on the way back to the car & he bailed her up & wanted to have a chat!....I was laughing in the car!

We sat in the car after Ness managed to excuse herself from Pyjama Man & were happy eating our healthy Pie & Sausage roll when Karma struck!..... Pyjama man came walking over & stuck his head in my window!!!.... He put his hand in to shake my hand & he only had 3 fingers!... What the! My options here were to wind the electric window up & risk cutting off more of his fingers…. Or look for an excuse to leave, which would be pretty hard as I had a half eaten pie in my hand!

Pyjama Man introduced himself & said that he wished he was a nomad, but he had to give his caravan away to his sister in lieu of $9000 he owed her (believe us we did not ask this, he just told us!) he then went on to tell us his life story in a very short period of time….including that he has been married for 39 years!

But guess what…..Our daughter is a legend! Just when it looked like we would be there for a while, as there was no stopping Pyjama Man…… Annie screamed out in the back of the car!!! Ness & I both said at the same time….”We better get going then as she is restless”….. Thanks Annie!

We made it to Wave Rock….. Wow is all I can say! This place is beautiful there is this massive lump of rock that curves around like a huge breaking wave. There were very few other people there so we got to enjoy it all by ourselves…Awesome! Ness will post pictures tomorrow as we are parked on the edge of a town that has no caravan park!

Short blog tonight…. Got heaps to say but no battery left in my computer! I could hook up the generator but we are enjoying the peace & quiet so this will do for tonight.

Reader’s Messages

My sister Heather is trying to start a blog fight with me but I won’t be drawn into it as she has “Issues”….. Hehehe…don’t start with me H as you know I will win.

Special message to the Delander family…congratulations on selling your house…. Yering markets trading figures will drop by 25% now you are leaving Vic! We will miss you all.

Annie’s Blog

We moved today!... this morning Mum & Dad packed up all our stuff & we drove out of the place we were at & the good old box on wheels followed us…Yay!

We stopped at this town & Mum took me to this bakery place to buy food for her & Dad, on the way back this man talked to my mum, and I might be wrong but I think he had his Jammies on! Why would a grown man go to the shops with Jammies on? I thought just us babies did that!

But guess what? He must have really liked us because he came over to meet my Dad too, and I was right…he did have Jammies on!

He kept talking & talking & I could tell that Mum & Dad were being nice to this man, but not really interested…. So I had an idea….I yelled loud as I can. Mum said we needed to go & Dad said goodbye to the man. When we were driving away Mum & Dad said I was a good girl? Why??? I think I’ll yell at adults more often.

Mum & Dad did say that the man was nice & it would be very easy to take him the wrong way. So I’ll keep that in mind when I see adults in Jammies during my life.

We went to this big rock today…. It was bigger than our house & bigger than the box on wheels! It was funny as mum tried to lie on it with me but we kept slipping down!.... it was great.

Ok I’ll speak to you tomorrow, Dad said to keep it short tonight as he does not have much power! I reckon he should have thought of that before he brought me & Mum to a place with no tricity!

Lots of love

AnnieInAVan….Kiss Kiss Kiss (Dunno what that means but Dad says it to me before he puts his lips on my head????)

Day 28 - Last Day in Bunbury

Good evening bloggies. Well tonight feels like a Friday for the first time in a few weeks, I mean for the last 4 weeks we have been travelling & working the occasional day here & day there. So there has not really been a beginning or an end to the week. But this week I worked Wednesday to Friday & I was relieved that it was over by today.

I worked at a power station this week, they supply 30% of WA’s electricity. It is a coal fired power station & before the greenies amongst you stop reading & don’t talk to me anymore just have a listen…

This place was built in the 60’s & commissioned in 1971, way back then a greenie was something that came out of your nose! & pollution was the person downstream’s problem! But over the last 10 years they have put a lot of effort & money into Greenifying it. To the point where today it produces less pollution than you might think, there are gas reclaimers, smoke washers (Really… they divert the smoke through water & it removes much of the bad stuff) and even the coal that they burn has to be of a particular quality before they will use it… they recently sent back a large order of coal because it just wasn’t “Good” enough!

So you know sometimes when we see people protesting about things they don’t agree with it is always good to get all the information & then decide. And I know that coal fired power is “Evil” to some people but we are doing it in a hell of a better way than we did 40 years ago.

Got the van fixed….. this morning was an early start for us all, had to have the van at the place by 8am & I had to be at work by 930 which is an hours drive away. Dropped it off & told the guys the problem, they said they would look into it….. They found a crack in the housing, which is what Trakmaster said could happen….. So they sealed it up with silicon & it will be leakproof until we get home. See you can solve problems as you go…..No worries!

Arama said in a recent message that I share a lot….. which got me thinking….Do I? I mean I just write what comes into my head….. could be about work, personal life, pooey nappies, anything! I guess Arama I have nothing to hide & I don’t really care what anyone thinks about what I do or say. I think that after my accident happened I had a bit of a change of attitude….. My mum & sisters may disagree but I reckon it was about then that I realised that I didn’t have to try to please other people or do what I thought they wanted me to do or say. Ok so I’m going off on a tangent here….. and sure I still make mistakes, but I really just say what I feel at the time. (Sometimes it embarrasses the people with me…. But it’s just who I am) Ahhh…I love you for who you are!

We went out for dinner tonight, found a nice little restaurant right on the water in Bunbury. Ness & I both ordered the same meal….. I hate it when she does that! I pick what I want usually within 30 seconds, Vanessa reads & then re reads the menu & then 15 minutes later says “I might have what you are having!” next time I’ll just go in & pick a meal & say “We’ll have 2 of those!” I take what I just said back.  You are an a…hole Mr Wood!!  You know it was because it was the only dish that was steak and we both felt like red meat! 

Reader’s comments

Arama told us of a place where we could go for a cultural experience…. Will be doing it next time we are up that way A.

Kirsten told us it was raining in Vic….. Glad we aint there! Luv Edwards updates too….

Tereasa…got the cabin and still went shopping, no shoes for either Annie or I…but a few clothing pieces may have slipped into the pram.

And my sister Heather is on her happy pills again, she has been receiving treatment for delusion for many years now & it has obviously kicked in again. I feel for her husband & daughter when she goes through these spells…Sometimes they last for weeks & months… It’s tough for Brad & Syd, especially having to change her incontinence pants!

Annie’s Blog

Today was the funniest day, My Dad drove out today and I saw the box on wheels follow him! Usually mum puts me in my seat & I am in the car but today me & mum stayed here & Dad drove out…. It is really well trained, it did not drop behind the car or try to run past…. Good box on wheels!

After Dad left Mum took me to this little hut, it had a bed & a sink & a TV….but it wasn’t any bigger than the box on wheels…. I hope we don’t have to stay here for long, it is not as comfy as my bed.

Mum took me to the street and we had our first girls day out, we sat at in this café & we both looked out to the street….Mum was talking to me like I was a big girl & it was sooooo fun. Then we came home & Mum put my rug down with all these things to play with, a jar of cheesymite, a tub of butter, mum’s handbag & lots of other things….I was busy for ages playing by myself.

Dad says we are leaving tomorrow…..I’ll be sad to leave Bumbury….. Hahaha why do I giggle when dad says that?... but I’m sure we will have fun at the new place.

Nighty Night

AnnieInAVan…XXXX