Day 66 – Tom Price Tom Price Tom Price

Good evening bloggies, I need to have a rest tonight. Will kick back & watch a couple of episodes of “An Idiot Abroad” and quite frankly I have a mental blank! Happens to the best of us, I reckon some days even Shakespeare couldn’t be stuffed! So I’m having a Shakespeare day!

Speak to you tomorrow!

Love from the three of us in the place we are rapidly becoming sick of!

J & V & AnnieInAVan….XXXX

Day 65 - Paraburdoo

Ok, now for any religious people reading the blog, you will be happy to know I am now a believer! You see prior to this trip I was not religious in any way! But something has happened that has made us believe that there is a higher power!

You see this van is over 3 years old and we have not yet had to change gas bottles! Seriously we are still on the same 9kg gas bottle that this van rolled out the factory with!

Now I know some of you will say that we must not have used it much!.... Bull!!! The last trip saw us cook for 4 months with the stove & the oven, the BBQ runs off the same bottle and a few times we have even switched the fridge over to gas!

I asked Ness the other week if she had changed the bottle over (we have 2 bottles on the van) and she said no. As if I would know how to do that!  So that means that we have got 3 years’ worth of gas out of one bottle! Surely this can’t be right? We have had a problem with the fridge last week, it won’t run on 240V so we flicked it onto gas, it has been running on gas for the last week and we still have not changed the bottle over!

Ness & I have started calling it the Jesus bottle!

Saw another couple of interesting sights going or coming from the bathroom today, Blue dressing gown woman was at it again today, but the guy with the towel around his waist & a T- shirt on was a classic… Because he had socks and shoes on! Surely if you had the time to put socks and shoes on in the bathroom you would put a pair of pants on!

Today we went for a drive to Paraburdoo, it is the nearest town to Tom Price and is also strictly a mining town, the town was built by Hammersly Iron to house workers on the nearby mine. We arrived and had a drive around the town….Not much different from Tom Price really, but then we happened to notice a sign saying that there was racing at the local motocross track. So Ness & I decided that it was time for Annie to go to her first race meeting.

It was great, Annie was a bit confused by the noise, but once she was used to it we had a great couple of hours watching the bikes & quad bikes.

Reader’s Comments

Norm & Marg sent a message from England, Norm I agree with you that Vinikourov should not have been allowed to compete at the Olympics, he is a convicted drug cheat, but so were others in the race!

I find it funny though that Australians (Us) are quick to criticize others for cheating but as soon as an Aussie does it…..It was a mistake!!! I’m a bit over the Olympics though, there are activities in the Olympics that are just not sport! For a start anything that is “Judged” by others. And then we have ridiculous stuff like table tennis, equestrian (Sorry Kirstin) & rhythmic gymnastics. Now these things are great to watch & even to do….but are they really a sport. Soon we will have Darts, Mud wrestling & poker as Olympic events! I reckon I’d win a gold medal in 4WD’ing! Just to let you all know James has had this philosophy on sport since I have known him and is pretty harsh about…don’t get him started.

Heather said that it is a sin to wear Ugg boots with your dressing gown in public, it has to be thongs with socks!

Jack said that his Dad also calls his pig bad names, especially after cutting his hand while chasing it! Hey Jack, tell your pig to hurry up and have little pigs, so we can have roast pork! When you are older (Much older) Me & your Dad will sit you & Annie down and tell you where Roast pork comes from.

And Tereasa, you are awesome…. A nice Chev would be great in the Holden. And would you like my requests for the homecoming dinner now? Or later? Don’t you dare Tereasa.

Annie’s Blog

My teef are killing me, today I was just miserable. Mum & Dad kept asking me what was wrong! Couldn’t they see I was in pain from my mouth! I was dribbling & sticking everything I could find into my mouth! It hurts a lot.

Dad said to Mum that we should go for a drive because I sometimes sleep in the car. Not today.

We did go to this place that had these two wheeled bike thingy’s they made heaps of noise when they went past…. I want one already, I’m going to start nagging Mum & Dad to get me one for my 5^th birthday! Oh really Annie….

Jack told me that his Pig made his Dad cut his hand….Wow Jack did he say funny words that don’t make sense? My Dad does, when something goes wrong or he drops something he says these words that start with S, or B, and even once when he hurt his hand he said Luck? What does Luck have to do with hurting your hand?

I’m going to bed early tonight, hopefully my teef will be better tomorrow.

Love yous all

AnnieInAVan….XXXXX

Day 64 – Another Day in Paradise

Ok here is an observation! I reckon if you live in a particular environment for long enough, you can become influenced and then actually start to participate in that environment!

What I am trying to explain is that Ness & I are relatively new to caravanning, sure we did a big trip a few years ago and we are on the road for 5 months this year…. But some people have been doing it for years…. And they become very comfortable with the environment they are in.

So comfortable in fact that they forget that there are other people in the same environment!

Try to think of it like this, you live in your house with your partner, and once you stop having to impress him or her you are quite comfortable ducking to the loo in the middle of the night with no clothes on, or dropping the occasional fluff (Except for my wife & Lorraine G who seem to have lost control of their fart valves!)

Some of the people we have seen on this trip just don’t care what they do or look like in front of us! Today was a perfect example, we saw a lady with a sky blue dressing gown with the belt half undone the dressing gown had these white fluffy clouds on it and she had a pair of brown ugg boots on. But each time she took a step the gown flew open and you could see her bits! It was not pretty!!! And then we had the guy that had to do some washing, he went into the laundry with his bag of dirty clothes, but then when he saw the cost of the machines he must have decided to make the most of it and stripped down to his undies and threw the clothes he was wearing in too! I’m not kidding, Ness nearly choked on her dinner when she saw this bloke walk across the park in a pair of Y fronts and thongs! You forgot about the bloke tonight who was getting around in a full woollen PONCHO and Uggies….I thought there was a Mexican in town,

But you know the worst bit! I’m becoming one of “Them” the other morning I got up early to go to work, I had to go to the shower which is only 20 meters from our van…. So I went across with a towel across my lap and my blue flannelette Jammie top on! I can’t believe I did it, luckily it was 4am and no one saw me!

How many of you take directions from your partner? Today we decided to go for a drive, I have this book that is called “20 Great 4WD trips in WA” and a few of them are up this way. So we picked one today that was only 120km and would take us a few hours. Now Pete & Egg you will relate to this. I gave the book to Ness and said “You are the navigator” the book has trip notes. And directions…. Ie.TL means turn left, TR means turn right…. Simple huh?

We head out of town and Ness tells me to reset the trip meter according to the trip notes, but we then get to a distance where we are supposed to TL (Turn left) and there is no road!

I asked Ness to check the notes again and she said to me “What does KSO mean?”

Now I have to stick up for my wife here as I have been using trip notes for years and know that KSO means “Keep Straight On”….. So we had turned when we were meant to KSO and were totally in the wrong place! So a bit of backtracking and we ended up where we were meant to be going!

It was a great drive too, man I love Australia…. Lets not Stuff it up!!!

Reader’s comments & replies

Had a great email from our neighbour Sue F, some of you will remember that Sue was commenting regularly in the early part of our trip. But she has been busy lately with some causes that are very dear to her. Sue rescues Airedale Terriers from all over the world, and she has had a few sticky (&costly) rescues lately…. If any of you are interesting in supporting Sue please get in touch, the biggest problem is cost…. Everyone wants to help but when it comes to finding the money to help these animals not many people do…. Send me an email and we will put you in touch with Sue.

Tereasa asked if we need anything done before we get home…Actually T My old Holden needs a new motor, and the master cylinder is leaking…Can you look into it for me and have it done by September?  And we will be home on the 31^st of August around 4PM can you make sure the fire is on and my hot water bottle is in my bed! Thanks T

Heard from my Mum the other day….She is back in Myrtleford after visiting my sister, but her gas heater broke down! Myrtleford in winter with no heater is not a nice place to be…. Lucky you are Scottish mum!

Michael G understood what I was saying about the bike riders…. Oh and also about farting wives! Enough about this…is there no sanctity between husband & wife. Michael I reckon there are more of us but we are the only ones brave enough to speak about it!

And my sister took a visiting Japanese student to the Gold Coast today to show her some Australian culture! Ha…. She would have been more at home than if she was back in Japan!

Jackie from Singapore said hello….Hello Jackie.  Hi Jaxs…hope you enjoyed your bike ride today and your toosh is not too sore.

Annie’s Blog

Got another Toof, Got another Toof, hey hi a diddly oh I Got another Toof! I’m up to 7 now, and Dad said tonight that I have another one coming through. This growing up stuff is a piece of cake. I’ll be one soon and that will be so grown up. I was trying to push things even faster tonight because when Dad tried to feed me I wouldn’t eat it…. I wanted to put the food stuff in my own mouth with my own hands. And then I decided that I didn’t want my food in a little plastic bowl with a little plastic spoon, I mean Mum & Dad were eating this fancy food on big plates with these silver things called forks and nives! (That word doesn’t look right, maybe I spelled it wrong) so I cracked it and decided I wanted to eat the same food that they had with my fingers. And guess what? It worked….. I’m so clever!

Jack sent me a picture of his pig today….. I think it is beautiful, it has a very cute face….But my Dad said something that I didn’t quite understand? He said “That pig is uglier than a hatful of @#$&holes” censorship police stepped in here and he kept saying to mum “Mmmmm Bacon!” “Mmmmm Roast Pork” Jack what does he mean???

We went on this Boosh Bash today, now I’m a big girl in a big car seat, but oh boy did I get shaken up, the car went up and it went down, it went one way then another…. It was fun for a while, but then it got boring. Mum said I had better get used to it as Dad & my brother Dan love Boosh Bashing. Maybe if they let me drive?????

Big Pilbara Kisses to you all XXX

AnnieInAVan…..XXX

Day 63 – Karajini National Park

Oh man!.... we saw the 8^th wonder of the world today! You have no idea how amazingly awesomely beautiful the country we live in is! I mean we all live in a country where we can jump into our car, drive and see some of the prettiest & breathtakingly amazing sights that you will ever see with your own eyeballs!

Now I’m not going to waste my time or yours by trying to describe what we saw or where we have been, but I have to say that not much impresses me like some of the things I have seen on this trip.

And you know what….I can’t even get to most of these places, I mean a Gorge is not a wheelchair friendly place….. But there is just something about the redness of the dirt, the sharpness of the spinifex, the colour of a flower in the middle of land that not much else can survive in! That just makes you realise how insignificant we all really are in the scheme of things. For those of you who are working too hard, hoping to do all of these things “Down the track” or “Later on”….. Don’t wait, get out there & do it! It will be too late for you later on!!!

I reckon I’m changing…. A few years ago my focus was just to get my business running well, and the boys were ok & not much else mattered……  Now I find myself thinking about what I (We) need to do to keep us doing what we are doing the way we are doing it!.... Not a bad thing?

There are 4 guys here tonight that pulled in on big road/trail bikes. You know that if I was not in the Land Rover & Trakmaster (subliminal product endorsement there!)…. That is the thing I’d love to do. Pack up a big road/trail bike with a tent, sleeping bag & very little else and just travel this country on a bike! Sure it would be cold, it would be hot, I’d get wet & I’d be exposed to more dangers than if I was behind the wheel of the Disco…. But I have always loved my bikes and I would kill to be just out there doing what these guys are doing. I went over for a chat with them & it was really nice to see them just enjoying what they were doing. Michael G…. I need to get a bike/trike so we can leave the girls at home on Sunday mornings and head up the road! My husband was so excited about chatting with these bike guys…you should have seen the smile on his face.  I must admit though, that I also know that this is one of the biggest things James misses….not been able to ride a two wheel bike.  This is the one thing that I do really feel for him on…  I do have a heart sometimes honey. xx

Comments &replies

Kristine D asked if I was having a go at safety people. Yes KD, if only more people were like me & your Hubby then safety would be so much better! We make it real, we make it understandable & we are good at what we do because we have a passion for it. Some of the safety people I work with are only doing it because they don’t want to do anything else! It’s WRONG!

Heather my sister told her Japanese exchange student that I won a silver medal in Japan! Well it was actually Beijing in China….. But what is a few thousand miles hey Heather!

And I heard from my niece Sydni tonight, it was great to talk to you on the phone Syd, I really appreciated the phone call. See you in October.

Hey Kirstin, What’s with the horses pulling out of the Olympics? I mean can’t you just go up the knackery & choose another nag? Why, if your horse pulls up lame do you get the boot? I mean when I was younger I had 2 motorbikes; if one didn’t start I could always ride the other!!! (Kirstin is a horsey person for those of you who don’t know)

Annie’s Blog

We went in the car today…. It feels like ages since I been in the car, Dad turned off the hard road and we went onto some bumpy roads. Edward & Jack & Ashwin you should come on these roads, you don’t even have to crunch your teeth, you just put them together and the road does the rest! So we pulled into this George thingy…. And Mum got me out, Dad got out too and we went down this dirt track…. But then we got to this lookout bit….. Holy Guacamole! It was BIG, the rock went down and down and down. And at the bottom of it was a big bath! It was the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen. And the rocks were red, the dirt was redder & my Dad had red hands from the dust! And then he put his hands on his legs and he got red legs…… He’s a doofus sometimes!

This Jini place is nice, my Dad was right….. but I’m going to come back here when I’m older and I’ll hike through the George…… Hey here’s a good idea, all of my friends, when we are old and get to 18 let’s get a Van and some sleeping bags and all come here together?

Oh and Sue F…. the flowers are so nice and beautiful up here….. Almost as nice as at Dixons Creek! Elise…Mum & Dad got photos of some of the pretty flowers I will make sure they put them up for you to see.

Night Everyone

AnnieInAVan…..XXXXX

Day 62 – Brockman Mine

Hey everyone. Well guess where we still are? Yes…. Good old Tom Price! Oh well just one week to go so we will not complain, it has been a good part of our trip. Tomorrow we will head over to Karijini and check out the scenery.

Today I went out to Brockman 2 & Brockman 4 minesites. Now seeing as some of you don’t know much about the industry here are some interesting facts about these sites.

Brockman 4 mine was commissioned in 2010 to expand Rio’s iron ore export plans. It has the capacity to produce 22 million tonnes per annum of iron ore. But before they could produce this they needed the infrastructure to get it to the port (Pt Hedland) so it cost Rio Tinto $1.52 Billion to get it to the stage where it can get the ore out of the ground. When you think about it this is like gambling… you have to put up $1.52 Billion just to get the benefits down the track? But I’m sure they know what they are doing.

The mine currently employs 650 people, and about 450 contractors so at any one time there are 800 people on site!

They work on a fly in fly out roster, and you can usually choose a roster that suits your lifestyle. Some Perth based employees work a 5&2…so basically they fly up Monday morning & fly home Friday night. Some do a 9 & 5 (9 days on, 5 days off) some do a 2 & 1 (2 weeks on and 1 week off) and some do a 1 & 1 (one week on & 1 week off) and some people even do a 3 & 1 (3 weeks on and one week off). But you have to keep in mind that they work 12 hour days, so the people that do 5 days straight are working 60 hours per week. This is why they get paid so much, it is long days & nights.

Everything is supplied on site, in previous blogs we have explained how the mess works, they usually have a choice of 3-5 hot meals & plenty of salad and fruit. Their rooms are cleaned weekly, all their work clothes are supplied along with protective clothing & footwear. Trades people are even given generous tool allowances!

So there you have it, for some people a dream job, lots of money with very little cost to the employee…. But long hours and isolation from family and friends are not for everyone.

Reader’s comments

Norm messaged from England, Hello Norm…. Did you get me a water bottle thrown from Cadels bike? And I would never compare your caravan to ours! I mean I would never attempt Pauls Lane with our caravan!..... You did!!!

Liz announced that Danni & Greg are engaged…. Congratulations… Liz I definitely want to meet Greg, I want to meet anyone that has a BMW M3!!! And she says I give my brother in law Brad A a hard time. Bad luck Liz….He deserves it!

Mel said she is going to Christmas in July tonight…. I can almost smell the Christmas pudding! I am not a desert person….. but gee I love Christmas pudding & cream!

Heather (my sister) insinuated that me & her husband were having a Bromance! The only reason that me & Brad are close is that we both know how difficult she can be, and I sympathise with him having to live with her! (Told you not to start Heather!)

And Celeste returned to the blog, welcome back Celeste….. Hope you are up to date with all that has happened…..  and thanks for “Ride like the wind” that has been in my head for the last month or so!

Annie’s Blog

I heard from my friends Edward, Ashwin & Elise today, Yay…. I was almost going silly! All I see are OLD people, even older than my Mum and Dad, so it was so good to hear from you. I miss all of my friends and I can’t wait to see you all again. Ashwin great to hear you have got some tooths, once you get some more you can start crunching them together like me & Edward & Jack. You can be part of our band the Crunching Teeth. Oh and it makes eating so much better, I have been eating carrots & beans & mum even cooked a sausage for me….It was yummy as. Ashwin, Annie has pretty much started eating most things her Mum & Dad have but sometimes a little mushed up.  Although she is getting a bit stubborn now and likes to feed herself so she gets lots of Banana, apple & pear pieces to eat and loves chewing on Mum or Dad’s left over meat bones…having 6 teeth does help with this.

Edward told me that he thinks I would look funny if I wasn't red, what are you trying to say Edward. Is this where I need to start to get used to red head jokes? I'd love to see a picture of Jack's piggy. Oh and my Dad says to tell your Mum, 'Very funny!' 

Tomorrow we are going to the Jini place, it better be fun or I’ll be grumpy with Dad, he told me & Mum we would love it! Elise I will try and get Mum to take some flower photos for us.

Ok I better sleep….. I need to be strong for tomorrow.

Big hugs from the box on wheels

AnnieInAVan….XXXX