Day 17 Moranbah.... Yep, Still here

NB...Vanessa’s additional comments will appear in green moving forth

Many of you will be thinking that Ness & I are living it up, the occasional job, but mostly having a big party? Let us set you straight! Here is a rundown of yesterday.     

• ·         Showers & breakfast
• ·         Ness checks morning emails & replies to urgent work messages
• ·        
• ·         6am arrive at site & set up computer, projector, chairs
• ·         630am session begins
• ·         730-8am session ends (depending on questions & interaction with attendees)
• ·         8-830am pack up & talk to individual attendees that have “Private” questions or stories to   share
• ·         830am leave site to drive back to Moranbah, approx 30 minutes
• ·         9am morning tea & Ness prepares what she needs for dinner
• ·         10am check emails & deal with new enquiries
• ·         11am exercise time, either bike ride together or Ness walks & James rides his bike on the rollers
• ·        
• ·         1230 Lunch time, prepare & eat lunch, wash & tidy up dishes·        
• ·          4pm Ness starts cooking
• ·         5pm early dinner & clean up
• ·         530pm leave for site for evening session
• ·         6pm arrive at site
• ·         630-8pm evening session
• ·         830pm as per morning session, you would be amazed how many people will not ask questions in a group, but will wait till they can ask one on one!
• ·         9pm get back to Moranbah
• ·         930pm, cuppa tea or water, maybe a snack, then brush teeth & get ready for bed

So there is our typical day, only difference to yours is that we wake up in a different place each week & have a great time travelling to our next destination.

 Speaking of travel, our Discovery blew a light globe the other day (No smart comments Egg!) but I had a great time pulling it apart to replace it, sometimes I don’t mind when things break as it gives me a chance to fix them.

 Hey today's session at work was awesome, well the actual session was not that awesome but after the session Ness & I went for a wander across to the workshop. Now I’m not sure if you all know but I am a diesel mechanic by trade, and the workshop we were going to was exactly the same as where I used to work.

 So I was excited about being able to show Ness where I used to work & what I used to work on. There are some pictures on the web, some of the equipment is just beautiful, you have D11 Dozers that would flatten your house in seconds, trucks that can carry 300 tonnes of coal, graders with a blade as wide as 3 lanes of a normal road.

 It was also great to talk to some of the “Guys” a lot of people that work in this environment also have an interest in the machinery & how it works, we spoke to a couple of the guys that really enjoyed telling us about how the machinery works & new technology.

 For you petrol heads out there, a Commodore V8 has a 6.2 litre V8 motor..... The Komatsu dump truck that was in the workshop has a 112 litre V24 Diesel that runs 8 turbochargers, intercoolers, and revs to 1800 revs (Yes eighteen hundred.... Sounds slow hey) but jees does this thing have some torque!

 And tyres, wow they are big.....and expensive, if you see the photos we have posted the ones where Ness & I are standing next to the truck wheel. These tyres are worth $36,000 each. Not bad hey? The truck is worth over $4,000,000 ( I am looking very stylish in my High Vis vest, hard hat and safety glasses)

 Ok, I am getting excited..... settle down James! But it was good to be back in that environment for a while, and also to show it to Ness.

 A few of you that have asked questions, Meredith.... good luck on your camping weekend. My suggestion is take good socks, sensible shoes & comfy undies. Then when the weather turns to crap & you are soaking wet at least you will be semi comfortable. Camp cuisine.... Take a packet of Deb instant potatoes & a can of baked beans, bit of salad on the side of the plate & Wallah! Instant hit meal. 1 pair of shoes is all anyone should ever take anywhere..... I have worn the same shoes every day since we left!

Merry Berry you take as many shoes as you need, the essential ones are thongs, walking sneakers and boots.  Toothbrush, toothpaste, cleanser and moisturiser are other essentials. In regards to food...NO DEB it tastes crap. 

 My Sister Georgy tried to outsmart me & say Hello in an aboriginal dialect that I am not yet fluent in! Well Georgia this trip will allow me to brush up on my indigenous language skills & tell you to get stuffed in many different aboriginal languages..... (I’m just kidding by the way)

I am also not sure how it would go if I started my talks by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land, but if I started that would I also have to start paying some sort of tax for the harm the Discovery is doing to the environment by towing the van? Where does it stop? Hey Georgia, we will be passing through Broken Hill in a couple of weeks, will let you know when & maybe we can meet somewhere?

 Ok keep them coming, Rob nice of you to call Ness today..... how’s the packing & paperwork going? Ilsa.... answer your phone(we are playing some serious phonetag),  Vanessa Main... Are you alive?, Simone I will call/email you soon with spa info soon, Brad Atkins.... Bet you are too busy for golf! Heather... Only 10 days to go! Brad Wood..... Weekly undie change tomorrow!

Love from us....

Paalam till tomorrow....for our friend Mr Boxhead.

Comments

[Sandy wilson]

Hi James and Vanessa
Firstly, Yes you are very clever James = Didnt realise you were so multi lingual. Well done.
You might be surprised to hear that I find the pictures of the big trucks amazing. Have often thought I would love to drive one of those, or at least go for a spin as a passenger.
2 questions for the day - Do those tyres have inner tubes (not too blonde a question I hope).
What is there diameter?
Nothing better than being out in the bush, floating down a creek on an inner tube. Now they would be awesome. You could have a whole party floating down the river on one of those buggers.
Take care, stay safe and keep smiling. love sandy

[Meredith]

It's quite amazing how many ESSENTIAL items are required to go camping for a weekend.......(including my battery powered chinese lanterns). Think we might need a bigger car.

The catering is now all sorted...Nathan made a Thai Duck curry in the crock pot last night for us to have on Friday night - woke up this morning with the house smelling super yummy.....there will be no DEB in our catering for the weekend especially when one of the others coming with us is a trained Chef...the weather is looking ok at the moment - James if the weather turns to crap then I will be the first one packing up and heading home.....-and my shoes (yes that is ShoeS plural) are packed.

Will let you know how it goes. It will be the first time our tent has been put up - we bought it almost a year ago.......(:

Take care

[Meredith]

Me again......

What songs do you find you love winding down the window and singing out at the top of your lungs to on your travels around?