Day 8 – Dysart (again)

I’m bored! Have driven around Dysart so many times that I think I know it backwards, there is nothing more to see! Been to the shops, the community centre, driven past the hospital, there is just nothing more to do in Dysart! And we are here for another 5 days!

 (Vanessa here...James might be bored but I very busy catching up on all the things I have been wanting to do for months along with that thing called work!)

 We went for a bike ride today, but left it until a little later in the day..... Big mistake, it was hotter & more humid! Was like riding a bike in a sauna! Why does fitness have to be so hard?

 Have to share something that happened last night during my presentation. There is usually time for people to ask me questions during my training sessions. I usually get questions relating to Sex & other personal issues (C’mon this is the mining industry) but last night one guy asked me “Have you ever thought about getting your legs cut off?” What the!!!... I mean sure my legs don’t work, but why would I cut them off?.... I still get surprised by the way some people think. I can actually feel one of my legs....so the idea of cutting it off is something that just does not appeal to me.

 It rained here today, no wonder everything is so green.... I reckon they had an inch of rain in about 60 minutes. Ness & I played in the puddles.

 I write a monthly newsletter for work, usually I am away by myself on a site visit or at home where I can get a couple of hours quiet time to put all of my thoughts down & send them out to clients. But last night I was in a caravan with Ness! The newsletter normally takes 2 – 3 hours to do, last night it took 5. Have you ever tried to concentrate when someone keeps asking you questions?????

 But speaking of my beautiful wife she made me really proud today. Last night we were told we would have to move the caravan so the garbage truck could get in and pick up a skip that is down the road from where we are parked in the van. Anyhow we hooked the van up (we are getting really quick at this) & moved it to a car park nearby. After the garbage truck had been we decided to move the van back to its spot. Ness said she would go & get it. Now Vanessa has had a bit of experience towing the van forward, but not many chances to reverse it.

 Well I am happy to report that she reversed the van next to the gutter with only a few mm gap, an excellent job Ness well done. I said to her that we will now have to start having competitions to see who does a better job!

 We are going out tonight with some of the management team. I do get to mix with some pretty nice people. It’s funny though the mining industry has a real “Us against Them” mentality. And when I visit a site I spend most of my time with management. In reality I would probably rather spend more time with “The guys”.... after all I used to be one of them. One of the things that Ness & I might look into is ways to break down this mentality. Surely it would help make workplaces communicate better & therefore be safer?

 Talking about dinner you may have noticed that I have not included what we have been eating for a few days? That is because we are staying at the camp & eating at the Mess. Now when I say Mess I guess a lot of you get a mental image of a commercial kitchen with a few benches & seats for the guys & girls to sit at. NO WAY! The mess at this camp is brilliant, firstly the building has a full glass wall that looks out onto the golf course (Yes golf course) the furniture is nice quality tables & chairs, but the choice of food is absolutely amazing! Each night there is a choice of at least 4 – 6 main courses, all accompanied by vegies & freshly cooked sauces. There is a different soup each night & a full salad bar. Deserts galore (I have had green jelly every night this week!) cakes & fruit, Oh and did I mention the icecream fridge? 8 different flavours & a box of cones (or you can fill a plate)

 So this week you will have to just imagine us doing it tough at the camp Mess, next week I’ll send through more of Vanessa’s recipe’s.

 Ok gotta go, have an early start tomorrow (4am) then have to move the van again so they can get a delivery truck in..... Why did they park us there again?

 Till next time Vaarwel

 James

Day 7 – Dysart

Reality has hit! Have to work today, forgot that the whole purpose of this trip was to work while travelling! But should be good, only have one session to do.

 This morning Ness & I woke up & were both feeling a bit flat, we put it down to the heat & humidity, it sucks the life out of you.... so we decided to do the most sensible thing we could do in really hot & humid conditions..... go for a bike ride.

 I forgot to mention yesterday when I told you about the van that the Trakmaster guys built me a special electric hoist that allows me to take my hand powered bike with me.

 So Ness & I saddled up & went for a ride around town. An hour or so & 2 – 3 kilos later (Honestly I reckon I sweated out 3 kilos) we came back to camp feeling much better & a little worse at the same time. We said that we will do that every day to make us feel better & it will also help us to acclimatise.

 After showering & having brekky, we did a bit of washing & tidied our home on wheels up. We then decided we would go out for a while. It just so happens that this weekend Dysart was hosting a junior motocross meet. It was awesome, we rocked up in the discovery & drove right up to the edge of the track. We had front row seats & did not even have to get out of the car. Have you ever seen the little kids 4,5 & 6 years old racing their little mini bikes, it is hilarious!

 Came home about 2pm to get ready for my work at 4, Ness is coming to work with me. It is good for her to see & hear what some people say as she looks at it from a totally different viewpoint. And it gives us ideas on what else we can include in future training.

 Hey my sister asked me if the caravan has a name, is it just us or does not everyone name their inanimate objects? We have a name for our house, our cars, some personal possessions, all sorts of things.... c’mon admit it.... we all do it don’t we.

 And by the way Creep (my sister) the van does have a name, it is affectionately known as “The caravan of love” but Vanessa calls it the “Taj Mahal”  But me & Dan reckon we have the best name for it, you see the model name of the van is a Simpson, named after the Simpson desert..... but me & Dan just call it “Bart”

 I just wanted to say to those of you who have been leaving messages on the web site thank you so much, it is great to hear from you.... Me & Ness eagerly wait your messages each night & read them aloud. So keep them coming! For those of you who just read our messages..... C’mon send us a message... we will include you in our responses & it gives me something to write about.

 Αντίο Till tomorrow...especially for our Greek friends.

Day 6 – Dysart

Today we have decided to share a bit more of our world with you. Many of you knew that we were taking off but do you really know what we are doing & how we are doing it?

 You know that I share my safety messages by delivering training sessions at minesites throughout the country & Vanessa runs the business & helps develop new ideas & products.

 The last few years I have spent more & more time on planes & away at remote minesites. So when Vanessa & I met we talked about other ways we could still grow our business & still have time together.

 Mr Rudd helped us out by offering a tax incentive for equipment purchases, we bought a new caravan.... Thanks big Kev!

 For those of with an interest in caravans ours is not just a caravan. The guys who built it described it as a hamburger with the lot plus more! It is the most optioned & fully loaded van they have built! After all it will be our home for many months & years ahead.

If you are interested here are the specs

• Custom built Trakmaster Off Road Caravan www.Trakmaster.com.au
• Heavy duty full steel chassis
• Independant 4 wheel airbag suspension with 2 shock absorbers per wheel
• 19ft internal length by 7ft6” width
• 21ft external length plus 4ft drawbar with off road coupling
• 3 X 80 litre water tanks
• 3 X Gel Cell heavy duty batteries
• 2 X 80 Watt solar panels on roof (constantly charge batteries)
• In built 2KVa Honda generator
• In built stainless steel 2 burner BBQ (James pride & joy)
• Roll out awning
• Fully flushing toilet
• Shower cubicle
• Hot water system 23 litres
• 2 X 9KG gas bottles
• 120 litre 3 way fridge 12V, Gas & 240V
• Microwave oven
• Full cooking, washing & storage facilities ( for at least 200kg of tinned food!)
• Special shoe & handbag storage cupboard for Ness.... well not really but should have optioned it!
• DVD & CD player with internal & external speakers. 2 (YES 2) 19” flat screen TV’s one in the kitchen & one above the bed

 Have attached a few pics of our home away from home.

 The car that we tow the van with is soon to be replaced with a brand new one, but here are its specs.

• 2003 Land Rover Discovery TD5 Turbo Diesel
• Auto
• Black (Never again!)
• Codan HF Radio, so we can call the RFDS when my Bear Grills ambitions get us into trouble
• Dual batteries
• Suspension airbags (so the bum does not drag..... the van is HEAVY!)

 The car does a great job, we bought it cheap & with low kilometres, it has had a few minor Land Rover niggles but has been a great car so far. (Bet you wish you had one EGG)

 So this will be our life for the next 4 months & until we plan our next trip.

 A little about camp life, most of the guys & girls that work on this site do a FIFO roster (which stands for Fly In Fly Out) they usually live elsewhere, Brisbane, Cairns, Mackay and spend a week or two on site doing 12 hour shifts & then go home for a week or two. Their roster depends on how much they want to work & therefore earn. While they are on site they work 12 hour shifts, so by the end of the day most people come home, eat, call family & friends & then go to sleep.

 The pay is good but not many people really use it well. Most people I know in mining earn big but spend big too, they all have flash cars, boats, jet ski’s & all the toys we would all love.

 There also seems to be a big division between locals & FIFO people, as the FIFO do not spend much money in town, they fly home & spend their money in their own towns, so the township feels a bit hard done by, they have all these great mineral resources but don’t benefit as much as they should.

 So there you go, are you not happy to have your own little tour guide? If you have any questions feel free to send a message on the web site.

 Just a big thanks to Sandy & David, today they went out & did a visit to Saltbush (our place) just to make sure it survived the rain, Thanks David & Sandy

 Make sure you look at the pictures of the camp & caravan on the web site.

  До свидания till next time (get your Russian friends to translate)

 James

Day 5 - Emerald to Dysart

Hello all, well today was our last travel day for a while. We will be working in Dysart for the next week.

 Last night we stayed in Emerald, it used to be one of the biggest central Qld farming towns, surrounded by thousands & thousands of acres of seasonal crops & vegetables. It now is one of the biggest mining communities in Australia & is going to get bigger. From what we see & hear, Emerald is in for big things. There are mining camps being built that will house not just hundreds of employees but thousands. Boom is a word we are hearing over & over again. Can’t help but feel for the local farmer or council worker, shop attendant, because the mines have pushed the price of houses through the roof!

Last night we decided that the master chef needed a night off & she can’t stand my cooking so we went out for dinner. We walked (rolled) into town & after checking out the local chinese restaurant, Dominos Pizza & the pub, we decided to have dinner at “Theo’s Cafe” I thought we would be eating greek food! But the menu was dinki di aussie! We settled on a couple of rib eye fillets, mine with pepper sauce, Ness had cheese & avocado on hers. Yum check out Theo’s Cafe in Emerald.

 Do you think I should enter into some form of commercial arrangement with the places that I plug?

 It has come to our attention that some of you don’t think we need to send the daily links through, Get over it! You have a delete button.... Use it!

 We were walking (rolling) home from Theo’s and had just passed a roundabout when from behind us we heard a loud screech & then a huge crash. Yep you guessed it, a car had failed to give way & they smashed! After a few minutes a fairly large crowd had gathered & both drivers were out & walking (one of them punched his car & started abusing the other) Ness & I decided there were enough witnesses & left the scene.

 Thanks to Brad & Jackie for their explanation of due north. For those of you who did not help us with an explanation I guess that means that all of you did not know either?

 Also thanks to Ben, he introduced us to Google Maps, Ness spent a while putting our route onto google maps & we will shortly send you all a link.

 We heard that it rained in Melbourne last night.... wish we were there! Hope my grass is green when I get home!

 The road between Emerald & Dysart is narrow bitumen most of the way with about 30km of dirt road. The first section of dirt road we have been on so far this trip. Happy to report that the Discovery & Trakmaster  handled it easily.

 Arrived in Dysart, the company that we are working for had arranged for the use of a full 3 bedroom house! We decided that this was way too much & asked if we could just park the caravan at the camp, now they call it a camp but they are really mini villages, they have a series of accommodation buildings that are quite modern, they consist of a bedroom, work area (desk & chair) wardrobe & fridge & TV (complete with Foxtel & free to air TV) and also a full bathroom. The camp manager had arranged for us to park the van on site, arranged an electrician to hook up power & organised for us to eat at the mess (another story in itself the food is great)

 The building going on up here is incredible, they are building a 300 person camp next door to where we are, & in town they are building 60 new BMA (the company we are working with) company houses. You could seriously buy a house here 8 years ago for well under $100K... not any more!

 So we are set up for the week, we will send pictures of the camp tomorrow, but it is pretty impressive.

 The site we are working for is looking for 4 safety advisors..... anyone looking for a career change?

 Tonight’s assistance required – What is the capital of Tunisia? Island who’s capital is Papette? – 6 letters, Hanging extension of the soft pallet – 5 letters, begins with L

  Funny or interesting things today...

•  Car crash last night, he was looking at some guy in a wheelchair & his missus walking/rolling up the street & forgot to give way
• Theo’s cafe, good food....or we were just hungry!
• Yards up here have sprinklers on! How long since you last saw a sprinkler in a front yard... it is awesome!
• Ness doing her crosswords.... she talks to herself!
• Google maps, My Maps.... thanks Ben

 Auf Wiedersehen till tomorrow

 James

Day 4 - Miles to Emerald

Last nights dinner was a beauty, we had some left over fresh salmon & asparagus. Ness whipped out the eggs from the fridge, beat some up & added some marinated capsicum, garlic, onions & spices, ended up with a salmon, asparagus, garlic & onion omelette served on a bed of fresh rocket lettuce...... really should start taking pictures of all of these dishes, could turn it into a gourmet caravan cookbook! I just want to know when we are going to start using all the canned food that we have driven 2000km so far!

After dinner we decided to check out the sights of Miles, we are now on Qld time so had to wind our watches back 1 hour. So it was dark by 730! You queenslanders should really try daylight saving, you don’t know what you are missing. Now this part of queensland has had heaps of rain so there is a lot of ground water lying around, which means Mozzies! There were heaps! It was ok while we were moving, but as soon as we stopped they attacked!

 Bid farewell to Ron Howard, ill miss him... he is actually quite friendly, but turned up in the same shorts & shirt he was wearing yesterday, saves washing I guess.

 We left Miles & the GPS was telling us to turn right, but we looked on the map & decided we wanted to go through Roma. So after 5 minutes of Ken (the GPS guy) telling us to “Turn around when possible”... he realised we were not listening to him & guided us to Roma.

 This place is nice, for a little country town it is rocking! Busy main street & a place called Cowtown (see photo) where you can buy RM Williams shirts & real cowboy boots. Cruised the main street a couple of times with my elbow leaning out the window, trying to look like a local, the 21 foot of caravan behind us kind of stuck out though so I guess they knew we were from out of town?

 Went through a little place called Wallunbilla, there were a heap of old tractors just sitting in a yard, my cousin Marc would be in Heaven. Bet you could not name these ones Marc! Oh and speaking of tractors, you should see the size of some of the farming equipment up here, it is massive!

 In Wallunbilla there is a huge sign that says “BLIND PEOPLE CROSS HERE” (see pics) I was dumfounded & turned to Ness & asked her “How do they expect them to read that?”..... I was serious until I realised!

 On the way out of Roma Ness told me to head Due North, I asked her what Due means? She doesn’t know, I don’t know! So family & friends, here is your chance..... tell us what Due means!

 We made it to Injune and stopped for a toilet break, when I came out Ness had been bailed up by two locals (or I thought they were) turned out they were fellow caravanners, they saw us pull up & came over for a yarn.... Us caravanners are a friendly bunch!

 They then informed us that the road to Rolleston was cut by water! And they were staying here (Injune) tonight to wait for it to subside.

 After they left Ness & I discussed our options & I silently asked myself “What would Bear Grills do?” and we decided to push on towards Rolleston, Now don’t panic, we work in safety & would not attempt anything stupid. We said we would go & look at where the road was cut & if necessary turn back.

 Turned out to be a great decision as the distance between Injune & Rolleston was 170KM. We got to 169KM & still had not found any water! It was just as we drove into Rolleston that we saw where the road had been cut, there was a couple of inches of water still across the road but the Discovery hardly got her tyres wet!

 Lucky though as I would have been pretty P@#*ed off if we had to drive 170km back to Injune!

 The roads in Qld are still Crap, I’m writing to Anna Bligh!

Hot Chocolate Report – Maccas again today, at least we know what we are getting (& it is not as embarrassing asking for soy) $9.60 for 2 HC’s.... I thought Maccas had to be the same price everywhere!

 Interesting (or funny) stuff today.

• Miles has 2 caravan parks, one run by Ron Howard, Ness said the other was owned by Steven Spielberg? (well I laughed at it)
• Getting sick of how green everything is
• Saw our first cane toad last night
• I hate Mozzies!
• Have you ever been in a car towing a caravan doing 90 & been overtaken by a road train (3 Trailers) doing 110km/h plus on a narrow two lane road that hardly fits 2 cars!... now that is interesting! Lucky Ness was asleep
• What is Due North?
• Ness’s freaky ability to pick music (she knows songs I have not even heard of) unless she is making it up?
• The gene pool in Roma (Ness got ran over by a shopping trolley!)

Selamat Jalam until tomorrow

James