Our Aussie Adventures

Our final week of preparation has just flown, and we feel like we’ve been behind the eight ball the entire time. Even now, with a mere 24 hours to go until our planned time of departure, we’re running around like headless chickens trying to tidy up all of those nasty last minute loose ends that inevitable force themselves upon you. You would think with well over four months since the trip was confirmed as going ahead, we would have had everything sorted, but it hasn’t quite been.

But hey, I’m getting way ahead of myself as per usual. So lets go back to where it all started for the week. Whilst Bec was still at work for the bulk of the week, I had the time at home to finish up getting the caravan and ‘The Beast’ ready for their official inaugural hitch up. Things seemed to come together well, and now apart from packing the tub and filling the water tanks later today, they are both all set. As ready as they’re going to be in any case. There may yet be an unscheduled stop or two at some caravan places along the way for extra supplies, but we will play that one by ear.

While spending the rapidly shortening days out doors working on the vehicles, I then spent my evenings glued to the computer. The trip planning is pretty much completed, with itinerary draft number 4 or 5 making the grade and becoming our official trip plan. I won’t be publishing this however, instead will be leaving you all in suspense and eager to read our updates each day as they come in, hot off the presses. Then there was the unenviable chore of making sure that all of our computer data was sufficiently backed up and ready for travel. There may have also been a quick game or two of Scrabble interspersed among all of this, which may explain why I spent most nights sitting in front of the computer until the early hours of the morning, only to awake and start all over again.

As you may have read in the comments on the ‘Visitors Book‘ page, Wednesday saw me give David a personalised tour of Rambling Tales HQ, the van and ‘The Beast’, before sitting down to a liquid lunch. It was good to be able to make the time for a final catch up before we leave, although I don’t think it has quite sunk in yet that we won’t in all likely hood be seeing our friends and family for a whole 6 months. Sure, we keep saying that they are only a phone call away, but neither Bec or myself are big on social media, so we are generally quite reliant on personal interaction.

Thursday morning saw me get the opportunity to catch up with yet another good friend and again it was with a sense of eeriness that we bid our farewells. It was then back to the grind stone until Bec returned home from work. Today was her final day at work and I think she can now relate to how I was feeling this time last week. With a tear in her eye and a meagre box of personal belongings in her arms, she too was done with work for the next 6 months. As I did, she found it a strange sensation to be turning her back on work for an extended period, given that she probably spends more time with her colleagues there than we get together. There is no turning back now.

My grandma, ‘Granny’ as she seems to be known to all and sundry had prepared us a delicious home cooked dinner for Thursday evening. A home cooked dinner at Granny’s is definitely not an event to be missed. After eating, we spent a good few hours just sitting having a lovely chat. She will be sorely missed while we are away.

Come Friday, our first day of 6 months off together, we had our first argument. We were pretty happy that we nearly made it until lunch time, and then the wheels came off. Don’t ask us now what it was about, because we wouldn’t be able to tell you. The stress is definitely on the up though, with our to do list seemingly endless. We did however make it into the city to sign the new loan documents and get one last retail therapy session in.

It was out for a home cooked dinner again on Friday night, this time to my parents place. Another feast and another reminder of just how long we will be away. It still seems inconceivable that for half a year, these folks won’t be part of our everyday life. It will be just Bec and I, the dogs and whoever we should meet along the way.

Saturday morning was another another round of last minute meets with friends, as well as showing our house sitter through the place to make sure he knows where everything is and how it all works. That didn’t leave us a great deal of time, so we split up. Bec headed out to get a few last minute supplies while I continued on the home duties.

Sunday was a day we had set aside for a chore which has been haunting us both for weeks. A chore that we had been putting off until the last possible moment. Packing 6 months worth of clothes into the tiny little spaces that masquerade as closets in the van. In our house, Bec has the walk in robe to herself, and I am slightly embarrassed to admit that this is because I have too many clothes to fit in there. I have what I call my very own walk in robe, although it was originally designated as a spare bedroom.

Therefore you can only imagine the trials and tribulations we went through yesterday in deciding what would and what would not be making the trip with us. For the both of us, it was a test of our will power to pack as little as possible, and yet still retain enough in our respective wardrobes to clothe us for the entire 6 months, in any conceivable weather condition.

With the actual decision making process completed, we then had to fold, roll and wrestle our piles into our tiny allocated storage spaces. We did this separately, so as to give each other the required space in which to work. It was a tight squeeze, and I think I can speak for the both of us when I say that I am sure there are clothes in there that will never see the light of day until we return. Purely because some garments are wedged so tightly into the cupboards, we are sure to forget that they are even there.

During the afternoon, we made a quick trip down to Bacchus Marsh, for yet another last get together with friends, as well as dropping Becs car off to Liz, who will be minding it whilst we are away. So for future reference, should any tickets come our way as a result, that was dropped off on Sunday the 14th of April. Only kidding, I’m sure it will be well looked after.

To tired to cook, we headed out for dinner and then dropped in to see more mates for dessert. Some of the best chocolate brownie I’ve ever had, still hot and gooey straight out of the over. Delicious.

Then it was back home for round 2 of Fridays argument. All because Bec wanted to throw some stuff out of the freezer, while I was for keeping it to give to mum and dad. Yep, 6 months of this we have to look forward to, but we have a deal. We never go to bed angry. That sure as hell makes for some very late nights however! We were laughing about half an hour later when I agreed that I was wrong yet again.

With that, before we knew it, our week was over and we have just today to do all of those last second jobs that look so quick and easy, but I am sure will take us much longer than we expect.

Before I sign off for the day however, I have noticed that there has been an influx of people signing up to read our blog, so I want to extend a warm welcome to all of you. Whilst I haven’t been able to reply to many of the comments which have been left for us, we do indeed read each and every one of them. We very much looking forward to hearing from all of our readers. I do hope you enjoy my ramblings and I look forward to encouraging Bec to write some of her own posts as we go round, so as to provide you with a much differing perspective from my own. I have also noticed that many of you have figured out that we have some photos posted on Flickr. Unfortunately there’s not a great deal there at the moment, but please do keep checking in, as we will be posting a selection of our favourite pics as we go. Just click on the photo at the bottom of the page to open our Flickr photo stream.

Also, be sure to log on tomorrow to check out the new web site format. I won’t give too much away, but I’m sure it will impress, so long as I get it to work. As with anything, there are sure to be a few bugs, but I will be working tirelessly to ensure a smooth transition.

Lastly, our plan is to be driving out of the drive way tomorrow at 10:00AM, just in case anyone wants to come and throw streamers! We won’t be sorry if you do.

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.

It was my final week at work this week, and following my much anticipated last few days, I walked away with mixed emotions. Having been dreaming of this moment for what seems like an eternity, I found myself wracked with nerves and anxiety as I left the office for the last time, for what is to be nearly 7 months away in total. It certainly wasn’t what I had expected. I had envisioned it being an extremely joyous moment. I saw myself driving out of the car park, waving excitedly at my jealous co-workers, as they threw streamers over ‘The Beast’ and shouted out their farewells. As it turned out, I was the only one in the office when the time came to depart, so there wasn’t even anyone to see me off. It was just a last quick scan of my desk, bereft of any personal belongings, which had already been boxed up and removed during the week. Then I quietly slid out the back door.

I know for sure that the plans we have in place for the next six months will trump anything that work can provide, but for me, work pretty much defines who I am. Not being able to have that one constant in my life is an interesting concept that I wasn’t 100% ready for however. I just never realised it until I walked out that door. It wasn’t even an emotion that I had considered. In my mind, it was always just a big “whoo hoo, no more work”. So the reality with which I was faced was an entirely alien feeling to me. Four days later though, I’m ready for the next chapter in our lives, so what else has happened this week?

Well, excitingly, Bec and I racked up a couple of anniversaries. 17 years we’ve been together and we’ve been engaged for 15 of them. That accounts for nearly half of our lives! And yes you did read that right, 15 years engaged. We did talk about getting married once, but we decided to spend our money on a holiday instead. We’ve since enjoyed a myriad of trips as opposed to just one wedding, so I reckon we’ve come out on top. It has gotten to the stage now that it would be almost embarrassing to tell people that we’re getting married because most people assume that we already are. Although I do abhor Becs insistence on telling people that I am her ‘partner’ whilst I find it easier to just introduce her as my ‘wife’ (or the misses when we’re in polite company)!

Naturally, an anniversary called for another present, so I presented Bec with a bunch of roses, which is akin to her letting me buy ‘The Beast’, such is the rarity for which I splash out on delicacies such as flowers. Of course, it was worth the extravagance just to see her face light up as she proudly arranged them in a seldom used vase, then took a dozen or more photos with them until she got one that was just right, all in an effort to show her work mates photographic proof that I had indeed bought her some flowers.

Apart from commiserating my last day at work and celebrating our anniversaries, I also found some time to do some shopping. I had re-visited our options for satellite communications and decided that we would do with out. No entirely convinced that this was the best option, I decided a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) would provide us with a last line of defence. It’s a device about the size of a couple of decks of cards, which in cases of life threatening emergencies can be activated, sending out a signal for authorities to home in on. It’s monitored in Canberra, and they are able to notify the local authorities as well as friends and family should we need to set it off. It’s like what sailors set off when they are lost or disabled at sea. I hope to never find out if it actually works, but it will give us an extra level of security when travelling the more remote areas of our vast land.

Before I knew it, the week was almost gone and we were that much closer to setting out. Therefore, Friday being my first day off, I headed off to see the bank manager. I needed to make sure we were actually going to have enough money to fund our adventure. It isn’t something that I have been ignoring, so much as just putting it off. I don’t know what we were going to do should the figures not compute, but as it turns out, we are set to go. It may well be a lesson in frugality at times, but the bank has our back (and our house if it all goes terribly wrong). I did however skirt over the whole issue of the fact that we are both taking our long service leave at half pay, but by my calculations we should only have to work until we’re about 90 to pay it off!!!!

Come the weekend, both Bec and I knuckled down to finish packing the van and making sure that we have everything that we will be needing. I’ve already mentioned how difficult a task this is, but just to reiterate, bloody hell! I think we are just about there. Apart from  a few last minute items, such as our clothes, every nook and cranny seems to suitably stuffed.

So with that done, we headed out for dinner with friends on Saturday night, where the only stipulation was that we take alcohol. In the interests of harm minimisation, I declared to Bec that I would consume but one glass of wine. Mind you, I found a couple of glasses that were capable of holding an entire bottle of wine each. They were quickly nick named ‘Bill & Bob’, as Scott and I settled in for the evening. Who would have thought you could get drunk on just one glass of wine, but we both proved it is indeed possible. Although I am still blaming my slight inebriation on the fact that Scott twisted my arm and made me break my one drink only declaration. He brought out a half a bottle of port he had been saving for a special occasion, but decided would deteriorate if he waited for our return. Who was I to turn such an offer down. It could well have been construed as extreme rudeness had I not partaken.

Scott, Marcus, Bill, Bob and a couple of bottles of Shiraz.

Sunday started rather slowly, with the end of daylight saving ensuring that I was able to enjoy my hangover for a whole extra hour!!! A big fry up of eggs, bacon and sausages, washed down with an almost ‘Bill & Bob’ sized mug of strong coffee got me all fired up and ready to face the rapidly approaching afternoon.

What better way to start the day and ditch a hangover.

Not much else was on the agenda for the remainder of the day, apart from continuing our packing duties. I was concentrating on how I was going to arrange the back of ‘The Beast’ to enable me to fit in all the tools and spares I want to take, as well as a push bike, whilst still leaving enough room for when we need to put the dogs back there. I’m starting to think that maybe I should have bought a Kenworth. As I did this, Bec was readying the house for our departure. I think we’re pretty much done now, which is a relief. We will just need to sort out the clothing next week.

We then spent an enjoyable couple of hours with neighbours, who had completed a similar trip last year. We have been trying for months now to catch up with them to get some inside goss on the hot spots to visit, and the stars finally aligned for us today with us all available. Over afternoon tea, we poured over their photos, and listened in awe to their tales of what we can expect to see and do. Even Bec came away excited. It’s a rare occurrence for Bec to get excited about a trip until we leave, but we couldn’t help be exhilarated by photos of idealic beaches, vast scenic vistas, cooky outback pubs, towering cliffs right on the edge of Australia and camping alongside crocodile infested lakes. Not only did it whet the appetite, but it really did bring it home that we are actually going to do this thing and we have little more than a week before we embark on our own epic adventure of a lifetime.

It was no wonder that when we then caught up for a farewell dinner with another couple of friends that I could barely talk about anything other. They came to check out the van and ‘The Beast’ before we went out for food, and were pretty much treated to a rapid fire monologue of our plans. I think I’m finally over the disappointment of finishing up at work. Now I’m just chomping at the bit to get the trip underway.

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.

Yet another week has passed, with very little getting done in respect to trip preparation. Our trip planning again took a back seat in favour of getting our laundry back to a useable condition. So much for my suggestion of a days work left to have it all completed. I was in fact ready to put the finishing touches on it by Wednesday, or at least I thought I was. Bec came home from work, took one look and decided that there were a few extra things that she wanted done in there. More things than what I’ll ever have time to do before we depart, and so it looks like it will now be put aside for our return. Not a bad effort, since when I began the renovation way back in October, I had envisioned (and made promises) that it ought to take me a week. Two weeks tops! Now, it’ll take a massive effort upon our return to have done within 12 months. Maybe I should have said one or two years right from the beginning.

In other news, we are all mostly over our assorted illnesses. My cold/man flu has abated and Bec is back to normal, although she did require a day off work during the week due to her ongoing bouts of gastro. I think I got the better end of the sickness stick, as she was pretty much laid out for 5 days.

I had thankfully recovered enough that I was able to get out on the golf course this week at last. A mate and I spent an enjoyable morning on Thursday, getting more exercise than expected as we zig zagged our way around nine holes. Even for me, it was a pretty average round, but a whole lot of fun. Plans were also made for him and his wife to hopefully visit us whilst we are in Darwin.

To make our trip preparation even more difficult this week, my time off came to an abrupt end seeing me heading back to work on Thursday, just in time for Bec to have 4 days off over the Easter break. Being in a job that doesn’t recognise public holidays, I am only back at work for a total of 8 days and then that’s all she wrote, I’ll be off for almost 7 months in total.

Bec on the other hand only finishes up at work a matter of days before our departure date. She has made the most of her time off over Easter however. Amongst other things, she has gone through the cupboards to see what food stuffs we can take with us, and which are already well past their used by dates and need dispatching. The fridge and freezer underwent a similar clean out. She then spent a few hours shopping, searching for a few bits and pieces that we had decided would make our time away a bit easier. Just little things like hooks and mirrors for the van. On top of all that she has done all of the housework, getting the place all spick and span as well as getting out into the garden. Then, she has even managed to cook up an assortment of meals, which we are planning on vacuum packing this evening. What a girl!

The vacuum packing idea is a boon that will enable us to just throw all of the pre-cooked meals in the freezer for easy dinners while we’re on the road. We’ve had the vacuum sealer just sitting there in the cupboard for ages, and never used it apart from the other week to try it out. The idea is that we decide in the morning what we want for dinner that night. Defrost it in the fridge during the day, then heat it up at night simply by throwing the whole bag in a pot of boiling water. Sounds simple in theory. I’ll let you know how it goes in practice when we actually try it out.

Since there was no way I was going to be able to keep up with Becs exploits over the weekend, about as much as I managed to do in relation to the trip was to re-write the first couple of weeks of our itinerary. I needed to make sure that we are able to make a stop in Sydney for a day or two at Trucks ‘N’ Toys, where ‘The Beast’ came from, so I can get a few things done. The plan was, to pick up a second spare tyre that I had ordered when I picked ‘The Beast’ up, and get a few little niggly issues sorted out. Unfortunately I also found out this week, that the tyre is still sitting in a container, which in turn is still sitting on a dock somewhere over in the States. So, as if I don’t have enough to worry about, it now seems like I’m going to have to try to organise to have the wheel freighted to us wherever we may be, when it hits Australian shores. Despite this set back, Ben has ensured me that the few other little things that need looking at will be all sorted when we get there. I will also be picking up a range of spares and supplies to take with us, both for the 2 or 3 services that we’ll have to organise whilst on the road, as well as for those “Oh s%$t” moments. It’s fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong, but I sure want to be prepared for if it does.

As for the dogs, Bethany is back on her solid food like nothing was wrong. It’s still too early to see if taking the teeth out has had any effect on her otherwise though. Then there’s Alvin. After wrapping him up in bandages all week to stop him from scratching at his stitches, we finally came up with the idea of putting a t-shirt on him. Now why didn’t we think of that earlier? He has spent the last few days strutting about in a childs t-shirt, which has worked a dream in stopping him from scratching. Just a shame that the only T-shirt we had in his size was bright pink. He didn’t seem to mind however.

Tough enough to wear pink.

We were back down to the vets with him on Saturday to get his stitches out, as well as to collect the pathology results. It was a grand relief to find that they did not indicate any cancer or anything else that should concern us.

So, that was pretty much our week.

On a side note however, I just want to mention a cause which a couple of close friends are extremely passionate about. It relates to the possibility that the tranquility of the picture perfect Bacchus Marsh, west of Melbourne, could be destroyed if a Western Australian company is allowed to mine coal from a planned open cut mine. Have a look at the ‘No New Coal Bacchus Marsh’ web site for more information on what is happening and how you can support the campaign. I have to say I’m not one that usually gets overly concerned about such matters, but it would be an absolute disaster for the area if these plans were to succeed.

NO NEW COAL for Bacchus Marsh sticker adorns ‘The Beast’.

By the way, sorry about the late posting this week, but it was a public holiday after all! With any luck I’ll be back at the regular time next Monday morning.

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.