Surprises, Farewells & Moving

I know in time I will read back on this and look back on it as just another incredible part of our journey but right now its all still so raw and I'm still recovering both emotionally and physically.  Its been a HUGE few weeks.

After the great news from Monica and Neil and with the bush fires still raging we chose to stay in the C/P for another week and a bit. Monday we moved campsites so we could be hooked onto power and water. We also met up with Ann and Gary who we had previously met at Lucky Bay in Cape Le Grande.  They also had "run" from the fires and had ended up across from us in the C/P. James and I stocked up and groceries and bought new hoses for the gas bottles and generally just set camp and kept cool.

We got very sad news today. My grandfather has passed away :( Neil Hart was a kind, friendly, gentle man who will be so very missed by all of his 4 children, 18 Grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren. It was something we knew would happen in time but its never easy especially being so far from family. 

Tuesday we headed for Perth. We could buy a day pass for the both of us for all public transport for under $12. We arrived in the city and found the i. We discovered they run free walking tours about the city everyday at 11am so we booked onto that and went for a coffee while we waited.  The walking tour took 2 hours and was so fantastic we have recommended it to everyone. It was so good we then booked onto the afternoon walking tour which was about all the public art around the city. After both tours we found a small local park in Northbridge and laid under the umbrellas on the grass and watched Lleyton Hewitt loose his tennis match :( We didn't get back to camp till nearly 6.30pm.  After an easy dinner we chatted to Ann and Gary late into the night.

 London Court

 Town Hall

 Man through time

 Original Post Office

 Court House

 Bell Tower

 Inside London Court

 Train Tracks in the middle of the freeways. Clever!!

 Tennis and an umbrella.

 Free play & entertainment.

Wednesday we went into town with Ann & Gary.  They did the walking tour and we visited the Art Gallery.  We then met them down at the Bell tower and went to lunch at the Harri Krishna restaurant where you pay what you feel your meal was worth.  It was an enjoyable experience. After we all did the next walking tour which was about Colonies and Convicts, again anther enjoyable experience. We all needed a coffee after then we ran a few errands before making our way back to camp. Another late night sitting around discussing life and travels.

 2 of my favourties

 Lunch with a view

Scary in every sense of the word!!

Thursday James started his new work schedule.  James now works 2 days each week so help his company and bring us in some more income.  I spent the day organising, washing, cleaning and packing for late that night I was flying to Brisvegas to surprise my sister for her 30th and beautiful Scarlett's 1st birthday.  I had a nice late afternoon nap, then dinner, shower finished packing and caught up with Ann and Gary before James dropped me to the airport at 10pm. I was tired but so excited to be flying home to see everyone. After boarding and settling in I had a spare seat next to me and a nice guy on the isle I wasn't at all worried about getting a few hours sleep before landing 5 hours later at 7am EST.  It was when the seat belt light went off that I realised the row I was in the seats didn't recline. Ahhhhhh CRAP. To cut a long story short I got about 30 min of sleep all the way over.  I was tired but didn't care for the surprise was worth it.

Friday morning very early Mum got up and drove to Brisvegas airport to collect a very tired me :) We stopped for breakfast on the way north and arrived at Alli's just on 9am.  Well to say Alli nearly peed herself is an understatement.  She was so excited and so was I.  Scarlett was well reserved at first but after 20 minutes she was laughing at me. We shopped and shopped and I got LOADS of cuddles and we shopped.  By 3pm it was decided that sleep was not on the cards so I just stayed awake with the help of caffeine. It was being around family that made me truly realise that I just wanted to go and farewell Grandad at his Funeral which was being held on the next Wednesday so after a long call to Jetstar my flights were changed and new flights booked.  Crazy but true it was cheaper to book flights to and from Brisvegas to Melb then to change my flight to leave Melb.

 Cuddles

Saturday was a cruisy day at mums getting our party mode on ready for the next day. Sunday was the party day. It  was a beautiful, fun, wonderful day that I am so appreciative that I could make it.

Monday was busy with trips to the shops to find an outfit and get necessary things sorted. A trip to the doctor, helping mum out where possible and packing to head to Melb and then back and onto Perth.

Tuesday we were up and in the car headed to pick up Rod and then Alli and Scarlett by 4.45am. We arrived at Brisvegas in time. Alli checked in and we managed to get a row together right up the front.  The flight down was easy with Scarlett sleeping most of the way. Mum, Dad, Rod and Maggie all arrived about an hour later and after sorting out the hire car we were on our way to Geelong. We were welcomed with open arms and hugs at Auntie Andrea's house.

Wednesday we hung around the house for the morning and then early afternoon we headed to town for the funeral.  It was a nice service where Mum and uncle Terry both spoke wonderfully about Grandad.  The wake afterwards was nice where I got to catch up with people who I hadn't seen for many years. Early evening all the family moved to Andrea's house where we spent the night enjoying each others company.

Thursday I was exhausted. Emotionally and physically. Scarlett had had a rough night and poor Alli was also stuffed. We just chilled out till nearly noon when we again packed up and headed for Geelong. We went out for lunch with Andrea and her 3 kids. After the next farewell we made for the airport. Our flight was slightly delayed but in the end it didn't matter as we still landed with plenty of time for me to get my next flight.  Alli and I had again been moved to a row on our own right up near the front and as Mum and Dad boarded they also were moved.  Poor Rod had to sit on his own but at least he got an exit row. Sad goodbyes were had at gate 27 and I then made my way across to gate 29 for my next flight.  We boarded on time and just when I thought we were going to close the door and get going the Captain came out and took the microphone. He informed us that we would NOT be taking this plane to Perth as it had an unserviceable issue and we would need to disembark and get on another plane about 10pm.  ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Well at least they gave us a cuppa while we waited. When I got off I noticed 2 empty rows so when getting on the next flight I asked if I could move as I really needed a window seat so I could get some sleep.  It wasn't an issue so after takeoff  I put up my feet and slept all the way west.

James was happy to see me even if it was 1.30am WA time. Friday morning we needed to head out to the park where we would be storing the van to organise our spot and paperwork. So no sleep in for us we headed out early. The rest of the day was spent trying to keep cool, swimming, organising stuff for the move and snoozing in our chairs.  We were also lucky to again catch up with Ann and Gary as they had had an incident with a sprinkler where the sprinkler had won and they used the C/P again to wash and dry all their things.

Saturday was moving day. Of course what did we get a stinking HOT HUMID day.  Yup bloody Windy Always is never humid till the day we decide to move.  We pack and sorted and pack and sorted and then packed down the trailer and headed for the storage park.  After unhooking and more sorting we were headed for Marangaroo and our new home for a few months.  Monica and Neil welcomed us and we set about unpacking and settling in. We were settled by 1pm and made our way to the shops for some groceries. We then spent the afternoon swimming and being couch potatoes trying to keep cool. Neil made us welcome Pizza's for dinner and then we all collapsed into the pool till nearly 10pm.

 Look we found another Penguin to keep Qu Pea company

 They are both from QLD also.

Its been a HUGE couple of weeks and from here I wont be posting each week but now as before it will be as we do things and explore Perth and its surrounds.  I need a few days to just catch my breath.  Oh and for those who are wondering what James did while I was away, he worked. He didn't sleep much cause it was hot and he worked some more, luckily Ann and Gary also kept him company while they were around.  It kept him busy so he was thankful to have something to do.

Its now time to really experience Perth, I'm busy applying for Jobs in all sorts of areas and planning out things to do while we are here.

Exploring, Working, Exploring, Working, Bloody Fridge and more.....

For those who have been following our blog you will realise its been a LONG while between posts.  Not only have I not posted up any blogs I've not even typed any notes for nearly a month. Arrrrrggggghhhhhh. To say I was exhausted and overwhelmed after the festive season is an understatement.  It was such a fun filled few weeks that once it was over and we relaxed again I totally forgot and neglected my promise to write every day.  So its been a sloooooow start to the year. I will attempt now to provide an up to date account of what we have been up to.

We checked into Woodman point Caravan park on the 5th of Jan and James got busy working for the next 4 days. We met up with people we had camped with at Parry's beach, we bought a new regulator for the 3 way fridge and we explored Freemantle. After James finished his work we decided to head south east to Potters Gorge which if you are looking for it on a map its near Collie.

We took our time getting to camp and looked at all the places on wiki camps we passed through Harvey which a a beautiful little town and made for camp.  We arrived and had the pick of spots.  The spot we took was the pick of the spots in the camping area. It was in a corner facing the water with a big tree separating us from any neighbours, shaded for 90% of the day and direct access to the lake. After set up we wandered down for a swim.

 Friendly Locals

 The view from the door :)

Friday we decided to go exploring through the rest of the park and visit Gnomesville. Gnomesville what the hell is Gnomesville I hear you asking.  Well let me tell you its NOTHING like what you would expect. It is unexplainable just how many Gnomes have moved into (been placed) Gnomesville. Its a little town just made up of Gnomes and only Gnomes. It is NOT near any town that is lived in by humans and in fact if you didn't know where it was exactly you would be hard pressed to find it. We had a map :) First off for the day we visited the Dam wall of Wellington Lake and then drove the scenic route to Honeymoon camp then onto Gnomesville via the dirt/quickest route.

We arrived and just couldn't fathom how many smiling happy groups of Gnomes there actually were. We spent over an hour walking exploring and admiring the area. Unfortunately we didn't know we were going to visit this little town otherwise we would have added our own friend. We will go back and donate a Gnome before leaving WA. After farwelling the thousands of Gnomes we made our way to Collie. After a look about town and lunch we turned back towards camp. It was a warm day so we spent most the afternoon in and out of the water.

 Wellington Dam/Potters Gorge

Saturday was a stinking hot day so we just had a quiet day keeping cool by or in the water until well after 7pm.

Oh I have to add a paragraph here about the Bleeeping 3 way fridge. So after we installed the new regulator we held high hopes again for it to work properly.  Well we were in for a surprise not only did it not work any better it actually got WORSE. It wasn't cooling at all!!! There were a few choice words said to the fridge on Friday as we turned it off and gave up.  It was during a conversation with our neighbours that we mentioned that it wasn't working and luckily for us that he wanted to help fix it. He convinced us to turn it back on and look at the pilot light.  On inspection there was clearly an issue the flame was appalling. It was late when we looked at it so Sunday morning we took the chance and cleaned out the jet with someone there who was knowledgeable and confident in his skills to help us fix it.  He also discovered that our hoses from the tanks to the regulator were stiff and they should be nice and flexible so after all this time the hoses seem like they could have been causing the issue.  Anyways after cleaning the jet and reassembling everything we had a good flame. We were packing up so we could only leave it running for about half an hour but in that time it started to feel cool.  We were thrilled. More to this story further down.

Sunday came around fast and though we really wanted to stay we had booked into Lake Leschenaultia, it was another day set to get above 40 degrees. We were nervous to head off but after finding out that the lake was still open for camping we packed early and made our way north.  The car struggled with the heat and half way up the hills behind Perth I had a pull over for 5 minutes as I thought it really was going to boil over. We made our way oh so so slowly up the mountain and out through Mundaring.  It was at this point we saw a HUGE bush fire. It didn't look good and made us both nervous. We arrived at the Lake and asked what the condition was, besides the fact it was 47 degrees!!!!  The fire was catastrophic & out of control 20 km west of camp and the wind was blowing it in the direction of camp.  We asked for our money back and they were happy to do this and we high tailed it out of there. We stopped in Mundaring to grab some lunch and the fear on the peoples faces and the tension in the air was tangible it certainly is something I hope to never again have to face.  Every minute or so fire crews in all styles of vehicles were screaming out towards the fire.  We called down to a C/P in Karrinyup and booked in for the night.  We arrived stinking hot and exhausted. After a record fast set up we had cold showers and put on presentable clothes to head off and meet Monica and Neil where we were hoping to share their house for a few months. The house was great and they were really friendly people who we just hoped liked us and would pick us to live with them.  From here it was to the shops to calm down with a coffee and get some groceries. We had turned the fridge back onto gas when we arrived at the park as we had a non powered site for the night.  When we first got to camp the fridge had cooled down to 12 degrees running off 12 volt. After being out for a few hours with it on gas it was down to 8 degrees. By the next morning it was down to 2 degrees Woooooooo Hooooooooo we were thrilled. The fridge hadn't been that cold running on gas since early  September. Late in the evening Monica had phoned to say we had been chosen and we now had somewhere to live until we choose to head north.  Things were looking up.  With the great news from Monica we deiced to book into the park for the next week and a bit so James could work and we could explore Perth.

I'm going to end this post here as the next 2 weeks are HUGE and it would make this post too long. 

A year of Triumphs, Troubles & Tremendous moments

2013 all wrapped up. 

Our year kicked off in Oxely Wild Rivers National Park camping with Rhys and Effie. There's an old saying I've heard and it says that what ever you do on January 1st will set the tone/vibe for how you will spend the rest of your year. Well for us this couldn't have been more true. Little did we know at this stage what truly lay ahead for us in 2013. 

We spent almost 4 months living with the wonderful Ron and Desley as we packed up our life in Sydney. It was tougher then I had imagined for us both to give up our normal and venture into the unknown. It was made so much easier by Ron & Desley's generous offer to have us live with them to ease into the process. We couldn't have made it through the transition with sane minds without your love and support so thank you. 

An even harder step was next. Farewelling our work. We both LOVED our jobs, with the time approaching we often questioned what are we doing. Are we crazy?? Well yes we are but hey we figured if we don't jump we will never know what's on the other side. With heavy hearts we said our farewells and promised to visit when we can. 

We had a wonderful evening farewelling our friends, then within the week the car and trailer were LOADED and we hit the road north. We spent the next 3 nights camping and catching up with family and the Hammos. 

July came around fast and we were as ready as we could have been. We said farewell to our family and set off. We had an amazing 6 weeks travelling through Qld and into the NT. Life on the road was running smoothly until our faithful Mule broke a U-bolt and the trailer self destructed on the road into Katherine. It was a write off :(

Our lives were turned upside down. Within a week of the accident we had taken all we could from our trailer loaded up poor Randy and returned 3000km to home base. Oh and we bought a Jayco Penguin.  We were physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. It took an amazing amount of courage to continue going at this point. 

Grant and Amanda aka Puppa Smurf and Mumma V were so helpful and generous when they collected our new trailer and then drove it to Coffs Harbour to meet up with us. Only 2 weeks later and 1 month after sitting on the side of the road in Katherine we hit the road, this time we travelled South. 

We shot through Qld and most of northern NSW. After a wonderful week in Sydney visiting as many people as we could we hit the south coast. We crossed into VIC early October and spent the month making our way along the coast line. We visited my extended family and Grandfather in Geelong also. A few highlights came from places we didn't expect. Firstly was the Grampians where we walked and climbed and walked some more. Then Warrnambool was a town we thoroughly enjoyed.  

We crossed into SA and Mt Gambier was our first stop. Another town we knew nothing of but enjoyed more then we had expected. We drove up,the Coorong to Murray Bridge and then down the Fleurier Peninsula. Back up to Adelaide and into the Adelaide hills and then down the Yorke Peninsula. Up to Port Augusta and then down the Eyre Peninsula. By the time we reached Ceduna we had spent the whole month of November in SA and it was time for James to work again before we crossed the Nullabore and into WA. 

We crossed the Nullabore in 2 days the first was 45 degrees and so stinking hot we just kept driving as it was cooler to do that then stop and sit in the heat. The second was 15 degrees and raining. The Nullabore was completely different to what we had expected. It was an amazing thing to do and crossing into WA gave us both a renewed desire to keep going. Christmas was fast approaching so we made our way further west. 

We are sitting in Dunsborough for Christmas and my Mum and Dad have flown over to spend a week with us. We are so grateful to have the week with them and to have Christmas Day is so special and we are very thankful. To end our amazing year we will be bringing in 2014 with Hammo, Evil, Rhys & Effie. We are so very much looking forward to seeing them all and having a fun few days catching up and exploring with them. 

It's been A HUGE YEAR. We set out with our Mule and have ended the year with a Penguin. We have been North, South, and West. We have faced challenges we thought we would and some we never could have dreamed of. It's been amazing, different, wonderful, stressful and relaxing, oh so relaxing. We have grown as a couple and discovered new parts to our relationship which has bought us closer. We have both been in good health and continue to face life, full on ready to explore, discover and enjoy it in the best way we know how.  

We wish each and everyone a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year. Please turn to the ones you love and give them a squeeze from us and get one back. We send our love and best wishes for a great 2014. 

Amy & James. 

Tis the season to be Festive

And Festive it was.  WOW what an amazing, incredible, exciting and uber exhausting fortnight it was.  We left Parry's beach and made our way West to Dunsborough where we would meet up with Mum and Dad.

After settling into the resort the following days included lots of, eating, drinking, touristing, eating, drinking and just a little relaxing.  We had a wonderful Christmas but missed our family more then words can describe. We got to visit some beautiful wineries and lighthouses with Mum and Dad.

The week with them went by way to fast and before we knew it we had to say good bye :( One thing traveling does is makes you appreciate your family and friends more every day. So saying good bye is harder each time you have to do it.

 Dad being oh so helpful in the wind!!!

 Selfie x 4

Within 48 hours we had Rhys and Effie at our place for the night :) the Hammos were not far behind.  Then the next phase of exhaustion kicked in. We were now running on empty but wouldn't rest as our time with them was even more limited and we had to make the most of it.  We visited many wineries again and did the Busselton jetty walk.  We swam and celebrated NYE and generally had a really fun time with our mates.

When Mum and Dad left James said wow keeping up with your parents is exhausting, when we farewelled Rhys and Effie we both said and keeping up with friends is even harder, but we wouldnt have had it any other way.

After we checked out of our resort we took a quick night away with Rhys and Effie in just our tent. We stayed at Mt Falcon national park, it was a really nice night away just getting back into the swing of things. When we returned we picked up our tralier and spent the next 2 nights with the Hammos.  We did more touristing and visited many beautiful places and wandered through Margaret river and Cowaramup.

 Where the Margaret River meets the Ocean.

 Cowaramup

 Rhys parking and locking Effie in the car.

 Diamond tree, Rhys climbed to the very top.

We had to farewell them on Sunday exactly 2 weeks after we arrived in Dunsborough as James needed to work for the next few days so we were booked into a park. On our way North we managed to finally meet up with Celia and Eugene for lunch.  It was nice to catch up after so long.

Thankyou to my amazing Mum and Dad for flying over and spending Christmas with us, you made it memorable and we cannot express how much it meant for you to come over.

To Rhys, Effie, Hammo and Evil you all made the time and effort to spend a week with us and bring in the new year.  Your all cherished friends who are held in our hearts. Travel safe and we look forward to more adventures in the future.