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.