JOURNAL 2002

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January 1st 2002 (Tuesday)

Last night was, as expected, very noisy but considering the number of people out at the campsite everyone behaved themselves pretty well. There isn't even that much rubbish around this morning - now that is a nice change. The weather is heating up and despite being surrounded by trees the bus gets pretty warm during the day. The other problem we have is that the solar panel isn't getting enough light to charge the batteries properly so we are short on power at night.

January 2nd 2002 (Wednesday)

After a nice week away it is time to get home and start trying to find work again. We are both pretty disillusioned at the moment as most applications don't even result in a reply.

January 11th 2002 (Friday)

There have been a few more jobs appearing on the internet lately and today I managed to get an interview at the RAC. I don't hold out too much hope as I think they are looking for someone with more Universe admin experience than I have but at least things are starting to move in the right direction again.

Belle has applied for 5 jobs in places ranging from Bendigo to Geraldton so we will sit back and await the results of those as well.

January 14th 2002 (Monday)

We are back at Heron Point for a couple of nights and are going on the theory that we might as well enjoy it while we can. We have the mobile phone with us and have brought the car in case Belle gets called in for an interview. Perth is about 100km from here but we need to be prepared in case something comes up and one of us needs to go back quickly.

Heron Point is deserted at the moment - LOVELY! Apparently on the weekend it was packed and very noisy. That's the main reason we try to come down here on week days.

January 18th 2002 (Friday)

Belle was worried about coming down to Heron Point as she was expecting a call from one of the employers she has applied to. Me, being the pessimist I am, said no-one will ring if we take the car. We took the car and guess what? I was right! Do you have to bribe someone to get a job these days?

46 crabs later (yes we finally caught a few) we are heading home. There are still not that many crabs around (although we choose to put females back) and you have to walk a long way to find them. Yesterday morning we were out for nearly 4 hours and only brought back 20.

We have been cleaning the crabs and extracting the meat and freezing it - apart from what we eat that is. This way it takes up much less room in the fridge and it gives us something to do in the mornings.

Luckily we only had one hot day as there have been thunderstorms brewing all week. One came right over us when we were out crabbing and we had to make a dash back in to the bus. It isn't wise to be the tallest thing out on the water when there is lightning around.

January 25th- 28th 2002 (Friday-Monday)

We are off to a CMCA rally at Pinjarra today. Belle had another job interview on Wednesday but since she won't know anything more until the end of next week we have decided to make the most of it and head off for a few days.

The rally was at Pinjarra Park Racecourse which was a great venue as there is plenty of space and a nice shady grassed area. We had the use of showers and toilets and a lit area at night.

We caught up with George and Kathleen who we met nearly 4 years ago at Cleaverville; also with Mark and Lucy who we met at the 1997 Perth Wanderers wildflower rally and another couple who we met when we originally went to Heron Point. Our friends Kevin and Lesley came down for a couple of days as well. The rally was quite enjoyable but geared more to the older set, even so we enjoyed the weekend.

We also met Graham and Jane who have a huge completely converted bus that Graham has done himself.

January 29th 2002 (Tuesday)

As the Pinjarra rally was only a few kilometres from Heron Point we have come down again to look for a few more crabs. The long weekend seems to have knocked the stuffing out of crab numbers here and we only managed to catch three this morning.

The weather is quite warm and we are back to bringing out the camp beds (the ones we bought here almost 4 years ago) and sleeping under a nice shady tree during the hot part of the afternoon. Looks like it will be 32-34 degrees all week.

On a sad note, it was 4 years ago today that was lost dear old Sam. We have recovered from that now but we think of Lucy and Sam often so they will never be forgotten. We still have their picture on the fridge in the bus so in a way they are still travelling with us.

Graham and Jane have come down here as well with their little dogs Punky, Cassie and Willy. They introduced us to a type of packet ice cream and yoghurt from NZ that comes in powdered form and you simply add water. Looks like a good idea for travellers.

February 16th 2002 (Saturday)

Finally a little bit of luck has come our way. Belle has got a part time job and although it isn't going to be enough to see us through in the long term it will help a bit while I am laid up after my hernia op. Belle will be working just 2 days a week doing practical lessons at Curtin Uni.

This time next week (if nothing goes wrong) I will still be in hospital recovering from the operation. I am really not looking forward to that, especially since it's in Royal Perth Hospital - what a dump.

We did try a short term experiment by taking in a couple of borders, but it didn't work out and after 3 weeks we have the house to ourselves again.

February 21st 2002 (Thursday)

I have my second hernia operation tomorrow and I can't say I'm too thrilled about the prospect. Operations always carry some risk and I haven't been feeling all that happy about this one. Will there be another journal entry? Time alone will tell….. stay tuned….

February 24th 2002 (Sunday)

Much to my great surprise (and no little relief) I was out of hospital just one day after the operation. People may complain about our Public Health system but I have nothing but praise for the way I was looked after by the staff at Royal Perth. Compared to my last hernia op in Darwin this has been almost a pleasant experience. I was off pain killers within the first 12 hours and I am already able to get up and around - something that took many days last time.

I had one little scare not long before I was due to be discharged. The drain tube was removed and the resulting spout of blood that followed it was quite spectacular. Even my nurse Kaye said she hadn't seen anything like it in 21 years of nursing. Being me I immediately went into shock with the classic symptoms of nausea, sweating and feeling cold but that soon passed. I could have done without the thick red sauce on the chicken that turned up for lunch just afterwards but the bleeding soon stopped and I was still allowed to go home, whew!

I am very surprised by the lack of pain caused by this operation. In Darwin I was in a great deal of pain for many days afterward so I think the surgeon I had this time here must have been a lot more gentle. I have strict instructions not to do ANY lifting for 8 weeks but it will be nice to be able to move around this time and not be stuck in bed for days on end.

March 16th 2002 (Saturday)

Time plods on and my hernia op wound is still bleeding - that makes over three weeks since the operation and it still hasn't healed. I have to see my doctor every 2nd day which is becoming tiresome. Belle had a blood test which showed very alarming levels of cholesterol and triglycerides (14 and 21 respectively). That means medication and more tests - getting old is starting to be a real pain.

I have been keeping an eye on prospective employment and applying for the odd jobs that do pop up but so far no replies. Centrelink with their usual efficiency and compassion are hounding me to look for work when just getting up causes my wound to bleed but have been told quite firmly to go to hell until I am better.

As we are still in the process of going broke we are planning to head back to Adelaide once Belle's work at Curtin comes to an end. I see that as the only chance of me getting back into work in the near future. It is a gamble, but there is just nothing going in Perth and no-one replies when I apply for work in the east. Australia stops at the WA border as far as the eastern staters are concerned.

March 17th 2002 (Sunday)

Went down to Rockingham today to catch up with Graham & Jane who we first met at the Pinjarra rally a few weeks ago. Graham has converted his bus and put in some big slide out sections. He has made a first class job of it and after looking at what he has done it has given me some ideas for our bus.

We were due to have a BBQ and at first it looked as though play would have to be abandoned due to rain, but eventually the skies cleared and we had a lovely day. A lot of people from the caravan park joined in and it was almost as though we were back on the road again. The worst part of the day was having to drive home again.

We have booked in for 10 days from April 19th so we should get to enjoy it down here for a while before Graham and Jane head north.

March 24th 2002 (Sunday)

Down to Rockingham again today. Graham has sold a couple of camping books for me so we are going down to drop them off then to go out fishing with Graham in his boat.

Caught some herring, butterfish, reef fish and best of all a few King George whiting. A very pleasant morning with the sun shining and the temperature in the low 20s. Graham has a 15hp Honda 4 stroke engine on his boat. This seems to be the way to go as it is smooth and very quiet.

My hernia op scar is still bleeding, but there's no way I was going to let it spoil the chance to go fishing.

April 5th 2002 (Friday)

Belles friend Edith and her husband Adi (from Adelaide) arrived today. We will spend the next couple of days showing them round Perth before they are off down south to have a look round our corner of the world.

The hernia op wound is still not healed but it is at least showing some signs of progress. My main concern is that it is pretty well fixed by the 19th when we head down to Rockingham for a few days in the bus.

April 19th 2002 (Friday)

Finally the day for us to take the bus down to Rockingham has arrived. As my op. wound is STILL not healed I had to go and see my doctor before taking off so we were late in getting away. By midday we had the annexe up and were thinking about fishing.

The afternoon was fine so we got the boat ready and went out. We picked up a couple of nice sized bream, which surprised me as I have been fishing in this area for years and have never caught bream here. Graham, who brought his boat out as well was only fishing a few metres from us but didn't pick up any legal size bream.

It is so nice here that we have booked in for an extra week. Belle will go back to Perth for 3 days when she is working then come back down again. This means no internet access for me for a while but it will be a good break.

April 20th 2002 (Saturday)

We went out fishing twice today and picked up 13 bream, 4 in the morning and 9 in the afternoon. Some are very large so we are quite pleased with how things are going. (These ‘bream’ were actually tarwine.)

April 21st 2002 (Sunday)

Fishing again in the morning but we only picked up 1 size bream. Kevin and Lesley brought their boat down and the Edith and Adi turned up so I took our boat out so Adi could do a bit of fishing. We took off expecting Kevin and Lesley to catch us up as they have a big boat with a 40hp engine. They didn't turn up and the fish were biting so we decided they must have had engine trouble and stayed out catching what we could.

After picking up 4 good sized bream, 1 herring, 2 Skippy and some smaller fish for bait we went back in only to find that Kevin & Lesley's boat engine had actually caught fire when they were a couple of hundred metres out and they had to drift back in using just the wind to push them along. They were lucky to put the fire out as when they looked for their extinguisher it was missing.

The variety of fish here shows a pretty healthy eco-system in the Cockburn Sound. Apart from the bream, herring and skippy there are whiting, wrasse, slimy mackerel, cobbler, garfish and of course some nuisance fish like trumpeter and blowies.

Three days here and five fishing trips so far so I certainly can't complain. The trick is to fish all the time in case the weather closes in and we can't get out.

April 25th 2002 (Thursday)

Monday was wet and windy so we spent some time with Edith and Adi. They fly back to Adelaide today and only really had enough time in W.A. for a very quick tour of the south west.

The past couple of days have been fine so we have been out fishing much of the time. The variety of our catch continues to grow as we are now catching some blue mackerel and garfish. Today isn't looking that good so far as the wind is up and we are expecting rain this evening.

April 29th 2002 (Monday)

The weather fined up after ANZAC day so we have been spending most mornings out fishing. We have added to our catch with yellowtail (which we mostly throw back or give to the terns) and flounder. The variety and quantity of fish here continues to amaze us. The bream came back on the bite today and we brought three very big ones back. The mackerel are really picking up and are delicious smoked so we are bringing in a few of them every day as well.

Belle has to work tomorrow and Thursday so she has gone back today and will come back down after work on Thursday. I am not used to her being away for long periods but even after a few short hours I am already suffering separation anxiety.

May 5th 2002 (Sunday)

The weather went sour again during last week and the two days we did manage to go fishing turned out to be pretty lack lustre. We always managed to catch a few to bring in but nothing compared to the week before.

We were due to go home tomorrow but we have now decided that we would like to stay another week (possibly 2) and I will work on the bus down here. When Belle goes back to Perth to work I will go up too and take the computer so I can catch up with everything on the net.

Graham re-tourqued the engine yesterday so that saved us at least $200 and now we don't have to take the bus in to a workshop before we leave. That is a great relief.

We only have three weeks before Belle finishes work at Curtin Uni. so I have to get started painting the bus roof and fixing the leak in the petrol tank. Once that is done we should be ready to go. I have added catches to the under-floor bin covers so they can be held up when open and I have put new seals round the entry door.

May 16th 2002 (Thursday)

Time seems to be flying at the moment. There is only just over a week left before we are due to leave for Adelaide and I am still working hard on getting all the work done on the bus that I planned to do.

So far I have managed to fix a leak in the petrol tank inlet, put new seals on the front door, put new linings on all the cupboard shelves, put hooks up for the under floor bin lids (so they don't hit me on the head when I'm getting things out from underneath), make a new slide on shade for the windscreen and apply new (thermal) paint to the roof and one side of the bus. Weather permitting I will do the other side in the next day or two. The paint was supplied by Gecko Motor Homes (544 Beaufort St. Mt. Lawley (08) 9328 8541) who are highly recommended by Graham.

Fishing has been a bit on the quiet side but when we do go out we are still managing to catch enough for a feed and still let some go so we certainly can't complain.

May 20th 2002 (Monday)

After 4 weeks and 3 days enjoying our time in Rockingham with Graham and Jane we reluctantly made our way home to start packing for the long haul back to Adelaide on Sunday. The radiator still drops coolant when we turn the engine off and it looks like we have an oil leak to find and fix but with luck we will be away on time.

No more waking up in the chilly morning air and rushing off to fish, or walking along Mangles Bay in the evenings watching the boats bob about as the sun goes down.<sigh>. For the three days before we left the weather was perfect and we managed to 'get on' to a good spot for catching King George whiting. On Sunday morning the wind came up but we still managed to bring in 7 whiting and 12 herring.

We will miss Graham and Jane but with luck we will catch them up somewhere on the road. As for my op wound - believe it or not it STILL hasn't finished healing but I am past caring about it now. It will do so when it is good and ready I guess. Of course Stupidlink (alias Centrelink) wants me to go and do intensive assistance training just as it wanted Belle to go and do job search training while she already had a job and wasn't getting any assistance from them. They even threatened to cut off the non-existent assistance if she didn't turn up. God how I long to be out of the clutches of those D*******S!

May 24th 2002 (Friday)

D-Day (that is departure day) -2 and we are almost ready, at least as ready as we are ever going to be. Paul and Penny, recently arrived from Africa, dropped in to say 'Hi' and pick our brains today so we asked Graham and Jane (also ex-Africa) to drop by as well. Although they had never met in Africa they knew many of the same people and of course shared an abiding love of the 'dark continent'.

I am sampling the 4th or 5th glass of Chardonnay that Paul and Penny brought over (Cheers!) so my typing is suffering dreadfully; just as well I can correct it before I post it on the web site or no-one would be able to read it.

I have to admit that whatever happens to us from here on in, it can't be as bad as spending another minute in Maddington. I long to get away from this rat (human rat) infested sewer.

May 26th 2002 (Sunday)

Well we are off again. For better or worse we have rolled the dice and are now waiting to see what comes up. This time we are much worse off financially than we were at the start of the first trip. With only about 5K in the bank and no real assets behind us we are hoping to find work quickly and praying that nothing dramatic goes wrong. We had to leave Mum again, but she seems to be pretty fit and has a good support network of friends to keep her occupied, so hopefully it won't be too traumatic. Since I have been back in Perth there has been virtually no work in my line and Belle just hasn't managed to get back into work in the labs so we have to try something else while we still have enough money to do so. It certainly isn't without risk, as the fuel alone to get the Adelaide will cost over $1000, but we have to try something or the bank will repossess the house.

We drove about 280km today and are staying at a nice big rest area 12km west of Katanning. The peace and solitude are just magic. Wagin had run out of autogas so we went on using petrol and will get more gas tomorrow at the BP in Katanning.

The bus still drops coolant when we stop and started to get a bit hot so this rest area came up just at the right time. The repair I did on the rocker cover bolt seal didn't hold so we are losing a bit of oil as well. If I keep a close watch on it we should be ok as not much is getting out.

May 27th 2002 (Monday)

On through Broomehill, Gnowangerup and Jerramungup. We have only done about 180km today but found a good rest area (Jacup) on the highway so have set up camp early (noon) and will stay here the night. The bus travels better in the cool of the mornings anyway so I'm not going to push her too hard.

The roads between the Albany Highway and Jerramungup were a bit tiring with plenty of dips and bumps to cope with. It is good to be back on a major road now which doesn't pull the bus around as much.

May 28th 2002 (Tuesday)

A very misty morning had us heading for Ravensthorpe and the very unexpected and VERY steep descent to the Phillips River. I didn't see any sign saying 'trucks use low gear' but there certainly should be one here, especially when approaching the river from the west. A hair raising ride down the hill and a big haul up the other side didn't cause us any problems in the end, but be warned, this is a VERY steep and unexpected descent and if you are in top gear going down you have to rely totally on your brakes.

Ravensthorpe was just a quick gas refuelling stop (BP is the only one with autogas) and then a steep hill down the east side of town (which does say use low gear) and off towards Munglinup. The only good rest stops from Ravensthorpe to Munglinup are on the south side of the highway about 4km east and just opposite Fence Road (north side of road) 41km east.

Munglinup itself is a good rest stop with toilets, water, phone etc. From here we travelled 4km further east to Fuss Rd. and turned south. Fuss Road is mostly single lane bitumen and goes for 10km before you turn west into Springvale Rd. The sealed road eventually turns to gravel then it is about 4km to the turn off to Munglinup Bay. This section of road was pretty rough.

Munglinup Bay is a good campsite and at $2 pppn won't break the bank. There is limited drinking water, drop toilets and (sometimes) bore water showers. No problems turning round here and nice sheltered campsites right near the beach. (2003 update. We have since heard that this site is being taken over by a caravan park – WHAT A JOKE! Another wonderful spot is going to be ruined!)

There are supposed to be fish in the sea here but we didn't see any signs of them.

May 29th 2002 (Wednesday)

Another misty morning and the chance to explore the coast. We headed west to Starvation Bay which is very pretty and quite sheltered. There are toilets and cold water showers as well as a boat launching area for those with 4wds. The road in from Springvale Rd. is a bit corrugated but otherwise in good shape.

The camping area by the beach is ok but only has one site for big rigs. There is another section further back where big rigs may fit in but that area is not at all level.

From here we went west again down the upgraded road (shows as 4wd track on maps but was ok for 2wd) to Mason Bay. Here there is another good campsite which is perhaps better suited to big rigs than Starvation Bay. The last few kilometres in were very corrugated but the area really does rate a visit.

From Mason Bay we continued west via Springdale Road to Hopetoun but sadly didn't go on to the national park just west of town. This really looks like it is worth exploring and I hope to come back and have a good look round one day. We decided to take the sealed road back to Munglinup Beach so passed through Ravensthorpe again and turned off at Coxall Rd. This is an alternate route to Fuss Rd. and turned out to be very smooth for an unsealed road.

May 30th 2002 (Thursday)

A rest day today, tidy up the campsite and prepare for the run in to Esperance tomorrow, then a little fishing in the afternoon and a chat with our new neighbours John and Lyn who pulled in yesterday in their Mazda. John has patched up the faulty seal on the rocker cover so we are hoping that the oil leak is now a problem in the past tense.

May 31st 2002 (Friday)

Much as we have enjoyed our short stay at Munglinup Beach we have to head into town and start looking for work. We pulled in to Bushlands Caravan Park near the Pink Lake ($15.95 a night) and had a quick look round the area. We were last in Esperance about 20 years ago and remember nothing of what is was like.

Esperance is a very pretty town and the coastline along what is now called The Great Ocean Drive is almost beyond description. On the down side there don't look like being any free campsites close to town (in mobile phone range) so our time here will be limited if we can't find work.

June 2nd 2002 (Sunday)

A quick back-track to have a look at the campsite at Quagi Beach left us somewhat underwhelmed. The turn off to Quagi (Farrells Rd.) is about 61km west of Esperance and from there it was approx. 10km down a good gravel road to the beach.

The campsites are set around a ring road which we thought would be too narrow for the bus and individual sites are widely scattered and not all that large. This site is better suited to smaller motorhomes and campervans and we were glad we didn't decide to try and bring the bus down.

A day use area near the beach was quite boggy looking so in general this isn't a place we would recommend to everyone. The beach is pretty enough but the campsite is poorly designed for big rigs and there is obviously no concern for those who visit and don't have 4wd vehicles.

June 5th 2002 (Wednesday)

After spending time applying for about 12 jobs in various places and searching the net we went for a quick trip out to Cape LeGrand today. The National Park is about 52km from Esperance via a sealed (if somewhat narrow in places) road. The entry fee of $9 is standard for WA National Parks but we regard it as too high.

The camping fees of $12.50 a night make staying in the park MORE EXPENSIVE than staying at a commercial caravan park like Bushlands which includes electricity. ($96.50 a week in the National Park and only $92.50 a week at Bushlands). Would someone at CALM please explain to me how it costs them more to provide a campsite than it does for a commercial park that has to pay rates and power bills and end up with a profit at the end?

Having had my gripe about CALM's excessive GREEDY fees, I have to say that the campsite at Lucky Bay was not only spectacular, but there are some good facilities provided including gas cookers and BBQs and HOT WATER showers. Even though this is one of the best campsites we have seen $10 a night would be more than enough and the entry fee should be included as part of the first night's charge.

Unlike most other National Parks, the roads at Cape LeGrand were mostly sealed. Just like most other National Parks, the roads that weren't sealed were about as corrugated as it is possible to get and they shook the car about without mercy.

June 6th 2002 (Thursday)

Kevin and Lesley arrived today. Their original plan was to come down and go back to Perth but I think they may change their minds and head east from here.

Kevin (who is an Auto Electrician) hadn't been in town a day when he was offered work. It sure pays to have picked the right line of work and have a trade rather than useless jobs like those we go into.

We are waiting for the windy rainy weather to clear before moving on, so we could be here a day or two more than we planned. Kev & Lesley will be here for a while now as the chance to earn some money was too good to pass up.

June 8th 2002 (Saturday)

Still in Esperance and waiting for the weather to break. It looks like it may do so today but I have decided to stay in the caravan park one more night just to make sure.

June 9th 2002 (Sunday)

The weather has finally turned and we set off this morning hoping to make the Bromus Dam campsite south of Norseman in the early afternoon. Only 50km out of Esperance we lost power on LPG and try as I might I could not re-start it. We couldn't find anywhere to stop for the next 15km and when we did a big cloud of smoke came out from under the engine cover. After determining that we had now a more severe oil leak we decided to head back to Esperance.

We pulled in to the Rotary Lookout rest area on Norseman Rd. (7km north of town) and settled down for the night. Despite the fact that there were houses nearby we weren't chased away and spent a peaceful if chilly night.

The rest area has quite a small turning circle so isn't really good enough for big rigs. We had to back out as there was no way to turn round. There are no facilities here but there is a lookout on the road that runs round the edge of the hill.

June 10th 2002 (Monday)

After getting the gas system fixed (a new controller $129) I had another look at the engine and tightened up a loose bolt holing the oil filling assembly in place. We refuelled and set off again.

After 25km we pulled in (at the only place we could turn around) to check on the oil leak and found that it had got worse. Once again we turned round and returned to Esperance. Are we being told something?

A mechanic had a look at the engine and the diagnosis was the rocker cover gasket had gone. We ordered a new one (actually 2) at Repco and are currently waiting out the night at Bandy Creek boat harbour.

The local Ranger drove in, in the afternoon, had a look at us and drove out again without saying anything. As it is now 8:15pm we assume that it is ok to stay here the night. There are toilets, showers, washing water, shelters, seats and tables here. It is easy to get in and out and is a top spot to spend a night.

There are lights on at night (inside the toilets too) and there is a boat launching ramp. Kev & Lesley came down for dinner and we threw in a line but didn't catch anything.

We hope that tomorrow we will finally sort out the problems and be on our way at last.

June 11th 2002 (Tuesday)

HOORAY! we finally made it out of Esperance. Not that Esperance is a bad place but I was getting very fed up with driving up and down Norseman Road.

To save money I replaced the rocker cover gasket myself (I am finally learning a little bit about engines) and we have made it as far as Bromus Dam (a huge campsite 32km south of Norseman).

June 12th 2002 (Wednesday)

We arrived in Norseman quite early and found that there was work going at the BP roadhouse but the person we need to see isn't back in town until tomorrow so we will stay overnight and see if anything turns up.

As we were exploring the town we also heard that there was a job about to be available at the local Telecentre and as I ran one for 6 months in Halls Creek I have decided to see if anything eventuates in that area as well.

Norseman is bigger than I expected but there are quite a lot of closed or closing shops in the main street and plenty of unoccupied vandalised houses in town.

We were driving around town when we spotted a bus motorhome parked in front of one of the local houses so Belle being Belle told me to stop while she went in and said 'Hi'. It turned out that the bus was owned by Alan and Christine who had been travelling around for about 13 months and had come back to Norseman. They were very friendly (aren't all bus people?) and Christine made a few phone calls to find out what was going on at the Telecentre.

It turns out there may be some local politicing going on so I will contact the Telecentre Support Unit in Perth to see what the story is.

With a bit of luck we may both be back in the workforce soon but we have learned not to count our chickens.

June 13th 2002 (Thursday)

No chickens, I mean no luck on the job front again. Belle went in and was told that the job had already been given to someone else - strange then that they asked us to stay overnight and come back in today. The Telecentre is a huge mess with everyone connected with it resigning so it doesn't even have a management committee. Looks like we weren't meant to stay here.

So it's off to the east we go. We passed Balladonia and are camped at a large rest area on the 90 mile straight tonight. The weather is closing in and getting stormy but the wind is behind us for a change. The only negative thing about a following wind is there is very little air to cool the engine and it is running a bit hotter than normal.

June 14th 2002 (Friday)

On past Caiguna, Cocklebiddy and Madura (the most expensive roadhouse on the trip) and we chop this huge country up into bites of 2 or 3 hundred kilometres.

This time last year we were on the way back to Perth and staying at Walkers Rocks. A whole year gone and not much to show for it.

June 15th 2002 (Saturday)

The bus started backfiring on LPG today so I have been switching back and forth to petrol in the hope of keeping going. So far we have been ok and are camped about 60km east of Border Village right near the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight.

I will change the rotor button over and see if that improves things, as I know the rotor button has caused similar problems in the past.

There was no LPG at Eucla as their pump had broken down so we filled up at Border Village and just to be on the safe side we filled the petrol tank as well. I should be able to reach Ceduna now without re-fuelling again.

June 16th 2002 (Sunday)

The wind last night was blowing like crazy across the Bight. We parked head on in to it but it still buffeted the bus all night so I resorted to a couple of sleeping pills to get some sleep.

Thankfully the wind is blowing with us, I would hate to be heading west into it, or even worse north or south exposing the side of the bus. Caravans must have lots of fun in this sort of weather.

We have pushed on to a rest area about 18km west of Penong and should be in Ceduna tomorrow. We may spend a couple of nights in a caravan park there resting up and cleaning up before the last section of the trip across the top of the Eyre Peninsula.

The bus (touch wood) hasn't been backfiring like she did yesterday so changing the rotor button may have solved the problem - let' s hope so as we are getting pretty close now.

June 17th 2002 (Monday)

We arrived in Ceduna at last. We will spend one night at the Beachfront caravan park ($18) before the last haul down to Adelaide. The bus engine smells like it is burning oil when we are going up hills. I hope there isn't anything drastically wrong. We stall have over 700km to go so we don't want any last minute problems.

When we filled up at Nundroo Roadhouse the LPG bowser seemed to be putting far too much gas into the tank - more than I thought would fit. On checking last years records I found that from Ceduna to Nundroo we were supposed to have used over 100 litres. This year when we filled up at Ceduna we only managed to fit in 57 litres after refuelling at Nundroo (where I didn't even let the pump 'finish' filling the tank.)

There is a definite problem with the pumps there despite the fact they claimed they had 'just been checked'. I suggest NO ONE fills up at Nundroo as there is some sort of scam going on and it has apparently gone on unchecked for at least the last 12 months.

June 18th 2002 (Tuesday)

We departed Ceduna wishing we had picked another caravan park as the Beachfront is a very noisy place to stay and our sleep was constantly interrupted.

After driving about 250km across the top of the Eyre Peninsula we have been singularly unimpressed with the towns and rest areas on this route.

The towns are little but run down ramshackle places which owe their continued existence to the huge grain silos that dominate them. The rest areas - most are just laybys - are far too close to the road and most are quite small.

We have stopped at the best area we have found to date (Goyder's Line Monument rest area) about 19km east of Kyancutta. We had planned a stop at Polkdinny Park in Kyancutta but it was right by the highway and far too small for the bus. We hope to pass through Port Augusta tomorrow and spend our last night on the road for a while somewhere north of Port Pirie.

June 19th 2002 (Wednesday)

We had a think about heading directly for Adelaide but then decided to try a campsite north of Whyalla that we hadn't seen before, called Fitzgerald Bay. We missed the turn off and went down to Point Lowly instead and were sadly disappointed as there is an industrial complex out there and it is very unattractive.

We eventually found the turn off to Fitzgerald Bay that we missed and went up over the hill to find quite a steep descent going down to the bay. Going down in 1st gear was fine but still intimidating as there is a T junction at the bottom and the water just on the other side.

After turning left along an unsealed section of road we found a small camping area next to the beach. When we drove in we realised we couldn't turn around and had to take the trailer off in order to do so. Having got ourselves round we decided to stay for a while and later that day another Bedford bus pulled in (thinking it was ok to get round when they saw us).

After surveying the situation John eventually did manage to turn round even through he was towing a much bigger trailer than ours. A lesson in being able to back a bus and trailer for us I guess.

June 22nd 2002 (Saturday)

We are still at Fitzgerald Bay with John and Josie but they are pulling out tomorrow as John has found work in Pt. Augusta. Being a Plumber he is in greater demand than people with useless jobs like us and we will be sad to see them go as we have had a good time fishing, crabbing and sitting round the campfire having a good chin wag at night.

We have been out fishing 3 times. The first was discouraging as we only caught one garfish, but John caught about a dozen and quite a few squid. The next day was better as we picked up 3 King George whiting (In S.A. the legal size is 300mm and we didn't like throwing the 280-90 ones that would be legal in W.A. back.), we also caught a squid, Belle caught a big flounder and we got three blue swimmer crabs on fishing line - unusual at any time but more so at this time of year.

I went out on my own today and was about to give up after only catching one garfish when I noticed quite a few crabs gathered underneath the boat. After dropping in a crab net I managed to pick up 9 legal sized ones so it has been a good couple of days.

We will stay here a few more days as I can get free internet access at the Whyalla info centre and we can (just) get mobile phone service here. We will get the newspaper from Whyalla and apply for work from here as it doesn't cost anything to stay at the campsite. There is also a water source at the main campsite just up the road plus a toilet and shower (cold Brrrrr), so all in all it is a pretty good spot.

June 28th 2002 (Friday)

We have been at Fitzgerald Bay 9 days now and Blue and Skeeta came up for a couple of nights from Port Lincoln to visit us. As they were staying in a tent I think they may have been a bit uncomfortable as the weather has been far from perfect in the last few days. They headed home today but it was very good to catch up with them again.

We are thinking seriously about moving on to Eden Valley as free camping is not much fun in winter. I also think it may be easier to find work if we are closer to Adelaide.

The fishing here has gone right off, and the few attempts the weather has allowed us to make have not been at all successful.

June 30th 2002 (Sunday)

Having given up on fishing due to the bad weather we packed the boat up and almost as soon as we had finished the wind dropped to near zero and the sea looked like a glass mirror. It was almost as if someone had flicked a switch. There really are times when I feel like I'm being 'got at'.

We have come in to the Foreshore Caravan Park at Whyalla for one night to get cleaned up before heading across to Adelaide. The caravan park is $18 a night and for once it is a 'foreshore' park that is actually right on the beach. Having said that the beach leaves a bit to be desired but the view is lovely.

The ablution blocks here are good and spotlessly clean and there are plenty of sites big enough for buses. All roads in the park are sealed and there is plenty of grass and tress to make it a really attractive spot.

July 2nd 2002 (Tuesday)

After taking the road through Crystal Brook and Clare Valley yesterday and winding our way through the hills, we finally arrived at Eden Valley early this morning. We spent the day looking around the local area and registering for work at the local job agency in Nuriootpa. Word is that grape vine pruning is running late this year and we may have arrived in time to get work clipping vines. That would certainly do until we are able to find something more substantial.

At $5.50 a night on a powered site, the Eden Valley sports complex it very hard to beat value wise. It is a bit off the beaten track but since it has toilets, hot showers and now has a laundry we will be happy to stay here until something better comes along.

The drive down through Clare was very tiring in the bus, but it is a beautiful area. We will head back that way in the car one day to take some pictures and explore. Eden Valley is well situated for exploring both the wine country and the Murraylands to the east.

July 4th 2002 (Thursday)

After a couple of days exploring the local area we got a phone call tonight asking us to come in and start work pruning grape vines at 7.30am tomorrow. At $13 and hour we should be able to put a few dollars back into the bank if we manage to handle the work, the weather and the early starts. Another novel experience awaits. If nothing else the exercise should do us both good.

July 7th 2002 (Sunday)

Grape vine pruning was called off due to some pretty awful weather on Friday so we are due to start tomorrow morning. At least now we are better prepared as we both have good wet weather gear.

We caught up with a few of the CMCA Mt. Lofty Bushies this weekend as they had a small gathering at Eden Valley. Only four vehicles turned up but at least we had some company for the weekend.

Weather-wise the weekend has gradually improved but the forecast is for more rain during the week so we can look forward to a cold wet start to work.

July 8th 2002 (Monday)

The good news is that the day was fine and sunny, the bad news is that we lasted 3.5 hours before being politely asked to 'go and get some training'. There are lots of vines that need pruning here so we spoke to the local job agency again and they put us on to another contractor and we have another job to start tomorrow. As the day was fine we spent the afternoon driving down to Birdwood where we bumped into John and Lyn who we last saw at Munglinup Beach.

July 9th 2002 (Tuesday)

Arghh! I can barely type this as my poor arm feels like dropping off. We spent a full day pruning this time in what was to start with very cold, wet and windy conditions. The weather cleared up in the afternoon but the ground was wet and soggy so I spent at least half the day with wet cold feet.

My back started acting up but I did manage put in a full eight hours. The is no way I will be able to do this 5 days a week so we will start looking for a contractor who will let us work one day on, one day off.

We have at least managed to recoup the money we spent on wet weather gear but if I do any more pruning work I will need a good pair of work boots and we are expected to buy pruning snips that cost about $80 each. That is too much for us to spend at the moment so we will wait and see if we can get part time work before forking out any more money.

Surprisingly the day passed relatively quickly, but we are both exhausted. It is only 7pm and Belle is already fast asleep in bed.

July 10th 2002 (Wednesday)

It was a beautiful morning, with the forecast saying clear skies until tomorrow, so we decided to go back to the Clare Valley by car and do a bit of exploration. We woke to find frost covering the ground and the car (Brrrr) but as soon as the sun came up it melted away.

We drove north through Kapunda and then on to Tarlee and straight up to Clare. It took us a couple of hours to reach the town which made it lunch time so we stopped of for a meal at the Taminda Hotel. I think the is only the second meal we have had out in the last year so we figured it was well overdue. The food was good and very plentiful and at only $7.70 each it was cheap as well. There are three hotels in Clare's main street and all do weekly lunchtime specials so it was just a matter of selecting the one that appealed most.

After scouting around Clare we went south again to Sevenhill to see St. Aloysious Church and the surrounding vineyard. From here we took the road out to Mintaro - a charming historic town and then found Martindale Hall. This two storey mansion is reminiscent of English country manors but the $6 per head entry fee was a bit too much for us to fork out at the moment.

By this time it was late afternoon and we had to head back to Eden Valley, which was sad as there was still so much to see around this area. I would love to be able to come back an stay in the area for several days as there is just so much to explore. The scenery changes around every corner from ruined farm cottages and well preserved farm buildings to stunning vistas of the flats and valleys as you crest the rolling hills.

It has to be said that some of the roads could do with improvement - especially those off the main highways, but this area has so much to offer I would love the opportunity to tour round it for a week or more.

July 14th 2002 (Sunday)

With another clear morning we set off to explore Swan Reach and Walker Flat to the east. The road leading out of the hills from Keyneton was quite steep and winding (a place I would not like to take the bus down) but once on the flat we made good time and arrived at the Swan Reach ferry after about a 30 minute drive.

On the west bank of the river (before reaching the ferry) is a large parking area which looks like a god overnight rest area. Once across and in Swan Reach there is a large rest area with toilets but overnight stops are not permitted.

Between Swan Reach and Walker Flat there are two rest areas with lookouts over Big Bend in the Murray River, both would make excellent overnight stopping points.

At Walker Flat there is another rest area / lookout on the east bank (again before crossing the ferry) and a small rest area near the shop once you make the free trip across the river.

From here it was only about 50km back up in to the hills to Mount Pleasant. I never tire of driving through this area with the undulating hills and endless variety of rural scenes.

July 18th 2002 (Thursday)

As it was our 21st wedding anniversary today we decided to go down to Handorf and re-visit the buffet at the Old Mill where we used to go when we were in Adelaide last year. At $11.95 a head it didn't break the bank and after 21 years I thought we deserved to do something we would both enjoy.

July 22nd 2002 (Monday)

We keep applying for work but have had no responses yet. We are going to have to make some decisions shortly on whether we can hang on to the house in Perth or if we need to put it on the market and try to get the best price before our savings run out and the bank just takes it away leaving us with nothing.

The problem is that I think the house would sell best in Spring (it's just that sort of house) but we need to get some painting done, doors fixed (thanks to my scumbag relatives) and guttering fixed, but there isn't any money spare to get the work done. The house may not sell quickly once we do put it up for sale, so we are in the impossible position of trying to guess what the future holds without losing everything.

July 28th 2002 (Sunday)

Another week gone but we are seemingly no closer to finding work. We keep applying but get no responses at all. It does get very depressing when you know how much you can contribute but don't even get a chance to try.

July 31st 2002 (Wednesday)

After visiting the Mt. Pleasant library and applying for a couple of jobs via the internet (Tanunda, Nuriootpa, Angaston, Mt. Pleasant and Lyndoch all provide free internet access) we went south to have a look at Bridgewater (quite a pretty spot) and then east to Murray Bridge and along the Murray River to Mannum. A nice easy drive in the car but some of the hills we passed over were quite steep and would make life difficult in the bus.

We passed by the Monarto wildlife park but didn't go in as entry was too high at $15.50 a head… far too much on our budget at the moment.

August 2nd 2002 (Friday)

We started our 4 week course on arc welding at Nuriootpa TAFE today. It was the first time either of us had tried welding and I had some problems to start with as I couldn't see anything through the shield filter, even when the arc started.

Eventually Dale, our tutor, found me a suitable lens and I managed to start doing straight lines. My first attempts looked like worms on speed. Belle did much better than I did and has started to get a good technique. We both enjoyed learning something new and hopefully it may come in useful at some stage.

August 5th 2002 (Monday)

After our regular sojourn down to Nuriootpa to get on the net and apply for work, we were on our way back to Eden Valley when we saw what I first took to be a wombat crossing the road. As we got closer we found it was actually an echidna, the first wild one I have ever seen. We stopped the car and had a closer look but didn't manage to get any pictures as this was the first day in weeks that I didn't take the camera out with me - typical!

August 10th 2002 (Saturday)

There is just a chance that we may be moving on soon so we decided to take a run up to Burra and have a look round in case we aren't going to be in Eden Valley much longer.

Burra is about an hour and a half's drive from the Barossa and the route via Eudunda passes quite a number of roadside ruins. The road is reasonably good with only a few small hills to cross. Once past Robertstown the road improves dramatically and becomes at least as good as most of the major highways.

Burra itself is a fascinating place with many historic buildings and a heritage trail to follow which takes you to all the important sites. You can get a 'passport' from the local tourist office (Currently $15 a head which is a bit too expensive) which gives you access to a number of locked sites and buildings in and around the town.

Of most interest are Redbanks Gaol (where Breaker Morant was filmed), the police stables and lock up, the old brewery, the mine site and the miner's dug outs. There is plenty more to see around the town and accommodation ranging from $35 a night for an on-site van in the caravan park to $65 a night to stay in the old miners cottages.

I would rate Burra very highly on my list of places to see in S.A. so if you are planning to pass through this area try to make Burra one of your stops.

20km south of Burra on the Robertstown road is Burra Creek Gorge. There is an excellent campground here with plenty of space set in a very attractive setting.

August 11th 2002 (Sunday)

We came back from Burra via Saddleworth which gave us the chance to see a bit more of the beautiful countryside. As we passed through Kapunda we had a quick look at the historic mine site there. There is a 1.5km walk trail round the mine and although there aren't as many buildings left here as at Burra, it was still a very interesting walk and with the wattle all in bloom along the path it was even more enjoyable.

August 20th 2002 (Tuesday)

Good news, bad news, worse news time. The good news is that Belle looks like getting work in Angaston in the very near future. I won't jinx it by saying any more about it at the moment. Bad news is that if she gets it the hours will be 3.30pm to 11.30pm at night - but that is at least bearable. Worse news is that the car is finally giving up the ghost. Graham told us all the way back at Mangles Bay that we might have a problem with the head and that has finally been confirmed. We are crossing our fingers that it will keep going until one of us gets work and we can afford to get it fixed.

I have also been put up for a job in Adelaide but haven't heard anything back just yet. Things are starting to look a little more promising but I know I have said that before only to have it all fall in a big heap.

Spring is nearly here and the wattle is in full bloom through out the Adelaide hills. Other trees are also blooming with all shades of white, pink and red. What a wonderful time to be living in this area.

Otherwise things are a bit slow. We have had the odd motorhome pull in to Eden Valley, but surprisingly not that many. It does get a bit lonely out here in the sticks but it is certainly a peaceful almost stress free existence - if only we had a bit more money.

August 21st 2002 (Wednesday)

Probably against all good sense, considering the current state of the car, we went out for a ride to Berri today. The road out through Sedan to Swan Reach we were already familiar with but it is a further 95Km across the Blanchetown plains until more interesting country is reached near Loxton. The trip across to Loxton is rather boring and there are no rest areas until you are just 7Km out of Loxton itself. The road was in good shape, but it is a long drive and there is a definite need for a couple of good places to stop on this road.

Loxton was quite a lot bigger than we expected and we stopped for lunch down by the Murray River. There is a good rest area near the boat ramp where public toilets are available. We didn't see any 'NO CAMPING' signs here but as there is a caravan park just down the road I suspect anyone staying overnight won't be made all that welcome.

I would like to have had more time to look around this area but this was a one day trip so after lunch we followed the road north to Berri and the Berri retail outlet (very cheap fruit drinks here) on the Renmark road. We picked up some fruit from local suppliers (look around there are some real bargains here - we bought mandarins for just 50c a kilo.) and then started to head west again, this time towards Barmera.

Lake Bonney has some likely looking spots along the shore for overnight stops but be warned this place has a couple of caravan parks by the lake as well so it might be an awkward place to get a freebie. There is an excellent place by the ruins of a hotel at the north end of the lake which would be the best place to overnight if you can get away with it.

From Lake Bonney we followed the Morgan road to a short diversion at Overland Corner. Here there is a historic pub and a good campsite at nearby Heron Bend (or Corner). Back on to the Morgan road you will pass a couple of good rest areas the best being the second one (heading west) which is set well back off the road on the north side.

At Taylorville we turned south to Waikerie and crossed the river again (by ferry) before getting back on the Sturt Highway and heading to Blanchetown to have a very quick look at the lock on the river. There is a nice rest area at the far end of the road that passes the lock but overnight stops aren't allowed here.

As the light was fading by this time we made for home turning off the highway to Sedan then back to Keyneton. As a one day trip this was far too quick to see the area around Loxton and Berri. Hopefully we will get back up that way for a longer stay as there is plenty to look at.

August 23rd 2002 (Friday)

Belle had an interview with a company in Adelaide this morning but it turned out to be only 4 hours a day which would not have enabled us to survive if we moved in to the city. We went down yesterday and stayed overnight to avoid an 80km trip in the early hours of the morning, so that was another $45 wasted. At the same time we were there we hired a car for Belle to get to work while ours gets fixed next week. God knows how much that is going to cost but we must have a vehicle that works properly. We are already out of pocket over $200 so the car repairs are really going to hurt.

August 25th 2002 (Sunday)

Our award for 'Rip Off Merchant of the Year' goes to Chateau Tanunda for selling the FREE Barossa Secrets booklet which is available from any tourist office for $2. Not only that but their wines were way over priced.

Well looks like I did jinx it by mentioning it before, Belle didn't get the job she applied for at Angas Park either… what do we have to do to get back to work'?

August 26th 2002 (Monday)

We won $35 on Saturday Lotto so treated ourselves to another lunch at the Old Mill in Hahndorf today. The news regarding our car isn't so good. We had hoped that it would turn out to be the head gasket but instead it is the head itself that is damaged. This means $650 + GST to fix it.

September 2nd 2002 (Monday)

The Canon printer I bought not long ago has given up the ghost and the print head isn't covered by warranty. The cost of getting another head is almost as much as getting a new cheap printer so it looks like that is the way I will go. I have to get used to the 'throw away' society where it's cheaper to buy another one rather than fix the old one. We have no choice but to buy another one as we need it to apply for work.

Another bus pulled in yesterday, a big Denning. We quickly made friends with the owners but they are off pruning vines. I need to find some work soon or I'll be going troppo again like I did in Townsville.

September 4th 2002 (Wednesday)

Things have gone from bad to worse. I have been trying to put off the decision to sell the house as long as possible but I think if I wait any longer we could run out of money so it is now crunch time and we have had to contact a real estate agent and start the process before the bank takes the house away.

The real problem with selling the house is that my mother still lives in the unit at the back and at her age having to find somewhere else to go is going to be very difficult. She does have a fairly good support network around her so hopefully they will work something out but that doesn't make life any easier.

As we still have our furniture and most of our personal items in the house and can't get back to Perth to sort things out, it looks like we will have to try and sell most of it with the house and who knows what will happen to the rest of it.

September 10th 2002 (Tuesday)

We went down to Adelaide again today as Belle has a job interview at Flinders Medical Centre. She is very keen to get back in to her field but the work is only part time so it won't be enough for us to get back on top of things. I have applied for work at Burra Telecentre but if Belle is offered the job at Flinders then I will have to withdraw my application.

September 11th 2002 (Wednesday)

Belle has just finished a couple of very hard weeks work at Angas Park (a dried fruit factory in Angaston). She has worked long hours and been very badly paid. Considering the cost of getting the car fixed, having to rent a car and buying a new printer for $259 yesterday, she has basically just been working to try and clear the bills.

The good news is that she has got the position at Flinders. The bad news is that it probably won't pay more than about $260 a week which is nowhere near enough for us to survive. That means I will still be on the dole until I manage to find something and even that will be cut down to only about $100 a week. Taking into consideration the higher caravan park fees ($105 a week instead of $45) we are going to still be going backwards until I manage to find something.

We are doing this because we hope it will lead to a better future but we have no way of knowing what will happen and we could even end up worse off. It's a strange world where you are worse off working than being on the dole.

September 13th 2002 (Friday)

We are almost packed up and ready to leave Eden Valley, and I will be very sad to leave this lovely area and head off into the city, but we have to go where the best chance of work is.

I always check a planned route with the car before going along it in the bus and that's t we did today. I was planning to go back through Angaston and then to Sturt Highway abut after looking at the route through Springton and Williamstown I think I may just decide to take that route on Sunday.

After going as far as Gawler we went out to the coast to have a look at St. Kilda. The tramway museum was closed (only opens Sundays) and the mangrove walk costs $6.50 a head Hah! South Australia seems like it is full of very greedy people. You get charged to park up in the hills in the botanic gardens, you are charged to park at Mt. Lofty, most of the good land is locked up in farms with 'NO TRESSPASSER' signs on them and you have to pay to go in to many of the few remaining natural bits of bush that are left and now they expect us to pay just to walk along and have a look at a few tatty old mangroves that you can see free on mangrove board walks in W.A., N.T. and Queensland.

What we know as just 'the bush' in W.A. is called a Conservation Park in South Australia because the farms have wiped out all but a small percentage of the original bushland. If we were charged for having a walk in the bush near Perth there would be riots. NOTE TO THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THE FEES AND CHARGES IN S.A. : Stop being so b&**#y greedy! Other states provide many of these facilities FREE, if you have to charge an entry fee make it something people can afford. $6.50 per head to walk along at look at a few mangroves is ludicrous! A gold coin donation would be more than enough.

After leaving St. Kilda, which by the way, charges people to use the boat ramp (surprise surprise!) we had a look at Port Gawler. This is a little further north along the coast and access is party unsealed. I don't know where the 'port' was ever situated but all we saw was a very shallow river, mangroves and a very seedy looking campsite located by a mangrove swamp. Following the road straight instead of going right) at the end of the sealed section will take you to a pleasant spot by a mangrove lined river. There were people fishing here but we didn't see anything caught. The area is a possible overnighter for smaller rigs if you turn up late in the day. Big rigs could get in but would probably block the turning circle for others.

From here we went further north to Middle Beach where the access road is almost all unsealed. Again there isn't much to see and when the tide is out there is no water. There might be the chance of grabbing a free overnight stop at either St. Kilda or Port Gawler (near the boat ramp) but at Middle Beach there is a caravan park and the 'NO CAMPING' signs are out in force along the beach. Another sign of greed exists here as the so called 'Sapphire Trail' which is just a track along a very unattractive mangrove lined creek, is another place you have to pay to have a walk.

If you do bother to comer down and have a look at Middle Beach (I would suggest you don't waste your time) the main oddity in the area is the 'Gorilla House'. I won't say any more about it except that I can't work out why anyone would have gone to the trouble of doing it'??

September 14th 2002 (Saturday)

Our last day at Eden Valley. We have been here nearly two and a half months and have really enjoyed the time out in the countryside. What a magic area this is.

September 15th 2002 (Sunday)

Last night we found out that there was a fun run tomorrow morning in Adelaide that would go directly across the route we wanted to take to get to Belair. To avoid and road closures we woke at 4.30am and took off in the dark. The brakes on the bus need re-lining and aren't all that good at the moment so the journey down was a bit on the stressful side despite the light early morning traffic.

The worst part of the trip was the haul up Sturt Rd. to Blackwood which was done mostly in first gear. Having finally got in and settled down I really don't think I want to move again for a while. There was a job Belle was going to apply for in Alice Springs but I think we will try to hang on here and try to get something substantial in Adelaide.

September 16th 2002 (Monday)

Belle gave the Alice Springs phone number a call today and was strongly encouraged to put in an application, so despite feeling that we were going to be in Adelaide for some time, yesterday, we may even find ourselves heading off to the red centre if she is accepted. What a strange life we lead. At least it never gets boring - well not for long.

September 23rd 2002 (Monday)

I had a job interview today and not long afterwards got a phone call about a 3 month contract working in my own field. From recent experience I'm not going to hold my breath, but something has to turn up sooner or later.

The caravan park we are in is right next to Belair National Park. We are lucky as we can take the bikes and go riding through this very attractive place. Thankfully the caravan park is fairly quiet (once you get used to the hum of the traffic and the birds waking you up) so even if nothing happens with regards to Alice Springs, I think I would be quite happy to stay here.

October 13th 2002 (Sunday)

We have been at Belair for 4 weeks now and not much has changed. We are still hoping to get work in Alice Springs but there hasn't been any information forth coming about our chances. The two interviews I have had since getting here have come to nothing and things are getting a bit depressing to say the least.

The weather (to coin a phrase) 'sucks!' Cold, wet and windy just about sums it up. Because we don't know yet if we will be staying here long term we can't set up the annexe and everything just feels cramped and uncomfortable. We have to stop using the heater now as well as we start paying for power separately as from today. The way the weather is going we are in for a few chilly weeks before the warm weather finally arrives.

October 22nd 2002 (Monday)

Finally some good news. The application Belle put in for the job in Alice Springs was successful and we are now in the first stages of getting ready to move. We are looking at the possibility of freighting the bus up by train and will do some checking tomorrow to see if it is feasible. We want to get there without any hassles and as the bus isn't 100% at the moment it would be best to freight it there if it isn't going to cost too much.

It will be a bit of a shock to the system going up into 38 degree heat from the chilly weather down here but we have wanted to get out into the outback again and the chance to work there is too good to pass up.

November 3rd 2002 (Sunday)

Finally the day to head north has arrived and our first hurdle was getting back down the hill to Adelaide but after the addition of a bit of extra brake fluid a couple of days ago the brakes were back to normal so I needn't have worried.

Following the route we took last year on the way home to Perth we travelled up South Road to Pt. Wakefield Road then north along the coast to a stop off at Port Germain for lunch. Port Germain is only a couple of kilometres off the main road but it is a nice place to relax by the sea, and we will be seeing precious little of that for a while.

Then it was on through Port Augusta and north into the wilderness. We had intended to stop somewhere north of Port Augusta but when I tried to switch back from LPG to petrol the engine refused to run. Thinking we might need some assistance we kept heading north but fatigue got the better of me and I had to pull off for a rest.

Checking the obvious things like, did we have a hole in the petrol tank? and was there petrol in the fuel filter? didn't help so I had a look for a bad connection of some sort and found very quickly that a small electrical connection had come loose. Once it was back in place the engine fired up again and we decided to make for Pimba / Woomera.

November 5th 2002 (Tuesday)

We started off quite early yesterday but had only gone about 50Km when trouble struck. Without warning the bus lost all power and all attempts to re-start her failed. Having been through something like this before I replaced the rotor button and checked the contacts in the distributor but still nothing. After checking the spark and finding there was none I tried to trace the spaghetti wiring but it was impossible. Not knowing quite how far we had come I got the car off the trailer and headed for Glendambo (against the boss's instructions I have to say). It turned out that I should have gone back to Pimba as that was where help came from in the end - something else for me to live down I suppose ?

Not long after we got back to the bus Harry and Graeme (Graham?) came out and set to work finding out what the problem was. It wasn't long before Graeme found that our coil had failed but after replacing it there was still a problem of some sort and the engine still wouldn't start. Deciding not to try and sort out the spaghetti wires Graeme simply connected a new wire from the ignition switch and we were on our way again. Harry and Graeme were a real pair of 'outback types' with a great sense of humour. They were our own personal heroes and we were very thankful that they came to our rescue. Being stranded on the side of the road out here isn't a nice experience.

We pulled in to the Bon Bon rest area about 150Km further on but when I tried to switch over to petrol (as I usually do at the end of the day so we can start up the next morning) the engine died and refused all attempts to re-start. After some fiddling around involving the air filter I finally managed to start it again and we decided to stay at Bon Bon for the night.

The silence of the outback has to be experienced to be believed. We are so used to noise, even if it is only the sound of birds chattering in the trees. Areas in the real outback are so silent the feeling is almost overwhelming. I love it, I could stay out here forever.

Today we made our way the last 180Km to Coober Pedy. It is a very interesting little town and despite its remote location it has plenty to offer travellers. Sadly our funds are so run down at the moment that we weren't able to afford any of the mine tours or other paid attractions but as many of the shops are built into the hills we were still able to go 'underground' and see how the buildings here are constructed. Basically it seems to be - find an unoccupied bit of hill and start digging in.

The temperature is gradually rising as we head north and so far it is a real relief to be out of the miserable cold and rain of Adelaide. We even managed a swim in the caravan park pool today, despite the locals saying it is far too cold for them - it is a mere 35 degrees C. We are now just over half way to Alice.

November 6th 2002 (Wednesday)

Started early but only got as far as Marla. The bus is playing up when switching back from gas to petrol and it won't start on gas so we have a bit of a dilemma. There seems to be some sort of problem with the carbi or the timing but as we are now less than 500Km from Alice we will keep pushing on in the hope we get there without breaking down again. If not then we will have to get the bus towed in.

(Later – It turned out that this problem was a loose bolt holding the carbi down. Air was being sucked in the side and reducing suction through the top. It was easily solved with a spring washer. Even better I found the problem and fixed it myself YAY!)

Marla isn't a bad spot to stop but it will be better soon when the pool they are building has been completed. Today is another warm one about 34C and the bus doesn't like high temperatures. We will start early tomorrow and hope to get to Erldunda before the temperature starts to get up into the low 30s.

November 7th 2002 (Thursday)

Replaced the spark plugs this morning as the old ones were very dirty. The bus started up Ok but she is still a bit iffy when switching back from Gas to Petrol. We started off about 5am (SA time) and arrived in Erldunda around 10am (NT time). Erldunda is the biggest rip off joint we have come across so far. $24 a night when all the other caravan parks on the way up have been $17-18. It isn't anything special either despite calling itself a 'resort'.

201Km left to Alice and with a little luck we will be there tomorrow.

November 8th 2002 (Friday)

As we decided to go back and look at Ayres Rock later in the year, we pushed on to Alice Springs. As Erldunda doesn't start providing fuel until 6:30am we didn't get on the road as early as we would have liked. Once the petrol station did open we were told that autogas wasn't available until 7am when the day time generator was switched on. As we had enough fuel on board we took off without refuelling.

The scenery really started to improve as we went further north with ranges of hills and plenty of trees. It reminded me a little of the Kimberleys between Halls Creek and Kununurra.

We arrived in Alice about mid morning and after dropping the bus off at a caravan park went into town to see what we had let ourselves in for, for the next six months (minimum). Despite the 38C heat we were very pleasantly surprised finding a modern town with every possible amenity. Supermarkets include BiLo, Coles, Kmart, Woolworths, Foodland and IGA. There are dozens of specialty stores and prices are (in some cases) lower than Adelaide.

Fuel is expensive here, $1.05-$1.11 per litre but most other things seem pretty reasonable. We are enjoying the warmth after the chilly winter spent down south and if first impressions are anything to go by, I think we should be quite happy here.

November 12th 2002 (Tuesday)

We have selected a caravan park and settled in. Initially the temperatures were high but yesterday and today there have been some good downpours of rain, so instead of 39C it has been more like 31C during the day. I expect now we have arrived there will be a bumper wet season as we always seem to bring strange weather where ever we go.

We are just about broke with about $900 in the bank and $800 owing on VISA so tonight we went mad and blew our last hundred on a slap up meal at the Outback Steakhouse. Horribly irrational thing to do considering our circumstances but if you have to go broke you might as well do it in style.

Belle starts work tomorrow and we still have enough left on the credit card to keep us going until she gets paid but we are now technically broke.

We have been struggling with the mortgage ever since we have been on the road and it has kept us from doing a lot of the tings we would have like to have done. We have kept it going simply because Mum lives on the property but we have come to the decision that we have had enough of trying to do the right thing. My family has done everything they can to make our lives miserable and even Mum has been caught out tampering with our mail and generally making life difficult.

We got the real estate agents in to see if we could rent the main house but they told us that Mum made it clear she was not going to let the main house get rented out if she could prevent it. This makes our financial position more difficult than we are prepared to tolerate so we have finally decided to walk away from the house and start earning some money for ourselves for a change.

Letting Mother fend for herself at her age probably seems heartless but I just can't take the strain of all the bickering and lies any longer. She has two daughters who are doing nothing now, so it is about time they did something to help instead of causing trouble all the time. In any case I want nothing to do with any of my family again.

November 26th 2002 (Tuesday)

My prediction about a bumper wet season seems to be coming true. The last few days have seen a number of heavy downpours in the evenings and even the locals are saying the weather is a bit unseasonal. The Todd River isn't exactly flowing yet but there are a few pools of water in it and there was virtually nothing when we got here.

It will be interesting to keep an eye on the areas around town and see how much water actually collects.

Belle is enjoying her work and is getting on well with her co-workers. I have put in about 25 job applications and had two interviews but nothing concrete has happened so far. Something will turn up sooner or later- it HAS TO! There's no way I can sit around here doing nothing for months on end. If I have to I will even do some voluntary work if it helps me get something paid later on.

We haven't seen much of the areas around Alice but that has been mostly due to the weather. To date I have only been out to Simpsons Gap, Emily Gap and Jessie Gap. All of these are within 17km of town. I am looking forward to getting out further to the gorges and permanent water holes.

Alice still seems like a good place to be, plenty to see around the area and no lack of comforts in the town itself. Hopefully we will settle down here for an extended period.

We have been asked to house sit over the Xmas period and so will be having a break from the bus. That will be a nice change. We will also be looking after a dog this time so we will both enjoy that. Speaking of Xmas, it's less than a month away, how time flies. Belle has volunteered to work Xmas day so we won't be celebrating it much this year, but then it’s such a big commercial con these days anyway who really cares?

Oh! I almost forgot to mention Stewie. He has moved on now but we met him the day we moved in to the caravan park and he was travelling around Oz in his car. How he does it I don't know but he has a couple of fold out chairs and he sleeps in the back of the hatchback car at night. Quite a character! He was from Cronwall in England and we swapped a few yarns while he was here.

November 30th 2002 (Saturday)

I know I'm probably going to cop some flak from various quarters for saying the following (and yes I have) but I just have to comment to the state of the Aborigines around Alice Springs. While they are constantly given hand outs and various 'programmes' are set up to try and get them out of the state they are in, I have to say that from what I have seen they make no effort what-so-ever to improve their own lives.

There are exceptions, but the majority of them seem to have the main ambition of sitting around in the river bed (when it isn't flooded) or under a shady tree all day. They have no desire to do anything except just sit around. Government policies with regard to these people are very obviously failing to make any changes. In order to operate in Australia today they need to be able to converse in English. It may be all very well to go on about preserving their culture, but the hard fact is you can't get on in modern Australia without being able to converse effectively. They refuse to send their kids to school and so the cycle goes on generation after generation.

Basic education - especially with regard to personal hygiene - appears to be non-existent. Approaching within 20 feet of many of the 'locals' carries with it the need to hold ones breath. To put it plainly THEY STINK LIKE DEAD KANGAROOS! and they seem to either be proud of it or totally unaware. The education programs have plainly failed to get across even the most basic information about washing and cleanliness. As a result they suffer from diseases that the rest of the population don't generally get and because they are in the main malnourished - not form starvation but from eating the wrong types of food - their immune systems are very ineffective.

The sad thing is the Aborigines don't even seem to care - although this is probably more a state of hopelessness. I don't know who is more to blame, the Government for not being able to communicate with the Aboriginal people after 200 years, or the people themselves for their total refusal to accept the advice and assistance offered. They seem to suffer from the forlorn hope that things will somehow go back to the way they once were when it is plain that they never will. To say that things are bad in Alice itself is one thing but I am quite sure that conditions out on some of the communities must be horrific indeed.

What really makes me sick is that when anyone does bring any of this up they are called 'racist' and treated like a leper. The only way anyone is going to solve these problems to bring them out into the open and work out the best way of resolving them. One of the worst problems is booze. No one has the guts to ban booze from the Aboriginal people as that would be 'racist'. Instead we just let them go on poisoning themselves, bashing their wives, committing crimes and getting locked up - all due to drinking alcohol. How can anyone tell me that's not racist? To put it plainly the Government is either too gutless to make the hard choices or they live in hope that Aboriginal people will eventually die out as a result of substance abuse. Either way the whole situation from both sides of the fence is a total shambles.

Note: as I have had at least one Email complaining about these comments I will state for the record that I am fully aware of the absolutely dreadful things that have been done to Aboriginal people since colonisation; from general mistreatment to poisoned flour, massacres, 'dog licenses', Palm Island and on and on. Anyone reading Alphabetically Australian will note the section devoted to what the Aboriginal people have suffered and the ways their lives are still affected. For the record I have repeated the text below as there are things contained in it that I believe EVERY Australian should know about. There are problems from both sides and more focus needs to be placed on the future instead of a continual harping on issues long past. I am personally convinced that the only way Aboriginal people will ever be truly equal in their own land is through education - teaching and recognising in schools what has happened in the past and good education in schools to provide Aboriginal people with a decent chance for the future. My comments on what I saw in Alice Springs and other places are comments on the state of affairs as I saw them at the time, they are not meant to deliberately upset anyone, they are meant to promote some level of thought and questioning about an issue that many people simply ignore.

The person making the complaint managed to get rather personal and attempted to be insulting, the problem being that I have copped so much abuse and name calling in my life that insults have no effect on me at all. The problem with that sort of reaction, is that it is purely emotional and tends to stifle debate. Thanks to the new 'politically correct' world that has been legislated for us many people put issues like this in the 'too hard basket' and that way can safely pretend that nothing bad ever happens. All this does is ensure that nothing will ever be done to fix things. A climate now exists that to criticise any 'minority group' for anything is somehow racist or bigoted - that is the surest way to ensure that the population in general and politicians in particular, will just bury their heads in the sand.

COPY OF TEXT FROM ALPHABETICALLY AUSTRALIAN

SOME FACTS ON ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIA

The treatment of Australian Aborigines since European settlement first began has been little more than appalling. Initially they were shot, poisoned, imprisoned and forced to work as slave labour. Today they are at best treated as second class citizens in their own country.

IN THE PAST

On arrival the Europeans declared that Australia was 'terra nullius' that the land belonged to no one.

Aboriginal people were segregated from whites with separate schooling, denial of access to main hospitals, separate carriages on trains and even 'natives only' toilets and seats in parks.

Identity cards (known as 'dog licenses') were issued and had to be produced on demand.

Aboriginal people needed permission to move from one area to another.

Aboriginal people were forcibly evicted from their tribal lands and thus denied their spiritual and cultural identity.

Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their families and fostered out to Europeans in a deliberate attempt to destroy Aboriginal culture.

As late as the 1950s Aboriginal children were still being excluded from state schools.

In some states Aboriginal people were denied the right to vote until 1962.

In 1967 Aboriginal people working on stations were finally given the right to equal pay. The station owners responded by driving the Aboriginal people off their land. This directly led to the appalling conditions that many Aboriginal people face today in many outback towns.

The Aboriginal Heritage Act which protects Aboriginal sites was not declared until 1972.

TODAY

Aboriginal unemployment rates are over 35%.

Death rates are 3 times higher than the national average.

Life expectancy is 20 years less than European Australians.

Infant mortality is 4 times that of 'white Australia'.

Hospitalisation is 3 times the normal average.

Aborigines are in general poorer and have less education than other Australians.

Imprisonment is twice the national average.

By any standards, this record of abuse and neglect brings a great deal of shame to 'white Australia'. The new catch cry of 'reconciliation' has a hollow ring to it when you visit the state's north and find people with no running water, no electricity and no shelter from the elements. Too many people fail to realise that many Australian Aborigines (especially in the north) only speak English as a second language, and although their basic needs of food water and shelter are the same as ours, their cultural and spiritual needs are tied to their land and while they are denied access to what was stolen from them they remain incomplete as a people.

No I am not a redneck racist, I am aware of the many complex issues involved with this but I will still continue to comment on this issue as I see fit and do not apologise for doing so. White Australia has much to acknowledge about the past, but it is in the end, up to Aboriginal Australia to set the direction for the future, to stop complaining about a past that nothing can be done to change, and to get on with making things better for themselves now.

December 3rd 2002 (Tuesday)

A new year on the road dawns. November 28th 1997 was D Day for us on our first trip. Five years have gone by in the blink of an eye, it is astonishing just how quickly time rushes by.

As usual I'm not having much luck in the job market, things in Alice are winding down as everyone heads away for the holidays so I don't expect much to happen until the new year. I will keep an eye on the papers and the touch screens but I am not going to hold my breath.

I have several applications still active so there is a small chance one of them might prove fruitful. If nothing turns up in the new year I will enrol at TAFE and bring my computing skills up-to-date.

Meanwhile I am working on getting a new re-vamped web site ready for launch about mid-way through December. I will be trying to make money from it but in a different way to the old site. It will cost around $270 to set things up as we want our own domain name this time, but I hope to recoup that outlay fairly quickly.

The weather has turned hot again after a week or so of low 30s and rain. It was interesting to see the Todd flowing but now it has retracted to a series of rapidly diminishing pools.

December 18th 2002 (Wednesday)

We are now installed in the house we will be looking after for the next 5 weeks and are enjoying the change from the confines of the bus. I managed to get the new web site up and running over the last weekend and I think everything is running correctly.

The weather has been HOT, 41C+ for the past few days but it looks like it has cooled off a little today.

Christmas is rapidly approaching but as Belle is working we won't be doing any celebrating until the following Saturday. I made up some home made advocaat last night and will be making some Baileys Irish Cream in the next day or so. The recipes for any one who is interested follow: (They are very good!)

Advocaat:

24 egg yolks

2 cans of Nestle condensed sweetened milk

1 bottle of brandy

Put it all in a blender, whiz it up for about a minute, bottle and put in the fridge. You can drink it straight away but it is best after about a week. (because of the quantity you'll have to put half the ingredients in a blender at a time.) If you blend the ingredients too long the cream (below) will thicken and ruin the drink.

Baileys Irish Cream:

600ml fresh thickened cream

200ml thick chocolate sauce

2 cans of Nestle condensed sweetened milk

1 tablespoon of vanilla essence

1 bottle of whisky

Same method as above.

For around $50 you end up with 2 x 700ml bottles of each. Not bad. Buy the cheapest brandy and whisky you can find, quality doesn't matter.

December 28th 2002 (Saturday)

The weather has continued in the high 30s/low 40s and Christmas has come and gone for another year. As Belle was working over the 'Christmas break' we are celebrating today, but apart from a roast lunch it will be pretty low key.

Another few days and we will have been here for 2 months already. I am looking forward to the cooler weather so we can do a bit more exploring.

MENU for 'Christmas Day' 2002

Breakfast:

Peeled prawns

Seafood dressing

3 cans of Guinness Stout (me)

Apple juice (Belle)

Lunch

Roast pork

Roast spuds

Roast carrots

Roast pumpkin

Bottle of Maison (no alcohol grape juice)

Expensive ice cream

Dinner

Cold roast pork and cold spuds

Home made Advocaat and Baileys Cream.

Nibbles for the day

Cashew nuts

Pistachio nuts

Camembert cheese

It doesn't sound that great but we enjoyed it anyway. (I did all the cooking so Belle could rest after having to work on the real Christmas day and on Boxing Day.).