JOURNAL 1997

 

 

JOURNAL YEAR

 

1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010

 

THE JOURNAL OF THE WESTERN BELLE

Et al.

 

A journey of discovery.

By Marc Glasby

 

© 1997-2010

 

 

In memory of Sam & Lucy, our two beautiful dogs who gave us fifteen years of love and devotion.

 

IN THIS SECTION

 

FIRST BIG TRIP | MARITIME MISADVENTURES | MORE MARITIME MISADVENTURES | UP NORTH IN A BUS | THE DREAM

 

PROLOGUE

 

Some time ago while taking a couple of days holiday down at Wellington dam we met a Londoner who was living full time in a converted bus and had been doing so for around 20 years. He followed the seasons, worked when he wanted to and enjoyed himself the rest of the time. At the time it just seemed like a random event, something interesting but not too important.

 

Then in 1995 we went on our first really long driving trip all the way up to Broome. Prior to that we had only been as far north as Kalbarri (a mere 600 kilometres).

 

This trip and meeting the Londoner in his bus started the germ of an idea off in my head that would eventually lead us to abandon a traditional way of life and to end up living ‘on the road’ full time.

 

In order to fully appreciate the reasons behind our decision to take on this lifestyle I have included the articles I wrote about our earlier trips as part of the prologue to this journal:

 

THE FIRST BIG TRIP

 

Sixteen months ago I was a complete novice when it came to 4 wheel drives and serious off road adventures. I had ventured off road in 2 wheel drive vehicles, always thinking that I’d be able to get through if I didn’t stray off the track. One memorable experience was in a Suzuki Carry van on a trip to Kalbarri. We had followed the tracks along the river for about an hour when the going started to get much tougher. Deciding to cut back towards the town I forced the tiny van and it’s 900cc motor up a steep sandy track, and surprise, surprise within minutes I was well and truly bogged. Being somewhat pig headed (at least by my wife’s estimate) I un-bogged the vehicle and pressed on. (I’m sure you have all had the feeling at some time that what lies ahead can’t be half as bad as what lies behind.)

 

After bogging for the umpteenth time we finally crested the hill and looked with some trepidation at the long roller coaster of a track heading back down towards safer ground. Having been bogged so many times, and noting the large number of very soft looking patches ahead, I planted my foot and the van took off at a break-neck pace down the sandy track. As the vehicle picked up speed it began to bottom out as we flew over the bumps and dips. One moment we were airborne, the next there would be an almighty crash as the suspension folded up and the body of the van scraped along the sand, then it was up again, and down crash ! and up and down, all the way to the bottom.

 

I think the fact that both the vehicle and passengers survived, owed a great deal to the pure terror I was experiencing and the extra adrenaline which was coursing through my veins. That seemed to be the end of my off road activities, as my wife flatly refused to go anywhere off the bitumen from that time on.

 

It wasn’t until many years later when John, (one of my many assorted nephews) acquired a Nissan crew cab and seemed to be spending every free moment having great fun exploring the bush, while I was locked up on the ‘black stuff’.

 

After watching some video footage of his outings, I began to get the old urge to go exploring the unknown, to venture where no two wheel drive had gone before, to get bogged in places no two wheel drive would get within cooee of.

 

Then in 1993, John and two of his brothers began to discuss plans for a four week tour of the northwest. This was something I wanted in on, but the old L300 van I was driving at the time just wouldn’t do.

 

Since I first ventured out on to the road, my preference has been for vans over cars. I like the better visibility and the extra internal room they offer. So when it came time to buy a 4WD I had already limited my choice to that style of vehicle.

 

After looking at the very limited range of cab-over 4wd vehicles I opted for Ford Spectron 4wd. (In reality a Mazda with badge engineering). After an S.G.I.O. autocheck which looked good, (but which failed to detect the $4000 worth of gear box repairs I was heading for) and the installation of an air conditioner, I got the vehicle for $12,490. A fair price I thought, oh how naive I was! I bet the dealer is still on holiday with the profit from that sale.

 

In the months before the trip, I began to have the van overhauled. Brakes, full service, alignment & balance, new (bigger) tyres. I began to pick up various 4wd magazines and read all the relevant information on what safety gear and recovery equipment to carry.

 

Then along came the ‘94 4wd show and a host of goodies were added. After spending just over $2000, I had replaced all tyres, purchased a hand winch, tree protector, steel cables, rated shackles, snatch strap & block, fire extinguisher, Sideband CB, air jack, Porta Potty, (the sheer luxury of having one of these on a trip has to be experienced to be believed) 20 Lt Jerry can, first aid kit, and a big Steel box to put all the bits and pieces in.

 

Next came the chance to see what spending all this money had done and we spent time doing one of Neil Baldwin’s 4wd courses in the sand hills at Lancelin. This type of course is essential for beginners. You learn the capabilities of your vehicle, and if you get into trouble, at least you do it in company. Even after being the first one bogged and Neil’s walk round the van and the ‘Burnt it’ comments, I was amazed by what the vehicle could so off road.

 

Now we were ready for a bit of fun on our own. We planned another trip to Lancelin with John and Rod. (Nissan & 60 series Cruiser) and spent Sunday morning gliding effortlessly over the dunes. After a short break in town for lunch we were back, this time going further north. After an hour or so of going down ever steeper piles of sand we found ourselves trapped in a large basin, easy to get into but almost impossible to get out. An hour later my wife was having visions of the Armour-all ad and skeletons in the desert. She would have been quite happy to give the van away to the next person we met. Finally the other two vehicles clawed their way out, but in doing so made it impossible for me to follow their route. In a last ditch effort I charged up a particularly vengeful looking dune and just made it over the top.

 

It was during this trip that I managed to pop a tyre off its rim while driving in the dunes, a lesson in not under inflating tubeless tyres. So I decided to have tubes put into the tubeless tyres. Despite some indication that this would cause the tyres to run a little hotter, I thought it was better than the alternative, and to date I have had no further problem with tyres jumping off the rims. Even after 14 months the tyres still have plenty of tread and are wearing well.

 

Because the trip north would involve driving close to 6000 km, I wanted the vehicle to be mechanically sound, so when some oil leaks began to appear I had the gearbox re-built at a cost of $3955, (double the original quotation.) but I believed this was money well spent as we would be travelling alone on the return trip over some fairly rough tracks.

 

We took a couple of short runs to Molloy Island and Collie to see how the vehicle was settling in. Everything ran well, except the air conditioner, which blew a pipe ($235) and lost all it’s coolant gas while we were in Collie. We were now finally ready for our ‘big trip’.

 

One last major decision was, how do we keep the beer cold? I looked at all the articles I could find on car fridges, debated 3 way vs 2 way, compressor or no compressor, the new Fridge Mate vs. the well-known Engel, and talked to friends with car fridges. In the end I just could not justify the cost of a dedicated car fridge (about the $1000 mark for the size I wanted) and opted instead for a small Samsung bar fridge ($250) which only runs off 240 volt. As most of the places we would stop would have power available this turned out to be a good decision, and I suspect many people who buy dedicated car fridges could get away with a 240v instead. The advantage of the little bar fridge is the front opening door so it was easily accessible from the rear of the van and could have gear packed around and on top of it.

 

The longest period the fridge was without power was about 21 hours from Broome to Wittenoom, and everything was still icy cold when we got it hooked up again.

 

Finally the big day arrived in early April, the van was loaded and we were off on our first big outback adventure. Leaving before sun-up we were in Carnarvon by 2pm. We were due to meet the others here at 4am the next morning, so we spent a few hours exploring the town and the surrounding area.

 

Due to the early start next morning we left the tent packed in the van. The fold down seat design of the Spectron meant that we were able to pack all our bits and pieces behind the back seat and under the other sections. This left room to put a full double sized foam mattress on top. The one item that we had not thought to bring was a mosquito net.

 

For those who have not yet ventured north, Carnarvon is warm and humid, which can make sleeping without an air conditioner, in the back of a van, very uncomfortable. The only way we could get any breeze at all was to have the van windows wide open, but this let in swarms of very persistent, very hungry mosquitoes. The more repellent we used the more mosquitoes it seemed to attract, so it was with a great sigh of relief that we moved on towards Exmouth in the early hours of the morning.

 

Exmouth would have to be one of the best fishing grounds in Australia, the sheltered waters in the gulf allowing us to go out in small aluminium boats without too much concern. Fishing in the area is best from a boat, but even from places like Learmonth jetty, or off the beach you can catch all sorts of good eating fish.

 

Cape Range, which extends down the western edge of the Exmouth peninsular, provides some spectacular views of gorges. There is a track running down the west coast of the range all the way from Exmouth to Coral Bay. Areas to visit along the way include Yardie Creek, where you can take a trip up the creek (more of a small river really) by boat and see some really breathtaking scenery. If you drive all the way down to Coral Bay on the track I would recommend stopping along the way overnight. It is only about a 250km drive but doing it all at once is not only tiring, but you miss too much of the surrounding area, and there is plenty to explore. When you get to Coral Bay there are trips out to Ningaloo Reef, and a resort to stay at if you want to extend your time there. Be sure to take a snorkel and mask to view the fish that come in to be fed.

 

We spent ten days in the Exmouth area, most of it fishing. Our catch included Spanish Mackerel, Queen Fish, Shark Mackerel, Bluebone, Reef Shark, Trevally, Shovel Nose Shark, even a giant north west blowfish, and an assortment of other species that I did nor recognise. Anything not worth eating was put back alive.

 

The next port of call was Port Hedland, passing Onslow and Karratha/Dampier along the way. To get back onto the North West Highway from Exmouth we took a short-cut along a gravel road just north of the Bullara station. We left about 1am (unable to sleep due to the excitement of moving on, we folded up our tent and stole away into the night) this was the first time during the trip that we saw a large number of Kangaroos, the gravel track was lined with them. Definitely not a place to travel at speed after sunset.

 

By this time the van was beginning to show some signs of overheating. On examination I discovered the small front radiator (for the air cond) was clogged up with seeds and grass from our trip to Coral Bay. We pulled in beside the picturesque Yule River to let the engine cool and remove some of the debris. Looking around we noticed 4wd tracks along the sandy banks of the river, and once the engine had cooled I decided to take a quick run along them. Unless you have an unladen vehicle, I would not recommend doing this along any of the rivers in the Hedland area, the sand was coarse and deep and it took only a few minutes to get very badly bogged. Even in April the temperature still hovers in the mid 30s, so while my wife deserted me and ran off to sit under a shady tree, I was left to dig the van out. Half an hour later, very hot and bothered I had the van back under the trees receiving an infusion of radiator coolant to replace the litres that had boiled off while extracting it from the sand.

 

We made it safely to Port Hedland, where I finally cleared the rest of the muck out of the radiator, and removed several large stones from the top of the stone guards under the engine, passengers all the way from the beach at Exmouth.

We quickly tired of Hedland, and two days later were on the road again heading for 80 mile beach. 80 Mile is a caravan park in the middle of nowhere, great for anyone who likes to relax. There is good fishing, miles of beach, and plenty of shells to collect as you stroll along. You will need to take your own beer as there is none for sale at the park.

 

Arriving at about 11pm we were too tired to set up the tent, so we just dumped the mattress out of the van and slept on the grass. Now armed with a nice new mozzy net we had a peaceful nights sleep. The following night we hired one of the on-site cabins, and oh the luxury of air conditioning! The cabins are well equipped and sleep 8 people. At $55 a night they are terrific value.

 

As 80 Mile is about half way between Port Hedland and Broome, we only had just over 300 km to complete the first half of our journey. We arrived in Broome around mid-day, and after unloading all our equipment at the Roebuck Bay caravan park, we set off to explore the town. The weather was perfect, low 30s and blue sky. Broome has all the facilities you would expect in a town catering for tourists, and a drive up Cable Beach to Willie Creek is a must. We stayed in Broome for a week, but were advised not to try the track to Beagle Bay, as a recent cyclone had washed parts of it away.

 

Time eventually ran out and we began to plan the route home. At first we looked at the possibility of going via (the now abandoned) mining settlement of Shay Gap. After checking with roadhouses along the way, we were again advised against trying the track after the cyclone. By now we were travelling without my nephews, who went home via Port Hedland, so we decided to err on the side of caution, and stayed on the bitumen. We had a quick look for Goldsworthy on the way back, but apart from a row of trees by the side of the road there is now no sign of the mining settlement.

 

After leaving Broome at 5pm we travelled almost all the way back to Hedland before turning south towards Marble Bar. We managed a few hours sleep in the van and arrived at Marble Bar just before sun up. We were privileged to watch the sun rise at Marble Bar Pool. This area and the nearby Chinaman’s Pool, are easily the most beautiful places we had seen so far on the journey. We stayed only long enough to capture the magic of dawn on video, then moved on down a gravel track past the Comet goldmine towards Hillside station and the Great North Highway.

 

This road was in fairly good condition, and featured several river crossings, something that probably makes it impassable in the wet season. The only things to watch out for along the track are small, but very deep wash-aways. These may only be a foot or so across but they are difficult to pick up at a distance and after hitting one at about 60 kph I quickly discovered what the small square markers in the middle of the track signified. If you ever travel this way the markers have black and white diagonal lines on them and are set fairly close to the ground in the middle of the track.

 

A five hour drive through some very pretty country saw us back on the ‘black stuff’ and headed for Wittenoom. Despite everything the government says about the hazards of blue asbestos, Wittenoom is a must for any traveler in the area. Most of the town in now deserted, there is no pub, (well there is but it’s closed for good) and when we were there they were planning to close the petrol station. The caravan park was still operating, and the gem museum was well worth looking at, but I think it’s only going to be a matter of time before it is a ghost town. It’s a very spooky feeling walking through the old buildings and thinking about what the town was once like.

 

Wittenoom Gorge is, like the rest of the area, strikingly beautiful. A 5 minute drive from the town to the end of the road takes you to a miner’s camp (which was still inhabited when we were there). The tailing dumps of asbestos are clearly visible so keep well clear of them. You can see the fibres along the sides of the creeks, and embedded in all the roads. If you are sensible and take reasonable precautions, there is no danger to the casual traveler, but I must admit I would hesitate to stay in Wittenoom on a long term basis.

 

The area as a whole is without doubt the most spectacular I have ever seen. Yampire Gorge takes you through to areas like Fortescue Falls and Circular Pool. Sadly we were only there for one day, I wish I had had a week to stay and explore. You do need to be largely self sufficient as there are no shops or petrol stations away from the highway.

 

We took the Packsaddle road back to the highway, several hours drive past the ranger station to the Packsaddle mining camp, then on to the bitumen. This track has a number of gates, so progress can be a bit slow at times. Also watch out for local bird life, which seems to have a preference for sitting in the middle of the road.

 

From this point our trip was almost over, one night at Newman, then another at Cue. If you stay at Cue you should spend at least one night in the old Cue Hotel, which is now a guest house. The building is made entirely of corrugated iron and wood, and has a great atmosphere to it. Then on through New Norcia, and back to the rat race. The van had performed well, overheating near Hedland was the only hiccup on an otherwise faultless trip. Sadly there have been a number of problems since then including a cracked head and the re-built gear box suddenly giving up, but now I am hooked, I could never go back to a 2wd vehicle, and we are off to Exmouth (hopefully with a stop off at Shark Bay) in June.

 

One last note concerns the wheels on the passenger’s side of the Spectron. Not long after getting back to Perth some friends and I went down to the Medina 4wd recreation area, and during the day I managed to destroy the left hand front tyre. We duly pulled out the air jack, got the front end off the ground and began trying to get the wheel nuts off. Everyone got into the act until we had almost twisted the head off my wheel brace. Finally we gave up and got the van to a sealed road where the R.A.C. man turned up and took the wheel nuts off by turning them CLOCKWISE ! I had no idea my vehicle had reverse threads on the left side, and had I managed to wreck the tyre somewhere along the Packsaddle road we could have been in real trouble.

 

After all the preparation, and buying all the recovery gear, (which is still in its original sealed packing) we could have come undone by a simple thing like reverse thread wheel nuts.

 

MARITIME MISADVENTURES.

 

As a follow-up to last years wonderful holiday through the majestic north-west of W.A. we had planned to head for Exmouth again, but this time taking a side trip out to have a look around Shark Bay. Originally the trip was planned with two cars, my (now) faithful old Spectron 4wd, and My nephew (John’s) Nissan crew cab.

 

After the success of the fishing in Exmouth gulf last year I decided that the only thing which would improve on it was to have a bigger boat which provided a bit of shade and was a bit larger than the sharks we had seen on the previous trip.

After hounding my wife for over 12 months she finally gave in and I started to have a look around the boat yards. For the past year or so, I had been eagerly scanning Saturday’s West classifieds for just the right boat, and had been keeping a weather eye on the price changes between summer and winter. I had seen several likely prospects, but due to other commitments at the time, they had slipped through my fingers.

 

When I did get the go ahead from the finance dept (my wife) there was nothing around in the price bracket I was aiming for. Autumn was producing clear blue skies and everyone who was thinking about selling their boats seemed to be hanging on to them until the rain started.

 

Then one Saturday morning as I was doing the rounds of the boat yards again, I found a little 15’6” half cabin that looked as if it would fit the bill. Time was running out, as Easter had come and gone and the holiday was due to start on June 1st. This gave us about 6 weeks to test the boat out and make sure everything was ok for the trip north.

 

So grabbing the tiger by the tail I signed on the dotted line and parted with $5500, saying several prayers as I did so, that this wouldn’t cause me the same problems that the van had done a little over a year before.

 

The first outing was a gentle cruise up the Swan River, the navigation lights didn’t (and still don’t) work, but the engine ran like a dream. The next day we were off again, this time much further down the river.

 

Everything was fine except for the strange tendency the engine seemed to have to jerk the boat forward when the gears were engaged. I spoke about this to the boat yard, who responded with ‘Oh it’s a dog clutch, so it will jump a bit when it goes into gear.’ Trusting this ‘expert advise’ we were off again the very next weekend.

 

Next we went down to Kwinana and gave the boat a run around on Cockburn Sound. Up and down and round and round we went, but now every time the engine was put into gear you had to hang onto something or you would end up flat on your back. A little odd we thought, but then ‘It’s a dog clutch’ so it must be normal. Oh no it wasn’t.

 

Luckily when the crunch came, we had just come back to shore to drop off a passenger, and were about to head out again. As soon as I engaged the engine it started to rev higher and higher, but there was no forward movement at all. Deciding that something awful was about to happen I turned the engine off, but much to my surprise it just kept on screaming away going faster and faster. I was just getting ready to jump over the side when it gave a final cough and stopped. By this time the wind had swung around and was starting to pick up. Ok, so the engine wasn’t working so it was time to leave anyway. My wife went up to get the van & trailer and I spent the next 10 minutes watching a superb display of how to jack-knife a trailer.

 

The wind picked up even more and waves began rolling up the ramp. I gave up any hope of the trailer ever being backed down the ramp and beached the boat before un-hitching the trailer and wheeling it down the ramp. (This has become my standard way of getting it down ramps now). Finally the trailer was down the ramp, and re-attached to the van, but the boat was firmly stuck on the beach. Fifteen minutes and a lot of swearing later, it was back at the ramp again.

 

Unfortunately I still had a lot to learn about how to bring a boat up in difficult conditions. Instead of just dipping the 1st roller under water and letting the winch do all the work, we sank the entire trailer, and as a result spent a very long and frustrating time trying to line the keel up with the rollers. With the sky darkening I was up to my neck in water at the stern of the boat trying in vain to hold it steady while my wife operated the winch. After about 5 attempts we finally got it as straight as we could and headed for home.

 

A quick visit to the boat yard on the way home left us boatless for nearly a week. The weather was still holding so there was still plenty of time to shake the boat down and discover any (other) problems before we towed it up north.

 

The following weekend we headed for the Peel Estuary, (deciding against the open ocean just in case) and spent the day crabbing and testing the boat out. Everything was now working well, so the next three weekends we went back to Cockburn Sound (but avoided the Kwinana boat ramp) and took another run up the Swan River. The boat ran well, and we even caught a few nice fish out the back of Garden Island.

 

There had now been four trips with no problems, and time had run out for any more testing. The van was gradually loaded and the weather held.... until the very last minute. As the time came to hitch up the trailer and head north the rain clouds gathered. By the time we were on the road it was pouring with rain. Looking back we should have taken this as a sign of what was to come.

 

John, who was due to join up with us at Exmouth, was already in Port Hedland, but just before we were due to leave we got a phone call saying that his brothers, Peter & Andrew, (the same ones who were with us in Exmouth the year before) had borrowed his car, gone out on some tidal flats and got hopelessly bogged. The tide came in and that put an end to John’s participation in the trip so we pushed on to Shark Bay alone.

 

Daybreak saw us just north of Geraldton with a dark blanket of grey clouds as far north as the eye could see. Still there was the excitement of going on holiday and the anticipation of all those great fish we were sure to catch. The van had some problems towing as the engine is only a 2 litre. Speeds going uphill dropped to as little as 60k, but at least there was no swaying, or pitching to worry about.

 

Pulling into Denham it was still raining so we decided against putting the tent up, and found a nice unit right on the beach front (Bay Lodge). The unit was large and came equipped with everything but bedding, so after unpacking the food and beer we sat on the porch preparing the rods and lines for the following day.

 

The locals told us that the rain usually only lasts for two days, well three at the most, and anyway the fishing is better with an overcast sky.

 

Dawn arrived and the rain just kept on coming down. Pressing on regardless, off we went, abandoning the 4wd for the time being in favour of adventures at sea. We decided to follow another boat out (a good idea as it turned out) and were happily cruising along when about two miles out a strange whining sound like an alarm started coming from the gear lever box.

 

 Looking around I found smoke pouring from the engine, and quickly shut the thing down. My wife was wearing a red spray jacket which came in very handy to wave the other boat down. (it almost saw more use as a distress flag than as a jacket on this trip.)

 

The boat we flagged down was a charter, so they radioed in and we dropped anchor to wait for rescue. Since we were stuck there anyway, we dropped a line over the side and it wasn’t long before I had hooked a small NW snapper. Too small to keep but at least it seemed promising.

 

Rescue arrived shortly afterwards in the form of a ‘rubber ducky’ which towed us in. The owner wouldn’t take $20 we offered to pay for his fuel, so thanking him profusely we started looking for some mechanical help in town.

 

The next day was Sunday, so no mechanic was available to look at the engine until the following day. This gave us an opportunity to hop in the van and have a good look around. Shark Bay offers a wide variety of fishing, sightseeing and 4wdriving so we were still had plenty to keep us occupied. Shell Beach, Eagle Bluff, Goulet Bluff, Fowlers Camp are all easily accessible by 2wd, but west of the Useless Loop turn off and north of Peron Station are definitely 4wd only. Out towards Steep Point you would be advised to travel with two or three vehicles as there is a lot of deep sand.

 

Most of Peron Peninsular is now a protected nature reserve with World Heritage listing. There has been a concerted effort to remove introduced species and re-introduce native fauna to the area. Thankfully this hasn’t led to the track closures and restricted areas that are all too common in other reserves.

 

Closer to Denham there are several places worth having a look at. Peron Homestead with its artesian bore, Little Lagoon which produces reasonable Whiting, and Big Lagoon where beach fishing is the go.

 

If you head north of Peron Homestead you need to beware of the low lying flat patches of ground known as birridas. They have a thin hard crust on top and soft boggy muck underneath. In wet weather the tracks can get quite slippery. Last year friends of ours found out just how slippery when their Landcruiser flipped over when coming out of a boggy patch. The Cruiser was a write off and they were all lucky to walk away from the wreck.

 

Sunday’s explorations behind us, and the boat returned from the garage, I was eager to get it back into the water and test out the motor. Driving straight down to the boat ramp from the garage I launched it and tied up along side the small launching jetty. Imagine my horror when looking down into the boat from the jetty I saw it was awash with water and rapidly sinking. There is a horrible feeling you get when you realise you have just done something really really stupid, and you know that your wife is going to make the most of it by telling the story to everyone when you get home. I had forgotten to put in the bungs. It’s truly amazing just how fast a boat fills with water when those three little plugs aren’t where they should be.

 

Dragging the boat back up onto the ramp I got the little electric pump out, and gave it a good work out. The shine on this holiday was definitely beginning to wear off.

 

When the last of the water had been pumped out I managed to get the boat going and run it around enough to be reasonably happy with the motor. Next day we decided to fish the channel leading out of town, as that would be the best place to get a tow if the engine failed again. There was very little in the way of fishing so we cruised down along the coast for a while looking for likely spots to drop a line. After trying a few and having no luck we made our way back to the channel to try again before heading back in.

 

After stopping and starting all day without a hitch, the engine decided not to start just when we wanted to give up and go back to shore. As soon as we spotted another boat coming in, out came the red jacket again, and we had to suffer the embarrassment of being towed in yet again.

 

Back to the garage went the boat, and back on the shelf went our hopes of catching some decent fish. Meanwhile we had been talking to the locals about where all the fish had gone. It turned out that in order to catch anything worthwhile you have to go almost all the way across to Dirk Harthog Island and locate a shipping channel which is the only deep water in the bay.

 

Neil (the owner of Bay Lodge) drew us a map and two days later, when the boat was working again, we set off to cover the 9 miles across the bay. This time the motor didn’t let us down, which is just as well, because when we were almost to the other side of the bay we encountered waves as high, if not higher than the boat. It had taken us over an hour to get there only to find that conditions were far too rough to stay and fish. So back we came all the way across the bay again.

 

Neil felt so sorry for us when we got back that he gave us some NW snapper so we could at least see what it tasted like.

That was it for Shark Bay, I had had enough of the rain, the boat, the lack of fish and the rough water in the bay. It had taken us 11 hours to get there, so we decided against going on to Exmouth, and instead turned south to Kalbarri.

 

At Kalbarri I visited the areas along the Murchison river where all those years ago I had been bogged so many times in the Carry Van, but this time in a 4wd I was the master !

 

It was with some trepidation that we took the boat back out again. Following another boat out of the river mouth and down towards Red Bluff, we anchored about a mile off shore where we settled down to catch some ‘real fish’.

 

Sure enough it wasn’t long before something big grabbed the mulie on the end of my life and as the line began to wind off and my heart began to pound, I started to reel the fish in. It was a good weight and was even fighting pretty hard, so now I was sure the holiday was about to pay off.

 

The disappointment I felt on hauling a huge northwest blowie over the side would only be matched by losing a winning lottery ticket. After this happened about eight times I pulled up anchor and headed back in. Just to round the day off we snagged a craypot line round the propeller and were almost swamped trying to get the cursed thing off.

 

The next day the wind had come up, so there was no way to get out of the river mouth safely. I watched the waves rolling in for a while before deciding to go up river and try for a few bream. Launching had been made more difficult as the hand-brake in the van stopped working before we left Shark Bay. But I eventually settled for locking the hubs and putting the van into low range 1st.

 

Down we went and launched the boat only to find that the motor was refusing to start again. So off we went to yet another mechanic to spend our life savings on repairs.

 

The weather stayed rough for the remainder of the holiday, and we never managed to get back out into the open sea. Fishing in the river was relaxing if not productive and the only bright spot was the crabbing. Taking into account the cost of the boat, the insurance, license, repairs and odds & ends we purchased, the price per kilo of everything we caught was a little over $850.

 

To add insult to injury, when we finally got home and visited John, we were treated to footage taken a year before of fishing in Shark Bay (off Nanga 50km south of Denham) which showed dozens of huge NW snapper being hauled aboard on the same trip where the Landcruiser had been rolled.

 

By the time this story is printed we will no doubt have been mad enough to venture seaward again, crossing our fingers that the rain stays away and the engine keeps going. If you ever see us in the red van towing a little brown boat, and if you know any good prayers to Lady Luck, please remember to say one for us, we sure do need it.

 

MORE MARITIME MISADVENTURES

 

After our misadventures last year at Shark Bay, our Christmas trip down to Augusta was almost trouble free. We hired an on site van at Doonbanks Caravan Park in the heart of the town.

 

Doonbanks is useful because it has it’s own boat ramp and jetty, so boats can be launched once and then tied up when not in use. Although I am now reasonably proficient in launching and retrieving the boat, it is nice to just walk down and hop in without all the usual fiddling about.

 

The only cautionary note is in regards to river depth near the Doonbanks jetty. At low tide we were unable to get the boat across the shallows to the channel and had to wait for the tide to rise for a couple of hours. People with smaller boats would be OK, but at 16’ our boat is at the top end of the size limits for launching there.

 

The weather was cloudy and cold even in late December, but having been to Augusta many times before we were well prepared.

 

The river was quite productive on this trip. Tailor and bream were plentiful in the channel known as the ‘sticks’ and whiting abounded near the river mouth.

 

Cruises further up river in search of larger Bream were not met with the same success, but the peace and tranquillity more than made up for the lack of fish.

 

On the final day just as we were about to head in for the last time, the main engine’s starter motor packed up, but by this time we were equipped with a 5hp auxiliary motor, and so for once had no problems getting back to shore.

 

Back in Perth once more we still had some time off and decided to make the most of it by taking the boat out as much as possible. Although the main engine was still inoperable, we wanted to go crabbing, and decided to tempt fate and launch off the Kwinana boat ramp again. The morning was still and the sea calm, so thinking that all would be OK, we launched and spent a couple of hours puttering around between the Grain Terminal jetty and the jetty just north of Kwinana beach.

 

Just on midday we had caught a few crabs and were pulling up anchor to come in when out of nowhere a fierce south wester blew up. We were only 100 yards from shore, and had to come around Kwinana jetty to get to the boat ramp. With the 5hp going flat out we were only just making headway against the wind, and gradually being blown closer and closer to the jetty.

 

Another boat came round from the boat ramp and we asked for a tow to get past the jetty, as by this time the wind was so strong that the small motor was having no effect at all. Promising to give us a hand on the way back they took off and we did not see them again.

 

In any case it was now too late. Just as we rounded the end of the jetty the auxiliary motor gave out, and the wind pushed us right on to the steel girders on the southern corner. The nice new canopy we had put on just prior to the Augusta trip suffered a small rip, but with the help of people on the jetty we managed to guide the boat round the end of the T, and then the real problem started.

 

The canopy was still up, and was now acting like a sail. The wind was coming from directly behind and we were heading straight for the main span of the jetty. Even with the help of people on the jetty the impact as we hit was enough to damage the windscreen and rip one side of the canopy up. We now - far too late - dropped the canopy, and after some buffeting against the poles, were able to get under the jetty and on to the other side.

 

Having passed a rope to the people on the jetty we could now survey the damage as we waited for a tow.

 

Rescue eventually came and with the help of a number of people who seemed quite happy to get well and truly soaked, we got the boat up on to the trailer.

 

Looking back on this, there are some very important lessons that I have learned, and some tips that might help anyone else caught in a similar situation.

 

The first thing we did wrong was not dropping the canopy before we started the motor. We also failed to recognise the warning signs of the wind coming up. About 15 minutes before the wind arrived the water became very choppy, if we had gone in at that stage we would have been fine.

 

Leaving the canopy up was stupid for two reasons. First it gave the wind something extra to push against, and second, once we were in trouble we could not get it down in time to stop it being damaged by the jetty.

 

When it became obvious that we were in trouble we failed to put down the anchor. Even if it had not held, it could have slowed us down enough to make the impact with the jetty manageable. The last thing we did wrong was not getting a line to the jetty as the canopy clipped the corner. Had we done so, the only damage would have been a small rip.

 

It is amazing how obvious these things are when you have the chance to look back, but in the ‘heat of the moment’ we made just about every mistake possible. Thankfully the damage to the boat was only cosmetic. The hull is still watertight, and the engines are running again.

 

We have been out again many times since with no mishaps, and with a bit of luck things will stay that way for a while. My thanks to those who helped us avoid too much damage an Kwinana, and to the guys from Mariner’s World who towed us in.

 

The boat has been more or less mothballed for the winter but we still have the urge to go fishing. In March we took a couple of days off and went up to Jurien Bay intending to follow Jenny & Ron Watt’s directions from the article in Western 4WDriver (22nd edition).

 

Looking for a suitable place to camp we hunted around between North Head and Sandy Point. The wind was up and Sandy Point was nicely sheltered, so we set up the tent between a couple of the beach shacks and had a look around.

 

Being mid-week, there were only a couple of other people around, and we took the opportunity to have a word with them about the fishing and the shacks. Apparently the shack owners only have about 4 years left before the government moves in and pulls it all down. I think this is an awful shame as the areas around the shacks are well maintained and the whole area is interesting and unique.

 

Presumably the government can’t make enough money out of the shack owners and is intent on destroying everything that has been built there as a result. Why they can’t just leave it alone and keep their noses out of this terrific little place is beyond me.

 

For anyone who has not been to Jurien, I would recommend a visit to the shacks between North Head and Sandy point. Even 2 wheel drives can get there with no difficulty. The shacks are all unique, and the area has a really nice feel to it.

 

The fishing at Sandy point was very good. The first night we caught a few tailor, sea pike and herring and the following day we set off following Jenny & Ron’s cave route.

 

The windmill on the right is not all that obvious - a note for those intending to do the same trek - as it is obscured by trees. We went right past it and only spotted it on the way back. The track heading off to Stockman’s Gully is boggy in patches so let your tyres down before you head that way.

 

The caves are easy to find, but beware of the bees. They are very aggressive, and anyone who may have an allergic reaction to bee stings should stay well away. Don’t be tempted to pick up the honeycomb on the ground, the bees seem to be just as protective of that as the main hives. If you move slowly and stay clear of the bits of honeycomb on the ground you should be OK.

 

The second cave on this route is the easiest to get into. The bee hives at Bat Cave - further on - are very close as you enter the cave, and we decided not to go in after being stung going into cave 2.

 

The directions were easy to follow but sadly we ran out of time and missed the caves pictured in the article.

 

For 4 wheel driving, the area is terrific. There are tracks everywhere. We didn’t have enough time to explore too much, but what we did see has convinced us that a week or so up there next summer would be a good idea.

 

Before returning to camp we had to make a run back into Jurien again to re-stock our bait. If you stay overnight anywhere near Jurien, be sure to keep all food stuffs locked up. There are foxes everywhere and they pinched our bait. Back at Sandy Point we hauled out the fishing gear and walked down to the beach. The bay there is peaceful and sheltered, the perfect place to settle down for a couple of beers, and throw a line in.

 

Around 5pm a large school of tailor began feeding just off shore, and we were provided with a hour of the best fishing we have ever had from the beach. There were so many hook ups that we were putting fish back that in Perth waters we would be ‘keepers’. The tailor were in a frenzy, and the mulies we were using as bait were taken as soon as they touched the water.

 

It was a perfect couple of days away. The area around the shanty towns is tidy and clean, if you visit the area be sure to take your rubbish with you when you leave. I would hate to see the area ending up like Tim’s Thicket.

 

On ANZAC day we went down to Tim’s Thicket to wet the lines and spend the night in the camp site behind the dunes. When we got there we were disgusted to find that other campers had left the place looking like a rubbish tip, and the council has now closed it as a camping area.

 

Councils closing areas like this really annoys me, but seeing the piles of rubbish left behind by uncaring thoughtless people, left me in no doubt that the council had no choice. Most of the people reading this are all too well aware of what happens when people litter and damage the environment. The government moves in and bans everyone from using the area, so we all suffer.

 

But how many of you would report someone for littering if you saw it happen ? Too few I think. If we want to keep the tracks and campsites open we have to learn to ‘dob in’ those who do these stupid things, and the authorities have to make a commitment to prosecute when evidence is presented to them.

 

The mess at Tim’s Thicket was not the result of one or two careless people. The amount of rubbish left there is the result of many people over a long period of time.

 

From now on I will make it my business to ‘dob in’ the fools who ruin sites like this. If I see it happening I will take license numbers and photos and I hope the rest of you will do the same. If we want to continue to be allowed to use areas like Tim’s Thicket we, as individuals, have to be prepared to do our utmost to make sure this kind of environmental vandalism is stamped out.

 

The other way to help is to carry spare garbage bags and clean up sites which have been abused. I know it’s a pain cleaning up after thoughtless ignorant people, but it’s a lot better than having all the camping sites near Perth closed down.

 

UP NORTH IN A BUS

 

This story is actually covered by the journal that follows but this was the published version as it was originally written:

Time rolled on and soon our thoughts turned to Exmouth once more and memories of our first big trip away came flooding back. It was time to start planning the next trip north.

 

This time we had purchased a 1962 Bedford bus which has been converted into a motorhome. The plan was to tow our boat behind the bus and enjoy a few weeks fishing in the Exmouth area which would also serve as a shake-down cruise for the bus.

 

Our long term goal is to live in the bus and work our way around Australia over a number of years. This would be our last official holiday before taking off into the great unknown.

 

Planning began in May 1997 when we acquired the bus. Although on this trip our 4 wheel drive was to stay at home, the bus would eventually be used to tow a car trailer and a small 4x4.

 

It took all of the 3 months available to get the bus ready for travel, but come August 8th we were back on the road to Exmouth. Our past trips to the north west have always been a dash to get there and start enjoying ourselves, but the bus, which travels at a top speed of 80 kph, forced us to look for camp sites on the way up, which we normally pass by.

 

Our first night was spent at a terrific camp on the banks of the Murchison River about 10 km north of the Kalbarri turn off. There are sites on both the north and south bank of the river on the east side of the highway. Facilities include BBQs, tables, a pit toilet, bins, and a very pretty stretch of river. We left behind a rainy cold Perth and were expecting the weather to improve as we got further north.

 

The second day took us as far as Minilya where we pulled in at another camp site on the south bank of the Minilya River. Did someone say river? In ‘the wet’ there must be a river here but at this time of year it is bone dry. So much for my ideas of throwing a line in.

 

The camp site here is smaller than Murchison, but the facilities are the same.

 

As we drive along my wife often hands me something to chew, a sweet, a bit of chocolate and so on. Not long after we turned on to the Exmouth road she handed me something which felt like a soft jube, so without looking I popped it into my mouth and started chewing. I was wondering why she had handed me such a tasteless sweet when she started shouting at me to spit it out.

 

She had in fact handed me a silicon ear plug to put in my ear - the bus engine is quite noisy and she had decided to give me a couple of ear plugs to block out some of the sound.

 

We had quite a giggle about that - especially when I said I was glad the earplug was a new one not a used one.

 

The last day brought us to Learmonth Jetty where the first order of business was to get the fishing gear out and see what was around. The weather was dreadful, rain and chilly wind greeted us where we had memories of long hot days and steamy nights. The fish were obviously on holiday as well, but we did manage to pick up a feed of squid for dinner.

 

Cooking squid is very simple, but many people overcook the meat and make it tough. Our foolproof method for squid is to clean and skin it, cut it into rings and coat them in corn flour. Get the oil very hot and then drop the squid in. Count to 12 fairly quickly and it’s done. If you don’t have corn flour, ordinary wheat flour will do.

 

After a night in Exmouth we made our way down the coast to a spot just south of Kalis Fisheries. On a quiet track right next to the beach we set up camp and spent the next week fishing. With the help of some friends who were staying at Kalis, we managed to launch the boat, and moored it just off the beach in front of our camp site.

 

Thankfully the weather had turned the corner and we were back under the blue skies we used to.

 

The first full day of fishing produced a few north west snapper (emperors) but none of the larger fish we were looking for.

A trip into town and a meal at the Pot Shot that night was followed by a display of Peter Brock like driving by my wife, who dodged kangaroos which were sitting in the middle of the road. If she had not been driving there could have been a nasty accident as the rest of us were a little the worse for wear after a drink or three with dinner. It shows the value of having a ‘skipper’ even away from the city. As Belle doesn’t drink she is always elected to drive when we go out.

 

The road south from Exmouth has a number of dips which large volumes of water flow down in the wet season. At night it is very difficult to see into the dips, or out of the other side when you are in them. There are a large number of kangaroos in the area, as well as sheep and goats, so be very careful if you drive there at night.

 

Exmouth has a fresh water tap located by the public toilets in the main shopping area. It is very easy for caravans and mobile homes to get access to it so don’t forget your hose and tap connectors.

 

The fishing on this trip was not what we have come to expect from the area, but we did manage a couple of Spanish Mackerel and several Queensland school Mackerel.

 

On the last trip we were throwing Mackerel back, but this time I had brought a smoker with me so we filleted them and smoked them. I will never look on these as rubbish fish again. They were so delicious we ate almost all of them along with prawns from Kalis and more of the Spaniards caught a couple of days earlier.

 

We set the shower / toilet tent up earlier in the week and this was a real boon. We have a solar shower bag which recommends leaving it out in full sun for 3 hours to get the water hot. We have found that leaving the shower bag in the shower tent all day gets the water just luke warm and perfect for a shower after a hard days fishing in the boat.

 

The main problems with the shower tent were a lack of places to put soap, shampoo, towels, clothes etc. We eventually made up some hooks for hangers and bought a hanging shower caddy to solve these minor annoyances.

 

The comfort the bus provided was terrific. Just like home, and the Honda 500w generator provided all the power we required. It powers 4 fluorescent lights, TV, video, stereo, and a flood light for outside. I know many people despise generators in the bush because of the noise, but the convenience of 240 volt power any time you need it more than makes up for the slight disturbance.

 

At the end of the first week the weather changed again, and a strong south easterly wind came up on Saturday night. Sometime late on Saturday night the anchor line snapped and the boat was blown under the offal pipe at Kalis.

 

The canopy, windscreen and auxiliary motor all sustained considerable damage, so our hopes of another week fishing from the boat were dashed. The water was too rough to retrieve the boat so we bought a new anchor and made it secure behind the small breakwater just off Kalis.

 

On Monday the wind finally dropped enough for us to get the boat out of the water. 1/2 a carton of beer went to the engineers at Kalis for their help pulling the boat up with a tractor.

 

Without the boat we had some time to head down the west side of the cape and have a closer look at the national park.

Entry to the national park is $8.00 and a campsite costs $5.00 a night. We pulled in at Mesa Camp, which is probably the best along this stretch of coast.

 

The next day we tried to get down to Yardie Creek but the road south of Oyster Stacks was just too rough for the bus.

We called in at Tulki camp, but didn’t like the beach there, so we headed back to the Milyering information station. This is an excellent setup for anyone wanting to know more about the area. There is even a small theatre where you can watch films about Ningaloo, Bush Survival etc.

 

After a couple of hours watching films and picking up all sorts of information, we moved on to Mangrove Bay. Here you can use the bird hide or the fauna hide to observe local wildlife.

 

There are only a couple of places along the coast in this area where mangroves survive, and this is probably the best example. Don’t miss it if you are in the neighbourhood.

 

Early morning or late afternoon are the best times to visit as birds and animals are more likely to be seen.

Not being able to go further south, we drove back round to the east coast and camped just behind the water tanks at the foot of Cape Range.

 

We woke early thanks to the herd of sheep passing the bus and announcing their presence in loud bleating voices.

We tried fishing at Learmonth again but the trawlers were re-fuelling so took a drive up Charles Knife Canyon. The bus crawled very slowly up the hill but once on top we had a spectacular view of the east side of the peninsular.

Our last day in the Exmouth area was spent fishing off the breakwater at Kalis which produced some bream and a golden trevally.

 

Our haul for the two weeks was:

 

4 trevally, 6 shark mackerel, 2 Spanish mackerel, 3 sharks, 8 emperor, 4 squid, 1 coral trout, 1 cod, 5 bream - and that was between 5 people on 2 boats! Not very good for Exmouth.

 

We hitched the boat up and took the road south heading for Coral Bay. If you are going to Coral Bay and you don’t have a booking, time it so you arrive about 10.30am, that’s just before the caravan parks do a site check, and if they are busy, you shouldn’t have to wait long to get in.

 

We stayed at the Bay View caravan park which worked out at $18 per night for 3 people.

 

Coral Bay has two shopping areas, and everything is within walking distance.

 

A trip out on the glass bottom boat cost us $18 each, and was very worth while. The waters in Coral Bay are a marine reserve, so the fish are protected and the boats make a feature of feeding them. Most of the big fish you will see are spangled emperors (commonly known as northwest snapper).

 

The 1 hour cruise around the bay was very good value. The captain gives a very informative talk on the coral, fish and the area surrounding the bay. Unlike some of the glass bottom boats we have been on overseas, this one had nice clean glass, and you can see every detail of the reef as it slowly motored around.

 

Cameras and videos are welcome, so don’t forget to take them with you. If it is tourist season you may need to book a day in advance, and you can do so via the caravan park.

 

Two days later we arrived at the Blowholes just north of Carnarvon. At Minilya roadhouse we discovered that a weld holding the rear bumper of the bus had broken, and that the bumper, boat and air-conditioner were only hanging on by a small weld on the other side. After rapidly deploying great lengths of rope, we managed to make the bumper fairly secure and pressed on. (Note: Minilya like many roadhouses, has no mechanic available.)

 

We arrived at the Blowholes (Quabba Point) mid afternoon, and after taking some photos of the holes in action we found a campsite overlooking the bay.

 

There are a large number of campsites along the road heading south from the Blowholes; some with views of the sea and others tucked in behind the dunes. Caravans and motorhomes should have no problem finding somewhere to set up.

 

Be warned that the area behind Quabba Point (which is practically an island) is a marine reserve, and you will need to check the signs on the beach which tell you where you can fish.

 

After the number of sharks we saw in the area I would not recommend swimming or even wading out to the island. We saw several very large specimens within a few feet of the beach. At least one of the camping guides we purchased comments that there is a nice sandy beach for swimming. My advice is DON’T!

 

Campsites cost $1 per night per vehicle, and there is an honour box to place the money in. We saw a couple of vehicles that didn’t bother, but most stopped and paid up.

 

There are a couple of pit toilets available here but take my advice and use some Rid on your rear end if you use them, the mozzies gather there in swarms and have a good feed from your nether regions if you aren’t protected.

 

After two nights at Quabba we moved on to Carnarvon and got the weld fixed up by Dave at Carnarvon Engineering. He also put a bolt through the centre of the bumper to properly secure the trailer. At just $25 I would have to recommend that you see Dave if you need any welding etc. done while you are in the area.

 

After refuelling, filling up on water, and stocking up on supplies, we doubled back and took the road to Gascoyne Junction. We were looking for a side track leading to a campsite known as Rocky Pool. The Gascoyne road is pretty rough, and I finally discovered that the best way to cope with it is to put your foot down and fly over the bumps.

 

42km later we finally found the track we were looking for and a further 4km brought us to a great little campsite on the banks of the Gascoyne River. The river was only just flowing so we took the opportunity to have a dip and refresh ourselves after the dusty trip in.

 

There are bins, BBQs, and a pit toilet at the campsite but no other facilities. Despite the rough road in, the trip was worth while. The river banks and gum trees along the billabong are very picturesque.

 

The next day we left early and arrived at the campsite on the Murchison River in the late afternoon. It was very, very cold, but we managed to have a nice fire in one of the concrete BBQs near the river, which chased away the worst of the chills.

 

Our final day on the road saw us arrive home just before dusk. A quick beer, unload the essentials, and a nice hot shower saw the sun go down on three weeks of fun and frustration.

 

Overall the trip gave us a lot of enjoyment, but best of all it has finally settled my fears about living in the bus. The information we gathered, and the things that went wrong, will help us make the next step easier.

 

THE DREAM

 

Wednesday May 14 1997

This journal details a journey that will hopefully take us all round Australia. My wife Rosabelle & I have spent some 16 years working in Perth. I am a Computer Programmer and Rosabelle is a Medical Scientist.

We have achieved a certain level of success, a nice home with a pool, 2 cars, a boat and enough money so that we are not hard up, but this form of success, sought after by many people, has left us feeling very dissatisfied.

Waking at 6am, having a quick breakfast then making the 1 hour trip to work, then at 5pm spending another hour (or more) getting home. A hurried dinner and then a couple of hours of TV before bed. The weekend consists mostly of doing the household chores and shopping on Saturday and perhaps a day out on Sunday (if we were lucky) before the whole boring cycle starts over again on Monday.

Some people seem perfectly happy with this sort of life, but we are finding it harder and harder to cope with. The soul-destroying monotony is not even compensated for by the 20 days leave we get each year. More and more we yearn for the wide-open spaces, for the freedom of pulling off the road by a river and dropping the lines in to catch dinner.

A couple of years ago this dream was just that, a dream. It seems so simple, but in reality it is very hard to achieve. We want to cut our ties with work, buy a bus and travel round Australia. We don’t just want to do this for a few months, or a couple of years, but we want it to become a complete lifestyle. Find an area to explore, get some casual work and then spend time, months perhaps, filming, writing, working when possible and building up enough to move on to the next place.

We are not in a position to sell our home - which would make things so much easier - but we have to rent it out after selling off much of the goods and chattels we have accumulated over the years.

Our dream is finally starting to take on substance. Tired of the same old work, and fighting the city traffic, we are about to purchase a Bedford bus, which has been converted into a mobile home. The bus comes complete with double bed, gas stove, gas electric fridge, microwave, roof rack, air conditioner and runs on dual fuel (LPG/petrol) which will cut our travelling costs considerably.

The thought of leaving steady well paid jobs and launching ourselves into what seems an uncertain future is quite daunting, but the excitement of setting off into the unknown and taking complete control of our own destiny seems like good compensation - at the moment. Time alone will tell if we live to regret it.

Once we have the bus we will take it on a couple of short trips to iron out any bugs in the system. In August we are going north to Exmouth on a 3-week trip which should provide some useful information about problems which may arise later when we are permanently on the road.

If anything major goes wrong at this stage, we will both still have our jobs, and still have the opportunity to change our minds about the whole thing.

When we return from Exmouth we will begin preparations in earnest. Our cars and boat will be sold off along with some furniture and all the odds and ends we seldom if ever use.

A small 4wd and trailer will then be purchased along with an aluminium dinghy and a generator. That will complete the major equipment we will require. Other major items which we need (including a portable computer for keeping this journal and writing articles, 35mm SLR camera with a selection of lenses, digital video and decent audio equipment will also be purchased between now and the August trip.)

Meanwhile I am in the process of contacting 4wd magazines, off road equipment manufacturers etc. In the hope of raising some sponsorship for the trip. If we are unable to obtain any funds we are still determined to press on with the plans, but may have to forgo some things we would otherwise have like to take along.

 

The origin of the bus’ name: Well my wife Belle is ethnically Chinese and was born in Malaysia so she is the ‘eastern Belle’, the bus is W.A. registered so we decided to call it the Western Belle.

 

Thursday May 15 1997.

 

Only one day after starting the journal, but already we have some progress. The loan for the bus has been approved and I have found a generator, which looks like it, may do nicely. The bus will cost us $17000, not a lot by today’s standards, and the generator (a Honda 500 watt) is $400. New generator prices for similar models start at just over $1000 so this seems like a pretty good buy. The ‘loan’ isn’t really a loan, it’s equity that we have built up in our home over the last few years, so at least once we buy the bus it will belong to us and there are no repayments to make on it.

 

Next we have to get ‘B’ class driver’s licenses since it looks like we could have the bus as early as next weekend. I won’t feel like we are really getting somewhere until the bus is sitting on the front lawn.

 

Saturday May 17 1997.

 

Paid a $200.00 deposit on the bus and made a formal offer to purchase pending a mechanical report and notification from Revs that there are no funds owing - in WA at least.

 

Spent the day moving furniture about and sorting out things that we will want to sell off. One room in the house will be kept as a storeroom and will be locked up before we leave. This way we can hang on to any useful items we may need at some point in the future.

 

At this stage I am hoping to have $20,000.00 in the bank by the time we leave. We are saving like mad at the moment ($1600.00 this month alone). The more we can have put away the better our chances are for establishing a work/travel pattern.


It looks as though finding a car trailer is going to be tough. New trailers seem to be $2500 and upwards. There are plenty of small; 4x4s to choose from, and I may get one before August and get rid of the Spectron.


Monday May 19 1997


Spoke to Dave (a friend of mine since Uni. days who is working out at Balladonia Roadhouse) tonight. He suggested I find out about an ‘A’ frame instead of using a trailer to haul the 4x4. It should save a lot of money if there aren’t any legal problems. Also spoke about stills cameras. Dave has been using SLR style cameras for years, and his advice confirms what I have been reading in various books. A combination of two lenses, 28mm - 75mm and another up to at least 200mm should do the job.

 

Tuesday May 20 1997

 

The bus went into Major Motors (RAC’s heavy vehicle inspection agents) today. The report isn’t too bad considering the age of the bus (1962 model), but there are two stand out problems.

 

The two main problems seem to be the brakes and the wear in the drive shaft. Everything else seems fairly minimal. I have asked Major Motors to give a quote on fixing the main problems, and see what the likely outlay is.


I also spoke to Peter (one of my nephews) who is now a policeman but used to work for Auto Classic as a mechanic, and he recommended that the main item I check is engine compression ratios. All cylinders should be roughly the same, but apparently if they are all over the place then the engine has problems and may need to be replaced.

 

I also spoke to the Department of Transport about ‘A’ frames and they are legal in WA at least. The towed vehicle must be 1 tonne (TARE) or less, and the weight ratio between tower & towed has to be 3:1 or better. Plans have to be drawn up and submitted to the Transport Department (Ph. 131 156) for approval. The connection must be to the sub-frame or extended attachments under the towed vehicle. Attaching it to the bull bar isn’t considered sufficient.

 

Wednesday May 21st 1997

 

Today is decision day. The workshop confirmed that the engine is in good condition, and repairs should come in at about $2000.00. If we can get the parts and Peter does the work we should be able to save a reasonable amount on that figure. The deciding factors, well in my wife’s words, ‘It’s duel fuel, has a full size gas stove, its clean and tidy and has nice pastel colours.”

 

How can I argue with that?

 

We are expecting delivery on Saturday, and Rosabelle goes for her learners permit Friday. The questions for the ‘B’ class permit are reasonably simple and we both memorised them last night.

 

Now we have made the big decision I have started making lists in earnest. There is nothing like being prepared well before time.

 

I will include the list here - although it is bound to change as we look at what we want to take and what we can actually fit in. As it changes I will add or delete items so that it becomes a record of what we are carrying in the bus.

 

Thursday May 22nd 1997.

 

Started looking at cameras today. Nikon seems to be emerging as the best quality in lenses, but they come at a price. As this is the area I hope to make money from along with article writing, I will have to concentrate on a good setup for the stills camera before doing anything about digital video which will be at least twice as expensive. The starting budget is about $2500.00 for the stills gear, but DV will be put on the back burner in favour of a cheap analogue video so we can at least keep our own footage.

 

Even though we are still two and a half months away from the first trial trip, it feels like I need every spare second to get things organised.


Friday 23rd May 1997.


Belle (alias Rosabelle - my wife) went in and got her learner’s permit today. Now we need someone with a ‘B’ class to help teach her how to drive the bus. I will go in on Monday and get my permit.

 

Saturday 24th May 1997.

 

The bus arrived today at 8am. After a run through of various features and their operation Rex and Pauline (the now ex-owners) left us to get aquatinted with our new toy. The first priority was to make sure the vehicle could be more securely locked up. A couple of barrel bolts on the main door and padlocks all round the lower storage bays took care of that. We spent the rest of the day fussing over the bus and starting to put some of the camping gear inside.

 

Tried to get a cover note for insurance purposes but had no luck. FAI aren’t interested in this type of vehicle, Wesfarmers were supposed to get back to us but didn’t, and the somewhat misinformed lass at the RAC tried to tell us that there is no such thing as a 1962 Bedford bus. Well I’ve got news for her, there’s a 32 foot long optical illusion sitting on my front lawn !

 

I’ll have more to say to her bosses this week, as we are insured with RAC for everything else, and they’ll be lucky if I don’t move to another company altogether after leaving us with no insurance cover over the weekend.

 

I slept in the bus overnight to get a feel for what it will be like. The bed is nice and comfortable and it wasn’t all that cold.

 

Sunday 25th May 1997.

 

Had a quick look at a LWB Suzuki 4x4 today. At $3000 the price was attractive, but the front suspension was sagging, there was an oil leak from the gear box and the brakes needed a lot of work. A timely article in the latest Western 4Wdriver on second had Suzuki’s gave me some important items to check for.

 

Monday 26th May 1997.

 

Passed the oral exam and paid for my learner’s permit this morning ($45). We have finally found a friend with a ‘B’ class license who can help to teach us to drive the bus. Will book a couple of professional lessons first just to get used to the vehicle.

 

Registration papers were also transferred at the same time, but we are still finding it hard to get the bus insured. SGIO appear to be the only ones interested at the moment.

 

EXPENSES TO DATE :

 

Purchase of the bus $16,800.00

Honda 500w generator (second hand) $ 400.00

Vehicle inspection $ 150.00

Padlocks, bolts, wood, drill bits $ 173.10

Registration $ 317.85

Stamp duty $ 342.50

Learner’s permits (2) $ 90.00

---------------

TOTAL $18,273.45

=========

 

Wednesday 28th May 1997.


Took my first driving lesson today. ‘B’ class is a lot more expensive than ‘A’ class. ($40 as opposed to $22). I have to get used to double clutching, and I will have to break some of the bad driving habits I have picked up over the past 14 years. No free wheeling, no crossing hands when turning the steering wheel and no riding the clutch.

 

It’s almost like learning to drive all over again.


Insuring the bus is starting to be a real problem. We will have to try an insurance broker to see if they can find someone interested in taking our money.

 

Friday 30th May 1997.

 

Managed to find a reasonable second hand video camera today (at Cash Converters.) I have gone for the older style full size VHS as it gives better picture clarity and does not require so many dubs to edit onto a finished tape. Happily it uses the same type of batteries as my old cameras did so they will come in handy again. At $695 the camera isn’t going to break the bank either.

 

Sunday 1st June 1997.

 

Had our first drive in the bus today. Ian came over and we went up to the local petrol station to fill up. I was going to fill the petrol tank up but after $100 worth had gone in I gave up. We will leave filling the LPG for another day.

 

The motor seems to be revving much too high when running on petrol, perhaps an adjustment in the carbi would help. We had real problems shifting from 3rd to 4th gear, but otherwise the for a first drive in an unfamiliar vehicle, things seemed to go well. Belle has some problems with corners, but she won’t be doing much driving in towns anyway.

 

I have my second paid lesson on Tuesday and Belle has her first on Wednesday.

 

We lent Belle’s Barina to John on Saturday as his is minus a gear box at the moment. Something has gone wrong with the engine and it is spraying oil all over the place. Just what we don’t need at the moment, more expenses on a vehicle that we will sell in a few months anyway. <Sigh>

 

It’s times like this when doubts begin to creep back in. Are we really doing the right thing ?

 

On the ‘good news front’ we think there may be a solution to the insurance problem. There is a mobile home and caravan association which we can join. If we are accepted then we can insure the bus through them.

 

Their postal address is :

 

Caravan & Motorhome Club of Australia Inc.

P.O. Box 327, CARDIFF, N.S.W. 2285.


Application forms for membership can be picked up at places like Maddington Motorhomes, who buy & sell this type of vehicle. There is a $10 joining fee and a $35 annual fee. As well as helping with the insurance question, the club have information available on places to stay, things to do and they hold an annual get together for members and their vehicles.

 

Monday 2nd June 1997.

 

The repairs to the Barina only came to $130.00 for a new fuel pump. Not as bad as it first looked.

 

Wednesday 4th June 1997.

 

Belle had her first driving lesson in a truck today. The instructor gave her the nickname ‘Stirling Moss’ - apparently she goes a bit too quick round corners.

 

Saturday 7th June.

 

Peter had a look at the bus today and has taken away a list of parts to get. Looks like the brakes will have to be fixed at Major Motors as he hasn’t got heavy enough equipment to do the work here.

 

I found a couple of useful books this week which will help as we are travelling round.

 

BUSH CAMPS AND REST AREAS ACROSS AUSTRALIA $12.00

Fisher-Smedley. 1995. ISBN 0 9586774 1 9

 

This details a large number of campsites through out Australia along the major routes between cities.

 

WORKABOUT AUSTRALIA $14.95

B. Brebner. (Not dated) Ph. 068 84 7777

 

This book should prove invaluable as it details seasonal work across Australia, as well as giving contact information for various job centres and hints about getting work.

 

Now is as good a time as any to give a list of other books we will be taking with us as references to various areas and activities.

 

THE WEST AUSTRALIAN TRAVELLERS ATLAS $19.95

ISBN 0 909699 38 0 1994

 

This book should have pride of place in every 4WD (in WA) , or even 2WD for that matter. It is a terrific source of detailed road map information.


FISH AUSTRALIA $20-40

ISBN 0 670 86040 9 Viking 1995

(The price variation is due to edition changes.)


A beautifully presented book which contains heaps of information about fishing spots across Australia. There are some useful maps - but they do not replace marine charts.


AUSTRALIAN MOTORING GUIDE $20.00

Powell. ISBN 0 09 183184 9 1995.


A useful book which includes maps and information about towns all over Australia.


EXPLORE AUSTRALIA BY FOUR WHEEL DRIVE $20-40

Wherrett. ISBN 0 670 90442 2 Viking O’Neil.

(The price variation is due to edition changes.)


If you want to see some areas off the bitumen, then this book gives a series of small treks which when all put together takes you on a round Australia 4WD adventure.

 

GUIDE TO SEA FISHES OF AUSTRALIA $35.00

Kuiter. ISBN 1 86436 091 7 1996.

 

Ever caught some peculiar looking fish and wondered ‘what on earth is that thing ?’ If so then chances are that this book will al least identify it for you.


There are over 950 species listed in quite a compact volume.

 

OUTBACK AUSTRALIA HANDBOOK $15.95

Johnson. ISBN 0 91 18373 79 4 Moon 1992

 

A guide aimed mostly at the overseas tourist in Australia, but includes some handy information and contact numbers. Written by a Yank, but it has heaps of information.

 

A few other titles which will be making the trip with us are :

 

CARAVANNING & CAMPING GUIDE TO THE NORTH WEST

 

CARAVANNING & CAMPING GUIDE TO THE SOUTH WEST


THE ULTIMATE BOOK OF FISHING HINTS

 

YOUR GUIDE TO THE AMAZING NORTH (FREE TOURIST GUIDE)


This one deserves a special mention. It is an excellent little handbook with all sorts of information about towns, including maps, phone contact numbers etc.

 

GREGORY’S FISHING GUIDE

 

THE MACQUARIE EASY GUIDE TO AUSTRALIAN LAW.

 

The last book is for those times when you may need to know what your rights are and how to protect them.

 

I will also include a couple of books on first aid and bush survival when I can find something worthwhile.

 

My driving test is on Monday so I’m crossing my fingers that I pass first time. I managed to fail my ‘A’ class so many times I think they eventually gave it to me out of pity. Not that I’m a bad driver, it was just that every time a policeman hopped into the car next to me I got an attack of nerves. Now after driving for 14 years I should be more at ease... I hope.

 

Monday 9th June 1997.

 

Curses, I failed !


Monday 15th June 1997.

 

Two problems have arisen with the bus in the last week. First the gear linkages are causing problems and it is stuck in 1st gear. Second the fridge has developed a leak and needs re-gassing. Little else worth commenting on.

 

All in all a bad week. Eight weeks until Exmouth and it feels like eight months.


Saturday 21st June 1997.


Peter has let us down in regard to working on the bus. Great ! now we are looking a repair bill around the $3000 mark. Oh well, I’m sure he would have helped if he could. We are currently waiting for the rep from Maddington Motor Homes to turn up. Rang to find out why he’s late and they had forgotten all about us. We need a valuation done on the bus for the insurance people, and it’s going to cost $85 !! - seems to me we should get a discount for being made to wait around for an hour and a half.

 

I don’t know what is the matter with people these days, there is no such thing a good service and professionalism. You can’t trust anyone to do the job right first time. I was going to ask the motorhome people to give me a quote on fixing a few things in the bus, if they can’t even keep a simple appointment, I’m not sure I want to bother with anything more complicated.

 

LIST OF ITEMS PURCHASED IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS :


Retractable washing line $ 15.95

Gas bottle gauges $ 3.90 each

Pressure clothes washer $ 65.00

Mozzie nets for hats (heads) $ 5.90 each

Heavy duty canteen $ 16.95

Audio mixer/video enhancer $169.00

Gearbox oil $ 5.95

 

Wednesday 25th June 1997


Belle had her driving test today but like me didn’t make it. The examiner docked a point for problems releasing the handbrake, which was a problem with the vehicle, and a point for not looking both ways when crossing a railway - when she did ! I think they fail people first time no matter how good they are.


The stress of all this is beginning to tell on me at the moment. Now as time slips away we still have so much to get done. Getting the ‘B’ class is the biggest problem as it’s something we can’t throw money at to make it go away.

 

Saturday 28th June 1997


Having problems with the 4x4 again. The starter motor needs replacing - it was only done 18 months ago.


Bought a couple of new fire extinguishers for the bus and a rechargeable 12 volt power pack which can run 3/6/9/12 volt DC appliances as well as providing a power source to recharge the car battery if it goes flat.


After some fiddling around with the bus gear shifter I finally managed to get it out of first gear.


Chubb Fire extinguishers $ 28.95

DC power pack $135.00

 

Both from Marlows.


Tuesday looks like being busy. I have a driving test in the morning, then the 4x4 goes into the local garage for more work, and the repaired fridge turns up in the afternoon.

 

$80.00 for the ‘B’ class, $350.00 plus for the fridge and who knows how much for the 4x4 repairs. This is starting to cost some serious money. Then in order to have the bus’ gas system certified, we have to get the petrol inlet moved about a metre along the side of the vehicle.

 

Anyone thinking about buying a mobile home should look for a gas certification sticker before buying. Caravan parks may turn uncertificated vehicles away as their insurance won’t cover damage caused if there is a fire or explosion.

 

(Note: Since first writing this we have been to many caravan parks in W.A. who don't seem the least bit interested in gas certification, perhaps they are more conscientious in other states.)

 

One thing I will do in this journal is add information on the various services we need and the businesses which provide them. Regardless of any threats of legal action which may arise, I will make the comments based on the service we receive, good or bad, in an attempt to let others who may follow in our tyre tracks know which ones to avoid and which ones to spend money with.

 

Names worthy of mention to date are :

 

Rowley’s Caravan Repairs. Rowley Watts 018 907 218

9453 6535

 

Rowley’s number is a handy one to have if you are in Perth and need some repairs to your mobile home, especially to the gas system as he is a licensed fitter. We had problems getting the fridge out to Ross Refrigeration, so Rowley took it out and brought it back for us. He does repairs on site which is a boon if you are living in your vehicle and don't want to move it for a while.

 

Ross Refrigeration 9418 4226

30 Pt. Kembla Drive, Spearwood. WA


This is the ONLY place in Perth you can get your gas fridge repaired. I despise monopolies but it is a number you have to have if something goes wrong. At least they stuck to their initial verbal quote, and the fridge is now working again.

 

Tuesday 1st July 1997

 

My second driving test..... I PASSED ! Well that’s one of the major hurdles out of the way at least.


The fridge went back into the bus today, and we are $400 poorer. Now we have to organise to get the petrol inlet moved, then get the final gas work and certification done. Then the mechanical work and we are ready to roll.

 

I expect to spend at least another $3000.00 before we are ready.


Still waiting for a bill for the 4x4 starter motor, apparently the ignition switch needs replacing as it caused the starter to burn out. At least another $160.00 on top.

 

I have a small bar fridge (240v only) which we used on our last trip to Exmouth. I was going to sell it, but will probably now hang on to it just in case.

 

Friday July 11th 1997


Belle went for her second driving test today and passed. She feels she didn’t do as well as the first test, but passed anyway.

 

Saturday July 12th 1997

 

The latest round of work on the 4x4 was completed today. We are now another $306.00 more out of pocket. Just as well we are both still making good money, this is a fast way to go broke if you don’t have money coming in all the time.

 

John moved out of the house in Belmont and I took the bus over to help bring back some of his gear. I managed to bog the bus on a grass verge, it took ages to get it off. I never want to get bogged like that without a few handy concrete paving slabs to stick under the wheels.


Less than 4 weeks to the Exmouth trip and I need to find someone to finish the work on the bus. Mountain Motors has been suggested by the bus’ ex-owner, I will speak to them on Monday.

 

I am being chased by a couple of recruitment firms who want a PICK programmer for contract work. I think I may have a look at what they are offering. A lucrative contract for 3-4 months would go down well at the moment. Then again it’s the money merry-go-round I want to get away from, so maybe it’s not such a good idea.

 

The only response so far to my letters asking for sponsorship or some form of discount for the goods I need has come from Gerry Gibbs Camera House. They have given me a price of $1590.00 for the Nikon F50 & lenses I need which is by far the best price to date.

 

I will step up the letter writing campaign when the Exmouth trip is over.

 

I have also been looking at computer prices. The old PC I am typing this on has just about had it. A new model should cost less than $1500 so that is well within the budget.

 

There are still a number of items to purchase. Besides the remaining work on the bus which I have set a limit of $3000.00 on, there is the camera, computer, roof rack for the 4x4, dinghy, A frame, modifications to the interior of the bus and the remaining gas work to be done.


Tuesday July 15th 1997

 

Latest purchases :

Ice box $275.00

Bait keeper $ 19.00

Fish smoker $ 39.95

 

I have been looking for an ice box for the boat for some time now. Fibre glass boxes are available but are about $100.00 more than the metal one I eventually found.


The ice box is necessary as we go a couple of miles off shore, and last time we were in Exmouth that meant a trip back to shore if we landed a large fish. Now it can be put on ice and we can keep fishing.


The box has a bonus in that all the odds and ends for the boat fit inside.


Saturday July 19th 1997


We have settled on a quote from Mountain Automotive to get the rest of the work done on the bus. $2960.00 covers all mechanical work, a full service, two replacement tyres and moving the petrol inlet. The bus goes in on Monday and will be there two weeks.

 

As it is a fine weekend we are heading off to Dwellingup for the night just to see how everything works.

 

Bought a shower/toilet tent from K-Mart to day for $69.95. Also picked up a few more books this week.

 

Western Australia $18.95

Williams, J. ISBN 0-86442-268-7 1995 Lonely Planet.


A similar book to the Outback Australia Handbook (mentioned earlier.) but dealing exclusively with WA Packed with all sorts of facts and figures, maps and colour photographs. Again this is aimed at the overseas tourist visiting Australia, but it will also prove useful to the domestic variety.

 

BUSH CAMPS & REST AREAS AROUND AUSTRALIA $12.00

Fisher-Smedley. 1994. ISBN 0 9586774 0 9


The companion to Bush camps and rest areas across Australia (already listed). This volume follows highway 1 around the country and is a ‘must have’ for anyone travelling around.


THE GUIDE TO FREE CAMPING IN THE NORTH OF WA $ 6.00

&

THE GUIDE TO FREE CAMPING IN THE SOUTH OF WA $ 6.00

S & S Collis 1996 ISBN 0 9586778 1 6 / 0 9586778 0 8

 

(These books turned out to be invaluable. If you travel in W.A. you should get both of them.)

 

I am looking for a good book on bush tucker, also books on native fauna.

 

Sunday July 20th 1997


Back from our first night away in the bus. After having the radiator boil over at Armadale we decided against going to Dwellingup and stayed closer to home at the Goorolong campsite near Jarrahdale. After re-filling the radiator we had no further problems, and the bus is due for its’ overhaul tomorrow anyway.

 

A note to those thinking a stop off at the Gooralong Campsite amid the pine trees would be nice, the camp ground has now been closed to overnight campers - thanks to the usual thoughtless louts who make it their business to spoil things for everyone else.


We had no problems with rangers while there - too cold for them to be out and about - and there were one or two others camped overnight, but the area is now listed as day use only, so be warned, you may be ejected by the authorities if you want to stay there.


I think a good idea to prevent areas like this being closed to all travellers, would be for authorities like CALM to issue overnight stay permits to people at a minimal fee, and then only allow those with permits to camp in the area. If people misbehave they lose their permits and can never obtain another one.


Other than the freezing cold weather at night the overnight stay was successful and we cooked our first dinner ‘on board’. The full moon shining down amid the pines, a glass of Southern Comfort and a cigar - ah my idea of heaven.

 

Based on the speed the bus travels I think my estimate of 2 days to reach Exmouth may be a wee bit optimistic, but we shall see.


Monday July 28th 1997


We are facing even more expense from mechanical breakdowns. This time Belle’s Barina is failing to start. Even after tow starting it and running around for a while there was no charge building up in the battery. Probably the alternator. An even bigger problem is the jerking as it turns corners. I’ve no idea what that could be. For a car that’s only worth about $3500 it could start costing hundreds of dollars to fix and we want to get rid of it in a couple of months anyway.

 

I’m yet to find anyone who has had as much bad luck with vehicles as we have. The Spectron 4x4 has had a gearbox rebuild, a replacement gearbox when the rebuild fell apart - out of warranty of course - two cracked heads, two starter motors, an alternator, two rear bearings, a battery, an ignition switch, broken steering bolts and a blown Air-conditioner hose. This is all in the space of less than 3 years.

 

Repairs have cost $10838.78 ! and the purchase price was $14990.00. I get the feeling I was ripped off in a big way. So much for the SGIO autocheck that was done before I purchased the van. It wasn’t worth the paper it was written on.

 

While I am having a whine about these things, I’ll add Truck Line to my list of rip-off merchants. The gearbox rebuild I had done was estimated at about $2500, and escalated to $3955. After paying all that money the gearbox failed the day after I got the van back, it was repaired again and then failed 1 day out of warranty, and they refused to do anything about it. I went to Technical Transmissions who fitted a second hand box for $2850 which has been running ever since. As far as I am concerned Truck Line should be avoided at all costs. They had the van in the workshop for over two weeks, and still the repairs they did failed. Technical Transmissions had the van for 4 days, stuck to their original quote, and their repairs were successful.

 

This kind of thing seems to go on and on for us... it does get very tiring at times.

 

Another piece of bad luck, I found two of my fishing reels have been broken, and had to buy replacements. <Sigh> It seems to never end.


Before we go on the Exmouth trip I still have to get a spare wheel for the boat trailer, and an extra tyre for the bus.


Friday August 1st 1997


August is here at last, and we are running out of time to get things finished. All the mechanical work has been done, and the gas work was finished up today. The final work is moving the petrol inlet. All work was supposed to have been done by now but the panel beaters are the last thing to hold us up.

 

It’s disappointing not to have the bus available this weekend, especially since this is the last weekend before we go to Exmouth.

 

I have to go down to the panel beaters tomorrow to fit a new water tap and do a couple of other small jobs I won’t have time for otherwise. Also have to drag the boat round to Tyrepower to get some new tyres put on.


Then get the gas tanks in the bus filled and down to Bunnings to get the last containers for the cupboards.

 

I think it will be a full day.

 

Saturday August 2nd 1997


Three re-tread tyres for the boat trailer cost $120.00. The extra one was purchased in case one of the others gets a puncture along the way. Hopefully it’s money well spent.

 

Lots of running around today, but most things I wanted to do are complete. The 9kg gas bottles cost about $14.00 each to fill.


Monday August 4th 1997


Time is slipping away and the panel beaters are still holding the bus up. A ‘one day’ job has so far taken 4.5 and I get the feeling we won’t get the bus back until Wednesday. Mountain Automotives don’t seem to be putting any pressure on Down Under Panel & Paint (their choice of panel beaters not mine), so I let it be known that I had better have the bus by Wednesday night or there will be trouble.


I don’t like to be kept waiting when an agreed delivery date is missed, and I hate to be kept in the dark about what is going on and how much longer it is going to take. Businesses must learn to pick up the phone and keep customers informed about delays.

 

Thursday August 7th 1997

 

Some days it seemed like it would never happen, and some days it seemed like there was not enough time left to organise everything, but here we are on the eve of out first major trip away in the bus and I think just about everything has been done.

 

I picked the bus up last night from the panel beaters, and had to take it back to Mountain this morning for some final checks and adjustments. The carpet near the engine bay has been left very dirty but if the mechanical side holds up, then a bit of grease on the carpet will be the least of my concerns.

 

I had to take another day off work today, which I don’t want to do, but after problems stalling the bus last night and having to call out the RAC to re-start it, I ran out of time. To say I lost my temper when the bus wouldn’t start would be putting it mildly. I am very stressed out at the moment and I really need this break. How my poor wife has put up with me over the past few weeks I’ll never know. I hope things are about to take a turn for the better.

 

Rowley is due here any minute to finalise the gas certification, then apart from some last minute shopping in the morning, we are ready to roll.

 

I still have some doubts about living in the bus permanently, but this will make up my mind one way or the other.


RAC membership for the bus costs $87.00. The recommendation is that if we ever need a tow, use an RAC towing service in combination with the $500.00 limit our insurance covers us for.

 

Anyone wanting to insure their mobile home should look at the insurance offered by the CMCA, it is tailor made for this type of vehicle.

 

I was up until 11.30pm last night packing, and apart from a break when Mountain had the bus this morning, I haven’t stopped since 6am today. Now it’s 2pm and I am about due for a rest and a beer.

 

As I’m not taking the computer on this trip, I will have to keep a journal on paper for the next three weeks - what a chore !

 

Friday August 8th 1997

Rain, rain and more rain. What a lovely day to head off. The first problem was the trailer plug on the bus being wired up incorrectly - about two hours wasted fiddling with that to try and get it working. Then finally, thankfully we were away at last.

The first problem was encountered at Cataby Roadhouse where we stopped to fill up the petrol tank - petrol started flooding out all over the concrete - Down Under Panel & Paint strikes again ! I will be having words with them when I get back. At least the bus runs on LPG as well so the trip is still on.

We kept driving all day to drain the petrol tank and got as far as the authorised campsite at Murchison River (about 10km past the Kalbarri turn off.)

The campsite on the west side of the road was closed but a sealed road to the east took us down to a very large campsite which had tables, barbeques, a pit toilet and lovely views of the river.

This campsite is very popular - but there is a second site on the north side of the river with no toilet which was empty.

Although most people seem to use this area as an overnight stop on the way to somewhere else, it would be worthwhile spending at least two nights here and taking time to walk along the river.

We have travelled approximately 620 kms at an average speed of 69 km per hour. Costs in fuel were high as we had to use up the petrol, and worked out at 23 cents per kilometre.

Saturday August 9th 1997

An early start and we pressed on to Billabong and Wooramel roadhouses. You will generally find roadhouse fuel prices are the highest, with cheaper fuel available in the towns where there is some competition. LPG prices varied from a high of 63 cents a litre at Minilya, to 45.5 at Cataby. This compares with a price of 35.9 in Perth during the same period.

At Wooramel I managed to jack knife the trailer and put a big dent in the rear of the bus. This was after telling my wife that she had pulled up in the wrong spot when she hadn’t - so I’m still living that one down.

On through Carnarvon where the rain clouds always seem to gather in the afternoon, we finally reached a campsite just south of the Minilya roadhouse on the Minilya River (river ?) at this time of the year don’t count on seeing the river, there is nothing but a sandy river bed.

Again this campsite is popular and it is a lot smaller than the one near Kalbarri.

Only 492 Kms covered today, but out goal is now almost in sight. The weather is still cold and cloudy, I’m hoping for a change as we make the final leg tomorrow.

So far the bus is running well, but with a top speed of only 80kms (with a tail wind) it is slow going. The BIG bonus is not having to set and break camp each day, we can just pull up, put out the chairs and crack open a beer or two.

Monday August 10th 1997

Only 200km to Learmonth and fishing, fishing, fishing.


As we drive along my wife often hands me something to chew, a sweet, a bit of chocolate and so on. Not long after we turned on to the Exmouth road she handed me something which felt like a soft jube, so without looking I popped it into my mouth and started chewing. I was wondering why she had handed me such a tasteless sweet when she started shouting at me to spit it out.

She had in fact handed me a silicon ear plug to put in my ear - the bus engine is quite noisy and she had decided to give me a couple of ear plugs to block out some of the sound.

We had quite a giggle about that - especially when I said I was glad the earplug was a new one not a used one.

We arrived at Learmonth jetty about midday and threw the lines in. Caught a couple of small fish and some squid, but there is no sign of the large schools of bait fish we saw in this area on our last trip.

It was also cloudy, rainy and windy, not the Exmouth weather we have come to expect.

The bus was low on gas so we drove the last 30km to Exmouth only to find that the petrol station on roster did not sell LPG. After a night in the caravan park ($18!) where we took the opportunity to top up the water tanks and make some bread we fuelled up and headed out of town again.

Monday August 11th 1997

The morning was spent looking for a suitable campsite. There are a number of tracks heading down to the beach near Kailis Fisheries and we eventually found one which the bus would go down (and get back) easily. We were supposed to be booked in at Kailis, but Nigel – the caravan park caretaker – decided to make life difficult and couldn’t find a spot, despite there being plenty of room. As it turned out we enjoyed free camping near the beach, but at the time we were quite miffed.

The rest of the group hadn’t arrived yet, so without any way to launch the boat, we went back to Learmonth jetty. Despite the fact that the weather had cleared up, there were still very few fish around.

The rest of our group arrived in the afternoon, and with the help of Ross’ 4wd we managed to launch the boat near Kailis.

The light was fading as we made our way 2km south in the boat, and anchored just off the beach where the bus was parked.

John, Dave & Ross called in later that night; Ross & Dave full of fishing fever went to fish off the beach, and much to our surprise came back with a very large cod.

Tuesday August 12th 1997

The first full day of fishing produced a few north west snapper (emperors) but none of the larger fish we were looking for.

A trip into town and a meal at the Pot Shot that night was followed by a display of Peter Brock like driving by my wife who dodged kangaroos which were sitting in the middle of the road. If she had not been driving there could have been a nasty accident as the rest of us were a little the worse for wear after a drink or three with dinner. It shows the value of having a ‘skipper’ even away from the city. As Belle doesn’t drink she is always elected to drive when we go out.

The road south from Exmouth has a number of dips which large volumes of water flow down in the wet season. At night it is very difficult to see into the dips, or out of the other side when you are in them. There are a large number of kangaroos in the area, as well as sheep and goats, so be very careful if you drive there at night.

Wednesday August 13th 1997

Out fishing again all day with very little to show for it.

Ross & Dave went up the coast to Bundegi and came back smiling. They managed to land a couple of Spanish Mackerel.

Had a BBQ dinner at the bus. The annexe is now set up so we have plenty of room for everyone.

It is very cold and windy at night. When we were here one April we had to buy a fan to keep cool, now we could do with a heater.

Thursday August 14th 1997

A rest day today. Time to get into town and stock up on supplies, fill water tanks and empty porta potties.

Exmouth has a fresh water tap located by the public toilets in the main shopping area. It is very easy for caravans and mobile homes to get access to it so don’t forget your hose and tap connectors.

Tried fishing just off the reef later in the day. Dropping berley into the water attracted some shark mackerel and then some Northwest blowfish. But only managed to land a couple of Spanish Flag.

Friday August 15th 1997

Another full day fishing. This time we had a bit more luck. 4 shark mackerel landed but no sign of Spaniards.

On the last trip we were throwing shark mackerel back, but this time I had brought a smoker with me so we filleted them and smoked them. I will never look on these as rubbish fish again. They were so delicious we ate almost all of them along with prawns from Kailis and more of the Spaniards caught a couple of days earlier.

In fact the BBQ in the annexe that night was the best seafood meal I have ever had.

We set the shower / toilet tent up earlier in the week and this has proven to be a real boon. We have a solar shower bag which recommends leaving it out in full sun for 3 hours to get the water hot. We have found that leaving the shower bag in the shower tent all day gets the water just luke warm and perfect for a shower after a hard days fishing in the boat.

The main problems with the shower tent are a lack of places to put soap, shampoo, towels, clothes etc. We will have to make up some hooks for hangers and buy a hanging shower caddy to solve these minor annoyances.

The bus has been great. All the comforts of home, and the Honda 500w generator gives all the power we need. It powers 4 fluorescent lights, TV, video, stereo, and a flood light for outside.

The view we have here is wonderful, the beach is right outside our door, and Cape Range frames the view to the west.


Any concerns about battery problems have evaporated. Before we left home I fitted a 240v trickle charger into the bus, so now every time the generator starts, the bus batteries are being re-charged automatically.

The fridge is also doing a good job. A full size fridge certainly beats the little bar fridge I had last time we were up this way.

Despite a bad start things are starting to look up.

Saturday August 16th 1997 / Sunday August 17th 1997

Well I spoke too soon. The wind came up on Saturday, and despite picking up some more shark mackerel early in the morning we were forced in by the weather and sometime late on Saturday night the anchor line snapped and the boat was blown under the offal pipe at Kailis.

The canopy, windscreen and auxiliary motor have all sustained considerable damage, so no more boat fishing for us.

With the main engine slipping out of gear yesterday, I’m not going to chance going out without a backup motor.

Went into town to get a new anchor, rope, chain etc. Cost $130.00 all up.

Monday August 17th 1997

The wind finally dropped enough for us to get the boat out of the water. 1/2 a carton of beer goes to the engineers at Kailis for their help pulling the boat up with a tractor.

Since we can’t do any more fishing from the boat we took off round the west side of Cape Range to have a look along the coast.

Entry to the national park is $5.00 and a campsite costs $5.00 a night. We pulled in at Mesa Camp, which is probably the best along this stretch of coast.

Good facilities including the best pit toilets (no smell) so far, and a nice view of the sea from the campsite.

Tuesday August 18th 1997

Tried to get down to Yardie Creek but the road south of Oyster Stacks gets too rough for the bus.

Had a look at Tulki camp, but didn’t like the beach there, so we headed back to the Milyering information station. This is an excellent setup for anyone wanting to know more about the area. There is even a small theatre where you can watch films about Ningaloo, Bush Survival etc.

After a couple of hours watching films and picking up all sorts of information, we moved on to Mangrove Bay. Here you can use the bird hides or the fauna hide to observe local wildlife.

There are only a couple of places along the coast in this area where mangroves survive, and this is probably the best example. Don’t miss it if you are in the neighbourhood.

Early morning or late afternoon are the best times to visit as birds and animals are more likely to be seen.

Not being able to go further south, we drove back round to the east coast and camped just behind the water tanks at the foot of Cape Range.

Wednesday August 20th 1997

Woke early thanks to the herd of sheep passing the bus and announcing their presence in loud bleating voices. Tried Learmonth again but the trawlers were re-fuelling so took a drive up Charles Knife Canyon. The bus crawled very slowly up the hill but once on top we had a spectacular view of the east side of the peninsular.

Thursday August 21st 1997

Back to the jetty again but still no luck. This fishing is really off at the moment. BBQ at Kailis in the evening was pleasant. Met a number of people who come up here for 2-3 months every year.

Friday August 22nd 1997

Our last day in the Exmouth area. Fishing off the breakwater at Kailis after a trip into town produced some bream and a golden trevally - we should have come here instead of Learmonth I think.

Our haul for the two weeks was:

4 trevally, 6 shark mackerel, 2 Spanish mackerel, 3 sharks, 8 emperor, 4 squid, 1 coral trout, 1 cod, 5 bream - and that was between 5 people on 2 boats! Not very good for Exmouth.

A hint for those who don’t like eating squid because it is too tough - get the oil in the pan nice and hot, roll the squid rings in flour to stop oil spitting everywhere, and drop the squid into the oil in small amounts. Count to 12 and it’s cooked. Overcooking is what makes it rubbery and tasteless.

Oh, and season the flour with salt & pepper.

Saturday August 23rd 1997

Hitched the boat up and took the road south heading for Coral Bay. If you are going to Coral Bay and you don’t have a booking, time it so you arrive about 10.30am, that’s just before the caravan parks do a site check, and it they are busy, you shouldn’t have to wait long to get in.

We stayed at the Bay View caravan park which worked out at $18 per night for 3 people - John had stayed on and was travelling in the bus with us on the way home as Ross & Dave had to get back to Perth earlier.

The trip down through Cape Range National Park had loosened some bolts & screws in the bus so I took time to replace those that had fallen out. (Always take plenty of bolts, nuts, washers, nails, screws etc with you when travelling, they are almost always useful for something.)

Coral Bay has two shopping areas, and everything is within walking distance.


Sunday August 24th 1997

Took a trip out on the glass bottom boat to have a look at the reef and fish. The waters in Coral Bay are a marine reserve, so the fish are protected and the boats make a feature of feeding them. Most of the big fish you will see are spangled emperors (commonly known as Northwest snapper).

The 1 hour cruise around the bay was $18 per head, and is very good value. The captain gives a very informative talk on the coral, fish and the area surrounding the bay. Unlike some of the glass bottom boats we have been on overseas, this one had nice clean glass, and you can see every detail of the reef as it slowly motors around.

Cameras and videos are welcome, so don’t forget to take them with you. If it is tourist season you may need to book a day in advance, and you can do so via the caravan park.

Monday August 25th 1997

Moved on to the Blowholes just north of Carnarvon. At Minilya roadhouse we discovered that a weld holding the rear bumper of the bus had broken, and that the bumper, boat and Air-conditioner were only hanging on by a small weld on the other side. After rapidly deploying great lengths of rope, we managed to make the bumper fairly secure are pressed on. (Note: Minilya like many roadhouses, has no mechanic available.)

We arrived at the Blowholes (Quobba Point) mid afternoon, and after taking some photos of the holes in action we found a campsite overlooking the bay.

There are a large number of campsites along the road heading south from the Blowholes; some with views of the sea and others tucked in behind the dunes. Caravans and motorhomes should have no problem finding somewhere to set up.

Be warned that the area behind Quobba Point (which is practically an island) is a marine reserve, and you will need to check the signs on the beach which tell you where you can fish.

After the number of sharks we saw in the area I would not recommend swimming or even wading out to the island. We saw several very large specimens within a few feet of the beach. After talking to the locals in Carnarvon we found that Quobba is known for the sharks which hang around there. At least one of the camping guides we purchased comments that there is a nice sandy beach for swimming. My advice is DON’T!

Campsites cost $1 per night per vehicle, and there is an honour box to place the money in. We saw a couple of vehicles that didn’t bother, but most stopped and paid up.

There are a couple of pit toilets available here but take my advice and use some Rid on your rear end if you use them, the mozzies gather there in swarms and have a good feed from your nether regions if you aren’t protected.

Wednesday August 26th 1997

Moved on to Carnarvon and got the weld fixed up by Dave at Carnarvon Engineering. He also put a bolt through the centre of the bumper to properly secure the trailer. At just $25 I would have to recommend that you see Dave if you need anything welding etc. done while you are in the area.

After refuelling, filling up on water, and stocking up on supplies, we doubled back and then took the road to Gascoyne Junction. We were looking for a side track leading to a campsite known as Rocky Pool. The Gascoyne road is pretty rough, and I finally discovered that the best way to cope with it is to put your foot down and fly over the bumps.


42km later we finally found the track we were looking for and a further 4km brought us to a great little campsite on the banks of the Gascoyne River. The river was only just flowing so we took the opportunity to have a dip and refresh ourselves after the dusty trip in.

There are bins, BBQs, and a pit toilet at the campsite but no other facilities. Despite the rough road in, the trip was worth while. The river banks and gum trees along the billabong are very picturesque.

Thursday August 27th 1997

Left early and arrived at the campsite on the Murchison River in the late afternoon. It was very, very cold, but we managed to have a nice fire in one of the concrete BBQs near the river, which chased away the worst of the chills.

For those wondering about fish in the river, we tried fishing briefly and caught a couple of tiddlers, which we threw back. If there are larger fish there I can’t tell you, but it’s a nice place to sit with a line dangling from the bridge.

Friday August 28th 1997

Our final day on the road saw us arrive home just before dusk. A quick beer, unload the essentials, and a nice hot shower saw the sun go down on three weeks of fun and frustration.

Overall the trip gave us a lot of enjoyment, but best of all it has finally settled my fears about living in the bus. The information we gathered, and the things that went wrong, will help us make the next step easier.

Petrol & LPG costs for the entire trip were $743.23, which covered the 3250km we travelled in the bus, and 60 litres of petrol for the boat. We still have 40 litres of petrol in reserve tanks, so the cost per kilometre worked out at just over 20 cents.

Wednesday September 3rd 1997

Paid a visit to the 12 volt shop in Victoria park and picked up a small 200 watt power inverter. Thanks to being a CMCA member, the inverter was $159.00 instead of the usual price of $199.00. That paid for our joining fee and made our membership even better value.

The 12 volt shop has all sorts of interesting gadgets for motorhome and caravan owners. They can be found at 968b Albany Highway, East Vic Park, or you can phone on (08) 9470 5949 or fax (08) 9470 5991.

They have a catalogue/price list available and will do mail orders. The catalogue also includes some useful information on low voltage power systems.

Sunday September 7th 1997

Took a day trip to Noble Falls in the bus, via Kalamunda, then the Swan Valley, yes I took the wrong turning at Kalamunda and came all the way down the hill again....

The bus tackled these big hills, but at it’s own pace. It’s a good job they have plenty of overtaking lanes on the way up.

(We were not to know it at the time but this was to be the only time Lucy was to come out with us in the bus.)

The list of books in our reference library is steadily growing. The following have been added in the past few weeks:

BUSH TUCKER PLANTS OF THE SOUTH WEST $5.95

Drew B., Walley T, Keighery G. CALM publication ISBN 0-7309-6853-7

SNAKES & OTHER REPTILES OF AUSTRALIA $16.95

Swan G. The Australian Museum. 1995 ISBN 1-85368-585-2

WEST AUSTRALIAN FIELD GUIDE - WILDFLOWERS $17.90

Marshall J. Quality Publishing Australia ISBN 1-8757.7-24-3

MARINE FISHES OF TROPICAL AUSTRALIA $29.90

Allen G. WA Museum 1997 ISBN 0-7309-8363-3

BUSH FOOD $29.95

Isaacs J. Lansdowne Press1987. ISBN 1-86302-504-9

Wednesday September 10th 1997

Monday September 8th 1997

Purchased a new computer system today from BBD Computers at 61 Ley Street Como. (08) 9450 2179. It is a P166+ with 2gb hard drive, 8x cd-rom, 16mb RAM and all the usual bits & pieces. At just $999.00 it is the cheapest machine I have seen so far, and since they are using Ocean Technology components which I used to sell myself, so I know the quality is good.

Took all afternoon to copy across all the programs and data from my old machine, but I have just about finished and this is the first entry to be typed on the new system.

Saturday September 13th 1997

Purchased 2 new batteries for the bus, $115.00 and $135.00 for the deep cycle. The deep cycle battery will be used to run the 12 volt lights in the bus, and this came from the 12 volt shop in Vic Park. They are not easy to find (the batteries not the shop), I had tried Marlows and Repco with no success before I remembered the 12 Volt Shop keeps them in stock.

Left home near lunch time heading for Bindoon and a rally being held by the Perth Wanderers chapter of the CMCA. Arrived late afternoon and spent an interesting few hours looking at a number of other mobile homes and campers. Everything from top end luxury to simple camper vans.

We both enjoyed the night stay at a rest area on the Moora-Bindoon Road, but sadly we had to come home while the rest of the group are heading off on a 13 day safari through wildflower country.

James & Kiki Platt’s converted bus ‘Utopia’ was the real show stopper. A chopped down 76 Bedford with everything you need and then some.

Sunday September 21st 1997

Packed up all our books & went down to Canning Vale markets. Sold a few and made $374.00. The markets allow casual traders in from 7am at $5.00 a bay. Things seemed to get quiet after about 1pm so we packed up shortly before 2pm.

Monday September 22nd 1997

Purchased a mobile phone from Telstra. A mobile is going to be essential as it is impossible to have a phone any other way when we are moving around. The phone is a Motorola and cost $99.00. Monthly connection fees are $20 and the contract is for a minimum of 12 months.

Also received a book on photography from Doubleday.

PHOTO TECHNIQUES (Question & answer) $34.00

Frost L. 1995 David & Charles ISBN 0-7153-0198-5

This is an excellent book for anyone interested in photography as it explains everything in simple terms, and gives good information about purchasing camera gear.

After reading it I will be looking for the following items when I purchase a camera.

28-80mm zoom lens

80-200mm zoom lens

Fluid head tripod with spirit level

Teleconverter

Remote cable release

Polarising filter

Skylight filter

50-100 speed Velvia slide film

Nikon F70 body

Lens hood

Lens cleaning kit

Carry bag with shoulder strap

These items I regard as a minimum for the kind of photography I want to get involved in. I think I will have to revise my original estimate of $1500.00.

Wednesday September 24th 1997

Purchased a colour flatbed scanner and an Epson colour ink jet printer from the Harvey Norman store in Cannington. At $269.00 each they are quite a good buy, and the results I am getting from reproducing photographs are very good.

Saturday September 27th 1997

Had some more bad luck today (so what’s new ?). After watching the football grand final on TV we decided to take the dogs for a walk and while I was putting Lucy’s collar on she head butted me and knocked my glasses on to the laundry floor. Only yesterday I took my other pair in to have new lenses fitted ! so no I have no glasses at all, which for me is a complete disaster.

We took the dogs out anyway and then discovered Belle’s car has developed another oil leak in the engine !

Sunday September 28th 1997

Our second Sunday at Canning Vale Markets brought in $415.00. So far we have only been selling our books, and there are still several boxes left.


Thursday October 2nd 1997

The bad news on Belle’s car is that the whole engine needs replacing ! I can’t believe how bad our luck is with vehicles. We were going to sell the horrible thing this month. There goes any ideas of getting an aluminium dinghy in the near future. If anything else goes wrong I will have to put the camera gear on hold too.

Sunday October 5th 1997

Another day at the markets. A lifetime’s collection of books is down to the last couple of boxes. We are now starting on the record and tape collection. Proceeds this week were $556.00.

Monday October 6th 1997

Belle resigned today. She finishes up at the end of the month. That will end sixteen years at S.H.L.S./Path Centre, and two and a half years of misery courtesy of the Microbiology Lab.

My turn comes tomorrow. I have never settled in to my current job so it’s not a big deal for me. Bus or not I would have left at about the same time anyway, the job is just too boring, and the work environment is most unpleasant.

I’m getting too old for programming, my mind isn’t as sharp as it was ten years ago, and I am starting to have problems focusing on the screen. What a great time to take up photography and film making and hope to make money out of it!

I have had some information back from CTV Channel 31, but I don’t think it’s an avenue for making any money. Info and contacts only.

Channel Seven were very supportive (Not !) and said they weren’t interested at all. No wonder when all they seen to broadcast is sport anyway. Not a peep out of the other stations.

The drive for sponsors is a big fat zero so far. I guess we’ll have to get footage on ‘The World Around Us’ before anyone throws any crumbs our way.


Wednesday October 8th 1997

The bus goes in to the cabinetmaker today to finish off the interior alterations. Another $1200 out of my pocket. Belle’s car also goes to the panel beaters to have all the dents taken out.

(Note: December 2000 - Gee what a waste of time taking the dents out was - there are more now than there ever were before.)

Friday October 10th 1997

Picked up the bus from Richard at R & V Home Maintenance (Ph. 9497 3104) We are very happy with the work done by Richard and the bus is now fitted out as we planned.

Sunday October 12th 1997

At the markets again today. $292 for today’s sales is a boost to our flagging finances.

Wednesday October 15th 1997

The lounge cushions from the bus have gone into Clark Rubber to be re-covered. It will cost $150. We are spending every night cleaning and packing gear to sell at the markets. Tonight we are taking all my models over to a hobby club in Victoria Park to see if anyone wants to buy some of it.

Over the last 20 years I have collected hundreds of 76th scale models of world war two military vehicles. There is also a large collection of buildings, scenery and odds and ends. The price I must have paid for this would run into thousands, I’ll be lucky to get a couple of hundred back.

- Predictably, not a single sale.

Sunday October 19th 1997

Our fifth week at the markets resulted in only $166.80, a very disappointing day.

We have only six weeks left in Perth before we are committed to leave. We have to sell Belle’s car soon, but are still waiting for a rear light cover to arrive.


We have had some work done on the engine, but I’d rather not speculate on it’s present condition. All we can do now is hope it sells quickly.

The boat is the real problem. After the damage on our holiday to Exmouth, we have been told parts will take two months to arrive from the U.S.A.! Presumably they are coming via the proverbial slow boat to China.


I have written to Mercury to ask if they were aware that the aeroplane has already been invented, but predictably I have been ignored.

The house is a mess, boxes everywhere, and the garden is suffering as we have no spare time to tidy it up. The grass in the front garden has large dead patches where we have to park the cars (the bus takes up the entire driveway), and I’m so very tired of all the clutter.

Wednesday October 22nd 1997

More shopping today. Among the items purchased were :

Truck air compressor $ 99.00

2 x 20 litre Jerry cans $ 26.00 each

200 watt jumper leads $ 19.95

Battery charge protector $ 19.95

I have been looking for a decent compressor for a long time. The only other choices appear to be really cheap and nasty or very expensive ($300 plus.)

The battery charge protector stops car battery levels falling below 50%. Most people are unaware that dropping a car battery below 50% charge constitutes a complete discharge for the effective life of the battery. Having a device which cuts out when the level drops to 50% means the battery’s life can be extended considerably.

(Later note : Jan 1998) The air compressor combined with the power pack I bought earlier from Marlows are an absolute boon. As you need a cigarette lighter to operate the compressor, I would need a very long cable to get from the front of the bus to the trailer. The power pack allows any 12 volt appliance to be operated anywhere, and with the addition of a small inverter, I can use 240 volt appliances as well. These items along with the generator have been the most useful. (December 2000 - both the power pack and compressor are still in constant use).

Thursday October 23rd 1997

I had planned to keep working until November 14th, but last night I suffered what I can only call a nervous collapse. The work I have been doing requires tremendous concentration, but sadly a number of the staff seem to regard the company as a good place to come and chat, not work. I have had pay deducted for having to attend an optician’s appointment, but others are allowed to talk for hours on end and do no work without being penalised.

This has taken it’s toll on how I was able to work, and eventually led to a point where I abandoned the job well before I had planned to. It was a very difficult decision as money we were counting on will now not be available, and I may even end up owing money.

We have finally found a trailer which will hold the van and have put a deposit on it. The price is $2000 and the trailer is just over a year old.

Saturday October 25th 1997

Went to pick up the bus cushions from Clark Rubber, and after waiting for service for about thirty minutes we discovered that 3 of the 4 cushions have been covered, the fourth was left as a foam block ! I think it symbolises to mental capacity of the staff member who took my order.


I then find out that they may want me to pay extra to have the fourth cushion covered. I think I will liberally sprinkle my next conversation with words like Consumer Affairs Office, and Fair Trading Commission if they do.

Sunday October 26th 1997

This weekend at the markets was much better. We managed to make $360.90. Four more weeks at the markets, and then we will probably sell the furniture in the last week to a dealer if we can get a reasonable price.

Tuesday October 28th 1997

Finally we have had some action on getting the boat repaired. The letter I fired off to Mercury seems to have desired effect and they have finally discovered air freight.

Although I am grateful that this seems to have been resolved, I am still not happy that I had to complain in order to get reasonable treatment. Apparently the difference between air and surface freight is about $5.00, which I would have been more than willing to pay myself if I had been given the option.

Wednesday October 29th 1997

Tonight we said goodbye to our beautiful dog Lucy. She was about fourteen and a half years old, we have had her almost all our married lives and having to make the decision to have her put down was the most painful thing I have ever done.

Sadly old age caught up with her, and apart from failing sight, hearing and incontinence, she had some nasty cysts, one of which had opened up and started to bleed.

She was the sweetest dog I have ever known. We knew we would have to leave her at home when we left Perth, but this was something we hadn’t counted on.

We will miss her more than words can express. We both cried our hearts out when she died. She has been gone only an hour, and already the house seems so empty. I will certainly be glad to get away from here now.

We still have old Sam, he’s about 15, he will stay with my mother in the granny flat when we leave. She has a dog as well so he shouldn’t be too lonely.

 

Friday October 31st

Belle finished up at work today. We are still missing Lucy, but the initial shock has faded and we are able to look back on the good times without feeling so sad.

In some ways I am glad that she went while we were still at home. I held her in my arms and she slipped away knowing we were there. Poor old Sam (who is our very first dog) is very unsteady, but he keeps going. He doesn’t seem to be missing Lucy that much, but then I keep him with me as much as I can.

Now the final phase begins. Our plans to have a 4 wheel drive with us have been abandoned for the moment. We will put a replacement motor in Belle’s Barina and take that to start with. Barina Wreck in Midland can do the job for $750.00 which is quite reasonable.

My van is too heavy for the trailer, and it has been nothing but trouble in the past, so we will try to get rid of it as soon as we are finished at the markets.

Saturday November 1st 1997

We returned to Clark Rubber today to pick up the extra cushion for the bus. They said it would be ready yesterday. When we got there we were told that it wouldn’t be ready until next Friday. They now go on my list of businesses to avoid. Not only can’t they get an order right, they do not return phone calls and they do not inform customers when items are not ready on time.

Their manager is going to hear more about this.

Once we got home we took the bus for a run. There hasn’t been a lot of time lately to just kick back and relax, so we went off for the day. Sam came along and seems to enjoy being in the bus. We are seriously considering taking him with us. We may not find work immediately, and I don’t think he has too long left. With Lucy gone and then having us leave, it may be too much for him, so it looks like he will come with us.

Tuesday November 4th 1997

We are concentrating on clearing unwanted furniture from the house and emptying the back room so John (my nephew) can move in when he is ready.

We have contacted a couple of furniture dealers who are coming out later in the week to quote prices.

Tomorrow we have to see Social Security and apply for unemployment benefits. We think it will take 13 weeks before we get them, but hopefully we will have found work before then. We still need to apply just in case nothing turns up.

I often take a few minutes to read some of the earlier entries in the journal to see what differences there are between what we planned to do and what has actually happened. My plans to take better quality camera equipment, a boat and a 4 wheel drive have all been shelved for the moment because we just don’t have the cash to spare.

I am being as conservative as possible with the budget forecast. Many people would probably go with far less money than we will have available, but from past experience I just know we will need it.

As of today we have enough money to keep us going for 34 weeks – if we have to take unemployment benefits and we don’t find any work. We still have to sell the boat and my van, plus furniture and a lot of odds and ends. This should give us plenty of time to find work and start building up our savings again. The day before we leave I will put a detailed budget forecast in the journal to show how our money will be allocated.

Thursday November 6th 1997

We had to register at the Dept. of Social Security today. With a bit of luck we won’t need assistance from them while we are on the road, but we have to register just to be on the safe side. The fact that we are travelling is a bit dodgy, we can’t exactly be open about it, but we will certainly be searching very hard for work, so they shouldn’t complain.

Currently the benefits are $290 per week, not nearly enough to cover the $526 we will need to survive, so we have to find work quickly or our savings will get used up.

Sunday November 9th 1997

Our last day at Canning Vale Markets brought in $140.70. We will have a garage sale next Saturday and then if there is anything left we will go to the local Rota-Mart on Sunday.

We have had dealers in to look at the furniture we want to sell, and quotes ranged from $210.00 to $380.00, a long way short of what I hoped to get. We will see if any of it goes next Saturday, if not we will take what we can get for it.

The lowest quote was from Cash Converters. How they can advertise that they pay top prices is beyond me. It is of course a blatant lie. So much for ‘standards in advertising’.

Wednesday November 12th 1997

We picked up Belle’s car from Barina Wreck in Midland today. The engine has been replaced and we also replaced the front tyres which were wearing a bit thin. $750.00 for the engine including fitting, and $70.00 for the tyres. Now all we need is to have the car serviced and it is ready to go. The work was done on time for the quoted price. I will comment further when we have had a chance to give the car a thorough test.

(Later: May 1998) The engine in the Barina has performed well so far. We have used the car a lot, especially when we are out at free campsites, and ‘touch wood’ it’s been running fine.

An auto electrician is coming round tomorrow to look at the bus/trailer lights, (Advanced Auto Electric’s) then next week we take the bus back to Down Under Panel & Paint to have the fuel tank fixed. A trip to a towbar fitter to make sure the towbar can take the load and then we are ready to go. We are still waiting to get the boat back – apparently there was more damage to the auxiliary engine – and once my van is sold we can go. All this waiting and we are now so very close.

Thursday November 13th 1997

The bus and trailer lights have all been rewired and the job cost $140.00. Advanced Auto Electronics goes on my list of businesses I recommend. It is useful to have people who will come out and do the work rather than having to take the bus in to a workshop.

Saturday November 15th 1997

The garage sale brought in $310.40 and some of the larger pieces of furniture were sold. We still have bookcases and other large items to sell and will probably auction them off. The auctioneer’s commission is %15 plus a $10 handling fee. The computer sold last night for $700 so we only have the boat & my van as ‘big ticket’ items to get rid of.

My advice to anyone contemplating selling up and starting a life on the road is to make an estimate of what you think you will get for your belongings, and then halve it. If you get close to the second figure then you have done well.

As it turned out we managed to get $4171.75 from my original estimate of $5000, so I think we were lucky. We still have items left that could be sold, but furniture was the hardest to sell and brought very low prices.

Sunday November 16th 1997

Took the bus down to Dwellingup for the day to have a look at the area. Everything seems to still be running well. Even after a few kilometres of rough gravel roads all the items we have packed seem to be holding up well.

I will have to resist the temptation to take the bus into places it wasn’t meant to go. At Nanga Mill I managed to scrape the side on a couple of trees, nothing major, and a quick respray has hidden the evidence, but it is probably better not to do any damage in the first place.

Tuesday November 18th 1997

More hassles today. First we found out that the fuel tank in the bus needs replacing, and then we are told by Mariner’s World that the main engine on our boat needs a new gear box at a cost of $1800. It has taken them three months stuffing around, and now we find that the boat is effectively worthless. They are without any doubt the most useless company I have ever had dealings with. There is no way we can afford the repairs so we are left with the choice of taking what we can get, or leaving the boat to rot in the front garden. They are fully aware of our situation, and they are taking advantage of the fact that e have little time left to deal with the problem.

I managed to find a fuel tank which will fit, although it is only 80 litres as opposed to the original 120 litre tank.


Belle has been asked to go for an interview for a temporary position with Centerlink. Since we need the money, we may have to put off our departure from Perth for a month (at least) if she is successful.

We have advertised my van in the Auto Trader ($40 for two weeks), and we have also placed an ad in the Quokka. If we have problems selling it we are going to be in real trouble.

Thursday November 20th 1997

Belle has been offered a temporary job by of all things the Dept. Of Social Security (Centerlink). Due to the rules governing unemployment benefits it could be awkward to refuse any job offer, so we could be stuck in Perth for at least another month, and possibly until March next year unless I can get us something in the country.

Because John is due to take the house over in just over a week, we will have to stay in the bus in the driveway. I know we need the money, and it is good for Belle to build up experience in another area, but I definitely have mixed feelings about being stuck in Perth for another four weeks or more.

Friday November 21st 1997

There’s a line from a song that goes: ‘What a difference a day makes’ and now the last 24 hours have seen a job offer and acceptance based on the original offer, then a change of offer, another acceptance based on the new offer, and yet another change to conditions which led Belle to reject the job.

First she was offered one month’s work at a salary of $27,000, after she accepted this became $23,000 which she would have taken anyway just to build up experience, then one month became four months and she had no choice but to reject the job. Hardly surprising given the circumstances.

Saturday November 22nd 1997

John moved in today.

I took the bus down to Armadale Mechanical Services (Stone Street) and Russel, the owner spent the next 4 hours strengthening the rear bumper and towbar assembly. All that work for only $60. Now we can tow the car and trailer with no fear of everything ending up all over the road.

Sunday November 23rd 1997

We were taking the bus out but it broke down on Tonkin Highway. Thanks to an innovative RAC road service officer we were able to get home again. The fault was the rotor in the distributor. It was shorting out and no spark was getting to the spark plugs. A quick coat of 5 minute araldite was enough to get us home – a useful trick if you have a faulty rotor.

We have heard nothing at all back from Mariner’s World about our boat, I still have no idea what we can do about it.

No inquiries about the van either, in the end I guess it will go to a dealer and we will get cheated again.

Thursday November 27th 1997

I took the van around to a few dealers and the best offer I could get was $6,500. I don’t know if they think I’m stupid, but the 4wd press lists the resale value of Spectron 4x4s at $12,000. Replacement cost (The equivalent Mitsubishi) would exceed $40,000 ! I guess I won’t be selling it for a while.

Following is my budget forecast for the coming year. Income figures are based only on unemployment benefits at the moment as we have no idea how much we will get once we find work. It is obvious that without work we are going to go broke very quickly, so the sooner we can find something the better.

We have $10,000 available in liquid assets, and the boat and van have not yet been sold, so on my worst estimate we can survive for a year before we have to abandon travelling. Of course if we can get work during that time the outlook will be much better.

 

Friday November 28th 1997

Finally the big day has arrived. It took all morning to attend to the final packing, but by about eleven o’clock we were finished. Mum was upset about us leaving, but she is busy most of the time and with John staying in the house she won’t be on her own. She knows this is something we have to do and I’m sure she will be okay in a few days time.

We are heading in the general direction of Donnybrook and since Belle has a job interview next week near Bunbury we will stay around the area for the next few days.

It is such a relief to be on the move at last. We have pulled off the road for he night at the site of the Waterloo State School – which is now just a roadside parking area.


Sam seems to enjoy being in the bus, the only problem is we can’t go into national parks with him on board.

This is the first entry made in the journal using the generator as a power source. It leaves something to be desired as any slight glitch in the ‘jenny’ causes the computer to re-set.

Saturday November 29th 1997

We spent some time in Bunbury gathering information at the tourist bureau and picking up a few small items from the shops. I have never been an admirer of this town, which I regard as one of the ugliest in the state. (Apologies to Bunbury residents.)

Most of the day we parked near the Leschenault Estuary. There are three good parking areas for large rigs along the foreshore but I suspect overnight stops are discouraged.

In the evening we motored out to the Old Coast Road and found a good overnight pull-in on the east side of the road about 10km north of the Australind turn off. This site does not seem to be marked on any of the camping books we have, and may be useful if you are in the area. Facilities are limited to picnic tables and a shelter, but it is off the road a bit so sleeping was easier here than at Waterloo.

Sunday November 30th 1997

We booked in for two nights at the Leschenault Caravan park. They take dogs and have room for busses. Next to us was another bus, also a C.M.C.A. member, and a real beauty it was too. Shame that it’s owners were a bit stand offish and didn’t seem to want anything to do with us.

After unloading Belle’s car we took a trip ‘up the hill’ along Coalfields Road towards Collie. There is another unlisted roadside pull-in 5km before the Wellington Dam turn-off (if you are heading east). We intend to spend at least one night there this coming week.

Nearby Honeymoon Pool is far too small for buses our size – a Canter or Coaster should just about make it in. Further along the bitumen road past the Honeymoon Pool turn-off is Potter’s Gorge. There is a good campsite here BUT it is listed as a day use area except when the Honeymoon Pool campsite is full.

It was at Potter’s Gorge that we first decided to get a bus after meeting Londoner who has been travelling Australia that way for over twenty years.

Monday December 1st 1997

As many caravan parks do not allow pets we went looking for a book with a list of the ones that do. We found one at the R.A.C. and the details are as follows:

Holidaying with Dogs $11.65

Dennis P & S 4th edition 1997 ISBN 0-949281-19-0 Life Be In It

The book lists accommodation all over Australia that accepts dogs, and includes phone numbers and special conditions such as bonds which need to be paid.

Tuesday December 2nd 1997

We travelled to Donnybrook but found no suitable camping areas near the town. 18km toward Capel we found Ironstone Gully Falls, which although small, is a pleasant overnight stop.

The backpacker hostels in Donnybrook seem to have the casual employment market sewn up. If you don’t stay at the hostels you don’t get any fruit picking work.

Friday December 5th 1997

After spending two nights at Ironstone Gully, we moved back in to Australind and had an uninterrupted night next to the estuary not far north of the caravan park we were in a few nights ago. I am sure the local ranger would have moved us on if he were around, but a free nights stay next to the estuary was too good to pass up.

We are now camped amid a grove of pine trees on the east side of the road 5km south on the Ludlow Tuart Forest Tourist Drive. There is plenty of room for busses or caravans. There are overflowing (stinking) bins, which the local council should obviously empty more often, but otherwise it is an excellent campsite.

The Tuart forest is unique, and campfires are prohibited n the area for obvious reasons.

We have applied for a number of jobs in the area, but so far have had no luck.

Saturday December 6th 1997

We travelled further down the coast to Busselton today. I have always liked this town, although I have to say that it is starting to become over-developed now.

There are beaches where you can exercise you dog, and four caravan parks which allow pets (at least in the off-season.). There are also parking areas for large vehicles and caravans which altogether makes the town very welcoming to travellers.

Our generator is playing up, so we have dropped it off for an overdue service. We chose the Kookaburra Caravan Park on Marine Terrace as it is close to the beach and the town.


Monday December 8th 1997

Belle had an interview for a position as a housekeeper today. She has been unofficially told that she has got the job, but that will be confirmed tomorrow.

The property she will be working on is north east of Bunbury. We will be given a house to live in and she will be on probation for six weeks. If this works out it could mean an interruption in our journey for quite some time.

The area is very pretty, and living in the peace and quiet of the bush will make a change from our hectic lives in the city.

Tuesday December 9th 1997

Belle has officially got the job. We drove up from Australind and moved most of our stuff from the bus into the house. Sam managed to find some rat poison and ate it. Thankfully we noticed it straight away and I had to make him sick by pouring cooking oil and salt water down his throat. The treatment, although unappreciated by Sam, seems to have been very effective and he brought up all the poison and his dinner.

Thursday December 11th 1997

Although Belle seems to be starting off well in her new job, I have my doubts as to how long she will be able to keep up a seven day week. Being chained to your work is very difficult, and I don’t think many people could stand it for very long.

Sam is none the worse for his encounter with the rat poison, but he still thinks of the bus as home and hops in now and then.

I have been busying myself by working in the garden. The house we are in has been neglected for some time, and it is a shame to see a once well maintained garden in such a state of disrepair.

Sunday December 14th 1997

We are far from happy with the way Belle’s job is turning out. There are extra conditions popping up which she was unaware of when she accepted the position. Yesterday we found out that we may have to look after guests in the house we are renting.


There are also a lot of eccentricities which Belle has to get used to. Her employer seems nice enough, but he has some peculiar requirements. One example being a large collection of sunglasses which Belle has to clean each time he wears a pair. She isn’t allowed to use soap or detergent to clean things (hot water only), and the floor has to be washed with towels.

It seems the richer they are the stranger they become.

I can’t see this lasting for very long, Belle just isn’t used to this sort of work, and in any case we left Perth to spend more time together not less.

I have managed to injure my shoulder working in the garden. I have also been quite sick for a couple of days. I hope my shoulder gets better soon as there is no way I could drive the bus if we decide to leave.

(….later in the day)

Ha Ha! I was right, but Belle hasn’t given up the job, she was fired. All for the heinous crime of leaving two cigarette butts in an ashtray – not her butts she just missed cleaning them up, and not noticing a couple of tiny leaves on the entry floor.

All I can say is good riddance. We will be back on the road by Tuesday.

Tuesday December 16th 1997

After a brief stop at Margaret River to see some people we haven’t seen for years, we made our way down to Chapman’s Pool on the Blackwood River. It was too small for the bus – although some caravans had managed to get in, so we went further south to Alexandra Bridge. The campsite near the bridge costs $3.50 per person per night, which is pretty expensive, but at least there are toilets, BBQs, firewood, water, and of course the river to fish in.

I am glad to be back on the road again, so is everyone else (especially Sam).

We still have some job applications to follow up in the Bunbury area and we will go back up by car at the end of the week.

Friday December 19th 1997

We are back in the Bunbury area now – mainly due to D.S.S. reporting requirements. We have been away three weeks, and as Christmas is only a week away, I don’t expect to have any luck with work until the new year.

As yet we haven’t made up our minds what to do during the next week, but we are moving closer to Perth in case we decide to go home for Christmas day.

The south west of W.A. isn’t all that bus friendly. There are precious few free campsites as it is, and fewer still that we can get in and out of easily.

The main problem we have at the moment is being out of phone range. Most campsites are a long way from the nearest town and mobile coverage is still pretty poor.

We have booked in at Binningup for two nights. There isn’t much here if you haven’t got a boat, but it is a nice quiet spot.

Wayne & Heather in ‘We made it!’ are parked next to us. Wayne has built his mobile home from scratch, and can be very proud of the result. Being a CMCA member makes breaking the ice with other mobile home owners very easy.

Sunday December 21st 1997

We are heading home for Christmas and so have moved north to the campsite at Hoffman’s Mill. There is a small stream, toilets, tables, rubbish facilities, BBQs, and a free gas BBQ/cooker. Unfortunately CALM (who administer the area) don’t point out that there is a $5 per night fee until you have driven the 12km down a gravel road past Logue Brook Dam.

Monday December 22nd 1997

We were camped on our own, but other campers who were further away have moved in right on top of us. I can never understand why in a big open campsite, some people have to plop themselves as near to you as they can get. Must be the herding instinct or something.

Tuesday December 23rd 1997

Oh what a hot day. The hottest December day since 1968 according to the weather reports. We are moving north again to Heron Point, and the bus doesn’t like the hot weather much. The engine is running a full 20 degrees hotter than normal.

Heron Point will be closed as a free campsite as from April 1st 1998. Another attempt to force people into caravan parks.

It is a good crabbing area in season, and we managed to catch 17 in a few minutes with a scoop net.

Wednesday 24th December 1997

Christmas eve, and we are parked in the driveway at home. The house doesn’t feel like home any more. The rest of the family seem to think we are a nuisance for not letting them know we were coming earlier, and we have been left on our own, it wouldn’t have hurt them to ask us over for a drink on Christmas Eve. I think we should have stayed away and not wasted our money coming back. (Much later: Had I known at the time what a pack of b*%#$#ds they were going to turn out to be I would never have had anything further to do with them.)

As there seems to be a lot of work in the Albany area, we are heading that way after New Year. Sam may have to stay at home until the weather cools off. We have to leave him in the bus on occasion, and if we both get work he will get too hot.

Only four weeks away and already we feel out of place back in Perth. I have only just started to realise what we have taken on and how dramatically it effects our lives. Still, if I had to do it over again I would make the same decision. We will see if I still feel that way in six months time.

Thursday 25th December 1997

I rather think we wasted our time and money coming home for Christmas. We were alone Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, spent a few pleasant hours for lunch with the family but then were expected to sit in a hot car for two hours while others went to sleep, before we could turn up for dinner. Needless to say we gave up and went back to the bus at home.

I think some members of my family are rather odd at times. The overall attitude seems to have been that we were just a big nuisance for only giving a weeks notice before coming up.


Next year I just won’t bother at all.