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Published: January 21st 2011
Like a Sandton kugel scraping off her make-up after a late night out, we are slowly starting to shed the skin of city life. The most recent layer to be sloughed is the Volvo. Concerned that its engine and gearbox might not be up to the job, and that it has only a biscuit-like spare wheel, we have abandoned its luxurious interior and bought a Toyota Prado instead.
Whereas the Volva was nominally a 4WD, this is more for gravel roads and mounting kerbs in town, not the rocky gullies and river-crossings that are now beginning to fill my thoughts. Having lured Alexa into a caravan, surely it is only one small step now before she is sleeping rough in a swag??
After Geraldton we spent a couple of days in Coorow on the wheat farm of Wes Morcombe. 4,000 hectares of wheat and one man doing absolutely everything - quite different to farming back in SA! Wes’s son Oscar was there, a very sweet boy Oliver’s age, so he got to play some cricket in the nets on the farm. I got to see how a wheat farm works, and we saw our first wild kangaroos. I still
can’t get over how strange they look in the wild. They look and move so differently to the African game I know, I do a double-take whenever one runs off.
Our aircon conked out, so it was a hot drive (40°+) with windows down on our return to Perth. We stopped in a little town called Moora halfway to cool down at the local pool. More cricket for the boys with some aboriginal kids in the nets alongside the pool. Our evening stop was at the Gingin observatory, where we were able to see Jupiter (and 4 of its moons), the Orion Nebula, Sirrius and the Magellanic clouds through their telescopes, as well as watching some fascinating videos. Q&A was good too - I now know that the moon buggy left on the moon is too small to be seen by any terrestrial telescopes, but that it was spotted by an orbiter last year, seriously deflating the conspiracy theories of moon landing debunkers!
Back home, we got into loadshedding, Aussie style. We had weighed our caravan at a grain silo in Coorow and found that it was 180kg over the limit. We haven’t got too much extraneous stuff,
and so lightening the load was a painful business, but Alexa was very brave. She did shed a tear or two when we ditched the extra duvet and spare sheets, and her lip did quiver a bit when she returned her ironing board to Howard’s Storage World, but overall we managed to lose or relocate just under 100kg, so we should be alright now, especially with our trusty old Prado (for the men reading this: 160 000km on the clock, 3l turbo engine, 150l long range fuel tanks, fuel consumption 10l/100 normal, around 15 towing).
We also got the Volvo’s aircon and second battery (for the on-board fridge) repaired, had a few jaunts to the sea, saw an outdoor film (A Better World, Danish, pretty good) and I got to go rock-climbing at in indoor gym with my brother-in-law David. Chris Nixon decorated the back of the caravan with a map of Australia and a little Africa, and after a final farewell to all the Schoofs we set off on our journey proper.
Truth be told, the caravan thus far has been a glorified trailer. We are once again staying with friends, Vicky and Marty in Margaret River.
We are in their Possum house, a small cottage so called due to the possum that scurries and knocks on the roof in the early morning. On Wednesday night Marty had two friends over for dinner, and it was there that their doubts about our vehicle echoed my own growing concerns. Marty had spotted the Prado for sale in Augusta, and by Thursday evening it was ours. The speed of it all freaked Alexa out a bit, but I am filled with relief. Considering where we are going (and now plan to go!), worrying about the car’s reliability was an inconvenient stress.
The area has stunning beaches and numerous limestone caves, which we have all loved. The thin stalactites called straws stretch amazing lengths - the longest over 5m. And the shapes and colours of the stalactites, stalagmites, shawls and helictites have been beautiful. The cave we saw today, Jewel Cave, was first discovered in 1958, its original entrance a 12m vertical hole, just about the width of a man, created by the roots of a tree, now long decayed, searching downwards for water. The lighthouse at Augusta was also worthwhile - Quinn’s stocky legs easily ascending the 176
stairs to the top.
Tomorrow we head down to Denmark where we will actually be staying in the caravan for a change. Gill and Paul will be there which is very fortunate for us as they are able to drive the Volvo back to Perth. Gladstone!
So, where are we all now?
Oliver still has bouts of extreme petulance, but is also the sweetest child. I think he is struggling most to adapt to not having his own dedicated space (even his bunk gets collapsed when not in use). Happiest when we are at the beach running into the breaking waves and getting bowled over.
William is adapting really well. He is a curious child, in both sense of the word, and is turning out to be fairly confident, prepared to go and speak to adults - especially if it is to ask whether they have any foreign money to fuel his rapidly-growing collection. He is trying to collect a full set of $1 coins - first released in 1984. His modus operandi is to ask a shopkeeper for coins in exchange for a $5 note, check out the coins, and if they are ones he
already has, ask another shopkeeper to swap coins for a note! He is not sleeping enough (never falls asleep in the car, wakes whenever there is any noise in the morning) and so is prone to extreme whinging at times, at a pitch that is like nails down a blackboard to a parent.
Quinn seems perfectly happy. He engages with everyone he meets, seldom complains, and remains his happy-go-lucky self. His speech has come along enormously and he is fast becoming, like Pinnochio, a real little boy.
Alexa is in good spirits. Still tired at times, especially after nights when she has not slept well. But overall her energy levels are up and she is able to go for walks and to swim a few laps. By the end of the trip I’m sure she will be camping, hiking and belaying like mad.
And me? I am throughly enjoying the adventure, kids’ tantrums aside. We are seeing such beautiful places, the bird-life is incredible (such colours! yesterday we had a Splendid Fairy Wren eating on the floor next to us, vibrant lilac) and I am learning a lot as we go, from wheat farming to diesel engines
to 17th century shipping.
For those of you who have ever complained about the conditions on a longhaul flight, read what it was like as a longhaul passenger 400 years ago, and count yourself lucky!
“There was no fresh water to spare for washing, and although one of the largest ships of her day, the Batavia was equipped with no more than four latrines. One pair was located on either side of the Great Cabin and reserved for the use of the people in the stern. The rest of the crew had to line up to use the remaining pair in the bows, which were nothing more than holes in the deck under the bowsprit. These heads were open to the elements and in full view of all those waiting in line. The only additional amenity was a long, dung-smeared rope that snaked through the hole in the latrine. The frayed end of the rope dangled in the sea and could be hauled up and used to wipe oneself clean.”
The extract is from Batavia’s Graveyard by Mike Dash, a completely absorbing account of the mutiny and murders that took place after the Batavia was wrecked. The
build-up is excellent, with detailed descriptions of life in the Netherlands and on board ship at the time, as well as of the spread of Rosicrucian thinking through men like Torrentius that helped Jeronimus Cornelisz justify his depraved actions on the Abrolhos.
The people we have met and stayed with have been so generous and friendly - I must say thanks to everyone who has put us up (and up with us!) so far.
Off to Denmark. The one in WA, Martin, not Europe.
(Just in case they went unnnoticed, the photos of the sea lion and Abrolhos Islands are on the previous blog - you just need to scroll through to them… only the first 21 photos are visible on the front page.)
And here again is the link to the map of where we have been. http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=207166179336504107160.000499028c98260af7271&z=7
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Claire
non-member comment
Great to hear from you captain. Hope all the teething problems are over sounds a bit like the first couple of weeks of the new school year. Will miss u @ cranial challenge. Love to all xxx