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Published: February 25th 2014
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Wendy’s upgraded licence meant that she was keen (and nervous) to get behind the wheel of our motor home whilst we relocated it over the holiday period. She found the experience a little daunting because the steering was much lighter than what she was used to in the mini buses that she had been learning on. We drove it as far as Stanthorpe, had a frantic afternoon of geocaching and stayed the night there. We left the van in the trusted hands of our new friends and travelled in the car down the New England Highway, stopping in Tamworth for lunch with friends.
Christmas time on the Central Coast with family and friends was delightful. We got to see all of our kids and grandkids, and all of our sisters and brother, and almost all of their families. The weather was “just perfect”, although we couldn’t remember what the water falling out of the sky was all about!
Tim and his family started a new summer holiday business venture while we were there and by all accounts it went extremely well for them. If you were in the Chittaway Bay, Long Jetty, The Entrance area over January, you may
have seen him and treated yourself to an ice cream from the “Ice Cream Bike”.
Our 10 day break was over all-too-soon and we headed back to Dalby via Stanthorpe to collect the van. More geocaching and some fruit shopping had to be completed before we left so we came away from the Granite Belt with a box full of Granny Smith apples and a few more geocaches added to our score. Wendy had another drive of the motor home and encountered a few more challenges than on the previous trip. When she pulled in to a rest area for Peter to take over the driving again we had to unclench Peter’s fingers from his seat, and Wendy was pleased to be a passenger again! But she is very proud that she has actually driven our motor home on a real road, not just around a showground or large caravan park. And guess what…her legs really aren’t too short! However it did take her 5 years to get it.
Our arrival back in Dalby was filled with mixed emotions. Most of the friends we had made here during our stay had moved on, the workers had not returned
Tim's Ice Cream Bike
This successful business is now for sale!
Outdoor fun, exercise, and employment all in one. to full duties yet so the caravan park was almost deserted. Dalby is NOT the holiday capital of the Western Downs and tourists are few and far between at this time of year. It will be a different story from about March when all the grey nomads start filing through looking to escape the cold weather down south. We had a few very hot days but now the temperatures are quite pleasant. Due to the migration of CSG construction further west and north, very few long-term works have in fact returned to the caravan park.
Wendy had a driving assessment with Stonestreet’s Coaches and passed with flying colours so they offered her a school bus run – a very good one - they promised. School has been back for a few weeks now and Wendy is quite enjoying her new job. Her run covers a 125km, 2 hour round trip out in the country, morning and afternoon. Maximum number of passengers per trip so far is 11, and that’s not all at the same time. She was driving the oldest bus in the fleet, doing the longest school run, but was promised an upgrade vehicle which she has gratefully
taken delivery of. It’s not new, but it is a lot newer than the previous one. Peter is still taking workers out to the gas rigs each day and has been quite pleased to have a regular run with the same bus most days. (It makes for a happy bus driver not having to have a different vehicle for each trip!) …… spoke too soon….
“Peter’s bus” has been moved to another depot! He was really attached to that coach, after driving it constantly, six days a week since mid January. His passenger numbers are dwindling though as the whole project moves west and other bus depots have the contracts for moving the workers.
With both of us driving buses now we don’t get a day off together and Peter works 6 days a week. However, we enjoy passing each other on the road and hearing each other’s progress on the CB radio. We also get to spend time together in the middle of the day between shifts and sleeps. Peter has had yet another blood test to check on his recovery progress. The verdict was “All Good! …… Excellent, in fact!” We hadn’t expected anything less!
We
Another view that Wendy enjoys whilst driving her school run.
This is sorghum - used for animal feed.It seems to like the same conditions that cotton does. are planning to visit NSW early in April, however we are going to separate places. Peter will be organising for registration checks in Lismore for both of the vehicles while Wendy jets to the south coast for the annual girls weekend away with Central Coast friends. Lucky for Peter, he gets to spend some time with our daughter Melanie and her family. It also looks like we’ll head back to the Central Coast in July, just for a week or so.
We are planning to attend the Bell Show next weekend for a taste of the local cultural activities. Should be a hoot.
With the Gas Rig work drying up and changes at the local depot, we don’t know how long we will be in Dalby. We think it will be at least until the end of this school term, but we’ll keep you posted on our next blog.
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