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Published: January 31st 2008
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Bremer Bay Wind Turbine
Bremer Bay is about 150km east of Cheynes, we drove out there one afternoon we had off work Well another chapter of our trip done and dusted…we finished up at Cheynes on Australia Day and are now bound for Margaret River where we have some grape picking lined up starting later this month. Yes, that’s right, we are yet again heading for a wine region!!! (as we giggle with glee)
Our stint at the Caravan Park (2 months…how time flies) went well, although we leave with a few extra blisters, calluses & muscles that we didn’t have before! It was bloody hard work and we are both looking forward to not cleaning ANYTHING for quite some time. Our main duties were cleaning of the loo, laundry & kitchen blocks, plus vacated park cabins, and the bin run…yep Tab became a “Bin Chick”. No doubt all the old men in the park were pleased to have her empty their bins, although there was no convincing her to do it in a bikini!
One big challenge to being out at Cheynes was the feeling of isolation - While we were very busy on our days on, we quickly established that there’s only so much walking on the beach, walking in the national park, fishing & bird watching
Cheynes Beach
seconds after this photo was taken Tab slipped on a rock and landed in some spiky prickles
took an hour to pick them all out of her hands with tweezers
proof that exercise is bad for you (not!!) that one can do when not at work. With no TV reception, no internet access, no radio reception & limited phone reception (not anymore thanks to our new Next G phone we got for xmas…ta mum & dad!) we were glad we had eachother to keep amused. And we only got postal mail 3 times a week, and on the same day that arrived we could get a current newspaper - it really started to feel like we were in the middle of no-where, when in fact we are only an hour from the large town of Albany. We are certainly well-read and have gotten super good at Monopoly, Uno & Backgammon! (Thanks also to Gibbsy who has been supplying us with DVD’s of our fave TV shows, we are now caught up on Prison Break, Jamie Oliver, Kath & Kim & Top Gear!!)
Once a week however we did manage to borrow the work ute and head into Albany to hop online, do shopping etc. This weekly event generally included a stint at the Earl Of Spencer Inn for lunch, Guinness & wine. It was our little piece of paradise amid a busy week! Should you be
Cheynes Beach Team
Left to right Allan with son Ashley, Brian, Kath & Bayley, Joanne. Brian & Kath are Jo’s parents. coming to Albany, don’t miss it for the world, great food, fantastic Guinness & one of the nicest beer gardens we’ve probably ever been in.
We also were lucky to have a visit from Tab’s God-parents, Zac & Debbie, while we were out at the park. They live in Mildura but had flown into Perth to visit some family, and funnily enough ended up staying a couple of nights in Albany with Zac’s Aunt! Was great to see a familiar face, if a little strange, being that both parties were so far from “home”!
You also may be wondering what our Christmas and New Year turned out like….VEWY VEWY QUIET! We worked briefly xmas morning then in the afternoon had a picnic lunch down the beach. Tab bought Jeff a mini-Weber for xmas so he cooked up a chook and Tab made a prawn cocktail for starters. So off we went with a bottle of bubbly, a blanket and some potato salad and sat in the shade for the afternoon. That evening we went to Brian & Kath’s house (senior park owners) and had some drinks & nibbles with their family which was great and everyone had the
afternoon off work.
We worked until about 8pm New Years Eve so by the time midnight rolled around in the Eastern States (10pm here) we were only on our second beer & still hadn’t cooked dinner! We had a super quiet night, just a campfire, few drinks & listened to music. Even midnight passed without a “bang”, we didn’t bother watching the clock this year! It was just a simple, relaxing night sitting out under the stars with a fire going. And of course the company was exceptional!
Naturally the owners of the park were a little upset to hear we would be leaving so soon (they hoped we’d stay until after Easter) but as the picking season beckons we hope to line up a good 4-5 days per week doing that for a few months. At least we know what to expect as we did a little picking when we first got to Mt Gambier. We are both looking forward to a bit of time in civilization as well, it will be nice to just be able to walk to some shops again & go out for a beer without an hours drive each way!
Also
Visitors!!
Tab’s Godparents Zac & Debbie from Mildura on Australia Day we went to the John Butler Trio concert at a town called Denmark (about 50km west of Albany) where we proceeded to get very drunk sitting on the grass at the winery it was held at. Was a fantastic gig and the setting was just beautiful. We also met a nice couple at the gig and plan on catching up with them for a pub lunch when we pass through Denmark over the next week or so.
So, there’s not much else to tell you…that’s been the last couple of months in a nutshell! We may update again as we travel westward towards Margaret River, there are so many things for us to see along the way we have allowed a good 3 weeks of sightseeing before we get stuck into working again. And of course we need to allow a day or two for wine tasting before we start picking the grapes…call it job research….
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Bik & Mek
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Wiggles
You guys look like your from the wiggles in the Christmas photos!!!! :) Love the Webber, will be pretty for the trip!!! Chat soon!!!!! and have fun!