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Published: November 24th 2009
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Friday, November 20th
Living out here in the bush is great. At night the only sounds are the crashing of the waves in the distance and the occasional call of a Weka. The sun brings electricity and the rain brings water to our lives. We love it here. It already feels like home.
Unfortunately the bus is also home to “The Bus-Rat”. In the early hours of the morning he woke us again with his loud gnawing (so technically the only sounds at night are the crashing of the waves in the distance, the occasional call of a Weka and the gnawing of “The Bus-Rat”). Ferdi decided to try and catch him and commandeered Talita to be his partner in crime. We got our headlamps and when we shone the lights behind the fridge we spotted the bastard sitting there, peaking out at us. He’s a pretty big rat! There’s a small gap on either side of the fridge and after uhm-ing and ah-ing for a bit we got a bag and a stick, the idea being to poke the stick into one gap and catch the fleeing rat when he comes running out the other end. Ferdi held
the shopping bag in one hand and poked the stick into the gap with the other. The result was immediate and surprising (even though we should’ve expected it). The rat came barrelling into the bag at such speed that the bag swung up, spilling him out again. The last we saw of him was a brown streak as he made his escape. With hearts racing from the adrenaline dump we got back in bed and tried to get more sleep.
We managed to get more sleep and after breakfast another day of working on the van commenced. We installed the compartment dividers under the bed and cut and varnished the lids/bed base. One of the lids was a little bent, so we wet it thoroughly and put some weight on it. It worked like a charm and by the end of the day we’d completed the bed/storage compartments. It was a big accomplishment for us. The Boesman was taking shape.
After a shower Ferdi sat outside playing guitar while Talita cooked dinner. Later we sat on the veranda enjoying a glass of wine and chatting.
Today’s highlights:
1. Finishing the bed/storage compartments in the Boesman.
Saturday,
November 21st
We must’ve scared the crap out of Mr. Rat because he didn’t make an appearance last night. We got up late and after breakfast we drove into town to get a few supplies. We visited the hardware, the grocer and the local market where we got fresh bread and veggies. It was rainy so we decided to take the day off. Back at the bus we sat on the veranda and enjoyed a cuppa. When it got dark (after 9pm) we watched a movie on our tiny little DVD player and then crawled into bed.
Today’s highlights:
1. Having a relaxing day off.
Sunday, November 22nd
We continued working on the van. By lunch time we’d made some progress but our hearts weren’t in it. After lunch Talita baked a strange but tasty pumpkin bread while Ferdi continued working on the van.
Later in the afternoon Talita decided that it was time we fired up the jungle wood-fire bath. Ferdi made a big fire beneath the bath and filled it with water. It took a while to get hot, but once it got going it got hot pretty quick. We stripped down and sat on
a flat piece of wood because the bottom of the bath was way too hot to touch. The water temperature rose quickly and we had to completely douse the fire or risk boiling. We had a few beers and ate some chocolate while we enjoyed our first ever bath in the jungle. We weren’t alone of course. A billion midges swarmed in the air around the bath. At least it wasn’t sand-flies! After about an hour we were thoroughly relaxed so we went in, prepared dinner, then watched a movie.
Today’s highlights:
1. Talita’s strange but tasty pumpkin bread.
2. Enjoying our first jungle bath.
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Louise Meganck
non-member comment
New Zealand
You two are extremely brave and adventurous, really admire you! And you have plenty material and excellent writing skills to publish a fantastic book. You are heading towards 365 days... not too far off. Good luck!