Making Memories

When our first grandchild Maddie, was born in 1996, John and I had a holiday unit on the North Coast of NSW. Maddie was quickly followed by seven more siblings and cousins over the next six years although three of these lived in Queensland so I was the one who travelled north to see them. After retirement both Poppy and I had more time to travel north for visits. 

While they were young my northern grandkids thought I lived in the plane, as they met and said goodbye at the airport. They are now busy teenagers all grown up. It’s hard on grandparents not to be involved in some of the grandchildren’s lives because of distance etc so we have to make the most of the time we spend together.

Maddie started travelling with us at an early age as there was lots going on at her place. My daughter had given birth to premature quads in 1998. Maddie loved the beach but was worried when I went for a swim so we spent happy times together in the water. On a 4WD Track one day she wasn’t her usual happy self so I told her to close her eyes and have a sleep while we negotiated the track for an hour passing vibrant red bottle brush and white flannel flowers. When she woke she had come out with chicken pox spots. That holiday didn’t go well.

As her siblings grew they joined us for holidays, sadly only two had survived early childhood. Having three in the car for hours had it challenges. I packed snacks and colouring in books etc but when boredom set in fights and teasing began. The poor driver (Poppy) didn’t cope very well with the distractions so we decided to just take two at a time while they were young which continued for a couple of years. We had upgraded from the unit to a holiday house in the same area which gave us more room and meant the children’s family and other family and friends could come for holidays. Also  our other daughter, son and my sister spent happy weekends with us. 

  

Poppy enjoyed the interaction with the children, even when they put clips in his hair and stickers on his face. It meant quality time we wouldn’t get at home and they loved their milkshakes in the cafes and fish and chips and barbecues by the sea. Once they started school we had to take them in school holidays but the third week in January was good for a summer break as the Christmas crowds had dispersed by then.

As the three became teenagers, the pull of the holiday spot didn’t appeal so much and life went in different directions for us all. We sold the holiday house and bought a motorhome.

All of the family remember the coast times as precious memories, us especially; as it gave us time with our grandchildren in their early childhood years.

Fast forward to 2018. Now we are eagerly awaiting the birth of another grandson. Tash and Nath are to become parents and start their own family memories.

December catchup.

December 2017

After a break of seven years from any surgeries I’m off to have my foot operated on before Christmas. After six orthopaedic surgeries over thirty years I’m over it. 

I had the unfortunate luck to be born with a dislocated left hip, in my day a child was walking before a limp was the giveaway of a serious problem. Now the ‘ clicky hips’ test is enough soon after birth to recognise any problems. Once my problem was discovered I was put into a full plaster cast for 10 months a “frog leg “ plaster it’s called. 

My mum was told I would probably get rheumatics at about 40 which was pretty accurate. At 42 I had my first hip replacement, followed over the years by two more replacements in the left hip, a right hip and right knee replacement and the first surgery for a foot reconstruction. Hips in 1987 had a life of about twelve years before being replaced with a new one. I fell on my new one and damaged it ten weeks post op, hence the need for the third one. 

The tendon in my foot snapped in 2001 and I was told if I didn’t have the operation I would have to wear a special boot for the rest of my life. At the time I was told the other foot would probably go the same way. It was a slow recovery, twelve weeks in plaster non weight bearing. 

Now 16 years later I’m facing surgery on the right foot. The tendon has stretched and my foot has virtually collapsed. Another slow recovery, eight weeks in plaster, followed by a month in an air cast boot. 

We are due to to go on a cruise in April, I should be close to full recovery by then. 

January 2018

Calcaneal osteotomy and tendon transfer surgery over with, now three weeks post op. After a few days in hospital I was home three days before I became sick and ended up back in hospital with pneumonia. I got home Christmas Eve feeling so much better after intravenous antibiotics followed by oral antibiotics before being discharged. 

The Christmas period was great, Kay, Bec and Kath sorted the food as I felt so useless and we all enjoyed the get together. We had celebrations over three days as not everyone could make it on Christmas Day. Kay and Ralph came Boxing Day and Nath and Tash on 27th. John,Kath and Bec have been very good looking after me. 

Stitches are out, new plaster on, now for the slow recovery. Keeping busy with reading, computer and knitting.

The reading list

Before I started this trip, I added a few books to my list of things to pack. I love non fiction, so they were on top of my list of what to take. I also added E books to my IPad, they were for just in case I ran out of books and needed extra reading. I probably have six or eight there.

I bought about twelve books in the months before the trip, I have probably read six of them in the three months we have been away, plus another six I have purchased on the way. I like reading about the history of a town we are staying in, women pioneers of the area etc. On past trips I scouted around and found a few interesting authors, this time the same. Most are by women born to city life and have married farmers and the isolated lives they lead during the 50’s or 60’s in Australia. Most on big cattle stations when aborigines were servants in the house. These pioneer women reared their children in isolated regions, with no medical back up and no shops. Grocery orders were placed once a year and delivered all at once by trucks or the nearest shipping port. Some of the stories are fascinating.

John has discovered reading and has read three of the books I haven’t yet read. He also likes the non fiction. Before retiring, all he ever read was the headlines from the daily paper and the sports section. I feel I know have a kindred spirit to discuss books with.

Caravan Life

It’s been twelve weeks since we left home, caravan parks have become our second home. Some of them are a welcome sight at the end of a day on the road. John and I didn’t book ahead for most of them, except for busy towns or cities, such as Perth. As one goes further away from big towns, the parks get more basic. We always stay in parks, some people free camp, pulling in off the road where there is no power or water. Most of these vehicles have solar power and generators and carry water. They usually have company, we have passed these mostly bush camps and there are quite a few caravans and motor homes in the group.

John and I like to have a powered site which includes water. Prices vary, the most expensive is not usually the best kept park, but rather the area it is in, One of the more expensive ones was in the goldfields of Kalgoorlie, $45 per night, although John asked for and got a senior’s discount. Other parks are part of a chain or franchise and offer discounts to members. Some parks are crowded, with every park having a strict rule, no noise after 10pm.

Roadhouses are favorites of ours. They are in isolated places, in the middle of no where, basic amenities, sometimes no water, but have a certain charm, beautiful sunsets, brilliant night sky and quiet. Of course the roadhouses are run by generators, they are very noisy but necessary. We try and think to look where the generators are so we can hook up a bit further away from the noise. Being the roadhouses are in the middle of no where, usually 200 klms away from the next fuel stop, they provide meals and basic groceries, Roadhouses do not have mobile reception or television, some have satellite reception and have a television in the bar for patron’s use. Telstra provides a public telephone on the grounds.

One must forget how isolated one is for the duration of the stay. One night is enough to rest and move on. On the Barkley Highway in Northern Territory, John and I booked in for two nights to Barkly Roadhouse to rest up before our next trip up to Cape Crawford. This roadhouse is well known and has a certain character of it’s own. Backpackers are employed as bar assistants or cooks. It’s not unusual to hear an Irish, Dutch or German accent when one walks into a roadhouse. Road trains pull in to re fuel, these giants of the road are king. The drivers hate caravanners and motor homers. We have heard them on the two way radio, not in a kind way.

Caravan parks supply washing machines and dryers, a common charge is $4 for washing machines. Women are at the laundry at first light to grab one of the two or three machines that are available. I usually miss out and give up until we hook up early afternoon and things are quiet. It’s a bit of a social gathering when women meet up around the machines. You get some good hints of where to go for sight seeing or what to avoid.

There is always the” know it all “ in a park, someone who likes to let you know what’s best for you or if your tap is leaking, something you already know. One guy even turned off our tap, thinking the tank was overflowing! Meaning well, but John wasn't impressed.

There's Always One

Where ever you travel, if it be a park or on a tour bus, there is always that person that stands out from the rest. Here, it’s a man in the next site to us. He was out the front of his van when John backed Syd in, you could tell he was going to make some comment.

“Why doesn’t he drive in”?

“Because the power box won't be on the side we want it” I answered. As if I had to give any reply.

This guy is in town for four weeks he told us. He and the guy the other side of us are like two old women, they sit side by side every afternoon, the women seem to hide inside. Our friend told us not to go to Rocky’s Pool, “nothing there and since the rain the unsealed road in would be unsuitable” he was right, we drove the 50klms out to find we couldn’t go any further..

Our friend ran into trouble with our neighbour opposite. The other guy had got permission to wash down his car, our friend complained to the manager, a few words were exchanged, like “If you have anything to say, say it to me, not the manager”,

Our friend hasn’t been outside much this afternoon.

There’s always one.

On a bus tour a couple of weeks ago, one lady knew it all. We were on a mine tour, the bus/ tour guide was telling us the first death had occurred at the iron ore facility, she knew there had been another death, the tour guide backed down. It went on and on the whole morning, the poor guy just went along with it.

He discovered as the morning went on that this woman had moved into his neighbourhood.

There’s always one….

This Road we Travel

The thermos is always ready most mornings, ready for when we feel like pulling off the road to have our mid morning coffee. The picnic basket has all that we need, cups, biscuits or if we are lucky, scones or cakes I have baked the day before. There are various types of rest stops, we like the ones that show diagrams of toilets and seating. Otherwise it’s just a truck stop, a dirt road and a garbage bin. 

John’s no 1 job in the morning is to empty the night toilet, the little cassette has wheels and a handle like a luggage bag. There are men everywhere pulling their “luggage bag” to the dump point. John watched one morning as the pouring nozzle dropped into the depths of the deep dump, never to be retrieved. We had the only toilet cassette that was minus a nozzle and had to wait until we got back to Sydney to get a new one, we had tried every big town with no luck. 

Some of the caravan parks don’t have a dump point , so the search is on in the town to find one, usually at the showground. . The motor home club brings out a little booklet telling you where they are located around Australia. This was handy before the camping apps we all now have on our phones.

Roadhouses serve the traveling public in isolated areas where there are no caravan parks. They are usually cheaper because the facilities are basic and usually no mobile, tv or internet service. We can always get a powered site but ok for only an overnight stop, as they are in the middle of nowhere, usually half way between towns, sometimes over 200 klms in either direction.

Roadhouses have that one important requirement of every traveler, Fuel!

I guess the roadhouses were set up for the many trucks and road trains that are on the highways. They are quick one stop places for fuel, toilets and meals.

I try not to think of how isolated we are when we stop at a roadhouse. Any medical emergency would be a call to the Royal Flying Doctor, who service the whole of the outback. The highways are emergency landing strips if the need is there to give medical treatment and to fly anyone who is in a bad way to the nearest big hospital, maybe several hundred klms away. The outlying cattle stations have their own landing strips for such emergencies.

John and I have stayed in a few roadhouses on our trips.It’s a welcome change sometimes to buy a hamburger or hot chips for dinner, some even sell roast dinners, but you have to be lucky, I still cook most nights. 

People usually start pulling into a roadhouse around 4pm, good to get off the road before dusk, when the wildlife come out. We hook up about 3pm on average.

Free camping is popular for some travelers. John and I didn’t free camp for a few years but have done some in recent years. Caravan parks are are our first choice. We often see free camps in the most beautiful spots, near rivers or waterholes, with mountain ranges surrounding them. Lots of travelers have solar powered panels and genorators, plus their own showers, they just have to make sure they have plenty of water. Fishing spots are very popular.

Caravan parks are more expensive and harder to book in school holidays, still, compared to other holiday places, they are the cheapest. Powered sites are a few dollars dearer, people with tents don’t always want a powered site.

Fellow Travelers

We have been lucky to cross paths with some great people, doing what we are doing; spending time in a town for two or three nights, seeing the sights and spending money to boost the local economy. That’s it in a nutshell, but John and I know some fellow travelers will be friends long after our travelling is over.

On our last big trip, we met Lyn and Peter from Melbourne. We have kept in touch through email and phone since. They have come through Sydney and we had them around for dinner. We haven’t met up since that last time, however we know we will see them when we decide to go to Victoria.

John and Trish are from Melbourne as well, we met them on this trip. Firstly, in Winton on a bus tour to Lark Quarry. Then we seemed to run into them every few days for a week or two. We exchanged phone numbers and I have a new friend in John on facebook.

Yvonne and Alan were next to us at Bailey Bar CP at Charleville. We followed one another to a couple of towns or sent text messages to say where we were. They live in Noosa, Qld. They were travelling with friends, now Yvonne and Alan are heading east back to the Queensland coast, while the others are probably a week or so behind us. Yvonne and Alan drove us around in Mt Isa when we had to leave the truck for a few hours at the auto electrician. We really appreciated it.

In Broome a woman was travelling with her four year old granddaughter. She was from the Penrith area of NSW, an hour from us. Leonie was 63, working full time as a nurse and had sole care of the little girl. They were travelling for four months in outback areas of Australia to give the little girl some idea of her aboriginal heritage. The mother is part aboriginal.

We met Pam, a lady the same age as me, just a few days ago at Nanutarra Roadhouse. She was driving a small car and towing a cub trailer, which she had to set up every camp. She was on her own, a friendly widow, it wasn’t her first trip either. She lived in Kilmore Victoria, the areas all around her had those devastating bush fires a couple of years ago. She said she still gets emotional when she speaks about that dreadful time.

These are just a few of the hundreds of fellow travelers on the road.