Friday. 22/2/2008

This morning we packed up the van and left Taunton Park in Margaret River for the North.Our intention was to go to Rockingham and check out some job agencies as we had been told last night that there was a lot of high paying work in the area. One example we were shown was for a machine operator, no experience, $1300/week.

We got to the area about one, and it was not as we expected. There were new suburbs everywhere. Real city living, even though it was quite a way from Perth. The more we looked, the less we liked, so after a stop for snacks and a think, we decided to forget it, and head for the country that we prefer. We followed the signs, and ended goin through Perth at a distance. You could just see the city in the far distance between buildings. Quite disappointing.

Our destination was a roadside stop outside Bindoon. Near there, we stopped to get some groceries, and two men who got talking to Lyn about our rig, mentioned that all the jobs around the mines were recruited from Perth. It did keep us thinking that maybe we had dismissed the city too quickly.

The camp site was quite good, but we ended up parking underneath an un-noticed streetlight that came on when it got dark, so we slept to the orange glow coming through the van skylights. We were so tired that it did not matter.

Saturday. 23/2/2008

After sleeping on the problem, we decided to return to Rockingham today. It was only 120km back, but if we kept going, we would get too far away to do it.

Once back in Rockingham, we tried to find the beachside caravan parks we had been told about. We found one, but it did not look too inviting, so kept on going. The road turned into a modern "pretty" streetscape. Road about wide enough for a scooter, and trees overhanging that. We made it without removing too many, and just as it started to clear and return to a proper road again, we found a huge roundabout in a tiny intersection. We had no hope of going around it, so managed to turn left into another tiny street. Well we did get out in one piece and decided that maybe the park we saw might be OK for a night or two.

We drove into the entrance of the seaside park and called into the office. No sites. Eventually got the rig out, and headed to find the other van park the commandant had told us about. It took another hour to find the second park, and then they would not take our cat. That was the final straw. We decided that the city was not for us at all, and started heading to the open spaces..

Saw a shopping centre off the freeway and decided to try. Found parking and went in. It was large, but expensive. We each had kababs for lunch. They were the most expensive we have bought, but I must admit they were nice.

Drove the freeway thru Perth to have a bit of a closer look, and just kept driving north. We ended up at a roadside stop past Gingin. We stoppped for the night in a parking bay at the Moore River national park. I took some pictures of a few of the wildflowers by the road side. They are on a seperate page of wildflower pictures.in the photo section.

Sunday. 24/2/2008

We set off early to beat the forcast heat and get to Geraldton with plenty of time to find a van park.Drove through some quite small towns, and a lot of snake infested scrub (national parks).

We saw some black birds flying over the scrub, and when some landed in a tree by the side of the road, you could see that they were black cockatoos. Finally came to Dongara where we were greated with a lobster on a boat. Tried to drive into town to have more of a look, but the roads were too overhung with trees, so beat a quick retreat and kept onwards.

Drove into Geraldton and the wealth could be seen immediately. Flash new houses up high, overlooking the blue Indian Ocean. The park we were looking for was 10km the other side of town, so we just kept following the signs until we thought we would never get there. Heading out into acreage we found it, the Batavia Coast Caravan Park, and they had a big site for us at $23/night. We set up quickly in the heat, and soon got the Air Conditioner going.

Lyn went to check out the clothes lines for some washing she wanted to do, and met a couple from Victoria who were here with their three children looking for good paying work. It turns out there is a lot of work in Geraldton, but not really high paying. I did a quick check on the internet, and there were seven pages of jobs on the government site. Considering that this area is not in the cyclone danger area, and the cost of living here is not too high, it might be worth having a good look around for work.

Monday. 25/2/2008

The picture is our fatcat, Zebbie, resting her tummy while she waits to see if she can get any more food out of us. She knows where the special treat tins are, and keeps going there, looking, and meowing. Just got to be very hard, and resist, or she will explode.

We went in to the city center early, as the forecast was for 37 here today. Found the three main supermarkets, and checked them out. Prices weren't too bad. The sea was quite dark today, with a fair amount of sea breeze. Ships were very close to the shore, waiting to load grain and minerals. We made some calls about work, and got some useful information, then went home to escape the heat.

Tuesday. 26/2/2008

The iron crab was under a seat overlooking Greenough Beach. There is quite a lot a clever art in the streets and public areas here. Found sheep and lobsters embossed in the concrete walkways around trafic lights.

We have paid for another week here. Went into town and saw the first job agency on our list, Intergrated, and thay said that they had not seen it so quiet for a long time. The farms had no money to employ, and big industry was quiet. Workers from the usually busy fish plants had even been calling in looking for extra work. The lady suggested we try Delron cleaning as they were always looking for people. We called there and were offered a start this afternoon. Five till eight thirty, five days a week. While we thought about it, we found the Isuzu dealer and organised the new fog light part. Had to buy a whole assembly for $130. We liked the people at Delron, so went back there are agreed to try week by week. We start there at 4.30pm today.

Went on and toured a bit of the south side and drove past the Greenough River van park. It did not appear to be the greatest, so we'll just be happy where we are for now.

The beach was really nice. It was about 37 again outside, and the heat really hit you out on the sand, so didn't stay there too long. Went home and cooked a date loaf that turned out really very tasty. (recipe in the recipe page.)

We arrived at the cleaning contractors office on time, and one of them took us to the first job. We were to do three jobs tonight. The work was not too hard, but there was a fair bit to do in the time allocated. They showed us some easy cleaning tricks to get things streak free. Lyn ended up using the backpack vacuum cleaner here, and did well with it too.

We went on to the the next job, an office, then on to the last, a community school. Along the way we were given the keys for these places for next time. After the last job, the owner offered us use of one of the company vans tomorrow, to go between jobs. They are very keen to keep us. It turns out the present owner of the cleaning company was once traveling too. His Kombie van broke down in Geraldton, and he got a job here, then ended up buying the cleaning company. He seems a very nice bloke, and very easy to work for. He is paying us top rates for cleaning too.

Wednesday. 27/2/2008

Woke up to another day in this heat wave. 8.00am and it is 31 C outside already. We went to Sunset Beach shopping centre and we both got our hair cut. Lyn found a new junk shop and was able to add a couple more exhibits to our mobile cat ornament display. With it being so warm, we just headed home to relax in the air conditioning until work time. Tonight we drove the company's cleaning van and cleaned 2 different businesses. It is getting easier as we start to know what to do. Finished about 7.30. Got some icecream on the way home and had peaches in mango juice and icecream for supper. The TV news tonight is forecasting 42 C here tomorrow. Definately another day in the air conditioned van.

Thursday. 28/2/2008

Its 7.14am, and its 31.5 C outside already. Lyn's doing some washing early before it gets any hotter. The temperture peaked at 40 C about noon, and then it started really dropping. We cleaned two heavy industry offices, and they were quite dirty compared to what we have been doing so far. We were home by 7.30.

Friday. 29/2/2008

Much nicer weather today. Had a visit from a neighbor at the park and heard of how him and his wife are teaming up with two other couples to take on a mine rehabilitation project in an old gold area. They are organising a dozer and will push the ground first and detect. They expect to be there are year, and the deal is they get the first 500 ounces free, and only pay royalty after that. Good project if you can get it.

Went shopping and got good information from a lady working in Coles. She had worked many other places and told us of the real problems, particularly of the indigenous situation. She recommended Kunanurra as the best prospect, and told us where to get good, indoor work there. Its getting more like we should stay here a few more weeks, and when the wet season is over, head straight to Kununurra.

Sunday. 2/3/2008

With no work today, we went to look at some markets. The first was in the city mall. Not a huge number of stalls, but there was some good priced things there if you wanted them.

Next it was out of town to the Walkabout museum markets. That was about 16km from town, in the heritage farming areas to the south. This market is pictured, and it was even smaller. The atmosphere was very nice however, and they had a very nice sausage sizzle, according to Lyn. We also found a rather nice snakes and ladders chart to add to our games selection.

Monday. 3/3/2008

It was a public holiday in WA today for labour day, so we did some sightseeing this morning. There were seven ships off the coast waiting for loads. Went to the HMAS Sydney II memorial, and are going back again when there are not so many other people around.

Friday. 7/3/2008

Our evening cleaning job has just been giving us enough to live on while we wait for the weather to improve up north, but nothing to put aside for travel. We were planning to leave here over Easter and try to get somewhere where we could get more income, when the cleaning company asked us if we wanted to do an extra 18 hours per week. Only trouble was it was in the mornings, so we would be working 6 to 8 in the morning, then another 3 hours of an evening. After thinking about it we said we would try it and see how it went.

Our cat Zebbie has been giving us a lot of trouble. She is peeing on the entrance door during the night. Standing up and just spraying like a tom cat. I'm ready to just leave her somewhere, but Lyn won't hear of it. Even with daily cleaning, the van is starting to smell like a cat's toilet, and I'm worried the smell will get into the timber and stay there forever.

Monday. 10/3/2008

We were up early to start our new morning cleaning, but there was no one at the offices to show us what to do and give us the keys. The contract manager was not on the phone, and we had to call the cleaning company owner. Took an hour to sort out, and then we were trying to clean as people were arriving for work. It was awkward, but we got it all done, and then went back to the cleaning company office to report. They are going to pay us for the wasted time, plus a bit extra, so it has worked out quite good.

We seem to have found a solution to the cat pee problem. I gave in and put a second litter tray, with a different type of litter, by the door where she has been spraying. Success! She is using it and not spraying. We have also thrown out some carpet mats and replaced them with good rubber ones. Also found a nice rubber mat for outside by the steps at the Sunday flea market. Got it for $2.

Reading the American RV forums, the latest thing is to have some pink flamingos in the ground outside your van. So found a pattern and got to work on some spare plywood we had, to make a pair to put outside. We can be the first here to have them!

Tuesday. 11/3/2008

Talking to some new people in the park today, we got more information about places and conditions up north. It all keeps pointing to Kunanurra as the place to go. Best combination of work chance, accomodation sites and price, and least native troubles.

Just to add interest to the day, the park management told us we that some new regulations had come into force and we would have to sign a lease to stay too much longer. That was not for us, so we have decided to stay no longer than the end of April. We can stay here as tourists until then, though we might have to move site if another big rig books.

Friday. 14/3/2008

We've been looking for ways of getting cheaper phone calls, and finally decided to try Skype via the internet. Downloaded the program and put some credit in the account, and gave it a try. It actually works quite well, and gives a total cost of 8 cents per minute, plus the 25 cent connection fee. Overall it works our better than the phone card we were using, and without the hassle of trying to find a public phone to use it through. Look out rellies. We can call anytime!

It's starting to get quite cool here overnight. Not enough to set the furnace going, but you do need a blanket.

We have decided to leave here before the end of next month. We told our boss, and he has offered to give is some contacts further up the coast if we want to keep doing cleaning. He even suggested we might be able to park out the back of a warehouse in the mining area and live there, while we get paid huge amounts, because they are so desperate for cleaners. Well that is the theory anyhow. We might have to try and see. He has suggested Karartha and Dampier. Iif we don't like them, well his company has an office in Kunnunurra where we could work, but the money would not be as good as the other places. So many choices.

Friday. 21/3/2008

The picture is of Lyns friend, Donna, from the van opposite us in Geraldton. They are from Victoria, and doing the same as we are, with their three young children. Her husband has a job in an earthmoving business here, and they are looking to move on further north in the school holidays.

Yesterday, white lines appeared marking out empty sites in the front of the park. Some of the drive-thru sites were marked as two. About midday the new arrivals started. Tents and more tents. Only one van, and it was a camper van style. Strange to see this forest of flimsy tents with so many people. Once set up, they were straight off to the beach. Only a few days of holiday and so they try to fit everything in, while the permanents just say that it will still be there tomorrow, and wait for the holiday chaos to end.

We did four cleaning jobs in the afternoon. All the ones that fell due over the holidays. We are getting double time for doing them.

Sunday. 23/3/2008

The park had organised an Easter egg hunt for the younger children at 7.30 this morning, so everyone was up just after sunrise. We left about 8.30 to have a look at the town 50ks to the north of Geraldton - Northampton. The town was an older settlement, and not very big but had a huge grain storage depot. Many large round silos, and a couple of the very long rectanglar ones popular here. Near the center of town they had a very well laid out and maintained park - Hampton Gardens.

Not much was open, but there were quite a few visitors floating around. Called in at the Sunset beach shops on the way back, and their carpark was full.

We have decided to leave here before the school holidays start in three weeks. We've spotted a nice job at a motel in Newman and even if that job is gone when we get there, there will most likely be others. We will tell our boss on Tuesday, and give him time to find someone else for the work. Once he has done that, we will head to Mount Newman to see what we can find.

Saturday. 5/4/2008

Getting ready to leave Geraldton early Sunday morning. After much discussion, and not hearing back about any of the jobs in Newman, we have decided to head up the coast toward Broome. We have found a job at Coral Bay that might really suit us. Work for both of us, and seems like we can get some hours as well, so we will call in there first to check it out. If it works out, we could be there for quite a while.

Things worked out well with the cleaning work, as a pair of French ladies called looking for work, and so they took over our contracts. We have been showing them the ropes over the last few days, and so can now leave without causing any problems to our employer. The photo is of Jenny, our cleaning manager, who came by to pick up our cleaning gear before we left.

The trip continues northwards - click here to follow.