JOURNAL 2010

JOURNAL YEAR

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January 1st 2010 (Friday)

We went down to Bush Bay again today to do some more fishing and after a very enjoyable day we brought back 47 whiting. We caught a lot more but let plenty go.

With the dawn of the new year we are hoping that things will finally start to get sorted out. The Immigration Department and Dorothy's PR is our first priority but close second is sorting out somewhere more permanent to live.

Although we are all used to living in the caravan now, it is too small to be really comfortable and it is time for us to get something better. The problem is that if we take up a private rental and then Homeswest comes up with a house for us we will be responsible for any remaining time on the private rental lease. Things always seem to be over complicated.

January 10th 2010 (Sunday)

We went up to have a look around Quobba and the blowholes today. We took the rods with us and did a bit of fishing as there was a big pile of seaweed on the beach and we found a few worms. Initially there was nothing around but grunters but once the girls started fishing they started catching some nice big whiting. In the end they got about 2 dozen with Dorothy doing best. She caught the biggest yellowfin whiting we have ever caught (34.5cm) and everyone went home very happy.

January 16th 2010 (Saturday)

Half way through the month already. Today was the first time in quite a while that we have seen rain. This time it came with a lot of heat so outside it was like a sauna. Earlier this month Homeswest offered us a flat but as it had nowhere to park the caravan we couldn't accept it. I am tired of being mucked around over these things so I have written to the Minister asking him to please try and get the Dept. of Housing to do something that actually makes sense. I won't hold my breath as the incumbent is a Liberal and they can be heartless mongrels when it comes to these things.

January 24th 2010 (Sunday)

We went back out to Quobba today hoping that it might be another good fishing day. We did catch 6 whiting but nothing near as good as on the 10th. Even so it was a nice day out and it is probably the last time we will get to go out there as I have to start packing up this week.

Our plan is to be heading south in the first week of February. We would like to see Denham and Kalbarri before stopping for a while at Geraldton. Carnarvon has become a bit too boring and it is now time to see something new.

February 4th 2010 (Thursday)

Today we got news from the Department of Immigration that Minister Evans wants to grant Dorothy PR status but that there are still police clearances and a medical check to do. Finally this is the news we wanted to hear. Now we just have to wait for the forms to get to us and we can head south to arrange the medical assessment.

February 5th 2010 (Friday)

Sunday Times rang as they want to do a follow up on the story about immigration.

February 11th 2010 (Thursday)

We have been working on filling out the final forms for Dorothy's PR. I swear those forms could make a rock sweat blood and make saint swear. The mongrels who are responsible for designing those forms should be hung up by their B***s and left to slowly bake in the sun.

IDIOTS! Do they actually think anyone is going to tick YES to questions like 'are you a terrorist?', 'have you been responsible for making weapons of mass destruction?' and 'have you committed war crimes?'!!!!!!

They ask the same STUPID questions over and over when they ALREADY have the BLOODY answers. I have lost count of the times we have had to write down passport details that they have been given 20 times before.

Well most of it is done now and we aren't planning to fill out any more forms any time soon.

February 12th 2010 (Friday)

Today is Belle & Dorothy's 51st birthday. I bought them a joint present, a 61 key electronic keyboard so they can learn to play music together. Both of them like to sing and this is something they can add to that hobby.

Unfortunately the first keyboard I got had a dud key so we had to take it back and exchange it.

We have been trying to finalise all the form filling nonsense for DIAC but have now hit a snag as no bank will provide us with a bank draft in Malaysian ringgit. We will have to email DIAC and see what they can suggest.

We are stuck in Carnarvon until at least the end of the month as Dorothy's medical exam (costing about $600!!!) isn't scheduled until Feb. 25th.

February 14th 2010 (Sunday)

We went down to Bush Bay again today, more for the fun of it rather than needing to catch any fish but we did end up getting some whiting which we will give to Vivi & Yihan who are from Taiwan. The girls made friends with them and we have been giving them fish on and off for a few weeks. In return we have been getting some tropical fruit etc.

March 16th 2010 (Tuesday)
The weather seems to be cooling off now and we have decided to go back to Bush Bay to avoid being ripped off in the caravan park. The Immigration Dept. are still dragging their heels and waiting for a certificate from Malaysia but there is nothing we can do about it.

As usual everything is in other people's hands and we are just stuck in limbo.

We are going to move to Bush Bay tomorrow and it is stressing me out - as moving usually does. I am having to monitor my blood pressure and it is hovering around 160/100 - not good. I can only hope it settles down once we have moved.

March 18th 2010 (Thursday)

We arrived at Bush Bay yesterday and more or less got the campsite sorted out in one day. I finished the last bits and pieces today and we are now ready to go into town tomorrow to collect water and do all the usual chores.

We even went fishing today but didn't catch many decent sized whiting.

The weather seems ok if a little humid. At least the wind picks up enough to make it comfortable during the day. No need for the air conditioner yet.

We now have to play a waiting game and see what happens with Immigration etc. It is looking more and more likely that we will head up to Cleaverville one more time but then again, that is only plan A.

March 20th 2010 (Saturday)

We are pretty well settled in at Bush Bay again now and the campsite is all sorted out. The main hassle is my back playing up again but then I am more or less used to it doing this every time I have to start moving heavy things about. I will be very glad to get a house again and stop having to go through all this.

April 13th 2010 (Tuesday)

Not much to write about at present. The weather is gradually getting cooler and since there seems to be no movement from the Immigration Dept. we are beginning to plan moving north again to Cleaverville for the winter. Fishing here has been very much on and off with some big whiting being caught but mist days there seems to be little about. I have more or less given up until we get to Karratha.

Another couple of weeks and we will be starting to think about packing up and heading off again.

April 22nd 2010 (Thursday)

Into town today and one of the jobs was to get the front right tyre replaced. At $351.00 plus balancing it wasn't going to be a cheap day in the first place but then we found that the old rims were too rusty and so we had to get a new set of rims and this blew the cost out to $1009! Anyway at least that is one area we won't have to worry about for a while and the rims have caused us a bit of trouble in the past.

Cruiser with the new rims

April 28th 2010 (Wednesday)

Warmer weather again at present as the wind starts to drop off. Along with the change in wind strength has come a sharp increase in the numbers of bush flies, mosquitoes, March flies and sand flies.

We found a new fishing spot along the mangroves yesterday but once the tide is in the water gets about waist deep and there were quite a number of sharks over the three foot mark swimming through the mangrove roots. We had to back towards the shore several times and when the tide came right in the sharks could easily have got in behind us under the dead seaweed. I had to call a halt to fishing for the day as things were starting to feel quite uncomfortable. We did catch some nice big whiting but we won't go back again until the tides start to drop down.

April 30th 2010 (Friday)

The girls went fishing this morning but only caught one fish. The good thing was that it was a 38.5cm whiting, the biggest we have ever caught. Dorothy is out fishing the 'experts' again.

May 3rd 2010 (Monday)

The weather seems to be cooling down quite rapidly now. We went fishing this morning and after being in the water for a while my feet and hands were going numb with the cold. It wont be too long now before we pack up and head for Karratha.

May 4th 2010 (Tuesday)

Fishing again at the new spot. Better weather today and much better fishing as we came back with 27 whiting. 11 were very good size.

May 5th 2010 (Wednesday)

Fishing for whiting yet again. The only real item of note today was that my line broke after I hooked a fish and once I re-rigged and cast out again I managed to hook my old line with the fish still attached. That has to be a bit unusual especially as there was nothing to stop the fish from swimming away.

May 9th 2010 (Sunday)

The weather in Karratha seems to be starting to cool down a bit so we are thinking that this Thursday will be the last trip into Carnarvon before we pack up and head north again. No word yet from the Immigration Minister on the final bits and pieces so we have little option but to go north away from the cold weather.

May 13th 2010 (Thursday)

We found out today that Dorothy's permanent resident visa was granted on May 3rd. Finally we can start sorting our lives out and hopefully it won't be too long before we get a house and really start to settle down and live the life together we have been dreaming about.

May 16th 2010 (Sunday)

We seem to have been acquired by a cat. A week ago two small cats turned up outside. Both were in a pretty poor state and we started to give them food and water as they appeared to be on the brink of starvation.

The black cat has since disappeared but the tabby seems to have adopted us so we now have to find a way to take it with us when we leave.

It has only taken a week for the cat to become so comfortable with us that it is now sitting in the caravan near my feet and it allows us to pat and stroke it.

When it first came into the caravan it began exploring and once it hopped up on to the bed it saw itself in the mirror. Never having seen a mirror before it obviously thought there was another cat in the room and it stood frozen for a couple of minutes wondering what to do. Eventually it went back to exploring but then it popped its head up onto the shelf behind the bed only to see 'another cat' in the mirror there just inches from its nose. Very slowly it sank down and then cautiously rased its head again to look at this new cat. We were in fits of laughter watching the cat as it tried to understand what it was looking at.

May 17th 2010 (Monday)

We have decided that having a pet while still on the road is not the best idea and since we were in town for the last time today we called in at the local Shire Ranger to see what the options were. We were told that they try to re-home animals and young ones have a good chance of finding someone to look after them. We think this is the best alternative as the cat is not yet bonded to us so we have borrowed a cat carrier and we will drop the cat off when we pass through town.

If we were closer to being in a home then the decision may have been different but this is just not the right time to get a pet. Hopefully a home will be found as none of us would like the cat to be destroyed even though it is not 100% tame yet.

We are now ready to start packing up and the only thing between us and better fishing is a few days getting ready and a 600knm drive.

Temperatures here depend greatly on the wind right now. When the wind is blowing it is getting rather cool and when the wind stops it is still quite warm. It is the cold mornings more than anything else that are the impetus for us to get going.

May 18th 2010 (Tuesday)

A low pressure system brought rain in today and combined with that was a big tide. This ended up flooding many campsites but we managed to stop our area from flooding by putting a sand barrier across the road.

The small sand barrier was all that stood between the campsite and sea water

May 19th 2010 (Wednesday)

Thankfully the tide was lower today and the rain seems to have gone so we are hoping that the track will dry out enough to let us get away by Saturday.

The evening entertainment was watching a herd of cattle file past the campsite - something that we haven't seen here before despite the fact that we are actually on a cattle station.

May 21st 2010 (Friday)

Plan 'A' had been to finish packing up today and be on the road first thing in the morning but we have been told that rain has been forecast for later today and increasing tomorrow. The track is still too wet from the high tide on Tuesday for us to get out today so it looks like we might be stuck here longer than anticipated.

We are more or less packed up now so it is just a waiting game to see if the rain actually does turn up.

The girls are bored and have decided to go fishing while we wait to see what the weather decides to do.

May 22nd 2010 (Saturday)

Everything was fine until about 3:30am when we heard the first sound of rain hitting the roof of the caravan. It stopped after a few minutes and I was silently hoping that it was just a shower. Not much later it really started to rain and it looked like we were going to be stuck at Bush Bay for another week. (I remember doing some swearing at this point.)

We got up and I un-hitched the car from the caravan and went with Belle to have a look at the state of the track. Everything was quite good except for one section near the T junction but we decided to give it a go and try and get out anyway.

In the end we got away without any hassles but the wind was against us for the first part of the drive and we only got as far as the northern Exmouth road before we had to stop for the night.

Karratha is still another 400km away so we have a long drive ahead tomorrow.

May 26th 2010 (Wednesday)

We arrived at Cleaverville on Sunday and we have been setting up the campsite and getting everything ready for a couple of days.

Yesterday we went into town to get water and stock up on some supplies. We also bought a new tent for storage as the old one has just about had it. We have finally decided to get an internet wireless connection ($50 a month for 3gb download). We did a lot of other spending that came up to over $1200!! Hopefully that will be the last big spend up for a while.

Today we managed to get time out in the boat and we did reasonably well. We (actually Belle) caught some garfish for bait and we all managed to get a few other fish including 6 fingermark bream, 1 cod, 1 mangrove jack and 1 Spanish flag.

The weather has been quite good and we are well settled in now.

May 29th 2010 (Saturday)

The last couple of days have been a bit too windy to take the boat out so we have just been doing a bit of fishing from the beach. Not much to catch but bait fish but now we have a good supply of garfish and hardy heads for the times when the wind decides to slow down a bit.

June 1st 2010 (Tuesday)

We went out crabbing yesterday but after 4 runs we only came back with a miserable 4 crabs. All that work for so little reward. Even so The girls enjoyed eating what we caught.

Today the wind was still down so this time we went out to the front reefs again to see what fish we could catch. Things were very slow and we only caught a couple of size flag and two nice snapper. Belle caught a whiskery shark but we always let these go. We caught a few garfish for bait and then started to pack up to come in.

As I was hooking a rig of big gang hooks into the stock of the rod the hooks slipped and the bottom one went straight into the palm of my hand - not nice! Belle took over the boat and brought us in as I was feeling a bit groggy after trying to pull the hook back out - more ouch!! When we got to the ramp there was another boat loading up so we asked if they had any experience removing hooks from people and luckily the man had previously operated a trawler and so he set about getting the hook out.

The first step was to cut the bottom part of the hook off the gang and this was done with no pain to me. Next came the nasty bit, the hook has to be pushed in further and the point has to come out followed by the cut off shank. This BLOODY HURT!!! The cut off section of the 3rd hook has to pass through the hand to get it out. After some impassioned groaning on my part the task was over and we were able to get the boat on to the trailer and come back to camp without any further mishaps.

June 16th 2010 (Wednesday)

The wind has dropped off and we got to go out fishing in the boat again today. Fishing from the beach is dismal at the moment so it is good to be able to get off shore again.

We didn't go out too far but still managed to catch 3 nice snapper 4 fingermark and 2 flag.

I have a bad dose of the flu at the moment so am not feeling too good but I wasn't going to let that stop me going fishing, I can always recover later.

June 17th 2010 (Thursday)

Went fishing again and had an interesting day. Dorothy had a huge fish get hold of her line and then take off. Her reel was whizzing round and we tried to get the fish to turn but all of a sudden the line went slack and we thought it was all over. We brought the line up but we could still feel something light on the end. I looked over the side and she had a small Spanish flag on the end and following it up was a massive cod. We didn't really want to hook the cod as it was well over the maximum size limit of 1 metre but we saw it several times as it followed up smaller fish that we hooked.

We also saw a big Spanish mackerel swim under the boat but it wasn't tempted by my float line. Another interesting fish was a large shark that swam under us.

We finally came home with 1 good snapper, 4 Moses perch, 3 flag and 1 spotted mack. There were all sorts of other catches during the day but nothing worth keeping so we let them go. We did pick up a few garfish as bait and for Belle and Dorothy to eat RAW! yuckky.. they just put in a bit of sauce and garlic and munch away... not for me at all...

Dorothy is itchy from midgie bites again and is suffering a lot. The weather is unseasonably hot so we will be glad when the cooler nights get here.

June 18th 2010 (Friday)

Went into Wickham to do some shopping today. I'm still not very well and Dorothy is still all itchy.

June 21st 2010 (Monday)

We decided to go and have a look at Harding Dam today but somehow we managed to take the wrong road and ended up doing a big circuit right round the back of Roebourne and back to the new Karratha-Tom Price road. As this took us close to Karratha we turned the day into a shopping trip but it was a bit disappointing not to get out to the dam as planned.

June 27th 2010 (Sunday)

The wind stayed down enough to take the boat out again today but the fish weren't biting and eventually the wind did come up and we moved in closer to shore. The fish were still playing hard to get so in the end we sat just off the beach catching some garfish.

June 28th 2010 (Monday)

Well the forecast said the wind was going to be down today but it wasn't. Even so we took the boat out again and sat off the west end of Dixon Island out of the wind. I got a very good bite but sadly it got off before I got a look at what it was.

We moved into the bay but didn't start catching much until after the high tide. Dorothy caught the first good fish which was a 440mm cod. Soon afterward I got a mangrove jack about the same size and then later caught another smaller one. We did catch other fish but didn't keep anything else.

July 2nd 2010 (Friday)

The wind is still blowing too strongly to get out in the boat so we have just spent time around the camp mooching about. Apart from getting on the net and using our computers we take walks along the beach to look for coral and sea shells that have washed up.

Belle caught the flu last time we were in town and she has been suffering even worse than me. Dorothy seems to have the best immune system as far as the flu is concerned and she has managed to avoid catching it.

July 8th 2010 (Thursday)

What would have been a fairly ordinary day in town today was turned into a huge hassle thanks to the 'good people' at the licensing office in Karratha.
 
Last week Dorothy went in to licensing to do her theory test as she needs to get her driving license sorted out. She passed the theory test (29/30) and then we were told that in order to skip some of the process of getting her a WA license she needed to get an official translation of her Malaysian driver's license. We filled out the required forms and left copies of her passport etc.
 
During the week we got the translation done and today we went in to get everything finalised. First they had lost all the paper work from last week, forms, ID, test results, everything! So we had to fill it all out again. Thankfully, having dealt with government departments over here for years we expected them to screw everything up so we took the passport and ID stuff again just in case.
 
A lot of head scratching behind the desk ensued as the staff started working out what to do next. We waited about a hour for someone to tell us what was going on and eventually we got called back to the desk and were told that they had cancelled Dorothy's learner's permit as she could drive on her Malaysian licence. We then had to point out that her Malaysian licence (that they had just been given a translation of and made copies of) was EXPIRED!
 
So now they turn around and ask if we had a log book (a requirement for new drivers but not for experienced drivers who just need to do a practical test.) and we had to point out that they had already told us that once we got the translation done the log book requirement would be waived.
 
In the end, after a monumental amount of time wasting and stuffing around, we eventually got Dorothy's learner's permit.
 
I have to wonder why, after she has been able to drive here on her Malaysian licence for the past year and has been driving for 20 years, it is necessary for her to do a practical test at all. If she was from Singapore, and not Malaysia, she would simply have her licence transferred.
 
The whole thing is so stupid it defies any logical explanation but the government wouldn't be government without making our lives unnecessarily complicated.
 
The other issue that has been plaguing us is the Department of Housing who have continued to claim that Dorothy could not have her name added to our application until she was a permanent resident. Once she got her residency we submitted her name only to be told that she could not be added until she was on an income from Centrelink (she can't be eligible for any payments for 2 years).
 
We looked up the rules on the Housing web site and surprise, surprise, we found this was all a load of bollocks! She should have been on the list EVEN BEFORE she became a resident.
 
The people who work in these places simply don't know their own rules. If they were in private business they wouldn't last five minutes. They only get away with all this nonsense because government departments have a monopoly over what they do and they know they are untouchable.

July 11th 2010 (Sunday)

The wind was down when we woke up this morning so we took the boat out again. Sadly, almost as soon as we got out the wind came up and we had to take shelter in the mangroves on Dixon Island. We caught quite a few fish but most were undersized. We came in with 3 bream, 2 mangrove jack and 1 small trevally.

July 12th 2010 (Monday)

Fishing again today and this time we tried the front reefs again. Plenty of fish on the sounder but hardly any action. We eventually tried all over the reefs but only brought back 2 flag and 1 Moses perch.

July 13th 2010 (Tuesday)

The forecast was for high winds today but when we woke up it looked pretty calm. We took the chance and went out anyway and we were lucky as the wind stayed down for most of the tide. Just in case the wind did come up we opted to fish in the mangroves by Dixon Island and we managed to catch 2 bream, 1 mangrove jack, 1 cod and 1 small trevally. We also stocked up on bait by catching 42 garfish.

July 16th 2010 (Friday)

We could have gone out fishing today but I thought the wind might be coming up a bit too much. In the end I was wrong and we could have had a good day out. Dorothy was not at all pleased with this and I expect I will be reminded of it quite a few times.

July 17th 2010 (Saturday)

Today we made sure not to miss getting out in the boat but to start with it looked like we weren't going to have much luck. We moved all over the place, from reef to reef and only caught 3 small fish. Eventually we came back closer to Dixon Island and Dorothy made up for Belle and I not doing well by catching three big (42cm+) snapper. I eventually got one the same size but poor Belle didn't end up bringing any of the fish she caught in as they were all a bit small.

July 18th 2010 (Sunday)

After a bit of pondering we took the boat over to Dixon Island again today but Dorothy was the only one who caught anything. She got a mangrove jack and a cod, both 40cm+. I did get a big fish on the line but as usually happens in these cases the big fish took the small line and after a brief fight it bit through the line. Dorothy is doing very well with her fishing and she has a lot of fun. I tend to grumble a bit as I have been fishing here for years and I am being out-fished by a new-comer.

July 22nd 2010 (Thursday)

Went into town today and found a surprise in the mail. Belle's pension had been cut off. Why? Because the morons at Centrelink couldn't be bothered to update our new address when we gave it to them so they kept on sending mail to Carnarvon. Even though we did eventually twig that they had done this and went in to the Karratha office to tell them AGAIN where our new address was, the thick witted, jackass pricks still went ahead and cut the money off. I have no idea how they manage to do anything at all with the slow witted fools who work there. They badger us endlessly about telling them every little change in our circumstances and when we do they still IGNORE IT. Stupid BASTARDS!

July 26th 2010 (Monday)

The wind is dropping off again so we got out in the boat. WHAT A WASTE OF TIME. We caught a few small fish but nothing worth keeping. A dismal day out on the water.

July 27th 2010 (Tuesday)

Today turned out to be much better than yesterday but only because we caught two 1m Spanish mackerel. Everything else we caught was again to small to bother with. We tried to get some more gardies for bait but only managed to catch 8 before giving up.

Dorothy cooked up some of the mackerel for lunch and Ooooo was it delicious. At least we have a freezer full of good eating fish now.

August 4th 2010 (Wednesday)

Had to take the cruiser in for a visit to the local mechanic today as the clutch has been playing up and there were a couple of other jobs that needed to be attended to. Had to pick up a rental car (paid for by our RAC Plus roadside assist).

August 6th 2010 (Friday)

Took the rental car back and picked up the cruiser again. Work cost $324.15 so not too bad.

August 8th 2010 (Sunday)

It was an early tide but the forecast was for light winds so we went out fishing for what may turn out to be the last time at Cleaverville. At first the wind was a bit fresh but it settled down and we did catch a few fish but none up to our standard so we let them all go. We did catch quite a variety today including pike, 2 type of snapper, 2 types of cod, flag, spinefoot (venomous spines so has to be treated with great care), tuskfish and bream. At least 5 fish were over the legal limit but as we already had half the freezer full of fillets we let them go and just enjoyed catch and release for fun.

August 12th 2010 (Thursday)

Got out fishing again but didn't do that well. Dorothy caught more fish than Belle and I but nothing was really big enough to keep. We did take in a small spotted mack that took the float line but apart from some garfish we caught for bait (just in case we do get out again) that was it.

August 15th 2010 (Sunday)

We are waiting patiently (or perhaps that should be impatiently) for the wind to go away so we can get out fishing one last time. Tomorrow is about the last chance we will get as the tides get too late after that.

By this time next week we should be pretty well packed up - that is if we manage to get the rental property we have applied for. If not then we will be starting to pack up but with much less urgency.

The weather is staying surprisingly cool for this time of the year so it has given us a few extra days up here.

August 16th 2010 (Monday)

It wasn't a perfect fishing day wind-wise but as it was the last chance we went out anyway. I caught a nice snapper (that I let go) and Dorothy caught some undersized ones. Belle did best when she caught an orange spotted rock cod (strangely enough the same fish Dorothy caught as the last fish last year) that was 520mm.

Overall I would have to rate the fishing this year as rather poor. Perhaps it is just as well that it wasn't spectacular as we won't miss coming up here so much once we are settled in Perth.

August 18th 2010 (Wednesday)

Today was our last trip into Karratha for supplies. From tomorrow we start packing everything up and we plan to be heading south by Monday. We are signed up for a rental property for at least the next 6 months. By the end of that lease we hope that State Housing will have managed to get its act together and have found us a more long term solution. It will be a relief to be in one place for more than 2-3 months and to begin to start buying some essential items to start a more normal existence.

We have been lucky with the weather as it has stayed quite cool. We hope that continues for at least the next few days.

August 22nd 2010 (Sunday)

The campsite is just about packed up now and we will be on the long road south again tomorrow. It hardly seems any time at all since we got here and were setting everything up.

If we weren't going south to start living in a house then we would probably have stayed here a couple more weeks but I guess it is finally time to settle down again.

August 23rd 2010 (Monday)

We didn't get away that early and only hit the highway by about 9:30am. The weather was overcast and drizzly but at least it was cool for this time of the year so the drive down to Barradale was pleasant enough. We stopped briefly at Robe River for lunch and the drive was uneventful (GOOD!)

August 24th 2010 (Tuesday)

Rain all last night and during most of the day until we got close to Carnarvon. Unpleasant night and not a good drive in these conditions. Stopped overnight at Nerren Nerren so we did over 500km today.

August 25th 2010 (Wednesday)

Nice sunny day at last. Another long drive to the rest area at Wannamal. Hoping to see some nice wildflowers there but not as good as last time we stopped. Dorothy did get to see some good roadside displays of wildflowers on the way down but no chance to stop and take photos.

August 26th 2010 (Thursday)

Finally arrived at the house and started unpacking. I can't believe that we have packed so much into the caravan. We had to drive down to the shops to order a couple of beds as we only have the caravan mattresses. We will have to buy a lot of things over the next few days.

The house is very old and a bit grotty but it is in a very nice area and everything is close so we will have plenty to keep us busy. The beds cost around $1100 and that is just the start.

We were happy to find that the house did have a few bits of furniture so we have some storage space but we will have to gradually buy everything needed in a normal household.

August 27th 2010 (Friday)

Shopping at Rockingham City ($3-400) and Bunnings. A busy day sorting the house out.

Got rather fed up when we found the lounge suite we want wont arrive until late September.

August 28th 2010 (Saturday)

More shopping. We have so much to buy, more than we originally planned as we forgot a lot of things.

August 29th 2010 (Sunday)

Working hard to clean the house up today.

August 30th 2010 (Monday)

More shopping. Things we have bought so far:

2 x queen sized beds, sheets, quilt covers, quilt (ordered), pillows, bolster, lounge suite, 4 burner BBQ with hood, BBQ cover, 2 swivel office chairs, computer desk, nest of 3 tables, 2 stand fans, bake ware, large frypan, assorted cooking implements, new kitchen bin, wall clock, clothes airer, ironing board, bath mat, non slip bathroom mat, padlock, soap tray, rubber mat, cobweb brush, window squeegee, 2 bedside lamps, toaster, digital set top box, computer speakers, Akai stereo, room heater, vacuum cleaner, step ladder, washing basket and I'm sure I must have forgotten a few things too.

The house is more or less cleaned up now but we still have a heap of things to sort out.

September 5th 2010 (Sunday)

I managed to catch the flu last week so I haven't been getting round to doing all the things I wanted to do. The girls have been busy cleaning the house but we still have quite a lot to do until we are properly settled.

We have managed to show Dorothy most of the beaches around Rockingham and Belle has been taking her round to the interesting shops so she is getting to know the area and what is down here pretty well by no. We still have a list of things a mile long to get done so I guess that will all start to happen this week as I am now getting over the bug I caught.

September 13th 2010 (Monday)

We needed to get a second car as keeping the Cruiser for running around town would be too expensive and we want to keep that for going away with the caravan so don't want to wear it out.

Originally we thought about buying a late model second hand car but in the end there was only about 2k difference between old and new so we decided to buy a new Hyundai Getz 5 door. We have ordered it and expect to be able to pick it up mid next week.

We have been gradually filling the house with all the bits and pieces needed for general living and our spending over the last couple of weeks is rapidly approaching 20K.

September 19th 2010 (Sunday)

Went for a trip up into the hills today. Was disgusted to find that DEC has closed Goorolong park and had to go on to Serpentine Dam to have lunch. Nice day out.

September 21st 2010 (Tuesday)

Picked up the new car today. The girls are happy and at least now Dorothy will be able to start practising to get the Australian driver's license.

September 24th 2010 (Friday)

Took the boat out and did a bit of fishing today. Best area was on the broken sand flats off Palm Beach where we caught some nice King George whiting.

September 25th 2010 (Saturday)

Mick & Jean called by last night and told us about some good furniture that came in to a local Op Shop. We went down today and bought one of the items for just $40. It is a beautiful TV cabinet that is made from solid wood. It would cost hundreds of dollars new. It was very heavy and difficult to move but we managed and are very happy with it.

September 26th 2010 (Sunday)

Kevin & Lesley dropped in today. Good to catch up with them after so long.

Tomorrow brings us to 2 years since we first met Dorothy. What a change that brought to all our lives. We may not be finally settled yet but gradually things are getting better and we all have hopes that by this time next year all the hassles will be in the past.

We are going up to King's Park tomorrow to celebrate the anniversary in the place we first really got a chance to sit and talk.

October 7th 2010 (Thursday)

Time is flying by and there don't seem to be enough days in the week to get everything done. We have (hopefully) finished our spending spree for the time being with the last few items being a 7.5kg washing machine, 34 inch TV, two bicycles and sundry odds and end all adding up to around $1500.00.

Hopefully the bikes will help us get some exercise as Dorothy's knee plays up when she walks so riding might be a better option for her.

October 14th 2010 (Thursday)

Took Dorothy up to see Rotary House (where Belle & I met 31 years ago) and then went up in to the hills to have a walk at Whistlepipe Gully. Also had a look at the house we lived in for 6 years at St. James then at our old house in Maddington (which has now changed almost beyond recognition). After lunch we went to Gosnells markets and then the girls did some 'op' shopping. Quite a full day out.