09 May 2010

Sun May 09, 2010 Full Page

Life in a House with Wheels.So, clearly the blog hasn’t been kept up to date as it should have, but I’ll try my best to summarize the last few months. The mainthings are,- A lot of time kitesurfing around Rockingham.There is a spot called Safety Bay which seems to have been designed perfectlyfor kiters.- Found a dog one morning. No one around knew whoit belonged to so we kept it for a while, bought it food and took it for walks,before Paul called the pound and ruined our fun.-Kitesurfing in Safety Bay with dolphins. Just before sunset Paul and I were the last ones on the water. As I was going outfor my last run of the day, around 4 dolphins surfaced just next to us, clearlynot disturbed by our presence they hung around for a few minutes bobbing up and down in the flat water.-An enormous storm hit Perth in March. On thesame day we discovered that the van wasn’t waterproof and that the hole dripsjust above my side of the bed, not even duct tape could fix it. However still an amazing experience, hailstones raining down in 35˚ and some of the most impressive lightning I’ve ever seen. Most of the time has been spent around Fremantle, a suburb just south of Perth. Staying in the homely LeightonBeach car park. It’s right next to the train station, it’s got showers and mostimportantly it’s on several kilometers of beach. Pauls girlfriend, Gabby,arrived at the end of march bringing the group up to 4. The first few nights were a little challenging, 4 of us sleeping in one van is a little close at times! Quickly, Paul and Gabby decided to buy a car for the two of them to sleep in, it certainly made my life a lot more comfortable.With money running short, and an early flight out planned, I decided to get a job. First off we all tried treeseeding and without going into too much detail we managed one day before deciding that the low wages and 5am starts were not what we came to Australia for! So I got my RSA* and after not to long bagged a job as a barman in TheMussel Bar, a seafood restaurant right on the water in Fremantle dock. Holding a job whilst living in a van is surprisingly easy. Cold showers are a definite low point but when you’re living rent free you can’t expect too much.The Mussel Bar crew was an awesome bunch of people. Mostly backpackers, there were Brits, Swedes, Irish and eventhe odd Ausie. It was a wicked few months, getting paid double what I would back home and meeting some wicked friends at the same time. The time I wasthere seemed very normal, sometimes I’d forget that I was in Australia, just Bristol on a very sunny day! So, having saved up a decent packet, I’m leaving van life for the Philippines tomorrow morning. A littlenervous to be travelling on my own but really excited for the road ahead. I have a slight idea of where I’m heading but nothing book past the second night.I have a new book, a fully charged iPod and an economy class ticket with Royal Brunei airline… … Bring it on. *Responsible Service of Alcohol. If you want to get a job on any licensed premises in Australia, you are required to attend an eight hour lecture followed by an exam on how irresponsible Australiansare at drinking. It’s a way of getting $90 from people and making an attempt at improving the Australians reputation for drinking


Filed under Australia

Tue Feb 09, 2010 Full Page

We moved down south to Margaret River on the 2nd Feb, metJoe and Dan again and spent a day kiting there. Camped up in a car parkin the evening, nothing unusual. But the next day I awoke to an overlyvigilant ranger ready to deal me a $100 fine for illegal camping!The rest of the day was spent in Margaret River, we took the van for an oilchange and service and wandered the small surf town in the earlyafternoon. Over the day, and a few beers, we began to hatch plans totake the long way back to Perth. The wind was forecast off for at leastthe next four days and we all wanted to see a bit more of the south. Sowe drew up a rough route, packed up the van and hit the road.>>Margaret River WA, Australia&dWe would start at Margaret River, heading south to Augusta. From there itwas a long coastal road through national parks, beaches and longstretches of highway, eventually leading to the beach town ofEsperance. In Esperance we would stock up and head north, through thesouthern outback, to the gold mining town of Kalgoorlie, which wouldset us up for a 590km straight, westbound for Perth.We left relatively late on the 3rd feb, only getting 30km south but camping inthe amazing surroundings of the Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park,where we boiled up our pasta under the watchful eye of a hungrykookaburra.Aside from the long beaches of Augusta, the nextdays journey eastbound to Walpole was fairly uneventful. We did,however, begin to appreciate the vastness and bleakness of theAustralian road. looking at the map, our excursion really was dwarfedby the enormity of this counrty. In Walpole we decided to pay, for thefirst time, for a campsite with flushing toilets, clean sinks andshowers(it had been 6 days since my last and deodorant only goes sofar).On the way to Albany, we took a break from driving toexplore 'The Valley of the Giants', a huge, dense forest with suspendedwalkways and paths to guide you around. Paul was a little unnerved bythe swaying platforms and thoughts of bird eating spiders kept me onedge. We found a car park just outside Albany that was a short pathaway from a tiny, whitesand cove with amazingly blue water. Myexperience however was tainted by seeing a spider the size of aplacemat with legs hairier than mine!Days on the road arefilled by gawping at and photographing landscapes, compiling killerplaylists on the ipod and counting roadkill. These past times fulfilledus during the 6 hours from Albany to Esperance(cruising speed in theold girl is 55mph to save on fuel)We awoke in a concealed sideroad in Esperance to see a large group of people setting up a triathlonthat cycled straight through our camp spot. Not so concealed after all,needless to say we made a swift exit and went to explore a few ofEsperances beaches. We climbed rocks, poked craps and even saw a sealgliding around the shallows. On the way back to the car we found 8unopened cans of beer the we shamefully scavenged(but saved $30 in theprocess!). Satisfied with the south coast we left out faithful Route and thundered north into the southern outback, destination, Kalgoorlie.Wearrived in Kalgoorlie after many hours driving. Bill Bryson writesabout the fascination of a town that is so stark and lonely. To behonest we were a lot less fascinated than Bill Bryson and got quicklybored. So we left. heading west along Route 94 towards Perth. Somewherealong the way we decided to take a 175km detour to see Wave Rock. So wecamped in a truckstop called Southern Cross and agreed among ourselvesto leave as early as possible and take the track south.Thetrack was unsealed, bumpy and dusty as hell all the way to Wave Rock.Wave Rock has been formed by thousands of years of erosion from saltcrystallization in the air, forming an immense curve in the huge rockformation.As we edged closer to Perth I could feel thetemperature dip into the thirties and my armpits relieved theirperspiration. Before long the vegetation flourished as we realised wehad left the dusty outback for the familiar coastline of Cottesloe,Perth.

Tue Feb 09, 2010 Full Page

We moved down south to Margaret River on the 2nd Feb, met Joe and Dan again and spent a day kiting there. Camped up in a car park in the evening, nothing unusual. But the next day I awoke to an overly vigilant ranger ready to deal me a $100 fine for illegal camping!The rest of the day was spent in Margaret River, we took the van for an oil change and service and wandered the small surf town in the early afternoon. Over the day, and a few beers, we began to hatch plans to take the long way back to Perth. The wind was forecast off for at least the next four days and we all wanted to see a bit more of the south. So we drew up a rough route, packed up the van and hit the road.http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Margaret+River+WA,+Australia&daddr=Albany+Hwy+to:Goldfields+Hwy+to:-31.896214,118.405151+to:Hyden+Lake+King+Rd+to:perth+WA,+australia&hl=en&geocode=Fcry-f0dJOPbBinNLNZLGa0vKjHpzG-Kdzx9gw%3BFXa26f0d5qIGBw%3BFR7oKP4dtDM-Bw%3B%3BFdbZEP4dprUVBw%3BFThmGP4dntznBilt8V8p1boyKjFNek2jX3ZXKA&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=3&sz=8&via=1,2,3,4&sll=-32.147711,119.295044&sspn=2.102157,3.394775&ie=UTF8&ll=-32.157012,119.311523&spn=8.403488,13.579102&z=6We would start at Margaret River, heading south to Augusta. From there it was a long coastal road through national parks, beaches and long stretches of highway, eventually leading to the beach town of Esperance. In Esperance we would stock up and head north, through the southern outback, to the gold mining town of Kalgoorlie, which would set us up for a 590km straight, westbound for Perth.We left relatively late on the 3rd feb, only getting 30km south but camping in the amazing surroundings of the Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park, where we boiled up our pasta under the watchful eye of a hungry kookaburra.Aside from the long beaches of Augusta, the next days journey eastbound to Walpole was fairly uneventful. We did, however, begin to appreciate the vastness and bleakness of the Australian road. looking at the map, our excursion really was dwarfed by the enormity of this counrty. In Walpole we decided to pay, for the first time, for a campsite with flushing toilets, clean sinks and showers it had been 6 days since my last and deodorant only goes so far .On the way to Albany, we took a break from driving to explore 'The Valley of the Giants', a huge, dense forest with suspended walkways and paths to guide you around. Paul was a little unnerved by the swaying platforms and thoughts of bird eating spiders kept me on edge. We found a car park just outside Albany that was a short path away from a tiny, whitesand cove with amazingly blue water. My experience however was tainted by seeing a spider the size of a placemat with legs hairier than mine!Days on the road are filled by gawping at and photographing landscapes, compiling killer playlists on the ipod and counting roadkill. These past times fulfilled us during the 6 hours from Albany to Esperance cruising speed in the old girl is 55mph to save on fuel We awoke in a concealed side road in Esperance to see a large group of people setting up a triathlon that cycled straight through our camp spot. Not so concealed after all, needless to say we made a swift exit and went to explore a few of Esperances beaches. We climbed rocks, poked craps and even saw a seal gliding around the shallows. On the way back to the car we found 8 unopened cans of beer the we shamefully scavenged but saved $30 in the process! . Satisfied with the south coast we left out faithful Route and thundered north into the southern outback, destination, Kalgoorlie.We arrived in Kalgoorlie after many hours driving. Bill Bryson writes about the fascination of a town that is so stark and lonely. To be honest we were a lot less fascinated than Bill Bryson and got quickly bored. So we left. heading west along Route 94 towards Perth. Somewhere along the way we decided to take a 175km detour to see Wave Rock. So we camped in a truckstop called Southern Cross and agreed among ourselves to leave as early as possible and take the track south.The track was unsealed, bumpy and dusty as hell all the way to Wave Rock. Wave Rock has been formed by thousands of years of erosion from salt crystallization in the air, forming an immense curve in the huge rock formation.As we edged closer to Perth I could feel the temperature dip into the thirties and my armpits relieved their perspiration. Before long the vegetation flourished as we realised we had left the dusty outback for the familiar coastline of Cottesloe, Perth.

Fri Jan 29, 2010 Full Page

So, we're finally on the road! We've left the safety and comfort of the hostel in exchange for a 26 year old converted minibus. Our first day saw us head 50 km due south to Safety Bay and Woodmans point (both world famous kitesurfing spots). Although Perth is an amazing city i think we were all relieved to head out to something a little more adventurous.On our arrival at Safety Bay, we noticed that most of the pro kitesurfers from the UK were riding, it was amazing seeing them in real life! The first session out of the van was at Woodies, which was everything the hype promised. perfect flat water, consistent wind and long stretch of deserted beach. A perfect evening session, kiting all the way until sunset. Paul had been on the beach at the time and had spotted a large creature gliding around in the shallows, the fisherwoman next to him identified it as an Eagle Stingray, with a wingspan of around 7ft!We spent the next few days around Safety Bay And Woodies, kitesurfing and getting used to life in the van. On the 27th we headed north to a place called Lancelin, around 120km north of Perth, to meet Joe (a friend from Bristol) and his brother. The drive gave us a taste of what driving up north will be like. Unbelievable stretches of road, edged by blackened, burnt out forests (this area has been hit alot by forest fires) and dusty outback as far as the eye could see. We were all a bit shocked by Lancelin, there are 2 pubs, 2 food shops (the only magazines available were Angler monthly and pornography) and with a population of only *** there really isn't much to do when your not on the water. However the beach offers plenty of space to set up and launch kites, with a huge patch of flat, crystal water in the front, a small shore break 100m to the left and a huge reef break 500m out. The waves regularly exceed 2m! We spent 2 days there, solid kitesurfing and making the most of the conditions (wind normally dies off in Western Oz by April). But in those 2 days i managed to see a penguin, dolphins and a Bluebottle jellyfish.Back on the road now, we have been told of a Kiteboarding competition happening over the weekend in Woodies, so a slight a change of plan, camping up in Perth tonight to head there tomorrow. Should be some inspiring riders there! ps. visited a national park on the way down to see some Koalas (we are in Australia after all!)

Sat Jan 23, 2010 Full Page

So, Paul, Tom and I have finally left the snow and ice of Bristol, thankful that our flight was only delayed by an hour at Heathrow the amount of cancelled flights in the week had us all a little nervous! . 11 hours later we arrived in Mauritius, only to be hassled by immigration. Nobody in Sir Seewoosager Ragoolam Airport was convinced our visas were real. After about an hour in passport control and a lot of pigeon french, we were let through, still not sure why.Mauritius is an incredible place, with multi million pound villas 5 minutes away from people living in corrugated iron shacks. The kitesurfing was amazing, clean wind and blue waters backed by volcanoes and thick forest. We spent the next few days exploring the island in the Toyota Hilux borrowed from the hostel owner , kitesurfing and trudging through forests. Food wasn't too adventurous but the mango and papaya trees out the front provided breakfasts and desserts.Unfortunately Mauritius was just a quick stop over so before long we were back in the airport ready for the final 6 hours to Perth.Arrived in Oz no problem, checked into Ocean Beach Backpackers, explored Cottesloe for a bit and crashed out in the late afternoon. The next day we all headed to Perth city centre to sort stuff out. It is an awesome city, with all the skyscrapers and charm of any capital, without the chaos and rush to go with it. Bumped into our friend Joe in the street, which inevitably lead to our first beers of the trip. He and his brother, Dan, headed north to Lancellin the next day and we spent the next week scouring hostels and private ads for the perfect van, only stopping to kitesurf twice in a week.However, after looking at alot we chose a 1984 Toyota HiAce minibus with a 2 litre petrol engine, from a french backpacker named Guillaume . All the seats have been pulled out, replaced with a double mattress and plenty of storage underneath. $6500 bartered down to $5700. Already taken it for a few test miles, the gears are taking a while to get used to! Hopefully will be out of Cottesloe on Monday.Spending the first night in the van tonight... I get the feeling we'll all be better friends at the end of it all.Miles travelled: 11,458Burgers eaten: 8Calories from burgers: 3200Money lost: 53¢Bobtails lizards seen: 1Jellyfish seen: 1Spiders seen: 0

Wed Jan 06, 2010 Full Page

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