Friday 9th April 2010
Today we left our home in the (hopefully) good hands of our 3 lovely children and headed towards Paula’s family farm in Albany. Paula had a family meeting in town on the Saturday and we thought we would take the opportunity to camp down by the river in what we think is a beautiful place.
We would like to say that the trip was uneventful, and for the most part it was, except for an aggressive and arrogant truck driver that we encountered. He was in an SRT truck that is based in Albany we think so if you see one beware. The driver in question decided that he could overtake a range of vehicles on an overtaking lane. The problem was he couldn’t quite make it past us in the space available. He was about level with our camper and decided that as he was bigger we should just head bush and let him go. I literally was looking for somewhere to drive as he was just running me off the road. Fortunately he eventually backed off so I gave him the one finger wave to let him know that I was not happy. Anyway, at the next overtaking lane I backed off so he could come around and on the way past he gave me a salute of “appreciation”. My blood boiled so I used my 2-way to remind him of road rules when merging and how the vehicle in front has right of way. The airways were blue for a while but I won the day when I reminded him that it was drivers like him that gave truckies a bad name and that he might like to turn off the indicator that he had left on for the past five kilometres. He shut up after that!
We arrived at the farm in plenty of time to set up, however on levelling the van I noticed that one tyre was a bit low on air….a bl%*dy flat. Anyway that problem was fixed (in between showers) and we were able to set up and enjoy a blazing campfire with star filled skies and a beautiful still evening.
Sunday 11th April
Yesterday we hit the town early so that Paula could attend her family meeting and so that I could get the flat repaired. It was a screw that lodged in the tyre so it was a simple fix! I took the opportunity to visit my favourite camping store (Trailblazers) and had a very pleasant morning.
We spent the rest of the day doing little but relaxing. Paula wandered over to see her mum and I played around with my camera trying out a few HDR images. We had a butterflied leg of lamb cooked on the BBQ for dinner and spent the evening chatting around the fire.
Today was also a slow day but we did manage to fit in a walk over to the other end of the farm to have a look at the blocks that will become Paula’s eventually. This afternoon was spent watching the Dockers on TV (as I write this they are looking good – first quarter though), reading and catching up on some well earned rest.
Might even get the fishing rod out tomorrow…….
Monday 12th April
Today was another “town” day, but this time for pleasure rather than business. Steve wanted to pick up a few bits and pieces and Paula’s mum asked her to collect the mail, but the main purpose of our visit was to go to lunch celebrating the 30th anniversary of our first “date”. Thirty years since we started going out together – the time has flown!
Before we went to lunch we stopped off at the Telstra shop to get Paula a new phone. She didn’t want one, but Steve was convinced that she did. Steve won, and Paula left with a new iPhone. (Steve thinks she secretly likes it as she has already started using it to check her e-mail and Facebook.)
For lunch we went to the Earl of Spencer, a quaint little pub/restaurant that we found a few years back. Steve quickly made friends with the man behind the bar as he gave him tastings of all the different types of beer that they have on tap! He was impressed! We both enjoyed a delightful lunch and a couple of drinks.
After lunch we came back to camp and started to prepare for tea. The weather had been patchy all day with showers blowing through fairly regularly. We decided that we would cook a roast for tea and Paula’s mum was coming down to share the meal with us. Unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worse not long after Fran arrived and we were suddenly in the centre of a huge thunder storm complete with torrents of rain and hail! This didn’t deter us however and we enjoyed a lovely roast lamb and vegetable feast!
After Paula took Fran back home we had a night cap and then hit the sack! No fishing today…..but there is always tomorrow.
Tuesday 13th April
We woke up to a reasonably fine day – completely different to the night before! We had a very good night’s rest and even slept in a little. Nothing was planned for the day, so Steve got the yabby nets out and put them in the dam in anticipation of a feed. Paula was over at the farm house helping her mum out so Steve got the fishing rod out and spent a couple of hours enjoying the river. (He only caught a few small bream and obviously let them all go.)
We spent the afternoon enjoying the sunshine and listening to the radio. Apparently a big storm was brewing and it had already hit the South-West Cape and it was expected to get to us during the evening. We decided to secure the annex a little more and battened down in anticipation. It was hard to believe as the day was sunny, still and warm, but this is Albany!
We collected a small number of yabbies from the nets (not many of a reasonable size, but enough to be used as a topping on the pizzas we were planning on cooking for dinner), lit the fire and settled in to enjoy the evening. In fact, the weather remained delightful right up until just before we hit the sack. We enjoyed fantastic pizzas cooked on our Cobb along with some garlic bread and a glass of red wine. We sat by the fire watching the stars and the lightning which occasionally lit the far horizon. It was a simply delightful evening! Eventually the storms closed in so we decided to retire to the Quantum. Once again we experienced thunder, lightning, torrential rain and some hail…. But the Quantum kept us all warm and dry.
Wednesday 14th April
Once again we awoke to a beautiful sunny morning. We enjoyed a relaxing start to the day with some scrambled eggs and a cuppa. The good thing about camping in the Quantum is that there is not a lot of housekeeping. Steve got “Chopper” out again to top up the firewood supply and Paula tidied up around camp and helped to cart the wood to the fire. With the chores done, Paula sat in the sun with a book and Steve pulled out the fishing rod again. This time he was luckier and caught a couple of reasonable sized bream which he released again. There were plenty of bites and the river was beautiful so there was much to enjoy.
The afternoon was spent reading, writing this blog and generally slacking off. The forecast is for showers again this afternoon and into tomorrow so we will have to wait and see what eventuates. We are hoping to be able to enjoy the campfire this evening!
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Thursday 15th April
Well what an eventful evening we did have. We were sitting by the campfire as we had hoped last night when the phone went. It was Rob (brother in-law) who needed a hand with a cow who was having problems delivering her calf. Paula and I both headed off to help and were able to assist the mother through the birth. It was quite hard and messy work (Rob did most of it) and I was surprised at the effort required to bring the little calf into the world.
We were worried that the cow was not interested in the calf and also that the calf might not make it through the night. It was very weak and mum was pretty traumatised. We snuck back up to the yards before we went to bed and were happy to see the calf still alive and mum lying nearby. This morning, we headed up to check on mum and bub again and were pleased to see them both in a paddock all looking well with bub attempting to nurse from mum. It looks like they will both be OK!
Paula headed into town to follow up on a little more family business and Steve spent the day packing up bits and pieces in readiness for our departure tomorrow. He had intended to go fishing, but left his fishing box in the car with Paula (Doh!)
Today was a day we were not looking forward to. We both procrastinated about packing up but as we knew we were expected home we finally got into it. One thing we love about the Quantum is how easy it is to pack up. We were all done and ready to go by lunchtime so we hit the road for an uneventful trip home. It was a very relaxing and peacful week. We loved the time we spent by the Kalgan and can't wait to do it again. Now we are looking forward to the Gibb River Road Trip.
Paula arrived back at camp a little after lunch, so Steve retreived his fishing gear from the car and retired to the river for the afternoon. It was blissful. The weather was calm and warm and the fish were biting in droves. You could see them swimming in the shallow water and feeding off submerged logs. Quite a number were caught, however most were undersize and all were returned to the water.
Paula had invited her mum over for a final meal so we decided eventually that we had better get organised. There wasn't a lot to do really so after a little prep for the barbecue, Paula headed off to fetch Fran. When she returned we all settled in for a dirnk by the campfire. Not long later Rob called by and as we had plenty to eat he stayed for the evening too. It was a lovely final evening to spend under the stars!
Friday 16th April
Today was a day we were not looking forward to. We both procrastinated about packing up but as we knew we were expected home we finally got into it. One thing we love about the Quantum is how easy it is to pack up. We were all done and ready to go by lunchtime so we hit the road for an uneventful trip home. It was a very relaxing and peacful week. We loved the time we spent by the Kalgan and can't wait to do it again. Now we are looking forward to the Gibb River Road Trip.
