Christmas in Mapleton

I must say that I haven't had such a relaxing Christmas Day since we were kids when we didn't go anywhere all day and people came and visited us.  Although we didn't have anybody visit us on the day, we had plenty of drop-ins in the days leading up to Christmas.  The surrounding residents in the park came by with various good wishes ranging from hand shakes and kisses, presents, Christmas cards and candy canes for the girls.  It was nice to feel that we were familiar enough in the caravan park circle to be part of their Christmas.  There were also invitations for dinners and drinks from friends we have made from school and from Beckers which was also nice.
We had endeavoured to bring a little bit of Christmas to our site with one set of solar Christmas lights which I brought from home and a fibre optic Christmas tree which we bought in Nambour. 
Our annex has been flashing inside and out for a month now.  The tree was only small at 120cm high but needed to be so that we could pack it away for next year in our already capacity storage areas.  It stood on an aluminium camp table for two reasons.  One, so that we could see it and it wouldn't be lost on the floor of the annex with all our other crap.  Secondly, being an electricity related object we felt the need to keep it off the floor in case of terrential downpours leading to leaks and potential fires.

My original idea was to have a real Christmas tree so that I didn't have to store it but when I asked around, nobody seemed to know anything about 'real' Christmas trees.  I therefore assumed that Queensland was the wrong climate for conifers and didn't take it any further.  Imagine my annoyance when a week after purchasing a fake tree, a sign appeared on the roadside advertising real Christmas trees for sale.  Oh well, by this stage Erin had already started putting small trinkets on the tree and the fibre optic lights did save me having to put a lot of decorations on it which would again take up storage room when travelling.
The solar Christmas lights served a dual purpose on the inside of the annex.  They looked pretty and were a place to hang our Christmas card collection which was quite extensive this year (not that I'm bragging or anything).
On Christmas eve, the task of transferring plastic bags of gifts from their hiding spots in the van to the annex and under the tree held its own dramas.  It's not easy to shift noisy, rustling plastic bags around while trying not to wake sleeping children who are right under our noses.  I can hear people saying 'why not take them out individually' but when the van rocks every time you step out of the door, I thought that might be just as disturbing.  As luck would have it, a short torrential downpour created enough noise for me to shift all the parcels out into the annex without the rustling being a problem.   Before anyone makes a comment about the rain making noise, we have lived with rain on our caravan roof for 4 months now and amazingly enough, the girls usually sleep right through it.  They are desensitised already.  As I gathered my parcels together Steve just stood there gobsmacked while I pulled parcels out one after the other from all manner of hiding spots in the van.  I don't think he thought we had that many cubby holes in the van. His comment was "what have you done".
On Christmas morning, the girls weren't overly early in rising from their bunks but once Erin got up, the excitement was there.  Becca didn't quite understand what all the fuss was about but she was happy to get involved.  Erin was so excited that every present she gave out, she wanted to help open as well.  That wasn't a problem for Steve and I but we made sure that Becca got to open her presents herself.  To be honest, we had to encourage her to rip her presents open.  She had this look on her face like she was going to get into trouble for ripping the paper so we had to let her know it was alright for today (fraught with danger for future behaviour).

After the unwrapping cermony, it was time to make pancakes which gave me time to clean up the knee high paper pile in the annex.  Once our pancake breakfast was finished, we skyped some friends and family which took us right up until lunchtime.  I had decided not to have a hot lunch because we were going to have a late breakfast.  In the afternoon, Becca had her sleep, Erin played with her things and Steve and I just kicked back in the annex with a couple of dips, a drink and some music playing in the background.  Before we knew it, it was time for me to put the turkey roast on for dinner.
Erin had been bugging me for weeks about having Christmas pudding this year.  If only she had asked for pudding before this year, she would have been able to enjoy her grandma's famous homemade one but alas, she missed out.  I bought 4 small individual puddings and after our yummy turkey dinner, got them out ready to heat and serve with custard and icecream.  To my dismay, Erin says as I'm getting them ready, "Can I have an icecream in a cone please".  After much wailing on my part about the fact that she was the one who wanted puddings this year, she agreed to try it.  Steve insisted she have custard and I had to point out that she has never liked custard, even as a baby.  We then had to sit there and watch Erin try to pull the sultanas out of the pudding.  She hates sultanas.  What a joke, pulling out the ingredient that makes up 90% of the pudding. Steve and I just shook our heads and wondered what the purpose was for having pudding this year. Unbelievable!
As for presents, Becca loved her little red wagon which she towed around the caravan park with great delight.  The residents think she has roadtrain driving in her blood as she loves to tow things around.  Mmmm.....who knows.  Erin surprised us both by playing all day with a $4 cardboard cutout dressup book which I put in her stocking.  She was wearing her wedding dress for most of the day too which Santa bought for her.  The girls' never cease to amaze us with their choices and the things that they do on this trip.  We all had a great day together despite being away from our extended family.  We thankfully had lots of messages and skype was a great device to have on the day. 

All I Want For Christmas......

Almost a month ago, Steve asked me what I wanted for Christmas.  He's very organised like that......gets in early and then is shopping and wrapping on Christmas Eve.....typical male.
I contemplated his comment for a while, wondering what I might like.  To be honest, there was nothing that sprang to mind and not because I was being polite or anything.  We were thousands of kilometres from home in our caravan which had everything we needed by necessity and choices.  There has been few, if any, occasions where we have thought that we should have brought something or left something behind.  That's pretty good choosing I'd say.  Either that or we've just accustomed ourselves to living with what we have.
Anyway I said that I couldn't think of anything which resulted in much whining from Steve about what he was going to do.  My comment to that was 'just give me an experience', after all we are out here to experience all sorts of things.
Mmmm........well on Wednesday of this week, I got my experience.  A TIF in one of the Becker helicopters.  No, this was not a joy flight but a real opportunity for me to fly a helicopter myself (under instruction, of course).  TIF stands for trial instructional flight.  Steve had me viewing an introductory dvd a week and a half ago which would save time on the day because everyone has to view this video about all the workings of a helicopter, what the controls are and how they work.
Surprisingly, I wasn't nervous about the flight and was actually looking forward to it.  Originally, my flight was organised for mid morning but I have quickly discovered that this industry into which Steve is embarking is similar to truck driving, in that plans change at a moment's notice.  After too-ing and fro-ing over several days,  I flew mid afternoon.  The day had turned out beautifully after being overcast in the morning.  Weather changes had the potential to make or break my Christmas present.
Several key decisions had to be made.  Correct clothing had to be considered.  Long pants and shoes which were not thongs (essential and regular footwear on the Sunshine Coast).  I was using foot pedals and did not want to jam a thong under one.  When I arrived, I was asked whether I wanted to fly with the door on or off the helicopter.  That then begged the question, do I want to be hot in the little plastic bubble or do I want to be shit scared of the height and falling potential in mid flight.  Again, I surprised myself and decided to fly with the door off.  Holy shit, what was I thinking!!  Everyone told me that you can't fall out because of air pressure holding you in so I was taking their word for it.
Into the briefing room I went with my instructor Jimmy who is Steve's instructor as well.  All that dvd viewing was then put to the test as he asked me what this and that did so that he was sure I had an understanding of what I was doing.  He was really going to give me the  controls!!  Out to the helicopter we went.  I sat in the seat and all the gauges and controls were explained to me again as well as radio frequencies, fuel etc etc.  Surprise, surprise......my feet didn't touch the pedals properly so out from under my seat came a cute little satin pillow with lovely embroidered detail.  It was for the girls of course because only those of short stature such as myself do these crazy things. 
After photographs and goodbyes to Steve and the girls, who had come out onto the tarmac to see me off,  Jimmy and I were ready to go.  We took off across the main tarmac towards the beach.  We then banked and started flying along the coast up towards Noosa.  What a view.  The ocean was deep blue and green in the shallows and we could see all the mega mansions perched in the rainforest along the coast.  Although I was looking out, I had councilled myself not to look directly down as I was sure the height fear would kick in.  Jimmy gave me the controls individually so I could see how they made the helicopter react.  The foot pedals (which keeps the tail behind you) and the collective (looks like a handbrake in cars and controls height or altitude) were relatively straight forward to use but the cyclic (the stick between your legs which is like the steering wheel) was very difficult.   Only tiny movements were needed with this control and here was me looking like I was mixing a cake in a bowl.  Coupled with that was an annoying wind which created a self-made turbulence that my tummy was not happy about.  Here I was trying to hold this machine on a straight flight path and all I was doing was causing it to buck around.  Almost immediately, the motion sickness kicked in.  My mouth went dry, my bum puckered up and I couldn't speak as an overwhelming need to throw up came over me.  Jimmy knew something was wrong because I had not shut up the whole time before that.  He took over the controls and headed to an abandoned quarry where the students regularly do circuits of take offs and landings.
I knew I wasn't going to make it to the ground and so asked what would happen if I threw up out the door.  All I could see was the Sunshine Motorway passing beneath us and I had to hold on so that people on the motorway weren't going to need to put their wipers on.  I then threw up out the door.   Jimmy, being the gentleman that he is, actually turned the helicopter out of balance so that I could throw up out the door without wearing my lunch. That air pressure that keeps you in the cabin is very difficult to break through at 140 kph.  Luckily I managed to get the headset microphone out of the way and didn't lose the headset, my sunnies and Steve's hat altogether.  After landing for a few minutes, I felt much better and was ready to continue which surprised Jimmy because he thought I would want to go back to the airport.  We took off again and went over to the training area to have a go at hovering.  On the way, he described how flooded the Noosa River had been in January during the floods and how they had plucked people off roofs in the Lockyear Valley rescue effort.
At the training area, I had a go at pedal turns which were fun.  I just wizzed the helicopter round in circles (controlled ones of course) and pointed it where-ever I was asked to.  Hovering involved that nasty cyclic again and although we were closer to the ground now, it was even more difficult to achieve.  I did, for a second or two, achieve a steady hover which I was very proud of but most of the time I was rocking it around all over the place.  Before I knew it, the hour was over and we headed back to the airport.  As we taxied down to Beckers landing area, Jimmy flew the helicopter backwards and sideways down the runway just to show me what it can do.  That was fun!  Once we touched down and everything had stopped spinning, Steve and Erin came rushing out.  You should have seen Steve's face when he saw me and the helicopter.  He felt really bad that I had gotten sick.  After much praise from Jimmy and reassurance that it happens all the time, we headed back to the opps room.  Actually one of the instructors said his passenger had covered the entire inside of the bubble during one TIF.  Luckily I had decided to have the door off.  As we walked across the tarmac, Steve trotted towards me with a bucket and cloths to clean up his wifes' mess because another student was about to go out in that helicopter.






After sitting down for a while, I was presented with a certificate from Jimmy for completing my TIF and was also presented with my very own Beckers cap which was a good thing because Steve's was now a bit messy.  Everyone was asking how I went and I didn't go into too much detail but said that I had enjoyed it, which I had, apart from that little mishap in the middle of the flight.  Most of the instructors had warned Steve that I would catch 'the bug' after doing my TIF and I must admit, I would really like to master that hovering, but costs prevent it.  When Steve told his senior instructor that I had indeed, caught the bug, he said "Steve, what have you done!"  It was an amazing experience and I really enjoyed my Christmas present this year although I was still cleaning my sunglasses, and Steve his hat,  the following day.  Oh well, one must experience a little discomfort to have an adventure.

Progress Thus Far

Well, it's nearly Xmas now, and today was my last day at Becker's for this year.

It's been a roller coaster ride for 3 months, although it certainly doesn't seem that long.

The first 2 weeks comprised 10+ hours of flying to acclimatise and help understand the upcoming theory lessons.

The next 3 weeks were Navigation and Power/Performance theory and their associated exams. Passed.

Then a week of jittery flying, about 3+ hours. Attempting to hover.

Another 3 weeks of  Aerodynamics and Aircraft General Knowledge and exams, which I also somehow passed.

A week of flying, 3 or so hours, absolutely convinced I will hit the ground like a dart.

3 weeks of Air Law, and Meteorology, and 2 nervously passed exams.

This last week comprised a comprehensive hangover, celebrating theory completion, and another 3 to 4 hours of flight, where my instructor thought I might be ready to experience and practice  engine failures from a thousand feet above the Sunshine Coast Airfield. Well, I guess Emergency Services wouldn't have far to go to tidy up the messy stain, should it all go wrong.... The descent of 1400 feet per minute does take a little getting used to, but believe it or not, one does desensitize.

So, 21 hours on,(and apparently  will solo soon, which will have it's own level of apprehension) I have been cheerfully told by my instructors it'll probably take around 600 or so, before I may indeed feel comfortable in this alien world.

Everyday is a challenge, whether it be fears, or ability, therefore the rewards are most fulfilling.

When it rains it pours

Yesterday started out like any other day apart from the fact that from 3am onwards it had been raining.  It was wet, on and off, on Monday and Tuesday was overcast but dry and then I woke in the early hours of Wednesday to the not so gentle patter of rain on our van roof.  At 7ish Steve went off to training looking like a cross between the 'michelin man' and an operating theatre assistant with all his wet weather garb on including boot covering booties like theatre staff wear.  I peered out of the window while we were having breakfast and the clouds had dropped over Mapleton to cover the district in a thick, pea souper kind of fog. I have been told that it is not fog, as such, but low cloud that hangs over the ranges when it's wet. There was even a bit of thunder which sent Karki straight under the bed... weird weather!  For the first time since we arrived here, I had to drive Erin to school in the car because the rain was that persistent.  Up until then, even on a rainy day, we had been able to get to school and back between showers. 
I quickly went down to Nambour after dropping off Erin to grab a few Chrissy things and the water was, again, running down the road in rivers.  There was even a waterfall flowing off a rock wall along the roadside which I'd not seen before.  Once in Nambour, one needs to check the level of the river running through town because signs in the undercover parking area at Nambour Plaza warn of flooding during heavy rain and flood doors being closed and parking at owners risk etc etc.  I don't think it was a concern on this day but it's better to be safe than sorry.  I think the rain in January this year would have been a closer scenario for flooding.
I had not been home long when Steve smsed to let me know that he'd finished for the day and was on his way home.  It was about 10.30.  By 11, he called me.  The bike had conked out in Nambour at traffic lights in the pouring rain and his attempts to restart it had failed.  Could I bring the tools down in the Nissan because he was obviously going to need to do more to get it going.  So down to Nambour for the second time went Becca and I.  With every transfer from van to car I required an umbrella and clever steps because our site was fast turning into a quagmire.
Once down the hill again, I found Steve huddled under a large tree in the still pouring rain waiting.  He had managed to push the bike into a carpark adjoining the local council depot so was out of the traffic at least.  We tried for one hour to get the bike going.  Me holding the umbrella and he working frustratingly on every idea he could think of.  Becca was asleep for a short while but then she woke up and we let her loose in the car so she didn't see a need to get out.  She has developed a particular fondness for Erin's travel activity case which sits behind my seat.  Perfect!  That kept her amused for a little while although at one stage I did think our situation could get worse if she snapped the keys off in the ignition or something like that.  A fellow DR Suzuki owner had told Steve that these bikes are renowned for getting water in the carbies so that's what he was attempting to fix.  All the while Steve was saying to himself "it's all about the adventure" to try and convince himself that it was part of our "experience".
With a sore foot from trying to kickstart the bike, he decided to try and roll start it down the carpark driveway which was sloping.  Meanwhile, it dawned on me that we could probably hire a trailer in town somewhere, get the bike home and worry about starting it later.  Steve's waining enthusiasm was quickly reinvigorated with that suggestion so he stashed the bike somewhere inconspicuous and we headed into town to find a trailer.  Within 10 minutes we had found a 6x4 trailer to hire.  Steve was thrown a bit by having to deal with an automated machine to hire the trailer, something we had never seen before.
Anyway within a short while we were heading back up to Mapleton to drop the bike home.  Oh and it's still raining by the way.........We then had to get the trailer back to Nambour and get back up the hill again to pick Erin up from school.  What a day!  Steve tried until tea time to get the bike going without success......It's still raining.....so had to get up this morning and try again.  By lunchtime, it was running beautifully again and so off to training he went.  As it turns out, Mapleton had upwards of 50 mm of rain yesterday and Brisbane had it's coldest December day in 123 years at just 19 degrees.   I actually ran the heater setting on our airconditioner in the van for the first time since Gundagai where there was ice on the ground. We certainly picked a doozy of a day to have a so called adventure but then I think the day itself created the adventure.

Man vs Wild in Mapleton

When we first arrived in Queensland, there was this anticipation that we were going to be surrounded by all things wild, in particular because of Steve's input about his home state from younger years.  We have certainly seen critters since we've been here but then the humidity kicked in.  As a result, there has been a continual discovery of all creatures great and small which have 'come out' due to the increasing humidity.
On two occasions in the last two weeks, snakes have been seen in the caravan park.  Our neighbour went up the hill to empty his portaloo and discovered a green tree snake curled around the dumping receptical.  He called us and we all rushed up to see it moving away under one of the permanent caravans.  It was a lovely olive green colour with a yellow belly.  I have since heard them being called yellow bellies.  Perhaps 'lovely' is not the right word but it wasn't an ugly colour.  Several days after that, another snake was seen at the entrance to the ladies toilets.  The eyewitness, however, made it sound like a giant fanged, super sized marauder but was more likely to have been a tree snake again.  Nevertheless, we have had to become more vigilant with the girls and where they play.
Erin's class show and tells have turned into wild kingdom lately with snake skins and huge huntsmen spiders turning up on a regular basis.  The other day one young lad turned up with a milk crate with a bush rat in it, still in the wire trap, which had been caught the night before in the family's house roof.  One of the mums relayed a story to me about their house roof being a spider haven as told to her by a visiting tradesman.  She said she really didn't need to know that.  Erin's classmates have talked about pythons swallowing ducks and one mum talked about a python entangled in the wire of a friends' chicken coop.   Another mentioned that when she went to put her sons' guinea pigs out one morning, there was a python curled up inside the hutch.  Luckily the guinea pigs were kept indoors at night so they weren't breakfast.
Quite often during the day when it's nice, I will leave the screen door open on the van but when it comes to closing up at night (particularly to keep the mozzies at bay), we have an assortment of weird and.......well more weird insects taking up residence in the windows and around the fluoro lights.  There are flies with green eyes and slow motion wing movements and strange shaped little spiders with patterns to name a few.  As I eye off the wildlife in the van before we turn the lights out, I ask Steve if we are still going to be alive in the morning with all these critters around (in jest of course).  There are ants with green bums that are to be avoided.  When they bite you, you hardly notice it but after about 5 minutes, it feels like acid burning around the bite and within 24 hours it is very itchy.  Quite often I see little skinks scooting around in the annex when there are no cats or children around.
Our most recent amusement was when Erin gave us some good advice about the huge march flies we get around the area.  Her sports teacher, Mr Ford, had told them to "let the march fly settle and then smack 'em".  From all her learning at school, she had to remember the teachings of her sports teacher on march flies and she says it with such expression too.
With the onset of humidity has come the cicadas.  These very raucous insects make a loud chirping sound usually in the afternoon when its warmest and they drown out all other noise. Lately we have found their insect casings which they shed, leaving a perfect copy of their original shape.
The other day I was cleaning out Erin's swimming bag which was in the annex and reached in to pull out what I thought was a crayon.  In the millisecond that I briefly held said crayon, it was prickly and hard.  By the next millisecond I had flung it across the annex where it landed in the cats' litter tray.  After the squealing and flayling of arms (not unlike Erin's dance when a leech was on her) I realised it was a large shiny beetle that had gotten lost in the swim bag........completely harmless.  Needing to regain my composure and the girl's respect,  I went and picked up the beetle and showed the girls but the damage had been done.  Mum's reaction had lost them any semblance of confidence with observing insect creatures.  Well......I'm only confident when they don't take me by surprise.
We had been told by the locals that ticks become more prevalent in the humid months, but to be honest, we have not spotted one on any of us since those first couple of weeks.
On the plus side, we've seen tawny frogmouths with babies in the evening and the kookaburras are ever present as well as parrots and lorikeets galore.  I'm sure as the humidity sets in, we will see more of what Queensland has to offer in the wildlife department.