Our Popular Pets

The great talking point of our trip has always been our pets and the very fact that we had decided to bring such weird and wonderful pets on our adventure.  Of course, its all very well to nod admiringly at our ability to transport and house 2 cats, 2 bearded dragons and a snake in our caravan but when it comes to babysitters for them, therein lies another challenge.  While in Adelaide, we had several people on hand to look after the lizards, the frog and the turtle but as per usual, poor Derek the snake was fed prior to departure so he could sustain himself while we were away.  The cats of course are easy.....they just go to a cattery for the alloted time. Now, despite our somewhat gypspy lifestyle, we still manage to get away from the van and explore places which radiate out from our main base.  Now Derek is not such a small snake anymore......he is about 6 foot long and although he needs feeding on a less regular basis, keeping his tank clean is another problem.  A large rat makes quite a big mess when it comes out the other end (stop reading all those who are squeamish) and the risk of disease to the snake is increased if tank hygiene is not kept in check.  With poos the size of a small dog and enough liquid to saturate his newspaper base, he really needed watching to keep his tank clean.  This particular fact had slipped our attention with the impending trip down south for 10 days.
Initially, we were going to leave both the lizards and the snake in the annex, as we have done in the past, and ask our caravan park neighbour to pop in every few days and give the lizards some fresh vegie mixture.  Unfortunately they would have been in the dark for nearly 2 weeks as the annex would have been zipped up and secured in our absence.  As people learnt of our trip home, we received several offers to look after the lizards but as usual Derek was left out.  People offered to drop in, feed and keep an eye on our reptilian pets while we were away.  The Ponders offered to look after the lizards under the pretence of babysitting but in fact wanted to trial them as new pets for their boys.  It was thought to be a good idea to keep them at their house so everyone could get an understanding of what it would be like to have them as pets before any decisions or money outlay happened.  They have been a huge hit with the whole family and it's only been the first day.  We tried our best to explain all their habits but the family keeps discovering new and amazing things about our bearded dragons and I've been getting regular photos and updates on my phone.
It's really exciting when people get the same kick out of our pets as what we do especially when many people aren't overly keen to start with.
Two Fridays ago at school, the parents of one of Erin's classmates offered to take Derek off our hands while we were away.  I thanked them for the offer but said that Derek would get his usual rat before departure and survive quietly until we got back.  Many families in Erin's class live on semi-rural estates or properties around Mapleton and so are quite used to fishing a python or large spider out of their houses on a regular basis given the surrounding rainforest and bush in this area.  Bryce's dad, although not having handled snakes very often, was not nervous about taking Derek for a while.  I mentioned to Steve that someone had actually offered to take Derek and after some discussion, we decided that it might be a good idea for the sake of tank hygiene.  I emailed the family and asked if the offer still stood because we would be grateful for the help.  I made sure that they realised what a thankless task it would be to clean snake poo out of the tank but they were still happy to have him.  Wow! This was a first.......putting Derek's tank into the back of the Nissan and taking him to babysitters for a couple of weeks.  The temporary resting places for both reptiles at their respective houses were very nice in comparison to the plastic folding table in the annex.  Our lizards had a very nice sunny spot right next to a window and the snake was placed on a buffet counter next to the dining table.  I did comment that eating meals wouldn't be the same for a while with a snake watching closeby.  Steve decided to feed Derek in situ so his host family could get a look at his talents when devouring a rat.  No matter how 'grosed out' people are when you describe his eating habits, Derek never ceases to attract awe from an audience.  So now we sit in our caravan preparing to head south knowing that all our critters will be in relatively safe hands for the duration of our holiday.  Although they don't attract as many volunteer babysitters as say a guinea pig or a rabbit,  for those who are willing to step outside their comfort zone and give it a go, our reptile pets can be an interesting addition for a short while.

Happy Mothers Day

Happy belated Mothers Day to all our friends and family.  It was, of course, my first mothers' day away from home but it was also probably my first mothers' day in a long time where Steve was home.  As with all these occasions in the past, Steve was usually driving a truck on Sunday and so generally missed mums' day.  I was very spoilt on this day and really enjoyed it. 
Naturally on the day I wanted to have a sleep-in, it was cats and not kids that decided that the caravan needed to wake up.  Thankfully Steve quickly fed them to shut them up but it was too late as the girls had already stirred.  When Erin got up, there was the usual flurry of activity as 'daddy organised' gifts and cards were wrapped and written last minute.......some things never change no matter where you are.  Erin did very well by writing on 'daddy's card' without needing help with spelling.  My new U pillow cover (which I chose myself of course) was quickly removed from Steve's bedside drawer and prettied up for me.  In fact, Erin was organised this year with a card and gift before the day so she was on the ball and way ahead of dad.
To be fair, I had received the night before a beautiful bunch of flowers from Steve and the girls who felt the need to give them to me while they looked fresh and lovely.  Luckily the cold nights at the moment are keeping my flowers spritely and fresh days later.  Erin had been excited about Mothers' Day this year because she had made her card and gift especially.  Our lovely neighbour Kylie and Erin had been doing 'secret business' next door for several days before Sunday and I was looking forward to seeing what she and Erin had made.  Firstly, however, I received the most beautiful handmade card from Erin which she had made at school.  The word 'MUM' was fingerpainted on the front with a lovely verse both on the front and inside.  Also, inside, was a little pocket with three handmade flowers placed in it.  On the stem of each flower was a wish job for Erin to do for me on Mum's Day.  The jobs were making a cup of tea, giving me breakfast in bed and doing the dishes.  Erin and Steve gave me my first wish with a nice cup of tea.  We had pancakes for breakfast and although I was out of bed, Erin spread jam on my pancakes for me.  Doing the dishes did happen but a few days later.
Then I opened my gift and it was a beautiful pair of handmade earrings.  Erin had personally selected all the colours of the stones on them and had placed them in a delicate green satin bag.  Erin told me that was because it was my favourite colour which it is.  The earrings are dangly with blue and green stones.  They were gorgeous and I wore them all day.  Then Erin and Becca gave me my 'daddy organised' gift and card in a gift bag.  Steve had found a humorous Mothers' Day card which made me laugh with everyones' input inside including Becca scrawl.  I had also received a little gift from Pam which were some
much needed bed socks.  These were not short ones but knee length for wearing under track pants and pyjamas.  Very handy at the moment even in Queensland.
We had organised a day drive and picnic with the Ponders down to Kenilworth and into the national parks around the place.  It was a fantastic day out and we had a ball.  The mums' went in one vehicle initially and the guys went in the Nissan and the kids split up between the two 4wds, Jack and Becca in one and Lockie and Erin in the other.  Kenilworth is only 20kms from Mapleton so we were there in no time and decided to let the kids get out at the local playground and run amuk for a while.  The guys got coffee and cheese from the cheese factory across the road and the kids had a nibble as well.  When we got going again, we headed into Booloumba Creek on the Kenilworth forest drive.  Here we crossed through beautiful crystal clear creeks with pebbly bottoms.  There were sections of rainforest and open eucalypt forest which kept the drive interesting and we drove up and down some steep roads. 
As we were driving along a track, a 4wd came into view with bonnet up and bums sticking out from under it.  The first thing I said was "here's another king-gee moment coming up".  Yep, sure enough, Steve pulled over to help.  The Nissan 4wd had a busted fan belt with no spares and no tools.  Steve, on the other hand, had everything on board and preceded to pull out our spare fanbelt to replace it.  While we waited, we mums' took the kids for a walk into a camping area and spotted two huge lace monitors ambling across the grass.  A closer look and several photos later and the kids were happy but the lizards just tried to make a getaway.  Next we piled all the kids into the back of the Ponders' 4wd ute and slowly drove up the track to see what we could find.  I sat in the back with the kids and Lee drove.  The kids had an absolute ball as we slowly made our way up the track where we came across a lookout at the top.  We all got out and looked at the great view.  Then we headed back down again and got back just in time to see the guys finishing their work.  Thankfully, when the stranded 4wd offered money to Steve for the fanbelt, Fergus accepted on his behalf and we were reimbursed for the cost of the belt.
After the guys washed the grease off their hands, we drove on for a little way and decided to stop at a beautiful creek and set up our picnic lunch.  The kids all paddled in the water, skimmed rocks and splashed away while mums and dads sat on the bank enjoying a cuppa and a beer.  There were sandwiches, fruit and chocolate cake (which I had made the day before).  I tried, for the first time, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches which the Ponders developed a taste for while they lived in the US.  They were surprisingly tasty but I couldn't convince Erin to try one and Becca had a go but handed the rest to me.  We had corned beef sandwiches from dinner several nights previously.  Steve was continuing his Mums' Day duties by playing with the kids and keeping my tea topped up.
As we were packing up, Erin needed to go to the loo......no.2.  It was suggested that there might be toilets up in one of the campgrounds if she could wait but she was in a hurry.  Besides, there was every likelihood that they would be pit toilets and my budding naturalist would rather dig a hole than use one of those.  The two of us trotted off up the track to find a clear spot to go off the road.  Well it was harder than I anticipated with all the lantana thickets lining the road.  I found a less dense section of lantana and we beat our way off the road.  Boy, lantana is prickly stuff and the grass was long too.  Erin had grabbed the back of my shirt and I kept losing my balance as I tried to step over vines and branches.  I can't believe she would rather do this than use a pit toilet.  Anyway by the time we got back to the cars, everyone had repacked and we were ready to go. 
We spent the rest of the afternoon driving around and enjoying the scenery.  We girls were getting behind because I was always asking to stop the car to take photos.  By the time we finally caught up to the boys, they had turned around because they had come across a 'road closed' sign further up.  We drove further down to find a clear spot to turn around too and while attempting our 15 point turn on the track, I saw another 4wd scoot through the road closed sign and keep going.  Now Steve and I are never ones to take any notice of such a sign unless the track looks really bad and to be honest I was surprised that they had turned back.  We decided to catch the boys and let them know what we saw.  When we did catch them, Steve was super keen to turn around as he hates having to go back the same way he came.  Fergus, however, was less keen but it was mothers' day and he was outnumbered 3 to 1 so we turned around.....again!
The road itself had been recently graded and was nice to drive on.  Eventually we came across the reason for the road closure - a tree fallen across the road.  The road then split in two directions, one going in the same general direction but detouring the tree and another which went in another direction.  It was decided to go in the opposing direction as Fergus recognised the area from flying over it.  We detoured through pine forests and ended up at the top of a VERY steep hill.  Looking down all we could see was large rocks and holes in the track but after some discussion, we decided to go that way.  As Steve and I descended, it was even extreme 4wding from our point of view.  We knew the Nissan would have no trouble but we were concerned about the Ponder 4wd which didn't have diff locks or appropriate tyres for the job.  After several stops mid descent and some hairy moments, we got to the bottom and followed a forestry track back onto the national park track and out.  By this time it was late afternoon, so we decided to go back to Mapleton for a counter meal at the pub.  When we got back, the pub was closed for meals.........what's the sense in that!  It's Mothers' Day and mums don't cook so why not be open.  Our next option was Bellavista pizza place.  We sat out on the verandah and ate pizza with a view of the night lights over the Sunshine Coast.  We then parted ways and headed home.  What a great day and one of the most memorable Mum's Days I have had.

The Graduate

Well the other important day finally arrived when Steve would receive all the paraphenalia associated with becoming a qualified pilot.  We, as a family, had just lived with him through the nerves surrounding the flight test and now there were slight nerves again because events such as these usually require some public speaking......another of Steve's many fears after water and heights.  I cannot understand, however, why he hasn't become quite adept at public speaking as he has to constantly talk on the radios in the helicopters when flying around.  Anyway it was therefore after another restless night that he woke up ready to tackle the graduation ceremony.

Erin wore one of her nice dresses and I put on a dressy top and jeans.  The pilot put on his official Beckers dress shirt which, in the past, he kept for special occasions like going solo and his first nav.  The get together wasn't starting until 12.30pm so we had some time to do some last minute running around for thankyou gifts.  Although Steve had paid for his time and training at Beckers', there were several behind the scenes people who helped him along the way towards where he is today.  It is hard to pick out individuals in the scheme of things because everyone played an important role in Steve's eventual success.  A small token for Steve's theory lecturer for getting him through the theory component of the course and the exams.  Another token for the office manager without whom Steve would never had gotten his paperwork sorted out and kept his finances in check.  The office manager was also instrumental in keeping in touch with Steve while we were in Adelaide and telling him what paperwork he needed before arriving on the Sunshine Coast.  A carton of light beer was our final offering for all the instructors.  The guys call it a 'debrief' after a hard days flying and getting the shit scared out of them by students and it was the least we could do.
There was a heartwarming gathering of guys and girls all keen to pass on congratulations and best wishes to Steve which was really great to see.  After 8 months of wandering the corridors, op room and tarmac at Beckers', Steve had become the old student of the team, both in age and longevity.  A fantastic lunch/nibbles spread was put on for the occasion and after a short speech, Steve's chief flight instructor Fergus presented him with his certificates and his wings.  The general trend is for a story to be relayed about some part of Steve's journey and Steve was a bit concerned about which one Fergus would pick because there were several which sprang to mind.
There was the time when he went out on a solo nav and flew straight into cloud which is an extreme no no for students.  Upon telling his instructors when he returned, he didn't know whether their silent reaction was a good or bad thing.  Steve has also absent-mindedly attempted to pull the mixture switch in mid flight which shuts down the motor.  His biggest frustration throughout the course has been his inability to complete an autorotation which basically means turning the motor off and gliding - at high speed- towards the ground as a forced landing.  There was also the story about Steve's paddle around Old Woman Island when he can't swim a stroke.  Fergus, however, chose to relay his most recent story about Steve's temper.  After writing his board briefs (as part of his final assessment) and filling up the entire white board in the ops room, Steve was more than a little miffed when Fergus rubbed a hole right in the centre of it to write something on the board.  I remember Steve ringing me that afternoon being 'not a happy camper' because his worst fear has come true after all his effort.  After an afternoon of silent treatment from Steve and a day or two of tension, it was pushed to the background and life went on.  All interesting experiences in hindsight and part of Steve's journey to pilot-dom.

 Then the inevidable reply speech was necessary.  Steve talked about starting with a dream but talked about my dream of a stable husband and a comfy life in suburbia and how he shattered that with his dream of flying helicopters.  Funnily enough, he seems to think after all that's happened, that I have acclimatised more to our life change than him.  I think we have all done well to get where we are and that's not without friendship and support from a lot of people.
As everyone slowly filtered back to work and study, Steve collected his bookwork (all 15kgs of it) and rubbed his name off the whiteboard where all the students results were tallied.  It was sad because once we left, there would be no reason for Steve to return to Beckers' for training.  I know he will miss all the fun and camaraderie of both his fellow students and the instructors but it's time to move onto the next stage of his and our adventure.  I did feel like he had been a great help to many people over the last few months and that showed with all the people who turned up to his graduation to wish him well.

Everybody needs good neighbours

Our time here in Mapleton has allowed us to get to know some fantastic people especially in the caravan park.  However when your closest neighbour is a psychotic bully who feels she is the ruler of all that is NOT hers, it makes life a little uncomfortable sometimes.  The site on the other side of us has remained vacant for most of our stay, give or take a few times when the park was full.  We have been told occasionally that people are going to move in next door but, in most cases, it hasn't eventuated.  We have been spoilt with our situation because having a vacant site next door gives one a feeling of space and allows the girls to have a bit more freedom and me more visibility to watch them from the van.
On the last day of the school term, we had some new neighbours move in.  I was still in bed recovering from my mega-bug and so when I eventually emerged,  the Jayco 'Flamingo' was already positioned on site and set up.  Their Toyota troupie was parked out front with all sorts of things on top and inside.  They even had a portaboat and small outboard motor which piqued Steve's interest because we had originally looked at buying a portaboat many years before but had never actually seen one in the flesh.  Steve had already introduced himself which is something we have always tried to do to make people feel welcome.  Everybody is different in how friendly they want to be while staying so we say hello and leave people alone to settle in.  After several days of helping with problems or questions our neighbours had, we started to get to know them a little better.  Of course when two cats keep entangling themselves in electrical cords, water hoses and aerial leads etc etc its not hard to be talking more frequently.  Pirie and Karki had been used to a longer run and now found their wanderings getting them into more trouble than usual with a new obstacle in their way.  We were fortunate that our neighbours liked the cats as they had cats of their own before travelling.
Kylie and Fay's story is inspiring and their enthusiasm for life was infectious.  The mother and daughter duo who also behaved like 'good mates' had been on the road for 16 years.  Isn't that amazing!  They had decided to hit the road after a life threatening illness left mum Fay wondering what the future held.  Daughter Kylie left her job and prospects of uni study to travel with Fay and experience Australia.  Kylie now runs an online jewellery business from the van and is very talented.  I have seen gorgeous necklaces, bracelets and earrings all handcrafted with beautiful crystals and stones from all over the world.  Erin has been particularly keen to look at Kylie's jewellery and has even dabbled a little bit at making something with Kylie's help.  Our eldest daughter is like a bowerbird......she just loves shiny things. 
Our neighbours were not what you would expect of a mother/daughter travelling team.  They spent many nights up late watching the Indian Premier League cricket on the internet as they are avid cricket fans.  The two of them would ask the next day if we'd heard them as Fay would get excited and yell "bowled im" late at night.  The two of them were careful not to use 'colourful' language around us and, in particular the girls but said they felt more comfortable when they heard Steve letting off some choice adjectives one day in a moment of frustration.  There was always chatter and laughter next door which was great and the hammer of their water tap in the morning would let me know when they were awake because up until then, I had to keep Becca amused so she didn't go over for an early morning visit before school.  They also loved to sit under their awning and have a drink of an afternoon or evening which we all do.  Not girly stuff but Tooheys Old and a nice bottle of red or white.  I, myself have spent a leisurely afternoon under their awning with a glass of champagne, some camembert cheese and quince paste.  In fact, I was having such a great chat about our travels and where we've been that I nearly forgot to pick Erin up from school.  I had to pick her up in the car as I had left it too late for walking.  There goes my 'mother of the year' award.
Fay would get her grandma fix with Becca and spend time helping her jump off their van step which Becca thought was great fun.  She had been a school teacher and principal in her working days and adored both the girls which was lovely.  Becca started giving them leg hugs every morning when she saw them and Erin soon followed on and also helped Fay do the washing and other little jobs.  It's so much more exciting than doing it for mum.  The two of them liked to walk and visited all sorts of places in the region and even gave us some good tips about places to go.  They are keen birdwatchers and pass on information regarding habitat range and new species to other enthusiasts to build up a database about birds all over Australia. .  After many years of travelling, they have developed ways and means of enjoying the little luxuries of life despite the fact they live in a camper van. I even shared a cappuccino with them under their awning on the morning of their departure and it was just as good if not better than a cafe coffee.  They had individual little coffee perculators, a tall container with a plunger for frothing the milk and even the chocolate sprinkles for the top......all on top of a single gas burner.  It was great.
The pair ended up staying longer than they originally planned and it was a sad day when they finally packed up and moved on to their next destination and adventure.  We exchanged details and I'm sure we will meet up with them again one day as we too, travel around the place.  It was a pleasure having them camp next to us and it just demonstrates that like minded people can share their time and experiences and impart a little bit of themselves onto others and inspire them, as they have done to us.  Thanks Kylie and Fay and happy travels.

CPL(H)

Well, finally it's happened, 9 months of hard labour, sheer terror, anxiety, self doubt and cravings (well, not really any cravings),and some moments of exhilaration. As of Friday the 11th of May, Mr Becker kindly deemed me fit to hold a Commercial Pilot's Licence(Helicopters). Which surprised me, as I wasn't too sure I was fit....
It has been quite a journey, made possible by many, many patient instructors (Jimmy, Rob, Niels, Chris, Dom, and Fergus) who have all had to endure hard labour, sheer terror, anxiety...
while encouraging me to do what they asked in their own individual persuasive ways.
  Elementary handling: learning to fly in a straight line at a 'predetermined' height, and, flying round corners at same 'predetermined' height, without feeling like one is going to fall out the open door.....
  Hovering: from the size of a football field, to a basketball court, to finally a 'stationary' hover from which you can take off and land from,
  Solo-ing: taking off, thinking "gee this feels light", then noticing out of the corner of one's eye, that there is no one sitting next to you and 'shitting' oneself... triple checking guages, height, airspace around around you thinking, "gee I hope nothing goes wrong"

  Navigation: continually turning the map around, and it still doesn't help,(while, see 'Elementary handling')and maybe trying to avoid some of the cloud and thinking, "gee I hope nothing goes wrong",
  Emergencies: Engine failure from 1500 feet, 1000 feet, maybe even 500 feet, straight in, s turn, 360 degrees, Engine failure at the hover, Engine failure while taxiing, Jammed controls, spinning round and round etc, thinking, "gee I hope nothing goes wrong",
  Low flying, good fun if one can avoid making oneself nauseous, and avoid startled waterbirds, ibis, pelicans and the like,
  Flying amongst mountains, up valleys, pinnacle approaches, confined areas, and limited power takeoffs and landings, all awesome stuff that can really only be done with a helicopter.
Now that I actually have my licence, I am really looking forwards to honing(all right, maybe just getting) some skills in this remarkable environment.
So thanks again Fergus, and his fine band of men, for imparting such wisdom and knowledge gained over many years, and thankyou my family for all your support (moral and otherwise) during this wacky adventure.
Next week will be a graduation input.