Wow! What a great week. Ross and I went up to Maryborough to do a 4WD driver's training course. We had a fantastic time, and both Ross and myself were doing the driving (though Ross did the most). It was really muddy and the poor old Disco ended up absolutely covered in mud, but the training gave us so much more confidence in her abilities as a 4WD.
Ross has done a lot of 4WDing in the past, but only in an old Lada, so having the Disco with traction control, etc, was a whole new experience for the both of us. We managed to get well and truly bogged once and had to get rescued, but it gave us the chance to see how to get a 4WD out of the mud! We ended up doing a total of 4 "rescues" on the day, as it was really muddy and everyone kept getting stuck. We had a ball! The other car doing the training with us was a brand spanking new Jeep Wrangler, and it was "blooded" by the end with a big ding in it's bumper from doing a creek crossing with vertical embankments. Lucky he was planning on getting a different bumper anyway!
We managed to leave our camera behind, so we are hoping to get some footage of the day from the guys in the Jeep. We were invited to go back free of charge to do the course again if we want, and we are seriously considering it because Ross is getting a diff lock put in the Disco that should make it perform better and he would love to go and try out the course again to see what difference it makes.
I also caught up with some buddies from my old workplace - we went out for lunch at Sushi Station at Bulimba and had a great time at lunch. Hi Christy, Sarah and Nyree!!!!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
21st - 31st July
Thursday, July 24, 2008
14th - 20th July
We have been staying at my sister's and her husbands (Lee & Gary) place for a week now, and Boris has managed to get himself into more trouble and cost us more money!
First, he chewed through his lead so he could chase the cats (my sister, Lee has 4), then he busted his collar so he could chase cats, then he had to go back to the vet and get his ear drained because it was still swollen.
Poor old Lee's cats are going to need psyciatric help after we leave, I'm sure.
Gary and I took his tinny out fishing, we didn't catch anything worth keeping, but did catch a variety, including bream, whiting, taylor, , crabs, shovel nose shark, and several stingrays.
We have been out to dinner at my other sister's place - Debbie, Steve and Ethan (their 4 yo). We took Boris around there too so he could terrorise their cats for a change - Boris thinks life's just wonderful with all this variety!
We also went out for Macca's with Ross' brother and his son Christopher for Christopher's 10th birthday.
First, he chewed through his lead so he could chase the cats (my sister, Lee has 4), then he busted his collar so he could chase cats, then he had to go back to the vet and get his ear drained because it was still swollen.
Poor old Lee's cats are going to need psyciatric help after we leave, I'm sure.
Gary and I took his tinny out fishing, we didn't catch anything worth keeping, but did catch a variety, including bream, whiting, taylor, , crabs, shovel nose shark, and several stingrays.
We have been out to dinner at my other sister's place - Debbie, Steve and Ethan (their 4 yo). We took Boris around there too so he could terrorise their cats for a change - Boris thinks life's just wonderful with all this variety!
We also went out for Macca's with Ross' brother and his son Christopher for Christopher's 10th birthday.
Ross and I completed a senior first aid course this week so we can hopefully handle most emergencies that may come up on our travels.
Not much else to tell this week, as I said - there won't be much to tell for a week or 2 until we get underway on the real trip!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
7th - 13th July
This is it! Our big 12-month trip around Australia that we have been planning like forever! Here's how the first week went:
Well folks, it took us a week to get from Port Macquarie to Brisbane! We did a lot of visiting friends and family. We stopped at Ross' parent's place for the first few days (at West Kempsey, a whole 3/4 hour drive from home). We then stopped at Ross' sisters place in Repton (just this side of Coffs Harbour), another whole hour's drive along the way. While staying at Repton with Michele and Bill, we went whale watching, which was fantastic, the whales came right up to the boat, but in all the excitement, I didn't get any good shots of it!
We have Boris, our cattle dog cross with us, and he has created havoc already. We pulled up at some friend's place in Lismore (Joi, Greg, and their 3 yo daughter Madeline) who own some property, and they weren't there when we arrived, but they left the door open and left a note for us to make ourselves at home, so we let Boris go in the house yard while we were setting up the caravan. Now, last time we visited these friends, they did not have a cat, and when we were talking about coming and visiting them, they didn't mention about the cat, so, of course we had no idea that they had aquired one in the meantime! Unfortunately for the cat, Boris thinks cats are great to chase, so within seconds of arriving, the fun was on!! Boris managed to get the cat cornered in the garage, and ended up with it attached to his face. With a little intervention from myself, we got them separated, and never saw the cat the rest of the time we were there visiting! Anyway, Boris looked a little worse for wear after that encounter, so we washed him down with salt water and let him go again, only to find him 20 minutes later swimming in their pond and covered in cow poo!! AAAGGHH! Another wash later and he was put on the chain for the rest of the visit. Dear sweet puppy!
Two days later in Brisbane I notice he is favoring his ear, and when I look, it has all swollen up, so it's off to the vet for Boris and $140.00 later he is feeling much better!
The rest of the trip has been uneventful so far, and there won't be much happening over the next couple of weeks while we stay in Brisbane, getting more things ready for the trip. We have a 4WD course to do while we are here, as well as a First Aid Course.
Ross rang his boss in Port Macquarie and asked him to get him a job here in Brisbane at Harvey Norman for a few weeks while we are here - the boss was more than happy to help out, so we will find out soon whether he has any work or not. I have been continuing on with my course and am just about ready to start earning money over the internet - yay! Hopefully I will be able to earn a good wage doing that so I don't have to go fruit picking!!
Well folks, it took us a week to get from Port Macquarie to Brisbane! We did a lot of visiting friends and family. We stopped at Ross' parent's place for the first few days (at West Kempsey, a whole 3/4 hour drive from home). We then stopped at Ross' sisters place in Repton (just this side of Coffs Harbour), another whole hour's drive along the way. While staying at Repton with Michele and Bill, we went whale watching, which was fantastic, the whales came right up to the boat, but in all the excitement, I didn't get any good shots of it!
We have Boris, our cattle dog cross with us, and he has created havoc already. We pulled up at some friend's place in Lismore (Joi, Greg, and their 3 yo daughter Madeline) who own some property, and they weren't there when we arrived, but they left the door open and left a note for us to make ourselves at home, so we let Boris go in the house yard while we were setting up the caravan. Now, last time we visited these friends, they did not have a cat, and when we were talking about coming and visiting them, they didn't mention about the cat, so, of course we had no idea that they had aquired one in the meantime! Unfortunately for the cat, Boris thinks cats are great to chase, so within seconds of arriving, the fun was on!! Boris managed to get the cat cornered in the garage, and ended up with it attached to his face. With a little intervention from myself, we got them separated, and never saw the cat the rest of the time we were there visiting! Anyway, Boris looked a little worse for wear after that encounter, so we washed him down with salt water and let him go again, only to find him 20 minutes later swimming in their pond and covered in cow poo!! AAAGGHH! Another wash later and he was put on the chain for the rest of the visit. Dear sweet puppy!
Two days later in Brisbane I notice he is favoring his ear, and when I look, it has all swollen up, so it's off to the vet for Boris and $140.00 later he is feeling much better!
The rest of the trip has been uneventful so far, and there won't be much happening over the next couple of weeks while we stay in Brisbane, getting more things ready for the trip. We have a 4WD course to do while we are here, as well as a First Aid Course.
Ross rang his boss in Port Macquarie and asked him to get him a job here in Brisbane at Harvey Norman for a few weeks while we are here - the boss was more than happy to help out, so we will find out soon whether he has any work or not. I have been continuing on with my course and am just about ready to start earning money over the internet - yay! Hopefully I will be able to earn a good wage doing that so I don't have to go fruit picking!!
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