nature

Full Circle

| Chris Riley

I think I started this blog around 13 years ago. Its purpose was to record our travels. The title of the website: lifeofrileyow.com standing for Life of Riley on wheels. When circumstances weren’t what we expected (by way of pesky puppy who didn’t comply with our idea that any dog of ours would love a life on the road’,)the road trips stopped. I then changed the OW to stand for ‘on whatever’, so as I could keep on recording our journey through life without the title of my website becoming meaningless.

WOW what a ride the past 13 years have been, more twists and turns than the average road trip, more forks in the road of life than the average person sees for sure, and more about turns and changes in direction than is good for anyone’s health, I think you’d agree.

But here we are 13 years or so on. We’ve moved from Busselton into a lovely little (but not too little) lock and leave duplex in Mandurah. Mandurah used to be primarily a holiday or retirement destination. It still is to some degree, but it’s also now well and truly linked to the metro area in Perth, so it’s become quite suburban. It was never a place we holidayed in often, I don’t know why. Anyway a few changes of circumstances caused us to move from Busselton, and somehow or other we landed in the Mandurah area. We ask ourselves daily, “How come we never holidayed here?”. If we had, perhaps we would have bought here instead of Busselton in the first place. However, ‘no regrets’, we met a lot of lovely people in Busselton, some of whom we will remain friends with for the rest of our lives I hope.

When life on the road stopped, we resigned ourselves to short overseas holidays leaving the ‘pesky puppy’ in the care of family or friends. The holidays were ok, but they weren’t the road trips we loved. Eventually we decided to give road trips another go, only we’d created a bit of problem. We’d downsized – we were living in a unit with very limited parking, and our diesel powered Prado had been changed for a Hybrid Yaris….. But ‘no problems, only solutions’ as the saying goes.

First a swag (loved it, but needed more space to carry it and the necessary camping gear to enable using it). The swag became a tiny camper trailer, then the tiny camper trailer became an A-liner camper trailer. The Yaris went, and was replaced with a Subaru Forester. The Forester and the A-liner were a really tight fit in our little unit. There definitely wasn’t room for any van even slightly bigger, nor a bigger car more suited to towing. So we started looking for somewhere more suitable to be living.

Long story short – we landed in Mandurah. We had intended to keep the A-liner, and the Forester for a year or two, but never-the-less we still browsed. And of course, if you browse long enough, you will get tempted….. The latest rig is a 2020 diesel powered Pajero Sports, and a 2012 Coromal Magnum pop top. I think this house, this car, and this van are all going to be our last, and yes I’ve said that before. But this time you can quote me on that. It’s time for us to settle down and stop moving around, even though that’s not strictly true. Moving around for part of the year is exactly what we intend to do, only from our lock’n’leave home, and in our Pajero Sports, and with our Coromal Magnum pop top hitched up behind us.

And that Pesky puppy who stopped us travelling on our road trips a few years ago – well he’s nine this year. When we purchased the small camper trailer, with a huge amount of trepidation, we went to the vet and got the equivalent of Prozac for him. The first trip in the camper trailer was so peaceful. He was one chilled out little dog, just laying and watching the world go by. The next trip we forgot to give him a pill, and guess what, he still lay down and watched the world go by. He’s grown out of his Pesky puppiness. One or two prozacs was all it took.

We’re currently at a campsite called Cosy Corner, right beside a beautiful beach near Albany WA for a week. Paul, not so pesky puppy, and me are all having a wonderful time, swimming, walking & relaxing.

The van is certainly no luxurious fifth wheeler like we had thirteen years ago, nor is it the New Age with toilet and shower on board. It’s just a humble little unpretentious pop top with single beds, and an on board porta loo tucked into a cupboard. It’s clean, comfortable, and much nicer to have trailing along behind you than a great big box that’s bigger than the tow vehicle. I was never overly comfortable with that.

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We’re only away for a week this time. But come May we’ll be heading off for 3 1/2 months, following the sun up to see our son and daughter-in-law in Darwin. I think I can sincerely end this little post with one of my favourite sayings for when life is just dandy (and we all know life isn’t always just dandy), but at the moment, I can definitely say, ‘what a pleasure’!

Dog Friendly, Flinder’s Bay Caravan Park at Augusta

| Chris Riley

For our first trip away in our little Avan, Georgie Girl, we decided we’d go again to Flinder’s Bay Caravan Park at Augusta. We stayed here only a few weeks ago in our previous Erde Camper trailer, and it was after that trip that we realised that ‘caravanning/camping’ really does put us in our ‘happy place’. That trip inspired us to go back to something that wasn’t canvas, it inspired us to get our little Georgie Girl. (Not that we don’t like canvas, in fact we do, it’s just that canvas is a little harder for two old codgers nearing their 70th birthdays). As you can see from the images below the caravan park is full of beautiful shady trees, with many of the sites having trees around three sides providing both shade and a feeling of privacy.

There’s three caravan parks in town, but during the main season Flinder’s Bay caravan park is the only one that takes dogs. I think during the off season it closes, and then dogs are allowed at Turner’s Caravan Park. I think both parks are council owned.

The park is right on the southern ocean, so the crashing waves provide wonderful background music. Several tracks lead out of the park directly to the ocean for a lovely walk down the rocky foreshore, or for a cooling dip for those brave enough to venture into the cold waters of the Southern Ocean. (Not me – if it’s not 40 in the shade, not much more than my big toes gets near the water). Dogs aren’t allowed on all of the coastline down here, but there is a dog friendly area of the beach at the eastern end of the caravan park. However, currently there are dozens (possibly even hundreds) of toxic Sea Hares washed up on shores of the ocean, and the banks of the river. These creatures are absolutely deadly to dogs, so it’s not wise to let a dog off the lead at the moment anywhere near water in Augusta. If you’ve never seen a Sea Hare, below is an image of 4 together on the banks of the river. Each would be around 20cms in length, and around 10cms across. They look like a huge piece of liver.

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A little mobile Ice Cream van that makes delicious real fruit Ice creams is often at Flinder’s Bay. Our first encounter with said Ice Cream van was accidental on our first night here when we walked down the path that led to the beach. Of course, we tried one. Yum! Today’s encounter was much more deliberate.

There are two ablution blocks in the park. Both are more than adequate, and are kept perfectly clean. With Seniors discount the cost for three nights is $145. It’s a lovely park, not pristine, and there’s no jumping pillows, no swimming pools, and no kids adventure playgrounds. It’s a park that feels close, (and is close) to nature. As I type this, our Mr Tilly is lying out under the trees, and there’s lots of little birds flitting all around, the waves are crashing in the background, and I can smell the eucalypt. Tills is happy, we’re happy, and in fact there are a lot of dogs here, and they all seem happy, as do their owners.

The park is about a twenty minute walk to the river. We have walked it, but we prefer to drive into the river picnic area and then walk down the river to the river mouth and back again to our car. It gives us about an hours walk and there’s so much to see on the river. Today we saw pelicans, dolphins, wind surfers, kite surfers, kayakers, swimmers, paddle boarders, and water craft of all types. As we meandered down the shady trees that line the river back we saw huge trees, Hampton’s style grand houses, little old river cottages, and of course, those ugly, deadly Sea Hares.

Augusta is a lovely little coastal town located at the south west corner of Western Australia. It’s where two rivers meet and run out into the ocean, and it’s also where two oceans meet, the Indian, and the Southern Oceans. You can read more about the town here https://lifeofrileyow.com/2019/05/14/augusta-the-small-town-where-two-big-oceans-meet/ It’s only just over an hour’s drive from Busselton where we live, but it’s a very different sort of coastal town. Busselton is a place with calm pristine waters and beaches. Augusta is place with a rugged coastline, and crashing waves. As far as coastal towns go, Busselton and Augusta are both gorgeous places, but they are as different from each other as night is from day.

We go home tomorrow after our three night ‘shake down’ trip. It’s been wonderful. A real pleasure, and we will be back this way again for sure. It’s a lovely caravan park, in an even more wonderful unpretentious little coastal town.

Georgie Girl – the first trip.

| Chris Riley

Having a few days to spare before having to sort out kitchen renovations (that’s another story), we decided we’d take our little Georgie Girl for a bit of a whirl. For our first trip in our little Aliner we headed down to Flinder’s Bay Caravan Park at Augusta in the South West of WA. More about the caravan park and town later…..

We packed up Georgie Girl with clothes and food for three nights and headed down to Augusta. It’s only about an hours drive from home, so a nice distance for a short get away. The town is just gorgeous, very different to Busselton, we love it.

We ensured we had enough Prozac for hyper-vigilant, Mr Tilly, but we forgot to give him one before leaving home. We tied him on his long lead to a tree on our site, and proceeded to set up camp. He lay down in the shade watching us, and watching the world go by. And he stayed happy and contented for the rest of the day. Maybe he’s turned a corner, maybe he’s decided this caravanning/camping caper is worthwhile after all. He was an absolute pleasure, and without any Prozac. Phew! That’s been nearly eight years coming. Below is a photo of him lying under the table like a beached whale, in the dirt, and looking very relaxed.

The van itself goes up very easily. I think it takes less than a minute to push up both sides and to connect the door. For this trip we decided we’d try out the Avan awning which came with the van. We didn’t hold out much hope for it, as most Avan owners seem to prefer using a gazebo. Another pleasant surprise, it went up very easily. We can see we haven’t fitted quite correctly, so later today we’ll try to work out exactly how it goes. It looks like it’ll add a lovely addition to our outside space when we head off to Broome later this year for our longer winter trip, so it’ll be worth nutting out exactly how to get it up correctly.

As you can see the two peaks aren’t aligned correctly. We’ll sort it out. Our plan for when we’re up in Broome during the winter later this year was to use two gazebos, one fully enclosed against the weather and the other open for breezy fresh air, with a sun shade. If the awning works well, we’ll use it for the sun shelter and will still erect one enclosed gazebo to be able to sit outdoors in windy conditions.

The Avan is small, so our intention is to use it basically as just a bedroom, and to transport our gear. We want to get back to outdoor living when away from home, just like it was in the early days when we were in tents. We loved our tenting years, caravanning, though convenient, just isn’t quite the same. So, we’d like to get to somewhere between the two. 

Next came our first disappointment – Paul connected the water, but so far he hasn’t been able to get the pump to work. Perhaps it needs a new pump. Paul tried to work it out yesterday afternoon, but after an hour or two decided that’s a job to be looked at when we get home. We have a tap at our door, so we can get water for the kettle and washing up etc. It won’t be a hardship for three days.

Our van, being 23 years old, doesn’t have a hot water system fitted. Maybe one day we’ll get one fitted, maybe not. Although it was a pleasant convenience in the fifth wheeler and the New Age, not having it doesn’t seem to be a problem at all. In fact, it’s one of those things that makes it feel more like we’re camping.

We both slept soundly last night, and as always when camping, it was an early night. Paul slept on the double bed with Mr Tilly, and I slept on the single (cafe dining converted to single bed). The double bed isn’t big enough for two old codgers and a dog, plus we don’t want to climb over each other when nature calls during the night. At nearly 70 a really good nights sleep is becoming more elusive, so the convenience of our own bed when away from home seems to ensure a better night’s sleep.

We noticed a few drips of water coming from the peak in the roof this morning. There was a lot of condensation over night, but with all the windows opened in the van, we shouldn’t have been getting any inside the van. Maybe the seal needs some attention, another little job that my man will look at when we get home. I’m sure it’s nothing major. Gee, I’m pleased to have a partner that’s a very clever and capable ‘handy man’. I feel so sorry for women who have partner’s that hardly know one end of a screwdriver from the other. Sometimes though I wonder if Paul doesn’t wish he was one of those useless types – he’s always so busy. Part of him loves the busyness, but I’m sure there’s sometimes just a little part of him that just wants to sit down with a good book while someone else does the hard work. As I type this though, he is relaxing with his book. What a pleasure!