Three months living in a bus

Life

Lorikeets waiting to be fed

One of the nicest things when travelling is the wildlife. Australia would have one of the most unique and varied wildlife in the world. When Maria and Don were living overseas, one of the things they missed the most was the wildlife, particularly the native birds. Maybe an odd thing to miss, but when you appreciate them, you do miss them.

Imagine our delight when the first morning at a caravan park the cabin opposite us, quite a number of lorikeets appeared on the porch. Don said, ‘the old lady that lives there comes out to feed them’. They were making such a raucous as Fran came out to feed them! The subsequent mornings we slept in, so we didn’t get to see Fran feed the birds.

The third day Maria woke up early enough to hear the birds, but not quick enough to see them being fed. But then events turned. The park manager, Eddie, appeared at the Fran’s cabin. Apparently, each Monday she visits the shop to collect milk and bread and today she hadn’t popped in. So, Eddie went looking for her and unfortunately found her face down near the bathroom.

So Sad. The ambulance arrived. The police arrived. Eventually the morgue people arrived. Although Fran was 92, and at 92 that’s a pretty good innings, it is a reminder to enjoy what life we have left. Both of us have discussed this at length and now looking back over our lives, we can see that a lot of the stuff that we thought mattered, in fact …. Didn’t. Matter. At. All.

To consider one’s mortality is sobering. Often, it’s far too easy/convenient to get wrapped up in our own little lives – the minute detail, the petty quarrels, the first world problems – and not contemplate our real role on this earth. Which, in our humble opinion, is to nudge our world a little closer to heaven and a little farther from hell.

Great theory mate, but how about something practical that I can use! Ok, for a start we can encourage more and criticise less. So, practice that today. When you feel ready to criticize someone look for how you can turn that around. Maybe aim for a whole day where you don’t put someone down – and yes this includes our politicians and your partner 😉. That will take you, and us all, a little closer to heaven.

We urge all of you to review your lives and think are you living the best life you can? Or are you regurgitating the same thing day in, day out whilst blaming some external event or person?

we miss you Gary

It also reminded us of when we found our dear dance friend Gary, passed way from the effects of a catastrophic stroke. He was only 61. Thinking of you Gary and his family as his two-year anniversary comes up in March.

Let’s start a discussion on this blog – What can we change today where we can encourage more and criticise less and perhaps live a better and more fulfilling life??

The Hair Cut

As Maria’s hair grows very quickly it was time for a haircut. She wanted some of the colour removed as it didn’t look good with the new colour coming through. Don said I could do it.

So, one morning with freshly washed hair, Maria sat in a camp chair with an old towel draped around her whilst Don found a pair of hairdressing scissors, a wooden comb and a temporary hairdressing salon was established.

However . . 

• The seat was too low and Don being so tall had to bend in an awkward position to cut the hair.
• The scissors were too small for Don’s large fingers - he could barely get his fingers through the holes of the scissors.
• The wooden comb was too thick and cumbersome and each time it was dragged through the hair it hit the scalp with a little thud.
• The wind kept blowing each time Don tried to grab a piece of hair to cut . . .

The result?

The Selfie

Month 2

A stay at Pretty Beach in the Murramarang National Park saw us living with kangaroos, wallabies and goannas – the gorgeous Oz wildlife. One afternoon Maria was working in the bus and Don was sitting outside completing some puzzles from That’s Life magazine (did we mention we made the magazine for another month?). Don was so engrossed in the puzzle that he didn’t see/hear a wallaby come up beside him. 

It wasn’t until a couple of school girls who were camping with their school came over and asked Don did he realise he had a friend.

What a great selfie that would have been if Don had been quick enough!

Where the selfie would have
been if Don had taken it

Maria's office

The upshot of this was Maria found a great spot to work from – mainly as internet was poor at the campground, so she hiked up a small hill and found the best spot – what do you think?

The adventure

We have been living in the bus for 3 months now. A mean feat in itself, as Maria has barely camped in her life. So far cabin fever hasn’t hit, and Maria is slowing adjusting to camping life.

Our accommodation has been a mixture of caravan parks, national parks and some free camping by the road. Don’s favourite is the free camping and Maria's has been the national parks and as we continue our adventure along the beaches of the south coast, Maria found had some idyllic places to sit and work.

The parks have still been busy – after the holidaymakers and school holidayers left, the school camps began, so all the parks have been quite busy.

One weekend Maria’s son Jayden, partner Tyler and their little daughter Ella, came across from Canberra to join Don and Maria at South Durras. It was such a lovely weekend and some family time, with Miss E so enthralled by the bus that she thinks all white vans/buses are Nonna’s bus and goes knocking on their doors looking for Maria.

Once they left Maria remarked to Don how quiet the park had become. With all the holidaymakers now gone and school camps ending, Maria finally realised this was it (at least till next holidays). The IT was the quiet and the space.

Is anyone out there?

But that was short lived . . .

Dalmeny

We headed down to Dalmeny – just a bit further down from Bateman’s Bay. We found this place via another pair of nomads – Kev and Adele from Indefinite Leave https://indefiniteleave.com.au/ who have been travelling close to 3 years.

with Kev and Adele from Indefinite Leave

We have been following their adventures and they happened to be in the same area. After texting them to find out where they were, they guided us to a gorgeous pocket of land right on the beach just for campers with a small amenities block.

Interesting story – the land here was bequeathed to the people of the town with the proviso that it stayed dog friendly, kid friendly and no cabins to be built. That went well for 10-15 years until the new breed of councillors decided they wanted to build cabins. 

The people responded and said no! the land was bequeathed to the people – council cannot do it. And . . . the people won! Just as well, as this location is idyllic – where you can walk along the beach with emus and if you look out to sea, pods of dolphins!

spot the dolphins!

spot the Emus!

The people also pooled together to create the most scenic route along the coast – we rode along it and it was just stunning.

Don's catch!

Don has been honing his fishing skills and was delighted to catch some fish. So far he has caught two little flatheads and one tailor, with all of them going straight back into the ocean. We are hoping to have more news next time we report in.

Getting back to the quiet – turns out the weekend we ended up in Dalmeny was a long weekend in Canberra and all the Canberrians were heading here! So much for quiet . . .

Oh well until next time – Oh - let's not forget to start that discussion -

What can we change today where we can encourage more and criticise less and perhaps live a better and more fulfilling life??

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And we did manage to do a quick video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKzZcpUexQM