OBSERVATIONS

lEIGH'S CASUAL OBSERVATIONS

  • Retirement is a mental challenge.  A man has to try to remember access codes for caravan park bathroom facilities and to enter & exit parks via boom gates or beach access gates. Some are 4 digits, some 5 and of course the codes are different at every park.  It’s exhausting!
  • Bush/Brush Turkeys are not an endangered species.
  • One thing that I was hoping to confirm was that time would slow down a bit once a man retired.  Alas, that appears to not be the case.  The clock is racing just like it was while I was a worker but I shall give it the benefit of the doubt.  After all, we are only 3 weeks into our ‘Great Rotation’ as I have dubbed it and therefore there has been little time for adjustment.  So I hang on in hope that the days will soon seem longer and will report on this issue again.
  • It’s not like this is the first time I have been in the tropics, but has anyone else noticed that Seagulls become sparse the further north one ventures? 
  • For Rugby League followers, Rockhampton seems to be the crossover from where the bulk of support switches from the Brisbane Broncos to the Nth Queensland Cowboys, which is interesting given ‘Rocky’ is 634 km from Bris but 720 from Townsville where the Cowboys are based. 
  • Queensland likes billboards on the side of the road.  There are lots of them starting about 300 km north of Brissy, including ones that feature a pic of Pauline, and the words ‘I say what you’re thinking’.
  • Caravan life.    We can assure you that not every day involves getting up to go exploring and having a jolly time while you are at work.  We still have chores to do.  (Sooz: Well, Leigh has more chores than me. 😊 )
  • The inside of the van gets incredibly dirty, incredibly quickly.  Much more so than the suburban home. Not 100% sure why.  Perhaps it’s due to dust from roads and dirt we troop in even though we have mats on the ground outside.  We still need to do clothes washing, food shopping, planning our route and making bookings a few days ahead and there are times when we simply don’t want to do anything except laze around and read the paper or a book, do emails and simply hang out.  We pretty much spend one day a week doing not much at all, and that doesn’t worry us one bit!
  • When you are out in the bush, the protocol when passing another caravan towing vehicle on the other side of the road is to acknowledge their existence in the form of a hearty wave or at minimum, laconically raising your index finger from the hand resting on the top of the steering wheel.  So all of a sudden, we have all these new friends that we wave at yet hours later they could be next to us at the same caravan park and I wouldn’t recognise them!  This acknowledgement custom is mandatory when about 100 km west or more from the coast but appears to not be adhered to on the Pacific or Princes highways. Whatever.
  • I have been wearing thongs on and off for 60 years (the type that go on your feet!)  So, you would reckon that I should be somewhat accomplished in using them.  But something has recently changed.  These days I am getting all sorts of crap caught in them when walking on non-paved areas.  Example:  walking around a caravan park where most of the ground cover is natural grass etc.  I find that I am constantly getting small stones or bits of twigs and leaves and similar things caught between my foot and the thong.  I mean, the stupid things have no areas to trap these items, there are no sides on them – anything that goes in should come straight out again. But that is not the case in these times.  Why am I having this issue now?  And it’s annoying.
  • Tasmania does not have any flat, straight roads that are longer than 150 metres (it seems).  Towing a 3 ton caravan that wants to overtake you during steep descents and requires the whip during ascents makes touring this state quite challenging especially given you always seem to be steeply climbing or descending on often quite narrow and very winding roads.   

 

OBSERVATIONS FROM SOOZ

  • Sea Eagles are NOT vulnerable or endangered in Queensland… They are everywhere.
  • Nature is messy; leaves blow onto our outdoor mat, trees shed onto the car, birds  sh*t on everything.  Leigh loves nature, but hates mess.  Figure that one out! 😂
  • People in the outback like to dress termite mounds in clothes – not sure why.  Is it art or rubbish?  Whatever, it kept us amused for a while on the Capricorn Highway.

WILDLIFE: 

  • Early on in QLD, I was worried as we had not seen any emu. Well, no need to worry. The rain has contributed to a baby boom amongst wildlife (or so it seems to me). We have seen dozens and dozens and dozens of Emus. Singles, pairs and heaps of families. 
  • Kangaroos and Wallabies are not in short supply either.  They seem to be everywhere, and I never tire of seeing them.  
  • Amongst other things, we have seen wild brumbies, a shark, feral cats, feral goats (lots and lots of feral goats), rabbits, turtles (not tortoises, Leigh), frilled neck lizards, goannas, red bellied black snakes, brown snakes, wedge tailed eagles, sea eagles, plenty of hawks and kites, brolgas, spoonbills, apostle birds, too many types of parrot to name, budgies… The bird list goes on and on and on… 
  • Now I can add to the list – sea lions and dolphins (up close and personal!), seals, large sting rays, small sting rays, humpback whales…MAnta Rays, Whale Sharks, turtles, Black flanked wallabies, too many fish species to name…

OTHER

  • Tasmania roads needs to do some work.  Most “A” and “B” roads are one lane each direction. Majority of “C” roads are dirt.
  • First, unless you are on the A1, near Hobart, Launceston or Devonport, there are NO overtaking lanes.
  • Second, road signs showing tightness of curves and steepness of grades are few and far between. So, you are driving along at 80kms per hour when suddenly the road is an “S” bend with no notice!  Something to keep in mind if you travel there. 
  • South Australian oysters really are the most delicious oysters – especially Coffin Bay
  • So you think you know your fish species?  In SA & WA – a Tommy Ruff may be called an Australian Herring; an Australian Salmon may be called a Salmon Trout (oh, and the Herring is not actually a herring nor is the salmon an actual salmon!) Rock Cod or Harlequin Fish (again, this is NOT the same fish knows in other parts of Australia and the world as Rock Cod!)  Sheesh!…
  • WA is windy… Really windy…really really windy.
  • Sorry to disappoint all you banker types, but mining really is keeping this country going – it is massive!
  • Australian grey nomads are no longer the majority of people travelling Australian roads via caravan/motorhome  – there are singles, and young couples, and families, and lots and lots of tourists – (especially from Europe).