Education

While we’ve been on the road, ‘The General’ has concentrated on doing Mathematics in a quite ‘relaxed’ formal NAPLAN way.

This has proved a challenge on occasion & I made sure there were no sharp or blunt objects in close range, for everyone involved.

I on the other hand have taught life skills in necessity type of way eg;

– How much water do we need a day
– What tyre pressure do you have when driving on soft sand
– how long should it take us to travel 400km if we are doing 80km p/ h with a half hour break
……. And so on

NOW, as educational as this is, I thought I will throw in a bit of a curve ball. This has proved their logical thinking skills and articulation, and they figured out every answer without assistance;

– Please get the liquid from the teat of the bovine

– I need 2000ml of the combination of 2 parts hydrogen & 1 part oxygen

– Please find the stick with a nylon fabric to protect us from this precipitation

– I need that vesicle containing the sodium chloride

– Your upper extremities and torso will require another set of cotton woven fabric

– Please evacuate your bladders prior to this evenings absent consciousness

As you can imagine, The Birthgiver finds this highly educational and entertaining.

My beautiful girls

As I sit here, outside, listening to the beautiful glistening rain drops roll down the vinyl and canvas.

As I hear silence,and parents trying to Fenergen their children, I also hear my girls being nice to each other, and trying to kill each other, and fighting, and arguing, and mentioning about wanting to hit each other with knives, (Dexter).

Yes all 3 of them.

……Oh they are happy again.

I sit here under my awning listening to all these adventures happening and I think to my self…

It really does not get better than this!

20130729-191953.jpg

Day 170, 1770

After traveling a bit short of 300 km we made it to the town of Seventeen seventy and Agnes waters.

20130729-184305.jpg
We got a great council site about 5 min walk from the beach. It really is fantastic and $6 per person with water and …….wait for it…. Stainless steel flushing toilets! (Almost my dream of a ‘Toilet made out of gold’)You really can’t beat that.

20130729-182100.jpg

We set the camper up as soon as we got here about 3 pm.

We expected to get here around 1 or 2 but got held up by the cops! Car accident on Bruce Highway gave us the opportunity to read for about 45 mins.

After we set up it started to rain gently, then not so gently and eventually pouring down.

We had to eat inside for the first time in months.

20130729-184444.jpg

I felt sorry for some of the backpackers who rolled up in normal cars. They can’t set up their tents and have to sit in their cars with no dinner and no cover.(it’s also quite entertaining)

20130729-185313.jpg

Day 169, Yeppoon

Tonight will be our 3 rd night in Yappoon, we leave tomorrow for Workmans beach.

The beaches here are ok, but it’s cold.

The entertainment I get here though is priceless!

The ‘permanents’, living in the caravan park, are a breed of their own.

“We got both kinds, Country & western”.

Our lovely neighbour who is around 40 living with his 18 year old (maybe 15) girlfriend, as well as his best mate(or brother) and his ‘Sheila’ recently bought a new puppy to add to their brood.

When you buy a puppy, the only responsible thing is to add a a door (to your tarpaulin annexe).

20130728-171909.jpg

20130728-171932.jpg

20130728-171944.jpg

20130728-171954.jpg

Oh yes, and you need a bonnet & 2 motor bikes at the front of your 5x10m residence.

20130728-172420.jpg

Solar panel

My 180 W solar panel has worked a treat putting in 4.9 Amp (especially where there has been sun).

My 2x 120Amp batteries dropped to 51% and over the day filled up to 74%.

On average I loose 10-30% running two 32L Engels, 1 as fridge (on 1 @ 4deg), the other as Freezer on 4 @ -10deg). All dependant on ambient temp.

Last night, 8 deg, Engels sucked 3%.
Other night 14 deg, 15%.

Overall we haven’t run out of fridge power between solar panel, driving car (especially the 5-7 hr trips) and staying on powered sites.

A second panel on top of the camper will definitely be another mod I need to do.

20130725-104342.jpg

20130725-104407.jpg

20130725-104319.jpg

The Steca charge controller is fantastic (@$210 in Broome, you would want it to be.

Day 165, Carmila/Sun & Moon

Tonight looks like our last night in Carmila

Last night we witnessed the ‘Staircase to the moon’. It was amazing. We have seen the one in Broome bit this was totally superior.

The weather is sunny and warm during the day but the nights are becoming bitter.
Last night it dropped to 10 and we had to pull out Extra blankies and even the warm jamies. We gave the kids our new sleeping bags and took the thin old ones for us.

View from our site this morning

20130725-102121.jpg

Our site

20130725-102322.jpg

Day 164 Carmila & Jocks

Last night was probably the first time I wore jocks in about 150 days!

We are staying in Carmila 4 nights as it is stunning, sunny, secluded with our own private beach. But last night dropped to 12 degrees, I had to loose the board shorts and pull out the woollies.

We are starting to procrastinate driving South.

I think it will be a quick run through NSW!
It’s hard to believe we only have 16 days to go.

20130724-102756.jpg

Day 163, Carmila

We stayed 3 nights in Alva beach, which was great, but now we have moved down.
Another 400 km or so and we have found our way to Carmila beach.

This place is truly amazing. We are literally on the beach overlooking the islands just below Hamilton island, and the best part …….. It’s free!!!

King tide tonight so we should have some good fishing tomorrow

Kids have been fighting like cat and dog. I promised them I will keep them for another week!

Photo is of what a King tide is on low tide, nothing for about a km.0

20130722-213724.jpg

20130722-213917.jpg

Children & +++%%$$-. Maths

Whinging score:
about doing maths and blog journal ;
1 brazillion

We have been doing maths & journals all the way. Sometimes it’s difficult as the beaches and towns are to historically rich, but I have always required the girls do updates in Pages on their iPads.

However……. There are days where I want to send them & their iPads back home! In the post, or email. (Yesterday)

If they stopped whinging & complaining for 145 minutes (remember I can be very patient, wifey requires results much quicker) they could do their 3-4 paragraphs in 10 mins.

I do have to say that once they buckle down, their descriptive writing has improved 100 fold since we left.

We are now doing almost daily entries and its no longer ‘went to beach and to playground and to shop and had dinner’ (email me if you want to read their blogs. They are secure & private so you won’t find them here)

Their blogs and web development skills have improved incredibly as have their photo & iPad skills.

Internet access in these remote places does really suck though. Uploading images/video is definitely not an option on an iPhone or even Internet cafes.

20130720-211712.jpg
Alva beach, a billion blue soldier crabs