After our experiences in the national park, we’ve decided we like the idea of free camping, in those fabulous quiet areas which abound in Australia. To really get the most from that experience, we need to have a way of charging the van’s battery so that we are not limited to just two days before we run out of power. The options are a generator or a solar panel.
The world of caravanners is divided into two camps: the generator users, and the generator haters. Already, in our very limited experience, we’ve met a number of people who believe that all generator users should be banned from all public places. Our opinions aren’t yet fixed in place but we do want to be friendly and easy-to-get-on-with so it’s a solar panel for us.
The local caravan dealer quoted us $1320 which is a discounted price because we already have the wiring installed but I decided I’d better get another quote to make sure we were in the ballpark, So, check the yellow pages, ring the first ad that mentions caravans, and I find myself talking to Morrie who runs his one-man business from the old hall at Whitemore, a tiny hamlet just out of Deloraine. Morrie does the whole job in two hours, provides a unit which shows me what’s happening and charges me just over $800. Fantastic! As I drive away, he calls out, “I do satellite dishes as well!” Do we need a satellite dish?
The dinner on May 1st was great. We invited about 30 people and expected 21. At the last minute there were a few cancellations but, happily, those who couldn’t come sent us a donation anyway. There were several other dinners held on the same night around Deloraine and we all gathered later for a shared dessert. Our hope was to raise $2000; our group alone handed over $480 so it looks like we will reach our target easily.
I started writing this episode on Monday 3rd May in the Lansdowne Hotel in Lithgow, NSW, while we are waiting for our dinner to be served up. We’ve just got off the train from Sydney and have a couple of hours to fill before the coach takes us on to Mudgee. Time for a good country pub meal.
Marilyn’s using the laptop at another table, replying to an email from one of ‘her girls’ while I have the little netbook to record my random thoughts. It’s crook when you need to carry two computers on a trip. Sign of the times?
Marilyn suggested on Thursday that we should go to Mudgee to see her mum and dad and then spend a few days at one of our timeshare resorts. As usual, we have got carried away and we are booked to fly to New Zealand on Friday. From the available resorts we chose one at Lake Taupo. We fly to Auckland and pick up a car and will have just over a week to see the sights around this area (see a later episode for details)
Before you start to think, why aren’t they taking the caravan? it’s because we can’t get a booking on the ferry. If our original plans had eventuated, we would be on the mainland by now, but the decision to stay in Tasmania until Easter has complicated things. We’re not sure what will happen between now and September when we go to the Philippines but no doubt something will eventuate. Certainly one of the consequences of staying in Deloraine has been that this trip will be somewhat more expensive that it would have been if we didn’t have to add in the cost of getting off the island state.
Anyway, we left Launceston early this morning, flew to Sydney, took the train to Lithgow, and are now on a bus which will get us to Mudgee by 10 o’clock tonight.
A long day and it didn’t start well. I had bought myself a beautiful leather jacket (in fact, Marilyn paid for it while I was humming and hawing about whether I really couldn’t live without it - she gets fed up with my reluctance to spend money on clothes). I have always wanted a leather jacket and often try them on but, for one reason or another (too expensive, too Happy Days, too short in the sleeves) I’ve never managed to acquire one, until now.
This trip was a perfect opportunity to wear it for the first time but when we got to the airport we found that the security tag was still attached. There was no solution to the dilemma and I had to go without it. Jamie had driven us to the airport so he was given the job of taking it back to Myer to have the tag removed. My worry is that he will wear it a few times to ‘break it in’ and won‘t want to give it back.
A word about the project in the Philippines. On our trip in January 2005, our host, Kit Reventar, took us to see a resort and tree plantation she is developing in a remote area on San Miguel Bay about 350 km south of Manila. The resort adjoins a small fishing village called Cayucyucan and Marilyn and I saw the villagers lining up their containers on Sunday morning to buy fresh water from the water truck which comes every week.
Apparently their wells only produce brackish water which is not fit for drinking. The villagers live at a subsistence level and the cost of water is an expense they can ill afford. We’re delighted that Kit organized Rotary support last year to improve the situation. With the new arrangement, water is now pumped from a well to an overhead tank and collected by the villagers as required. The second stage, which will involve our Rotary club, is to drill down a bit deeper to find a supply of better water and pipe it to each household in the village.
Marilyn and I have a soft spot for the children in the village and helped out on one occasion by giving each child a new pair of thongs and a lollipop, sponsored the school soccer team to attend a local carnival, and even helped buy new soccer boots for the team. The children at Giant Steps sent art supplies to them one year and, on another occasion, we sent them some books. We’ll be back there in September and are looking forward to seeing how things are starting to develop; I’ll give you a report in the blog.
If anyone would like to make a donation to the water project or to give something nice to the children you can send a cheque to the Rotary Club of Deloraine, PO Box 85, Deloraine, Tasmania 7304, and mark it Philippines Project.
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