We’re still here at Myrtle Park and have booked for another week. We’re certainly enjoying the solitude and coping well with the lack of power. In fact, compared to others in the park, we’re in the lap of luxury. One couple, no younger than we are, have a 4WD with a rooftop tent and a 3m ladder to climb up. The back of the 4WD opens up and they can cook a meal but there’s nowhere for them to sit under cover. It must be miserable when it’s cold and wet.
We took a trip down to Deloraine yesterday to collect some warmer clothing and check the mailbox on the way back. We also discovered that Kmart had folding bicycles on sale for only $40 so decided that we couldn’t live without at least one of those. Of course, it came in a box and needed some assembling but I had the right tools so put it together this morning. It’s a great machine with 6-speed Shimano gears and a seat that adjusts high enough for me to ride it comfortably. It only has 50cm wheels so it’s not good on rough ground but we’re not into cross country riding anyway. It was originally on sale for $99 so we’ve got a bargain.
Marilyn worked out that we could hire a little fire basket at the camp kiosk so we’re now well set up with all the amenities. We bought a basket of wood and I brought some more back from Deloraine yesterday and that should see us through for a few days.
Tomorrow is my birthday and we’re heading up to Launceston to have lunch with Jamie. I don’t normally celebrate my birthday (who needs reminding that the years are passing?) but it’s a good chance to have a nice meal in a restaurant. Jamie has bought himself a new car, a very nice blue Lancer, but he’ll be many thousands of dollars out of pocket after the theft of his previous vehicle.
Thursday, 10th
We really enjoyed lunch at Peckish, a very nice café in Kings Meadows and that seemed to put us in the mood for more shopping. We had been looking at getting a generator to give us the security of having power when we were free-camping. The solar panel is limited in bad weather and on a cloudy day, we have to be careful with running lights, the heater and the TV.
Both of us have agreed that free-camping is the way to go. Caravan Parks have all the amenities but the sites are small and, at busy times, you are parked hard up against people on both sides. On our last stay at Hadspen, the people next door to us fought with each other all the time. We’ve had neighbours who play their radio too loud, or swear all the time, or encroach on our site. Truth to tell, we’re a little anti-social.
Having power completes the picture for us: when we are parked in a pristine free site, we can still have hot showers, run the heater or air conditioner, use the washing machine, and charge the computer, phones, etc. All the advice we received pointed us to a Honda 2000 watt generator and so we bought one today. I suppose it could be regarded as my birthday present. It cost a bit more than I had anticipated but we can justify the expense by calculating that it will be repaid by the park fees saved in less than three months of free camping.
No comments:
Post a Comment