Well, it's Sunday and another week has flown by us! Last weekend we had a great time at SeaWorld! We saw Polar Bears, which neither of us had ever seen before except for in pictures and on TV! They were brilliant! The enclosure had land and water, and you could watch them from above, or below under the water. It was open air, and we wondered how the bears weren't over-heating in the Australian Summer, but we read the info and the bears enjoy the Artic Summer and don't like it too cold! There have cold steam areas for them, and the water temperature is controlled, but overall, it suits them well! One of the bears was really active when we got there, and I could have watched him all day! He was jumping in the water, swimming up to the glass viewing area, swimming with his front pushed up against it, and then as he got to the top, pushing off with his feet and then flopping back into the water with a big splash, it was amazing to watch, especially while he was under the water. They are very good swimmers, and he had really human like qualities! When he would surface he would lie on his back with his arms and legs pointing up out of the water, and he would wipe his eyes with his front paws, it was so interesting to watch! I am glad we saw them when we did, as when we went back later in the day, it was different bears (they rotate them) and they weren't doing anything at all! We would have thought they were really boring if that's all we'd seen.
We also enjoyed a great dolphin show, which I loved! There are a few rides there too, so we went on a rollercoaster and a log flume! Ben's favourite bit was the sharks! There are two underwater viewing areas, one is a 'reef', full of all the colourful stuff we have seen when we have dived, which was very relaxing to watch, and the other is the 'predatory' tank! It is full of lots of sharks, and is not colourful at all, just grey sharks and fish swimming around, apart from one little Dory fish who seemed a bit lost! She had obviously swum through the divide from the other side and was lost in true Dory fashion! There is a glass box in the tank, that you can go in and feed the sharks from which Ben was really keen to do, but it was booked up for ages, so we couldn't! The sharks were amazing to watch, they were pretty big and dangerous looking!
We saw lots of other things, including a funny sea-lion show! There were the usual fair ground type stalls there with giant cuddly toys as prizes, and was trying to get Ben to have a go to win us a mascot for Gunther, but he was not up for it at all! The game had a giant bin, and you had three balls, if you got one in you got a small prize, two in a medium and three in a giant prize. The catch was, most people's balls bounced right out! We didn't see anyone get close, so Ben was reluctant, but eventually I egged him on enough to have a go! He managed two out of three so we picked a rather large Nemo cuddly which now proudly sits in Gunther with the two of us!
On Sunday the weather was terrible, so instead of staying in all day we went to the cinema and watched the new Harry Potter. It was good, but slow and long, and not as 'actiony' as the previous ones, but we enjoyed it. I always feel a bit naughty going to the cinema in the daytime! When you come out you still have an eveing left which is always funny to me! Ben did another great BBQ for tea, I don't think he'll ever get tired of them!
The rest of the week the weather was pretty poor in the mornings, and then just as I set off to work to start at 2pm, it would brighten up and be all sunny, which sucked a bit! But the weather should be getting as it is now Summertime here! I didn't do very well at work, only one booking all week, which meant no commission, but at least I get paid by the hour as well!
We had another weekend without Kelly and Sam as Kelly had a job interview on Monday 6 hours away, so they made sa weekend of it. I am sad Kelly and I haven't had much girly time together as she's at work all day, and then I'm at work in the evenings, and the last two weekends they've been away, which is a shame. Ben and I went to the beach at Burleigh Heads for the day on Saturday which was lovely! I read my book all afternoon while Ben was refining his body surfing technique! The waves on this coast are massive and quite scary, so I was also watching him most of the time in case he got into trouble, not that I would be able to do anything, but could at least alert the lifeguard!
On Sunday we went up Tambourine Mountain and found a 'market', which turned out to be half market, half carboot sale! It was fun poking around, and the whole town seemed to be there! We also found another little shopping area where there was a cheese factory and beer distillery. Ben had the 'taster tray' of four beers and was happy as larry watching the cricket! I also found a fudge shop and was also a happy bunny!
The rest of the week has been a bit of a whirlwind, getting Gunther ready for staying in, working and also fitting in another trip to Wet & Wild! Ben has a job starting on Monday, north of Brisbane, so we will be heading that way on Saturday and staying in Gunther at a campsite for the duration! It's until 22nd December, then we are heading back to Runaway Bay for him to start work here on 23rd!
Anyway, I am off to work in a bit, so had better be off!
So, we have been super busy this week, and I have only just sat down to write the blog and it's late on Friday evening! Lots has happened, and I was going to try and write about each day, but in typical Sarah fashion I can't actually remember what happened each day, so here's an overview!
On Tuesday we took Gunther to Sam's mechanic friend for one last ditch attempt at sorting him out, and we were thinking about investing a bit more into him, so asked about the options of sorting the engine out etc. We left the van and got given an old banger as a 'loaner' to get us around! We went to the beach for the afternoon, the part that has a swimming area, netted off for sharks! I read my book, while Ben and Sam played in the water. We met a very crazy guy who asked Ben what frequency he was on! Got a phone call from the mechanic who was a great guy, he sorted the spark plugs, but was honest enough to tell us that it wasn't worth us getting the engine sorted, and it would be very pricey, considering we only needed him for a few months. So we decided to look into other options and sell Gunther for whatever we could get. We both felt really uncomfortable driving him, the steering was so heavy, the amount of smoke was getting worse and we were worried we were going to break down all the time, so didn't really want to be travelling all over like we planned. So we arranged to see another van the next day, a similar one, but much more nicely maintained and clean! However, there was a tiny bit of white smoke coming out of the exhaust! The guy was asking $3400 which we didn't want to pay, he said he had another offer in the table, so we played hardball a bit and offered him $3000 and left, asking him to call us if his other offer fell through.
We went to pick up Gunther from the mechanic and he said one last ditch attempt might be to do anothe oil change (the one we had in when we had it serviced probably made things worse as they put in a cheapy thin oil) and to use a very thick oil and another bottle of 'stop smoking', we already owed him $110 for the spark plugs, and he said he could do the rest and total it to £250, so we thought we might as well have one last go - and boy are we glad we did! So far, so good! Obviously it has not fixed the problem and its not a permanent solution, but the smoking is now minimal and it's like driving a different van! We got the tyres pumped up and now we are good to go! So, at the moment, Gunther lives! The guy with the other van sent us a message saying his other offer fell through so he could go ahead, but we've said no for now, as we're hoping to hold onto Gunter!
Other new this week is that I got a job! I am an 'appointment setter', working in a call centre. I saw the job online on a job site and emailed my CV with my call centre experience. I got a phone call on Tuesday night inviting me for interview and then started on Wednesday! I work 2 - 8pm and get paid $19 per hour as well as good commision if I make appointments. I have to make 2 appointments a week, and I get an extra $100 for each other appoinment I make on top in that week, so it could work out to be good money! It is certainly achievable, I have spoken to all the staff and they all seem to make at least an extra $100-200 a week. The last two weeks they have been running a competition on top of the commision, to win a 50"plasma TV! Theres only about 25 staff, so the odds are good! The runner up prize is a Wii! I had training on Thursday and a bit more tonight, and then got on the phones. Unfortunately I didn't make any appointments, but fingers crossed for next week! The appointments are for a financial advisor type person to visit their house and talk about investment opportunities, particularly in propety, however, they have to be earning a certain amount, be under 57 and have $110K in equity in their home, so not everyone qualifies, but hope to get some appointments on Monday! The office closes on 3rd December for 4 weeks for Christmas, so hopefully in the next two weeks I can hit the ground running!
On Thursday morning we went to another theme park with our special tickets, this time it was Wet & Wild - an amazing water park! It was amazing! We went straight for their newest ride, which is called Aqua Loop, where you stand up on a tunnel type booth, and there is a trap door beneath your feet which gives way and you shoot down and do a loop-the-loop in a water tunnel ride! There are four that go at the same time, so it's like a race, it counts down 3,2,1 and then all the trap doors go at once! There was no queue and we just went straight for it, so at the top I suddenly felt really nervous, and was very scared, I think even Ben was a little nervous when we got into the booth! I was absolutely petrified!!!! But it was brilliant! We got straight off and went back on again! Had loads of fun on all the other rides, but the Aqua Loop was by far the best! Google it to see what it's like!
So, I think that's the highlights of this week! Kelly and Sam have gone to his Uncles to dog sit for the weekend, and have kidly let us stay here, which is so good of them. We are off to SeaWorld tomorrow for the day and I don't have work which is nice, so we can spend the whole day chilling out, and then the plan is to get a takeway, which we haven't done in months!
Sarah x
We all had a bit of a lie in today, except for Kelly who went for her usual Sunday morning walk, she is so dedicated! We headed for 'The Spit', which is a long pier at the beach, where the boys could fish. Off they set down to the end while Kelly and I found a nice spot on the beach. We had a lovely lazy afternoon, reading, chatting and even snoozing on the beach! The boys were fishing for a couple of hours, but again, only managed to catch one fish! I don't think they're cut out for this fishing malarchy!
We all headed back and showered ready for dinner. As we were all getting ready Ben gave me a present, an anniversary gift of gorgeous earrings! He gave me the pressie a day early so I could wear them out to dinner! Tomorrow we will have been together for ten years! They are beautiful! Nick and his girlfriend Steph met us at "Outback Jacks". Ben had found an online voucher for us all to have a free starter, and then we both had a big lump of steak! After a lovely meal we headed home, via McDonalds for a soft serve of course!
On Monday I got up nice and early to Skype with Mum. We had set the time a few days ago, so there I was at 8am (10pm her time) waiting with the computer. After ten mins I decided she had probably forgotten, so I text her and Emma. But then I realised that she probably wouldn't have her phone with her, and Emma's phone has terrible reception, so I sent a message to the house phone, where a nice robot lady reads it out to them! Got a text back saying they were just getting online! Was greeted by Mum, Dad and Emma, and told that Mum had forgotten! It's nice to feel so loved, haha, only joking Mum, we know how crap your memory is, I half expected it anyway!!! Had a great catch up with them, it was so nice to speak to them and catch up properly! I love modern technology!
Ben and I had decided to go to 'Warner Brothers Movie World" for a day of fun! We had a great time, and got our passes to return as many times as we like, and also for access to SeaWorld and Whit Water World!!! Gunther got us there ok, all be it with a lot of smoke! When we arrived, we decided to go straight for the Superman rollercoaster, which we queued for a little bit for. I wasn't sure what to expect as we hadn't really looked at it before we got in the queue! It was fantastic! It goes from 0-100km p/h in 2 seconds, even Ben made a funny noise when that happened! I found it difficult to get out at the end of the ride as I was in such shock, I was a bit like you Mum when you went on Space Mountain at DisneyLand! We had a great day enjoying the rides and hanging out together! Gunther got us back home again, however, we are now thinking we either need to sell him and get a different van, or invest some money into him, with the hope of being able to sell him for more than we bought if he's in working order. We both feel that we need a reliable van if we are going to do any distance, and at the moment, we don't feel particularly confident when we start a journey that we will finish it!
Ben and I went out for the evening, we went to the cinema and as an anniversary treat we went 'Gold Class'! You get to go in a posh lounge before the showing, the cinema only seats about 24 people and the chairs are massive armchairs, lazyboy style, with a little table for any food that you order! We got complimentary popcorn and a drink (they don't do sweet popcorn here, shame), and we ordered a trio of dips platter, which gets bought to you about twenty mins into the movie! It was brilliant! I completely felt like we were at home, not in a cinema at all! The film we watch was called Red, and neither of us really knew what the film was about, so we were both pleasantly surprised! It was a great movie for guys and gals, we both really enjoyed it!
Got up this morning to get ready for my interview! Walked the five minutes it takes to get to Runaway Bay shopping centre, and introduced myself to the manager. He was very apologetic and asked me to come back in twenty minutes as there was only him and one other staff member in at that moment. Went to MaccyDs and grabbed an orange juice to kill some time! When I returned he explained that this was the first year they had done this system of interviews, where they just tell you to pop in to see the manager anytime within 7 days for an interview, and he said it was proving a bit difficult! It took him a while to find my name, as he had a list that was 5 pages long! He had another interviewee waiting for him when I was done, so I think he's going to be busy! The interview was short and sweet, he didn't ask me anything too taxing, and I think I answered well! He said it was a small store and they didn't have as many hours to offer as the bigger store further out, so not sure if I am successful whether I can ask to be put in a particular store, we shall see! I also don't know if he will only say yes to the amount of people he can take on, or send back the names of all the people who were suitable to HR and then they chose, I will have to wait and see.
When I got back Ben and Sam were heading out to get new tyres for Gunther, and for Sam to hand out some CVs to various shops. They also took a trip to BCF (Boating Camping Fishing) and Ben came home with a fishing rod, tackle box and a 'fishing hat'!!! While they were gone Kelly and I topped up our tans by the pool and gossiped all afternoon, it was lovely! Kelly and Sam's apartment block looks out onto a a canal that joins the sea, with pontoons for boats in their garden area. Ben and Sam set up some chairs and spent the late afternoon / evening fishing and drinking! Ben managed to catch one fish, but that was it! Sam's friend Nick came and joined them, but they had no more luck with the fish! The boys came in and we had a barbie and a few drinks, it was a great evening. The boys stayed up to watch the rugby, this time they had the right channel! All in all, a great day!
The day after buying Gunther we decided to get him checked out, and booked a service. Luckily they could fit us in that day, so off we trundled. Left him there for a couple of hours and then got the call to pick him up, saying there were a 'few issues', which was not unexpected! They had carried out the service and changed the oil and filters and stuff, but found A L
OT wrong with him! They basically told us that we needed a new engine, ahhh! When we asked about just replacing the pistons (like the girls had told us) they said it would be almost as expensive as getting a new engine, so that was a bit crap! They told us about some stuff you can buy called 'stop smkoing', that you add to the oil, and said that might help as a temporary fix.
We decided to drive out to a Mitsubishi wrecking place to see how much we could get an engine for. After driving up and down the road a couple of times trying to find the place, we eventually pulled in and saw we had a flat tyre! It was as flat as a pancake, with a ma-hoo-sive nail sticking out of it! I talked to a very helpful man who came to look at the van and told us we could try and pick up an engine for $1800, but that didn't include fitting it, and he didn't have any, and apparently our van is the hardest to find them for, ha! Or we could get a reconditioned one for $3000, wowza! He mentioned the 'stop smoking' stuff too, so we decided we ought to try that!But before we could go anywhere, we had the small issue of the flat tyre! We did have a spare, so the guy told Ben to jack it up, and he went to get an electronic thing to get the nuts off. The van was jacked up as far as it would go, got the old wheel off, but couldn't get the new one on, the van was too low! The VERY helpful man said he'd get his forklift truck to lift it up if we didn't mind, WE DIDN'T MIND! He lift the whole front of the van up, got the wheel on and whizzed the nuts back on, what a life saver!!!! So, although no luck with the engine, we were certainly in the right place at the right time with regards to the flat! After our encounter with the lovely man, we headed to get some 'stop smoking', and chugged the whole bottle in!
Headed back to Kelly and Sam's and had some dinner. I had an email to invite me to interview at 'City Beach', a surfy type shop 5 mins walk away, which is ace! It just says to pop in anytime and speak to the manager, so will be doing that tomorrow! Kelly and Sam took us to the night markets at Surfer's Paradise, which were great! It is really touristy there, and the markets had some lovely stuff, and we felt like real tourists looking around! I bought a headband, Gunther does not have aircon, so you have to have the windows right down, the hair is wild and in my eyes, so that should solve that! We moseyed around the shops and all had a 'soft serve' icecream, (Mr Whippy from McDonalds!), which Ben loves! Came home and Kelly lent me a nice jacket to wear with my dress, and little shoes for the interview! Fingers crossed!
So, on Wednesday night we saw an advert on Gumtree for a campervan that was being sold about 15 minutes away, for only $1000 and thought we ought to at least check it out! It had everything we'd need with it, cooking equipment, chairs, table, bed etc, so emailed and went to bed. On Thursday morning we had a reply and arranged to meet them, so headed off to the hostel they were staying at.
It was two young American girls selling it. When we arrived they told us that it had been sat on the drive way for 2 months and wouldn't start!!!! They had a battery jump lead pack and managed to start the engine, however, when it was turned off it wouldn't start again! Used the
battery jumpe leads again and Ben and Sam took it for a test drive! They also told us that it had black smoke coming out of the exhaust, but they had taken it to a mechanic who said it was piston ring that needed replacing, maximum cost $350, and that they had dropped the price in last few days because of this, and that they needed to sell it by Sunday!
We tried offering them $800, but they said $900, so we went half way and threw in our Thailand guide books which we happened to have with us as we were taking them to the second hand book shop. This was great as the girls were going to Thailand next! They accepted $850 + books, and we had oursleves a deal! Started her up again, with the jump leads, and off we went!
The smoke out of the exhaust was pretty bad and smelt so we decided we would get it looked at soon. When we pulled up at Kelly and Sam's we were hoping that having driven it for a while the battery might have charged up a bit, but unfortunately when we turned it off, it would not start again! We knew this might happen! So, we decided to bite the bullet and go and buy a new battery. Sam took us, and then Ben fitted it! We all held our breath and waited for Sam to turn the key, ... nothing, just a little clicky noise!
Luckily, with the van came breakdown cover, so just phoned them and they were on their way! Sam and I went to pick up some lunch while Ben waited with the van, who is called Gunther by the way (they named it!). The RAC man came and said it was the wrong battery (even though we'd asked the sales people!) and the new battery was apparently dead! So, after lunch by the beach, off we went back to the battery place. Got the right one no problem, and Ben fitted it! We all held our breath again, ... nothing again, just the same clicky noise!
Called the RAC back out, and the same man came! He looked at it, and noticed a wire that was not connected. Once he connected it, we had lift off!!! We wonder if we needed a new battery at all, as that wire had not been connected to the old one, so that could have been the problem all along! Oh well, can't hurt to have a new battery!
Finally we were on the road! Ben and Sam went for a little drive, and tested out the sound system! It is hooked up with massive speakers and a rather good CD player, and the volume is deafening!! They also left us all their copied CDs in a CD sleve which is great! We set about finding out exactly what came with it! So, we have a camping stove, chairs, table etc. A big box full of cooking stuff and plates etc, a box full of other random stuff, like matches, dustpan and brush, electrical tape and touch up paint, and all sorts of stuff! There is a football, a rugby ball, and some snorkel gear! Most of the stuff is pretty grubby, and needs a good wash, so I will be cleaning it all ready for when we get on the road!
Had a lovely evening, Kelly and I went to the cinema to watch 'Life as we know it', it was so nice to go and see a chick flick and have some girly time! We got home and the boys had been playing Fifa11 all evening, what a suprise!!!
On Saturday Kelly went to Zumba while the rest of us were far lazier! I would like to try out this Zumba malarchy but have not got any sports wear at the moment! I am hoping to go with Kelly to Aqua Zumba on Thursday as I have the right outfit for that!!!
We all went to Main Beach today, and walked all the way along it to Surfer's Paradise, which is a beach and shopping area. Had a look around and found some shop windows advertising jobs so will be dropping my CV (or Resume as they say here!) in tomorrow! Had lunch in an Irish Bar and then headed back to the beach. Ben and Sam were very brave and went in the sea, it was a bit nippy, but they said it wasn't cold once you got used to it. However, the waves were huge and messy! There were lifeguard warnings everywhere about how 'unstable' the swimming conditions were, it was nuts! The boys had fun body surfing the waves and getting bowled over by them!
Had a nice BBQ for dinner, Sam has a very impressive BBQ on the balcony, I think Ben might have a bit of BBQ envy! Had a chilled out evening and then Kelly and I went to bed while the boys stayed up for the Rugby on TV. Found out this morning that they didn't actually get to watch it as the TV channel was showing a different game, whoops!
Posted by
Sarah O'Neill
,
01:25
Well, it's certainly been a while since I have done this! I did startwriting the blog on Word while we were away a few times but we had to be really scrimpy with the laptop battery and so gave up, and wrote in my journal. So the whole trip is written in my diary, which anyone can borrow when we're back!
We had an amazing trip, driving around 3500km in all! We drove up to Exmouth, and Cape Range National Park, stopping at some amazing places on the way, and then headed back to
Perth stopping at some different amazing places! It was really good fun and we both had a brilliant time! Some days were a lot of driving and fun in the van, while others we spent time in different beauty spots and snorkelled and sunbathed. Our favourite place was definately the Cape Range National Park which we stayed in for 2 nights, it has the most amazing beaches and snorkelling and was a really spectacular place to stay! We met loads of interesting people on our way and saw some amazing sights! I cannot possibly write about it all, I would be here all day! After 3 days on the road we still hadn't seen a kangaroo, then we saw one, but sadly it was dead by the side of the road, which became a common sight. We did see lots of live ones while staying in the National Park and they came quite close! On our way back from Exmoth we counted over 160 dead kangaroos on the roadside, one of the reasons we didn't drive at night!
We returned the Wicked van on Tuesday 3rd November and spent the rest of the day in Perth. We visited the Kings Park which was a lovely big park on the edge of the city centre. We did our washing back at the YMCA, Skyped with Carol and Mike and packed our bags for the morning. The next morning we were just packing the last bits and bobs when the fire alarm went of in the YMCA! So we had to trapse all the way down 10 flights of stairs and stand outside with all the other residents, some of whom were a bit strange! Thankfully all the drama only lasted 10 minutes, so we were able to get back upstairs, finish packing and get our taxi to the airport on time!
Our flight was fine and we were greeted by Sam holding a sign with "WooWa welcomes the O'Neillssss!" we headed back to the car and caught up on everything on the way to their apartment. Their apartment is amazing, it has a lovely spacious open plan living area and a big balcony. Kelly was there to greet us and we had a really nice evening catching up and chilling out!
On Friday Kelly had work, but Sam didn't, so he made us bacon sandwiches and we lazed around and the boys played Fifa11. Sam took us to the local shopping mall so we could get ourselves sorted with Medicare and open a bank account. After we'd done all our errands we had lunch and then Sam took us to a cheesecake shop where we bought two halves of amazing cheesecakes for dinner!
Kelly cooked us a great dinner and we had the yummy cheesecakes for afters! Had a chilled out evening and watched a movie, it's really nice to be in a 'home' again! But in a funny way it's making me miss being home more than I have, I guess it's because we have been so far removed from proper 'homely' environments so you just don't think about it!
Sarah x
