"An Around-the-World-Ticket for Two, Please."

That Friday Feeling

Posted by Sarah O'Neill , Saturday, 4 December 2010 23:47

This week has been a bit differnt with both Ben and I working! Ben has two jobs on the horizon, the first is in a place called Moorayfield, north of Brisbane, and the second is back near Runaway Bay. He phoned the place in Runaway Bay to find out where it was and if he needed to come in and meet anyone, as we are up in Moorayfield working right up until the day before he starts at Runaway Bay, and it was lucky he did as they asked him to come in and he ended up being there for 3 days! He was so pleased he had rung ahead, as he had a lot to learn as the equipment is different and he had to get to grips with the billing system! So, he went to work and so did I! I managed 7 bookings in the week which I am so pleased about! I'm waiting to see if I get my commission on the five, as they have to keep the apointment, so fingers crossed! I also got a couple of spins on the alcohol wheel, which won me a 6 pack of beer for the boys and a bottle of white wine for the girls!

Friday was our last night at Kelly and Sam's, so we had a BBQ with their friends Steph and Nick, which was great fun! I got home from work and there was a mountain of meat! We all had a few drinks and played some games! There were a lot of laughs when we played the Charades game with 3 rounds! Also played Taboo, Ben and I need to work on our Taboo communications! It was so good to spend time with Kelly and Sam before we left, it was a fantastic evening!

On Saturday morning we had to get up early and pack our bags up, feeling a little bit worse for wear! We packed up Gunther and said our goodbyes! We had arranged to pop in and see a couple called Alan and Clarice who are friends of Jan and John at home. Clarice is Australian, however, married Alan and moved to England, and had their family there, and then moved out in 1995 and have been here ever since. Jan and John told us we must visit them while we out here, so off we went as it was on our way to Moorayfield!

We had a wonderful time with them, they have an amazing home, it is huge! They were so welcoming and we enjoyed a cup of tea and homemade cakes outside! Unfortunately the weather was terrible! It did begin to clear up, but we were fine under their veranda. Their daughter Wibby and her children Charlie and Sahara came to visit too! Alan and Clarice took us all out to dinner at a lovely vineyard which was so nice! The food was delicious and it was such a treat! We said goodbye to Wibby and the girls there, and Alan and Clarice took us in the car to show us a few local places of interest, including where some of the new Narnia film, Voyage of the dawn treader, was filmed! When we got back we had to get going to make it to the campsite we'd booked before dark, so we gave them bigs hugs that we are taking back with us for Jan and John! We are hoping to see them again before we go to far as we didn't get a picture for Jan and John!

We found the campsite fine, but after a day of rain the grass was pretty boggy and the thought of spending all eveing in Gunther was not appealing! We so enjoyed out campervan trip in Western Australia, but of course it was sooo sunny all the time, you could live outside! The reality of a rainy time with only two front seats and a bed was beginning to sink in! We had a drive around to get our bearings, but unfortuately all the food shops were shut! We did however, find a cinema, so we decided to watch the new Narnia film, which was especially fitting seeing as we'd seen where it was filmed earlier in the day! The film was great and it was nice to chill out at the cinema rather than be stuck in Gunther all evening!

We spent our first night in Gunther and it has to be said it was a very comfortable night! However, it was very warm come the morning, and there aren't any windows that open, so I was going to open the door to get some fresh air in, but couldn't, as there are no door handles on the inside of the back! That was a bit different to the Wicked Van! I guess you just assume there will be handles! So, went to the back door, had to move a lot of stuff to get to the lock, and found that we couldn't get that to open either!!!!! So, it's boiling hot, getting hotter as we get more flustered about not being able to get out, and the only option left was for me to climb through the gap in the wire grid that separates the front and back of the van, which was no easy feat! Managed it and opened the front passenger door and could finally open the back to get some air in! The ground was even worse as it had rained all night! We tredged through the boggyness for our showers and it began to rain some more! We headed out to the shopping centre to get a cup of tea and talk about our options. There were cabins available at the campsite (just like a static caravan) and the older ones were a cheaper weekly rate, so we decided that this would be the best option for us as we are going to be here for two and a half weeks, and if the rain continues (as it looks set to!) long days and nights in the van were not apealing! We have been given a $250 allowance for accomodation for the job, so we're only having to top it up by $100 which is good, however, in the van we would have obviously saved money, but perhaps lost our sanity! We now have a settee, TV and our own bathroom, and we can walk around, yay!!! We got in some shopping for the week and headed back to our new home to watch the cricket, but it had been rained off! Found some brochures for things to do around here and looks like we will be heading to Australia Zoo at the weekend! Enjoyed an evening in front of the TV with a chilled glass of wine, not too late to bed as Ben begins his job tomorrow!
Sarah x