Thursday. Oh what a day. We decided that since we were going to Kemp anyway it would be shorter to go to Coffs and turn in the computer than a coffs trip alone. It would be a pretty long drive there and back and all the errands so we booked a mote with a spa bath – a bit of luxury. Since it has been raining for long enough that we have gathered a lot of laundry and will probably not have a dry enough day in the near future for it to dry we decided to take the laundry with us and go to a laundromat. We have been doing a bit of spring cleaning and found the bag of travel money. Most of it is used up or given away but we still had Turkish lira so we would try some banks with that. Kempsey is too small we thought. So on the list was: library, post office w check to dr. Alford, dr. appt to Emma, recycling at the cans, bottle and pet bottle centre in Kemp. Drive to Coffs and have lunch at a Chinese restaurant, turn in computer and ask how to arrange for post office to send it back and then go to post office and buy the stuff, try the banks for the lira, laundry, find motel in Urunga, go for evening meal at a fish restaurant in Urunga, use the spa bath at the motel and have microwave popcorn! Second day the list was: leave Urunga and return to Kemp, shop at Bunnings, shop at Woolies, shop at BWS, diesel for cannister for tractor coming next week and for Atlas and then pick up package from IKEA at Cetnaj. Should be a cinch – right! So off we go. The creek is high after the rains so we took the mountain road. Wet, muddy but passable. We had cleared it from trees, vines and branches the day before. Arrived a bit early so we took a morning tea at Tumblegum only they lost our order so we had to take the tea to go and have it after the doc. visit. Dr Emma had moved on and Jen got a new one. They were new and had to work in different places for a couple of years before settling down. Jen thought Emma was going to stay longer but .. oh well. This little lady wanted to do a thorough check up and breast cancer, bowel and cervical but Jen said another day. Should probably do it next year. It’s been a while now. Like 4 to 8 years depending on what. After the GP visit we had our tea and sent the letter at the post office, did the recycling and took off for Coffs. In Coffs we found the Chinese resttaurant and the food was probably the best Chinese so far since we moved up here but still not super. After lunch we found our Apple store and had a chat with the guy who took a look at Pebbles and also said they would take care of sending it back for a small fee. 25 A$! Perfect. Peb will get a new reflective screen. Now for the Turkish lira. ANZ turned us down, the post office sent us packing, Combank said sorry but ….. so we realised they all use the same bank who sends the money but never buys it back. We gave up and thought we might remember to take it next time we go to an airport. Now time for laundry so off the laundromat. Lots of laundry, all the thick winter stuff. Very nice to get it cleaned up allthough it never gets really really clean if it has spots since it never soakes at laundromats. Anyway it’s mostly working clohes so who cares! Now for Urunga and the motel. This was out on a field but the bridge there was being mended so it was closed off. We had to drive a way bit around but we got there. They had two rooms, one was a suit but our had the spa. Perfect. After a beer we took of to find the seafood restaurant, which we did after a bit but it was closed, nobody was ther though it said open 8-21. So we ended up in another place with very good food and super nice service! Back to the motel for a last beer and soak in the spa bath. Haha it was leaking so after 15 min there was barely water to cover our stomachs and there was no more warm water either. What a letdown. The little kitchen had a toaster but no plates or utensils or dishwashing stuffs. Otherwise the room was beautiful and big. The bed was great! So a bit of tweaking was needed for it to get full points.
Friday. We had brought our own breakfast of cereal and lucky for us in plastic container so we could eat out of them since there were no plates. They did have tea and a water heater but no microwave so no popcorn! After hanging in the room and having tea we packed up and left. Back to Kemp. All went smooth until picking up the package at Cetnaj. no parcel. We called the co and she called around. We said we were at Cetnaj. After lot of waiting in the hot sun she let us know the driver had left the package at Natrad. Ok so pick up at Natrad instead and off home. Phew! Better take Postmans and not count on the creek to allready recede. Almost home it started raining and when we stopped outside the gate it came down in buckets and hail! What to do? Wait it out in the car and have a beer. Haha. Rivers and lakes all around. After 40 min or so it stopped so we could unpack . All wet cardboard boxes and some wet bags. The weather had been so sunny and nice we had packed a lot of stuff on the tray! Anyway all was well and all chores done!
Monthly Archives: October 2018
Sewing
Finally.
.. and the kid grows…
Det gäller att ha stor ficka. A big pocket is a necessity.
20181001 Monday, trek to the creek
Swedish mixed in.
Packade ryggan för en tur till Postmansbäcken. Ska vi köpa en gräsklippare eller traktor? Packed a backpack with lunch and water and brought secateurs and the machete. Off up and down to Postman’s Creek to see what we could use a tractor for down there. Maybe useful for making paths or small roads… or maybe not. Do we only need a slasher or will we want a tractor later on and will regret just buying the slasher/mower?
Our very own white ant mound! Egen termitstack.
Lunchmacka. We looked about and decided to try out the other side of the creek. After some hacking about to make a path we had our lunch sanwiches.
Ojoj fina epifyter! While sitting there we saw a whole lot of beautiful Staghorn Ferns and Birds Nest Ferns. Our very own Dannywood! We had not seen so many before. Maybe we just had not had time to look for them. After lunch we went on hacking a path and all the time descussing if a tractor could do it or not. Probably not. A lot of handiwork is needed before one can use a tractor. Jen want a digger and Mick want a shovel. Well we at least decided it might not work along the creek side with all the lianas, vines and fallen trees.
Strypfikon som växer runt ett träd och dödar det vad det lider. We saw a Strangler Fig at work. It will be interresting to follow this one over the years!
Vet inte vad detta är. We also saw a plant that we cannot identify. Here it is.
Ett nytt träd! Rusty plum. Man ska kunna äta det men vi vet inte än. Tog hem kärnan och påtade ner i jorden. After a while we ended up at the place where Anton showed us the Rusty Plum. We now found several Rusty Plums and we took a plum seed with us home an put in a pot.
efter allt hackandet kom vi bara 30m meter in i bushen och nu trötta i armarna tog vi oss hem igen lagom att fika! By now we were quite tired in our arms from all the nipping and hacking so we decided to turn back home. Just in time for some tea.
Checked on the internet and read that Rusty Plum trees or Plum Boxwood are an endagered species. Interresting! Allegedly edible too.
Burn off or …
20181002 Tuesday. Seemed like the day began calm but it did not end calm. We did a big laundry. Mick then emptied the toilet and had some plans for next hour then P-man came over with two of his kids or a grandkid.
He let us know that he had talked to Chunk and the fire department who had said they could not come over today but it would be ok to burn off since the wind was in the right direction toward the earlier burn off. He asked if we wanted him to burn off our lot a bit to but we declined this time.
So the burn off started. The whole valley was full of smoke but all went quite calm we thought. Then the big gum tree on his side of the fence started burning big time or debris on the branches started burning and underneath and all the dry bushes. Some cinders came over to us and began burning underneath one of our gumtrees but we put it out. Then Jones moved on and went on burning along Postmans on the council side and his side. Another little fire had started under our Apple Box so we put that out. We sat down with a cuppa’ and the other gumtree (debris) on his lot started burning but it’s further away so we were calm now.
Then Donna came walking, very upset. P-man had left the fire on his lot and just watched the fire along our border since our house is just there, and forgot that there is a telephone line and little pole on his lot which now had gone up in flames and with that the Pitmans telephone line.
So we calmed Donna and Mick went with her up to Jones and let her have her say. Then he took her down to us again. After a bit she started home and Jen went with and her. She pointed out this and that that would be gone but it was not. A natural well would now be gone due to fire, but it was not. We went in a bit on Jones lot but there was not much there to see more that a bit of grassfire working it’s way upward the hillside. Donna got very upset when she (thought) she scared a wallaby so it jumped up along the burned part into the bush. “I have to tell Greg I scared it into the burnt part”. Jen calmed her that there would be nothing to the animal, the land was already cooling off. It’s just a grassfire! (for heaven’s sake).
Donna and Jen parted. But later back at the house we decided that Jen would go over and calm Donna so she would not get another heart attack and Mick just keep watering but we took each a mobile phone to keep contact and if we needed to call the helicopter. When Jen was wading through the creek Greg came driving home so she called him to stop. Then told the story and said for him to be very calm. We went into their garden and Donna came along so Jen told her to breathe deep and then we looked at her garden. A big sound came and Donna was sure it was a big “ancient” gum tree that she loved that had fallen. Jen said it was a branch. We had a look and the gum tree was still there. After some talking Greg came along and we all returned to the house.
Greg gave Jen a lift home and gave her a bag of bananas (home grown!). Donna had calmed down and Greg took some water to put out a bit of fire that was to close for comfort to their house.
Jen and Mick took in their stuff and after a bit P-man came past and parked the tractor had a chat with Mick and went home with the kids and ute to eat or so. He would return later.
Woah, what a day so far!
P-man came back and took the tractor and water up towards where the fires are and then Greg came along and was all fired up about trees that were hollow and were possums lived. He tried to put out the fire on a hollow standing tree. He left to go on with that. We sat down and had some wine before bedtime.