VANDERMAATS: ASHLEIGH'S MESSAGE TO EVERYONE

Sunday, July 27, 2008

ASHLEIGH'S MESSAGE TO EVERYONE

To everybody,
I miss all of my friends at school. Gracie, how's Tobie?
We're having a great time. Nanna I miss you.
Luke how are my guinea pigs?

We are now at Mataranka. We are seeing lots of hawks in the sky. I learnt how to snorkel in the springs today. It was great fun. The water is nice and warm because it comes out of the ground.

Daddy and Holly and I went outside last night and saw lots of wallabies in the caravan park.

Yesterday Lewi caught a snake. We also found a tooth in the shrimp net but we don't know what it's from.

We have been collecting lots of rocks and some shells. Mummy and Daddy said I can't have too many in the caravan.

Opa I really love the curtains in my bunk.

Soon we will be in Darwin.

I miss you all. I will write again soon.
Ashleigh

1 comment:

John and Rita said...: Dear Ashleigh,

We are very proud of you for writing that message. We miss you as well but we will keep up with you as you go around and keep writing your stories. Opa is pleased that you like your curtains.

Love you heaps.

Opa and Nanna xxxxxxx; July 27, 2008 at 11:36 PM

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"I CAN'T SEE YOU" by J. Vandermaat 15 Oct

(A phenomenon that occurs often
but as yet is unexplainable)

They pulled up in the van park
After a long and weary drive,
The pair of them were tired,
They barely looked alive.

He began to back the caravan
Into the limited parking space
And darkness was quite near
Though he knew he shouldn't race.

Not sure of hidden obstacles
His Mrs disembarked,
To check where he was headed
And direct him as he parked.

Slowly he reversed it
The caravan backed around
He looked back for his Mrs
But she was nowhere to be found.

As if from in the distance
He heard her calling out
"Well!!! What are you waiting for!?!"
He started getting out.

The atmosphere, it thickened,
You could carve it with a knife
And the redness in his face
Told there would soon be strife.

While the Mrs stood bewildered
He sauntered round the back.
"I said right, then keep it coming!"
Said his wife as an attack.

"I can't see you," said the old bloke
"When round the back you disappear.
If you cannot see my mirrors,
I cannot see you dear."

Well, I sat and watched and chuckled,
Not at the erupting blue,
But because I'd seen it many times
And their plight I surely knew.

We've been traveling now for three months
And divorced I thought we'd be
But after many, many back ups,
Annette now stands where I can see.

TRIP SUMMARY

1/12 Coffs harbour
26/11-1/12 Kempsie. stayed with Rod and Tanya for a few days. Built a new front door and a pool in a friend's backyard. Went out to dinner and caught up on all the goss. Went for a ski on the Maclaey River and finished with a big party night.
21/11-25/11 Shoal Bay (Windy Bay - can't believe the number of windy days we've had in the last couple of months).
18/11-21/11 Dural (Sydney). Trip into Sydney city & Taronga Zoo.
16/11-18/11 Katoomba. Van park across the road from the three sisters. On 17th went to Jenolan Caves.
15/11-16/11 Carcoar Dam
13/11-15/11 Canbarra. Parliament house and the war museum were fantastic.
11/11-13/11 Albury
10/11-11/11 Murra River free camp. Had to move in the middle of the night cause of mad bloke in a hooon car in the park. Moved to 30km west of Albury in NSW on the river.
7/11- 10/11 Phillip Island. met dad and Rita there. Big party night Sat night.
5/11 - 7/11 Melbourne - stayed at Craigieburn, North of the city.
3/11-5/11 Dundas Camp Ground, just north of Great Ocean Road.
1/11-3/11 Inside Victorian border.
31/10-1/11Millicent (near Mount Gambier)
30/10-31/10Wellington (On the Murray River)
24/10-30/10 Adelaide. Stayed at Leah (neice) and Anselms . We visited the city, the beach and the Adelaide hills as well as resting lots. We had a beautiful day in the Adelaide hills including the whispering wall, the big rocking horse, Mount Lofty lookout and Handorfe (german style town) where we had dinner.
23/10-24/10 Free stay called WhiteCliffs (Sandfly)reserve. Parked in the middle of farmland by a river.
22/10-23/10 Nuttbush Station, 20km west of Port of Augusta
21/10 Cheap camp at Pelubia Beach, 20 km Nth of Streaky Bay. 19/10-21/10 Fowler Bay. Cold and windy. Great dunes.
18/10 Eucla. Sandunes and Telegraph ruins.
17/10-18/10 Free stay 200km west of Eucla. Drove 400km to get herre today. 90mile straight was a part of ttravel on the 17th.
16/10-17/10 free stay at Fraser Range.
14/10-16/10 Esperance. Had to have the clutch replaced.
13/10-14/10 Mungingup free stay.
10/10 - 13/10 Caravan park outside Albany on the King River. Ash caught fish, Netto caught guppies.
9/10-10/10 Nornalup freestay at the Valley of the Giants turnoff. Braved the treetop walk amongst the 400 year old tingle trees, 40m into the canopy.
8/10-9/10 Pemberton. Stayed at Big Brooke Dam. Beautiful...again!!! Big tingle and karri forests from here to Walpole and Nornalup.
6/10-8/10 Margaret River. Stayed at sheep farm. Heaven on Earth.
5/10 Heading south. Stopped for lunch at Wooranah Pub. Stopped for the night at Old Whittakers Mill free stay south of Pinjarra.
3/10 - 5/10 Perth. Check out the photos on facebook.
2/10 Geraldton and Durien Bay. The Pinnacles. Stopped at Dondaragen overnight by chance cause the main highway service station ran out of fuel. Beautiful little town. Camped at their sports ground.
26/9-2/10 Coronation Beach. Nice Spot.
25-26 Sept Gladstone Campground on the beach. Rain, cold, wind.
24-25 Sept Quobba and the blowholes
18th - 24th Sept: Enjoyed Coral Bay. Swimming, snorkeling, fishing, Four Wheel Driving and relaxing. We made more friends and enjoyed the pool, the tennis courts and the electricity. The water was the most amazing colour, but it was a windy place at times.
17th Sept: Arrived Coral Bay - so nice!! Staying a week.
16th Sept: Yardie Station near Exmouth - now we're seeing some beautiful coast. Snorkelling at Turqoise Bay.
15th Sept: free stay at Barradale.
14th Sept: Travelled via Karatha (near Dampier) to a free stay at Robe River - met some people from Port Macquarie and Lonenderry
12th - 14th Sept: Travelled to Cleaverville (just south of Roebourne and Cossack where we stopped for a look) - great spot - finally we can see the ocean.
11th Sept: free stay Yule River.
9th Sept- 11th Sept: Pardood Station - very nice. About 50 people to sing for around the camp fire.
8th Sept: Free stay 150km out of Broome.
7th Sept: Went to Broome but no dog parks. Stayed 30km out of Broome. Said farewell to Lewises who would work in Broome.
6th Sept: free stay outside Fitroy crossing - left the Lewi family at Fitzroy Crossing.
5th Sept: left Kununurra and travelled outh. Visited the Bungle Bungles.
31st August: Crossed the border into W.A. (yahoo!!) and travelled to Kununnurra.
30th Aug: Left Darwin and travelled to a free stay 70km west of Katherine.
27th Aug: Ashleigh's Birthday Party.
25th Aug: Crocodile Cruise and watched the fire show at the Ski Club.
24th Watched the sunset at Darwin and went to the markets.
23rd August: Berri Springs Trip
17th - 22nd August : Lots of little trips around Darwin.16th August: rest day then a night at the Rodeo.
12th - 15th August: Trip to the beach. Another visit to the water park for a swim. Lots of school work and other work. Not much to tell.
11th Aug: Went to the Mindil Markets.
9^th – 10^th August. Helping one of the locals to paint their wagon.

8^th August: Visited the museum.

6^th August: Got back in to Robbie Robins Reserve and a powered site. Set up more permanent camp where we will stay for a few weeks.

5^th August: Travelled back to Robbie Robbins but we’d lost our spot so went back to Coolalinga caravan park.

4^th August: Vandermaats traveled to Litchfield National Park. Went to the Wangi falls – had a swim. Beautiful!!!!! Also visited the magnetic ant mounds.

3^rd August: Celebrated Jakes birthday and went to the local free water park.

1^st August: Moved to Roby Robins Reserve where we plan to stay. No powered sites here for a couple of days. Checked out the beach.

30^th July: Traveled to Coolalinga just sout of Darwin. Spent two nights at a carvan park while we searched for more temporary home.

29^th July: Left Mataranka. Passed through Katherine. Arrived at Adelaide River show grounds. A cheap but very good spot.

27^th July: Another nice day. Went to the other pools at the homestead. They were not as good as ‘ours’ (too commercialized- ours are more natural). Looked at the house used in the movie “We of the Never Never”. Headed back to our own pools.

26^th July: Booked to stay at Mataranka till Tuesday. What a fantastic spot. Clothes washed and clean. Electricity, showers, no more red dust. Sunshine, heat and no wind. Lewi caught a snake. Had a thrilling game of Sequence.

25^th July Arrived at the Mataranka cabins and camp ground. Beautiful. Finally feels like holidays. Rode our bikes down to the hot springs. Nice and warm. Tried our hands at fishing again to no avail. Celebrated Holly’s birthday.

24^th July: traveled to Newcastle Waters. This was a small but tidy free stay. Again it was windy and very cold. The children built a cubby and see-saws out of wood. Spent most of the afternoon fixing the sway bars, Lewi’s generator and trying to fix his radio.

23^rd July: Traveled to free stay at Attack creek

22^nd July: Planned to go to Commoweal. Got the third flat tyre (in the car this time). Stopped for lunch at Cammoweal and got the tyre repaired. Crossed the border and arrived at Avon Downs. Really cold. Not much there but it was a good free stay.

21^st July Left Dajarra early. Found a caravan park in Mt Isa. Walked up the hill. Shopped and booked the car in for a wheel alignment and to fix the flat tyre. Lewi found a new bike for Connor at the Op shop. Fixed the water tank properly.

20^th July: Had our second flat in the caravan and while trying to fix it put a hole in the water tank. Did a quick fix and traveled to Dajarra in the afternoon.

19^th July: Watched the races. Shopped. Watched the cowgirls, camel tagging, fire show and fireworks.

18^th July: decided at the last minute to travel to Boulia to see the camel races. Long drive over single lane bitumen. Lots of red dust. Found water in town. Watched Sunny Cowgirls perform.

17^th July Went to the Stockman’s hall of fame then traveled to Winton where we stayed at the Gregory Hotel.

16th July: Drove to Longreach.

15th July: Fossicking at Saphire. Found a few nice saphires.

14th July headed back to Anakie

12th July: Headed for Rolleston. Left the Lewises there and traveled to Mackay (500km) where we spent two nights, went to the beach and to the Eimeo pub for a beer.

10th July: After a good night singing around the campfire and a roast, on the 10^th we have traveled to Rolleston. We stayed for two nights while the Lewises travel to Karnarvon.

7th July: We set off again and travelled to Moura where we spent a few days resting, fixing a few bits and pieces and unwinding from work and all the preparation.

6th July: Monto. At Monto we met the Lewis's friends, Sue and Maurie. They fed us a good meal and let us use their shower.

5th July: We headed for Ban Ban springs.

4th July: We had a rough start with some minor brake issues and only made it to Fernvale on the first day after a lot of time spent at the mechanics and the auto electricians.

VANDERMAATS

Sunday, July 27, 2008

ASHLEIGH'S MESSAGE TO EVERYONE

1 comment:

WHERE ARE WE ?

"I CAN'T SEE YOU" by J. Vandermaat 15 Oct

KEMPSIE

KEMPSIE

KEMPSIE

TRIP SUMMARY

Go to Annette's Blog to see her diary of the trip.

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