Life in the van

Day number 54. That is magic, because we now have 54 days left. So, we have been taking our time in the SouthWest of Western Australia, the part of the country with the “Mediterranean” climate. Our time in Perth was a little spotty weather-wise, with one really cool day. We had a couple of cloudy days after that, but the weather has been good the last three days, 9 or 10 in the morning, warming to 22 or 24 in the afternoon. We have not been laying on the beach much in the past few days. However, we have been doing quite a bit of the birds and flowers thing, and have taken a slew of pictures. (One of the problems with digital cameras, amplified by the fact that we have two of them. We actually have downloaded everything to this computer, and backed up the first couple of thousand on DVD and mailed home. One for September is probably there now, and the October one we will mail in a week or so.) We are currently camped for a couple of days in an ecopark in the Stirling Ranges (a smallish mountain range North of Albany) and have booked guided walks for both birds and wildflowers. It is really nice here just now, and we are hoping the weather holds for a couple of days, not sure we have enough warm clothes packed for the hills if the weather gets ugly.
We had run out of bushflies along the coast, but they are back in force now that we are back inland a bit. I think they multiply here because it is an ecologically protected area. A good place to spray a tanker load of DDT, perhaps.
I have included some van-related photos:
Cooking. Sylvia has done more cooking in the van than anticipated. This is partly due to the fact that decent commercial dining facilities have been less available than I first thought. We have not found as many of the old-style bush pubs within walking distance of where we park as originally thought. Of course, disconnecting the van (pulling the power cord, and moving the sink drain bucket) is pretty simple and we have done a bunch of that. Anyway, the facilities include a two-burner propane stovetop, a microwave oven (assuming we have power, and we almost always do) and a pretty decent little fridge. Cupboard space is limited, but we manage to store about a week’s worth of food at a time.
Eating. We do eat in the van a lot, more as a matter of convenience than anything else – quite comfortable. We also have a folding table (besides the little one attached to the outside of the van) and chairs, so eat beside the van sometimes.
Sleeping. Have to make the table down, of course, but lots of room otherwise. There is about a two-foot gap between the bed and the cupboards (which the smaller vans don’t have), which is important if you have to get up during the night.
The other photos include me at Leeuwin point, where you turn the corner if you are sailing around Australia. Or driving, for that matter. And, another bird – the New Holland Honey Eater. If there is no bird picture, but a map of OZ, you will know I got around to photographing the map before I found high speed internet. Not sure when I will get a chance to upload this. This is actually internet access here, but much to slow for this type of exercise.
We went touring a bunch of wineries a couple of days ago. As much as we are fans of Australian wines, the Western stuff hasn’t won us over yet. Of the 20 brands/varieties we sampled, we bought only one rather expensive Merlot. Might have it tonight with prawns feattucini – even if a white would be more appropriate.