WEEK 105, THE WIND IN BACK....
Hello all, its been a very strange week and as you will read below in the story time section it did out of hand for a while there and to say not much else happened this week that could top that.
Most of the week was about putting stuff back in van and getting ready to move on Saturday and we are going to be going up along the North Coast for seven days and staying in a van park, sometimes you need to see others as we have been on the mountain for past 3 months almost and you don't get to see other much, so will be good
Again the weather has been so bad here and we are starting to get over the rain etc. it seems its been going on for months now and we are hoping that we can get some blue skies soon.
So Thursday I head down to Launceston Airport for the last time to pick up our house owners as they fly in late afternoon and bring them back and will stay till Saturday and go though and show them any issues and then leave Saturday.
We are sad that we did not have any snow while here and I bet that once we move it will, the next house sit tells us they snow, but we are not holding much hope about that yet.
So I have had a rain gauge out in the garden over the weeks and an avg. of weekly rain was 60mm per 7 days check, and just last night was a 60mm night being Thursday.
And it rained again Friday night as well with a further 40mm, just glad we had some clear weather to hook up van and get going.
Most of the week was about putting stuff back in van and getting ready to move on Saturday and we are going to be going up along the North Coast for seven days and staying in a van park, sometimes you need to see others as we have been on the mountain for past 3 months almost and you don't get to see other much, so will be good
Again the weather has been so bad here and we are starting to get over the rain etc. it seems its been going on for months now and we are hoping that we can get some blue skies soon.
So Thursday I head down to Launceston Airport for the last time to pick up our house owners as they fly in late afternoon and bring them back and will stay till Saturday and go though and show them any issues and then leave Saturday.
We are sad that we did not have any snow while here and I bet that once we move it will, the next house sit tells us they snow, but we are not holding much hope about that yet.
So I have had a rain gauge out in the garden over the weeks and an avg. of weekly rain was 60mm per 7 days check, and just last night was a 60mm night being Thursday.
And it rained again Friday night as well with a further 40mm, just glad we had some clear weather to hook up van and get going.
Last Day and look Blue skies
Well this months story is about someone I would call a mate, but he may not after he reads this about his visit to our House sit this week.
We meet some 12 months ago in Atherton north Queensland and have stayed in touch and we even spent time early this year at their house before coming to Tasmania, so were looking forward to their visit here in Tasmania. They used to live here and were going to show us things that we had not seen, that was the plan.
Well they arrived Saturday afternoon and all was well no sign of what was to come at all. We had a nice chat and even went out that evening to visit a friend of theirs who was having a birthday, and it seemed we were off to a great start.
But all changed the next morning when we were go out for the day, the plans were done and it was breakfast time and john came in from the other part of the house and as I was close to the hallway as he came around the corner I saw him up close and I just could not but think, My god the zombies have got to him so pale and his eyes were just hanging out of his head moved like someone had beaten him, he looked so bad I just said Oh. hell you are not going any where but bed, he sort of lifted his head and said I feel shit, I just backed up not wishing to become his next victim. He told us that he would be ok just needed to sleep for awhile and well we did not see him for rest of day. The girls went out and left me with him.
Now John is a big man ex farmer and truckie so he stands over me in size and where he was staying was up a stair case which was spiral and small so it is something to take your time on.
Thinking that he was going to be ok till the next day when Mary said he was not so good and wanted to go the hospital as she was up at around 6am and said she would wait till at least sun came up in a hour giving him time to get ready etc. then we had the job of getting this huge man of over 137kg down the stairs, and he was not good at all so it was a job holding and getting him to walk down the stairs all the while my head is saying Zombie of death, as he breathed all over me as I had to be close under his arms to hold him up. And it was cold, yet he was sweating and so hot and I was lucky that he as of yet not started drooling as being down side, he was above me coming down the stairs I was semi dry after that.
Once we reached the bottom of the stairs he said he needed to sit down so we moved slowly over towards the couch and put him down to rest and lay back.
So I moved outside to check on car to how we were going to get him in and asked Mary to turn the car around so the passenger side was close to door and while she was turning around I look toward the door as I heard a noise only to see Johns head coming out the door, he had rolled onto floor and was crawling out the door so he could, Sorry people "spew" outside and as he was rolling over onto his belly holding up his left arm saying something and was not sure but moved closer to hear what he was saying only to hear, " Hold me meeth I need to spew" asking again as was not believing what he said, but I put out me hand to only receive his teeth in my palm and thinking No, No please No then it happened and all I could say was looking at Mary I said, call the ambulance this is not going to be any good. I looked down at John he raised is head and looked at me with the pale grey face and blood shot eyes said, I need to Shit NOW.
My dear wife says I will get the bucket, I just looked at him and said a bucket, no way it will not be any good and he can not walk let alone bend at the knees Please and hold a squat while letting nature take its course, I could see him crushing the bucket or getting his butt stuck to bucket and then we would all be in the shit, so not wanting anything ending bad and said, lets get him to the toilet, NOW
My brain was saying is this really happening and I was glad that the toilet was down stairs, but at other end of house, So we had to get him back up on his feet and slowly walk him to other end of house hoping all the way, hoping that he did not have to go that quick, now I am good, but standing in a toilet, bear hugging a man while someone pulled his pants down and then getting him onto bowl, and trying to make an quick run to door as he let go the shit with a sound which will haunt me for sometime and I will not talk about the smell, But it did not taste good, somewhat a bit like 7 day old road kill. And having his Lilly white pimple free arse burnt into my brain, I will never look at him the same way again
So ambulance was called as putting him in a car and going to Hospital just was not an option at this point, so after he had finished in toilet, had to take deep breath and then we moved him to the bed close by and got him to lay down till help arrived, I checked when the help would arrive and went down to gate to show them the way in as it not so easy to find.
Some 10 min later they came up the hill and stopped while I explained how to get in only to be told if over 137kg they could not take him and would have to wait 5 hours till a bigger unit or possible crane and tip truck could get there, but would check him and see.
So they headed up to see and I walked back to house, when I got there they had given him oxygen and he seemed to pick up some what and they said they would try and get him in the back and sit him up in chair for trip to hospital, I was happy about that as he was in my bed and seemed like if they could not take him he would be there the night, I was not going to cuddle up to him tonight, so after about 20 min I helped to get him to ambulance and into back as it was he was a little better and was able to walk ok and with a little help got into ambulance and off they went.
He was kept in Hospital over night as he was suffering from Sepsis Pneumonia, and has been in hospital now for two days resting up and getting himself sorted out …….
UPDATE.
He was let out of Hospital after two days and could not come back and stay with us due to the stairs and is over at brothers still very weak and should be going home to Melbourne soon, we will see them again once we get back to the mainland
To those who read the 5 lines of face book and decided that I was being unkind and rude writing about someone else's grief and felt they needed to have a shot at me. Understand this I was not going to write anything and was asked by John's Wife to put something in the Blog and once I did write the whole story, they read it and had a good laugh about the events, and said I should post it, so it would pay to get all the facts before you decide you know the what and who as clearly you don't have any idea.
We meet some 12 months ago in Atherton north Queensland and have stayed in touch and we even spent time early this year at their house before coming to Tasmania, so were looking forward to their visit here in Tasmania. They used to live here and were going to show us things that we had not seen, that was the plan.
Well they arrived Saturday afternoon and all was well no sign of what was to come at all. We had a nice chat and even went out that evening to visit a friend of theirs who was having a birthday, and it seemed we were off to a great start.
But all changed the next morning when we were go out for the day, the plans were done and it was breakfast time and john came in from the other part of the house and as I was close to the hallway as he came around the corner I saw him up close and I just could not but think, My god the zombies have got to him so pale and his eyes were just hanging out of his head moved like someone had beaten him, he looked so bad I just said Oh. hell you are not going any where but bed, he sort of lifted his head and said I feel shit, I just backed up not wishing to become his next victim. He told us that he would be ok just needed to sleep for awhile and well we did not see him for rest of day. The girls went out and left me with him.
Now John is a big man ex farmer and truckie so he stands over me in size and where he was staying was up a stair case which was spiral and small so it is something to take your time on.
Thinking that he was going to be ok till the next day when Mary said he was not so good and wanted to go the hospital as she was up at around 6am and said she would wait till at least sun came up in a hour giving him time to get ready etc. then we had the job of getting this huge man of over 137kg down the stairs, and he was not good at all so it was a job holding and getting him to walk down the stairs all the while my head is saying Zombie of death, as he breathed all over me as I had to be close under his arms to hold him up. And it was cold, yet he was sweating and so hot and I was lucky that he as of yet not started drooling as being down side, he was above me coming down the stairs I was semi dry after that.
Once we reached the bottom of the stairs he said he needed to sit down so we moved slowly over towards the couch and put him down to rest and lay back.
So I moved outside to check on car to how we were going to get him in and asked Mary to turn the car around so the passenger side was close to door and while she was turning around I look toward the door as I heard a noise only to see Johns head coming out the door, he had rolled onto floor and was crawling out the door so he could, Sorry people "spew" outside and as he was rolling over onto his belly holding up his left arm saying something and was not sure but moved closer to hear what he was saying only to hear, " Hold me meeth I need to spew" asking again as was not believing what he said, but I put out me hand to only receive his teeth in my palm and thinking No, No please No then it happened and all I could say was looking at Mary I said, call the ambulance this is not going to be any good. I looked down at John he raised is head and looked at me with the pale grey face and blood shot eyes said, I need to Shit NOW.
My dear wife says I will get the bucket, I just looked at him and said a bucket, no way it will not be any good and he can not walk let alone bend at the knees Please and hold a squat while letting nature take its course, I could see him crushing the bucket or getting his butt stuck to bucket and then we would all be in the shit, so not wanting anything ending bad and said, lets get him to the toilet, NOW
My brain was saying is this really happening and I was glad that the toilet was down stairs, but at other end of house, So we had to get him back up on his feet and slowly walk him to other end of house hoping all the way, hoping that he did not have to go that quick, now I am good, but standing in a toilet, bear hugging a man while someone pulled his pants down and then getting him onto bowl, and trying to make an quick run to door as he let go the shit with a sound which will haunt me for sometime and I will not talk about the smell, But it did not taste good, somewhat a bit like 7 day old road kill. And having his Lilly white pimple free arse burnt into my brain, I will never look at him the same way again
So ambulance was called as putting him in a car and going to Hospital just was not an option at this point, so after he had finished in toilet, had to take deep breath and then we moved him to the bed close by and got him to lay down till help arrived, I checked when the help would arrive and went down to gate to show them the way in as it not so easy to find.
Some 10 min later they came up the hill and stopped while I explained how to get in only to be told if over 137kg they could not take him and would have to wait 5 hours till a bigger unit or possible crane and tip truck could get there, but would check him and see.
So they headed up to see and I walked back to house, when I got there they had given him oxygen and he seemed to pick up some what and they said they would try and get him in the back and sit him up in chair for trip to hospital, I was happy about that as he was in my bed and seemed like if they could not take him he would be there the night, I was not going to cuddle up to him tonight, so after about 20 min I helped to get him to ambulance and into back as it was he was a little better and was able to walk ok and with a little help got into ambulance and off they went.
He was kept in Hospital over night as he was suffering from Sepsis Pneumonia, and has been in hospital now for two days resting up and getting himself sorted out …….
UPDATE.
He was let out of Hospital after two days and could not come back and stay with us due to the stairs and is over at brothers still very weak and should be going home to Melbourne soon, we will see them again once we get back to the mainland
To those who read the 5 lines of face book and decided that I was being unkind and rude writing about someone else's grief and felt they needed to have a shot at me. Understand this I was not going to write anything and was asked by John's Wife to put something in the Blog and once I did write the whole story, they read it and had a good laugh about the events, and said I should post it, so it would pay to get all the facts before you decide you know the what and who as clearly you don't have any idea.
The Floor where he tried to crawl out door
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The Stairs
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Please remember this area is a Airbnb house so you can stay here in this good private area with your own fire place and small breakfast kitchen
Not travelling far this week and we will move the van up to a van park on the northern coast on Saturday for a week before we head further west to our house sit. It will be good we hope as we have not seen others who are travelling and house sitting can be a lonesome thing so all we are hoping for is to get back into the van and have a quiet week I guess and not have to worry about the cats who love to sneak out after dark and then its hard to find them, don't get me wrong they do come in but are hunters and love exploring but we were under instructions to keep them in after 5pm or so. We will miss them all and of course, the house was stunning and so peaceful place.
But we are here in the van park and the weather here when we arrived was wet and that has been the theme, but its much warmer and the rain comes and goes but we have seen blue skies as well.
But we are here in the van park and the weather here when we arrived was wet and that has been the theme, but its much warmer and the rain comes and goes but we have seen blue skies as well.
From the mountain top to the beach
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I got a few shots with some blue sky with the darker clouds moving in again, but who cares its a quiet park close to Devonport shops and not too far from the next house sit for us.
Preparing To Move After a Long Stay
We are mainly house sitting always plan to get to someone’s house a few days before them leaving, so we may head towards that house up to 5 days before if we are further 500 km away as we don’t wish to let people down by being late.
So I will use a trip that I will be planning to take in next few days to give you an idea what I plan for within a trip.
First, some of the checks I do will base on how long I have been parked up in the van for so for this I have been parked for over four weeks.
1. Know the distance I will be traveling for the trip.
2. Understand and check the road ahead with google etc.
3. Are there any steep climbs along the way?
4. The distance between fuel stops.
5. Any overnight stops required to get to the house.
6. Plan to arrive at the house by 1 pm.
So approx. A week out from the move I will walk around the van and check to see if anything that may have changed from when you arrived and as part of that will get under the van and check that nothing is hanging or missing under the van. Check all the tyres for anything strange or odd, eg. Bubbles, lumps, cuts, etc.
Check all the chains, and wiring harness is in order.
Understand where I am going and if I will need water along the way and if I will require gear to level van up much and I do this by asking for a photo of where van will be and if it’s a level spot.
Then I will pack what gear such as jack and levelling ramps on put top or behind car seat so accessible to get out.
Understanding water required will give me an idea how much I will carry as with the set up I have running half tanks work best for me. (you need to work out what water you need to take to keep your van stable) And this silly thing about half tanks will move about and make the van sway, what a lot of bull. Now, what happens when you are driving your car, and you have half a tank on fuel does it make your car unstable No.
We are not getting 3 ft. waves here, just little movement, the road conditions are going to move your van about, not a little bit water
The amount of water is best for where the tanks are mounted on your van mine are one forward of wheels and one behind wheels but within the centre of van so balanced load and how much ball weight is also needs to be understood to not have a lot in front tank if you have a higher ball weight and that comes from doing the checks.
Still one week out check car, brakes good, tyres are all good after visiting all those places including down dirt roads, etc. when the car was serviced last, etc.
As the week goes, start to pack away stuff not needed and check it’s all in its place.
Depending on how our food supplies are we try not to shop and use any foods we have and not add extra weight as most places have larger shops open 7 days now, so really a little bread, milk and a couple of meals is all you really need.
Any books, magazines that are read are given away or placed into laundry as they have free book places in most van parks.
If you need move heavy stuff that ends up in the top cupboards back down low to keep the van stable.
Now I look at fuel, do I need full tanks, I have 2 and carry full up to 140lt., or can I run to house sit with less fuel, so I believe having about a half load of fuel will give me plenty so just by this and half tanks of water have saved approx. 160 kg. Weight to carry that is not needed plus about 40kg. For not stocking up on food and bottled water, and beer, etc. so you can get this stuff when you reach the new spot.
So a plan is always good to have so you don't run into any problems once on the road. Now all the things above don't include the last minute checks like steps up and lights working and hoses away etc. Power disconnected and leads away and the big one door closed right and awning rolled up as have seen that not done with a lot of damage done
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WHATS AHEAD.
So as we prepare for moving this week, I think we have decided that our next house will be our last here on the island and will book a return to the mainland once we find out the return date of our house owners, we have not seen all the island as of yet and will go down the west coast before we leave but will leave some for maybe next visit
We have been offered some work in a van park and it sounds good plus really need to do something and get with others, house sitting is great but you do not get a big chance to mix with others. This does not mean the end of our travelling that continues but, as we have always said we do this Blog and face book was mainly for Family and friends and have been asked why you don't have more followers, not really worried about the numbers only giving good photos and text for our friends who decide to follow us. Yes there are times when we do nothing but I still try to put up something that may help others and happy to help all.
We are not sponsored or have any company's who pay us for our endorsements, so we are able to travel and give honest opinions about places we visit and we don't go to big tourist spots as they not really what we are looking for.
We have been offered some work in a van park and it sounds good plus really need to do something and get with others, house sitting is great but you do not get a big chance to mix with others. This does not mean the end of our travelling that continues but, as we have always said we do this Blog and face book was mainly for Family and friends and have been asked why you don't have more followers, not really worried about the numbers only giving good photos and text for our friends who decide to follow us. Yes there are times when we do nothing but I still try to put up something that may help others and happy to help all.
We are not sponsored or have any company's who pay us for our endorsements, so we are able to travel and give honest opinions about places we visit and we don't go to big tourist spots as they not really what we are looking for.
Ulverstone beach out front of van park, its cold but no wind for now
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