Home Is Where We Park it!

We had been at Pamamaroo for just under a week when we, and the other dozen or so travellers by the lake, had a visit from the Rural Fire Service (RFS). Lockdown had reached Menindee and we were told we could not leave. The only problem we had with this, was a lack of internet & phone coverage, and the ability to charge our 240v toys, i.e., laptops, camera, drone etc.

We still have our own beach, complete with stunning sunsets. We also have a selection of trees and shrubs in our garden. This gives us good protection from the wind, the dust from the road, and they also provide homes for some cute little critters. Well, I think they’re cute.

It’s a good thing that this is such a good spot, because nearly four weeks later, we’re still here, Central Darling is still locked down.

So, what have we been doing? Well, it is surprising just how much time it takes to do the everyday things. Things like cooking, a camp oven meal takes a minimum of four hours and I’ve been doing a lot of these. Washing day is fun, just ask Hugo. We start by hauling water from the lake, setting up a wash table in the sun and then we wash the old-fashioned way. We had a few false starts with the washing line, but Peter’s got that sorted now.

At first, we were a bit cautious of our water usage. We knew we could top up in town but had heard from different sources that the Menindee water should not be used. So, for a while we hauled water from the lake, heated it up and had our baths outside. Hold in mind we’re just coming out of winter, you can understand when I say that I found my bath, even with the fire going, quite…refreshing.

Eventually we did run out of water and had to refill in town, and do you know what? The water’s fine. Now we drive into town two or three times a week, fill up the water tank in Big Ears, then transfer the water into Chunky Bum’s tanks when we get home. No more bathing by the fire.

Because Menindee is (usually) a busy tourist area, the town also provides a Dump Point. For those of you not in the know, this is a facility to empty your toilet cassette. So, we have all the mod cons. Shower, toilet, power, ample garbage bins with regular garbage pick-ups and internet. Welcome back Netflix!

Aside from day-to-day chores, I do a lot of writing and photography. Peter has been reading a lot, and of course we take the kayaks out whenever we like. It’s such a wonderful place to kayak. We’ve had a few choppy days, but on the whole the lake is calm and sometimes, you could be mistaken for thinking you were sitting on a mirror.

The other week I decided I wanted to learn how to Macrame. I don’t know why? It just seemed like a good idea. I’d been wanting a shelf for the toilet, so, one morning I did a little beach-combing and found some suitable flotsam. When I got back to camp, I cut it to size and coated it with vegetable oil, then borrowed 44 meters of Peter’s prized parachute cord, he uses it for all sorts of camping applications, tie downs, securing things, you know, unimportant stuff. Look, I’m sure he’ll get over it…eventually. 😉 Then, with the help of Utube, I made myself a shelf.

And hey, how cool is this? (Guess what everyone’s getting for Christmas this year?)

There aren’t as many birds here as I had expected, but I’ll try to ID the ones I have taken and put the Birds of Menindee in my next post.

See you out there somewhere

On tow and on the go!