The Art of Relaxation: It’s a fine one!

Almost as fine as this Willie Creek sand!

Day 5: Good Friday.  People the world over will be starting their Easter Break holiday.  Packing cars, driving, unpacking, or perhaps they drove to their holiday destination last night, so they could be ready to start their relaxing long weekend when they woke this morning?

We started our day very relaxed today, apart from both having the flu, and my face still recovering from my big final farewell to Derby town…swollen itchy eye, I'm surprised it didn't turn into a black eye!! (later that day: I think it is!)  If you weren't there, think yourself lucky you didn't have to see me in top embarrassing form!  If you were there, I'm Sorry!! 

The first few days of our ‘relaxing’ lifestyle change, were not so.  They were spent with lots of OMG’ing!  Sunday when we arrived, there was lots of swearing and wonderment, while trying to work out how to get the tent to stand straight, while sitting flat…in the end we didn’t care.

Monday (which I’m calling day one, because it was our first full day); was again full of ‘really’, OMG, ‘Oh we forgot this as well’!!

Tuesday was spent cleaning sand and fighting sandflies, until we decided not to care about them either!!

Ever sandy floor, which I have already decided to not give a shit about!

Wednesday we drove into Broome to buy all the bits we had forgotten about: We had brought a new 2 Burner Gas Stove, but NO attachment for the Gas Bottle!  Thankfully we had the back up canister cooker, that had enough gas for a few days.  Taps for our water containers.  Large tent pegs, so we could put shade up around the tent, in the rocky ground.  And more beer, because after 10 years living in Derby, it’s harder than we planned to just go totally beer free again ;)

Yesterday, Thursday, felt like the first day we were getting organised.  We seem to have SO much STUFF!!  But we are finally finding place’s for it all.  I've turned the empty camper trailer into a food/beer/camera Cold Store, because it’s the coolest place in our hot sandy camp, and now we have a lot of extra space. 

Camp Kitchen finally getting organised

We brought 4 tables with us, 2 of them the long double table, which we thought at the time of packing was going to be too much, but are now glad we did.  With the floor constantly covered in sand, it’s good to have everything, specially our fishing and camera gear, up on the tables.

We know before leaving that it would take a week or more to settle in, and slow down.  Hence why we came straight to Willie Creek, where there isn’t much of anything at all to do!  We have learnt from experience, that if you start driving, you miss a lot at the start of your trip, while you are still hyped.  It takes time to get back into the time doesn't matter, slow down, enjoy the scenery, smell the rose’s, grove of life.

It’s been a long time since we did long term beach camping, ten years since we moved to Derby…Kimberley Coastal Camp doesn't count, we still had all the luxuries of life there!  Hot running shower!  Flushing toilet!  Kitchen set up with everything in it’s own place!  Power stitches set up next to benches!  Am I starting to paint a picture of things we don’t have here yet?  But lets focus on the Positive, things we do have that are making life so much easier than when we used to camp a decade ago!

Our KING Sized bed!!  On top of the trailer!!  High enough so the dogs can not get on it, Ever!!  Yes we have spoilt dogs, and they usually are aloud to sleep on our bed.  With it being so hard to keep sand out of everything, the last thing I wanted was sandy dogs on my bed!  It’s bigger than we are used to, harder (which is great!), and we have a million pillows!!  I love it!

I mentioned all our tables, which are great, but it’s the camper trailer little kitchen bench with kitchen sink that I love the most!!  Higher than camping tables, so no need to sit down or hunch over while cooking.  Oh and running water into the sink = HEAVEN!!!

We have (hopefully, we will find out soon) enough water to last for 2 or more weeks.  About 80 Litres in the camper trailer, another 80 Litres in water containers (that we now have taps for), and over 100 Litre’s in the cool car bladder Johnno brought on Ebay just before we left, which fits in the foot space of the back seat (the dog seat).

Filling water bottles from the new back seat water bladder.

So while in Broome the other day… I brought a SHOWER!!!  We have never had a camp shower before!!  I can see a few of you now screwing up your face, like, OMG how did you wash??  But I’m happy to wash in the sea, and was surprised how quickly we got used to that prickly salty feeling, we actually enjoyed it, was like a symbol of our free and ‘meant to be easy’ camping lifestyle!  However, I haven’t shaved my head yet, so am looking forward to washing my hair this afternoon…and then maybe shaving it off, the purple just doesn't go with camping on the beach??

Ten years ago, we weren't digital, not even our camera!!  So we have A LOT of extra equipment now!  Camera’s, computers, GoPro’s (batteries keep going flat, think there is something wrong with them), Kindle and Phones!  ALL need changing.  OH not to mention the Fridge!! (for our cold beers!).

Solar power, Loving it!!

Johnno has done a great job of researching, buying, and installing our sola panel system.  We are still learning how much power we actually have to play with, but when things started freezing in the fridge, we figured we have enough.  We have a fan!  That is the ultimate luxury on the still nights, just making that king sized, hard bed, even more wonderful!


Now after 5 days of sorting, rearranging, learning how everything works, and where everything is going to go. We finally feel like we are starting to settle in.  
Yes of course we have been fishing in that time.  The Dogs are totally stuffed every night!  I was worried about them last night they were so tired, but they have bounced back this morning, and are looking at me as if to say ‘When are we going to catch fish’, so I’d better cut this off now…. More about how we are finally RELAXING later!