"Well, Liz, it looks OK from here....lots of trees near the entrance,
more down the entrance driveway past the office,
and a shady well maintained pool area....fingers crossed!"
We had just arrived at what was to be our home for the next three weeks or so, The Kingsway Caravan park, Madeley, a suburb some 15 kms north of Perth city. Our journey from The Estuary back into 'the big smoke' had taken us along the Forrest Highway and thence the Kwinana Freeway. After a quick detour into Cockburn Central to source our Xmas seafood supplies (or part of it at least) we navigated our way over the Swan River, past Kings Park and the western end of the Perth CBD and onto the Mitchell Freeway which took us almost to our front door.
It had been a long time since we had dealt with the challenges of big city traffic. We were focused to say the least. This is when our trusty electronic navigational assistant, 'Ken' comes into his own and we were not let down on this occasion. "In three hundred metres take the roundabout, second exit". "In eight hundred metres stay in the right lane." Thanks Ken, we're here.
We had been allocated site 42. As is my usual practice, I walked through the remainder of the park entrance driveway where the surrounds were still looking pretty good
and surveyed the plot to which the Marshies had been assigned. I was less than enthused. What part of 29 feet overall don't some park managers understand? Despite my misgivings we gave it a crack....hopeless. By the time our A frame was off the roadway, our van was more than halfway past the end of the cement slab meant to accommodate our annex.
To add to our woes, it was obvious that to fully extend our awning and erect the annex, we would have to engage in some serious tree pruning. This will not do at all.
To give you an idea, here is a tiny mobile home taking up the entire site...we are at least two metres longer!
Before revisiting the office I decided to do a recce of the empty sites with the objective of being able to nominate one which would accommodate us. Given the forecasts I was also keen to find one which provided significant shade and had a level cement slab
(I had noted already that many were not).
Site 60 seemed to fit the bill. Its surrounds of bare sand were not ideal, but it was shady, had the added advantage of being close to the amenities block and was not too far from the pool. I was a little concerned that it was next to an old van and tatty annex (this is never an encouraging sign), but decided that the positives outweighed the negatives.
(I had noted already that many were not).
Site 60 seemed to fit the bill. Its surrounds of bare sand were not ideal, but it was shady, had the added advantage of being close to the amenities block and was not too far from the pool. I was a little concerned that it was next to an old van and tatty annex (this is never an encouraging sign), but decided that the positives outweighed the negatives.
Back to the office...."yes, site 60 is free". Relocation time. And then our next challenge....the slab on this site is so wide that we had to make sure the van wheels were positioned at precisely the correct distance from the edge of the cement to allow me to peg in our long annex wall. It would have helped if I had done what I had been planning to do for ages.....measure the exact width of our annex! The co-pilot did note that I had not yet gotten around to doing this....some comments are less than helpful!
After a bit to manoeuvring I was happy with our position and four and a half hours later we were all ship shape, apart from my knees and back which were all in revolt.
Erecting the full annex is simple in principle and the majority of the work is straightforward....it is the fine tuning on uneven ground to make sure that the roof will drain the right way and the walls are all reasonably taut which takes the time. Poorly secured and sloppy annex walls become the fiendish playthings of strong winds and in Perth there are plenty of those.
I have to say at this point that the few beers with which I celebrated the end of this day's work were amongst the best I have drunk. There was more to be done to improve our long term comfort, but we had had enough for one day.
The first job for the following morning was to do something about our entrance area....the sand around our site was as thick as a beach and the thought of wallowing through this day in day out for the next three weeks did not enthuse us at all. Out with our trusty C-Gear flooring. This stuff is designed specifically for sand and loose dirt. I know I've sung its praises before....let me do so again. It is brilliant at what it does....not a grain comes through it.
Job number two...do something to hide the feral campsite next to us. Out came one of the two pieces of shade cloth we normally reserve for use to shade the fridge when we are exposed to sun on this side of the van....all things have other uses!
And then, the biggest challenge of all...television reception. Liz, who is an absolute whizz with our electronics, had tried everything she could to get a picture. No go. Off I went back to the office only to be told that TV was very hit or miss here at Kingsway. What, in the middle of one of Australia's capital cities...how can this be? No answer to this, but it is a fact of life in this camp, something I also confirmed with others already established on their sites.
I was in a state. I can live (just) without the ABC News, but the thought of not being able to watch the last two Test Matches was altogether too much. We had one last chance. We had been told when we bought the Roma that the modern fitted TV aerials do not function is some circumstances and that the old style DX box we had needed with our pop top Coromal would sometimes do the trick. We have carried it and an extension pole ever since, but never had to use it. Now was the occasion...fingers crossed. Up it went. Out came the old signal booster. I stood outside twiddling the pole whilst the electronics queen manipulated the dials and controls inside the van. "Come on Liz, what's happening?" My next three weeks were on the line. "I can only get two channels". "What are they?" "Channel 2 and Channel 9" YEEEES! The somewhat bleak outlook around our site suddenly faded into obscurity!
And indeed we are not in the best part of Kingsway. This is definitely a park in parts. I have already commented on the sand. Where it is watered, the lawn grows readily and the sites
in these areas are really pleasant. These are immediately across the roadway from us...I have eyed them with envy ever since our arrival.
Our outlook to the rear is a totally different proposition. Here empty old crumbling slabs
and rows of old park cabins (still housing permanents of varying degrees of social grace and decorum).
This is a matter of particular ire for us given that there is a large canvas sign hanging on the park fence at the corner of Kingsway and Wanneroo Road which proclaims that this park is now 100% tourist sites.....bullshit it is! There has obviously been some demolition of old permanent van sites and cabins, but at least a third of the park area is still given over to accommodation for those who live here full time (some in very interesting looking little vans)
Our annoyance has nothing to do with snobbery. We have stayed in other parks where this has also been the case, and have gotten on very well with the folk who call them home. Not so here..there is no incentive to do so, nor, having had to watch and listen to what goes on, any desire. But having said that, we have settled in and are making the most of it, albeit with everything in the annex well and truly locked up. In the Perth climate the fact we have a great deal of shade is worth putting up with other inconveniences, including the incessant noise of our other immediate neighbour's air conditioner which runs non-stop even during times of strong, cool breezes. Odd to say the lest, these folk.
Christmas approaches. But before that big day is another...our wedding anniversary. I forgot our first and blithely went off to crew in a twilight sailing race. The shame of it...especially when I arrived home at about 2130 hours to find a card on my dresser! Never again I vowed. I even made a diary entry in the next year's calender on the spot.
Have you guessed yet? Yep, in all the excitement of what was going on here at the Kingsway I did it again. And once again it was a card waiting for me on the dinette table which alerted me to my transgression. Ooops! I decided that a belated card was not really the answer.
My very forgiving and forbearing wife deserved more than that. The roses on the table as we toasted our anniversary (and our survival to date on the road) were the least I could do.
All who know your scribe will be aware that I am an unabashed and dedicated fan of Christmas, its decorations, and a traditional roast turkey lunch. I was determined that the fact that our home is now mobile should be neither an excuse for no action in the decorating department nor an impediment to a positive outcome. The treasurer did suggest that financial restraint would be a good idea....she has a way of evoking genuine obedience to these edicts....I was circumspect in my purchases.
Christmas cards always make for a festive feel. Fortunately our mail arrived in time (thanks again, Cath) and up they went on all the van window pelmets.
This came in very handy just before the big day. We had received an e-mail from HMAS Melbourne telling us that a Christmas Eve BBQ and concert was planned for the ship's company. Family members were being asked (at very short notice) to e-mail a photo and greeting. Unbeknown to the crew, these were to be shown on a big screen on the flight deck during the evening. I was determined Stu should not miss out so Liz set up our camera and we managed an emergency 'selfie' and sent if off post haste. Stu was tickled pink (we had a very welcome phone call on Xmas morning)
Back to the Xmas decorating. I had found a small, self lit tree for the annex table,
and as you have seen already, exterior coloured lights to string around the awning and ropes. How to tart up the annex was the challenge. Tinsel. That should do the trick. I have always been somewhat disdainful of tinsel, but needs must. A red table cloth, some Xmas place mats a 'Merry Xmas' poster and a few bonbons all seemed like a good plan.
Liz added some dark pink hibiscus flowers she had spotted earlier in the park, and we were set.
Now I know I have already described how we planned to break with tradition and have a seafood Xmas. I did my best, but couldn't quite manage a Christmas without turkey and roast veggies. A compromise was required. It came in the form of a de-boned bird barbecued on the Weber and an oven tray of roasted spuds, carrots, pumpkin, sweet potato and onion. Liz satisfied herself with the vegetable option...I had the lot. We had a lovely Xmas Eve!
Xmas day dawned fine and sunny in Perth with 30 degrees forecast as a maximum. We had already decided on a morning walk along one of Perth's beaches, a quiet midday and indulgence in our festive fare in the late afternoon when the annex cooled off.
Off we went to Mullaloo Beach according to plan. What a sight awaited us. We had initially intended to gallop along the coastal walkway at Mullaloo until we discovered that at least half of Perth's inhabitants had taken to the beach for Xmas day. The traffic was unbelievable, and this was only 0930 hours. In the 10 kms or so we then drove north to Burns Beach (where my hope that things would be quieter was realised), every conceivable parking spot, legitimate or otherwise, was occupied.
The coastal lawn reserves were crowded with tents, picnic rugs, portable gazebos, BBQs, tables, chairs and eskies and picnic baskets of every shape and size. Merry-makers in numbers ranging from couples to groups of over fifty, were all established in their chosen spot and the festivities we well in hand. Silly Santa hats and T shirts were in abundance. Tinsel and streamers had been draped over many of the shade trees...one enterprising group had even brought a fully decorated Xmas tree with them.
As we drove north, a constant stream of hopefuls were cruising for a parking space or scurrying from their vehicles with that slightly haunted look typical of those who suspect they may have left their run for a patch of turf to call their own too late. We had never seen anything like it.
My predictions for the Burns Beach area were correct. We had no difficulty in finding a parking space and duly completed a brisk, hour long constitutional along the very good walking track which extends along the coastal clifftop south to Trigg Beach. The weather was superb....bright and sunny with a cloudless sky complementing the varying blue hues of the Indian Ocean which was streaked in the offshore distance with the fluctuating white slashes of the swells combing over the many reefs which run parallel to the coastline.
With a goodly number of calories pre-emptively expended, we spent the rest of the day quietly, before it was time for the final preparations.
There were cooked prawns and the tiny WA crayfish to be shelled
and the green prawns, scallops, and fillets of the whiting I caught at Bussellton to be crumbed.
Out came the cold collation
and it was time for a clean shirt, an aperitif and a small present
After a bit to manoeuvring I was happy with our position and four and a half hours later we were all ship shape, apart from my knees and back which were all in revolt.
Erecting the full annex is simple in principle and the majority of the work is straightforward....it is the fine tuning on uneven ground to make sure that the roof will drain the right way and the walls are all reasonably taut which takes the time. Poorly secured and sloppy annex walls become the fiendish playthings of strong winds and in Perth there are plenty of those.
I have to say at this point that the few beers with which I celebrated the end of this day's work were amongst the best I have drunk. There was more to be done to improve our long term comfort, but we had had enough for one day.
The first job for the following morning was to do something about our entrance area....the sand around our site was as thick as a beach and the thought of wallowing through this day in day out for the next three weeks did not enthuse us at all. Out with our trusty C-Gear flooring. This stuff is designed specifically for sand and loose dirt. I know I've sung its praises before....let me do so again. It is brilliant at what it does....not a grain comes through it.
Job number two...do something to hide the feral campsite next to us. Out came one of the two pieces of shade cloth we normally reserve for use to shade the fridge when we are exposed to sun on this side of the van....all things have other uses!
And then, the biggest challenge of all...television reception. Liz, who is an absolute whizz with our electronics, had tried everything she could to get a picture. No go. Off I went back to the office only to be told that TV was very hit or miss here at Kingsway. What, in the middle of one of Australia's capital cities...how can this be? No answer to this, but it is a fact of life in this camp, something I also confirmed with others already established on their sites.
I was in a state. I can live (just) without the ABC News, but the thought of not being able to watch the last two Test Matches was altogether too much. We had one last chance. We had been told when we bought the Roma that the modern fitted TV aerials do not function is some circumstances and that the old style DX box we had needed with our pop top Coromal would sometimes do the trick. We have carried it and an extension pole ever since, but never had to use it. Now was the occasion...fingers crossed. Up it went. Out came the old signal booster. I stood outside twiddling the pole whilst the electronics queen manipulated the dials and controls inside the van. "Come on Liz, what's happening?" My next three weeks were on the line. "I can only get two channels". "What are they?" "Channel 2 and Channel 9" YEEEES! The somewhat bleak outlook around our site suddenly faded into obscurity!
And indeed we are not in the best part of Kingsway. This is definitely a park in parts. I have already commented on the sand. Where it is watered, the lawn grows readily and the sites
in these areas are really pleasant. These are immediately across the roadway from us...I have eyed them with envy ever since our arrival.
Our outlook to the rear is a totally different proposition. Here empty old crumbling slabs
and rows of old park cabins (still housing permanents of varying degrees of social grace and decorum).
This is a matter of particular ire for us given that there is a large canvas sign hanging on the park fence at the corner of Kingsway and Wanneroo Road which proclaims that this park is now 100% tourist sites.....bullshit it is! There has obviously been some demolition of old permanent van sites and cabins, but at least a third of the park area is still given over to accommodation for those who live here full time (some in very interesting looking little vans)Our annoyance has nothing to do with snobbery. We have stayed in other parks where this has also been the case, and have gotten on very well with the folk who call them home. Not so here..there is no incentive to do so, nor, having had to watch and listen to what goes on, any desire. But having said that, we have settled in and are making the most of it, albeit with everything in the annex well and truly locked up. In the Perth climate the fact we have a great deal of shade is worth putting up with other inconveniences, including the incessant noise of our other immediate neighbour's air conditioner which runs non-stop even during times of strong, cool breezes. Odd to say the lest, these folk.
Christmas approaches. But before that big day is another...our wedding anniversary. I forgot our first and blithely went off to crew in a twilight sailing race. The shame of it...especially when I arrived home at about 2130 hours to find a card on my dresser! Never again I vowed. I even made a diary entry in the next year's calender on the spot.
Have you guessed yet? Yep, in all the excitement of what was going on here at the Kingsway I did it again. And once again it was a card waiting for me on the dinette table which alerted me to my transgression. Ooops! I decided that a belated card was not really the answer.
My very forgiving and forbearing wife deserved more than that. The roses on the table as we toasted our anniversary (and our survival to date on the road) were the least I could do.
All who know your scribe will be aware that I am an unabashed and dedicated fan of Christmas, its decorations, and a traditional roast turkey lunch. I was determined that the fact that our home is now mobile should be neither an excuse for no action in the decorating department nor an impediment to a positive outcome. The treasurer did suggest that financial restraint would be a good idea....she has a way of evoking genuine obedience to these edicts....I was circumspect in my purchases.
Christmas cards always make for a festive feel. Fortunately our mail arrived in time (thanks again, Cath) and up they went on all the van window pelmets.
This came in very handy just before the big day. We had received an e-mail from HMAS Melbourne telling us that a Christmas Eve BBQ and concert was planned for the ship's company. Family members were being asked (at very short notice) to e-mail a photo and greeting. Unbeknown to the crew, these were to be shown on a big screen on the flight deck during the evening. I was determined Stu should not miss out so Liz set up our camera and we managed an emergency 'selfie' and sent if off post haste. Stu was tickled pink (we had a very welcome phone call on Xmas morning) 
Back to the Xmas decorating. I had found a small, self lit tree for the annex table,
and as you have seen already, exterior coloured lights to string around the awning and ropes. How to tart up the annex was the challenge. Tinsel. That should do the trick. I have always been somewhat disdainful of tinsel, but needs must. A red table cloth, some Xmas place mats a 'Merry Xmas' poster and a few bonbons all seemed like a good plan.
Liz added some dark pink hibiscus flowers she had spotted earlier in the park, and we were set.
Now I know I have already described how we planned to break with tradition and have a seafood Xmas. I did my best, but couldn't quite manage a Christmas without turkey and roast veggies. A compromise was required. It came in the form of a de-boned bird barbecued on the Weber and an oven tray of roasted spuds, carrots, pumpkin, sweet potato and onion. Liz satisfied herself with the vegetable option...I had the lot. We had a lovely Xmas Eve!
Xmas day dawned fine and sunny in Perth with 30 degrees forecast as a maximum. We had already decided on a morning walk along one of Perth's beaches, a quiet midday and indulgence in our festive fare in the late afternoon when the annex cooled off.
Off we went to Mullaloo Beach according to plan. What a sight awaited us. We had initially intended to gallop along the coastal walkway at Mullaloo until we discovered that at least half of Perth's inhabitants had taken to the beach for Xmas day. The traffic was unbelievable, and this was only 0930 hours. In the 10 kms or so we then drove north to Burns Beach (where my hope that things would be quieter was realised), every conceivable parking spot, legitimate or otherwise, was occupied.
The coastal lawn reserves were crowded with tents, picnic rugs, portable gazebos, BBQs, tables, chairs and eskies and picnic baskets of every shape and size. Merry-makers in numbers ranging from couples to groups of over fifty, were all established in their chosen spot and the festivities we well in hand. Silly Santa hats and T shirts were in abundance. Tinsel and streamers had been draped over many of the shade trees...one enterprising group had even brought a fully decorated Xmas tree with them.
As we drove north, a constant stream of hopefuls were cruising for a parking space or scurrying from their vehicles with that slightly haunted look typical of those who suspect they may have left their run for a patch of turf to call their own too late. We had never seen anything like it.
My predictions for the Burns Beach area were correct. We had no difficulty in finding a parking space and duly completed a brisk, hour long constitutional along the very good walking track which extends along the coastal clifftop south to Trigg Beach. The weather was superb....bright and sunny with a cloudless sky complementing the varying blue hues of the Indian Ocean which was streaked in the offshore distance with the fluctuating white slashes of the swells combing over the many reefs which run parallel to the coastline.
With a goodly number of calories pre-emptively expended, we spent the rest of the day quietly, before it was time for the final preparations.
There were cooked prawns and the tiny WA crayfish to be shelled
and the green prawns, scallops, and fillets of the whiting I caught at Bussellton to be crumbed.
Out came the cold collation
and it was time for a clean shirt, an aperitif and a small present
before Chef Pierre's outside galley came to life,
bon bons were tugged, silly hats donned and dinner was served!
Even Max got into the act....albeit reluctantly,
before he retired hurt and headed for his Xmas present, a new water bowl, for a spot of feline festive cheer
What a day it had been. Our first 'roadie' Xmas, which broke with all previous traditions for a number of reasons and about which I will confess to some pre-emptive misgivings, had been wonderful. Liz loved it. No fuss, no need to be flitting from place to place, no problems with 'who is going to drive?', no schedules other than our own, and seafood....she thought it was the bees knees. Obviously we missed family and friends but we both recognise that is one of the prices we pay for our life on the road.
Cafe Blinds from Modern Shade Solution is serving for me all the year rounds. In every season, it seems the same as it was before at the time of buying it. The decoration is also now outstanding with the help of it.
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