DENMARK - ALBANY - A VISIT TO THE 'SPARKY', OUR NEW CAMP AND A BIRTHDAY (7 NOVEMBER 2014)

I was right. Our last night in Denmark, and the heavens opened. Talk about 'rain on the roof', but with no canvas to flap, bang or tear I could not have cared less. 








We woke to a sky of pink and violet,













and a Wilson Inlet which was now the epitome of aquatic serenity as a pelican and its escort of two black swans sortied out to seek breakfast. 















The weather was clearing, but the park roadways provided clear evidence of the overnight storm. I was more than a little grateful that I would not have to don my wet weather gear for our hitch up.




In the face of this dump from the heavens and our previous discovery that the tingles of the Valley of the Giants require 1,200 mm of annual rainfall for survival, we were stunned to later discover that Denmark has been placed on water restrictions.....the town is 300 mm short of its annual rainfall!  What would we have given for figures like these in Adelaide some years ago as we all struggled with early morning hose waterings or just gave up and lived in domestic deserts!

For us the trials and tribulations of Denmark's domestic water supply was about to become a thing of the past, but we had a problem of our own. We had noted on the trip down from Carnarvon that our 12V electrical system was faulty. Without boring you with all the details I worked out that this meant either a faulty Anderson Pug (the connection which allows the cruiser to charge the van batteries whilst travelling) or buggered caravan batteries. 




The last thing I wanted to do was to have to hitch up and take the van to a 12V 'sparky's' shop once we had unhitched and settled, so I had arranged to call into just such and establishment en route from Denmark to our Albany home at the Rose Gardens Caravan Park.







Here the good folk of Autospark went to work checking all aspects of the van's 12 V systems. After the Anderson Plug has been declared operational, out came the van batteries,













and one of the dinette benches to allow for a close look at the wiring to the battery charger.










And the verdict?  Good news and bad. The van wiring is apparently very good, the charger and the solar panels were in good nick, but the batteries were not. Not happy, Jan....these had been replaced only eighteen months ago, and they are bloody expensive.

With no other option we left one of the two van batteries with Autospark to be put on the charger for the next couple of days and continued on to the Rose Gardens to set up our home for the next three months.

Given that we have graced this park with our presence on two previous occasions, both of which have been the subjects of former blogs, I'll attempt some restraint in this missive. Oddly enough, when I mentioned that plan to Liz she just snorted something like, "I'll bet you can't". 





The first thing we noticed on arrival was just how empty the place was. Around our chosen site there were vacant slabs













and empty spaces in all directions.











Even the highly prized seafront area (where the unknowing can pay the heavy price of a battering from the wind for the dubious benefit of sea glimpses) was all but empty. After the hubbub of Carnarvon and, more latterly, Denmark, this was something of a culture shock, but very welcome.




Mind you, this is all about to change. According to the park managers, from 27 December until late January, the park is booked out. This came as no real surprise in that when we had arranged our site earlier this year, those on which we could set up without having to shift at some stage because of a previous booking, were quite limited.  

The choice of a long-term site is not as simple as it may seem, particularly if setting up the annex is part of the equation. Can we get a slab...and if so will we be able to peg the annex wall into the ground around it entirely? This is important for both wind resistance and waterproofing. On those slabs where, because of their length, one end wall has to be secured by roping it across the concrete, that wall will always flap madly in strong winds, but more importantly, when it rains there is nothing to prevent water falling on the cement at that end of the annex from flowing across the whole annex floor (as we discovered the hard way at Werri Beach).

If a slab is not available, how level are the grassed sites for the annex floor? This can have a real bearing on the stability of tables, chairs and cooking stands etc, and whilst this is not a major problem in the short term, it becomes a real pest over time.

Is there shade? Will we need to erect the fridge side shade cloth to prevent overheating in the van, and if so, is there room to do it effectively? 

What are the predominate prevailing wind directions and will we have our shoulder and van side facing that way to provide some shelter for the annex? 

What vehicle parking is on offer? Can we get in and out easily when things become busy?

Will we have some 'elbow room' or will being jammed against neighbours on both sides be inevitable, again when the park is crowded? 

These are some of the considerations to be borne in mind, even more so when the chosen patch will be 'Chez Marshies' for three months. 


Of all which were on offer, I selected this corner site to be our Albany home. Whilst being on one of the main park thoroughfares has its drawbacks, this patch seemed to offer much.  It is one of the biggest sites we have ever come across, there is reasonable afternoon shade, the annex is protected from the howling westerlies and sou'westers which can rage across this park and the grassed area under the annex walls is quite flat and even.


In any event, the die was cast....for good or bad this was to be it.  So down went the flooring (again I sing the praises of C-Gear), up went the annex, out came all the requisite bits and pieces for a comfortable life, and we settled in. So far so good.

This really was a big patch of park we had chosen.








And then our first small scare.....on night two of Albany domesticity the rain we had experienced in Denmark was shoved into second place by a classic Albany overnight downpour. I woke to find a huge puddle on the roadway near our site, but more disturbingly, evidence of the water which had flooded over the nearby drainage sumps. The line of peppermint tree flowers showed that we had been saved from a flooded annex by the slight rise in the ground between the drains and us. Whew!

So it was then out with the shovel and with a bit of work I managed to clear the grass and mud from the mouth of both drains. Problem number one identified and solved.


Problem number two.....again rain related. On checking the awning roller arm (remember we had a new awning) I found that we had the same leaking seam as we had with our previous. But this time experience provided the solution. Out came the wax stick we now carry and I was able to caulk the seam along the length of the awning (and it has worked!)




What next I wondered. The answer was not long in coming. Wind, in the form of a screaming south-westerly change....despite our position the van and our canvas were all shaking and flapping like a scene from 'The Exorcist'. This was not going to be the last of these events. 









So up went the trusty internal bracing poles (which have proven to be one of the best bits of kit we have ever bought) 















and over the top went the tie down strap.

That should keep everything in place. And then I realised that with a couple of tarpaulins I could probably enclose the front of the annex to provide even more protection. No sooner said than done. The trees and the light pole were perfectly placed.

And this wind mitigation strategy came with two added benefits.....a sheltered little outside 'beer garden', and a place for the BBQ, where I could connect it directly to the van supply and where it would be out of sight of potentially nefarious prying eyes. The co-pilot was more than pleased on both counts.

Now we must be set. Wrong. Trees are great for shade and ambiance, but they can play havoc with good TV reception, and with a long stay pending, this was a matter which demanded attention. After all, this is the season of Test Cricket apart from anything else. So, as we did in Perth at the same time last year, our antiquated but usually 'last resort' reliable DX was hoisted on its pole and cables attached. Some improvement, but not perfect.  And then we made one of those 'why hasn't someone told us about this before' discoveries....the main 'wineguard' fixed aerial, which had not been performing too well to date, provided excellent reception if only extended half way!  Well, that was an hour and a half wasted. Needless to say, the DX is still in position....things could yet change again.

As I have said so many times before, rarely a week goes by in this game without learning something new. 

We were finally set, and I can report at this stage with some satisfaction that we are as snug as bugs, even when, in the words of that marvellous Gordon Lightfoot song about the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, "the gales of November came early".

These various alterations and additions were added over a few days. On the day of our arrival, after the delays at Autospark and my concern that the annex walls may prove something of a challenge now that we had a new awning (we had discovered at Denmark that the awning was slightly bigger than our previous....this had a significant  bearing on the fit of the end walls....won't go into all the details other than to say it caused some real headaches), we merely dropped anchor and did the bare minimum set-up.

There was a very good reason for this. We had to celebrate that evening.....it was Lizzie's birthday. So our first night in Albany was marked by a stroll down to the nearby Squid Shack, heavily laden with appropriate glass containers from which to both pour and sip.

We were delighted to find our favourite corner table was vacant....not for long. (I know this photo is on the wrong side....for some reason the blog has had a conniption....it will not budge)







We did turn a few heads as we popped the champagne bottle cork (this is a BYO establishment with no corkage charge.....bless them) and settled back to await the arrival of our chosen meal. The Squid Shack definitely a 'no frills' establishment at the fishing boat harbour, but what comes out of the galley is seafood which sings. 

A mixed platter of shark, red emperor, prawns and salt and pepper squid (and chips, of course) was washed down with a crisp Denmark sav blanc, a Rockcliffe offering which we had bought for just this occasion. We felt like 'locals' already.

This was indeed a great way in which to begin our Albany adventures.  Happy Birthday Lizzie!