Back to work

Hello world, hope you're still reading!

We managed to arrange some work this week, and so have a small income to keep us going. We're going to try and save a little and then get on up to Queensland as it's getting quite chilly down here in Victoria.

Since we last updated the blog we've had a fantastic weekend up in the Grampians, spending the days taking the 4x4s off-road (but not our car), watching and feeding the kangaroos that just bounce around the campsite and eating some magnificent fresh meat from Nathan the butcher who joined us on Saturday. No, Nathan the butcher isn't a serial killer, he's a butcher.

We saw our first Redback Spider wander out from underneath the bbq as we sat around the fire. We thought, "Holy crap! The fearsome Redback Spider, one of the most poisonous spiders in the world, we're all going to die!!!" and the Aussies thought "oh, a spider" before Jason's son Jake squashed it with a fiery stick. Yes it might bite you and bring a lot of pain, but it's no match for an Aussie with a fiery stick.

We were staying in a town called Halls Gap which, at the end of January narrowly escaped a huge bush fire which swept the region. And it was huge, covering an area that must have been the size of Nottinghamshire at least. A stroke of good luck when the weather changed saved the town and we could see just a few hundred metres from our camp how close it came. Although it limited our ability to see the area a bit as many of the roads are still closed, we still had a cracking weekend.

On Sunday, Jason, Jacqui and ourselves climbed to the top of Mount William which gives a fantastic, 360 degree view of the Grampians where the scale of the devastation is starkly apparent.

Kev also had a bit of an introduction to Aussie Rules Football, or as it's known here, football. The family decided that Kev looks and kicks like this bloke.

The evenings were spent freezing in the van, trying to sleep on our continuously deflating air mattress and getting up occasionally to pump it up. We've since bought a proper camping mattress that should last the year.

On our way back we decided to stop in Ballarat for a night before arranging some work in Melbourne which we're doing every night this week. I'm sure you're all pleased to hear that we're back earning a wage rather than living it up. You may not be quite so pleased to hear we've ended up working in a sweet factory and they don't seem to mind us taking a few samples. We're ensuring we wear the trousers that have the most pockets.

That'll only last until Friday though so who knows what we'll be doing next...