I love to get up early, preferably before the dawn to watch the sunrise and hear the birds awakening,
Even when on the road I find I need a lot of things to keep me occupied, physical as well as mental, so I am a bush traveller and stop at all the creeks to see what I can dig up
Do you all consider this a holiday when you are on the road and just sit on your bum and read a lot,

 or ????


today we get to process the dirt from the new claim we have got,
We hired a drill and he has sunk a shaft to 18.5 ft and it looks to be very promising pile of dirt with a lot of ironstone in it, looking forward to the  tunnelling
Judy will be ticked pink if we can get a pink sapphire

I guess it all depends on the hormone levels at the time. I can go for days and days just sitting around, reading, listening to music and not doing a thing, while at other times I need to be out walking around, turning over rocks to see what is underneath them, climbing a hill to see what's on the other side and so on. Tunnelling????? That sound way to much like hard work to me. I reckon any sapphire I'm likely to find is going to be on the surface, glinting in the sunlight, or it'll have to wait for you to come along. Good luck to ya.

Hi Mike good luck with that new claim. How is that shaft at your place going?when i saw it you had hit water and waiting for it to dry out? Yep get bored sitting around, if at home i'would find something to do. House sitting a property at Bathurst at the moment,a few employees do the work here,so little for me to do physically. Will take a look at Orange,Sofala and Oberon for something to do later,but the muscles are already sore from lack of use. Perhaps i should be tunnelling? Johnw

Mostly play it by ear, depending on the weather and how we feel (eg; if we have been very active the day before, may take it easy the next day, usually nature dictates whether I get up early (have to pee....not the birds tweetering). Mike having a claim to work (and good luck with the saphire) gives him a project to do so I suppose that helps. Usually plan the activities for the next day the night before, so that also dictates whether we get up early or not. John, have had a bit of a fossick around Sofala in the past (not very successfully, has been well done over, but hey, who knows, you may just cover a spot others have missed. Oberon, mostly remember it being bloody cold, found a few gems in a creekbed under rocks, sidewalls etc, semi precious ones from memory (1966 approx), Is the old Chinaman's camp still there near the wall tunnels? I remember one tunnel had a cross at the top of the wall (side of hill) with warning signs about collapses, don't know if they were genuine or just to scare people off from the claim........stopped me from going into the tunnel anyway, I wasn't that keen to find out! LOL! Vic

I'm not on holidays, I'm on a lifestyle. Life does go on however. If I do outdoor jobs I can't do indoor jobs. and vice versa. Today I began to set up to paint the trims around the cupboards. Like many jobs it began with the handle of the van boot twisting off due to extreme rust. Things I needed were shut in the inoperable boot. So with the help of 2 chivalrous fellow campers we dismantled the boot lid. I've ordered a new latch. In the mean time I have to clean up the old sealer around the assembly. Turps and patience does the job. No painting done yet, of course. One job just leads to another. Yesterday I went out to put the stands under the van as it's been standing too long on its wheels. That led to cleaning windows, cleaning the drain etc etc. A woman's work is never done. If I do inside jobs like extra cleaning or writing, other things don't get don. That's why I'm not on holidays.

Holidays ......

We holiday in the van as many times a year as we can ....

An ideal 'holy .. day' is an early wake with daylight.  Quietly up so as not to wake SWMBO & off on the push bike for a few hours.  Only rule is ride into the wind on the way out to hopefully ensure an easy return home.... and no big hills of course.

Back in time for SWMBO just out of the shower.  Cook and eat a good breakfast  .. bacon eggs toast, juice & fresh fruit ... don't forget the table cloth .. outside the van.

Then off for a few hours on the kayak while SWMBO does the washing or gossips with the others in the laundry.

Back in time for a few hours out walking,or shopping, or sight seeing.  Lunch at a club or al fresco 'resturant' thingo.   Chardy in the sun!

Home to the van for a snooze or read a book together under a tree.

Then it's time for sundowners ... always lots of like minded nomads around to share tall stories with.

BBQ dinner maybe with new found friends & more drinks  .. good(ish) red this time.


SWMBO retires to watch TV/DVDs & I relax after a hard day with a good book plus lime juice & soda water (just to prove to myself that I'm not really an alco)  .. or maybe a few short black coffee's, under the awning.

Now there's great holi - day.

Before you know it tommorow's here & off we go again.


Life's tough!

Having a dog to take care of starts your day early with walkies and poo patrol then beach or river bank walk with dog , may take the fishing rod and stop for a quite fish or just a beach comb . Always have the camera with me just in case also have my portable UHF with me to stay in contact with camp can get about 5 - 9 k's out from base camp so it's important that mother knows where I am and that i know she is OK

If staying awhile then I'll check the van over to attend to those little fart arse jobs one puts off till the next major stop.

Meals are when it takes our fancy no routine in that department .

Combat nap in the avro more dogie walks .

If camping in the wild, fire wood collecting and water gathering is always a must do before dark

Always check the chit chat on the UHF .

Mate it's a full on day when you consider all the little tasks one has do do just to stay out there

I love the survival aspect of going native and if I come across  natives doing their thing around a water hole I will sit ,talk and watch ,learnt plenty from doing just that. Same in parks just looking at others rigs and talking over roads traveled or by- passed fills in a day

-- Edited by Wombat 280 on Monday 1st of June 2009 09:38:12 PM

Wel after reading all that lot there is no such thing as retirement , wonder who coined the word and where it came from, in fact I am now a little mollified by all the activity that is shown by the above, I thought I was the only nut in the world Is it possible that the word exercise is a word to be accepted Somebody forgot to tell my kids

Hi Mike good luck with that new claim. How is that shaft at your place going?when i saw it you had hit water and waiting for it to dry out? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi John and Anne Yes the hole has dried up and is awaiting my labours, We have drilled in the new claim and the hole is more promising so will attack that one first, Enjoy your house sit ,mate Weather is clear and sunny and cool nights

Retirement means re-tiring ie getting tired over, and over and over again. You're doing it. Cheers Chris