Our new campervan

Our wait is over, we’ve finally found the campervan of our dreams! Seriously, we’ve been looking and looking and looking and on Friday night it was love at first sight. She’s a 1983 Toyota Hiace with only 186 000 km. She’s a light tan colour, equipped with a 3 way fridge, stove and grill, an electric water tap, a table that folds down into a double sized bed (long enough even for me), and lots of storage. It also has a pop top that allows us to be able to stand when inside of it, and lots of windows for ventilation. It’s in excellent condition, very clean and everything looks like new. The couple that we purchased it from are the second owners and took great care of the van. They are in their 80’s and were very reluctant to sell

it but due to his health they are no longer able to travel. They were the cutest couple who made us feel so welcomed. After viewing the van Friday night they invited us into their home to discuss details of the van over a hot cup of tea and cookies. We ended up staying over 2.5 hours and could have stayed longer. They were very eager to tell us about Australia and where they have traveled. We welcomed all the advice that they provided us with and we were excited to return the next day to hear more. We returned on Saturday afternoon after scheduling an appointment to have the van inspected. The mechanic gave it a clean bill of health with only a few minor problems to have checked prior to our future travels. Again we were invited in their home for a cup of tea as we filled out the paper work to transfer ownership. $5000 later we left proud campervan owners and were now ready to venture onto the unfamiliar streets of Perth.

The life of Tree lopping and Garden bag pick ups

Well I’ve been working for a month already and it’s been bitter sweet. First the bitter part, my boss, a guy named Mal (short for Malcolm) is difficult to work with at the best of times. Mal is the type of boss that lets me make the mistake before he tells me what I’m doing wrong, if I’m lucky. Other times he’ll just yell at me and say “what are you doing that for?” He has no problem raising his voice in order to make a point, but in his defense the job can be very dangerous. What also makes this job tough is how physically demanding it is. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but trees are freakin heavy. It’s a great full body work out so there is no need to get a gym membership here to stay in shape. Now the sweet part, I make $20 an hour cash and work 35-40 hours a week. It’s also a great way to meet real Australians and in their backyards too. So what exactly does a tree lopper do? First of all Mal is the actual tree lopper and is the one responsible for taking the actual tree down. He climbs the tree using foot spikes and wears a harness that ropes himself around the tree so he can cut branches off with the chainsaw. The reason why the job is so dangerous is because obviously these branches and frongs for palm trees are falling to the ground in varying weights so he has to be aware of where I am at all times. He also has to cut the branches in a way that reduces damage whether to the actual home or to the ground which may have patio stones underneath it, landscaping, bird baths, flower pots etc. So what am I doing while Mal is busy in the tree trimming it up? I’m basically the lackey who is cleaning up the ground from the falling branches. I then feed the branches in a wood chipper and then do it over and over and over again. Even though it might sound monotonous, you have to be so switched on and aware of what’s going on around you at all times that there is always something that can be done. While I’m clearing, Mal could be yelling at me over the noise of the chainsaw to get him new equipment, whether a pole saw, the ladder, a rope used to safely pull areas of the tree down or just to tell me I’m doing something wrong, which happens a lot! Like the title suggests Mal’s other part of the company is picking up full garden bags that are provided for a customer to fill with whatever they want. Basically the customer is provided with a garden bag which is roughly a square meter in size that sits on a frame that they leave in their yard or place of business. The bags can and will have anything and everything in them as long as there is no dirt, rocks, bricks or alcohol in them. 90% of the bags are just full of lawn clippings, tree prunings and other garden rubbish. We simply drive around and pick them up and replace them every two weeks. This is the part of the job that I like! It’s also great because I get to meet lots of people and see areas of Perth I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to see otherwise. Even though he is a hard ass, I learn a lot and come home filthy dirty and tired.

Vehicle Searching & Happy Thanksgiving!

Well it’s been another busy week and a bit since we moved into our new place here on 44 Palmerston Street. We have been busy getting our paper work in order and searching for a vehicle. Ross has been working every week day, and we opened our new bank account and signed up for our tax file numbers. We waited patiently for our money to arrive from Canada, after spending some serious time on the phone with each of our banks and then with our parents (thank goodness for our parents!!). Meanwhile we have been trying to buy a car or even a camper van, we have been told that it was easy to get a car for cheap, and the resale will be no problem. There is so much demand for vehicles here with all the backpackers its crazy!! We are frequent news paper/internet searchers, trying our best to call each ad before it is sold – a very difficult task, let me tell you. You should see the prices, the cars are in the low 1980’s and are being sold from anywhere from AUD$500 to $1300 - in Canada the cars we are looking at wouldn’t even be functioning never mind being up for sale. After talking to Ross’ boss Mal and Chris our landlord, we have decided that it would be a better idea to purchase a camper van. What is a camper van you may be asking yourself? A camper van looks just like a regular van, but the top pops up like a tent trailer when you are parked. It has everything you need for camping in the back: double size bed, double burner + grill, sink, 3-way fridge, cupboard space, and if you’re lucky any other camping gear that has been left behind from previous backpackers! They are pretty awesome, most are in the 1983-86 year range, and we have been told to purchase nothing but Toyota. If you want a better picture of what we are talking about look up on Google what a Toyota Hiace 1984 camper van looks like. Anyway, after calling like 20-25 ad’s from the newspaper and the internet, we narrowed it down to two that we really liked. We took the first one for a test drive which was interesting in itself, as it was our first time driving on the opposite side on the road! And got our first taste of what it’s like to drive a camper van… very different! The van was very cute on first impression, a nice bright yellow exterior with a white top and pretty yellow flower stickers on the back window. After seeing and test driving the other yellow van we decided to put in an offer with the first one as it was closer and had more extra’s to offer. We took it for an inspection at a local garage and found out it had a small oil leak and a hole in the muffler system that would start to be a problem once the weather starts to heat up. The guys that owned the van weren’t willing to budge on the price, but were willing to fix the muffler. After some deliberation and talking to our dads, Chris, and Mal we decided that it was too risky to purchase that van. And never mind, it’s a little hard to buy something that big with zero dollars in your account, as our money still wasn’t here from Canada!! Now that our money is finally here we can start looking again, hopefully the other van we test drove is still available.

Our house situation has been great this past week. We were sad to find out that the couple we really started to get along with were moving out, we exchanged numbers and helped them pack there things into their new 1983 red Toyota Corolla car. To our pleasant surprise the girls that moved in to their room are really cute and easy to get along with. They are sisters from France and we are the same age. We have spent the evenings hanging out and even a day at the beach sun tanning - while Ross worked (poor Ross!). I guess this is a good time to say I haven’t got my WA nursing license yet, I am supposes to hear back from the nursing board this week. I can’t wait to find out, and actually start working. And to the best part of our week, the other couple, that are proving to be difficult to get along with, just left one day without saying anything to anyone. Yay!! They have apparently left for a trip to Thailand and no one knows when they are returning, not even Chris our landlord. They didn’t leave rent money, so we are hoping they get the boot when they return! Here’s hopingJ. As for us we are looking at a few other places that Chris has that are a bit cheaper, and next time we update we will probably be in a new house. Otherwise all is well here, weather is starting to get hot, and its sunny here most days. We have had a couple days of 30 degree weather, and not a cloud in the sky! Oh and Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Perth Zoo & AQWA

Once we realized we were finally done searching for an apartment, we decided to take the opportunity to explore what Perth has to offer. Our first stop was the Perth Zoo, which holds the title of being one of the best small zoo’s in the world. It was pretty awesome, we were sad we didn’t get to see all the animals but we were able to see the most important ones like kangaroos, koala’s and exotic birds. It was a great day being able to relax and just be tourists. We even got to see the kangaroos very up close, so close that we could have touched them and not be behind a fence. They were literally hopping beside us, with not a care in the world. Check out the pics to see what we mean. The next day we went to AQWA which stands for the Aquarium of Western Australia. It was a little pricier but well worth the money as they had a underwater tunnel that took you underneath a huge tank that contained lots of sharks, turtles, stingrays and fish. It was so amazing, you had to check it out twice. We tried to take pictures but unfortunately they don’t give it justice. It was interesting how AQWA was set up as well, as they divided the aquarium up into sections of the Western Coast. It was beneficial to be able to see and understand the marine life that we will be swimming amongst however we now know how many species are poisonous and potentially dangerous, and there are a lot! Well now all we have to do is hit the beach when the rain stops and the weather turns hot.

We are all moved in now to our new apartment as of Sept 27. Things are going pretty well, but issues with the English couple have proved to be taxing. Simple things like toilet paper and sweeping the floor seem to be a difficult concept for them to grasp. They are younger and love to drink so the first night that we moved in we were rudely woken up after the bars closed to drama and slamming doors, to say the least, we were not impressed. Our outlook on our new place changed as our relationship with them has changed. When Jenny confronted them about some issues in the house they

simply shrugged it off and now refuse to be adults with us anymore. The Irish couple who we got along really well with informed us of all the trouble they have had with them, and subsequently have now moved out. We might make it out to sound worse than it is as they both work full time and we really don’t see them until the evening and weekend. Because Al and Liam (the Irish couple) moved out we have two new house mates who will be with us for the next 3 weeks. Sophie and Fanny are sisters from France, Sophie has been in Oz for 7 months and Fanny just arrived to spend some time with her sister. They are very French but speak good English and are very nice and pleasant girls that are easy to live with.

As for me, I have been busy working for the past 3 days. Chris who is the one who owns the house has been very helpful. He knows a guy who looks for backpackers for help with his businesses and gave him my name. Before I knew it I was starting my first day with him. I started on Wednesday Oct 1^st and have worked 3 days now. He has two businesses, the first is tree lopping which consists of taking down, trimming and/or cleaning up trees and the other is a rubbish pick up service that he provides. So basically he has developed a metal stand that allows a large bag to sit in so home owners/businesses can discard their rubbish. We pick up anything/everything like lawn clippings, cardboard, and even electrical equipment. It’s been a great way to see the suburbs and Mal (short for Malcolm) has a wealth of knowledge. He used to be in offshore finance and decided he didn’t like being cooped up indoors so he developed his own outdoor business. Mal is very intelligent, he likes things to be done in a certain way which is always the most safe, efficient and effective way possible.

He is a tough Australian man who has no problems telling you that you’re doing something wrong or raising his voice however it’s always because there is an easier or safer way to do something. We spend 8 hours a day together and never have any problem finding something to talk about. We talk about politics, economics, travelling, places to visit in Perth and WA, scuba diving, Australia, Canada, America…well you get the point. In order to get to work I need a vehicle and contemplated finding work elsewhere but this experience will be invaluable. The things I will learn and already have learned from Mal will stay with me for a life time. So next challenge, find a vehicle.

Finally Found a Place

Hey guys, we apologize for not updating our blog recently but we’ve been very busy looking for accommodation here in Perth. After a full week of frustration and disappointment we finally found a place to live that meets our needs and budget. We move in on Saturday and it couldn’t come a day sooner. We are currently staying in a hotel in the CBD, as the last hostel we were staying in double booked us and found accommodation for us to make things better. We are looking forward to having our own place where we can cook our own meals and feel comfortable. Our new place is a house share where we will be living in a duplex home with two UK couples.

It’s an older style home but very clean with a modern feel. It boasts nice furniture and appliances with a fully equipped kitchen. The house is just what we were looking for and rests in a quiet neighborhood just North of the CBD but still close to the hospital. It’s difficult to find accommodation for 3-4 months here in Australia so we were fortunate enough to find a house where we are on a week to week basis. The landlord is a young and enthusiastic bloke who has recognized a need for affordable accommodation for travelling couples. He also told us about a beautiful beach house which is literally a few steps to the ocean on what is known as the sunset coast here in WA. We are first on the waiting list for that one as that is exactly what we are looking for but is still affordable. He sold the idea to us right away describing the beautiful sunsets, the excellent whale and dolphin watching, and excellent surfing right out our door. To say the least we are very excited, not just to be possibly living in a sweet house on the beach but just to be done the grueling task of searching for a place to live.

* these are pictures of our current place, inside and outside!