Settling in at Haslem

Cooler yesterday thank goodness, still very stormy looking sky but nice southerly breeze. We both felt hungry so had bacon and eggs for breakfast, spent the morning around camp, settling ourselves in, Brian got solar panel up etc. a bit of an exodus with about 4 vans leaving but as the day progressed it gradually filled up. Nothing much on the fishing scene, maybe it's the winds! We did try for squid after tea but the wind and then some rain came in so we headed back to camp. Tea was curried chicken and rice which we had frozen in the engel 

Well that was Wednesday 

Today Thursday we have take a trip to Streaky Bay about 40ks south to get some supplies,just enjoyed a take away coffee and vanilla slice on the foreshore before we hit IGA. We have used one tank of water since arriving in Haslem, but asking around that seems about average, filled up our tank using the town water in bucket and 12 volt pump, very clever we thought ..... Internet reception not good in Haslem catching the opportunity while in Streaky Bay

Bentley at the beach

Under the jetty

Chicken curry for tea 

Xxxxxx

Hot Hot Hot

Well yesterday was so hot, we travelled into Ceduna to pick up water as our tanks were empty and headed out to Haslem Beach which was about 70 ks further on, we could see the temp gauge in the car rising saying it was 42 as we reached Haslem !!! We found a reasonably shady spot and decided not to unhook the van while it was so hot, about another 8 campers here. The winds were strong coming from North and east so hot winds. We made sure we drank lots of water and just rested, Bentley started to get quite stressed in the heat and was panting and couldn't find a cool spot so we took him down to the beach. The beach here is very rocky and mounds of seaweed so it was a matter of finding the best way to the water, which was shallow as the tide was low, he enjoyed a swim and then of course had to roll in the seaweed, so we dumped him back in the water before heading back to camp and sat him on a chair in the shade, he sat there for quite a while. About 4pm the windy changed to South easterly and we got a cooler breeze coming in, we went to the happy hour with other campers, very friendly lot, a few from Perth who are heading to Melbourne and crossing on the ferry to Tasmania later this month.

We sat and enjoyed the cooler breeze and watched the storm clouds gather and then about 7pm the wind got very strong and it was a case of bringing in the awning and making sure nothing was lying around as it felt like we were going to get a storm come through, but it didn't happen,just wind. We hadn't had tea at this stage and our idea of cooking eggs and bacon outside was not going to happen we ended up with beans on toast in the van!! 

I'm writing this at about 4am after having a good sleep and it's lovely and cool, think I might make a cup of tea, no idea what the weather will do today, hot, stormy, not sure 

Bentley feeling cooler and relaxing after his swim

Our camp at Haslem 

On the Nullabor

Well we started our trip on Friday 7th February heading out from Albany and camping outside of Ravensthorpe on our first night, second night saw us on the Nullabor camped at 90 mile sign, which is the start if 90 miles or 145 klm of straight, straight rd. Third night we stopped at Eucla caravan park, $25 a night and showers cost $1, we had power so used electric frypan, microwave, didn't need air conditioning, such luxury, tonight our 4th night we are 80 or so klm from  Ceduna in SA at a rest area, it's warmer today and forecast warmer tomorrow. Now on SA time which is two and half hours ahead of WA and at 7pm the sun is still quite high in the sky, it's warm but nice breeze. Tomorrow we plan to head to Ceduna, top up with water and head out to Haslam Beach, which is a free or donation camp site, after travelling the last few days we will be ready to set up camp and relax 

Sunset on the Nullabor

Bunda cliffs just last Eucla 

Our camp tonight 

Day out

Took time away from Christmas shopping, making mince pies and sausage rolls today and drove out to Betty's Beach which is about 50ks east of Albany, haven't been down this area for about 10 years or so, there is a small camping area there and lovely beach and rocky outcrops. We took our morning tea down on the beach and sat on the rocks, Bentley had a great time, he so loves the beach. We could feel a storm coming but didn't hit till we were back in Albany, lovely day out, off to Thai restaurant  tonight , yum 

Camping spot

Bentley had a swim of course 

Time away

We had a great week away in our new caravan. First we camped overnight at a free camp site in Pinjarra and then took the van into Mandurah for its service, caught up with friends, had lunch out and then picked up the van. We spent the weekend at Lane Poole Reserve outside of Dwellingup, parked our van at Baden Powell camp area and then met Debbie and family down at Charlie's flats which is close to the river. We couldn't get the van down there so we had to camp! We found a tent on one of the verge collections while staying at Debbie's and it fitted the bill just for the weekend. Had a great time, but good to get back to our van after two nights in a tent, we stayed a bit longer at Baden Powell in the van before heading back to Albany. We had 6 nights away, no power, just on gas and 12 volt and it all worked fine, love free camping 

The tent we found on a verge collection

Fun on the canoe

Dominic and Bentley having a play fight, well Dom is playing and Bentley fighting, both dogs were very dirty by the end of the weekend 

Cheese and onion pie

After watching Australian Bake Off a few weeks ago I decided I liked the look of the Cheese and Onion Pie, it reminded me of school dinners when I was young and lived in the UK.

I tried the recipe last night and although it looks a bit rustic it was really tasty, I decided against the pastry used in the Bake Off recipe and used my tried and true from Thermomix, of course we have tons leftover so it's on again tomorrow night......

Christmas

Well it's not here just yet but I decided it was time to make a start on some cards, so had a couple of friends around and after two cups of tea and a lot of chatting I did manage to finish a card, it's made with die and stamp set from the new Stampin Up Christmas catalogue, I like the colours a change from the red and green Christmas theme