This Adventurous Age

Adventures travelling and working around Australia.

Author Archives: wendyviney


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1999 Travels October 16

SATURDAY 16 OCTOBER     HEALESVILLE

We went to the local shops for some groceries and the papers.

John went off to bowls at Lilydale.

I cleaned the van. Was still feeling poorly, and with a dry, ticklish cough, now. It has certainly been a virulent bug.

Phoned V. She arrived in Melbourne last Wednesday, after having a bout of food poisoning in Adelaide, and staying there for five days. She is going to her class reunion tonight. I had been under some pressure to go too – was quite close to that cohort of students – but asked her to explain that I was ill. She will come to lunch one day next week.

We had a very quiet night. There was no real improvement with the TV – it is hard to tell here, because of the mountains all around.


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1999 Travels October 15

FRIDAY 15 OCTOBER     HEALESVILLE

It was a wet day. I felt maybe slightly better than yesterday.

Back down the highway, we drove!

First stop was the dentist, where I endured the making of impressions – an unpleasant process. There has to be “something” put onto my partial bridge denture, where the extracted tooth was.

We picked up the TV and video machine from the repairer. $45 for whatever they did.

Then John had his appointment at the Croydon Day Procedure Centre. I left him there and went to Chirnside Park, made the medical claims there, bought some fish at the good seafood outlet there, and generally browsed. Bought some lunch.

I went back and collected John in the afternoon. He was alright. He had been put out to it and when he came round did not even know the procedure had been done! He wanted to go to Tandy at Chirnside for some more TV leads, then back to the van – note the TV leads took precedence!

At 5pm I drove back down the highway again, to the dentist, to collect my bridge, which now had a tooth “blob” in the area of the new hole. It felt strange at first, but soon worked itself in. I will now be able to chew again on that side, for which I am very thankful. That cost $100 – we have spent so much on the dentist since being back here.

Had fish and chips for tea.

Drove 192kms today – and none of it was for anything pleasant!


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1999 Travels October 14

THURSDAY 14 OCTOBER     HEALESVILLE

I didn’t feel all that well in the morning, but we had a lunch arranged with a former colleague – and with her hectic schedule, it would be impossible to re-arrange. So we drove to Lilydale and on to our “local” – the York on Lilydale Hotel, which does a reasonable bistro meal.

Much of the talk with C covered the same ground as with T, the other day. It was pleasant to meet up again, and hear her plans for long service leave, next year. I warned her that long service leave was dangerous – look what it made us do!

Back at the van, John began taking his colonoscopy preparation drink about 3pm. Predictably, he then spent hours in the en-suite – reading, to alleviate the boredom.  He said it was all not as bad as he had anticipated.

I had some soup for tea as I was still feeling quite ill. John, of course, had nothing.


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1999 Travels October 12

TUESDAY 12 OCTOBER     HEALESVILLE

In the morning, I phoned and cancelled the meals we had planned for tonight and tomorrow, with John’s brother and my brother – because John was feeling so ill. He went to a local doctor and was prescribed anti-biotics for the throat.

Later in the day, I started to feel like I was coming down with something similar. Can’t be tonsillitis, because I do not have any, but something akin to that. Not fair!


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1999 Travels October 11

MONDAY 11 OCTOBER     HEALESVILLE

We needed a fairly early start this morning, because we had to hitch up the van and take it to Trakmaster for a service. Obviously, the outside furniture, awning  and the like didn’t need to go too, and we were lucky to be able to move them to the new site we would occupy from this afternoon.

We stayed with the van at Trakmaster. They are very busy with orders through to next June. We like the sound of there being ongoing demand for the brand. They do seem to be developing a solid reputation. We chatted to a couple of prospective customers, while we were waiting.

I added our black lines to the wall map they keep on display in the office, showing where their vans have been taken. It is getting to be quite an impressive display, especially of unsealed road travels.

The original plastic cupboard catches in the van were all replaced with metal ones, at no cost to us, because there has been a lot of the originals breaking.

We collected the seat covers and sleeping bag from the dry cleaners. The wool seat covers look like new – all the dust from remote regions has gone! The sleeping bag smells strongly of chemicals.

Back at Healesville, our new site is an en-suite one. We opted for this, in view of John’s coming travails, and because we had the van mobile today, anyway. It is pleasant to have the convenience of the en suite; now we are paying $22 a night.

Set the van back up again. It was an effort for John because he was feeling most unwell.


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1999 Travels October 10

SUNDAY 10 OCTOBER     HEALESVILLE

The rain continued in the morning, but eased enough for John to go off to bowls in the afternoon, despite his tonsillitis.

Friend T arrived – as previously planned – about 3pm. I had changed our original plan to eat out, to an eat-in one, due to John’s sore throat. I am not sure that T was all that pleased, as I think he wanted to “pay back” a meal!

We had much talk about school and its future direction and people we know, and his future plans.

When John arrived back from bowls, he’d lost his voice!

For tea, I made a chicken and cashew stir fry, with rice, then strawberries and ice cream.

T left about 9.30.


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1999 Travels October 9

SATURDAY 9 OCTOBER     HEALESVILLE

John had been asked to play in one of Lilydale’s competition bowls sides today, so we drove to Lilydale.

Refuelled Truck – 71cpl.

I went for a walk around the Lake, then drove myself back to Healesville, where I cleaned the inside of the van. Had bought the papers on the way back, and read those, some, too.

Late in the afternoon, I picked up John from the Ferntree Gully Bowls Club, where they had played and we drove to his sister’s at Beaumaris. Together with another sister and her husband, and John’s niece and her husband, we had an excellent banquet meal at their favourite Chinese restaurant. It was a very pleasant evening.

What had been a humid day turned into a night of lightning and thunder storms, thus we had a tough drive back, through sheets of rain. It was 2.30am when we got back to the van!

John’s sore throat is much worse.


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1999 Travels October 8

FRIDAY 8 OCTOBER     HEALESVILLE

John had another round with the dentist, for the final root canal work. I waited for him, in Truck, and knitted.

The repair place in Ringwood, where we took the video machine, phoned yesterday to say they could find nothing wrong with it, so we went there and took the TV for them to check, in case the fault is there.

Then we went and did some bowls practice at Lilydale.

Had our various prescriptions filled at Healesville – cost $170!!

Back at the van, I discovered that John had turned the fridge off, last night, because he thought it was interfering with his TV picture. He had not turned it back on. Again! I threw out all the defrosted meat and chicken packs, that had been sitting in their puddles all day. It was a substantial waste, and I was very annoyed. Bloody TV is far more hassle than it is worth. John was not repentant.

Tea was bought fish and chips.


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1999 Travels October 7

THURSDAY 7 0CTOBER     HEALESVILLE

I did the washing.

John pottered about in the morning, doing things like changing a blown fuse in Truck, then went to Lilydale to bowls, after an early lunch. He has a sore throat and thinks he is getting tonsillitis. I wonder if he picked up a bug at the doctor’s? Unhealthy places, those!

I read, sewed and went for a walk.

Tea was soup, steak and vegies. The meat – bought in Healesville, was very tough and almost impossible for me to chew.