Van Life

“The streets of London”? (Ralf McTell in the 60’s)

I can’t get the song out of my head as I walk the streets of Newcastle

England was the obvious place to go, I had to go anyway at some point and they had decided to live with this virus, “my thoughts exactly”! After 2 years of restricted movement, I could finally get on an Aeroplane. Not that I’d been too restricted where I was, I’d had it easy, I got stranded in the right place when covid hit and didn’t have to put up with lock downs. Although I still had to dodge them!

12 months earlier :-

I’d already decided not to go up the coast to Queensland, the world was still learning to live with quarantine and isolation. I was seeking isolation. Not the type within four walls but the isolation of vast open spaces, I headed south down to Evans Head, a small town on the coast and inland a few k’s to call in on Doug, he was living in the Hills on one of those community projects where people in the past bought up big acreage and shared the land between them. A fantastic bit of forested hills, where one can surround oneself in the natural world of bush and wildlife. With no power or water, but of course in NSW there is no shortage of rain or sunshine, so that problem is easily solved. Great to see Doug living the life, in natural wonder but I was ready to be on the move again. So! Back on the road west, to Port Augusta, a road I was becoming very familiar with.

I was headed for Darwin, up the guts, as they say in these parts and was in no hurry. I was up there last year for a month and remember at the time thinking, “I’ll be back”.

Thought I might spend some time in Coober Pedy On the way but when I arrived it was very cold. Firstly, I wasn’t expecting that and secondly, It wasn’t as I remembered from back when I was here before in 1982. Back then there wasn’t much of a town and most folk were living underground in the old opal mines, because it was too hot on the surface. So! Spent the day wandering around and decided to keep on north.

It’s a long road with not a lot of traffic, so when I saw the old Kombi van pass, going south, I drifted back in time to 82, when Susy and I were heading south in an old Kombi, loaded up to the hilt, with trestle table, for the markets, bikes and all manner of things. By then we’d been up the east coast, across the top and were heading down the guts to Adelaide. The Kombi was struggling, I kept looking in the rear view mirror, to see if the black smoke pouring out of the exhaust was getting any worse, wondering if we were going to make it all the way? We did! But we weren’t going any further until some serious work was done on the van.

We found a camp site, set up the old tent we had, the trestle table became my work bench and the engine came out. Three months later, after pulling the engine apart and rebuilding it, we were on our way west to Perth. The motor Purrrring and raring to go. That was the beginning of thirty years of residence in Perth WA.

Didn’t bother doing the extra 600kls there and back from the highway to Uluru, (been there done that when you could climb it) just kept going to Alice, It was still too cold for my liking, I was more interested in being warm at that stage, which didn’t really happen till I got close to Katherine, about 300 kls from Darwin.

Rolled into Darwin in the afternoon, had a shower and went down to Deck chair cinema on the harbour, one of my favourite spots for cooking and eating dinner at sunset and if there was something good on, I could go and watch it. Chris and his best friend Josephine where there doing the same. I’d met them last year so I was already feeling at home, Jo, Chris told me, wasn’t well, something to do with her Kidneys and the vet had wanted to put her down but he couldn’t do it. I was talking to him on the phone 8 months later, long after leaving Darwin and Jo had recovered and was doing fine.

They were looking after a friends place out in the bush where there was 3 ships containers, big water tanks, and a half built dwelling up high, looking over the hills for miles. They were sleeping in the middle container, another had tools and building materials in it, the third had lengths of metal and timber and a 4 metre long Olive Python as thick as my arm, a few smaller carpet pythons and a family of echidnas. We were sitting round the camp fire one night and out she came slithering passed our feet looking for warmth I guess. “Don’t worry Chris said, they’re not poisonous, but don’t get too close coz they can squeeze the life out of you and if they get their jaws around your ankle they will crush your bones”. “Thanks a lot! I’ll keep the van doors closed tonight”!!

Down south NSW and Victoria were having lock downs, for months at a time, Victoria was on it’s sixth, the media was in a frenzy, the politicians were giving daily updates on how many deaths there were and how thousands were infected but the Top End, was Covid free. Until it wasn’t!

They had one case and Darwin locked down, fortunately I was about an hour up the highway, on one of my many trips out bush, when I heard the news on the radio, so dodged that one. It only lasted a week and things got back to normal again in time for my return.

In mid August it was time for my second vaccination and the humidity was beginning to get uncomfortable, so a week after the jab it was time to head south, it was still a bit early to go too far south, so Broome was the next stop. The W A border had been shut for a year and a half, to most Aussie states, but because I’d been in NT for 4 months, with the right paperwork, which I thought I had, I was allowed in. On arrival at the border I needed proof I’d been in the N T for the last 15 days, “got this receipt for a service on the van”, “sorry son, that was thirteen days ago! 2 days short, You got no hotel receipts”? “Been living in the van your worship”! “pieces of paper I don’t collect but I have been tapping my debit card for the last 4 months”, “that’ll do he says”. Trouble was my old 3G phone couldn’t pick up the internet to get into my bank, so had to go back 200kl’s to the last roadhouse, to get the internet, take photo’s of my bank transactions, 200kls back and he let me through. “Oh! the trials and tribulations” can’t complain, some people have been locked up for months on end!!!!

Broome :- Cable Beach, Camels at sunset, Stairway to the moon and much more, There were many young van dwellers from all over the globe, who like me, got stranded in Oz, thanks to covid and had travelled north, to avoid the lock downs in the south, there was work to be had at the many hospitality venues around town and they hung around town beach and cable beach during the day when not working and found somewhere out of town at night, to sleep, dodging the rangers, who prowled around at sunrise trying to catch them sleeping in their vans and fine them $100. At $50 a night to park in the van park, who could blame them, If they were to charge $10 to park their vans, which would be reasonable in my eyes, they might not need to prowl at sunrise.

I too was avoiding the rangers who were employed by the shire, the van park I was told was owned by a counsellor.

The humidity and rain was approaching after a month and it was time to hit the road again. It was late afternoon by the time I got away, so decided to pull in to Coral Bay for the night, had something to eat and a couple of beers, pulled into a car park, climbed into the back and went to sleep. It was 5am, still dark outside, when I was woken by a Thump, Thump, Thump, on the back of the van, still half asleep I looked out the back and saw a little man in a uniform, taking a photo of my registration. I opened the door, “Gottcha”, with a big smile on his face, “your not allowed to camp here mate” “I’m not your mate and I’m not camping, I’m sleeping in the back of my car, now write the ticket, piss off and let a bloke get some sleep” which he did without another word and left. I woke up a couple of hours later, a bit peeved, had a cup of tea and give it some thought. I’d been living in the van for 6 months, at $50 a night, that’s getting on for $10 000 minus $100. I climbed into the driving seat had a little chuckle as I pulled out, on my way south, the Bridgetown Blues Festival was happening in a couple of weeks.

It was too cold in Newcastle, I got the train down to London.

So, how can you tell me your lonely

And for you that the sun don’t shine?

Let me take you by the hand

And lead you through the streets of London

I’ll show you something to make you change your mind

I Am…. The Lonesome Traveller…. The Journey Continues….Be Happy!