Here We Go Again - Chapter 65 - Darwin Day 5

After the 18 hours of the previous day, I would have enjoyed a sleep in but I have an 8.00am meeting (Sydney time) which I want to make so, dragging myself out of bed, I set up and attend to the niceties of preparation. This meeting never starts late. Some may enter a bit late but it always starts on time and I want to talk to one of the participants in any event and it is on his personal Zoom meeting room.

Robyn also has a webinar who is involved in today so I need to be in and out of my meeting quickly, so she can have uninterrupted access. I will have plenty to do outside the van whilst she is postulating the requirements of food labels to overseas importers. She is hoping she will generate some good business from the webinar.

After the meeting the first order of business is the effluent. Me “and my little friend”, released from its position, accompanies me to the dump point. The point is diagonally opposite the site of our van, so its quite a bit of exercise, “little friend” in tow to walk to it. Funnily enough there are no throngoing queues here. The business is done and I return, the canister much lighter than on the original trip. Its outing done “my little friend” is returned to his place.

.

Robyns meeting has started and Silver Leader is in a mind to deal with the fish. Before she started I grabbed the vacuum stealing machine and the remaining plastic rolls and set up a table beside the Silver Leader van where this operation will take place. He has his table ready, a power cord for me, and a short walk to the back of his Cruiser where the readied fish await.

We have a large bucket into which I will place the vacuumed parcels. We have a pen to note the type and a system that will hide the “good” ones (Coral Trout, Blue Bone etc) away from the prying eyes of the vultures that will invariably form. 

There is more than enough fish for our personal use and we welcome vultures to accept some of the Grassy Sweet Lip fillets. One group swaps fillets for bourbon, others simply offer thanks and eternal gratitude. We are happy we have what we want and if we have made others lives a little better then we can be happy about it.

The last of the filleting done, there is still a few packs left, so I set off around the park looking for potential customers. The stock does not last long. On my return Silver Leader asks after my supply as he has over delivered and committed to feeding people. I relinquish a couple of my packs from the freezer, none of the prized ones, and he makes his commitments.

Its been a while since the Cruiser has been moving. The auxiliary battery which runs the car fridge (and therefore keeping the drinks cold) must be low. I get the large solar panel out and set it up looking directly at the sun and attach the leads to the terminal and let nature do its work.

It might be time for a “collect stuff” run. There are a couple of non critical things that require rather than need addressing. The drinking water tank has always been a concern to others, we had been happy with the explanation of the maufactueres about filtration, but you see many van owners filling tier water tanks through external filters and Silver Leader does this regardless of whether it is drinking or normal water. His rationalisation is that the cleaner the water the longer all the parts involved will last.

We also have an ornate wood strip which is starting to come off. Some Aquahere will sort that issue out. The fish fillets have done us for all our vacuum seal bags and we need more. Last but not least the label maker has corroded from the inside and needs replacing.

This we contemplate, and then like many great ideas, is lost as we are consumed by the application form to travel into Western Australia. Its sometimes so hard to remember we are all Autsralians as the politicised toing and froing of our second tier, heads of state, in a dubious push to keep us safe, create mountains of administration. 

They often don’t think of the end user as we were about to find out. 

Hastily formulated and poorly considered the form is long, very long. Almost as if they really don’t want us to travel. Yet if we do not travel the tourist economy, dependant on that very travel will be screaming blue murder. I hasten to add the inability of the tourism industry to cope with the present demand given the facilities that are not open on our present quest.

The form is simply long and an annoyance of the mundae ntiol we got to the question of quarantine, should we be infectious. Now we have been in the Northern Territory for some time, the Territory has had no cases for some time, mirrored by the “very low” designation this state has in relation to travel to Western Australia. But in a “one size fits all” mentality, everyone regardless of flying, travelling by train, coming across and back on a daily basis for work, or meandering as we are with the throng of Grey Nomads, we all need to provide an address for quarantine should the authorities decree it is required.

Confused we call the first point of entry into Western Australia, the caravan park at Kununurra and ask should we use their address to get past this box on the form. No is the answer, and we are informed if we do the form will be rejected. This park is not a designated quarantine area.

The police will know. We contact Kununurra Police Station, and although they are most helpful and sympathetic to our predicament, they can offer no solutions. So you mean to tell me the throng of Grey Nomads will dam at the border because like us, they know no one in the state where they can stop, in the minisculely potential event. That after being in the “very low” chance of transmission state of the Northern Territory.

Thankfully a potential answer comes to mind. On our last trip I had befriended one of the rangers at El Questro. In fact we are hoping to catch up with him and fish again when we get there. I have been talking to him in the buildup to the arrival about fishing etc and he has been teasing us with stories of large catches and fish jumping everywhere he looks.

I ask him the question, does he mind us using his address for the form, and if so what is it. The answer is almost immediate. Of yours you can, on one proviso. If you are sick you don’t use it. 

Sold

The last stumbling block on the form mastered, or so we think. We now have to work out how much time it might take us in the event we are required to quarantine to get from the border to Shaun’s house in Wyndham. This we do. The form is completed – four times to be exact as each of us have to individually deal with the multi page document.

Within seconds we have our passes.Yes a person really went over them. Seems such a waste of time, but without the pass I suspect, as it was with the entry into the Northern Territory some Constable Cate Campbell will want to see it.

Ok then, lets do a quick provision run and be absolutely ready. So much for the stuff requiring attention, thats a job for another day. None of it is critical.

While we are shopping a sign at a butchers catches my attention. Full eye fillets $29 per kilogram. Right beside them are eye fillet steaks for $60 per kilogram. A no brainer really, and when I ask for one, I am asked “do I want it cut into steaks” – yes for the same price – no extra charge.

Wanting to cut my own I decline but marvel at the offer.

Back at the park I deal with the fillets of steak sliced off the huge lump of meat using the remaining vacuum packs. We are now out of the plastic rolls required to vacuum seal any more food until we can find a van supply shop.

The planning, the lockdowns and what we might be able to do in the next few weeks is the subject of a large discussion. We at least have options at the moment. We need to get into Western Australia first – the forms supposedly allow that, but then what. We have bookings at El Questro and Kununurra as well as Lake Argyle if we need them. Probably easiest to stick to the original plan for now. Get across the border before it closes.

There had been thought, because we had spent some time there last time we miss Lake Argyle but we cannot move the other bookings around enough to do this, so we stick to the original plan even though we had heard reports of cramming vans in and long queues at the gate. At least we have a booking.

We call though and we are told if there is a line up to join it, but send someone to the office, book in and we will be brought around. Just as well Forbsy isnt with us because the other proviso was someone stay with the vehicle while this is done. A bit hard when there is only one of you. He must work hard on finding Inga. 

We have of course yet to sort out the fishing trip finances. Without Balke to disagree, Silver Leader and I decide to cover the bulk of the cost in thanks for his secret spots. This we do over steak and chips cooked by Silver Manu Leader, splashed down with an alcoholic beverage – of course.

I suspect many more in the park are having fish tonight, fresh fish caught yesterday, chilled overnight and relayed to the dinner plate. The only way to eat fish. Freezing them takes a lot of the taste from many fish species. So why not us. Given we had feasted continually on crab and Barramundi over the last two nights, it was time for some variety.

Variety is of course the spice of life.