Normal State of affairs:

As a locum, I usually travel with a bag of clothes, toiletries & one laptop by Air. By road just add – a Tool bag, basic overnight Camping gear and a kayak strapped onto the Jeep with minimalist gear and travel accessories…

I arrived back from Christmas Island end of October with Locum work of 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off, then 1 week on and 2 weeks off, then 1 week on before I fly out for my Glades paddle .. which allowed for a relaxed thoughtful couple of hours to sort and pack my gear.

The first of 2 weeks on gets extended to 8 weeks, no break basically overnight!

So after 3 weeks in Carnarvon I drive South 900km to pick up all my gear for the planned trip to sort / weigh / throw-out, re-pack, remove, re-sort etc ..

Secondary to all of this is that I demolish my Reading Glasses.

Then my Phone does a toes up (i.e. dies), and the shopping bill obviously increases…

So the Jeep now has

• 5m Kayak on top
• Folding bike strapped to the spare wheel
• A bag with clothes & toiletries
• x2 Laptops & a Tablet (tablet is the kayak / portable unit)
• Tool bag
• x2 Trip Bags weighing under 18kg
• Super-dooper flysheet which is staying in Oz
• x2 lightweight backpacks full of electronics
• Camera bag with x3 lenses
• Small Esky (Chilly Bin) for Grenache-Shiraz by 10 (I can’t buy it up NW)
• x2 ‘crap bags of gear that I won’t need for NW Oz or Overseas

Feck it took me 40 minutes to pack out of Carnarvon to work in Exmouth for 3 weeks.

Arrive back in Carnarvon,  only to be asked if I’d consider doing only 2 weeks in Exmouth and then 2 weeks back up in Carnarvon before I leave for overseas.

Anyway, I really don’t care as it is $’s for my trip 🙂

So I’m in downtown Exmouth (2,500 pop), which I think is a slightly larger Metropolis than Everglades City, Fl .. Dining is good, wine fairly good, with a variety, pricing close to Bermuda
economy, and I’m on the COAST!!! Sunshine, water & averaging 36C daily!

05:30-ish I’m on the water and guessing the humidity is around 80% and 30C on a turning tide. I paddled roughly 2Km before I thought about a coffee & cooked breakfast. I’m weak .. coffee & food won out ..

Worked here around 12 months ago, so more aware of what is on offer – Bother! The cook doesn’t start ’til 7:30 .. So I had my usual Long Black + Extra shot, then home, showered & off 2 work. I will plan the next few days a tad better – Vegan Breakfast looks good.

This is why I prefer the rural setting .. it’s what you make of it rather than grief.

It may not all pan out as planned however it will all pan out ..