- written over the month of September.
DOING: sitting in the air conditioning on our bed in the van, all the windows are closed and the blinds are down because it’s 42’C outside and Otis is having a nap.
HEARING: the sound of fan whirring and Otis mumbling a few last words to his toys as he settles: “echidna”, “goanna”, “didgeridoo” – new words from a book about the Kimberley we’re reading.
DRINKING: water with some magnesium powder – I’m sweating so much at the moment, it’s hard to stay hydrated. Oh, and some apple cider vinegar drink, the closest thing to kombucha I could find at the supermarket.
EATING + COOKING: it’s too hot to even think about cooking! The caravan park we’re at has huge bunches of local bananas for $3 so I’ve been trialing a healthy banana bread recipe. For breakfast we had fresh eggs and tomatoes (that my friend gifted us) cooked in ghee, on sourdough toast. Lunch for Otis and I lately has been some kind of throw together quinoa pasta with chickpeas, raw veggies, homemade pesto, toasted seeds and my savoury sprinkle. For dinner I’m making the most of the amazing barramundi up here, grilled on the BBQ with veggies I picked up at a farm roadside stall.
WANTING: my husband back home with us! Matt’s in Sydney working for a week and it’s been really tough… the remoteness and harshness of the outback, battling the elements and a 2yo on my own. But these trips away from us, also mean we can continue the trip that we’re on together, and for that I am grateful.
LOOKING: for a reusable smoothie cup. We use our coffee Keep Cups everyday but the heat has been lending itself to smoothies/juices and I’m just reusing the plastic takeaway containers we get. Any suggestions? This is the best one I’ve found so far.
LISTENING: to the ABC Kids Listen App. Otis has been waking up unusually early as we adjust to the 5am sunrise in WA! I put their Good Morning program while we play and read and have our first breakfast for the day. We also always listen to the local radio station wherever we are.
DECIDING: what to have for afternoon tea when Otis wakes up. A smoothie I think – it’s too hot to eat and I have loads of mango cheeks in the freezer still.
READING: travel books, magazines and brochures.
WATCHING: Big Little Lies – we’re late to the party with this, but we really didn’t have any time to watch TV in the lead-up to this trip. Matt has set up a projector in our bedroom as Otis sleeps in the main part of the RV so we can’t watch TV once he goes to sleep – it feels like such a luxury having our own air conditioned cinema!
WEARING: swimmers and sundresses and some serious Birkenstock tan lines on my feet.
ENJOYING: discovering all the amazing *croc-free* waterfalls, waterholes, thermal springs and rock pools.
PLAYING: with cars and soap bubbles and bucket of water. The heat is too much for Otis to be out in for most of the day, so we have lots of water play under the awning of the van to keep cool. Once the sun starts to set we stroll the caravan park and play hide and seek behind the boab trees and spot crocs in the lake *from a distance.
PLANNING: our route to the coast and which stops we’ll make on the way.
CRAVING: tonnes of fresh leafy greens like rocket, cavolo nero, rainbow chard and watercress – which have been hard to come by for a few weeks, Zebra Dream mint choc chip ice cream, a cup of Love and Bones Broth bone broth and a swim in the ocean.
LOVING: all the boab trees here in the Kimberley. They’re a symbol of peace, spiritual presence, strength and grace that I am completely drawn to – their stature, resilience and wisdom. We have one in the caravan park that’s over 2000 years old.
SAVOURING: being in the same space as my husband, all the time. The last few years I spent studying and working and raising a baby, it felt like we were always in different rooms. I love that now we live in a van and no matter what we’re doing, we’re never more than a few metres away from each other.
BUYING: nothing! Primarily because we live in a van and there’s not a lot of room to accumulate stuff, but mostly because this van life is an exercise is down-sizing and learning to live with less. We have shipping containers full of “stuff” back in Sydney, and I can’t even remember what or why we needed it. I bought a souvenir tea towel the other day, does that count?
FEELING: anxious. Anxious is not a word I word normally use to describe myself but right now I’m feeling a little anxious. Bushfires threatened this town last week, just 2km from our campsite and now they’re back (25km away at the moment), but the skies are black, ash is falling, the air is smoky and it’s just Otis and I this time. I’ve never felt so responsible as a parent, than I do right now. I’ve wet down the van and the piles of leaves that surround and I know we’ll be safe, but I feel anxious.
Happenings posts inspired by Heidi.
Lucy x
