Author: Kristen Leonard

Day 295 – 5th November 2018 – Darwin

I used the morning to run errands and do work around the van, then headed to the library in the afternoon to study.  The air-con there is awesome, but it is definitely a noisy place which makes it hard to concentrate.  When did that change?  I thought you got booted out of the library if you are loud, but apparently not.  So torn between my desperation for coolness and wanting to get away from loud gaming teenagers.  Maybe I should invest in some sound blocking headphones!

After Col finished work we met at the pool to swim laps.  Last week I was swimming 700 or 800m and tonight I did 900m pretty comfortably with minimal breaks.  Next week I will aim for 1km.

Day 293 – 3rd November 2018 – Darwin, Fishing the mouth of the Adelaide River

Our alarms went off bright and early and we were up at 5am to go meet Hal at 6am at the resort next door.  Then off to meet Scotty and Richo on the Stuart Highway.  We are heading to the mouth of the Adelaide River to try and catch some Barra.  Scotty and Richo in Richo’s boat and Hal, Col and me in Col’s boat.  Both Richo and Col’s boat were very similar size, about 5m and both centre consoles.  Richo has a casting deck at the front though. Continue reading “Day 293 – 3rd November 2018 – Darwin, Fishing the mouth of the Adelaide River”

Day 292 – 2nd November 2018 – Darwin

Again I went for another 6km walk/run today.  I think it got to 38C and humid!!  I went early in the morning to try and beat the heat, but I didn’t succeed as it is 32C by 7am most days! Still better than 38C. Boy do you sweat up here doing physical exercise.

As we still don’t have an air-conditioner and the nights are getting really uncomfortable, I decided to go out and buy different sheets and I was surprised what a difference it made.  I bought the 600 thread count cotton sheets and it has helped definitely.  Apparently if you go any higher with the thread count the sheets are too heavy and hot.  We stopped using a top sheet a few weeks ago, but the sheet underneath has helped massively.

We are going fishing tomorrow with friends of Col’s from work, so tonight was getting the boat and fishing stuff ready as it will be a very early start.  We will be up at 5am.

Day 291 – 1st November 2018 – Darwin

Just followed the new routine of errands in the morning and then studying in the library in the afternoon.

Met Col at the pool and tonight I definitely saw the improvement even in the one week.  Amazing how quickly your body responds.

Still no word on when we might get the air-con which is seriously driving me nuts.

 

Day 290 – 31st October 2018 – Darwin

Happy Halloweeen.

I had a rest day from exercise today, by body was a little shocked by the sudden change in routine.  It is used to doing 7km over the course of a day in airconditioned comfort but not in an hour and outdoors.  Other than that it was just my usual routine.

I know that I say it at the end of every month, but it is going so quick.  Next month is November and I will be heading back to Adelaide for my Niece’s 18th birthday and I get to catch up with all my family and friends.  Getting very excited about it, I must admit.  We have been on the road since mid-January.  Time is weird how in some ways it feels like it has flown past, but it also feels like a lifetime ago that we were pulling out the driveway of the Christies Beach Caravan Park to start our big adventure.  So many kilometres and experiences since then! Now we are weeks away from returning home to Adelaide for Christmas.  Crazy.

Day 289 – 30th October 2018 – Darwin

Tuesday I went for a walk with interval running.  Again it has been a while and it is super hot!!  But I did ok, I did just over 6km.  The interval running is a good option in this heat.  It was good in some ways doing a physical job, I worked out I was doing on average between 5km and 7km per shift with step ups, squats, lifting boxes and stairs for 7 and a half hours a day.  Even getting up and down off the floor at work keeps you flexible, this is not as easy as it sounds once you hit 45. So I really didn’t feel the need to do additional exercise.  But now that work has stopped paying me to exercise, I need to get back into it.

After that I did my errands list then again to the library to study.

Day 288 – 29th October 2018 – Darwin

Today is the first day of not working for me and I am pretty happy about it.  I did my errands in the morning then went to the library to study in the afternoon.

That night I met Col at the pool and we went swimming.  It was the first time for me being back in the pool doing laps for a while, so I definitley felt it.   Especially being a 50m pool compared to our 25m pool back in Adelaide.  But I did ok.

Day 287 – 28th October 2018 – Darwin, Fishing Darwin Harbour

We were all organised to go fishing in Darwin Harbour today.  Col had looked up the tides and we knew when we had to leave to be able to put the boat in ok, but ended up doing a mad rush to get there before low tide.  Col remembered at the last minute that there was a problem with the throttle on the boat the last time that we took it out.  Very glad he remebered it before we were out  on the water!!  It was loose the last time we took the boat out but it had gotten much, much worse.  So Col fixed it which was great but we were then under serious pressure to get the boat in before we ran out of water.  We were not the only people rushing to try and get in before it was too late.  Col reversed down the boat ramp as he is a little quicker than I am, and I stood on the jetty holding the rope to restrain the boat.  There were three boats crammed in next to each other and I was struggling to control ours from slamming into the others.   Continue reading “Day 287 – 28th October 2018 – Darwin, Fishing Darwin Harbour”

Day 286 – 27th October 2018 – Darwin

Today Col went for a bike ride.  I was tempted but it is seriously hot!  So I opted to stay and write up the blog while he rode his bike for an hour.

I have been mauled by midgies lately, even using DEET.  I think it is a mixture of both midgies and mozzies.  One arm has over 55 bites on it (I kid you not) and the itching is insane.  The humidity definitely brings them out in full force and I think it makes you sweat so you sweat off the spray protection.  Not sure what the answer is but they are driving me mad.  I think they have blooms where a new hungry batch are hatched and then nothing for a week or so.  Thankfully it is not everyday.  I might have to start covering up but it is just so hot that the thought of that is a little depressing.  I might try to up the DEET too, as we are using the lowest amount of 20% at the moment.  There has to be an answer.  A local up here has suggested Vitamin B12 so will give that a go too.

Tomorrow we plan to take the boat out and go fishing in Darwin Harbour.

Day 285 – 26th October 2018 – Darwin

So today is my last shift at Woolies.  It has been a very valuable experience.  Like with all jobs I have loved parts of it and struggled through other parts.  I have met some interesting people and I have learned new skills.  After so many years in an office job and management role, it was good to get my hands dirty again and do something physically strenuous.  It was good to know that I am capable of it.  Funny how these ideas can seem easy when you think about them…. I’ll just pick up work on the road, I am happy to do anything.  But actually doing them is a little intimidating.  Am I physically capable of doing that type of work anymore?  Starting from scratch in a totally different environment in a totally different role is always intimidating.  There are different levels of intimidation.  Working as a Service Delivery Manager for Telstra is intimidating, but funnily enough, so is working at Woolies.   We all work hard to earn our money, and regardless of your pay rate or your title it is likely that you experience times of stress at work, you are faced with challenges of how to get through an unrealistic workload in an unrealistic timeframe, you work with some great people and some not so great people and you hopefully have the chance to have a laugh once in a while (eveyone needs a bit of crazy in their workplace to stay sane). Continue reading “Day 285 – 26th October 2018 – Darwin”