ULURU UPDATES................

Hiya all,

Well we are now into our third week of work - being it starts on Wednesdays and finishes on Tuesdays, fortnightly.  Uuugh - having to wait 2 weeks for pay - but we will get into the routine very quickly - spend up big week one and starve week two !! Isn't that how it goes LOL.............
Pay Day tomorrow Yeha!!!!!
Tone is settling into his very laid back position in handyman in housing and wizzes around the  complex in the "cushie" (new company car) and is loving it.  He is seeing how FILTHY some people are and he doesn't like that YUCKY!!!! Anyway I just say HTFU!!!!!
I am getting the gist of how reception works at the campground and you meet so many people from all over the country and world.  Even some NSWelshmen.....
It is a bit hard on the OLD legs and feet standing for 8 hours - I am trying out all varieties of footwear that I have and at the moment  the cheap work boots are winning - but not by much!
We will have to get to Alice and both of us need to get decent boots.
I am off today and in our new abode - pics attached are showing the BEFORE shots and we will show the AFTER when we have it all cleaned up and beautiful.

As you know they tried to give us a flatette to live in but NO WAY - so we have moved from the resort campground to Giles Street - which is about 4 kms out of the resort area.  It has about 26 caravan sites here with our own amenities block - FREE washing machine and dryers - BONUS!  It is really quiet out here and so far people keep to themselves - have met a few people but will see as time goes on.  There is an area which is a meeting place for Saturday nights and they have a fire and a few have guitars and sing-a-long.  So Tone will get his out too and learn some new tunes, which will be good.

It is slowly starting to warm up - still a bit cool in the night and mornings but gorgeous days.  We have to get the shade sorted out as it will get bloody hot here in summer, can;t wait NOT!  I don't mind a bit of heat but I will see how we go!
There a lot of pools for the staff and a lap pool so we are going to join the gym and use all the facilities they offer.  We have a RES Club just for us as there is about 1000 employees here in Yulara and they are employed by Voyages and independent as well.  So they have to cater or have something for us residents to keep us sane.  And thank god the grog is cheaper there as well!!!!!!

Looking forward to having Chook and AJ visit us from the 15th August till 20th August, just wanna catch up with them and do a couple of touristy things with them as well.  As they have both been here before on separate trips - they have "seen" it but we can at least show them other stuff hopefully.

We both had an induction course day and we were treated to an early brekky and a cultural tour, which was fab and then the rest of the day at the library hearing all the different areas giving their speel.  The snake catchers were interesting and when they said they all come out to play in summer - I wasn't happy Jan!!  I will be wearing my boots all summer as well!!!  Have to get into the habit of checking the loo as well as anything else we may pick up etc etc......A bit scared but will just have to CHECK and CHECK again!

We have a lot of overseas people that come and work here for a short time too and if they got sick or had an accident it could quite easily cost them $40,000 by the time the plane-hospital- doctor-nurse costs are added up. So lucky we are ozzies.  But we are remote here and even though we do have a medical centre and doctor there is no xray - ct - so if we need that its off to alice - about 488 kms away.

People are told all the time to not drive at night as there is camels and cattle that wonder freely.  A couple of nights a go a 4x4 towing a camper trailer hit two camels.  The camels hit the left side of the 4x4 halving the size of the bonnet and bounced off that onto the camper trailer which got flattened.  The man on the left side is in serous condition in Alice, and believe it or not his two nephews walked in with not a scratch on them to camp in the campground.  Unbelievable!

Anyway enough from me.

Enjoy the pics

Love and miss you all

Looking at side of van in carpot

Back of van.....

Our neighbours abodes

Well......?

Before fixing remember....

One Tree Dreaming........(Local Meeting Place)

Yes we do have some greenery

A street over..............

Opposite us nice aye : (

Carotone

WEEK ONE AT WORK AYERS ROCK!

Hiya all,

We have just completed our first half week of work here at the "rock".

Tone has a real bludgy job - typical aye!!!!  He rides around in the ute and fixes up residents housings....
I am in reception at the camp ground and have done 1pm to 9pm shifts.  Boy it is real hectic as we admit ooops I mean check in about  800 to 1000 people a day!!!!  I need to sort out my boots and get some cushioning as we stand for 8 hours.

We are going to be here for a while and its a real friendly community among the staff/residents which is real nice.  Everyone says hi and once we get set up out at the "staff" campground in a couple of weeks it will be better.

OMG - we did get offered a flatette and I really don't know where they get off offering that to people - we are not a third world country you know.  Anyway we decided to go out to Giles Street which is actually out of the resort and in an out of the way area.  We will be happy out there as as you all know we do live in a 5 star luxury caravan so its a bit hard to "slum" it.  We are going to look at getting a scooter so it will be easier for one of us to get to work. depending on our shifts.....

Anyway Tone gets his company car next week - affectionately called a cushie - which is a golf cart with a tray back for the "tools" LOL LOL....He gets to go to any staff restaurant for his lunch and gets dished up all sorts of yummy food, but coz we are in a busy area we just get food in the fridge and make something up - but our boss does make stuff for us in her lunch break so we are eating something healthy, -NOT BREAD ALL THE TIME!!!!.

We had the best weekend weather wise with Lauren and Nik and it has rained all week - very unusual for here - and it is so cold!! I know hard to believe out here but its even a grey old day today - trying to get the washing done...... Oh well in the dryer again.

Oh and if you are wanting to send a care package to us we have a post box here in Yulara

P O BOX 282, YULARA NT 0872.

Not much news so far we are having our orientation day next Wednesday starting at 7am and finishing at about 5pm.  We do some touring and then in the office for the talk - blah blah blah................

Catch you all soon

Love and miss you all

Carotone
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

YULARA N.T. AKA Ayers Rock

Hiya all,

We are now in Ayers Rock and its a pretty amazing place.  The "Rock" is something that has to be seen to be believed.
On Friday, both Tone and I got offered positions here for a minimum of 6 months..............
Tone is handy person in "housing" which is looking after the accommodation that the residents/staff live in, and I am receptionist in the campground.  We both will be working 40hour weeks and fingers crossed getting most of our days off together.
This afternoon (Tuesday) we have our arvo tea and dinner to welcome us and get all our bits and pieces.  We get a residents card which enables us to get discounts - as stuff is so expensive for the tourist.  We will be putting the van into storage and moving into a "flatette" which is a bit bigger than the van LOL......
The camp ground admits 1200 to 1500 people a day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No time to find out their first names that is for sure LOL LOL........
We have our own Res Club and get dinners cheap - and there are lots of activities like lap pool for me yay! and Bongo......Can't wait to get my dibber dabbers out for a dot or two......
Guess how much grog is here?????????????
$40 for a six pack of beer (max you can buy) and $40 for one bottle of wine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We may have to resort to Tea and Coffee :( :(
All donations will be greatly received..............................

We had a great weekend with Lauren and Nik for Laurens 21st surprise weekend.  She had no idea until she got to the airport where she was going - but had an inkling where it might be... Good on Nik and Tone for keeping it under wraps for so long.............

We did the touristy things which we enjoyed as we experienced it with Lauren and Nik while they were here, and even though we had been here for a few days before they arrived we walked with blinkers on - WHAT ROCK???!!!

We organised a dinner - sounds of silence - which is a must even thought it is a bit pricey the whole evening is well worth it..............
Nik had also brought over a fantastic new camera for Lauren which he had hidden in his bag so she had a great time taking heaps of great shots of the area.

We had a quiet day on sunday and so played games.  Nik thrashed us again at Cluedo,  We think we are getting closer to getting the hang of it??? NOT!! Played the old faves as well, Sequence and Phase 10.  Had some great laughs over them........

It was good to spend time with them and even though they had fifty blankets - four hot water bottles - and the heater on all night - we think they slept ok in the annexe.   Lucky the days were good so they could thaw out!!

Lauren and Nik left Monday afternoon, after we had one more look at the rock and safaried into the wilderness in pursuit of a wayward camel.

So to you all - come over for a visit - look forward to showing you around!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love and miss you all

Enjoy the pics

Tone waiting at airport

The guests of honour disembarking

Sunset overlooking the "Rock"

Sunset overlooking the "Rock"

SUNSET

In front of the climbing area of the "Rock"

In front of the climbing area of the "Rock"

The climb

Us in a cave at the "Rock"

The "Rock"

Nik and Lauren walking the gorge at the Olgas

Yep - we wore 'em out!!

Tone putting on Lauren's 21st necklace

Dad and Daughter

Lauren and Nik

Me and old fart on bus 

sounds of silence outdoor restaurant

Cheers to Lauren

At the Dinner

The Olgas from the dinner venue

Happy 21st Lauren

View of dining room

Ooooooh and cake!

Happy 21st Lauren

In pursuit

Wayward camel in front of the "Rock"

The Olgas

The gorge (see the moon)

At the airport boo hoo

"Gangster"

Love Carotone

HEADING NORTH.........

SUNDAY 3RD JULY
Its with a heavy heart and excitement also that we leave Coober Pedy to head to Curtin Springs Station.
Feel like we weren't done yet - but we can always return!!  Ist stop - Cadney Park Station for lunch - Dale and Sue run it (friends of Martin).  She was friendly, he ignored us - oh well.  Even though the roads are damn straight the country side is ever changing up this way - Hills - rocky outcrops - lots of vegetation.
Tonights stop is agnes creek rest stop.  Had a few mice hanging around NOT GOOD!!!!
Took drugs - can't get rid of the damn cough.  Nice fire, watched dvds, slept like a log!! Woke at 5am (normal), oh and there was no water in the creek and still no wildlife.

MONDAY 4TH JULY
Matt Ryans Birthday - Happy birthday Matt

Left Agnes Creek at about 9.30am - I drove up the Stuart Highway, our first stop was the NT/SA Border for morning tea - a busy spot.  Filled up at Kulgera Roadhouse fuel is now up to $1.85 per litre (petrol) and $1.91 (diesel).
Turned into the Lasseter Highway - busy road heading to the rock.  We got to Kernot Range rest stop and set up for a leisurely arvo in the sun.  Still no native fauna except for the F*%N Flies!!!!
We had a romantic candlelit dinner in the open air with the fire roaring - just great considering we are nearly in the middle of Australia.

OH AND MICE!!!  I did not last long outside as they started running in and out of our feet.  I am not brave!

TUESDAY 5th JULY

We are only 59kms away from Curtin Springs Station - our new place of work!

We arrive with great excitement and a little nervousness, and were greeted with open arms.  Ruth took us out the back to show us where to park the van and thats where it turned to custard.......
Mongrel the emu was coming straight for me and as you all know I AM PETRIFIED OF BIRDS AND Mongrel had me in his sights.  So I did what any person with a phobia would and had a very BAD HYSTERICAL MOMENT ( Very embarrassing) and that was the end of that!!!
The bird stays and we had to leave :( :(

As mongrel has free rein to roam where ever he wants to there was no way I could even leave the van in peace, as they sense (FEAR) and I had it bad - poor Tones fingers will never be the same.  He said I was shaking uncontrollably - not that I noticed - coz I was only worried that he was coming to get me through Tone and Ruth, and he looked the size of an elephant.

So......
We carried onto Ayres Rock Resort (Yulara is the community name) and felt we had arrived at this little oasis that has quite a lot in the middle of nowhere.

We are gearing up for the weekend with Lauren and Nic for Lauren's 21st - she has been kept in suspense until she got to the airport - good job by Nic and Tone as he is bad at keeping surprises LOL....

We have both been for interviews yesterday - me for campground reception and Tone for handyperson (housing).  We will be here a minimum 6 months and we have to live in a flatette - a bit worried about unpacking the van and parking it - but we will see.....There is no or little crime....
We will be employed by voyagers so once into the family its a leg in for other things - also being remote they offer discounts and incentives to stay.

Oh well, we will find out today hopefully and start next wednesday..........

Love and miss you all

Enjoy the pics

Sunset over agnes creek rest stop

Our agnes rest stop - what a life!

Guess where we are???

Resting at Kernot range rest stop

Tone watering the flora.......

Sunrise at Kernot Range

Mount Connor - on Curtin Springs Station

Mount Connor Lookout

Carotone

THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY............................

Hiya all......

You know, there are so many faces to Coober Pedy.  Just little things you notice when you are here a while.....
There is the usual routine and its funny to see how the aborigines cope with their day to day routine - drunk in the morning and then drunk in the arvo/evening.  They have the best behaved dogs, they  are not on leads and cross the road in between the cars.  I find it amazing there is not more dog deaths....

The GOOD part of Coober Pedy is the whole nature of the place, and even though half the town does not talk to the other half there is still a sense of community network and people are friendly in their own way - cautious not to over do it as they would let their guard down.  Its a place that everyone should visit at least once.  There are a lot of passers through - which is a shame - arriving in late arvo and off again early the next day.

The BAD part of Coober Pedy is the loss of our jobs with no reason.  But that is Martin Smith for you the Manager of Radeka Downunder!!!!  What has upset us the most is that we had planned and were keen to stay until the end of October if not longer and it has all fallen in a heap again!!! WTF!!!!!!!!
As you know we were sharing the roles with another caravan couple Roger and Bev.  He is an ex police sargeant and DAMN LAZY!!!!!! And Bev is a kiniving shit stirrer!!!!
I guess what is leaving a bitter taste in our mouths is that Martin was constantly saying we were the "best" and know what the others were like and anyway, it came to a head one day when Roger had yet another Sookie LA LA moment and was winging to Bev.  Of course its always someones elses fault so poor Melda was copping it that day.  Well I had been biting my tongue and just doing my thing thinking of the money as Claire had said to do but then exploded and told Roger that he needed to suck it up we were all here to share and work as a team and leave if he wanted to.  So we headed to Martin angry and upset, and as you all know I hate confrontations - so after talking to Martin and then he listening to their side, he wanted us to wait 4 hours till he made a decision.  So I said we would move up the road to the van park and that he could call when he made his decision!  He called that night and said no losers and winners so he told us not to come back and that Rand B were leaving Saturday (which is now today).  He is getting two new vanner couples in to take our places - THATS IT!!  So we have been struggling this week - I got waitressing at Pizza place and Tone has had nothing!!  R and B are still there today.................

The UGLY side is that Martin Smith has done this to other van couples - gone through 9 in 6 months and he keeps getting away with it!  Well we are trying to think of ways of dealing with it - we saw the owner and their hands are tied??!!

We had an opportunity to manage an accommodation/tour/opal shop complex but the money was not quite enough for being on site etc etc.... so we are on the move tomorrow sunday 3rd July to Curtin Springs Station 85 kms from ayers rock where we will be doing what we were doing at Radekas, power to the van, meals cooked and so it is with sadness we leave here as we were not ready, but its a small place and hard to go by Radekas without feeling like going in there, He is a drunk and a very nasty person - who even tells customers to Fuck Off!  He is paranoid about being ripped off so all day he sits in front of the motel chain smoking watching every car that comes in and the security cameras.

He will get his just oats I hope as he deserves it!

Glad to get that off our chest, but don't feel much better as we had not even recouped the cost of getting here early for him - oh well - we have to let it go as best we can and look forward!!

We have met some good people here and will stay in contact with Kerry and Clair (NZrs) as they are doing the same as us........

Will catch up soon with updates on our journey north and pics etc........

Love and miss you all

Tone, Carolyn, Jimmy, Clair and Kerry

Happy 21st Lauren xo

Happy Birthday Sarah xo

Happy Birthday Andrew xo

enjoy the pics