Living every second month with just my fur child Barney in a new town where I don’t know anyone isn’t always peaches & cream. But I’m not going to lie, it generally is!! 😉
While Fred works his four weeks ‘on’ he leaves me & Barney set up with the Clam & Perry (aka the caravan & the car) in a caravan park. We take the boat off the roof, we take a lot of the unnecessary ‘crap’ out of the car, I drop Fred to the airport & hey presto I have four weeks to entertain myself.
I am very comfortable in my own company. I have to be. And for the first week, especially here in Esperance, I was completely tied up exploring the dozens of beautifully epic beaches. I have been blessed with fun surf almost every day. I go for at least one swim everyday. And having ol’ Barney boy around means going for a couple of beach walks per day, cuddles & the general ordinary chitchat you have with your K9. You know, asking him how he is, if he wants a bone today or which beach he’d like to go to. Most days Barney is literally the only one (I would say person but he isn’t a person, he’s a dog) who I speak to. When Fred is too busy or tired from work to chat it can be really tough, but I never want to burden him by saying much, so Barney is my no. 1 man while Fred’s at sea. He is VERY good at puppy dog eyes. And as you could guess he plays me pretty well, always scoring those extra snuggles on the couch or the last bite of whatever it is I’m eating. Don’t worry he can be a right shit too! He is one of those dogs that has selective hearing & when I’m mad at him he just runs away & thinks it’s a game. SO infuriating. Buuut then I remember he is what makes being away from Fred (& everyone else I know for that matter), that little bit easier.
The plan was for me to try & find some nursing work here & there as we travelled – work for the four weeks that Fred is away to increase the cash flow, gain some great professional experience & keep me busy. In saying that though I spent the entire of 2016 saving my ass off so that I wouldn’t have to work if I didn’t / couldn’t. And so far I am loving having the extra time, not working. Instead I am exploring new places, learning new things & finally having the time to do all those things you wish you could, & be that person you always knew you were but were too busy or stressed or whatever. It is fantastic. And what the hell – I am young, I have worked hard to be able to do this, it’s a once in a lifetime trip that I want to make the most of AND why the f*%# do I even need an excuse. I think society puts these pressures on you, of all the things we ‘should’ be doing with our time & money when we are in our mid 20’s – and the thoughts do creep into my mind. But I am learning to tell them to shove off.
Esperance is an amazing place. It’s a small town of about 15000, surrounded by an endless number of beaches with the whitest of white sand & crystal clear waters. There are a couple of National Parks close by. I have made it to one of them so far; Cape Le Grand, to the famous Lucky Bay & it’s surrounds. Of any place we have been throughout this journey I have found Esperance to be the easiest to live in – there are just so many beaches, so many beautiful sheltered lagoons for swimming (the reefs block the waves from coming in all the way to the shore, creating perfect natural ocean swimming pools). The foreshore of the town itself is beautiful & easily accessible. Plus there are a great number of places to surf, dive & fish. If you don’t love the ocean, & shopping or a happening town is more what you’re after – then this is not your place, & nor is (in my opinion) 99% of Australia for that matter!! Out off shore you can see the numerous large green islands, I haven’t made it out there yet – not too keen on the solo mish in the tinny! It kind of reminds me of the Whitsundays – with all the islands & the picturesque beaches, just a tad chillier.
So besides my daily surfs, swims & beach walks with Barney I try to fill in the gaps with a strength workout here & there, jogging, some yoga, reading, attempting to play guitar, staring at the enormous map of Australia on our ceiling… I take a sh*t load of photos & footage & make rather mediocre video edits… And I play on social media as I am doing right now! Also there’s food. I love food & I am absolutely loving having the use of the ‘camp kitchen’ oven at this caravan park. We don’t have an oven in the Clam, which means I miss out on my beloved roast veggies – not this month!!!
It’s a tough gig I know. Of course I also try & use this time to chat with close friends & family, though this doesn’t always work out as they are all still living their fast paced lives & are understandably busy a lot of the time.
Altogether I just try to keep a positive mindset. And busy, I have found if I have lazy days – they’re the days I can begin feeling a little low. Sometimes I almost have to force myself to jump in the car & just drive somewhere, anywhere! Fortunately for me going to the beach & even just sitting there with Barney looking at the horizon, never fails to snap me back to where I need to be. When I start to feel lonely or down, I remember where I am, what opportunities are in front of me today & how bloody lucky I am to be here. It is unfortunate that the climate of Fred’s profession at the moment is too sketchy for him to take considerable amounts of time off – but we deal with it. We are both itching for his return back from work to continue on the road. And having this down time, it really gives us a chance to research where we want to explore & get ridiculously excited about it. PLUS we never get that “oh but won’t you get sick of each other being only in each others company ALL of the time” thing going on. Because having a month away from the person you love reeeeally makes you miss them, love them & appreciate them all that much more.
Here’s to all the folk out there who understand what it’s like living in a relationship where one partner has a FIFO job. And here’s to Fred’s return & continuing our journey through Southern Western Australia!!
Until then I’ll just continue visiting & playing on some of the most stunning beaches this planet has to offer. 😉
Some of my snaps of Esperance below.
Peace.
Xo
Fred, Claire & Barney cut a lap 