The Adventures of Tulley Tuckerman & Co ....: Trailer trash or treasure?

Hello everyone, it's Janie here. In Exmouth. Staying at the Ningaloo Caravan Park and Resort (which is more like the the former than the latter).

We have already been here for three or so weeks. Carless. (Dont ask).

The patrol has sadly been towed to Perth to be fixed. (Long story, definitely dont ask). Yes it might look like we are living the dream with all the magical photos of freedom and happiness at Winderbandi, but the journey aint all rainbows and fairytales.

Fortunately for us, Wyndham Estate Bin 555 Shiraz offered some comfort, as we contemplated life without the pootroll, I mean patrol.

While Sham was still with us, we hired a car and did all the things that tourists like to do. We went to Shothole Canyon, and Cape Range National Park. We snorkelled along the west side of Exmouth, which has been the highlight of my trip so far because we saw so many TURTLES, yes you heard me, TURTLES!

Shothole Canyon

Beginning of the road for this young traveller

Diving through the reef I saw fish of all rainbow colours, it really was like the story of The Little Mermaid, with little fish cities under the water. I've never seen so many stunning fluorescent colours, and I could have died and gone to heaven when I came across that Turtle - a sweet gentle giant, who let me hang out with her, watch her eat, swim alongside her and even stroke her shell. I wanted to cry at how graceful she was. My heart truly sang in that moment and I squealed through my snorkel with such delight that I felt like a little kid again (assuming I'm an adult). I just felt so honoured and blessed to have been able to bask in her presence. We might be carless and going nowhere in a hurry on our travels, but after all the epic things I saw on that reef, I cant help but feel that there is beauty amongst the drama of failing car technologies, and that I am safe and supported here on this beautiful earth.

Ok so this is a stolen picture. But to give you an idea.... she was a real beauty just like this!

Sunset on the west side

One of the locals

Having no car also meant that Sham was unable to escape from us! Hooohooo haaahaaa!! So we had the most magnificent quality time as a family before he went to back to work.

Watching sunsets. Tag teaming with Tulley. Picking up pebbles on the beach and guessing what the other person named their pebble.

Yes - the simple things ......

Photographic shoot

And now our beloved Sham has left for work, and it is just Tulley, Roxy and I at the caravan park for the next month. This caravan park isn't so bad, except that it's $48 a night, I can hear the people next to me fart, and it costs $5 to do a load of washing that returns Tulley's soiled clothes to me still soiled!

Camp set up at caravan park

My main goal this month is mostly to keep Tulley alive, by ensuring he doesn't walk out in front of a car, or get eaten by some of the less friendly dogs at the park here. (He seems to think growling dogs are inviting him to pat them). Tulley is non-stop, always exploring and visiting other fellow travellers. He's actually a rather handy icebreaker, and with quite a few folks close by, I have found myself inundated with support and help. I suspect they feel sorry for me as I race around after Tulley like a headless chook! I have had people offer to do shopping for me, others have offered to lend me their car (I'm not sure if they are really nice or really stupid!), and another nice old man played with Tulley in the puddles while I prepared breakfast! One kind old man even let Tulley climb in his car and he offered to take him for a ride.... ummmmmm that's really sweet stranger but I dont think so! Even so, the message of ''it takes a community to raise a child'' rings true in my experience. I really don't believe that mummies are meant to raise little people alone. I see the logic in living in groups where one can collect (or buy) food, another cook it, another watch the children, while another attends to house cleaning, another can get a massage, or perhaps some foot reflexology, or a hair cut, or maybe just have a shower or poo in peace etc etc. I see the benefits of family.

The lovely old man that Tulley befriended and dragged into the puddles

Yet, even without family there is still not much chance of feeling lonely with Tulley's charming social skills, and I have even discovered that Vanessa, a down-to-earth friend from Denmark, is now living up here with her 17 month old daughter Raemy! (Nothing like a hippie to help me feel at home)!! And bonus she has a car!! This means adventures to the westside for snorkelling are back on, as is the possibility of seeing more turtles!

Tulley is ready to go

Super sexy snorkel face - Vanessa and I

Tulley and I have created a nice little routine, mostly for my own sanity. There is a fantastic playgroup here, which he loves and it's great to see him interacting with other kids.... even if that does involve stealing their toys and catching their colds.

At play group

Our day pretty much looks like this:

Wake up. Tulley pulls down the camper window and watches the sunrise and goes "ooooooooo" and "aaaaaaah" at the big exciting world outside. I peak out the window in hope that perhaps the sun actually isn't rising and we can go back to sleep for another hour. No chance though, he is well and truely awake and straight into his DVD player (yes I am one of 'those' mothers. I have succumbed to this brainwashing piece of technology for the 15 minutes of peace I get when he is entranced with Maisy and Gumby and lately, Astroboy). That 15 minutes usually involves making a cup of tea and getting dressed just in time before he is escaping out the camper and ready to play outside.

The DVD face

Making breakfast is a juggling act between keeping Tulley close to the camper and cooking. Maisy and Gumby have proven to be trustworthy friends here. After breakfast we go to playgroup or walk to the beach and PLAY PLAY PLAY. It's all fun and games until 12pm when its lunch time and then sleep time (my favourite time of day). This is my opportunity to wash dishes, cook dinner, make my own lunch, hang out the washing, sunbake, read my book and BREATHE.

Tulley wakes around 1.30/2pm and then we PLAY PLAY PLAY again. We might go for a swim at the pool here, or visit Vanessa and Raemy, or walk to the beach or do some grocery shopping in town. (Please note that PLAY PLAY PLAY also includes - climb through garden in town, try to get run over by skateboards and bikes at the skatepark, run away from mum in the supermarket, get angry when restrained in trolley, find power points in local real estate shop, insist on vacuuming the surf shop, have a massive tantrum after vacuum cleaner is switched off. Tantrum continues out into the street where I hear dining bystanders mutter to eachother "gee he's a handful". Screams continue for another 5 minutes until I have secured the arm-flapping object to the pram, and calmly I walk away, removing all noise pollution and allowing dining strip to be restored to its original peaceful state)...

Above: Vacuum cleaner on

Below: Vacuum cleaner off

It all spiralled from here.......

Then before I know it, it's wine-o-clock (yay) and all I have to do is re-heat my pre-prepared dinner and turn on the DVD player so that the kid will actually sit still long enough to eat. Then shower. Then bed.

Multiply that by 28 and that's our next month till dad comes home!!