A Kiss on the TIP: Starting a new blog with an old pictograph

That's Yvonne & I a little while ago. We've hardly changed.

Click 'HERE' for a list of our previous blogs

Here we go again, this time the aim is to get to the tip of Cape York & into the Torres strait.

As usual there are many things trying to stop us from leaving on the 29th of April which was already a delayed departure date. No doubt all will be sorted sooner or later & we will get away & forget about pre departure stresses.

Some days later...........

Today is the 29th of April & we did get away on time, but of course there had to be dramas once again.

We had our first covid vaccination on the evening of the 27th & were warned we may feel ill for a day or two, so we wake up on the morning of the 28th& sure enough, headache, slight nausea & every joint aching to face the biggest day of preparation & packing.

I had been testing my normally reliable auto fish feeder all week at the fish pond but after several years, today it clapped out (unfixable) & the pond full of gold fish I had bred this year. I have a very small second auto feeder, which only took 2 hours to find & will have to be refilled at least weekly, so I volunteered Jason to do that. All fixed... not on your life. The morning of departure, the 29th, with an hour & a half before we leave, I check the pond, the aerator is not working. On investigation I find an ants nest built in the switchboard which tripped the safety switch. Remove nest & reset switch.

The aerator now works but the circulation pump is burnt out. Dig around in the shed & find an old pump, a little weak but OK, are the connection fittings compatible, I guess you know the answer to that.

Finally all fixed and we still leave 5 minutes early at 8.55, only to get down the road and realise I left my wallet at home in the rush. So find a place big enough to do a U turn, go back & get it. Further to this I did not have time to fill the water tanks which caused a further delay at Tannum Sands.

The only good thing that happened this morning was that Linda from next door baked us one of her delicious fruit cakes & brought it over to take with us. We are eternally grateful.

As soon as we were on the road proper the stress bled away & things improved, we arrived at the Gin Gin rest area only a couple of minutes after Sue & Mark & met them for morning tea.

Dinner was was at the Tannum Sands pub & all is well.