Author: Rob

A good sleep. Because the rest area fence runs close to the van, as I park it, I can leave the sliding door open for cooler fresh air through the night, just with the flyscreen. Lovely.

Woke later, and 5 AM. Still dark now. Not sure if anyone else stopped over in the area itself. No one disturbing.

Have to try to recapture a sense of what this life is about. I’m very lost.

Concerns for the car, the electrics going in, are weighing. Can’t release them.

Feels like control is slipping away, and something will overrun me.

11.50 AM

Installed the shunt. No idea how to read the display, never did. Everything otherwise seems to be unaffected thank goodness.

3.01 PM

Just finished swapping over to new batteries and got an FO1 error still. Fuck it.

Nothing connected and charging the batteries now.

Before that, finished at midday, put in the shunt and no fucking idea if it’s working. Per usual shit menu and at Anaconda fyshwick prick shit advice.

Winging it with videos.

Did the shunt at the bottom of Iron Knob St fyshwick and the batteries at the geology centre.

4.16 PM

Pulled into Tuggeranong lake to have a coffee and cook embarrassing dinner (late for me) in front of the walkers. Tried Wanniassa but could be a camper there. Couldn’t find Lambah spot but probably went straight past it.

Very tired and vague, hot and sweaty. Need a place to stay.

6.18 PM

Really hot and feeling off. Just managed dinner, eaten at Edison Park near the hospital with sugars low. Came in.

How Trouble Hits

So I planned all this today, the shunt and new batteries install, with the big Bluetti to get the fridge and insulin through the night. Fucking thing is dead flat. Something-again-leant against it, turning it on. Bad design flaw. It might be fucked. It’s on solar charging but that’ll take most of a day.

That means I have to run the fridge on two little Bluettis and they won’t last. So insulin fucked, with no more than a week or two usage if that.

Things compound very quickly.

7.56 PM

Drove to Yarralumla and some van was in the intended spot, cars all around so I couldn’t risk stopping anywhere else.

So drove to Brooks Hill and now in bed. Red lights all the way out to Wanniassa and all the way back and all the way here.

I was exhausted and strung out and needed to stop and rest. Get to Brooks Hill and there’s a caravan half over the road – with a FUCKING GENERATOR.

Just on dark. I couldn’t handle it. I asked the bloke after a polite knock knock and he is a nice guy and turned it off. A chatter. Having chemo every 28vdays. apaul, wife aheidi.

And it was a complete waste of driving today. Didn’t even charge the new batteries.

Stupid day, albeit with installations. From being clueless and tired.

Predawn zoom into Canberra city from beside the jetty at the lake. Good sleep, awake at 4. Moved the car to avoid a problem.

8.40 AM

Moved again up to a higher viewpoint and discovered a water tap and kangaroos came in. Lovely to eat breakfast in their company.

4.40 PM

Hot, sweaty and vagued-out tired weak. At Brooks Hill.

Dinner cooking, sin out and heat beaming into the car.

Long day trying to get the shunt installed. One thing after another, had to buy more stuff at Bunnings and after going to a heap of places buying more expensive cables at anaconda. Pain in the arse. No technical assistance worthy of the title. It’s still not in, nor are the new batteries which zi don’t even need right now.

Called redarc again. Disappointing these things wear out. Or so I only just yesterday found out.

At the rest area because I don’t want to worry about finding or trying out a new spot. Too tired.

It’s

Turned out to be a good sleep all the way through, here in Mawson carpark. No interruptions and no heavy rain that I know of.

Glucose is high, for me lately. I used to be 33. This is the pizza and garlic bread.

Hadn’t stopped there.

7.05 AM

Coming down now.

Moved the car around Mawson carpark so not to spook anyone, probably unnecessarily, and ended up with a Woolies semi pulling up quickly right behind me, shaking the bones. Moved again.

Rain has stopped and it’s light but heavy grey air. I’m extremely tired. Can’t get to do anything.

3.25 PM

At tge lake where I once stayed over and tried to again on Sunday.

Shit day. Found out the expensive redarc needs replacing after about 8 years, which is mine. Fuck that.

Tried to sort out a place for an inverter which I don’t need. Did that but now should forget it re the redarc.

Had a shower at the Olympic Pool. Bloke said school carnival probably cancelled so I paid and at that very instant the kids pike in. Campbell High where I went, a bit.

Then couldn’t get a park at the city spot, raining all morning, I drove around Ainslie and spotted a street I remembered delivering milk to on the nigt time run pre dawn. Huge run.

Then stopped and went in here:

Sat and sang here as a little kid.

Got christened here as did three others, babies.

Listened to the make-believe sermons here.

And watched Mark’s tiny coffin fly through the air here at his funeral, away.

Upset me a lot to see it all again. A thousand lifetimes away, but right there.

So the day.

Not raining now. Me clueless.

8.45 PM to 9 PM so far

Hoons arrived, four and five cars, squealing and screeching in the wet, on the bitumen road above the camp. Some at high speed. Definitely a chance of a crash. Could also crash into me. Raining now, too.

I hope they’ve stopped. Doubt it. Got the police number but I’d be dobbing myself in.

Very troubling indeed.

9.40AM

Aquatic Centres have school carnivals today according to a search, so I went to this spotvat Weston Park and fortunately it was unpeopled. 

Had a cubicle to heat the water and not wet the jet, and showered with the lake in view, lush foliage around, no one here and no wind. Absolutely one of the best. Exciting to pull it off, too. 

Heavier rains later today and evening. Have to work out where I’m staying and get dinner early. Will go and do that now. 10 AM

6.25 PM

Quite an unusual and possibly very fortuitous day. After the shower I think I got groceries and headed to Mawson. Looked okay once again for a stopover. Problem is sport: tennis or training right next to the carpark.

Did some internet searching and drove to have a look. It’s pretty close to Mawson which means also the hospital.

First to Wanniassa which looks just fine. Then:

Smack into Kambah history. I must have seen this as a kid, often Ivsurveyed, chainmanned, out here and we came regularly. Can’t recall yet though.

Could stay in that area, but seems it’s patrolled at 8PM and 7AM.

Then suddenly I was upon mountains and a valley and country.

Those might be the Brindabellas.

Farther down the road are Kambah Pools. Natural, I think. I didn’t go down in the wet, bit steep. But must go back. That could be a country stay closer than Brooks Hill.

So here I am now, updating in Mawson carpark, in the rain, dull, rain deflectors in place, wondering if I’ll sleep. Socdar so good, although someone drove in next door, looked, and zoomed off.

Heavy rain around 11 tonight apparently. I don’t mind. I found country!

7.30 PM

Fuck. The oval lights just came on.