Another day, another camera!

Monday 2nd May

Unbelievably we have had to buy yet another bloody camera after our forth one gave up the ghost and started to produce completely white shots (which to be honest were probably better than the intended photos anyway).

Well, I really wish I had some exciting stuff to write about but we really haven't done a whole heap of late.

We have just spent 8 days on Philip island doing diddly squat so that Tyler had the opportunity to play with some kids during their Easter holidays.

It was nice not to have to drive and because they were fully booked we ended up in a bunk house for the week which meant that we had 20 kids in our room every day as we were the only ones with the room.

Whilst we were there Tyler had a surf lesson which was cool, it was most amusing watching him trying to haul a 7 ft surf board on his own through the very large waves, he would take a few steps forward and then be swept back to the beach whilst I was in laughing fits on the beach.

We got some fantastic pictures, or at least we would have done if they hadn't all come out white and made us realise that we needed another bloody camera.

I think we have come to the realisation that spending 3 months in a camper van together was a fantastic idea in principle but in reality it is way to long to be stuck together in a tiny metal tin on wheels.

Whilst our new camper van is definitely an improvement over the one we broke, it still lacks space and regardless of how we arrange things we inevitably get in each others faces, arses or armpits on an all too regular basis.

Also we seem to have got into a routine of driving somewhere, sleeping then just moving on to the next place without absorbing anything whilst we are there.

Admittedly our time frame is somewhat restrictive so we do need to keep moving at a fair pace but lately it seems that the driving has definitely outweighed the sites.

Ohh yeah and we are all ill so this week kinda sucks royally.

So instead of reflecting on all of the cool stuff that we haven't done, I thought that I would take the opportunity to talk about a couple of the general observations that we have made during our time here in Oz.

Apart from the obvious stuff like the fact that it's a bloody massive country and the majority of locals are off their tits crazy there are also other things that may be of interest:

1: When it came to naming places in Australia there seems to have been a couple of guiding principles that have been replicated over the vast majority of the country:

i. Lets just steal the name from England.
I am currently writing this from a caravan park in Stratford upon Avon (yes they even stole the names of our rivers) but all of the old UK favorites are here, Newcastle, Brighton, Cambridge and Cowes to name but a few.

ii. Lets wait until the acid kicks in for inspiration
This seems to be by far the most popular choice when it comes to naming a town with some real gems such as Woolloomooloo, Koombooloomba and Dooboobetic

iii. Lets wait until the acid kicks in and then name the place twice for good measure
Another popular choice with favorites including Wagga Wagga, Booti Booti, Boonoo Boonoo and the Bungle Bungles

You never really appreciate these names when they are just printed in black and white but they come into a world of their own when you ask someone for directions, it sounds more like a roll call for the Teletubbies than anything meaningful.

2. Australians do not know the meaning of the word censorship!

Take for example the radio, if they want to play a song that contains bad language they simply make a quick announcement that states "this next one contains some filthy words, if that's not your thing then turn over for a bit" and then they blast it out regardless of the time of day!

We were literally listening to bad mother fu*$!ng gangsta rap at 08:00 in the morning just when little johnny is tucking into his snap crackle and pops.