On the road part 2

From Canarvon we hot footed it to Coral bay, where we spent a few days chilling out and enjoying the beach. We bought some snorkels and finally got in to the sea. We crossed the tropic of Capricorn on the way and the temperature really started to rise. We stayed primarily at a camp called 9 mile, 10km away from coral bay on a 4wd track. We got it for free and had a beach on our doorstep. I also managed to catch my first fish, a golden travally on our anniversary !
We heard reports that the weather was getting bad so decided that it was a good time to get on the Yardie Creek road before it starts raining. The road connected Coral bay to Exmouth via the ningaloo homestead, and crosses in to the National Park by the infamous yardie creek river crossing. The reports on the road varied from "you'll find it easy" to its the most dangerous thing that we could possibly undertake and we will probably need towing out by the ranger! Anyway we decided to go for it and it turned out to be nothing more then a beautiful corrugated track winding itself through station land, sand dunes and bush. It was a great way to come to Exmouth and the creek crossing was disappointingly easy, so much so that we waited for the tide to come up the next day to cross it with a little more of a challenge !
And so to Exmouth again , and guess what we are still here, to the point that we have a got a job in the Novotel resort as waiting and bar staff.
Primarily we have been surfing at Dunes, snorkeling heaps, fishing, and oh yeah - swimming with a 5 meter whale shark!
The whale shark trip was awesome, we had a spotter plane out to find the shark and then hot footed it in the boat with 15 others to go a spend some amazing time with this gentle giant. The shark was such an amazing creature to be with, it turned out that it was a she, and like all whale sharks tolerates and almost seems to enjoy having attention of snorkelers following her around. After a few dives we really chilled out and everyone relaxed and swam next to her with ease, so much so that i got a few pictures off .
So now we are house sharing with another couple who work at the Novotel and enjoying Exmouth as a trainee local!

What we are up to next changes every minute so we will try and keep you posted.

as always lots of love

beneluxx

We are on the road .. finally pt1

Its been a while ( as always) Well we finally left Fini Olives in the first week of August . Unfortunaltley due to our cars transmission issues we didnt get to leave the farm with our travelling companions and worked an extra couple of weeks to replenish the funds that the car had ate, by vine pruning on the farm.
A hell of a lot of dollars later, we have a car that has a new transmission and ready to go, all the hard work was over and our Patrol was now our home.

We pretty much followed the same route as last year, we were pretty keen to catch up with "the Irish" so that we can travel the tracks together . Unfortunately that meant missing Kalbarri national park again and really scooted past most stuff until Gladstone bay just south of Canarvon where we met Laura and Damo and Peter.
From then on we pretty much got the in to the swing of things, spending our time camping around Quobba, Red Bluff and Gnaraloo. Last year we saw Quobba and once again we saw it during some heavy weather making the Indian ocean pretty fierce. This year though we could go beyond Quobba on the tracks to Gnaraloo , with Red Bluff on the way. The drive there was entertaining as heavy rain made the tracks in to slop. Red bluff was beautiful, with a large swell showing off the world famous surf break!(No we didn't go in, little on the huge side!)
All in all we spent a week in the canarvon area, and found a great place called Rocky pool to camp for free , and get familiar with low range gears whilst rock climbing in the cars around the river bed . We eventually left after sorting out our alternator that decided to stop working , and whipped it out on the beach! ( as you d0!) TBC

Its

Photos of what we been up to !

Ok , over the past week in pictures, we have the end of harvest at the bottom, and the cars which are monopolising our lives so much at the moment, including the joyous engine extraction from Petes Surf!
Ben getting involved with a whole heap of complicated stuff and me reconditioning a bull bar with the gentle touch of an angle grinder!
Also pictures of our little home at fini , and Laura and Damo at the end of harvest party ! It about sums it up, hopefully we will be updating with a few more exotic photos in the next few weeks !!Fingers crossed , love to all xxx

End of harvest.... now what!!

Sorry the Internet is at its usual appalling state, but let us try!!

The harvest has gone really well, we finished about a week ago now, and Ben and I were privileged enough to be the ones to shake the last tree , during the day as well , which was a shock to the system!

All in all, Fini Olives has become a home to us and it has been great working and living on the farm. It is now is showing its added benefits of having the workshop right next door to us, with all the car stuff that we have been up to.

To be honest ,we are now in a way working harder getting the car ready to travel then we were working on the harvest!!

To keep all up to date, we have got a 1988 Nissan Patrol Safari hi top 4x4, it is awesome!! But we are having very annoying and time consuming issues with its electronics to do with the auto! Ben is working night and day on it, as well as fitting a secondary charging system , suspension and lift kit , Bed in the back, roof rack and bull bar!!

But we hope to be leaving for the North with our friends Damo Laura and Pete at the end of this week! ( Pete now has to fit a new engine in to his surf but never mind , minor detail!!!)

I have been promising photos and i am getting on to it, but i promise you we are not sitting on our arses at the mo !!Ha Ha! At the top is a picture from my tractor eye view ( Louise ) of the catcher, Sam in his manatou, my tractor, our Nissan ( no name yet any suggestions would be great!)

Will update with picture .of around the grove and stuff before we leave!

Love to all xxxx.

Back to Oz

So here we are again, been here for a month and a bit. Its like we never left, so just picked up from where we left. This time we are joined by Sam, but everthing else is the same. We spent a week at Soulhaven again , but we started at Fini Olives on the night shift and got offered accommodation on the farm. How can you say no to that !

So life is olives olives olives again, but on a lovely grove.

We hope to be here for a good 2 to 3 months and save money etc, buy a 4x4 so that we can get really lost , when we leave the grove,

We are working on the Dotan shaker primarily, which is two contraptions being towed by two tractors and a manatou ( teleporter) collecting the olives at the end. Ben is driving the shaker , and Lou is driving the catcher. Sam was driving the manatou. However all is changed and Ben has learned to drive the colossus ( the big old one we were on last year ) so we can stand in with that now. Sam is now working in the processing plant making the oil in the end. So in the end we will be oil experts !!
We were lucky enough to come on the new A 380, and the weather and sea was still warmer enough to go without wetsuits when we got in the sea!






Sam got to meet Sue and Fez! And our be-a-u tiful new car mitzy Magna

cooking, cleaning, and finally , snowboarding!

Well, we are getting in to this season thing now, work is getting a little easier , or should i say we are getting better at it.

We have been regulary getting on the slopes now, built a couple of kickers and been putting in heaps of off piste action. One of our friends Mike has a screw loose and threw himself off a shelf not once but twice!!( see video) Had a great session today but Ben took two inches out of his board on a rock so it is in the board shop!


Oh and new years was hallarious!! Dont have many piccies , but lets say we welcomed it in on the slopes and in the saloon pub.

And to top the week off we are now Aunty Lou and Uncle Ben, well done Jo for popping the biggest sprog ever !!!!!! ( And Ryon for making it !)Loads of love and miss being there for you soo much !

Run to the hills !!!! French Alps Season commence!

Well, we have finally had a moment to sit down and update you all on the past six very busy weeks!

After a brief month in the UK we set off to work for Crystal Ski on the 30th November ( time has flown!)Sooo in a nutshell this is what we have been up to :

Had a week of the most intensive training in cooking and chalet keeping in the resort of La Plagne, France. This was mainly looking after our "training chalet" with the rest of a group of 8. With the help of our staff trainers Joel and Agata , we cooked full brekfast, and betweem us cooked 8 courses a day , as well as learning all the H&S, cleaning ,general guest stuff and a load of company waffel.
After this week we still werent garenteed jobs ! So not only is it a training week but an extended interview! ( no Pressure!) Somehow Ben and I managed to get in to Crystal the finest, and was transferred from Tignes to Val d'isere to work in one of the best chalets in the brochure !( again no pressure !!)
We transfered from La Plagne as fully fledged chalet hosts ( ahem!) and got to see our chalet for the first time , Chalet Thovex. It stands alone , just nestled under the mountain behind it, right in the centre of Val! It holds 12 people, has a sauna, and is absoultely stunning. We had a week to take it off the owners hands and get it ready for the season which again was one of the most frustrating and tiring weeks. Not to say we didnt get out and let our hair down, after all we had to get to know the Val night life so to be able to recommmend it to guests !

Not to mention during this week we got our apartment which is super cool, if a little on the retro side with wood paneled walls and purple flower curtains , but it is ours, and we have a balcony overlooking Val and the world class piste , "le face"!

Our first guest week was the week before christmas, so we had a run in before the big event. We had only 8 guests and everything went really well ( apart from covering the entire kitchen in red berry sauce whilst cooking duck!!) Christmas and new year was epically busy. Over the christmas period of 3 days, in 90 hours we slept 15 ! So again apologies to those who didnt get a call over the festive period!

On the other side of things ( and lets face it the more interesting!) Snowboarding ! We are now getting in to a routine that gets us on the mountain most days, and we have been getting really good snow. We have hooked up with a group out here that all work for crystal, and we go and blat around Espace killy. We have built a large kicker with a great landing to session on white out days, and beginn,ing to get to know the area ( just)!
We went up to what is called "the eye" on tuesday just gone which is one of the highest points of the mountains in Tignes and its tip is a piece of rock that is hollowed out like and eye of a needle. Basically you have to hike up to it a little to be rewarded with one of the best views in espace killy and a great big off piste powder field in front of you. Just to get there and sit up the top is a proud moment , and every person gets lots of repspect if you send it down the face. Three of us got up there , our friend Mike absolutely had it down the face, Ben went in after and then I was strapping in to find my high back to my binding has lost its screw in the hike and I had to hike back out again! Gutting ! Oh well no rush i do have another 4 months out here ( heheheheh)

So that is us, we will keep more updated now, as things have calmed down a little.

Loads of love

benelu