Retirement goals achieved, summer stories, and future plans

 COVID and my accident took a chunk out of my regular schedule of combining two winters, one summer and an autumn of activities into one year. But now I'm back on track, but maybe not really for all that long into the future...

The current schedule is to work and ski in Japan from just before Xmas until late February, return to Australia in March to complete a section of the AAWT, wing back over to NZ in April for a few months of tramping, cycling, paddling etc before settling in mid June for another NZ ski season. In early October I swap ski boots for shorts and bare feet and spend the next 2-2.5 months back home in Geraldton doing home maintenance, car maintenance, gardening, and a decent smattering of windsurfing.

So in October I returned home to Geraldton. This year there were a lot of home maintenance issues to deal with, like rusted downpipes, overgrown hedges, boxthorn infestations, painting the exterior brickwork, doing some paving, and the decision to install an air conditioner in my own self contained accommodation.

new paint job

new paved area

new air con

I also needed to get 4 new tyres for the Troopy, and some more rust repairs. Not as much as last year, thank goodness. When you're only home for a couple of months each year, there's not much point in me doing anything but nursing my 30 year old car along. The motor is still fine and most of the rust is superficial, it gets all my gear up to Coronation Beach and back, and I have somewhere to store it a few kms away from the salt laden ocean breeze.

And finally I did a fairly big overhaul of my road bike, mainly because it took over a month to get it booked in at the mechanics. He was pretty impressed with how I'd replaced the gear shifters and all the cables, as well as re-taped the handlebars, and he only ended up having to replace the front detailers. I took the opportunity to purchase a smart trainer as well, so I'm all set up for doing some indoor training when the mercury gets far too high to be outside. The air conditioner helps....

It wasn't an awesome couple of months for wind, but it was consistent enough for me to get out and ride a few waves. I've definitely noticed myself being a little less aggressive and a little more cautious than I used to be. Maybe I'm getting old!!

Talking of getting old, I achieved my goal of surviving on savings until I reached 60! The aforementioned maintenance costs completely decimated the last of my savings, so I was more than grateful that I could rollover my superannuation into an income stream and start receiving a monthly tax free "pension"!! Of course I probably would have deferred some of those costs if I hadn't the money to pay for them....

In March I will complete the final section of the AAWT. Matt and Iain have missed some sections but I will be done. Which opens up my options for new adventures, and with much more disposable income it's kind of hard to justify working two winters as well. The problem is I both enjoy the teaching, and the community, so it's hard for me to give them up. But I do want to go explore more of the world before I'm too old or sick to be able to.

In order to work in Japan there is a convoluted process to get a work visa. I'd filled in my application for a certificate of eligibility back in September, but the immigration office in Japan took until the day before I left to grant it. Luckily, the Japanese Consular Services now accept the COE in digital form, or a printed out copy of it, but I had run out of time to get the visa processed in Australia.

I had to make alternate plans. 

I had bought my flights using Qantas Frequent Flyer points, and the latest available award seat was the 6th December. That was too early to start work, so I had decided to be a tourist for 10 days before arriving in Hokkaido on the 17th.

Instead of spending those days sightseeing in Japan, I booked some flights to South Korea. I'd be spending my time sightseeing around Seoul whilst waiting for my visa to be processed.

That's next....

Pursuing a suntan

 What with COVID and my accident last year, it took me almost 4 years to get back to WA. I came over for a week in March after my AAWT walk, which gave me the opportunity to check the lie of the land and sort out getting my car back on the road in time for my return in October. I caught up with friends and even managed an hour out on the water windsurfing, but it was short and sweet. This time I was back for 2 months...

Getting the Troopy back on the road cost a pretty penny, but I needed wheels to go windsurfing up at Coronation Beach which is 30km out of town (only 15km for me though). Leaving your car exposed to ocean air for 3 and a half years causes a lot of metal things to go a bit rusty, like fuel lines, car bodies and door hinges (though the latter probably carked it a long time ago), so besides getting it road worthy I've also spent many hours grinding back the rust, bogging holes and repainting the body. I've also found somewhere a bit further away from the ocean to store it for the next 10 months. Hopefully the old beast will last a few more years.

After a week of temperatures in the high 30s and one day in the 40s, the weather segued into perfect windsurfing weather, with regular afternoon sea breezes multiple days in a row. There wasn't much swell, and the wind was pretty strong, but I was just getting my legs back. so I didn't mind. It took me three goes before I nailed my first jibe, and soon I was hanging it with the rest of them. 

The wind continued to deliver, but without a lot of swell. I was starting to get antsy as I wanted to be back riding waves again, and at last we got a few good days with some decent waves to have fun with. My fitness and strength are probably the best they've been for a while, a result of all those sessions in the gym this winter. Not that there's anything that can prepare you for blistering 30-35 knot winds when you feel like your arms become just a little bit longer!!!

The front garden needed a lot of work, in particular cutting back the trees and hedges to allow my car to actually get in and out of the driveway. My tenant hadn't done more than a rudimentary amount of pruning, enough for her much smaller vehicle, but not enough for my behemoth. So I called in the contractors, and half a day of chainsawing later I had a usable driveway and my view back.

The tank beds were disintegrating from rust, and had long since been productive for vegetables, so a bit of rationalisation has taken place. Three of the tanks were cut down and used to patch up other beds I plan to keep, and I've put in a rudimentary reticulation system to make maintenance a little easier. It also opens up the front yard a bit so I also did a bit more paving to connect areas better and extend the parking area.

The cellar needed cleaning out. My attempt to waterproof it with three coats of waterproofing paint wasn't completely successful, but the mould growing wasn't overwhelming so I didn't need to chuck too much out. The floorboards were really manky though, so they got binned and I've just popped a rubber mat down instead. I've also found some real estate within my tiny flat to store some stuff, so not everything needs to go back down in the cellar.

Aside from cleaning out the cellar, I also cleared out the storage area under the carport. There's nothing quite like spending a few years away to realise there's a lot of shit you don't need to hold onto!

I've been watching the agave plants put out huge flower spikes, the largest one being somewhere between 8-10 metres. I'm hoping the flowers open before I leave as the honey eaters love them. They didn't...

Talking about birds, the Ospreys have been hanging out on a disused electricity pole down by the beach. Their chick is very noisy, calling out to its parents for food. Those honey eaters better watch out! (Nah, I think Osprey prefer fish)

In between doing a huge heap of chores I've been really enjoying being home in my little tiny flat. Looking out at the ocean, plotting the garden and obtaining a very healthy suntan. Gotta get my Vitamin D levels up before heading to the northern hemisphere for another winter. Gosh I'm enjoying never needing to put on anything with long sleeves!

It's been great to catch up with friends, mostly the windsurfing crowd, but also my bookclub mates. I've volunteered to host next November so I'm committed to being back by then. Not that I've had time to read a book yet!

The biggest headache was waiting for my paperwork from Japan to arrive. I sent off my paperwork in August. My boss applied for a certificate of eligibility (to get a work visa) from the immigration department in September and it at last came through on the 21st November and was sent immediately. However, it took 10 days to reach me, so in the meantime I rang the consulate in Perth to ask if I could send a copy. My boss had messaged me a photo of the certificate before sending it by snail mail.

It turns out that the Japanese Government has acknowledged that this is causing a lot of delays, and have started issuing the COE electronically. But my boss wasn't aware of this until after I spoke with the Consulate in Perth, so he plans to do the required paperwork so that we can get them electronically next season. Luckily, the Consulate agreed to let me send a photo print out of the certificate with my application, and show them the original when I go to pick up my passport in person. It takes 5 business days to process the visa, and I still needed to get my passport and visa application to Perth via the postal service at least a week before I flew out!! It's an entirely unnecessary piece of bureaucratic drama that I thought I could avoid by being well organised. Crazily, some of my colleagues who applied later than me had theirs come through weeks before me!!

After that initial week or so of wind, we entered a 2 week hiatus, where the weather didn't get too hot for outside gardening activities, but the wind didn't get strong enough for windsurfing. I understand why many of my friends have taken up wing foiling, but I had enough chores with the garden and the rust removal project to prevent any boredom.

My two months back home was great. I was worried it wouldn't be enough, and when the wind finally returned, along with some very nice waves as well, I contemplated changing my flights to get a couple more days out on the water.  But the two days I got at the end were just brilliant, and I'm definitely ready to head on to my next adventure.

Japan here I come!!

Summer with my windsurfing family

At the end of November I flew home to WA, stopping in Perth en route to visit my favourite munchkins and their mother for our annual funny faces photo.

Then on to Geraldton by bus, where I picked up the car and camper trailer for some summer camping at Coronation Beach. Unfortunately 18 months in storage had flattened all my batteries so it was a somewhat expensive exercise getting resorted.

The flat was in good condition, but needed a bit of a clean after being vacant for 12 months, and then it was off to Coros for some much needed sun, sand and surf.

The windsurfing family, being a bunch of locals and regular visitors from all over the globe, were all pleased to see me again and despite it taking a little longer than usual to brush off the cobwebs, I was soon back enjoying some sweet rides with my friends.

I took the camper down for the full 4 weeks, which is pretty much glamping what with solar power, a hot shower, and even internet now available due to the tower erected up on the highway above Drummonds. And with so many friends also camping down there, it's a fun time.

Back home mid January it was time for house chores, like maintenance and biting the bullet to put in new air conditioners as the old one never worked well. I kind of wish I'd done it years ago....

One big job I tackled was to waterproof the cellar I have. What was once a car pit in a garage is now being used for storage, and since the brickwork was never waterproofed, I needed to paint a membrane on the walls and floor before replacing the flooring. It was a massive job cleaning the mouldy walls and floor with vinegar prior to drying it out fully with a heater for a few days, before applying at least three coats of rubber membrane paint. I'll find out how successful it is when I next return.

Because in mid February I flew back to NZ for more tramping adventures......

Garden notes, January 2015

I firmly believe that gardens take at least 10 years to mature. Sure you can put in some xerophylic moonscape of succulents, yuccas and hard surfaces in a matter of days (far too many of those sorts of gardens for my liking) or you can spend the time and effort to create microclimates within your garden through careful design and planting. The latter, of course, can take years to develop into the type of environment you envisaged, usually with quite a few mistakes along the way.

Thinks I've learnt from my garden here in Geraldton:

Windbreaks are a necessity. Both from the fan forced oven summer easterlies that will bake a plant in mere hours, and from salt laden summer southerlies whose mere strength will knock over susceptible plants. And lets not forget those north westerly winter storms too. Staking your plants, pretty essential. Local natives, adapted to our harsh conditions, are the best choice for windbreaks. I buy them cheap as tube stock from Julie's Permaculture Nursery and watch them grow like weeds and outperform anything I've bought from Bunnings. They acclimate and grow much quicker than more established larger plants and cost a lot less. I've planted a hedge of coastal myrtles and honey myrtles right along the southern boundary, which flower profusely in spring with gorgeous perfume and provide lots of nectar for the birds and bees. There's also a few eucalypts and grevillea olivacea. The trees filter the wind rather than stop it, meaning you don't get the turbulence and wind tunnelling that you get with hard barriers like fences. They also stop most of the salt from getting into the vege patch, after all I'm only about 150m from the beach.

Design for shade in the vege patch. All you cold climate people have no idea how the heat here saps the living daylight out of everything, including people. The sun is so intense that vegetables just won't survive long if left out in the sun without protection, so trees and shade cloth (not green, it stops too much UV light coming through) over the patch from about November to April ensures at least a reasonable survival. Surviving February, however, is Russian roulette.

I'm really happy with how the papayas have created a much cooler microclimate under the canopy for veggies to grow. I've planted some zucchini and tomato seeds and will be interested to see how they go. The frangipani shades one tub, the natives along the front boundary provide shade from midday to the nearby tubs. The shade sails do the rest.

Hand watering the garden daily means healthier plants. This weekend I completely removed the defunct reticulation system from the vegetable garden. I've tried sprayers, drip irrigation, and sprinklers. I've tried deep watering. All have failed. Wandering the garden every day, giving everything a good dousing, pulling weeds and dealing with pests and infestations before they get out of control, staking tomato plants and training the grape and passionfruit vines, leads to much better plant survival. Plus it's daily meditation of sorts. It means that new flowers on the pawpaw get noticed, and so I can quickly hand pollinate with a flower or two from the male plant growing nearby. I can notice new leaves on the citrus and get the white oil spraying going before the curly leaf miners have their way. I only recently learnt that I can spray in hot weather, as long as I spray before the heat sets in, i.e. first thing in the morning.

Plant seeds directly in the garden. I've tried the old seed raising mix and I've had so much more success just planting straight into the patch and then thinning out the seedlings. The shallow seed trays just seem to dry out too quickly. I've had quite a lot of self seeded plants from either open pollination and fallen seed or from the compost, so it's always a treat to see what new seedlings will be. Currently, I've got some more cucumber and okra seedlings sprouting, as well as zucchini and butternut pumpkin, not to mention a few thousand rocket and lettuce, again!! I've also got two very nice eggplant, one a seedling I raised from seed myself last year, and another I got from Freddie. They are different varieties (Freddie's has larger leaves) and I'm running a little competition to see which one flowers and fruits first. Currently they are neck and neck.

Create garden rooms for different occasions. My front yard is both quirky with its recycled objects and a practical food producing area, whereas the northern garden is my tropical oasis, providing cooling green and a pond with water feature for relaxation. My yoga room looks out onto this. The back yard, now that it is retained, is still a work in progress, but will one day be an entertainment area, have a pond with waterfall and fish, and have numerous fruit trees, along with the chook pen up the back. At the moment it's both a construction zone and an adventure playground for kids.

Ah yes, the chooks. This weekend I at last did the heavy work required to fox proof the upper pen. The tin is buried 400mm deep, but soil had bowed it outwards and made the whole thing insecure, so I dug out the soil, carted it down the steps to level out the first level of the Great Wall of Drummonds, and refixed the tin to the poles with some extra long screws. Then I put more wire and netting up along the back fence to make it much higher, and hopefully impenetrable to Mr and Mrs Fox. Then I let the girls out. They are loving it!!

Today, I am so sore I can hardly move.

The dragon fruit have surprised me by taking only a little over a month for the fruit to form and ripen. Since I'm off away for a month on Saturday I'm glad I get to savour some before I go. The plant is still shooting out flower spikes, so likely there'll be more ripe fruit on my return. My other dragon fruit plants in the northern garden don't show any sign of flowering yet, and the pawpaws haven't ripened yet either.

Nom Nom....

Next week I'll be in Japan, and the garden will be in the hands of a friend who is house sitting for me. Hopefully, the horse manure I've laid down last weekend as mulch will mean he won't be witness to the all too frequent mass plant genocide that occurs each February. I will warn him so he doesn't feel too bad if it happens, but I'm optimistically hopeful as the seedlings have tolerated the heat really well so far with little evidence of stress, so they will at least be starting February in good shape. I, meanwhile, will be experiencing temperatures a good 40 degrees cooler!!

I'm also looking forward to checking out some of those yen gardens in Kyoto once the ski goddess has had her fix...