After 10 days of what felt like a full throttle adrenaline roller-coaster ride to get to our safe haven, we decided to bunker down and take it easy for a couple of weeks while chaos reigned in the real world. I’ve said a few times now how houses make us lazy, but the haste in which we succumbed this time, even surprised me!
31st March, 2020
We needed to unlock 3 gates before getting to the property, 3 gates! Hundreds of Blue Gum trees adorning the dirt road driveway, swayed in the breeze as if to welcome us, as we drove towards the house. I’d already conjured up a hundred different images of the lean-to after Jen had described the house as “it’s just a fibro shack”. Just a shack?? Man, this place is incredible.
More than a little overwhelmed having this place as refuge. It feels like a mansion after our 2x5m box. 4 beds, 2 bathrooms, a lounge, dining and kitchen area, not to mention the 250 acres of land to explore. Words cannot express our gratitude. Alex and I sprung into action on unpacking and organising, kids sprung into action on the new games and books in the house. We feel so safe, life is good.
1st April, 2020
No April Fools joke here, this place is ours for the foreseeable future. I’m still pinching myself. Slow start today, revelling in our luxurious space and reading all the horror stories of Covid in the news. After lunch, the dreaded schoolbooks came out. After a huge screaming match between Alex and Reo, things seemed to settle a little and work finally got done.
Decided to watch a movie tonight, after all, what’s the point in having a lounge and TV if you’re not going to use it? Lexi being a creature of habit always wants to watch one of her favourite 5 movies, so we ´convinced’ (OK, maybe that’s the wrong word to use), coerced her to try something new. Oliver Twist seemed a good option.
BAD CHOICE of movie! I never realised how gruesome the movie was. To be fair, the only bit I remember from this story is “please Sir, can I have some more?”. Poor Lexi was in tears after seeing a wife bludgeoned to death by her husband, not that surprising really. Lesson learnt for next time.
2nd April, 2020
Cold and rainy this morning – another notch marked on the gratefulness chart, thinking of the alternatives. Still managed to pack a lot in. Explored a little of the land today to try and get some bearings. Found a river and hundreds more trees! To avoid another explosion with schooling, we swapped books for home economics and a STEM activity: scones and magnetic tower building. Made a nice change not having to argue about what we’d be doing.
Lexi in tears today thinking she’s got the virus. It’s so hard to know how all of this is affecting the little people. We try not to talk too much about what’s going on around them as they don’t like it and you never know how they interpret the information. Talked Lexi and Reo through what the symptoms are again, how you get it, main areas in Australia where the outbreaks seem to be and that we are at a very, very small risk of getting it. After a big cuddle fest, she seemed a bit happier. Reo on the other hand, announced like Trump’s number 1 fan, that it was all the Chinese’s fault! God, I seriously worry about that boy.
New challenge added to the routine today, started Joe Wicks work out, or Joe Wicked as Nanna likes to call it. 😝 Reo appeared to get distracted halfway through, but Lexi really enjoyed it to the end. Kids desperate to get a shout out from him. Compared notes of physical prowess with the cousins on zoom after the workout, all looked red and sweaty!
STEM 
Blue scones 
Cousin 
Competition
3rd April, 2020
Days are getting lazier and we’re only on day 4. Only got out of bed at 11.30am. So rare I get to snuggle in the warmth of my bed with a good book. Lexi made pancakes and Reo waited on me – divine. Kitchen looked like a bomb had hit it when I finally decided to surface, no daddy help in sight!
Schooling was craft today – Easter Bonnet making. Great way to get rid of some craft stuff which we’ve been carrying around for the last year that’s not seen daylight, despite all the good intentions. Can’t imagine how people are going holding down a full-time job and trying the home schooling too.
Chose the modern ‘Annie’ as the movie tonight. Far safer bet for Lexi.
Not ventured outside today, in fact, not sure I even brushed my teeth this morning. Don’t remember the kids doing it either. Actually, I’m not sure when the kids last had a shower come to think of it. We may be on water tanks here, but that’s no excuse to stay dirty. Tomorrow can be shower day.
Good effort kids!
4th April, 2020
Back to books today! Plan was to get school over and done with straight after brekkie. As always, Alex was the last to sit down, even after rounding up the 2 students after they’d snuck outside for ‘a quick play’. Now we have consistent reception, I’ve begun downloading some of the educational apps that are all on offer currently to mix things up a little for schooling. Anything electronic is a motivation for Lexi, unfortunately less so for Little Fella.
Afternoon activity was Go Kart racing. So much fun riding down the hill, less so pulling the karts back up again. Wheel feel off one of them on the first try, but Reo ‘fix-it’ Towns managed to bring it back to life again and have another go. Ended the night with a game of Sorry, so much laughter.
Kids even managed a shower.
5th April, 2020
PJ day. Kids played, Alex and I on our phones. Finally dressed in the afternoon. Even managed a bit of schooling with limited fights. Lexi still not convinced she’s free from the virus. ☹ Another game night after dinner, lots of fun.
Alex and I started Game of Thrones (GoT) season 8 after kids went to bed. Been waiting to watch this for ages.
Heard scratching noises tonight. After a little searching, it appeared to be coming from our bedroom wall. Eek. Think we might have friends scuttling about trying to find food. Traps down just in case they break free!
6th April, 2020
Wow, not even a week in and routine has been completely deconstructed! Kids played this morning and had some iPad time as Alex and I on our phones again looking at the news. Europe just seems to be a petri dish of Covid. Dressed after lunch, played games for schooling. Alex and I rode our bikes to the front gate for a little exercise. Was nice to get out, even if it was a short 3k or so. We’re going to do this every day to make sure we get a bit of exercise.
At midday, Alex started talking about preparing tea in the slow cooker. Yum. By 1.30pm he finally finished chopping. Looks like we’ll be eating dinner by 9pm tonight, so much for the early night planned for the kids! Why we still even say that beats me, they haven’t had an early night since we left Sydney.
As it was, the food was cooked on a “fast” slow cook, so dinner wasn’t too late. Another fun games night. Clearly, kids have not been run enough today as they were a nightmare getting to bed. Reo was scared too, as he also heard the scratching last night. Told him it was just the wind. 😉
7th April, 2020
Can’t believe we’ve been here a week already. Need to snap out of this lethargy and regain a little more order to our routine (do we even have a routine?!). Breakfast has been a bit of a random affair with each of us just getting it when we fancy. Today, we all managed to sit down together and eat by 9.30am. We are so going to struggle getting back to a more structured life once we return to Sydney.
Lexi made brownies this morning, I started a sourdough and Alex & Reo put tea in the slow cooker. Apart from that flurry of kitchen activity, it was a lazy morning.
We weren’t really sure if we were really allowed to, but decided to venture out and head to a local beach today. As we reached the end of the dirt road joining us to bitumen, we saw a police car. Hearts missed a beat for a second as we thought they were there to stop us moving. As it was, they were there for completely unrelated business. Phew.
Really surprised at how busy Peaceful Bay was, at least 4 other cars (busy for WA in lockdown I guess!). Nodded a hello to others from a distance, still feels really weird not being able to freely socialise like we’re used to. The beach is fabulous. So nice to be able to swim in the clear, cool water. Kids had a ball. Felt a little naughty to be out but justified the excursion as our exercise for the day. No one needs to know we have 250 acres of land to play on.
Bit of persuasion needed to get the kids into shower tonight, but after 3 days AND a swim in the sea, it needed to be done. And “no, a swim in the sea does not count as a wash Lexi”. Why do they resist so much?
8th April, 2020
Felt we were in a scene of The Wizard of Oz last night. Woke to howling wind about 4am, with intermittent banging, thought the house was going to take off and we’d wake to find 2 red shoes poking out from underneath it. I felt a ripple of panic as a loud thump reverberated around the room, alas, it was only Reo jumping down the stairs announcing his presence as he’d also been woken by the wind.
Breakfast was again a family affair and after completing a dire morning of schooling (Reo and Alex at loggerheads again), we decided fresh air was needed and headed out for our ‘exercise’ to the beach again. The beach was so busy (at least double yesterday’s count), we had to drive further afield to distance ourselves.
The excitement of the day was saving a kangaroo. I guess had we not frightened it in the first place returning from the beach, said rescue wouldn’t needed to have been done. However, there we were, watching the poor thing try to push itself through the fence it had become stuck in, with little effect apart from getting itself even more wedged. The cows in the field next door were pretty interested too, so Alex jumped over the fence to scare the cows, as they were scaring the roo and said rescue mission commenced. Finally, we managed to free it and off it hopped without even a backward glance of a thank you.
Dinner tonight was by candlelight, Sovereign Hill candles no less, which the kids really enjoyed. A quick game of Uno before bed and they were asleep before 8pm. Magic. All the little highs like tonight certainly outweigh the $h!t fight of schooling. We even squeezed in a GoT before bed.
9th April, 2020
Breakfast completed by 8.15am, we are nailing this routine malarkey. After a slightly shaky start with Reo on schooling, that too was done and dusted. Today, I shall call myself Super Mum!
Caught up with some friends for first time in a while this afternoon, feel a bit more connected to the outer world now. It feels like we’re living in a bubble a world away from everyone here, as in many ways our life hasn’t changed that much, we’re just not moving currently. It’s hard to imagine what it would be like to work while all this is going on. We are on our phones so much now catching up on the news mainly of Australia and UK. It reads like a horror movie. We drove to Denmark to pick up some supplies, the road was completely empty. After not being in a town for a while and reading all the news, we half expected zombies to be walking around after Armageddon.
We were stopped by a very friendly policeman on the way in, who said our car screamed ‘traveller’. He also clocked the NSW rego and ran the plates. After a license check, proof we were living local (email from Mal with directions to the farm) and a couple of questions from the kids, we were allowed to go on our way. Lexi wanted to understand if he changed his rubber gloves every time he stopped someone and checked their documents (he did), and Reo wanted to know why he had 2 guns! Once it was explained that one was a gun and one was a taser, the policeman was questioned no further.
10th April, 2020
Day of catching up with friends and family again. So funny seeing Lexi & Reo holding conversations with their buddies. Must put ‘go outside’ on my to-do list for tomorrow. Lexi entered an impromptu baking comp with Celli from the UK, to see who could make the best banana bread. Not being able to taste both, I really couldn’t comment on who won. OK, the 9-year old’s was better, not that I’m biased or inferring her talents are inherited from her amazing mother. She also made tea for us. She’s becoming quite the little chef. New dish tonight – tuna pasta bake. Just a little help needed with the sauce, otherwise self-sufficiency all the way.
Think I should start a shower chart as I really can’t remember when Lexi & Reo last had one! Did they even brush their teeth this morning? The days are blurring into one. Reminder in phone for kids to shower tomorrow.
2 hours of GoT. Storyline so tense. Great series.
11th April, 2020
Caught up with the East side ex-work gang. I even had a shower and washed my hair for the affair! Such a fun call seeing what everyone’s been up to. Amazing how we can all talk so much when we’ve not been up to much apart from work, work, work and staying inside. Well, them, not me. Such an energising call. Listening to their stories was another reminder for the gratefulness chart.
Further bursts of energy in the kitchen today. More sourdough, a large muffin by Lexi (didn’t have a muffin tray so improvised!) and Reo, with a little help from daddy, made tea. We are going to have to be rolled out of here at this rate.
12th April, 2020
Easter bunny found us. Hurray! WA Premier announced on social media we were allowed down the beach….. say no more Mr. McGowan. We. Are. There.
Tried a different beach to our “exercise beach”. Secret Harbour is a little gem of a place and as it’s secret, we had it all to ourselves. Weather was glorious, it was so nice to be back in the water. Got back to the farm later tonight, so did a 180 on my previous statement to the kids and decided they didn’t really need a shower as they’d been in the sea. 😝
Started watching the Andrew Lloyd musicals on YouTube. Obviously, Jesus Christ Superstar today. Bit weird to be honest. Kids weren’t fussed about watching it and they wouldn’t have enjoyed it or understood it for that matter. Maybe we need to up the ante on Religious Education as part of their curriculum.
13th April, 2020
Another disastrous morning of schooling. This time Alex and Lexi at loggerheads. I‘m certainly no angel, but I need to inject Alex with a MASSIVE dose of patience. Bit of a miserable day all round really, although we were greeted with a gorgeous rainbow after the rain.
Alex and I took a walk later in the afternoon and startled a Tiger snake, or should I say, we were startled at startling the snake. Certainly made my heart beat faster. At least we know where it lives now as we’ve already seen it on the drive when we’ve been in the car.
14th April, 2020
We drove Minty into Albany today for the service we missed in Melbourne. Was a little worried we’d be stopped by the police for towing the van, but all OK. The excitement today was another animal escapade, this farm living certainly has new experiences for us city folk. A bat flew into the house and Alex did a great job of trying to catch it. He did question why it was him, but we were all laughing and screaming so much we couldn’t answer him.
I’d like to say that after 2 weeks in lockdown life got more exciting, but I’d be wrong to lead you astray. I thought having the house we’d fall into an easy routine, but the opposite became true. The bike riding and Joe Wicked fad didn’t last that long and as time went on, we all descended in to more and more electronic entertainment, especially when the weather was bad. Many days became PJ days and I think I won the prize for staying in bed the longest, having breakfast and lunch there and only rising by 3pm after being ensconced in my book.
We fell into lethargy and disquiet for the first few weeks, reading too much news propaganda and explaining snippets to the children when they allowed. While Lexi & Reo rarely verbalised their feelings about the virus, little tell-tale signs gave away their anxiousness. After Lexi’s initial concerns she’d contracted it, her nails were now picked down to the wick, after she’d tried so hard to grow them after she left school last year. Reo started jumping into bed with us, with whatever quirky reason he could think of. He’s never been a great sleeper, but we soon got into a bad habit of him coming in every night. One morning he even announced that he’d had such a poor night’s sleep due to not having a pillow to lie on, he’d bring one next time. It wouldn’t have surprised me if he had. We did a little quiz with them which their cousins had passed on, Reo was far less interested in it than Lexi, but it gives some insights to their developing brains.
(Questions asked separately to the kids)
1. What is the Corona virus?
R: It’s always on the news. It’s where people die and where people can’t go out
L: a virus
2. Who is the prime minister?
R: I can’t remember
L: Scott ScoMo
3. How many days have we been in lockdown? (We were in week 7)
R: 14 days
L: 8 weeks
4. What did mummy wear yesterday?
R: I don’t know
L: Jeans, top and slippers
5. Do you want to go back to school/nursery?
R: NO (very shouty), no, no, no no, no I do not want to go to school
L: No
6. Who is the first person you are going to hug when lockdown ends?
R: Nobody
L: Issy
7. Where is the first place you want to go when lockdown ends?
R: Taronga zoo (which is in Sydney!!)
L: Hmm that’s a tricky question, we’ll return to that. [Once thought about it]….. Perth
8. What do you think we can do to get rid of the corona virus?
R: I don’t really know
L: Everyone stay in lockdown (I still like cousin Caitlyn’s answer of ‘shoot it with a gun’!!)
9. Is mummy a good teacher?
R: No
L: Yes, better than daddy
10. If corona virus were an animal what animal would it be?
R: A dog, because dogs are viscous and can make people die cos they’ve got very sharp teeth
L: A bat, as that’s where it came from
11. How did the Corna virus start?
R: From the Chinese
L: Someone ate a bat
12. If you had to wear protective clothing to help you what would it be?
R: Mask, gloves and definitely clothes
L: Eye roll (muttering I hate wearing protective clothing) a mask, long jeans and long t-shirts
13. What would you say to Scott Morrison if you met him?
R: erm nothing (gets shy)
L: Keep everyone In lockdown for another 2 weeks
14. What has been your favourite part of Lockdown so far?
R: Watching movies
L: Getting to watch tonnes of movies
15. Are you worried about anything?
R: No
L: Not really
We tried to vary the schooling and use apps and TV programs as alternatives to books, with debateable results. Our trump card had been removed from us with no excursions allowed, so we had to get creative in other ways. They loved Science Max, Experiments at Large and we carried out a few experiments over the weeks. The TV and iPads continued to feature highly with schooling and subsequently they seemed glued in the hands for more YouTube viewing.
As time drew on, we began receiving comments from friends and family, who were now being indoctrinated into the anguish of home schooling, and acknowledged we weren’t just on one long holiday. OK, maybe we are on a long holiday, but they understood it was interspersed with spikes of frustration and irascibility when schooling takes place.
As some restrictions were lifted late April, you could feel the change in attitude. There were significantly more cars on the road, everyone’s spirits appeared lifted and small groups of people began appearing in town. If you must be in lockdown, this place was a good place to be. The area is gorgeous, with both beach and inland areas to explore. We visited most beaches around Denmark and even though there is so much to offer inland, we always found ourselves gravitating towards the sea.
More people were out and we met another travelling family, The Goldrings Gap Year, Curt & Andrea with their 3 kids, Bella (14), Tiana (11) & Jax (9) as we explored Green Pools. It felt strange at first as we began sharing our stories of how we’d found ourselves in Denmark, but soon the kids were off playing (no social distancing going on there!) and we were talking like we’d been friends for years. We agreed to meet up for a BBQ where they were camping the following night and then dinner at ours in a few days time, and just like that, our social life began again.
We’d been told that Denmark has some of the best geocaches in the world, so some days we set off for an adventure to find them. A local guy has made some fun ones, including a bomb to find and it was nice to get out of the house and stretch the legs when we were in the doldrums.
It was nice to have the kitchen and we were very active in it over the weeks; pancakes, sourdough, cakes and muffins. So much so that we got through over 15kg of flour in the time we were there! The highlight being the amazing birthday cake, Lexi (with the help of Reo) made for daddy’s lockdown birthday. Made from scratch, she baked over 2 days to cook and decorate it. It was a labour of love and the result was incredible.
While it was an unsettling and confusing time with fear, uncertainty and countless hardships for so many around the world, all hard to get away from in the news, it was heart-warming to see the stories of community spirit, celebrities & musicians supporting fans with streaming free entertainment and the innovative ideas people were having, as they were forced to slow down and rethink the norm, reconnecting with themselves and each other. Even the world seemed to be slowly healing itself, as pollution dropped significantly with everyone standing still.
After inspiration from their cousin Daniel, Alex started a project with Lexi and Reo which encompassed craft, IT, English, media studies and creative thinking and it ended up spanning most of our time at the farm. To be fair, it was more of a labour of love for Alex and after many discussions on its direction and who controlled the program, the kids lost a little interest and left him to it. The outcome was fantastic and credit to all 3 of them for persevering.
With all the cold nights, we’d utilised a fair chunk of the wood for the wood burner. We needed to restock to ensure Mal and Jen were cosy next time they came to stay. Mal had said we could use their old farm ute to drive around and collect some more – can’t think of a better place to restock than a tree farm. After a recharge of the battery, the ute started first time and off we went to find some wood.
Harvesting had started on the trees and we’d been talking with the felling crew who said they’d cut some logs for us when they came across dead trees they couldn’t use, but part of the fun was igniting the hunter-gatherer in us and taking the chainsaw out!
We stopped on the edge of the forest where we’d already seen some bits to collect and jumped off the ute to grab it. Reo was on the back organising the wood while the three of us passed it up to him. As we were happily trudging around, we suddenly smelt smoke and after a quick check under the car, we could see the grass in flames under the engine. Thinking some oil had dropped and set alight, we rolled the car back off the flames and Alex unlatched the bonnet to check the engine, to which grey smoke bellowed out.
Lexi and I began to run back towards the house to get a fire extinguisher. What I hadn’t realised was that the engine was already a fireball and our little extinguisher would have been completely ineffective. Alex was screaming something which I couldn’t hear, so Lexi continued to the house and I began running back towards the smoking car. I then heard “CALL TRIPLE ZERO” and was soon on the phone to the emergency services. We had no idea how long they would take, all we could do now was watch as the ute coughed out thick, black smoke, banged and popped as it burnt to the ground.
Emotions were high. As it was petrol, Alex and I were expecting a firework display once the fuel tank caught alight (maybe we’ve been watching too many action movies), but thankfully that didn’t eventuate. The fire brigade arrived and swamped the car with water, then foam, to ensure there would be no secondary fires. The team were all local volunteers, very friendly and Lexi and Reo got to sit in the truck and play with the sirens and radio. Even with all the chaos around us, as we huddled and chatted with the guys about what had happened, Reo whispered to me, “aren’t we supposed to be social distancing?”. It was true, we were, and we moved away a little to ensure we were following what we’d been preaching to the children every time we went out. “Never a dull moment with Towns On Tour”, Reo piped up as we walked back to the house.
It’s always important to share good news with bad news, so when Alex spoke to Mal, he shared the good news of the ute starting first time, before revealing the bad news that it was never going to start again! 😨 They were extremely understanding and just thankful that no one was hurt, but it didn’t remove that tinge of guilt we had. It took a few hours for the adrenaline to subside and a glass or two of wine with the dinner that night went down well.
More restrictions were lifted, the 13 segregated regions of WA now morphed into 4, allowing us to travel further afield. We were a little hesitant to leave wondering if further outbreaks would happen and we’d be left stranded in the cold without our warm, cosy farmhouse to protect us; we’d got rather used to our home comforts. There was also a forecast of a once in ten-year storm heading our way, so decided to hunker down another week or so, ride out the storm in the house and see what happened as an increase in people began to travel.
Undoubtably, the weather knew we were going and clearly upset. Dark moody clouds haunted the horizon and then the rain clouds opened. The winds were strong and it took a while for the kids to settle. There was a lot of banging & rattling and by midnight we were four in a bed. After an hour or so of wiggling bottoms trying to get comfy, Lexi and I retired to her bed leaving Alex and Reo more space. Thankfully the roof stayed on and we could report back all was well.
We’d been in the house 7 weeks now and had been putting off cleaning Minty (procrastination is our middle name), ready to hit the road again. We could put it off no longer!!! The slow process of packing up began. We had spread ourselves out well and it took a couple of days to remember where it all went back in the van.
We returned to Albany for Tinfish to have a service and fitted in some more sightseeing at Porongurup NP, beginning a 4.4km return hike up a mountain 1 hour before sunset. Beautiful views from the top of Castle Rock Granite Skywalk which we just made before the sun disappeared, and a rather creepy dark walk back!
It looked like WA was doing well on the Covid front and plans were announced the state would completely open, apart from certain areas with vulnerable indigenous populations. There was absolutely no excuse for us not to hit the road again. The day before we left, the final bed linen wash was on, when I heard a terrible banging noise coming from the laundry. It sounded like there was something inside the machine trying to get out. We stopped it and pulled out the wet bedding to see that the drum had come off whatever was supposed to hold it on! Oh no, further bad news to break to Mal and Jen. 😭
The open road was calling, the sun was shining and we had to leave the farm before we broke something else. The following day we locked the doors, put flip flop to metal and flew the nest to freedom.
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