Wrong Side of Town

Daph and Ern love travelling and living in the Kombi, making do and troubleshooting. But Innisfail has broken them. It has rained every day but one since we arrived. And not just sprinkling showers. Torrential downpours! This is normal, according to the locals. And this is DRY season! Daph can’t take much more. The rain is bringing her down. Everything is leaking. Everything is wet. The campground is flooded.

Daph’s weak bladder means she must walk to the amenity block several times a day and night, through a swamp of over-saturated grass and mud. Water everywhere! Then this morning, she goes for a shower. But the shower is not working. The workman says, “There’s no water!” ...

NO F**KING WATER!?

We bought a gazebo and an inner tent to extend our living and enjoy the outdoors. But the gazebo has become the storage area for everything that is soaked and needs to dry out. There’s nothing outdoors to enjoy, anyway. We have the busy main road behind us, and the muddy river at the front, complete with resident crocodiles. And the clientele at the caravan park... well, let’s just say, Daph wouldn’t want to meet them in a dark alley.

The town itself is a colourful place. On our walks to and from work, we have witnessed domestic violence, slanging matches[1], illegal midnight fishing in crocodile-infested waters, and a multitude of shoeless people. No point in wearing shoes if your feet are always wet. Daph thinks we are living on the “wrong side” of town. So next week we are giving up the van-life temporarily and moving to a house on the “right side” of town.

Today is Daph’s first day off from work and she needed a break from the doom and gloom. So, we headed out of town to Innot Hot Springs to take a bath, relax, and unwind. Daph needs it. Ern does too. Ern is usually more tolerant. But this morning he, too, was broken.

Daph: “I’m sorry you’re not having the best time. But I’m glad you aren’t. Now I don’t feel so bad for moaning all the time.”

[1] A heated exchange of abuse.