So off to weipa for work to do some training visits for some docs up there. I wondered why the wonderful lady who books my travel seemed apologetic about her choice of accommodation for me. She knows I’m not too fussy or ‘flash’. Well I realized why when I got there. So turns out all of Weipa was booked out and all that was left was basically a miners camp – cubicles in ATCO relocatable dongas. The owner was a lovely friendly guy called “stretch” who was about as Aussie as you can get. He has a cute little set up with cats and dogs and chooks and a very cute garden and a quirky pool area. So far not so bad. Headed to the accommodation which as I mentioned was really a cubicle. Weipa is one of the hottest places in Australia and the shut up cubicle was like an oven. Yes there’s aircon but turns out it doesn’t work unless the door is closed and the key is in a slot inside. SO…. It was a matter of laying down in the tiny space and waiting for the aircon to cool it down, hoping you didn’t pass out from heat stroke in the meantime for your dehydrated body to be found by someone the next morning!
Well at least there is a single bed and a shower – what else is needed. I looked around for the coffee – not even a sachet of caterers coffee to be found. Then spied a note on the bed that said “you’ve come a long way so there’s a cold beer in the fridge to welcome you”. Well a cold beer was sounding good about now as my temperate steadily rose in the hotbox. I opened the fridge and no beer and no anything except someone else’s half finished bottle of water… hmm.
Never mind. But then I realized I’d counted on at least having an iron in the room to iron my shirt for work tomorrow – even the cheapest Australian hotels I’d stayed in had an iron – at least a share one. Nothing. So am more determined now that my search for the optimum travel wardrobe has to be NO IRON! But for now it would be my ‘hang the shirt in the shower’ trick for getting out the worst of the creases.
One of the doctors I’d come up to give feedback on, invited me out to a trivia night at the Albatross Resort where it turned out some team members were old friends and colleagues so it was a bit of a fun reunion – and we won! I’d forgot how much fun trivia nights can be. Meals were pretty good too.
Had a little giggle to myself the next day as I emerged from my miner’s donga in my ‘nice’ clothes for meetings, feeling a little left out as the only one around not in reflective workgear. I got a few strange looks. At least I wasn’t totally out of place when I jumped into my beast of a contractor’s car complete with reversing siren and spinning lights and spotlights, crane and CB radio. Something tells me not too many health staff get put up in this accommodation. Didn’t bother me but Ron (hubby) sounded a little concerned on the phone when I told him where I was staying … “what you mean you’re all alone there amongst a heap of desperate miners???” I suspect the poor workfellas were just happy to have a beer and a sleep after a hard day of work and weren’t too concerned about some lady old enough to be their mum staying there!
So it was a pretty short and uneventful trip to Weipa and Napranum. Was a good chance to further pursue my self-challenge to pack as light and as simply as possible.
My aim is to be able to achieve this for both long term travel and general living. Some bigger trips coming up where I can really test this – keep posted to see how this develops!