Melting

I spent a few hours contemplating our next move to avoid the forecasted heatwave, but in the end it seemed better to stay where we are with a pool and air conditioning than it was to move to an unknown environment where there may not be a nice pool or grass or other creature comforts that we have. 

The coast is currently about 23 degrees and forecast rain (and we don't have any warm clothes!), and any spots halfway between are much more basic parks without pools that we just don't want to go to right now. 

Yesterday was 36 degrees. We hibernated in and around the van till lunchtime whilst Tracy went and donated once again to the local Woolworths "feed the corporate giant" fund, and then went to the local public swimming pool. Poor old Taz wasn't allowed inside the gates, so we compromised and tied him to the fence in the shade with some towels and water, whilst we sat on the inside of the same fence and gave him regular pats and reassurance that we weren't leaving him. 

It cost a whole $14.50 for the 5 of us to get into this complex, and there was an added $4.50 per kid if they wanted to go on the giant waterslide. Which of course they did. To get this sort of afternoon fun for less than $30 was well worth it. Even I had a go on the high diving board, after I had done some investigating and was reassured that the weight limit would support me. With 4 pools, diving board and slide, it was well worth the cost. (Not sure about the water recovery costs after I jumped in however ).  

We had a tea of cold meats and salads so that neither of us had to cook, and very quickly it had cooled down enough to sit outside and enjoy the evening. 

Today was a stinker. It was forecast for 43 degrees and I reckon it wasn't far off at 9:30am when I finally ventured out of bed. It was back to the pool again this morning, however Tyler wasn't feeling like going after managing a very stinging belly flop on his last jump from the high diving board yesterday afternoon. This actually worked in our favour, so being the responsible parents we are, we left our 12 year old son in the caravan with Taz whilst we forgot about him for a couple of hours and went swimming. 

This afternoon was just horrible. Breathing hot air, drinking hot water, everything I touched felt like it was a branding iron wanting to leave another permanent mark on my body. We went over to the camp kitchen that was beautifully cooled to 22 degrees and played some board games with the kids before retiring back to the caravan for some screen time. 

We are supporting the locals tonight by getting some takeaway, and then heading off to the next leg of our adventure tomorrow, which should be Dimboola.