Hi Metro SES Volunteers,
As of the beginning of April, Jim Ridgwell (another SES volunteer from Gosnells) and I are hitching up our caravans to undertake another journey of discovery. Yes we are taking our wives with us, to ensure we don’t stray too much.
For the next 3.5 months we plan to travel to as many as possible tourist haunts of SA, NT and northern WA.
During this time, Dave Beard, SESVA Vice President will act as the SES Volunteer Representative for the Metro South. Dave can be contacted on 0419 754 770 or DaveBeard11@hotmail.com
Emails, please only send important emails during this time. No spam/s or jokes etc. This to help overcome our additional overhead of having to purchase prepaid 3G internet access for this journey. We used the free wifi service of McDonalds on our last trip, but suspect there may be fewer of those services for this journey.
Cheques to cover fuel will be gratefully accepted. We are thinking that the fuel costs are likely to be the same as our 2009 journey to Cape York of 20,000Kms, but with roughly half the distance this time. Thankyou fuel companies. I still remember when $2 would fill a 20 litre jerry can.
Trust me when I say we will be thinking of you. Actually I pro-actively or by accident met several SES or ES related people on my last trip in 2009:
- Norseman – Visited the newly opened Emergency Service HQs, which includes Norseman SES;
- Werribee – Afternoon tea with the past president of Victorian SES Volunteer Association, now SES Board person;
- Ballarat – A Victorian SES District Manager;
- Penrith – A long term NSW SES volunteer, who ended up helping me when the roof of my caravan sprung a leak;
- Rainbow Beach – Met with some SES volunteers who were assisting community with ANZAC day Service;
- Bruce Hwy, Qld – Volunteers manning a road closure after a truck had failed to take a bend;
- Lightning Ridge – Morning tea with the president of NSW SES Volunteer Association;
- Port Augusta – Meet up with local SES unit at ES display;
- Ceduna – Met with a St John’s Ambulance officer operating from the combined emergency service facility at Ceduna. Was shown over facility with fire appliances and SES sea rescue craft. I was enlisted to deliver a bottle oxygen to staff at Head of Bight facility;
- Salmon Gums – Morning tea with SES Local Manager of Norseman;
- Kalgoorlie – Morning tea with SES District Manager
Regards
Phillip Petersen ESM
SES Volunteer
PS: Don’t forget to send photos etc to journal editor or attend the 2011 combined FESA ES Conference.
Some SES Volunteers I met along the way
A well known pub
On Frazer Island
