Of course you can't visit a small country town without being noticed.
A couple of other people saw us around town, so there were a few other jobs to do while we were in town.
It's been a long time since either of us has been flying for business, and we certainly weren't expecting to do it as Bush PC. However, one of our customers had a stack of frequent flyer miles that were about to expire, and needed a new computer. So we organised a new Dell to be delivered, picked up a new scanner and printer, and hopped over to the east coast for a few days. We rearranged the whole office, set up all the new hardware, installed all the applications, transferred all the farm finances and maps, and even provided some training.
It was good to see that they had had some rain. Dams that were dry the last time we were there were full, and they had sown a few thousand acres of wheat. With luck they will get a bit more rain when they need it, and this year they will have something to harvest.
Of course you can't visit a small country town without being noticed.
A couple of other people saw us around town, so there were a few other jobs to do while we were in town.
Before The Tropics
Back on the west coast, and it is time to say goodbye to Perth.
Based on our scouting last month, we decided that Three Springs would be a good place to stop and work a while.
Apart from being central to a few under serviced towns, we found a unit to rent for about the same cost as staying in the tent. Not only does this provide the luxury of solid walls and a roof, but we also had the phone connected!
There has been a little rain here too, and seeding is in full swing.
The area is a patchwork of freshly worked brown paddocks, and emergent green crops (that in the right light, look just like the Windows XP default wallpaper).
This is of course not good for our work prospects, as the farmers are busy on their tractors.
The other day on the way to a job we came up behind a tractor towing a seeding rig along a narrow tree lined country road. The driver pulled over as far as he could, and we were only just able to make it past him. A few km further we came upon another coming toward us, and a similar passing maneuver. Moments later the UHF radio livened up considerably as the drivers and their lead vehicles tried to figure out how to get past each other. On the way home, well after dark, the seeders were still out in the paddocks working.
Living in small towns is very different to living in the city (even aside from the less stringent building standards). After less than two weeks in Three Springs, the shop owners know who we are, the council workers crack jokes about our kayaks, and we've even been stopped in the street by a customer seeking computer help. Although work here has been a little slow, we did manage to arrange a couple of days of training classes in the Dalwallinu telecentre.
As we were not really as busy as we'd hoped we might be, we settled into a routine of working on the computers in our (chilly) little flat between jobs. The council offices had an excellent brochure display, including one that provided us with the web address of Australia's own searchable public toilet directory. The temperatures are dropping rapidly as winter approaches, and it is long past time to head north.