Day 3 – A medical event and travelling to Margaret River

 

Media scrum breaking up after interview outside Espresso Prosecco

The day did not get off to an auspicious start however I will spare you the intimate details.  Suffice to say I was when I was showering, I felt a hand (which didn’t appear to be mine) on my lower back region.  I turned around to see if it was Bev, but it wasn’t.  Then I realised that it was my own but I had no sensation in either my hand and arm. I had lost the perception of where they were and when I tested them for touch and heat, I had no feeling.  I could still move my fingers and when I thought about it, I could position my hand where I wanted it to be.  To my relief, about twenty minutes later my hand and arm returned to normal.  Being rather a rather odd occurrence and feeling concerned I rang the local 24 hour Healthline. They suggested, after hearing about my symptoms, contacting a telehealth doctor.  I rang one of the service providers and eventually was given a time to talk with them. 

 

In the meantime, we had to depart our Airbnb and pick up a rental car for the next five days.  We took the train to the CBD and on way we called into Espresso & Prosecco for an alfresco coffee.  While we were there, TV cameras appeared and began interviewing a couple of staff from the café.  We discovered through eavesdropping that this was the first alfresco dining in the city and something the council wanted to encourage.  We heard the Lord Mayor extoling the efforts that council has done to clean up the less savoury aspects of the area that has plagued it in the past.  Our walk the previous day had certainly shown the city to be amid renewal with lots of artworks and pedestrianisation.  It seemed clean and there was little graffiti.  The police presence though was certainly noticeable around the retail area. 

Treasury Building where Petition (restaurant) is located

We walked in a somewhat circuitous route to the rental car agency where we picked up a rather nice Mercedes GLB.  Before you gulp at the potential price, it was the cheapest vehicle available when I was looking for a car - more reasonable than anything I might have rented in NZ.  In fact, with this agency, the humble Corolla was almost $200 more expensive. 

 

We headed south toward Bunbury and Busselton which were to be our intermediate stops on our way to Margaret River.  I was due to talk with the telehealth doctor and when the appointed time came, fortuitously a rest stop appeared.  The time of the appointment came and went I heard nothing.  Eventually I contacted the agency and was told that the doctor had run over time. We waited a bit longer then decided I would take the call while driving. 

Hunger then intervened so we called into a café in the middle of no-where called the Crooked Carrot.  It was a very popular place.  The food was simple and good with the only blight on it being the annoying swarming flies. 

 

We abandoned a visit to Bunbury as time was getting on but called into Busselton where there is a jetty that is 1.8 kilometres long (it’s reported to be the longest in the world).  Unfortunately, it was getting a little late, so we abandoned our plan to walk the length of it, settling for a photo instead.  It was amazing to see this jetty as just a thin line above the water. 

 

The white line on the right is the pier

We arrived at Margaret River (township) around 5:30 and then went for a bit of walk.  It was a nice balmy evening.  Having still not heard from the doctor, Bev decided I should go to the local hospital so off we went where I told my tale again.  The service I received from Dr Mike and Nurse Jodie was superb.  Fortuitously it was not a busy night. The investigation was thorough  giving me some relief from the anxiety I had been feeling.  At times like these, all sorts of less than positive thoughts course through one’s mind. 

 

On the way there we encountered an extroverted, friendly character around our age who started chatting to us as we were walking.  We almost had his whole life history by the time we parted ways after about 5 minutes.  Such are delights of travelling.

 

We finished off our evening with a pizza and a very welcome drink at pretty much the only place open for a meal at that time of night.  

 

Capel Vale vineyard - unfortunately they were closed