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Q: What was is it like living in outback Australia? Didn't you
ever get bored?
A: Many people, especially young people dislike the outback
because of the lack of structured activities. Out here you have to
make
your own 'fun' or enjoy your own company. I never got bored
because I had plenty to occupy my time. I had 2 Telstra phone
lines. I used one for voice
and the other to connect to the Internet via a Big Pond Dialup
account. I later dropped one phone line and got the
Nullarbor's first satellite internet dish. I also got Foxtel satellite
digital, and received hundreds of TV and radio
channels on my TV. My son, Troy, joined me fairly regularly. He
liked living in 'the bush'
for a couple of weeks.
Q: How long did you live in 'the
bush'?
A. Until 1990, I had always lived in a
capital city. My life changed
and I have lived in
country
regions
ever since.
I was
equally at
home in
Madura
(population
6) and
Bangkok
(population
6 million).
I enjoy the
quiet life. I
traded it
all for
Murwillumbah at
Christmas
2006 and
back to
Perth in
May 2008..
Q. Why is
fuel so
expensive
in outback
Australia?
A. Many
people are
shocked at
the price of
fuel in
remote
areas of
Australia.
The main
reasons
are:
(1) The lack of
price support
offered by oil
companies.
This is
explained in the
WA
Government's
FuelWatch
website.
(2) Isolated
roadhouses,
such as the
ones on the
Nullarbor,
where the
nearest
'neighbour' can
be 181km
away must
supply their
own power
(using diesel
generators),
drinking water
(using either
dams or a
desalination
plant) and
waste disposal.
Many sites burn
around 350
litres of diesel a
DAY
($AUD560 a
day) to
produce
power.
Equipment,
staffing and
transport costs
all have to be
accounted for.
You can't call in
a casual from
'town' as there
is no
neighbours,
often for
hundreds of
kilometres.
Q. What
software
have you
used to
produce
such a
great
website?
A. Any
great
website,
particularly
peter991-ONLINE™,
which is
updated at
least once
every 24
hours
needs
simple
software -
simple to
use and
versatile. I
use Site
Designer
2.0, which
is now very
hard to
obtain. It
is uploaded
to the
Web, using
Globalscape's Cute
FTP
Professional. I have a
Sony
Cybershot
digital
camera,
It's a great
little
camera,
which can
hold
hundreds
of pictues
and the
batteries
last for
ages. I edit
pictures
using
Thumbs
Plus
Version 7.
For
graphics
and logos,
I use
Banner
Maker Pro
and
Cooltext.
Feedback is
welcomed.
Q. What
are your
plans for
the
future?
A. To retire
to Thailand
as soon as
I can afford
to do so.
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