We Need More Power, Mr Scotty!

Well, I can't even compare a power outage in Melbourne to the "load shedding" in South Africa, but since it makes a good starting sentence, I guess it's fair to say I just did. Hmmm...

We had some amazing storms here in Victoria two days ago. A cyclone in Western Australia sent incredibly strong winds through the mountain ranges, with trees, fences, building and boats damaged in various areas of the state. Sadly, there were 3 lives lost.

Those of us on the edge of the bush lost power for just about 24 hours, and 20,000 people are still without power two days later. There was a dust storm as well. We only got the edge of it, but there are some amazing photos out there. Of course I can't find them now.

It's amazing how well one can manage. Andrew had bought a small generator, which was sufficient to light some lamps, and the television. And yes... the television stations came in loud & clear.

We discovered that small genny doesn't have the capacity to run even a small fan heater, and we also disovered why the it was on sale -- it doesn't work properly. So, we bought a quality (and also quieter) genny from a reputable vendor, and will hopefully be getting a refund from the other store. With the new genny and a small but excellent camp stove, we'll actually have enough power and coffee to keep ourselves illuminated, warm, entertained -- and awake -- during the next outage.