There really is no describing what 44 degrees Celsius feels like.

I know I'm not made of sugar, but I really did feel like I was going to melt these past 3 days. It was too hot to even bother driving to the beach 30 mins away.

I was very grateful though that I did not have to escape the fires, the closest ones were only a few kilometres away over the side of the hill, and we can see the smoke flowing into our valley.

My heart goes out to those who had to evacuate. The heat of the day was bad enough I can't imagine what it would be like to have to deal with a bush-fire as well.

The pic below shows the smoke and ash from nearby bush-fires.

My initial plans for preparation of the Land Rover have been delayed by the hot weather .

However, this afternoon I was very pleased to be able to take the measurements in my cargo area.

I've now added these to an image which I hope will be really useful for other people wanting that information. I know I searched the Internet trying to find it and was unable to do so.

I'm not sure if it's just the heat or perhaps the process of unwinding from the office job but I find myself having nana naps everyday.

I'm up with the sunlight (5:30 a.m.) to maximize the coolness of the early morning as 8 a.m. it has been too hot to be outside!

All is going well with house sitting /dog minding Leo. He seems very relaxed and comfortable with me and does not appear to be pining for his owners which is good news and makes my role easier.