Wow, nearly 6 months since last I blogged, time flies when
you’ve had car issues, found a place to live, work, socialising and having a
generally good time!
Our car issues at Lake Awoonga were not fixed there – we
came all the way back to the Gold Coast for that……
Our Silver Chariot was overheating whilst towing and we were
not getting anywhere fast or slow, but it was ok to drive by itself. We took it
to Gladstone for it to be seen to, and we were quoted an approximate $10,000 to
fix a possible cracked head but it may not have been that anyway because they
didn’t really know what was wrong! WTF!!!
$10,000!!!! Oh crap.
Oh really big poo!!
After a substantial amount of swearing, tears, hugs and
trying to bolster each other up and think of a plan of action, Dave somehow
sweet-talked RACV to tow us all the way from Lake Awoonga to the Gold Coast. We
were up at 4ish the next morning and packed up our camp and made everything
secure for the tow truck, which would be arriving soon.
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| Lake Awoonga, thankfully it was a nice place to be stranded |
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| A visitor at our camp at Lake Awoonga |
5:30am this enormous tow truck came chugging up the road and
reversed into our camp area. A young block jumped out of the drivers seat in
thongs, shorts & t-shirt and introduced himself as Benny. We were to spend
the next 9 hours with Benny as he towed us and our home on wheels down to the
Gold Coast.
We hitched up our Silver Chariot to the caravan and Benny
proceeded to direct Dave to drive them onto the tow truck, he then chained
everything down and made it all secure. Oh wow, this was really happening.
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| On the tow truck!! |
There were only two seats up the front of the tow truck, so
naturally Benny took one as the driver, Dave took the other and I was to be
found laying behind them both in the cabin’s bed. Being up so high in the cabin
and looking out the front window whilst laying down was a bit unnerving, but
the whole trip to the Gold Coast was a great adventure.
Benny was entertaining and an old soul in a young body, so
the 8 hour drive down to the Gold Coast went by with a lot of laughter and
great conversation. We finally pulled into the storage facility we previously
had our caravan at and our car & caravan were unloaded from the tow truck.
Benny, the owner of the storage facility and his son then proceeded to open the
bonnet on our Silver Chariot and look at the engine deciding what was going on
with our car and confirming our belief that the mechanics at Gladstone were
pulling our leg.
Aunty Jane kindly took us back in for a few weeks whilst we
figured out what we needed to do. We had the radiator looked at, tests done on
the engine to see if it was a cracked head (which came up negative), had the
radiator cleaned, then had the car serviced and quotes for what ever else
needed to be fixed. Dave also went back to his old job at the call centre,
which was fantastic they took him back, and we made the decision to work some
more and save up more money and to get the car really looked at and all
problems fixed.
We found a place to rent in Varsity Lakes, because it was
cheaper to rent a fully furnished 1-bedroom apartment than stay in our own
caravan in a caravan park!!! Go figure!! Over the next 3 weeks I applied for
jobs and eventually got one at QBE in Brisbane as an Administration Assistant
in Trade Credit Insurance to cover a lady on maternity leave. We are going to
be on the Gold Coast for another 6 months or so.
view of sunset from our apartment.
We have had the Silver Chariot attended to; she had 3
cracked cylinders, which was fixed for $2,500!!!!!! not $10,000…. There are
some other things we need to fix like the steering & maybe new tyres and
will need to put a fan on the radiator and install a larger exhaust. We’re
saving, saving, saving.
Since we’ve been back to the Gold Coast we’ve had the
fortune to be invited to some great events. Friends of Dave’s from his work
lived right on the track of the V8 Supercars and they invited us over for lunch
and to experience this event. It was awesome!!! As a Greenie and Hippy, I can’t believe how much I enjoyed
watching these fast cars go round and round and round!! J The noise was incredible!! We were able
to get right near the track and to be so close to these machines zooming by,
it’s blood-pumping stuff.
At the V8 Supercars - sorry, what did you say?? Can't hear you!!!
Another of Dave’s friends from work is also an
artist/sculptor and he was an entrant in “Swell”, a sculpture
competition/festival at Currumbin beach and foreshore. We walked along the
beach and saw these amazing sculptures in a beautiful setting and spent time
with some great people.
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| Dave next to his mate Greg's sculpture at Swell |
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| Another sculpture at Swell we loved, this little dude was in a glass box about 30cm tall. |
As always, Dave is the social butterfly and has made more
friends through his work and we have enjoyed some fun get togethers. The group
of people I work with at QBE are really nice and also quite funny and
entertaining. I’m enjoying doing something completely different to what I have
done before and I’ve learnt that I can do anything I put my mind to (duh!!). It
has been a confidence boost I really needed and this was one of the reasons for
our decision to travel, to expand ourselves.
I’m no longer so scared to talk to new people and we have
met some amazing and interesting people and they are all different. We have
always had different groups of friends back home and this has expanded even
more as we meet more people from all walks of life. Accepting people as they
are and with no prejudices allows you to meet some truly fascinating people who
open up your mind and outlook on life.
I have met a lady in her 60s who doesn’t have children, a
conscious decision on her part, and she does not regret it. Her ideals and
reasons behind her decision were similar to mine and it was so great to meet
someone on the other end of their decision with no regrets and who was so
happy, vibrant and intelligent. Such affirmation and to know there are others
out there who think the same makes you stronger. We are not alone.
I have been able to explore a bit more of Brisbane in the
last few months and she is a beautiful city. The museum has some great
exhibitions, the City Hall is grand, Botanic Gardens an oasis, South Bank a
dining delight and Queen Street Mall abuzz.
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| At a market in South Bank, a lovely lady sells vintage clothes and bric-a-brac from her pink vintage caravan!! How very cool. |
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We are off to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show tonight in
Brisbane at QPAC – we are waiting in such………..An-tica-pa-tion!!!! ha ha ha ha ha ha ha woo hoo, can’t
wait.
I know we haven’t travelled very far in kilometres in a
year, but I think we’ve covered many miles in our experiences…… and we’ve only
just touched the surface.
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| view from our apartment balcony of a storm rolling in |
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| Dave caught our dinner at Tullabudgera Creek - twas Yum! |
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