Day 124 – Proper Job

High point: Melbourne, simply amazing!

Low Point: Not winning the raffle at the fundraiser organised by Voyage Express.

Most people don’t realise how much of a battering a car receives whilst driving across rough terrain.  Even fewer realise how much worst it is for an old fire truck thats not quite designed for the the job.  The team has put in place a strict daily routine which is designed to spot any small issues which could latter turn into major problems.  This works great for most of the time but inevitably cracks will be missed…

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A very early start to the day meant we were all a bit groggy by the time we rolled into the outskirts of Melbourne.  We had a meeting with George from the Melbourne Services Museum who was kind enough to give us an escort through the town in one of the museums 1940’s fire trucks! We slowly made our way through the mid day traffic and finally got to the main Melbourne Fire Station.  The guys gave us the standard reception and before you know it, Steve was sniffing around for a mechanic.  What happened next was quite remarkable…

Within 15 minutes we were at the main MFB workshops, which is Disney land for fire trucks!  All we were expecting was for someone to have a look at our door, which was slightly wonky, but we got way more than that.  Within seconds mechanics from the workshop slowly started coming out and inspecting Martha.  None were instructed or asked to help out, they simply started putting down what they were doing and making their way over.  One came, then another, then another, and before you know it the crew of 20 wanted us to clear the cab so they can get to the enigne!  Nothing we could really do but to let them at it, so to speak.  While we were being given a guided tour of the facilities the mechanics plugged away, fixing problems we didn’t even know we had!  Fuel tank leak, fixed.  Battery holder, fixed.  Wonky door, fixed.  They even had a go at fixing one of our broken emergency lights but alas they didn’t have the parts.  We can’t thank them enough for their help.  It is with generosity like this that our trip keeps on trucking!

I couldn’t possibly sign off without mentioning the amazing bbq on the roof top of Blue Freight’s office.  Richard Dexter (I’m sure you’ve heard this name before) organised a sizzling steak and some cold drinks for lunch.  Amazing stuff! A big thanks to the whole Blue Freight team who entertained us for the afternoon.

Fuad

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