Having said an emotional farewell to a mo-less Captain Paul Barham at Brisbane airport last night, Steve and I spent another day getting our hands dirty down at the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service Centre. The guys there have been incredible, fixing everything from Martha’s passenger door (which we haven’t been able to lock since late October, ssshhh) to changing a few of the wheels around to stop her bouncing away unnecessarily at any speed over 45mph. Plus giving Martha a thorough clean to remove four weeks of red dust and grime from her exterior. Legends!
After 80 days on the expedition it’s time to say good bye to Paul Barham. A man instrumental over the past couple of years in not only getting this project off the ground but keeping it a float. Captain Barham, we salute you.
Even with a crazy amount of preparation, the expedition is still very much dependant upon the help and assistance of people we meet along the way. Helpful and caring people seem to pop up everywhere almost like a scene out of the Truman show. This time round it was a nice chap called Mark Griddle. Mark heard from Channel 9 that we were driving through Surfers’s Paradise a few days ago and hunted us down. During a road side natter I mentioned that the impending import into New Zealand was giving me a huge headache. Due to shipping complications stage 6 (NZ) has been cut back which has been a complete shocker on the planning side, testing the patience of our man on the ground Jamie Abela. Not sure he enjoys me moving the goal posts every other day but shipping is a silly little sausage. As we now have limited time in the Kiwi Kingdom we need to hit the ground running and this means clearing their very strict quarantine quick. Apparently NZ are even stricter than OZ, so after our experience in Perth we are justifiably bricking it. I mentioned this issue along with a few mechanical issues and Mark was straight on the blower and booked us into the Queensland Fire and Rescue Workshops.
Though nobody believes me but our timing to arrive in Brisbane during the Ashes first test is by complete coincidence. Myself and Paul are huge cricket fans and hearing that the truck was being shipped out of Brisbane just after day 5 of the cricket was greeted by excessive excitement. London to the Ashes in 133 days, a thousand pieces of the puzzle to get us here but seeing the Ashes in Australia is an uber treat. We don’t get many days off so what better way to spend a day than settling in at the GABBA and enjoying our cricketing heroes battle it out.
High point: 14,000 feet – the height Steve jumped out of a plane over Bryon Bay
Low point: Paul and Fuad were sad to have their last innings behind the wheel of Martha
No point: Getting lost driving round the block with precious cargo on board, FTFE fans Jack (8), Charlie (5) and Lilah (2). Jack should be promoted to Navigator!
Pap point: Being photographed against the beautiful backdrop of Byron Bay Lighthouse by awesome photographer Benjamin Sherack http://www.benzwaves.com
High point: Getting the laptop fixed by the dudes at Clix Computer Centre http://www.clixcc.com.au/ and saying good riddance to the scary blue screen of death
Low point: saying good bye to the lovely Miss Louise Mahoney at Byron bus station. Awesome work Lou, you rock!
No point: being a toolie
Byron Bay is the perfect place to go if you need to kick back and relax, maybe recharge your batteries if you’ve been driving a big red truck around Australia. The atmosphere is so chilled out its horizontal, with a big alternative scene and hippy population. In November however it’s a different story, the town is overtaken by high school graduates known as ‘schoolies’ who in true Oz tradition take a week off to party hard after their final exams. Who can blame them? Read more →
This is unfortunately (not sure if that’s the right word…) the last blog from me as I am due to fly out of Brisbane this Sunday. The long journey through Australia is almost at an end, and sadly I have to return to reality.
Plan for the day, head up to Byron Bay from Port Macquarie. We had another long days drive ahead of us so everybody enjoyed a bit of time out of the truck. Active start for the whole crew, Amy and Louise went for a scenic walk into town, Paul and Steve were jogging around parts of the Port Macquarie Iron Man track and I went for a cycle and swim along the beach. We decided on taking the inland road to see the Big Banana instead of the coastal, so this gave me plenty of time to reminisce over the events of the last month. So here are my top worst and best moments of the trip.
HIGH POINT: Getting to see Sydney Harbour Bridge up close and personal
LOW POINT: Navigating through Sydney city centre.
SHOCK OF THE DAY; The smell in the hostel corridor after the boys had been hanging about giggling and looking sheepish.
Safe to say when I looked at the rota for the day I was filled with absolute panic.I was tasked with navigation and the mission for the day was to get us from Sydney to North Sydney and then onto Port Macquarie for the evening. Now to most, it wouldnt seem like such a big deal but I for one was terrified, You see the problem is I dont drive and to make matters worse I cant tell my left from right. It wasnt looking particularly promising, lets just say ..
Co-starring : the FTFE crew, Sydney Fire Fighters, a Police Escort, two Ozzie fire engines, Channel 9 News crew and 14 crabs
Act 1 : A spectacular convoy across Sydney Harbour Bridge
Act 2 : A monumental match at City of Sydney Fire Station
Grand finale : The crabs go crazy at The Friend in Hand, Glebe
Today Martha was to hit the big screen, her name in lights, this was her Martine Mccutcheon moment. We had to make sure she looked gorgeous darlings. Cleaning her windscreen with baby wipes and bottled water wasn’t going to cut it, a garage screen wash the only way to make sure she was dressed to impress.
