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!
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 →
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.
High point: Beating the boys at their own game of Risk (just the once)
Low point: Port Augusta. Quote from the Lonely Planet ‘it is a sad and tatty place’
No point: Fuad opening his book to read it and remembering he’d finished it on the plane
Quote of the day: Paul Barham “Where are all the dead fish?”
Dish of the day: ham and cheese toasties
It was sad leaving Coober Pedy, it really is like nowhere else we’ve been or probably will go again. Apparently the name Coober Pedy means ‘white man’s hole in the ground’. Sleeping in an underground dorm in bunks made for little people the place really did what it said on the tin. Read more →
High point: Driving through the stunning outback at sunset
Low point: An introduction to one of Australia’s larger eight legged friends in the camping block
Mo point: Steve looks like he should be in a Will Ferrell movie, Barham would be at home commanding an army of soldiers on the battlefield and Fuad resembles a Mexican sombrero seller. Lou and I are still working on our tashes
Pee point: Lou and Amy are now Shewee professionals, boys go one side of the road, girls go the other, job done
Roo count: A disappointing one roo spotted
Dish of the day: Beef Bourginon with tinned potatoes and baked beans, mmmm
Pink thought of the day: The girls are trying to introduce a tiered ‘no swear Friday’ scoring system after Lou was unfairly crowned princess potty mouth. Boys are much worse than girls, everyone knows that Read more →
Low point: Realising we’d have 7 days to drive 9,000 km
BBQ point: Burgers in Luckens fumigation centre
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It was an early start for my induction into how things roll on the FTFE expedition. We were excited and apprehensive (but mainly tired) as we headed to Freemantle Port at 6:45am to welcome Martha from her trip across the Ocean on Melbourne Cup day. As we pulled into Lucken’ s Fumigation Services http://www.luckensfumigationservices.com.au/ (who would be unloading Martha and managing quarantine clearance) there was a slight problem… Martha hadn’t arrived yet and nobody seemed to know where she was! Steve got on the phone to Richard Dexter of Bluefreight and there were various calls backwards and forwards as they tried to locate her. There was no joy and we missed our slot with the Quarantine Officer, who would be inspecting Martha to see if she was up to the very strict Aussie cleanliness standards for importing vehicles. Read more →
Beijing really is a wonderful city with lots to see and do. The crew went off to have some fun and meet up with friends, including Ben, who had left us at UB, whilst I was left in the car park as usual! Still I mustn’t grumble, it was a good opportunity for a bit of Martha time.
I must apologise, I was so tired and disheveled when we finally got to Altay I forgot to tell you about a most extraordinary meeting; we had stopped for a meal break in the middle of nowhere when an ambulance pulled up beside us and you’ll never guess what her name is – she’s called Martha! She is quite old and has been taken out of service in the UK and been donated to a Mongolian hospital, her crew were taking her there to deliver her. What are the chances?
