Still alive
No, I haven't been eaten by a crocodile. I've just been stuck at the resort for the last month, without high speed internet (ie - I can't access my blog). I've been working every day for the past 4 weeks, and have no day off next week either. It's just as well - I can make more money before I stop working for the next 4+ months.
I believe my last post spoke of there not being any exciting news. Well, the day after I wrote that our car broke down. Luckily we were still in Darwin - had we been 100KM outside, we wouldn't have had cell phone coverage, and it would've been a right kerfuffle. We had to be towed to a service station, using our roadside assistance. At first they thought the problem was the head gasket, but a few days later we found out it was the gas converter (for the liquid propane gas). It was corroded, and it would cost 800$ for a new one. Yikes. That's without labour. Thankfully we had another option, which was to disable the gas system, and just run the car on petrol (it was dual fuel, remember). That was the cheaper option, and that's what we went with, even though it lowered the value of our car. It took two weeks to get it fixed.
Mom, stop reading here.
So with our car broken down, we had to find a way to get back to the resort (250km) to work the next morning. Some coworkers would be driving in to the city and back (to drop someone at the airport) that night, but not until after 10pm .... it was 3pm. We didn't really want to wait around that long, nor be up half the night. At least we had a fall-back plan though. So we found a piece of cardboard and a black marker. KAKADU. After waiting nearly an hour for our first drive, we got a lift to the outskirts of the city. Our next lift (from a woman, after waiting 15 minutes) was to the beginning of the road we needed to be on. Our last lift (10 minute wait) was directly to the resort, as the guy was going right by. I'm sorry I don't have the photo of me hitchhiking to post with this entry - it'll be posted later. I just want to say, I would never have hitchhiked if Brian wasn't with me. And I had just finished reading a book about a couple who hitchhiked all around Australia - it was their only source of transportation. I would've hesitated a lot more had I not read that book. It was my first hitchhiking experience, and though it was positive, I hope our car remains reliable enough that we won't have to do it again.
So life at the resort continues. We have just 10 days left. And we're counting down. We're excited to get back on the road.
I believe my last post spoke of there not being any exciting news. Well, the day after I wrote that our car broke down. Luckily we were still in Darwin - had we been 100KM outside, we wouldn't have had cell phone coverage, and it would've been a right kerfuffle. We had to be towed to a service station, using our roadside assistance. At first they thought the problem was the head gasket, but a few days later we found out it was the gas converter (for the liquid propane gas). It was corroded, and it would cost 800$ for a new one. Yikes. That's without labour. Thankfully we had another option, which was to disable the gas system, and just run the car on petrol (it was dual fuel, remember). That was the cheaper option, and that's what we went with, even though it lowered the value of our car. It took two weeks to get it fixed.
Mom, stop reading here.
So with our car broken down, we had to find a way to get back to the resort (250km) to work the next morning. Some coworkers would be driving in to the city and back (to drop someone at the airport) that night, but not until after 10pm .... it was 3pm. We didn't really want to wait around that long, nor be up half the night. At least we had a fall-back plan though. So we found a piece of cardboard and a black marker. KAKADU. After waiting nearly an hour for our first drive, we got a lift to the outskirts of the city. Our next lift (from a woman, after waiting 15 minutes) was to the beginning of the road we needed to be on. Our last lift (10 minute wait) was directly to the resort, as the guy was going right by. I'm sorry I don't have the photo of me hitchhiking to post with this entry - it'll be posted later. I just want to say, I would never have hitchhiked if Brian wasn't with me. And I had just finished reading a book about a couple who hitchhiked all around Australia - it was their only source of transportation. I would've hesitated a lot more had I not read that book. It was my first hitchhiking experience, and though it was positive, I hope our car remains reliable enough that we won't have to do it again.
So life at the resort continues. We have just 10 days left. And we're counting down. We're excited to get back on the road.
posted by Jill @ 1:34 PM
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