Update Map
Friends Reunited
Hello from Tasmania! Sorry for lack of updates, we have had sporadic internet access, but we should now be back on track and promise to try to be more regular in the future!
Well, first things first, we’ve got Mario through quarantine and we’re back on the road - yay!! We’re both amazed and proud, in equal measures to have achieved our Holy Grail – driving Mario in Australia! It still hasn’t sunk in really!
The import process was a nightmare - a week of red-tape, delays, spurious costs and misinformation, but we just had to suck-it-up and focus on the end goal, getting Mario back – and it was all worth it. We’d read and heard lots of horror stories about theft and damage caused by shippers and we’re glad to say “all” that was taken from Mario was 2 cup-holders and the rear number plate.
While waiting on Mario we were still enjoying the hospitality at Cousin Simon’s and took the opportunity to use the experience-vouchers we received as Christmas presents. First we did the “swim with dolphin and seals” day trip from Caroline’s Mum & Dad. This was amazing, fulfilling one of Caroline’s lifetime ambitions, thus her somewhat emotional state when we first saw them swimming around us. The dolphins were proper wild ones out in Melbourne bay, none of your Sea-World performing in a tank, cruelly holding onto their fins malarkey, this was all done with the dolphins’ interests at heart. The boat manoeuvred to where the dolphins would be and then we were told to slide in and hold a rope as they swam underneath us, within touching distance. We had two dives with them and saw about 20 dolphins altogether, an unforgettable experience.
Arguably, even more enjoyable was the swimming with seals, as they were more interactive and we were allowed to swim and dive freely with them. We were taken to a seal “hauling out point”, like a wooden bandstand out in the bay where loads of bachelor seals hang out. Fair play, it stank of rotten fish, but once we got our masks and snorkels on, this wasn’t a problem, but them pooing and puking off the platform was, as was them dive-bombing us. Further away from the structure was more relaxed and we spent about 40 minutes just swimming about with these super-cute, inquisitive fur-balls – just like sub-aqua Labradors! Thanks Mum & Dad.
Our other pressie was from Simon & Danielle and was a day and a night flight on the Melbourne Star, similar to the London Eye, so we took ourselves off to the big city for a day. It was a great place, very chilled and cosmopolitan, easy to walk around and free trams for the longer journeys. We did our flight on the wheel, getting a great view of the business district, docks and bay area. We then did what we do best, just wandered about and explored, taking in a huge open-air market, Chinatown, street-art, parks, the Southbank area and the “Midsumma Festival – a Celebration of Queer Culture”. A very enjoyable day.
Another fun time was at Healesville Sanctuary, a wildlife zoo containing Australian native animals, including Tasmanian Devils and duck-billed platypus. It also had an animal hospital where you can watch vets carry out ops and even post mortems. However, the most amazing thing we saw was koalas jumping. YES, KOALAS CAN JUMP! Who knew?! We saw not one, but two of the doped-up-tree-huggers just leap from one branch to another. They just went from static to ninja to static in the blink of an eye.
With Mario back, we could plan getting on the road and out from under the feet of Simon & Danielle - what we originally hoped would be a maximum of 2 weeks had turned into more than 4. We have a lot of respect for them for taking on what they’re doing, big house with lots of land shared with parents, lots of jobs to do, in a new country, new born baby and both working – all very stressful individually, let alone all at once. Makes our adventure seem like a drive in the country! So thanks again guys for putting up with us!
So it was back on the road, but not just any road, the Great Ocean Road. Imagine all the best coastline of the UK all crammed into 150 miles, but it’s sunny, the sea is clear and best of all, it’s not total grid-lock. Stunning surf beaches, like Bells Beach of Point Break fame (Ripcurl & Quiksilver started here), beautiful sheltered coves for swimming, dramatic cliffs and awesome rock formations – all backing onto either forests or heathland. We had 3 lovely days just driving around, walking, swimming or chilling on the beach in our newly purchased shelter, which is great for keeping out of the very strong sun.
Then it was back to Melbourne to catch the 10½ hour ferry to Tasmania, which was a little bit choppy. The wine helped us sleep, but was not so appreciated come the 4.50am wake-up call for disembarkation. The reason for visiting “Tassie”? To see none other than our old friends from home, the legends who are Martin & Charlotte, and their beautiful daughters Katie & Emma. As we were negotiating their long and winding drive, we suddenly had the unforgettable sight of Martin running open armed towards us, looking like he should be singing “The hills are alive with the sound of music” – it was the best welcome ever!
Their house is perched on a hillside with breathtaking views overlooking the Huon Valley, which we hope to go kayaking and hiking through. We’ve got a few jobs to do on Mario while we’re here, but otherwise plan to explore the island and enjoy its outdoor activities – including Wineglass Bay and the local cider factory! Tomorrow is Australia Day, so we’ll be standing on the deck (pronounced “dick”) having a Barbie, supping some tinnies and singing “God Save Your Queen”!
Check out the gallery for photos. More to follow...
HooRoo
Down Under, Men At Work
G’day from Melbourne and a Happy New Year! Yes, we finally made it to Oz.
We left Kuala Lumpur on the 17th December after wasting a day killing time in a shopping mall before heading to the airport for our night flight with Air Asia. We had decided we didn’t want to smoke in Australia so used the airport smoking room to have our last cigarettes. The room was so disgusting and smelly, it was the ideal place to convince us it was the right thing to do.
The final security check at the boarding gate was an interesting one, the passenger in front of us was carrying a knuckle duster in his bum bag!! He seemed most confused as to why it was confiscated, as if it was perfectly normal to take such an item onto a plane! Thankfully, the flight itself was uneventful, we even managed to bag 3 seats each so we could lie down and get a few hours sleep. However, the best bit was watching dawn break as we flew over South Australia, giving us the first glimpse of our new playground.
Clearing Australian immigration and customs couldn’t have been more straightforward – it was all automated. No awkward questions, no checking the cleanliness of our shoes and no searching our bags for food. We can only hope they are so laid back with Mario!
So then we were met in arrivals by the lovely Danielle – our first physical contact with family for 6 months and it was great to see her, although we were in a bit of a daze after such a long journey. We were soon at Simon and Danielle’s beautiful hilltop “ranch” in horse country about an hour East of Melbourne. Here we met the gorgeous, bouncing baby boy Barnaby, D’s Mum and Dad, Josanne and Chris, 3 dogs, 2 horses, 2 alpacas and when he got home from work, cousin Simon!
It’s been really nice to be welcomed into a family home and we’re very grateful for their amazing hospitality, especially as they’ve got so much on their plates with a now 12 week old baby and so much to do around the home and 20 odd acres. Due to the rescheduled shipping dates, we are without Mario for about 2 weeks longer than we expected, we hope we are not overstaying our welcome!!
In an attempt to repay some of the hospitality, we have been trying to help out by gardening and helping with the collection and stacking of over 600 hay bales! This has been very tiring, showing how unfit we have both become whilst travelling, and has motivated us to ensure we find time to do some proper regular exercise in the future. Digging around in the garden and being out in the fields has made us very aware of the dangers of the notorious Australian wildlife. Protected with boots and gloves, we have been constantly on guard and extremely wary when moving stones, standing in long grass and reaching under bushes. So far we have only seen a few Huntsman spiders and Caroline has been stung by a Bull Ant, luckily no snakes yet!
On the plus side, we are enjoying the cuter side of Oz wildlife, spotting kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas, wombats and emus. On top of this, there is the constant soundtrack of laughing kookaburras, squawking cockatoos and parrots, and magpies that sound like R2D2! One day we took a trip to Phillip Island to see the Penguin Parade. This was an incredible sight where, at dusk, hundreds of little penguins come out of the sea and run across the beach to their burrows in the sand dunes to feed their chicks.
Christmas Day was a typically Australian affair with the turkey cooked on the BBQ, dinner eaten alfresco shielded from the hot sun by a large parasol and then a dip in the pool! It was lovely to spend the day with family and also catch up with the folks back home on Skype. On New Year’s Eve Simon and D hosted a BBQ and pool party, with plenty of wine and beer, which for us was a good opportunity to pick people’s brains as to ‘must visit’ destinations in Oz. 11 o’clock the next morning we watched the London New Year celebrations live on TV, which was a bit surreal.
The saying in Melbourne is ‘you get 4 seasons in one day’ and that has certainly been the case. From day-to-day the max temperature can change almost 20 degrees and since we’ve been here, we’ve had highs over 40 and overnight lows of 6! The changeable climate and the hilly countryside make it feel much like home and we can see why the early settlers chose here. We have visited such places nearby as Cheltenham, Sandringham, Brighton and Cowes, making it feel a real home-from-home but on a much bigger, cleaner and warmer scale.
It feels great to finally be here, the aim was always to be in Melbourne for Christmas and we did it. Now we just have to wait to see what happens with Mario – he’s due in on the 7th. He’s currently heading towards Sydney having stopped at Brisbane.
Finally, congratulations to our WebMaster Andrew and his lovely wife Lisa on the birth of their son, Thomas William.
HooRoo
Merry Christmas
Mario's All At Sea
Hello from Kuala Lumpur!
Things have moved on pretty quickly since our last update. On the 3rd December we heard that the shipping date had been brought forward and we’d have to have Mario at the port on the 10th, a week earlier than originally planned – cue cleaning frenzy! By that time we had worked on him for 5 days, but still had loads to do to get him ship-shape. We also had to sort our clothes and pack for Oz (including cleaning shoes and anything else for their own quarantine inspection), sort paperwork, hotels, flights, clean Richard & PooChian’s flat and get to Port Klang to meet agents on the 9th, which meant leaving on the 8th.
Our cleaning sessions were interrupted by inquisitive holiday makers who would come over, chat and take photos. One even picked up our electric drill to pose for a photo with Caroline, which was a bit weird! We don’t know how many photos of us covered in sweat, dirt and grease there are out there, but surely they can’t be very interesting to strangers! It was a manic, stressful, tiring and bruising time, but we got there.
The day before we left we met Tony & Doreen from Kent, who have an apartment on the same floor. They have been “wintering” in Penang for the last 10 years, but also travelled extensively elsewhere. They invited us out to dinner that night and we had a lovely evening chatting about travel and life in general, it was a great end to our stay in Batu Ferringhi.
So it was up early on the 8th with a slight hangover, for the last of the packing, cleaning and to make the 6 hour drive to Port Klang, stopping for food and drinks as we dare not spill anything in Mario. We said a fond farewell to the beautiful apartment, friendly security guards and headed out into the bonkers traffic of Georgetown. We made good time off the island, only to get pulled by the police halfway over the bridge back to the mainland - our first “pull” since Kyrgyzstan. Apparently Mario wasn’t showing on their database as being registered when we entered Malaysia. Luckily we had all the right paperwork and were displaying the sticker to show we had the correct permit, so they accepted it was their system at fault and let us on our way. It wasted some valuable time, but at least we got some good views from the bridge.
We got to the hotel in Port Klang, which was a bit of a come down after living the high-life in Penang. It was very tired and well used and didn’t have a lot of the facilities advertised, specifically the restaurant was only open at breakfast (and that’s only after you’ve woken them up from sleeping on the tables or the floor – yes, really!). So after a long day’s drive, we found ourselves walking in the dark along a busy highway to find something to eat. Luckily there was a great little cafe up the road, which we would end up visiting 5 times over the next couple of days.
We met the shipping agents on the 9th, to finalise the paperwork and make payment (ouch) and then took Mario to the port on the 10th for final cleaning. This was a bit of a drama as they didn’t have proper facilities for something so big, but they did bring in contractors to do the job. We had to leave before the cleaning was finished, but from the photos they have since sent, hopefully Mario will be clean enough for Australian customs!
It was quite emotional saying goodbye to Mario, but also a relief to know we had done as much cleaning as we could, the shipping process was underway and that he would finally be sailing to Oz. We will now try to forget about Australian quarantine issues until he gets there, around 7th January. The ship left port on the 13th and from our Marine Tracker app, it’s currently at anchor in the Malacca Straits. Mario will be unloaded in Singapore and then put onto another ship to Australia.
So we’re now in Kuala Lumpur until the 17th, when we fly to Melbourne to see Simon, Danielle and baby Barnaby. After the disappointment of the Port Klang hotel, we decided to upgrade as a Christmas present to each other and booked the Pacific Regency Hotel Suites located between the KL Tower and the Petronas Twin Towers. On arrival, we were upgraded again to an “executive suite”, which was nice – it’s got 5 rooms!
We’ve been doing the usual sight-seeing stuff, going up the towers, seeing the old-town, Chinatown, Little India and exploring the huge shopping malls for a bit of air-conditioned luxury. There’s quite a few Christmas decorations around, some of the malls have carole-singers and we’ve been eating M&S mince pies, so we’re starting to feel a bit Christmassy.
Some of you may remember that the last time Bry was in KL he randomly bumped into an old work colleague while walking through a street market. Well, this time it was Caroline’s turn! As we were wandering through the stalls in Chinatown, she bumped into paramedic she used to work with at home! He too was on his way to Oz to meet family - it is truly a small world!
With Christmas just around the corner and from what we’ve seen on Facebook, we can visualise what our friends and family are up to with the usual preparations, how dare you enjoy yourselves without us! For many reasons we’re both feeling a long way from home right now and often wish we could just pop back. However, we’re REALLY looking forward to being with family at Christmas, we hope Simon & Danielle are prepared for an emotional overload – not to mention the dogs!
If we don’t get the chance to update before, we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Watch this space for our special Christmas Message!
TTFN
Mario's Malaysian Makeover
Hello from Malaysia, or as they say here, “Hello from Malaysia”! We’ve made it to our fifteenth country and as far as we can go before Mario is shipped to Australia.
When we last updated, 2 weeks ago - sorry for the delay SVW fans, but it’s all about quality not quantity – we were in Thailand and heading down the East Coast. The day after we updated, we were in contact with Richard & PooChian (Sprinter Crew in China) who had offered us a stay in their apartment in Penang, Malaysia. They said they were there till 19th Nov and would like to show us around before they left, so we decided to head straight there.
It was a relatively uneventful 3 day drive, just stopping in little bungalow resorts on the way down and a city centre hotel in Hat Yai. It was good to be off the tourist trail again and seeing more of the normal Thailand that we enjoyed when in the North East. We were a bit concerned about entering the Thai Southern Provinces as they are marked as “Advise Against All But Essential Travel” by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, with a warning about terrorist attacks against Westerners. However, when we got there it was the usual scenario we’ve experienced throughout our trip, as we’ve said many times: “everyone was really friendly and welcoming”!
On the 17th Nov we headed for Malaysia with the usual knot in our stomachs that border crossings bring, not knowing what we’d be faced with and how much bureaucracy we’d have to deal with. Yet again though, it was a pleasant surprise. Initially, there were actual real road-signs saying “International Border Crossing”, a first on our trip! Thai customs were very relaxed, not even bothering to make sure we were leaving with Mario. We handed over the temporary import paperwork, they asked where the van was, we said “In the car park”, they stamped us out – simples!
Crossing into Malaysia took a bit longer, but was also straightforward. This was the first time we’d use our Carnet, but this was just a case of it being stamped after the officer checking the details were correct against the VIN Plate. The most time was taken getting the insurance sorted as they couldn’t find a Mercedes Vario on their database – it took about an hour for them to jiggle the system to just say “Mercedes Van”, but they gave us free drinks while we waited, which was nice.
We then continued south, not realising it was a toll road – we hadn’t yet stopped at a cashpoint to get out any Ringgit. The charge at the toll booth was 2 Ringitt, about 40p. We did our usual dumb tourist act, apologised and offered the Thai Baht which we still had. The very smiley cashier was having none of it, so we offered him one US Dollar – more than enough - but he coyly asked “What about 2 Dollars?”, cheeky chap but deal done! He told us there was a cashpoint at the next services, but didn’t tell us there were other toll booths before we got there! At the next booth we found out they can just give you a card and you pay when you get off!
So then it was further South and over the bridge to Penang Island, through the manic traffic of Georgetown and around the coast to Richard and PooChian’s place in beautiful Batu Ferringhi. Their apartment is amazing, all mod-cons, but very homely and stunning views over the bay. We’re so grateful for their generosity for letting us stay here. It was lovely to see them again, especially in a much more relaxed environment than we all experienced racing through China. They were excellent hosts, taking time to show us around when they should have been packing to go back to London. We were introduced to Tony who owns the beach front restaurant - Richard’s daily haunt - and enjoyed his amazing chicken and mango dish. They showed us the night markets, the hawkers food court, helped us sort a local SIM card and on the last night took us into Georgetown for a slap-up meal and then back for drinks and whiskey tasting on the balcony. It was a great welcome for us and hopefully a good send off for them.
With the place to ourselves, feeling a bit like children left in the house on their own, we started chasing up our shipping contacts to sort Operation Mario MegaMove. We have finally made some proper ground and it looks like he’ll be going on RoRo (roll on, roll off - like a cross channel ferry, but no passengers) around the 16th December, with him getting to Oz about 2 weeks later.
There’s still a few things to sort, but that’s the current plan. With that in mind, we have now started Mario’s Malaysian Makeover, basically cleaning everything and anything. Australia’s quarantine laws mean any vehicle coming into the country must be free of mud, seeds, grease and live insects – if they find it’s dirty they will charge for cleaning, fumigation and even have the right to refuse entry, putting the vehicle back on the next ship at the owner’s expense. It’s a daunting prospect, both the work involved and the ultimate consequence of not doing it well enough.
So far we’ve emptied and cleaned all 20 cupboards in the back and made a start on scrubbing and disinfecting the items that will stay in them. We’ve had the dashboard out, the ventilation system apart, the front seats out, the door seals off and the seat bases and the floor scrubbed beyond recognition. We have still to tackle the boot and all the tools and accessories in there and then do some prep work before we drive to Kuala Lumpur where the underneath and engine will be professionally cleaned.
We had some reservations about doing the work in the car park of a posh apartment building, but Richard had no concerns and the security guys here have been more than accommodating. We have been buying them drinks to keep them sweet, in return they have let us hook-up to their electrics and they come over for chats to see how we’re doing. They’ve even started bringing us drinks, iced-teas in a plastic bag with a straw - just what you need when you’re soaked through with sweat in the hot weather.
It hasn’t all been hard work, we’ve spent a day in the capital of Penang, Georgetown, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There’s lots of street art here, so we picked up a map and did our own walking tour, concentrating mainly on the many cat pieces. There was also a motorbike festival going on, which was good to walk around as we haven’t seen any proper big bikes since Europe. However, our visit was cut short when we realised there wasn’t a bar. A bike-fest without a bar? What were they thinking? Being Brits, we had to visit the old Fort Cornwallis, built by the Brits in the late 1700’s. It only cost 40p each to get in, which was probably too much! Not much to see, mainly overgrown with grass and a big modern cafe built in the middle.
The weather is best described as “tropical”. Very hot, very humid and most afternoons or evenings bring tremendous thunderstorms, which we enjoy from the balcony. As a result, the environment is lush and green, with lots of varied wildlife. There is a jungle behind the apartment where we can see monkeys jumping from tree to tree. They venture out towards the beach, crossing the road on the telephone lines, we’ve even had a couple visit us in the car park when we’ve been cleaning Mario. Other visitors have been black giant squirrels, sea eagles and numerous insects being chased by everybody’s favourite lizard - geckos.
The food here is outstanding due to the many cultural influences history has brought. Traditional Malaysian, Thai, Chinese, Indian and of course Western, it’s got it all. Our favourite place is the hawkers food court - a big, noisy square surrounded by loads of stalls. You grab a numbered table, wander around the stalls, order what you want and they bring it over when it’s ready. A great way to taste lots of cheap, different dishes in a friendly, informal environment.
With us planning the jump to Australia and realising the costs involved, we’re starting to consider that we may be reaching the end of our trip, not so much in time, but in countries left to visit. We could stay in Oz for a year, so we have plenty of time left, but the shipping costs suggest we won’t be taking Mario to the Americas. More likely is that we will ship him home from Oz and decide from there how or if we do South and/or North America. What we currently think is that we could backpack South America, public transport the States and then hire a motorhome to cross Canada. Much will depend on how cheaply we can travel through Oz, so no definite plans yet, but it’s something we need to think about. As we’ve said before, the romantic ideal of just packing up and travelling is not realistic, at least not with your own vehicle – there’s so much planning to do, some of which you need to do months in advance and some of which can only be sorted at the last minute. Time will tell!!
Well we can’t sit around here all day playing on the computer, we’ve got more cleaning to do!
TTFN