The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Thursday, May 30, 2019

Almost ready to hit the road!

We're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Spent the morning finishing cleaning up Bundy and Joyce and got the electric systems figured out and working properly. The house battery seems to be fine, and the 160 watt folding solar panel kits works fine as well. Unfortunately, the engine battery did not pass the tests and needed to be replaced.

Our host Pat knows quite a few people in the auto parts and repair business and a few phone calls later got us a brand new battery wholesale for $150 AUD ($140 CAD, $105 USD). I had done some searching and the best I could find was $245 AUD!

I took the old engine battery out and found that it was four years old. (With a price tag still on it that said $199 AUD).  It's not unreasonable for a 4 year old engine battery to go bad, especially if it's not been looked after. So despite the cost, I feel better that Bundy now has a brand new battery.

Some people don't like the name "Bundy", but I think it's fine. The name comes from Bundaberg Rum, which here in Australia is often referred to as Bundy. Some people think it reminds them of Ted Bundy... personally, I think of Al Bundy!

Also, we got the vehicle registration officially done today. We had to pay "stamp duty"... the tax involved with transferring a used vehicle... $60 plus $4 for every $100 or part of $100 over $3000.

The girl in the office gave us a hard time about it because we were using our friend's address and did not have a South Australia driver's licence. She was just being hard to get along with though, and when she went and checked with her supervisor, the supervisor told her to just get on with it. Obviously, I'm not the first foreigner to register a vehicle in Australia!

Anyhow, Bundy is officially ours. Joyce, as the camper, is not on the registration.

The other night, our hosts held a little house party and invited some neighbors and friends to meet "the foreigners".

Mark. Kevin, Louise, and Jane.

Glenys and Steve.

Pat, Simon, Adele, and Michael.

Louise, Jane, and Julie.

Lots of fun.

So, now we are planning our route and hoping to head out on Saturday morning.

We were a little concerned about the fact that it is the beginning of "winter" here in Australia, but we are learning that highs of about 13C to 16C (55F to 61F) and lows between 8C to 10C (46F to 5F) is totally fine with us. 

So we are going to head down to The Great Ocean Road south of Melbourne.

Our approximate route over the next week or two!

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And in Canada...






22 comments:

  1. Isnt Adelaide a gorgeoys city! i love it.. my grandkids live there so i visit them everytime im in Australia... and nkw the fun journey begins! the further north you go..the warmer it gets..and the pacifiP. ocean is warm enuff to swim in even in winter :) safe travels xx

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    1. Unfortunately we really haven't seen anything of Adelaide except for when we drove through it on our way from the airport to the RV storage place. We have just been so busy working on Bundy and Joyce, and Adelaide is a fair distance from our hosts place in Aldinga Beach. We feel bad about not being able to explore the area better but there is always a future visit. :-)

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  2. What a fun time you have had so far , now ready to hu the road and explore. Time to enjoy Australia.

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    1. Yes, we are having a great time. It has been a fantastic start to our Australia adventure.

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  3. I love how friendly your hosts are to you, they are so nice. I can't imagine how you'd get on without their help.

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    1. They have been super, they have helped us so much and welcomed us with open arms. We have no doubt that we would have managed fine on our own but it would have taken us a lot longer to get ourselves sorted out and we wouldn't have had easy access to so many of the things that we needed. We really can't thank Louise and Pat enough for all their generosity and hospitality. :-)

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  4. Looks like you're finding out the same thing I have, Aussies are super friendly people! :c)

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    1. You got that right! Wonderful and generous people for sure. What a great welcome we have had to Australia. :-)

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  5. If a new battery is all it needed then frankly you got off easy! Even better your new friends helped you get cheaper. Interesting route - I look forward to your ozzie adventures!

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    1. So far that is all that we have really needed but we will see how things go as we head down the road. Yes, we are lucky that Pat knew someone in the industry and we were able to get a great deal on the battery.

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  6. Looks like a great trip. Are you able to boondock or will you be staying in parks?

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  7. So when you registered the vehicle did you only have to declare the value of the truck and pay tax on that rather than the whole amount including the camper??

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  8. Replies
    1. It sure has been, what a great welcome to Australia! :-)

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  9. Joyce and Bundy are looking spiffy. Just freshly washed.

    Very fortunate that just the battery had to be replaced.

    Last but not least, I tip my hat to your hosts over the last few days. They are special people to take you into their home and provide sustenance while you prepare for your upcoming journey.

    Enjoy!




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    1. We didn't ash the outside, it was pretty clean but we washed just about every surface there was inside of Joyce.

      We totally agree with you on tipping our hats to both Louise and Pat. What a wonderful couple they are, to open up their home to us and help us will just about every need we had. There is absolutely no possible way that we can ever thank them enough for all that they have done for us. We are very lucky people indeed! :-)

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  10. You will appreciate having the new battery to keep Bundy running.
    Nice meeting some of the Locals. Certain that they had a lot of questions.
    Looks like you have chosen a nice route. There are lots of Free Camping places to stay in.
    Just catching up.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. Yes, a new battery was necessary and yes, we will be happy to have it.

      It was nice to meet the locals and we probably had as many questions for them as they had for us.

      It looks like there should be plenty of free camping opportunities for us.

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  11. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Wirra+Wirra+Vineyards/@-35.2225538,137.4564312,8z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x6bb97d9a1ca15607!8m2!3d-35.2260156!4d138.5678317

    But thinking you are no longer close. Got a couple bottles as a tip years ago - nice wines.

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    1. We are actually in that area now, not sure if we are going to pass by that winery or not but if we do we might just stop by and check it out, thanks! :-)

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