Day 20

The habit of the last 2 weeks was tough to break, so at 8.30 I was up and set for the day - making the most of the free breakfast provided in the hostel. I know this wont last, and so have to make the most of it while it does. Doug was still out of it, but there was plenty of things to do as we were hoping to have the car sold by the end of the day. As I started going through it, I realised we'd been carting a LOT of equipment around the country. All of it would need to be thrown, or taken to the hostel and sorted out. All the random bags of "forgotten" items which had been lining the car were no longer so appropriate, and needed to be packed into normal bags. To sort through all the stuff, I'd moved the car about 6 parking spots so that there was plenty of space around it and so it was no longer on a sideways slops, then got to it - taking everything out the car and making piles - Stuff to throw away, stuff to sell with the car, and stuff to take with us. Eventually, I got a text from Doug asking where I was and what had happened to the car. I'd checked after moving the car that it was clearly visible from the old parking spot and from the stairwell entry to the car park. Doug had stopped in the stairwell entry, able to see a tiny corner of the previous parking spot - enough to see the car was no longer there. Blaming his height difference for not being able to see where the car had been moved to, he had been worrying that the car had been stolen! No such luck, as we'd have got a nice payout on the insurance. Instead, we slaved away clearing through the crap. For the final stages of the journey, we'd noticed some foul smells occasionally emanating from the back of the car, and were not sure what could be causing it. When I came to clean out the thermos used on day 4 for hot dogs I discovered a soggy orange mess. Doug and I had both been convinced he had removed the remaining sausages and rinsed the thermos - but apparently not. The festering remains of 2 hot dog sausages which had soaked up all the remaining water had a stench bad enough to turn both our stomachs - and after a few minutes of retching and gasping for fresh air we were able to continue cleaning. Needless to say, the thermos was instantly thrown into the rubbish pile.

Eventually the car was marginally cleaner, remnants of red dust (a key selling point for the car) still everywhere. Just in time, as the first viewers called to say they were outside. I walked up to the entrance, and after walking right past them, we got on the phone again and met our potential buyers - a German couple wanting to travel round the country to Melbourne, an exact opposite of our travels. I brought them down to the car and gave them the spiel. Walking them round the car, many memories came flooding back. They were impressed, and happy when looking under the hood that it was so clean. With them happy, we started to work out the details for the sale. It turns out that to sell it, a "blue slip" would be required. This is the equivalent to a roadworthy, or MOT from what we've been led to believe, but strangely no-one seems to be able to tell us exactly what it entails. After a bit of calling round, I find a garage recommended by Travellers AutoBarn who say they will be able to do the blue slip today. The car is loaded with all the saleable items, but we still have the rubbish and our belongings to move up to the hostel. Leaving the potential buyers with the car, an opportunity for them to poke and prod and discover whatever they needed to but where too polite to do while we were there, Doug and I start the seemingly endless trips backwards and forwards to the hostel. My bags seemed to have quadrupled in weight, and they were heavy enough before. By the time all the stuff we're taking with us is moved, I'm knackered. I'm hot and sweaty, and dog tired. My muscles ache, and we still have a load of rubbish to bring up. I've already checked with the hostel and they have agreed to us dumping it with their stuff. Doug has managed to get all of our rubbish into a massive plastic bag, and together we lug it up to the hostel. When they see the size they are less than impressed with putting it in their bins, and eventually we reach a compromise - $15 for every 3 standard bin liners. At this stage, our potential buyers have been hanging around for nearly an hour - and we're fed up and tired. We manage to cram (crushing using our bodies where needed) the entire lot into 3 bags, and just about tie them up. If they are picked up wrong they will split, but the hostel are happy to accept them. Grabbing a cold drink, we make our way back to the car and set off to the garage. Its about a 20minute drive, and Doug sits in the back to let the guests see more of the car in action. The downside to this, is that Doug is supposed to be directing me and many of the directions come after we've passed the junction the direction was for. Nearly an hour of travelling and we arrive. There is no parking nearby, but Doug jumps out to see where they want things to go. There is a bit of a struggle, as he appears to be talking to someone different to who I spoke to on the phone, and they aren't able to look at it until 3pm, about 1 hour away. He also needs paperwork, after Doug goes back and forth between the car and the shop a number of times, we lock the car up and all of us join him to resolve this once and for all. The German couple now decide that they want further mechanical checks done on the car, and I let them know they will be paying for this as well. Confident that the car will pass any checks it needs to - especially as it has just been through a service 1500km ago. Because the original garage can't do this kind of check until Monday at the earliest (5 days away), they suggest we try some of the other garages. With the most useless directions in the world, we set out in the hope that somewhere nearby is quiet and can do it today or tomorrow. After driving round the back streets of Bronte what seems like a hundred times, frequently getting caught with no right turns and late directions being passed from the backseat navigator, we eventually find another garage. No luck, there is no way they can do it. They also try to direct us somewhere else but we end up going round in circles, eventually ending up back at the first garage. Armed with my phone and Google maps loaded, this time I get them to point out on the map where the recommended garages are. We set off again, and happen to pass another garage. It looks quiet, so we park and go chat. Success at last, they are quiet and can start the work today. They are happy to do the blue slip and the other checks, and our German friends haggle the price as they will be paying. We're a bit taken back when they take no contact details for us at all, only taking the German couples phone number as they are the client. I do make sure however that he is fully aware the car cannot be collected by them, and they agree to call me when they get word. With everything sorted, we start walking towards Bondi Junction, the closest train station. The German couple peel off to go to a supermarket and Doug and I walk back to Kings Cross, only a 20 minute walk further on. Its time to relax for a bit, so I head to the internet cafe across the road to sort out some things, like booking a place to stay when I arrive in Canada and the like.

While I was in Melbourne, I had become attached to a website called Scoopon. This amazing invention seems to have been created to help me spend money, but has been the source of so many of our Australian adventures. A company creates a deal, which only goes live once a specific number of people have signed up. For businesses its a great way of advertising and expanding your customer base, and for people like me its a great way of booking fun and exciting things to do (like learning to scuba dive, or swimming with dolphins) without having to think or pay the full amount. In preparation for Sydney, I'd kept an eye on the Sydney deals as well and had bought a voucher entitling us to a 3 course meal for 2 with a bottle of wine in a funky Thai restaurant. I ordered 2 of the vouchers, so that we could entertain Doug's cousin who lived in Sydney. Unfortunately, Thai food was no good for her boyfriend, as he is allergic to nuts. We had dinner arranged with them for Friday night (tomorrow), so used one of the vouchers for ourselves. We walked into the city, and spent a while searching for the restaurant. It was well hidden, but fantastically decorated - incredibly quirky and seemed to be well suited to busy family meals, business dinners, and more intimate dates. Doug didn't receive my offer to buy him a rose from the salesman too well, and luckily the salesman didn't ask if we wanted to buy one as I think he would have been very embarrassed by it too! The food was excellent, Doug marveling at the size of the King Prawn's even though he wouldn't try them himself. Feeling adventurous I'd got the waitress to choose some dishes for me, and King Prawns is what I ended up with. After dinner, we decided on a walk - and I was able to show Doug around Darling Harbour. I knew the guided walking tour we were doing tomorrow morning wouldn't bring us here and felt safe that I wouldn't be spoiling their information. After seeing Darling Harbour, Doug wanted to see Sydney Harbour, so we took a staggered walk through the streets of Sydney to see it. We must have arrived at just the right time, with the moon shining over the opera house, and Jupiter clearly visible right above that. Within 10 minutes, the moon had been concealed by cloud cover, but not before we were able to snap some great pictures. We meandered our way back to the hostel, branching out and cutting across a park, instead of following the routes I knew. We made it unscathed, and joined some of the others in the hostel on the rooftop for a few drinks before they closed it up. It had been another long day, and I was shattered again. Getting up early sure has a negative effect on staying up late!

Just before I went to sleep, I got a text message. It was from the German couple, who had finally decided they didn't want to buy the car, and had cancelled all the work at the garage. I was furious. The whole day had been wasted getting them happy to buy the car, and they hadn't even the courtesy to let us know when they spoke to the garage. It was not a happy ending to the day.