Day 7, its morning; the birds are singing, the people are walking and talking and I’m still in my bed all cosy and warm. I continue this wondrous splendour until the ripe time of 10:15 am (local time) where I slide gracefully onto the floor exactly the way a bowling ball slips out of an amateur bowler’s hands; quickly, and with a single small bounce upon impact.
Breakfast time struck me like a hand in hot water; not painful but I know it will become uncomfortable if left too long. So I walked over to the kitchen and pulled out a pancake shaker put in the allotted amount of water and shook it like a bee hive; excitedly, but always wary of the insides coming out. Fired up the gas stove and put on a frying pan getting ready for the consumption of this most delicious breakfast treat.
After ravenously devouring the edible mess that was once considered a pancake stack I joined the rest of the present company and listened in on what the new plan would be. Since the second car would not be fixed for another 2 weeks at least, they had a few options.
- Call it quits and send everything home and fix it there.
- Attempt a repair up in Darwin and try to continue on their second trip, leaving us to do the rest of the current trip alone.
- Repair the car in time for the second trip, but hire a rental 4×4 to continue the current trip with us.
We all went for option number 3 and went about changing dates and finding a rental car. After a while we found a Britz vehicle rental place in Darwin and found a camper based 4×4 available for pickup this Saturday (the 27th – tomorrow). How to get to Darwin?
The first idea was to get my uncle, my dad and I to drive up to the rental place which was about 3 and a half hours drive away. I would drive up then dad would drive his car back and my uncle his new rental. This plan would work but it would cost a small fortune in fuel which we do not have.
The next idea is the winner and it went as such. My uncle and auntie would catch the very next Greyhound Bus ride to Darwin from right here in Katherine. They would find accommodation close to either the rental place or the bus depot and drive back here as early as they can on Saturday.
As I type this my uncle and auntie are most likely settling into their accommodation choice for the night (10:00 pm local time). While we are attempting to do the same back here at the camp site.
I’m sure you’ve all seen what a small caravan park looks like, but just in case you haven’t here is a short description:
There’s a perimeter fence, one entry/exit and sectioned off rectangles of grass that you pay absurd amounts of money to drive your car to and set up your tent. The bonus is that you get hot showers and a washing machine!
Thanks for reading,
Trav.
