The East Coast was actually not included in our original plan, but faith decided differently… Buying a car in Australia is not as easy as you would think. All cars are registered in one state, and the ‘rego’ cannot be transferred interstate. Janis is registered in Queensland, 1000km away from Sydney…
Another thing we didn’t know: Queensland cars need a Safety Certificate, to be obtained in QLD by the seller. Janis didn’t have one…
So we had 2 options:
– re-register Janis in New South Wales. Cost: $1000
– drive to Queensland, get the safety certificate and transfer the rego. Cost: $100
Since we hadn’t seen the East Coast between Sydney and Brisbane yet, we chose the 2nd option and make a nice trip of it.
So, the 11th of June was D-day. It was hard to say goodbye to the Castle, and what made it even harder was the pouring (I mean: POURING!!) rain. Sydney was in tears at our leaving! On top of that, Janis turned out not to be so waterproof as we thought –> wet mattresses and seats –> the start of our Big Trip wasn’t as romantic as we pictured it.
But there was a nice and warm fire burning for us on Dangar Island. Sue and Tony welcomed us again with open arms in the house we can almost call our 2nd home. Unfortunately, we could only stay for one night, as we got a deadline to meet…
Next stop was Peter and Mary’s, friends of Jacqui and Greg. A house surrounded by fruit trees and creeks, with a couple of dozen wallabies (small type of kangaroos) hopping around in their garden. And… a great place to fall sick. MJ (or Marj, that’s what the Sydneysiders call her) spent most of our stay in bed with a fever. Tom and Peter took the time to work on Janis: make her waterproof, fix rust spots, install car radio… buy all kinds of spare parts, etc. With a full stomach (mmmm, Peter cooks delicious food), another warm feeling about Australian hospitality and a car loaded with fruit from the garden, we hit the road towards Byron Bay.
We were welcomed by Jo and Chris: again friends of Jacqui and Greg, and again spoiled by the Australian goodness. Jo and Chris helped us find out where to get our car registered right over the QLD border and offered us a beautiful separate studio where we could relax.
After having a last look at the ocean at the hippie town Byron Bay, we drove West. No more ocean for a long long time…
At – what appeared later as the last town before you reach the remote centre – Goondiwindi, we tried to put Janis’ registration on our name. Janis got easily through the safety check (of course, Janis is awesome), but the QLD administration was another problem to tackle… For registration, you need a “QLD garage address” for your car. We wanted to use the address of a friend in Brisbane, but that wasn’t possible without some extra paperwork and signatures… So, the only option we could think of was staying at a caravan park and ask with our sweetest smile if we could use their address (and – more important – if they were willing to sign the papers). Our sweetest smile resulted in a few skeptical questions, but the despair in our eyes made the owners melt. So thanks to sweet Raquel, our car is now garaged in Goondiwindi.
Time to relax and move further west!
Something About Oz 