*****
Two weeks earlier...
The decision had been made to embark on a road trip to Melbourne rather than fly straight to Tasmania. We'd been told about relocating campervans as a cheap option rather than renting a car/campervan. We'd been on a website and saw that petrol is included and it would only cost either a dollar or $5 a day. We'd spoken to someone in Kuala Lumpur who had done the same so felt it was a viable option, it was just a case of waiting until one was available during the dates that we wanted.
It was a good thing that nothing was booked as so much changed during that time. Firstly, we acquired a new travel buddy. Sarah had been at a loss as to what to do with her time in Sydney. Her friends were starting to leave and felt panicked by this. Dan (Aus Day) suggested the option of coming with us to Sarah. After a brief conversation, it was done. Our wolf pack had grown to four.
Mel explained our route options to Sarah and everything seemed to be falling into place. But when does anything ever run that smoothly in the real world. Of course there was a catch with the relocation vans. You only have one to three days to get the van there. Any extra days incur a ridiculous surcharge. We'd be rushed and then end up in Melbourne in exactly the same situation. We'd have all our stuff piled up on the side of the street and our options would be limited. Thinking it through, it wasn't such a good idea.
Mel looked into renting a car or campervan. Renting a campervan is a popular choice among backpackers but it's not cheap unless there's a large group of you, or you have a lot of money (duh!). We didn't realise there was a bond deposit that needed to be paid when renting a campervan. I was screwed on the deposit I put down on student accommodation so alarm bells were ringing for me straight away. None of us could afford this so we looked at renting a car.
This caused a lot of arguments as Steff said it was dead money and we may as well buy a car. There were risks on both sides. If we bought a car, there's the possibility that we'd end up with a dud and be stuck in the middle of nowhere. That could also happen with a rental but we'd have access to a breakdown service. If anything happened to the rental car we'd be hit with fees and costs to fix it. We wouldn't be arsed if our own car got a bit of a knock but we'd always be on edge that something might happen to the rental. Argh!
Mel was adamant that rental was best. I was on the fence and Sarah was with Steff on buying a car. As we couldn't all agree on the same thing, we carried on researching. Mel found a great deal on a rental car and reserved it. Everything had to be put in my name as I was the oldest. Again, this turned out to be too good to be true. As the only name on the account, only I was insured to drive the car. Mel and Steff wanted to drive so again this had to be scrapped. It was at this point that we decided to buy a car. What a faff on.
Transport wasn't the only thing we disagreed on. Our route kept changing every other day and it became increasingly frustrating. We couldn't plan anything as people kept telling us different things. I spoke to backpackers who recommended going south. We also spoke to backpackers who said that going north was the better option. All the Aussies we spoke to said North which tipped it over to become the majority vote.
One week earlier...
We still had no car and no clue. Steff and I scoured Gumtree for banger cars. There were plenty out there but nothing suitable or within our price range.
With days to spare, Steff came to the rescue. He found a car whilst he was at work, bought it, cleaned it out with Sarah and came and picked me and Mel up from work. It was the best surprise. From then on, everything fell into place. We bought all our camping gear and was pretty much good to go.
Mel and Steff are Mr and Mrs Organised so decided to practice pitching the tent up inside the hostel, much to the amusement of others. We did a damn good job too.
Our new home.
One day before...
Mel had bought thank you cards for the staff on reception at the hostel. We all decided to chip in and buy the managers a bottle of wine each. They helped Mel and Steff out a lot when they first arrived and saved our skins at the Christmas party. We were able to do odd jobs for them in return for free accommodation which a lot of places wouldn't do. It was a nice feeling being able to give something back and they looked happy when we presented it to them. We got all soppy and hugged it out.
I went back to the room to pack. I'd put off packing the beast as I knew what would happen. I had far too much stuff. I saw how much Mel stressed about cramming all her pretty things into her case and it's over twice the size of mine. Obviously I couldn't put it off any longer so I went through my stuff and chucked out everything that was old and that I didn't need. I was still left with a mountain of clothes and bulky items. Arse.
Mel tried her best to cram it in as I gave up all too easily. Fail. A distraction was in order and I had a perfect excuse. A farewell meal. I arranged to meet up with Emma for a final goodbye. Mel, Steff and I went across to the Surf Rock bar for a meal and drinks with a few others from the hostel. I'm not very good with goodbyes so I quickly hugged Emma and said the usual about keeping in touch and left. I wish I had spent more time with Emma whilst I was here but she's a very busy lady!
I walked back to the hostel with everyone else. I hugged everyone and said my goodbyes and hid in my room. I had things I needed to do anyway. I sat and stared at the beast. It was packed so tightly that it looked ready to burst. It was an uncomfortable sight.
*****
The morning came and the beast was still sat there across the room filled to the brim. My heart sank. I knew what I had to do. I decided to buy a new case from the surf shop up the road. I've upgraded from the 55L backpack to a 75L duffel bag case with wheels. I didn't want to discard the beast as we've had good times together. I didn't want to sell her either, not that I had time. I took it round to the post office to send home.
The postal system here is warped. I know it's expensive to send stuff across to Australia from the UK, but from here it's treble the price and it won't get home for three months. I had a brief moment with the beast as I wrapped her up in bubble wrap. I handed her over with a sigh. I didn't have long to feel down as I was leaving in less than half an hour.
We originally planned to set off at 10am as that is the checkout time at the hostel. Instead, we left at 12:30pm. A few people from the hostel were there to wave us goodbye as we left. We took plenty of photos and eventually left. Wooooo, road trip!!!
Cheese!
Me, Sarah and all the shit we took with us!
Goodbye Sydney Beachouse!!
