Cairns – 11 Day Special

Day 1 – Welcome to Oz

For the next 10 days we are holed up in an Air BnB apartment with the sole purpose of administration for our Australian adventure, so this blog may not be that exciting.  Tasks include opening a bank account, sourcing a campervan and deciding what we are going to do here!

We arrived in Brisbane early in the morning and soon discovered that Shell’s bag had not turned up and was on its way to Melbourne!!  So after speaking to missing baggage they assured us it would be delivered to our address in Cairns later that day.

Passing through customs and looking a bit dodgy as normal we were put down a different channel so that a sniffer dog could have a butchers at our remaining luggage.  Happy that we were not international drug smugglers we then exited the building and hopped on a bus to take us to the domestic terminal for our next flight.

When we got to the domestic terminal we grabbed some coffee at a shop outside and noticed that it was decidedly colder than Asia, more like a UK summer morning.

As we had a bit of time to kill whilst waiting for our next flight we sorted ourselves out with an Australian Lonely Planet Guide and a local Simm card so we would have some internet connection.

Our next flight to Cairns left mid-morning and after another two hour flight we were touching down and on exiting the plane it felt much warmer in North Australia.  We picked up our remaining bag joined the queue for a taxi to take us to our accommodation for the next 10 days.

The driver had to search round for a bit then we entered a nice cul-de-sac where we found our apartment, unfortunately our host wasn’t around but a handyman was on site who called him and then he turned up 5 minutes later.

It was a nice little studio apartment with three rooms (luxury for us) and it was great to be able to unpack for ten days, well for me it was anyway!  It also had a little private outside bit for us to sit in and a washing area round the corner plus a communal pool.

Once we had poked through all the cupboards and rooms we then headed to a nearby shopping centre to pick up some groceries for the next few days.  It was great to be in a supermarket where we could understand everything and get everything we needed.  Food shopping done we popped next door to the bottle shop and were reunited with an old friend….Red Wine!!

Returning to our apartment Shell organised our food cupboards whilst I stuck all of my closes in the washing machine (Shell would have to wait until hers turned up!!), even the stuff that may or may not have been clean, because I could (You wouldn’t believe how good having a washing machine is after 7 months!).

 In the evening we cooked up an English favourite, Sausage and Mash (Because we could!) and thankfully Shell’s bag turned up.

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing in our space, drinking red wine and watching Rockstar Supernova off of our PC until the early hours of the morning.

Day 2 – Getting Stuff Sorted

In the morning we had a very nice cooked breakfast before heading to the bus stop around the corner by the shopping centre to take us on a half hour trip into Cairns city centre, we noticed that the drivers here are happy and very helpful (quite a difference to London Bus Drivers).

Getting off at a large shopping centre our first job was to try and open a bank account (we thought it would be easier to have one in Oz and avoid exchange charges).  The first bank we entered told us they would be able to arrange an appointment for us to open an account the following Friday, no good so we tried another one around the corner.  Luckily enough there was a very friendly woman there who told us she could open an account for us in 20 minutes and our cards would be delivered to the branch in a week’s time, job done!

We then headed to a bar to celebrate opening our account (doesn’t take much!!) and partook in our first Australian Schooners, which are basically a ¾ pint glass.

I had noticed a plot of happyish sprayed up campervans (I particularly liked the Sex Pistol’s one) so we decided to go and check them out, when we got there it appeared to be a bit of a storage area for a company called wicked campers which had no office attached.

We headed back to the pub and did a bit of internet research and found that Wicked Campers did have a nearby office but it was shutting in ½ hour, so after getting some directions from a guy in the pub, I left Shell there and run down the road to find it.

The company was run by an ex-pat and I found out it was a rental company and that to hire a van for two months would cost us the best part of £ 2,000 for quite a basic camper.  The guy was pretty helpful though and gave me a few pointers, even suggesting my best option would be to buy one, which was nice considering he ran a company that hired vans.

I returned to Shell and told her what I had found out and we headed to another bar, with very colourful characters sitting outside (think stereotypical Aussie’s and you will get the picture).  Whilst supping a couple more schooners we trawled through the Cairns Gumtree Website and looked for vans for sale, there were a couple that interested us in the £ 2,000 bracket so we sent off E-Mail’s to see if we could arrange viewings.

It was now late afternoon so we caught the bus back home where we cooked another nice meal, drank red wine and had another late night streaming on my PC and watching Rockstar Supernova (Shell did not see it the first time round!).

Day 3 – Van Hunt

We had received replies back for two of the vans we had enquired about so arranged viewings for later in the day.

After breakfast we caught the bus into town again and then walked for a while until we found the Hostel where Jonas had arranged to meet us to see his van.  Jonas and his partner were a nice (but slightly smelly) German couple and their van was….small (a converted Mitsubishi Van).  We both had a look around it trying to be positive, but it had a crawl space where the double bed was and very little storage space and hand painted with wall paint.  I took it for a test drive and found the steering to be pretty heavy but apart from that it seemed OK.

Thanking them we said we would have a think about it and be in touch, although in our hearts we knew we would not be buying this one.  Unfortunately just as we set off for the second viewing (which looked like a better van) we received text informing us that it had just been sold.

So we had a re-think and found another van hire shop (Autobarn) where we thought we could compare the rental price but also see if they had any old vans for sale.

It turned out that the rental was going to be around £ 1,500 for a very small van to £ 2,000 for a larger high-top one, plus the rental of various items, i.e. tables, chairs, etc.  We then had a look at a couple they had for sale but they were pretty basic converted vans with a bed in them, but you would have the expense of totally kitting them out.

Feeling a bit despondent we headed down the road and found a bar, with a band playing in it where we decided to have a couple of schooners to drown our sorrows and frustration. 

Whilst chatting we agreed that if we bought a small van we would very likely kill each other so we took the decision to increase our budget and get something bigger and more comfortable, the thinking that if we paid more we would also sell it for more and we had £2,000 (Dead money of renting a van) to gamble with.

With that in mind we scoured Gumtree again and found some nicer vans, one that particularly caught our eye, and sent off some more E-mails, one of which replied pretty quickly and we arranged to see it in a couple of day’s time.

Happier now we had made this decision we had a few more beers and got chatting to the locals in the bar and were joined by a few, including some old fella with large growth’s on his hands ….Nice!! (That’s what the sun will do to ya!!).

Chatting with whoever passed, one guy told us we should stick around as at around 7.00pm as a 100 ukulele players would turn up for a jam session and there would be dancing in the street.  So it’s not everyday you witness something like that so we decided to stay.

It was a slight exaggeration, but at 7.00pm about 30 players turned up, sat around a long table and preceded to bang out some tunes on their ukulele’s.  All of various ages and styles, each doing their own flamboyant thing at times, it was quite surreal but entertaining.

After a while we had our fill of Uke’s we then jumped on a bus and headed home, where I cooked some pretty mean chicken fajita’s if I say so myself.

For the rest of the evening it was a repeat of the previous two nights, but we were happy when the guy, Philippe, selling the campervan we liked the look of most, contacted us and said he would come and show us the van the next morning at 11.00.

Day 4 – Van Tick!

At 11.00 we heard a van pull up and were met by Philippe, his wife and daughter who seemed like a nice French family.  The van had done over 500,000 KM’s and its paintwork had seen better days, although it had some artwork painted on the side courtesy of the daughter.

As it was a high-top van there was a lot of space inside, with bench seating and table which converted into one large double bed and the hi-top space which rolled out into another double bed.  It also had a fridge and a two ring stove/grill.  The van also came fully equipped with pretty much everything needed for camping, even including a sat-nav as the family were due to leave Australia.

I took it for a test drive with Philippe and was glad to find that it had power steering and appeared to sound and drive well, the only thing was the gears were a bit sticky, but it’s not surprising after all those KM’s on the clock.

Shell and I were pretty sold on it and we soon agreed to buy it for A$ 5,500 (£2750) down from  A$5,900 subject to getting it checked by a mechanic.  Pretty happy that we had got our van for the trip we celebrated with a wine.

We had seen on gumtree that there was a mechanic that did independent checks on vehicles and when we spoke to him he said he would be able to check the van in the afternoon if it was available (also handy because he was French).  I spoke to Philippe and he agreed to come round and pick us up at two and go and meet the Mechanic.

Philippe picked us up as agreed and we drove for ten miles before meeting the mechanic (complete in overalls) at the side of the road.  The mechanic was very quirky (reminded me of detective Colombo) but was very thorough, checking literary everything inside, outside and underneath before putting it through a test drive.

After he had done all his checks he then spoke to Philippe in French and Shell and I in English giving us all his honest appraisal and flagging up a few minor faults that might need checking.  He then preceded to get me to go under the van with him so he could show me the oil leak problem that we may have to sort out.  Whilst he was doing that he did tell me that he was surprised that the van was this good and it 100% had been a hire vehicle that had been well looked after, although he said we may be paying slightly too much and to negotiate further.

Philippe then drove us back to our apartment where Shell negotiated the final sale price down to A$5,200 in view of the comments from the mechanic and the cost of the minor repairs we were going to have to make.

Van now sorted we had a bottle of wine to celebrate and cancelled the other viewing we had for the next day.

Shell was not feeling that great so she headed for a lie down at 6.00 which turned out to be her bedtime as she did not get up again.  I took the chance whilst she was asleep to catch up on some of the Euro football action and watch a bit of TV, which by the way is mainly UK TV rubbish, i.e. Bargain Hunt, The Chase, The Bill and other old detective series, etc. before going to bed myself.

Day 5 – Rain!!

Shell was up at 4.00am with a stinking cold and to make things worse it decided to rain all day which meant we couldn’t do much.

So mostly today consisted of eating, blogging, watching TV and trying to sort out insurance quotes for the van before having an early night for once.

Day 6 – More Rain

After breakfast we headed back into Cairns central to see if we could sort out internet banking for our new Aussie bank account and to find if the money we had transferred to pay for the van had hit our new account.

Arriving at the bank they were having problem with their internet system but gave us details so we could set this up ourselves at home, also the money had not arrived yet.

We then headed on a long walk (Shell wasn’t feeling it) to find the garage that our French mechanic had recommended to do the small repairs.  After a while we found it but discovered they were too busy to fit us in and gave us details of another garage nearby.  We found this other garage and told them what we needed done and they said they could book us in for later that week.

There was nothing else to do and with Shell still not feeling 100% we went back home to sort out our internet banking (which we did, still 0.00 in the account though!), chill-out, blog, eat and TV before bed.

Day 7 – The Hand-Over

More rain again this morning but on a positive note our cash had hit Australian shores so we contacted Philippe and let him know the cash was ready and we could pay for the van.

Around midday Philippe collected us and drove us to town where we went to the bank together and drew out the money.  We then went down the road to a place where his daughter was getting hair extension’s done and sorted out the paperwork, handed over the paperwork and received the keys.

A quick once over of the van with Philippe showing us how to put the gas on and some other bits and pieces and we said our goodbye, agreeing to meet the French family later in the week for a beer.

We then headed home with our new van and parked up outside our apartment and proceeded to explore all of the contents and what if anything we had to buy for it.

Happy that we had now secured and owned our new van/home for the next few weeks/months of our Australian adventure we celebrated with a nice bottle of Aussie red.  During our conversations we decided that our new van’s name was going to be Muriel, we just hope she’s not going to be ‘Terrible’!!

A bit later in the evening we ventured out to check out what our local tavern was like,  it was a bit empty so we had a couple of beers, got some destination advice off of one of the barmen and local bloke we were talking to before heading back for some food and bed.

Day 8 – Kitting Out

Shell was up with the larks (excited I think, not my snoring for a change) and she was out cleaning /washing Muriel and discovering where she was going to store everything (She’s just like a bigger suitcase!). Also before I was awake Shell had managed to wash all the bedding and cushion cases we had inherited

After breakfast we then drove very carefully into town, registration covers basic 3^rd party body injury but nothing else and parked up by the shopping centre.

We went to the bank to find our cards still hadn’t arrived so we went round the shops to buy stuff for Muriel.  Going through a number of shops we bought, towels, tea towels, mugs, plastic glasses, new duvet covers, chopping knife, masher, new spatula and a cheap toaster we saw on the way out all for around £ 40.00!

Shell now had her fix of retail therapy so we then headed back home, where we discovered Muriel had one leaky window that we would have to sort out.

In the evening I cooked quite a decent chilli (notice I only mention when I cook as it’s such an achievement!!)   and then we watched TV until bed.

Day 9 – Garage Day

Shell was up early again and making full use of our washing machine between rain showers and then when I arose I said I would run Muriel to the doctors on my own.

I dropped her off at the garage and then one of the guys there dropped me off at the central shopping area where I went back to the bank to check on our cards, still not arrived and time was running out.

With nothing else to do that day I returned home where I sorted out the car insurance (fully comp) which only worked out to be £30 a month, which wasn’t bad.

We spoke to the owner, Tony, of the apartment and asked if the apartment was available for an extra day which it was, so we said we would have It for an extra night.  At the same time Shell cheekily asked him if he wanted to sell the electric frying dish thingy in the apartment (she had already worked out its cubby hole in Muriel and tested it for size) and he said we could have it for $15, so Shell said she would have it (I was a bit dubious at this point, what do we need that for?).

Again the rest of the day was filled with, relaxing, blogging, TV, eating, drinking red wine before shutting our eyes for the night.

Day 10 – Indecent Proposal

For some unknown reason Shell has now got in the routine of getting up at stupid O’Clock, but I personally think it’s so she can watch that rubbish ‘Love Island’  on ITV player without me noticing.

When Shell was outside, Tony (the owner) popped by and asked her if ‘You could fix me up for the night’, being slightly taken aback she asked what he meant by that, to which he replied ‘pay me for the extra night’ , we’ll have to get used to this Aussie slang!!

When I finally got up we had some breakfast before heading back into town on a bus to go back to our bank, as luck would have it our debit cards had arrived (why Shell ordered a pink one I don’t know!), so we could now have the pick of the Aussie ATM’s.

We then headed down to the garage to pick up Muriel whose repairs cost us £ 200.00, for new front shocks, gearbox degrease, check the timing belt, check the rear brakes and repair the reversing lights.  The only thing they could fix was the leaky window seal, but they gave us a strip of sticky foam so we could patch it up ourselves.

On the way back I dropped Shell at the nearby shops to pick up a bit of food whilst I went to a nearby car audio shop to pick up a new aerial as radio did not work in Muriel.  Whilst Shell did a bit of relaxing I attempted to change the aerial myself which resulted in a lot of cursing, the aerial jack getting caught in the bodywork and me eventually pulling the thing off….maybe I’m not cut out to be a mechanic.

So giving up on that I went inside the house where we watched a bit of TV and had a bit of a nap before heading out for the evening.

It was the evening we had arrange to meet Philippe and his family, so we got the bus into town and met them at a bar close to where they were staying.  When we had previously enquired where they were going next they said Thailand, but we had sold them the idea of going to Myanmar and they were very keen on the idea and wanted to drill us for info.

For the next couple of hours we spent chatting and drinking with them until Shell and I said our goodbyes and wished them well on their travels.

On our way back to the bus stop we passed another small bar that had a live band on (you know we cannot resist live music) so we dropped in there for a drink.  The band was pretty standard so we decided to have just the one before catching the bus back home for the night.

Day 11 – Packed and Ready to Roll

The next morning after breakfast we began to load all our belongings into Muriel, clothes bags etc. and finding out where we could put and secure everything.

Once we had configured things to our liking we the headed to the supermarket to stock up on tins of food, a small amount (that would fit in our fridge) of meat and freash salad items.

We then headed to one of my favourite things in Oz, the bottle drive through store, a place where you can drive into, pick up your booze and drive out of, with a massive chiller section.  So we picked up some boxes of cider and a couple of cases of red wine and then headed back to the apartment.

Whilst Shell took her time arranging the food sections in our storage and a separate ‘bar section’ (apparently I can’t be trusted with such things!), I got on the phone and sorted us out some emergency breakdown cover so we didn’t get stuck in WongaWongaVille or the likes, which set us back another £90.00.

In the afternoon we patched up the leaky window with the foam the garage had gave us.  I then cooked another Chili, big enough for a meal that evening and some left over to put in Muriel’s fridge for an easy meal on another night.  Meanwhile Shell got busy with any last minute washing that needed doing before we set off.

For the rest of the evening we made the most of having armchairs and a TV and a proper bed for the night.

Unfortunately we did not see a great deal of Cairns, but we got done what needed to be done.  We also got the feeling we were going to like the ease of Australia after 7 months in Asia!