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Published: April 7th 2008
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Adventures with Dan and Jake never seem to get boring! Last I wrote, we were in the Central Coast and about to take off driving up the coast in our van. About 15 minutes after we left Mark's house...POP! Our van was stuck in first gear, and unable to drive pretty much anywhere fast. Our gear box had basically exploded, and our van was nothing but a pile of car parts waiting to be sent to the junk yard. Thankfully, we were close enough to Mark's and we were able to spend the night back with him and his family. It actcually worked out great 'cause we went out with his frineds that night to watch the Rugby games, and drink beers.
We finally got a new van the next afternoon and continued what we already continued a crazy adventure up the Australian coast. We drove about 4 hours and pulled over when the sun went down at a small beach in the middle of nowhere. It was awesome. Before we left Mark's house, his mom gave us a TON of food, so that was our dinner. Our van converted from a kitchen to a huge bed, and that is
where we spent the night. We got up early the next morning and continued the drive north to Byron Bay where we would be spending the night! We were already behind schedule, but decided to stop at Dorrigio National Park. Dorrigo is one of the highest points on the eastern coast. Once you climb the 1,000 metre mountain, the park is situated on a huge plateau. We were able to walk on top of the Rainforest canopy, and go on a short 3 km hike. As we left, I said I would drive. I have only driven a stick shift once...maybe twice before. Jake was giving me tips and coaching me and the...POP! It happened again. This time, we were stuck in 4th gear and able to contiune driving at a slow pace. If we had stopped, we would have been soooooo far behind our schedule, so at 80km (about 48 mph) we drove 6 hours to Byron Bay. We were going so slow, everyone was honking at us...there are NO passing lanes in OZ. We put a sign in the back of our car...and let people deal with it...nothing we could do but drive!! Here is the one big
problem...when we stopped...we were in trouble. NO FIRST or SECOND GEAR!!! So every time we got to a stop light/round about/stop sign...guess who was first gear!! Yea, me....Fred Flintstone. Picture this...were stopped about 4 cars back from a red light...the light turns green...and here is dan in a main city on the coast of australia pushing a big van and giving it enough momuntun to start driving in 4th gear. Finally we got to Byron Bay, and suprisingly...we loved it. The drive in 4th was nothing short of rediculious. It was not only pouring for the last two hours, but we had other things to deal with as well. We came to one big steep hill, and because we could not downshift...didn't make it up on the first attempt. This was my first time ever stuck on a hill with no power to go forward. Scary. This is where Jake gets a lot of credit. He waited for traffic to clear, and used our momentum to roll down the hill backwards and then swing the van around until the front of the van was pointed downhill. On the second try...we got a big head start and made it up the
Our SECOND van
Newcastle Beach hill in 4th. I think in a normal situation...we would have been upset, but how could we?!!! We were in Australia, stranded in an awesome beach town, NOT PREPPING FOR FINALS! We got some great pizza, and pulled over in a neighborhood to sleep. Our luck would have it...the next morning we got a 5:30am wakeup banging on the window from a park ranger. We parked in a no parking zone. We didn't get fined, but had to move. Byron is a fun town. While our car got fixed we explored the cape, had some food and headed on our way! We don't think we are going to get charged...but even if we do...we won't pay it. The vans were SO old and the mechanics in both situations told us it wasn't our fault.
So now, we're in the Gold Coast spending the night with a family friend of Jake's. We are flying out early in the morning to Malaysia! Here is our schedule...
8 to 10- Kuala Lampur, Malaysia
10 to 14- Phuket, Thailand
14 to 16- Bangkok, Thailand
16 to 20- Hanoi, Vietnam
21- Back in OZ
22- Back to AMERICA!!!
I'll try to update
TRANSFORMERS!
Our van turned into a BED! (a big one) as our adventures continue! After all, we're staying in a resort in Phuket (only $24 a night!)!!!!!!
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