The Australia Connection

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Greetings from my new home, Mount Gambier, South Australia.

What a beautiful city this is. Trees, parks, cafes and some cool shops in the main street. It’s about the same size as Nelson City, 25,000 residents and like Nelson there seems to be plenty going on here. Upon my arrival I ended up in a motel that was simply awful. Apart from the calf shit yellow décor, I believed that I had plunged myself back in time to a 3 star motel from the 70’s. Not even the hint of an Internet connection but what really concerned me was that I appeared to be the only person in the 30 unit complex.

So the next day after meeting with my new bosses, Pat & Michael, I found a more 20^th century motel and yes, they had an Internet connection albeit it terribly slow. As I said I met Mick and Pat who run the show and got a feeling about what was expected of me. It sound interesting with plenty of variety.

First things first, I need to get a Heavy Combination License. Having now rung 26 driving instructors in both South Australia and Victoria I have found someone that can do the competency based course in about a week from now. That means that I will need to drive 450km to a place called Barmera, North of Adelaide, stay somewhere and do 3 days of classes. All things working out I will then be certified to drive the truck type I have been driving in the USA for the past 2 years. My only challenge is that I have to relearn how to drive the truck because I need to use the clutch and I’m not allowed to crunch the gears. Think I will leave the Multi Combination license for now which is the next step after HC which allows me to drive multi combination vehicles (2 or more trailers).

In the meantime I have been working for a hay contractor, Geoff. A really nice and quite casual group of people who have been excellent in getting me going on the hay rake. They put me in the oldest tractor they had which periodically changed gear on its own and tended to be hit and miss with fully functioning powers steering. The power steering gave out on me when I raked a hill paddock! Rest assured I have now found some unused muscles in my upper back and shoulders in recent days from turning the corners in the field.

I managed to find a place in a house after a week in the motel. I’m flatting with 2 Vets who have been very welcoming. I moved in on Wednesday and on Thursday evening Anita and Amanda plus 2 friends drove to Melbourne to catch a Friday flight to Brisbane to then drive 5 hours West of Brisbane to a town party. Now that is dedication for you. Must be a rip roaring full on shin-dig for them to travel all that way. They return on Monday night and will probably be exhausted. In the meantime I have Bob the cat and Benson the Beagle to keep me company. Bob doesn’t leave my side when I’m here and Benson is like every Beagle I have known, he eats everything, including lemons.

After walking across town a couple of times I picked up my new car, a 2001 Ford Falcon. It rattles a bit in the front, which probably means that I will need to spend some money on some shock absorbers. Apart from that it appears to be in good order and runs well. It has just been run in with 180kms on the clock. Registration here costs about $600.00 for the year, which is about double that of NZ. Oh and I need to insure it as well.

The climate here is very similar to New Zealand’s coastal regions. No doubt it gets hotter in land away from the Southern Ocean but right now it is about 20 degrees C (68 degrees F). Today is in fact quite cold with showers of rain, which means that the hay is too wet and I have Sunday to catch up on some stuff.

Off now to walk Benson the Beagle in the park nearby now so all the best and I hope to hear from you soon.

Kind Regards



Nigel Harte

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Photos

My Australian Car.
2001 Ford Falcon.

The Blue Lake, Mt Gambier.
The lake turns radiant blue in the Summer when the lake warms up a little. Calcites attach themselves to humus matter near the surface of the lake and it sinks to the bottom causing the blue light to be reflected out of the lake. This process apparently takes place over just a few days.

Port MacDonnell
Fishing Boats moored behind the breakwater. Mt Gambier is about 30km from the Southern Ocean and this is the Port where people can launch their boat to go fishing. No thanks. I felt seasick just looking over the break water!

Comments

[Kevin Harnett]

Cant believe your good fortune
What a fantastic start to a new venture, found it all so very interesting. To get such good flat mates too, is awesome,good luck and may God continue to bless you. Regards Special K.