Author: Mrs A
Location: Geraldton
We had booked our Toyota Landcruiser in for a service this morning, so that is how our day began, dropping it off for its mid-trip check up. While the mechanics were checking it over, we settled ourselves down at a busy little cafe in town, next to a wi-fi hotspot, and enjoyed some food and drinks while making good use of the speedy network.
Geraldton was one of the first locations in Australia to receive the NBN (National Broadband Network – nationwide fibre optic high speed internet) and this is our first opportunity to try it out – it’s impressively fast, and we managed to download lots more from Netflix.
The car passed its service with flying colours with no serious problems identified.
Our next task was a lot more nerve wracking, and the major event Mr A alluded to yesterday. Mr A’s driving licence expires in October, and in order to get a new one, he needed to pass an eyesight test. As many of you are aware, Mr A suffers from a rare degenerative eye disease, Pigment Dispersion Syndrome (PDS), and has lost some of his peripheral vision due to that.
Over the past few weeks we have been discussing what we would need to do if he was unable to continue to drive…how I would need to learn how to tow and park the caravan – something that so far only Mark has done. So, into the opticians he went.
Forty-five minutes later I get the call – he has passed! What a relief! He can continue driving for another five years…
And so we returned to the campground. Yesterday we mentioned the stalker who approached us in town. Well he and his wife invited us over for dinner tonight. We quickly Googled to confirm there were no outstanding warrants, before bravely accepting.
We jumped into a taxi and headed across to the other side of town to Greg and Claire’s home. They live in a gorgeous big house overlooking the Indian Ocean, a koi pond in the front garden and tastefully decorated. It was funny being in a house again – reminding us our entire living space is about the same size of their kitchen!
We had a lovely evening, good wine coupled with delicious homegrown olives, endemarme and cheeses, followed by a seafood paella. Lots of laughter had, enhanced by the timely message from friend Paul in Sydney:
‘Just read the blog. Run away from the man in the car. Have you not watched the movies?’
A fun evening discussing travels and adventures, and new friends made. Awesome! This is what travelling is all about…
Congratulations Mark! This trip does not have to end for another 5 years!
Mr A says thank you!