Tow Truck

The poor Kombi started coughing her guts up again. We got as far as Balladonia, limping her in for the last few kilometres. But she has a fuel issue. Petrol is leaking into the oil, and she needs a Kombi doctor to clear her lungs.

Ern had a tinker via telephone conference with the Kombi mechanic in Fremantle, but no joy. Daph had a stressful morning on the phone with the insensitive woman at the tow truck company who couldn’t understand why Daph was taking so long to decide whether to pay $8900 to continue onwards towards home to the Volkswagen specialist in Whyalla, or $4000 back to Fremantle where we started...

Cranky lady: “I haven’t got time to have my truck sitting there waiting for your decision!” ... like half an hour would make a difference when the tow truck driver is looking down the barrel of a nine-hour minimum drive anyhow.

Daph knows it’s a no-brainer, cost-wise. But going back to Perth adds a week to our homeward journey and we are time-poor now, with Daph starting back at work in Gosford in three weeks. NRMA Roadside Assistance was wonderful. Daph has been with them for twenty-three years and, to say thank you for her long service, they are covering the $4000 tow truck bill. Champions! So back to Perth we go. We are hoping that it’s a quick fix for the Kombi and that we will be back on the road in time to get home, as planned, for the end of July.

We kissed the Kombi goodbye as she jumped on the back of the tow truck and is heading back to Fremantle as we speak. Due to COVID restrictions, Daph and Ern weren’t allowed to ride in the truck with the Kombi. The tow truck guys kindly loaned us a car to get us as far as Kalgoorlie, but it was up to us to find our own way back to Fremantle from there. We missed the last train, but luckily the Kalgoorlie AVIS had a Perth hire car that needed returning, so we got a great deal for doing them a favour.

Daph and Ern believe that everything happens for a reason. Difficult times are just puzzles that need solving, or lessons to teach us something. Either we are not meant to be travelling on the Nullarbor right now, or we missed something we were meant to do back in Perth. The Universe has a plan for us, and whilst it wasn’t our original plan, we are getting looked after during this turn of events.

We are currently driving back to where we started three days ago to rendezvous with the old girl, who will hopefully get fixed up quick-smart, ready to start the Nullarbor journey all over again. Daph thinks that the Kombi is trying to get us to stay in Western Australia. The other states seem to be doing it tough right now, what with the second coming of COVID and the freak weather on its way. Maybe she’s right.