Thursday 6th May - Fremantle

Got got up early to call our shipping agent first thing in order to make sure she didn’t book a trailer to move the container, as Coote will be doing this instead.  Unfortunately Sydney, where the shipping agent is based, is two hours ahead so I was sitting outside the closed library at 7am using their Wi-Fi (which they kindly leave on all the time) in order to Skype - our mobiles cost £1.40/minute in Australia, whilst Skype to a landline is 1p/minute.  There was no need to panic as the agent was going to suggest Coote (I think they must be first on the list of Fremantle cargo handlers), so all we had to do was pay the agent for the port charges and they would send over the Delivery Order.  A bank transfer from a St. George branch in Fremantle to the agent’s account in Sydney was required as they don’t take credit cards (it’s only 2010 after all), and we had to sign and fax over a Container Detention form which basically states that we are liable for charges if the container isn’t released promptly by Coote.  Not having a printer or fax in our luggage, we asked Jan at Coote if she would do the honours, and at the same time she confirmed that the first day of availability on the wharf will be Monday.  The best case scenario is collection on Monday, unload Tuesday morning and AQIS in the afternoon, followed by the licensing vehicle inspection on Wednesday.  We’re trying not to think about potential further delays if the Land Rover fails the quarantine inspection and requires further cleaning.

We paid a visit to the Garden City shopping centre in the afternoon, which was Anne’s first experience of a proper Australian mall (very large, dodgy window displays).  We went there for a Telstra pre-paid mobile(best coverage) in order to get an Australian phone number as we keep getting asked for one, this should also avoid the 90p/minute charge to receive calls on our mobiles.   Ashley Simpson served us and was obviously conscious of her namesake (Ashlee, the “fabulous” singer from America), but was really helpful in getting our new phone setup and registered.   Next we visited the RAC to check on 3rd party property insurance cover, as the 3rd party cover that comes with the vehicle’s temporary registration only covers injuries to people.  The RAC insurance should only take an hour to organise once we’ve passed the AQIS and vehicle licensing inspections.  So, fingers crossed we’ve done all we can do for now.  We’re just waiting for the ship to finally arrive...