The first order of business after getting back to Darwin was to inform our families about the accident, who were glad nobody had been hurt and also disappointed for us that our travels have ended this way.
Then we had to figure out the next step. At the accident site it was apparent that the damage to the Land Rover was too great for us to be able to patch it up and carry on with our trip as we have a broken chassis, crushed front end, bent steering components and the possibility of mechanical damage to the drive train. Despite the overwhelming offers of help from the Land Rover community in Australia after a Camel owning friend of ours posted about our plight on the Australia Land Rover Owners website (http://www.aulro.com/afvb/general-chat/112900-camel-110-rolled-darwin.html), the only real option for us is to get it shipped back to the UK where we can take our time sourcing replacement parts and earning the money to pay for the repairs.
After a few phone calls to our shipping agent, it became clear that whilst we could ship back to the UK directly from Darwin, it would be about half the cost to ship from Sydney (even factoring in the extra expense of transporting the Land Rover 4000km by truck). As we need to head down to NSW to join my parents who are flying out next week to visit my brother and family who live just north of Sydney, it made sense to ship from there.
In order to help with the transport and loading of the Land Rover we had to get it as mobile as possible, so we had it moved from the road train yard in Berrimah to Mitch and Chelsea’s house in order to work on the vehicle. The deformed front bumper, which was catching on the front offside tyre, had to be removed (which in typical Land Rover fashion was easier said than done), and we changed the rear near side wheel which had buckled and was catching the brake calliper. We also managed to straighten the bonnet a little, replaced the broken glass in the rear and side doors with ply and patched the windscreen. The roof rack then went back on after gently persuading the bent support brackets to straighten out, and we also reattached the roof tent. The vehicle’s still rather lopsided and the wheels are all out of alignment due to the bent chassis, but at least it’s upright and rolling.
In the accident a couple of cartons of UHT milk exploded in the back so a good hose out was required as it was starting to get a little ripe, and we also took the opportunity to wash out all the red dust that we’ve collected on our travels. Taking stock of our possessions, we were a little surprised to find that the only casualties were Anne’s sunglasses and our Kelly Kettle, although a little remodelling with a hammer will hopefully resurrect the latter. Everything got a clean and we gradually repacked the Land Rover, and it’s now ready to be moved to the haulage company’s yard tomorrow to start its trip south.
Mitch and Chelsea have been great, providing us with a roof over our heads and helping us through the whole “sorting out” process. To take our minds off the accident, Mitch even arranged for us to join him on his Navy patrol boat as they ran some exercises around Darwin harbour last week
- part of the vessel’s and new crews’ work up before they start active patrol in a week’s time.
Very cool, and judging by the grin on her face I think Anne especially enjoyed driving the RIB.
With the vehicle ready for transport, the time has come to leave hot and humid Darwin (we even witnessed a tropical downpour, which is really unusual this time of year), and we fly down to Sydney on Tuesday and are looking forward to seeing my brother, his wife and my two nieces.
Tonight we’re off to the Mindl Beach markets for a last taste of Darwin’s multicultural cuisine, which will be a nice end to our time in the Northern Territories.
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