gadget December 21st, 2008
Well the year is nearly over. Frustratingly, my job is still in limbo with no clear direction as to where I’ll be and what I will be doing 6 months from now. I have enjoyed the challenge of managing one of the Territory’s iconic parks and have gained much experience in dealing not only with my staff but the broader corporate and tourism sectors. Personally it has been a good year with our trip to Bali in April, where again, much fun was had and prompted me to purchase another toy for the garage.
Secondary to just plain fun the plan is to teach Amanda how to ride. This should be interesting…watch this space for updates. Although at the moment she is far more enjoying being a pillion than contemplating when the training begins.
I also decided to retire my faithful Landcruiser, a car I had had since new (1995) and by far the longest time I have ever owned a car since I started driving. It was a toss up as although the k’s were stacking up the resale price was going down. Ultimately the cost of diesel and the mini scare we all had when the price for a barrel of oil skyrocketed was the lynch pin.
I managed to sell it reasonably easily to a local guy who had just had his own ride pinched. It was a sad day to see it pull away from home without me in it. However I had other designs on something that I had been eyeing off for some time.
For years I have always been fascinated by Jeep Wranglers, the ability to rip the top off and enjoy the open air, great off road ability and I don’t know they just just look darn good to me. I spotted one on the internet after looking for what seemed like ages, scouring the likes of drive.com and carsales.com and of course, ebay.
Once I found the one I liked I did what most of our younger set do these days..I txted this guy in Melbourne for details and a few photos to see if it was really what I was after. After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing and a bit of price negotiation the deal was done and I found myself on a plane to Melbourne to pick the car up.
I arrived at 3.30pm on a Thursday, checked the car out physically for the first time, paid up the amount outstanding and I was driving out of Melbourne at 5.30pm! By Saturday arvo I was back home after a relatively quick road trip with my Jeep parked in the shed.
Well all’s well that ends well. We will soon be going on a relaxing trip on a houseboat on the Murray up near Renmark in SA. Prior to this we hope to have a relaxing xmas down at Watarrka with workmates and then it’s only 3 days before leave…woohooo!
