Today we pack OHNO into a box and ship her to Timor-Leste.
We pick up the last few essentials from around the Darwin area, a few more ratchet straps and swap out the 5kg propane bottle then head over to Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. The stern but fair customers lady inspects the vehicle checking the VIN & chassis numbers detailed in the car’s Carnet-de-passport. All checks out and we’re stamped and ready to go!
A 10 minute drive to the industrial side of town to the ANL depot (container shipping service), the truck needs a little prep before loading her into the container, the extra lift of the tyres and the tent & recovery box make the overall height exceed the limit which means these all need to be removed before we can load her into the can. Spanners at the ready in the 35-degree heat.
Takes us a good hour to removed the hi-lift jack, sand shovel, recovery box & all its content and then the rooftop tent. Tristan changes his sweat-soaked shirt, not pleasant. The guys at ANL were great, they helped out with the heavy lifting, lashing OHNO to the can and the attention to detail with the paperwork made this entire process very smooth. Thank you, Karen!
The container ship is due to sail in a day or so depending on the seas, it should take around 40hrs to make the 725km/450mile trip to Dili, Timor-Leste. Tristan is flying out from Darwin the following morning, Robyn will be joining Tristan in Dili a few days after flying back to Melbourne for a wedding.
It’s time to say goodbye to OHNO and wish her well on her voyage!
