Blog

After a short farewell from a number of the members of the MG Car Club, Bridget and I left Perth set for Albany on our first drive in Australia. The trip lasted around 4 hours and was uneventful. I stopped off for coffee at the Wool Sheds in Williams a small town some 90 miles south of Perth. The Wool Sheds a typical local product/craft centre for tourists. This particular one specialises in woollen clothes made from local wool. The Marino items were fantastic, so soft. I’m not sure if it was something I said, but I must have upset someone in Perth for them to send me to Albany. They said it is beautiful and would remind me of England. I guess it does as it has rained all day and the wind off the sea is bitterly cold. The architecture puts me in mind of the frontier towns of the early colonial days, some being little more than wooden sheds...

Thank you all for your patience and returning to the site for our updates. Bridget is now fully recovered except for a fault with the reversing lights that I will fix on Monday. She is to be inspected by the Licensing Authority when I should receive a Visitors Permit enabling me to drive her around Western Australia and most, but not all, other states in the country. I may have to get additional permits for certain other states. The Australian Government has certainly gotten off, to a fine art, ways of parting tourists from their hard earned cash for very little value. I have now been in Australia for just over a month and should be starting the journey around the continent on Wednesday. The probable route from Perth will be south to Albany and on to Esperance, an area, I am told, of outstanding beauty. From there will be my first ‘long drive’ to Adelaide, then on to Geelong and Melbourne....

At last I have wrested the car from Australian Immigration, albeit at a cost of some $1600 dollars. That has to be the most expensive car wash in the world and they have damaged the paintwork into the bargain. I am told that there is a six to nine month wait for paintwork in Australia generally and so the chance of getting it repaired, or for that matter an insurance settlement, is most unlikely. We have thoroughly inspected the damage to Bridget and have found (when I say we I really mean Tim Harland of the Sports Car Garage, Perth) the following problems: Windscreen to be replaced Exhaust to be refitted Nearside rear shock absorber to be replaced Differential universal joint bushes to be replaced Fulcrum pins in steering nearside wishbone to be changed Nearside steering rack arm bushes to be replaced Offside wheel bearing to be replaced Carburettors to be tuned Full service I have already started the work, with the...

Almost unbelievably I was given the wrong name of the container ship bringing Bridget to Perth and it had in fact docked last Saturday. I found this out on Monday and the immigration inspection was arranged for Wednesday along with the customs clearance. Customs duly gave her the OK and signed the carnet form but to her dismay she was judged to be too dirty to be allowed entry! I had been cautioned that this was likely as almost every car privately imported has to go through a thorough cleaning to remove any engine fluids, dirt, vegetation and, most importantly, any insects that may have hitched a ride from another country. This action is to protect the Australian habitat, indigenous wildlife and farming. The interior of the car, as well as the exterior, and the boot has to be cleaned and examined. What amazed me, however, is that the cleaning takes up to 4 days after which it is re-examined and...

Just a short up-date in case anyone thinks I have disappeared. I am still waiting, not particularly patiently, for Bridget to arrive. She should have been here on Friday 10th October but there has been no sign of the ship so far (Sunday 12th October). The MG team here have continued to look after me fantastically, showing me around the sites of Perth and towns within the area. I also visited a motor museum at York and have uploaded a few pictures of some rare cars. There are a surprising number of car clubs in Australia with, I am told, something like 42 in Perth alone. I already mentioned the Riley owners that we saw last weekend, and today, just across from my hotel, there was a gathering of the French Car owners clubs with Renaults, Citroens and Peugots. Also within 100 metres of them was a gathering of some of the Austin owners with some great examples of cars many of...