I drove a big car!!!!

More logistics and admin today folks! I look forward to when I blog about Bondi, surfing and the Blue Mountains but for now, I am in Victor Meldrew mode!

Awoke this morning to discover the tumble drier had not worked again!! Still, that's ok because it meant that I got to use my amazing new clothes horse and, after all, there is so much spare room in this one bedroom apartment that a clothes horse bedecked with undies is simply a must have!

After breakfast, the Lewis clan took a taxi ride to the garage to pick up our new car. Just in case I forgot to mention, it is a 4x4!! Nathan's choice. Is he compensating for something? Anyway, we spent some time chatting to our new American friend, Chris, (the finance guy at the garage). After telling us about all of the amazing places to visit, he gave us his number - his personal number - and told us to ring him if we ever needed advice on anything. He emigrated 14 years ago. Such is the culture here. When people tell you that they want to help you  and show you around, they actually, genuinely mean it. Everyone has time for everyone here. He and Nathan also engaged in some alpha male bonding, discussing the size of the Macdonalds burgers compared to the Hungry Jack burgers.

Nathan drove the new car back to the hotel and then I had a go. Now, those of you who know me, know that I am not the world's most confident driver. Here I was, about to drive a car that was significantly bigger than my beautiful little Suzuki swift, in a foreign country. Add to this that it is an automatic, and you might have some idea as to the levels of anxiety I was experiencing. My poor little left foot did not know whether it was coming or going! It kept wavering over an imaginary clutch. Thankfully, there was no kangaroo hopping ( the irony of which does not escape me). However, I did keep cleaning the windscreen every time I wanted to turn left or right!

I then drove us all to the RTA so that we could register the car. You'll notice that we are spending a fair bit of time at the RTA - we may as well set up camp there at the moment! I parked, without hitting anything, which was a bonus. We entered the RTA and took our ticket. This time, we were not greeted by a friendly Aussie but a miserable one with a dodgy accent and a voice that barely reached anything approaching volume; a mouse fart; a croaky whisper. Now those of you who know Nathan, know that he is pretty hard of hearing at the best of times. Yes, I know he has selective deafness when it comes to my nagging but he genuinely suffers a little with his hearing. Even more so at the moment with his 'jet lag'. Observing him attempting to listen to this woman across a counter and a glass screen was mildly amusing. More form filling and having to prove our identity ensued. To be honest, this has become a little tedious now.

Boring but necessary fact alert!
In Australia, when you buy a car, you then have to pay a 3% stamp duty, in the same way that you do when buying a house in the UK.


Anyway, after a quick eye test and a photograph, Nathan is now the proud owner of a NSW driving licence! The whole experience was dry and uninspiring. We have 3 months breathing space where we are allowed to drive on the UK driving licence so we'll sort mine out when we're up to it.

This was all so time consuming that before we knew it, lunchtime had arrived. Guess what? Nathan and the girls did not have burgers. Maybe the jet lag is wearing off. Instead we went back 'home' and feasted on scrambled eggs and beans toast.

The afternoon was fairly uneventful. I read about Australian history and Nathan filled in more forms, while the girls remained surgically attached to their laptops.

Chicken curry for tea tonight. This is exciting because Nathan is using his new copper bottomed pans! They are huge; I I struggle to lift them. Nathan is certainly embracing the me man, me big  Australian philosophy! Unfortunately, there are only 2 rings. They do not heat up very quickly and there is not enough room to have both pans on at the same time. Thus we have to cook the curry in one pan; put it to one side and then cook the rice afterwards. A hint to any of you who might be in Australia one day and feel like cooking a curry. Australian shop bought nan bread has no preservatives. If you do not keep it in the fridge from the day of purchase ( we didn't), it grows an impressive amount of mould at an alarming rate.