Look, I’m not going to dwell on this. Twelve days ago we asked Nissan Rockhampton to order a new windscreen wiper motor for our Qashqai … and we paid for said item. While disappointed to hear it would take up to a week to arrive, we soldiered on through unprecedented rainfall, storms and flooding only to find that the day the part was due to arrive in Rockhampton, Queensland, it was discovered that Nissan had inadvertently sent said item to Bunbury, Western Australia. Understandable, we thought – such similar names and so close together geographically. Although once again disappointed, we were assured that express air freight would ensure it would arrive within one or two days. It didn’t turn up, but, sure, while there was some disappointment, it was explained it had definitely left Bunbury on Thursday so it is sure to be available Monday at the latest. OK, that will mean an extra day at Yeppoon, but, hey we got here a day late because of aforementioned rain bomb, so that’s all good. It will mean one less day at Harvey Bay but, heh, a lifelong ambition to visit Fraser Island can be cast aside. So, when you arrive at Rockhampton Nissan on Monday morning to find the part not there and you personally take it upon yourself to investigate and it takes ‘til mid-afternoon to find that, in fact, said item has still not yet left Bunbury, it’s easy to imagine the disappointment.
Were we downhearted when the TNT, (yes, I’m outing the courier company), rang to say they had finally tracked the item to Bunbury? Well, maybe a little disappointed but, hey, another day or so is manageable, we thought. I’m here to tell you all hope was only lost when we were told that the said item had been dispatched … via road … and will arrive in a week or so. Gaz offered TNT anything he has – credit card, first born, wife – anything, to get them to put it on a plane instead. We still don’t know the outcome of that plea … stay tuned. Did I mention this is the only part of its kind in existence in Australia at present … until August?
So, I’m sitting in a dodgy motel room attached to a dodgy hotel where we had an OK dinner tonight. Gaz also spent a little while at the pokies and managed to win a bit – he said something good had to happen today.
Earlier in the day, we did manage to look around Rockhampton for a while – we certainly know the way to the TNT depot and Nissan! There is a lovely precinct on the river where the original port was – lots of old buildings, a lovely restaurant right on the river’s edge called the Boathouse where we had lunch, and a very cool Art Museum that I spent some time in while Gaz spoke to the insurance company on the phone, only to discover we do not have the type of insurance where a hire car is available in emergencies. I learnt that Rod Laver is from Rocky, the Fitzroy River flows very fast after rains and has lots of debris floating down it, and the town is on the Tropic of Capricorn. I also saw a lot of kooky artworks and an Arthur Boyd painting. Rocky also has a Botanical Gardens and Zoo that we did not get to today. A nice place to visit ... but I don't necessarily want to stay here for a week!
We have spent the evening brainstorming different options, depending on the outcome of the said item’s location and current mode of transport. All will be revealed tomorrow (I hope!).
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