Winds of change

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So, a few days ago, we arrived in Sydney in order to sell Shocker. Our trip ends here. It’s with mixed emotions that we stroll down the streets of the metropolis for the last time. When we left Sydney, more than 7 months ago, it was at the wheel of a brand new car (for us), driving anxiously on the wrong side of the road (for us). So we come back to town, carried away by our mobile home (which doesn’t have any more secrets for us), with a driving ease we would never have thought possible back in November. Right side parallel parking doesn’t scare us anymore and downtown rush hour either (but we still hate toll bridges).

After seven months on the road and a 20,000 km journey, Sydney appears stuck in time. As if we had left only last week and the feeling is totally daunting. It’s like as if this familiarity had just erased our tour on Australian soil, as if we never lived all these adventures. Only when, with a bottle of wine, we talk about our expedition and show photos and videos, our souvenirs emerge from the fog. What a strange feeling.

But, here we are, having to admit we only have two weeks left on the continent. Initially, we thought we would have to spend all of that time trying to find a prospective buyer for our car, but since the sale was settled in less than two days, we finally have lots of time on our hands. This is an excellent thing. It allowed us to do all sorts of groovy things we missed the first time we were here. Among other things, replacing our diving bag, which was damaged on the inbound flight, courtesy of a billionaire adventurer, eating many excellent meals at ridiculous prices in Chinatown and visiting an operational replica of the HMS Endeavour, loyal ship of Captain Cook, my favourite historic character.

Since we were able to sell Shocker for a good $ 1,000 more than what we had paid for initially, we find ourselves with sufficient funds to continue our journey in New Zealand without too many worries. It’s really when we let go of the idea of settling that things started to fall into place. A voyage implies motion and going back to our nomadic lifestyle gave this adventure the air of freshness it needed. But, at the same time, all this freshness reminds us we must get better gear if we want to survive the maritime winter of our next destination. So it is with great excitement that, for the last few days, we have browsed outdoor equipment stores in order to find the best deals on Merino wool! If this is what sheep wear over there, it should be adequate for us too.

Oh, and if you didn't believe us last week, here is visual proof of our moment of glory.

See HER View
See His and Hers Pictures
See His and Hers Videos