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What my LoCost Clubman has been doing since Sept 2000 select heading
September - December 2000
Weipa is a very limited venue for an aspiring tourer itching to explore the towns and roads throughout Australia. That in mind I did however have some favors to repay and exiting or not, I would work my way through my may friend and share the experience of a true open wheeler sportscar. My consistent advice is always the same, get a cap because you will end up with a hairstyle that has a real bad attitude to combs and brushes.
The immediate three months is now focused on becoming organized to relocate
my family south for the start of the new school year. The local newspaper ran an excellent, well-researched article on Clubman cars and focused on my project.
With only 2000 people in town, it is a bit hard to hide what you are doing
particularly if it's a bit different. The interesting and pleasant experience for me from sharing the car was how genuine people are about the enjoyment they get from taking the car for a drive. Six months on, they all reflect back with a great deal of enjoyment and thanks...favors have been repaid.
December was very busy and we decide to send out personal effects out in a
container and the Clubman in a sealed freezer truck returning empty to Cairns.
The Landcruiser would go out by barge with out personal effect, pick is up in
Cairns while the rest would continue on the Goldcoast, our ultimate destination.
The Clubman would be picked up by a friend at Machans beach Cairns, we would
fly out, pick it up first then a few days later the Landcruiser. A few days after that head off to Townsville to pickup our 14yr old from boarding school then head south to receive our personal effect two weeks later and move into our rental.
The first adventure came when the car was picked up at Cairns on it first journey out of Weipa. My mate at Machans Beach is quite a big man and very solid. He arrived by taxi with the thought of simply driving it away. Not that straight forward. The weather was a bit overcast and threatening to rain and he had a LOT of trouble trying to fit into the driver seat. His main concern was driving the car home, discovering he couldn't get out of the car and having to sit in the driveway, in the rain waiting until his wife got home to help pop him out of the seat. In the end, we paid $60 to the transport company who put it on a car transporter truck and he delivered it the 30km to its temporary home. Not a very dignified start to a life out in the real world for the Clubman.
(Continued on page 21)
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