Sydney Roadtrip and the Redemption of the Rural Mechanic

 by Tasha in Australia, In Transit

Okay let's set the scene.
 
3AM - We arise from our couple of hours of sleep bright and early (actually can you call it bright when it's still dark outside....maybe dark and early?) and are on our merry way within the hour. Spirits are high.

5AM - We pass through Seymour belting showtunes and giggling maniacly at the approaching sunrise (see there's a reason why most people aren't awake this early - it does things to people)
 

8AM - We stop for the quintessential Macca's breakfast (part of the Macca's tour of Australia - Otherwise would have been known as the Pancake tour of Australia....but as of yet we are rather short of both Pancake and Waffle-houses.....possible franchising opportunity though....seriously people!)

10AM - We are driving down a hill and are engulfed in a white wave of fog. Alex jokes that we are entering Silent Hill. I giggle nervously and turn the music up really loud because no matter how ridiculous a notion that may be - that movie scared the crap out of me and there is just enough eerieness around to make it somewhat plausible.
 

 

11:30AM - Low on fuel, we pull into Goulburn which is not at all coincidentally the home of my favourite Big Aussie Icon. For those who have no idea what I mean, these things are littered all over Australia and there are many who, with great dedication and absolutely nothing else to do, make it a big priority to see them all. Goulburn's delicious addition is a giant Merino (a really big ram or boy-sheep as I like to call them). You can climb all the way up to his head and look out his eyes - which sounds a lot creepier than it is. Although the creepy green lighting doesn't exactly help things.

Cue creepy X-files music

After a delicious impromptu picnic lunch in front of our favourite woolly behemoth we are on our way again!

For around five minutes...then the funniest thing happened...

Yes, you see there where the rim is bent? Apparently, RIMS SHOULDN'T DO THAT!

Now the more experienced of you may be chuckling to yourselves right now, but we've never had to change a tyre before - let alone recognize rim damage.

So being the virgin tyre-changers we are, we pull everything out and lay it down like lego, taking our time, passing up the offer of help from a kindly long-haired bearded fellow.

Unfortunately that was moments before we realized that the rim damaged made the nuts/bolts/things-that-connect-the-tyres-to-the-rest-of-the-car impossible to move. I was seriously considering pulling a Wile E. Coyote and jumping up and down on the rod to get it moving. Better minds (i.e. Alex) prevailed, perhaps because it never worked out too well for Wile E. in the cartoons, or maybe I was still shaken up from the accident. Po-tay-to po-tah-to. However those better minds pointed out there was a perfectly nice truck driver a little ways down the road that had been sitting there for a decent while.

The truckie was definately a character, a little slow on the uptake but perfectly willing to give us a hand, although he couldn't work out how two (or let's face it....one) strong young 20 somethings couldn't change a tyre...that was of course...until he gave it a try, and the bolt didn't budge.

This crinkled his brow, as he layed on the strength, his arm muscles rippling with effort as the tyre bolt laid unmoving, almost silently mocking the three of us. The truckie stopped, swore vehemently, and glared at the bolt as if daring it to defy him. I don't know if this is some old trucker voodoo but dammit it worked! Like magic the bolt shifted. A little at first, then a little more, til Pop! Off comes the tyre! We three laughed together and exchanged pleasantries, united by a stubborn bolt. A sense of accomplishment washed over us as we said our goodbyes and pulled back on the road, waving as we went.

That was for a couple of kilometres until we found out the hard way the front tyre wasn't the only fatality that had fallen by the roadside. I have never been more appreciative of the golden age of technology. Not only could we bring up the phone directory through my galaxy's internet, but while we waited for a tow, we were able to call around for the only tyre place in all of Goulburn who carry tyres matching our urban Kia Rio. Trying to calculate a rough estimate of how much this setback would cost us, we were astonished to see the tow truck driver pull up in front of us - only 20 mins after the initial call.

 

Jack the tow truck driver was astonishingly sweet and somewhat amused by our unusually casual demeanor. On the short drive back to Goulburn we quizzed him about his business, and favourite hangouts in Goulburn, which somehow led to a quick but delightful rundown of our favourite Pulp Fiction moments. After only charging us $60 (the expectation was at least $100), he tipped his hat, and left us to wade through the chop shop that is Jax Tyres. Our heightened spirits took a decent nosedive as we were quickly informed that as the rims were the issue, new tyres wouldn't cut it. We needed brand new rims. And since Kias are a rare commodity drawing many a local glance - the chances of finding them were slim to none.

4:50 PM - Turns out 4 hours in a mechanic's workshop is not quite as fun as it sounds. And at 10 minutes to close we started to feel a little desperate. Our trusty mechanics had been calling every junkyard within distance trying to get us back on the road. At the very last minute we had a call from heaven - a junkyard had some Ford rims that would match our car - they weren't KIA - but they would do. However the rims were going to take another 10 mins minimum to strip from the car, and that's even before they got transferred to the tyre shop. That's when we found out we were in the presence of the uber-men of the mechanic world. As one drove off to retrieve the rims, the rest started stripping the current rims, promising to get us on the road within a half hour. When asked what about closing time - the only reply was - "No, you are more important than that today!"

5:10 PM - A good 10 mins before promised we were back on the road - almost as good as new - regaling the decency and kindness of the people we had encountered. Also the incredible lack of the stereotypical greed. All in all after 5 hours and 5 decent strangers - repairs cost only $300! Most importantly we were back on the road - and remarkably on time for my cousin's beautiful wedding the next day. Reaffirming that people are amazing creatures whose capacity for kindness and goodwill should never be underestimated....unless you live in Silent Hill.

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