While I was waiting I started emptying my esky. So when Kim the towtruck guy called to let me know he was going to be a while I had no problem with that. The Esky still had 5 beers left in it.
While I was waiting people stopped by to check if help was coming. Roger an older gentleman even stopped twice. I cannot Imagine people in Belgium being this considered.
Kim really loves Victor Harbor and on the way down he showed me Granite Island in the distance. We talked about finding a way to get permanent residence and he suggested I place myself on Gumtree...
The first two nights I stayed at the Anchorage, hoping the problem would be easily fixed.
The Anchorage.
I should have known better. And paying $55 a night was a bit to much to continue doing for what turned out to be another 7 nights. So I moved across the corner to a hotel above the pub the Grosvenor.
The Grosvenor.
Above the Grosvenor pub. The hotel.
The evening before I moved I had a drink at the bar of the Grosvenor and had a chat with Raj the bartender. He was origanly from Malaysia. He worked there in a resort when he met his Australian wife. He wasn't particularly fond of Australia, he feels people are the same everywhere in the world, we all live under the same sky, etc.. We just need to live where love takes us. I had to agree on that one.
My room was a two people dorm but since it was very calm I had the room to myself. Price per night $30 and there was a shared room with a microwave, fridge and freezer and a warm water maker. Next to the showers there was also a bath. Normally I don't take baths I prefer a hot shower, but after another rainy cold day (27 degrees C) and feeling flueish I enjoyed a nice warm bath.
The only other people who I met while staying there were Luke and Damian. Both Australians, both having a hard time. But while Luke seemed slow and mellow all the time, Damian was as obvious as can be constantly high on speed.
Luke had returned to Victor Harbor after having stayed there before leaving to go on a bender for a long time till he ran out of money and had to sell his ute. He was unable to work and receives a sum from the government every two weeks. I believe it is $800. Hardly enough to pay rent and food with. So he stays at a hotel above a pub for $30 a night and with the money he gets he plays the slot machines. I must admit they are very addictive and I also played a bit but luckely only lost $20. luke received $300 for his ute and used it on the machines and won $600. He invited me to go for some beers and told merge would come for me in an hour. Not feeling like getting drunk and hearing about what women in AU "taste" like,I fled to Granite Island.
To get to Granite Island you have to walk over a jetty. While walking I spotted this Manta Ray. I was lucky to spot one the next day as well.
Victor Harbor seen from Granite Island.
The next I went along, and we ended up drinking for two days, the last day he was left with just $7. Luke and I are as different from eachother as two men can be. He had a theory, he told me that it is an unwritten law in Adelaide that if you get a woman to have a drink with you, it is a done deal.. the whole time I spent with him he was constantly eyeballing woman and girls. Making the most sexist remarks possible making gestures I simply did not know how to respond to. He didn't mean any harm and would never act on his fantasies but walking with him in public was a bit of a walk of shame....
The other guy I only spoke a couple of times with. He was from Melbourne and told me the first night I was there apparently a bunch of guys had a party and had a stripper over.. Sad to say I mist that one...
Damian turned out to be in some trouble with the law and was escorted out of the hotel by some undercover coppers a couple of days later.
Eventually my car was "patched up" and I could pick it up and pay $2373 for a reconditioned cylinder head kit, a waterpump, upper and lower radiator hoses, oil filter and timing belt, thermostat and spark plugs. The problem I had before I broke down remained, the two problems had nothing to do with eachother. I was told I needed a new fuel pump and on the invoice it stated that this was a patch up job and that the van needed a reconditioned engine.
I left town very early the next day and placed the van for sale on Gumtree that evening. Sadly when I removed it a couple of days later it was not because it got sold...
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