Ciao traveler! Well, yes, our Gina broke down. After traveling almost 2000km (Perth->Denham->Exmouth) on the second day in Exmouth, our little home on wheels gave out.
We were looking for a job in order to complete the 88 days required for the visa extension, and that morning we decided to drop off a few resumes. It was scorching hot, with temperatures already reaching 35 degrees in the morning, by midday, with the sun at its zenith, the 40-degree heat were felt by everyone. So, we decided to go to Townbeach to cook a quick pasta, take a dip in the sea, and then finish our job search for the day.
We arrived at the beach and decided to take a risk and park in the beach where the sand was still hard and compact, so we won’t get stuck. Our little van effortlessly accomplished the task. I parked, got out of the van, and heard a sound similar to the boiling of pasta water (no, I had not yet started cooking the much-desired pasta). I quickly inspected the van and saw that a bright green liquid was leaking from behind the driver’s side wheel and the first thought that crossed my mind was: THE COOLANT! THE RADIATOR IS BROKEN!
I climbed back onboard, started the vehicle, and saw the temperature rise to the maximum in a matter of seconds. So, we decided to call RAC roadside assistance (for the second time, and if you want to know more click on this link). They informed us that a mechanic would arrive within 30 to 40 minutes. We decided to quickly cook and eat while waiting, and indeed he arrived after we finished. He inspected the car engine, performed some tests, and told us that the cooling system had failed, but that he would have to take Gina into the workshop to thoroughly check. The only problem was that he could only work on the van the next day. At this time we had nowhere to live, we were of course sleeping in the van. Thus, we called RAC again and they booked us a room in a resort for five days (fully covered by our membership). A very kind girl who worked at the workshop office offered to give us a ride to the resort. Thanks Hanna!
The next day we discovered that not only the cooling system was broken but also the engine cylinder head had cracks (I’ll spare you the technical and boring details) and that was the reason for the coolant leakage. The mechanic told us that he could only replace the radiator and other parts, but it would break down again very soon due to the problem with the cylinder head. Then the bad news came: repairing the cylinder head and the cooling system would cost us around 5000 AUD and would take about three weeks. What we should do? Thoughts and doubts started to become very noisy in our heads. We were distressed. The cost of the repair was almost as much as the value of Gina. We asked for a couple of days to think it over. If we had only followed our hearts, we would have accepted it immediately and had Gina repaired instantly, if only we had all the money.
Luckily we found job! Also the manager of the new job offered us work shifts and accommodation, so at the end of the stay in the resort we could move in to the new accommodation (previously, Gina was our home). During these days, we called friends and acquaintances who are mechanics and asked if it would be worth spending so much money on such an important repair: the answer was YES! We returned to the workshop and paid a deposit of 500Au$ to start the work. We also asked if it was possible to pay weekly, and they said it was feasible because the work would take several weeks due to the fact that the engine part that needed to be replaced had to be ordered from Perth, created, and shipped to Exmouth.
- Good to know: if you have work done on you car or van, ask to in the workshop if the repairs have guarantee, ours has a 12 months national guarantee.
So at this moment as I’m writing this post, our legendary van is in repair and will come back stronger than ever, ready to help us collect new memories. We are grateful to Gina for bringing us this far, as well as to all the people who have helped us during this time.
