Friday, January 22, 2010

Jan 3: Preliminary van shopping en route to Canberra

Mick volunteered one of precious his days at home to help me shop for vans. We saw a handful of different options, most of which had 300K km on them - ranging in age from 10 to 20 years old. Driving a van across the country is not at all uncommon in Australia. There are a couple of dealerships that specialize in promoting deals specifically to backpackers. We stopped in at one such dealership, and met 4 other individuals selling vans.

This is the day we met Trusty Rusty the first time.

Trusty Rusty is a 1998 Ford Econovan. She has travelled a mere 150,000 km. Originally a workvan, she has been retro-fitted with a mattress and storage area in the back, perfect for the on-the-go carefree lifestyle of a modern day bohemian such as myself. Filled with charateristic dents, and rust patches, she is not without flaw. In fact, I don't think there is a panel on the vehicle that isn't somehow damaged. But her automatic transmission, low mileage, and second battery make her the nicest van we've seen so far.

I agree to sleep on the transaction for a couple of nights. In the meantime, Mick and I proceed directly from van shopping to Canberra.

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