Let Me Count The Ways
03 April 2018 | Tipperary Waters Marina, Darwin
Saturday 31 March 2018
Tomorrow is April Fools and it came early this year. Had a bit of trouble getting on flight to Oz because immigration canceled current visa when refusing an extension request because corporeal presence was not inside country boundaries on day decision was made. As everyone knows this is explained by clause 600.411 in schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations. Was actually in New Zealand exactly where itinerary given them indicated. Martha, "after considering the information provided,"... was "not satisfied that the applicant is currently in Australia". Two days later, had she procrastinated slightly longer, the request would have been accepted. The application cost a non-refundable $1045 AUD. The refusal notice indicated an appeal was possible. After spending half an hour answering the extensive on-line questions was informed on the final page that it would cost an additional non-refundable $1731 for the appeal. Expletives were not deleted.
No worries. An e-visa was obtained (required) at the airport for $50 and since Jan is feeling well and assuming we go to Vietnam in May a new one will then carry past projected departure from Cocos Keeling. Never highly enraptured by Australian nanny state bureaucracies, am now particularly unenthusiastic about ever returning once gone.
Sunday
Preparing her wonderful fish chowder this afternoon Jan realized she had no white wine. Soon discovered that it's against the law for convenience store, open nearby, to sell adult beverages on Sunday. Frying Nemo, the fish and chips place even closer, could sell a bottle, but illegal to carry it off premises, even to dock about 20 meters away. It's Ok, however, to purchase from special "drive thru" bottle shop in Darwin. Asking if this was due to morality police, was informed that it started that way (after all most people are too stupid to regulate their own lives without the forced help of do-gooders, right?), but primary purpose now was to enrich favored businesses. Ah.
Feeling overburdened with an intolerable surplus of funds, needing a bit of comfort-buying due visa hash-up and presented with a really great deal on new digital Raymarine chart plotter and radar, was obliged to purchase same from Lusty & Blundell, ie. Lumpy Bundle, in Auckland. All analog navigation junk plus extra outboard motor are on the block with eBay to help alleviate subsequent bewildering turnaround in financial situation. Large additional chunk to be extracted by IRS on 17 April, tax day, particularly unhelpful in this regard. It is, however, a great comfort to live on a sailboat because the wind is free.
Notwithstanding that NZ has 1/10 the market of Australia, there is overall more choice of better products at lower prices. Wonder if it has anything to do with their easing restrictions on trade back in the 90s? - you know, Donald, lowering tariffs and such.
During our New Zealand visit Darwin had a category 2 tropical storm (eye passed over the marina) and a 6.2 earthquake. Dang! We missed all the fun. As this shows it's not just the numerous deadly beasties that can kill you in Australia. Hard at it, the tree services will probably be busy for months clearing up an amazing number of downed trees, huge, medium and small. The place looks like it was hit by a cyclone... oh right.
Wednesday
After a week back in Darwin from two weeks in New Zealand boat is, confounding plan to have all major items done by now, in worse condition for Indian Ocean than before. Yikes! Nafea is Muslim, but guys rebuilding injector pump are likely Christian and nothing gets done quickly even when it's not Easter. But you know, there's nothing like a religious holiday to justify anticipation and execution of a major piss-up. After farting around for fifteen months, time is actually growing short given we'll be in Hawaii for three weeks and Vietnam for three. Of course plotter and radar are entirely my fault, but sorting that is mostly under my control and it's way more fun blaming delays on everyone else.
Jack