SEGMENT 1
Feb 16: After a long flight from LA, we landed safely in Sydney and dropped our luggage off at our hotel. Then we went out to make the first arrangements for our trip. Our Jeep had arrived a day earlier and the offloading process started. Because of the weekend, it wouldn't be completely off the container until Monday. Then the customs procedure would begin. After sorting out some paperwork, we went about exploring Sydney on foot. This is a great city (pic01) with lots of beautiful sights and an abundance of pubs but the humidity took some getting used to.
After visiting the famous opera house, Harbor Bridge, Darling Harbor and many of the surrounding neighborhoods, we take the ferry to Manly and are awarded with some wonderful views of the harbor. Manly is a nice little community with a beautiful beach. On our return ferry trip we enjoy the skyline by night (pic02).

Feb 21: We have learned that there is a considerable delay in clearing customs for our Jeep as our US shipper Rinkens issued the wrong type of carnet documents for the temporary vehicle import. We were not sure yet how long it would take to fix this mistake but it was clear that we would have to remain in Sydney for quite a while. Though it's not a bad city to be stuck in, we were losing valuable time for our exploration of the continent, and the city is very expensive.

Through an organization called Friends of Australia which matches travelers with locals we got to meet a couple, Neil and Elisabeth, and enjoyed a nice dinner in their neighborhood. They had travelled the world over the years and we traded experiences and stories.
On Friday, Feb. 24, we had to check out of our hotel as we had reached the end of our reserved stay and they were booked out for the entire next week. Because of the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras which would climax in 10 days, all of Sydney was pretty booked out. We also found that it was nearly impossible to get a rental car but were lucky to secure one from Bayswater Car Rental for the next day. As it turned out, our new friends Neil and Elisabeth had just started a Bed and Breakfast (02-9810-3487) and so we moved to Balmain, a vibrant part of Sydney just 5 minutes by ferry from Darling Harbor. The ferry ride was beautiful and we got to our new, lovely accomodation in no time. Our hosts went out of their way to make us comfortable and we enjoyed the view of the skyline of northern Sydney from our balcony and the hot tub. Neil is undisputably the best breakfast cook in town! When we parted, they happily stored some of our bags for us until we'd come back to pick them up whenever - we love this Australian no-worries spirit!

Our next stop was Bayswater, a great source for inexpensive economy cars. With our little Toyota Corolla, we left Sydney and headed south to Jervis Bay where we visited some friends. The beautiful area is renowned for its white sand beaches (including the whitest beach in the world according to Guiness Book of Records) and lush forest. Stuart took us on a little excursion through Boodaree National Park where we marveled at Murray's Beach, Governor's Head and visited the Ruined Lighthouse with its sad story of government incompetence. We also saw our first wallaby and kangaroo - Stuart assured us that soon, we would tire of these animals.
On Sunday, we continued south and enjoyed a few relaxing hours at gorgeous Pebbly Beach (pic03), famous for its kangaroos. We happened to be there in the middle of the day so we didn't see any roos which prefer the dusk and dawn hours, but the beach itself is spectacular. Since this is a National Park there is a $7 day use fee which has to be paid in coins - the ticket machine does not accept bills nor give change.

Through the mountains, we continued on to Canberra (pic04) and spent a fitful night in the back of our hatchback. With all the seats folded down, it was actually surprisingly spacious but without mattress or proper camping gear which was all stored in our Jeep, the night was long…

Canberra is a planned city built from scratch in the early 1900s. It is full of monuments, museums and pompous buildings, heaps of parks and green spaces and wide avenues. We checked out the old and new Parliament House, the War Memorial, and visited some of the fascinating museums. Admission to most of these is free. A great place to get an overview of Canberra is Mount Ainslie, a hill that affords a great view over the city.

Before leaving Sydney, we had hired a new customs agent, RL Felton, who was going to look for solutions to our dilemma. We had a few options: canceling the existing, wrong carnet and starting the entire process all over again; canceling the botched carnet and importing the car (involving paying full customs duties and taxes); or trying to change the existing carnet (the hardest way). The first two would both entail a wait of 3 weeks minimum; the last one was entirely at customs' discretion.
Monday, February 27: Another phone call to Felton revealed that things had been set in motion for our Jeep. We had to meet with our agent in Sydney the following morning to discuss some paperwork so we returned to the city.

Through our website and online chat forums, we had met several fellow travelers from other countries who had successfully imported their cars without much ado. We exchanged experiences and advice and are hoping to meet them on the road at some point!

Wednesday, March 1: Good News! Felton completed some sort of miracle and our Jeep was released from customs. Unfortunately, their expert help wasn't cheap, and with the additional expenses of staying in overpriced accommodation in Sydney, this debacle has dug a deep hole into our travel budget. Rinkens never acknowledged their mistake and left us to our own devices as soon as their mistake was discovered.

Now the Jeep had to go through quarantine inspection where they're looking for any seeds or bugs that could potentially harm the Australian fauna and flora. Although we had scrubbed the Jeep inside out before its departure from LA, the inspectors required it to be steam-cleaned. When we picked it up a day later at the bonded warehouse (pic05), the XXXpedition rig was dirtier than when we dropped it off, but apparently deemed "sterile" for agricultural purposes.

In the meantime, we had gotten in touch with the Sydney Jeep Club and were invited to speak at their monthly meeting. They were curious about our XXXpedition rig and wanted to learn more about our past and future adventures. Their meetings take place at Suburban 4WD, a 4wheel shop in western Sydney. We felt honored to be invited and gladly gave a brief slide presentation on the rig and past trips. It was a great opportunity to chat with local 4wheelers and get some advice for the road ahead. Too bad we wouldn't have more time once the Jeep was ready - it would have been fun to go wheeling with them!

There was one more step to complete before we could drive off: we had to obtain Third Party Bodily Injury Insurance which is legally required. Until recently, all foreign-registered vehicles temporarily imported had to be inspected by a certified mechanic so the Road and Travel Authority (RTA) would issue this insurance. In December, the rules were changed and now all we needed was insurance. Since hardly anyone was aware of these changes (including at the RTA), we would have run into another road block had it not been for the awesome folks at Kings Cross Carmarket. This place is the first and last stop for all overseas visitors to Australia: Backpackers can sell and buy used vans and cars; get advice on must-sees and don'ts; and obtain Third Party Property Damage Insurance. For cars registered abroad, there are only 2 places in Sydney to get this insurance: Kings Cross Carmarket and Travellers Autobarn. The latter also rents out campervans and arranges inexpensive accommodation.

Peter and Don at Kings Cross Carmarket went out of their way to assist us with all car insurance needs; their contacts and expertise made the whole process much easier. They also went over our planned route with us in detail and provided lots of valuable insight.

On Friday, March 3, we were finally ready to hit the road. We left Sydney due west for the Blue Mountains.

If you are thinking about temporarily importing your own car to Australia, you might want to check out the Importation file for information and links. We hope this is helpful and will avoid major head-aches.

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