Yes worries mate...

Bike unloaded. Quarantine man says a partial yes. .

Until he looks at the front sprocket cover. . Grease around the chain and sprocket needs cleaning out. .

He's just doing his job.

But might delay release and will cost again. . Not that I have much choice.

In touch with a local biker, guy who knows the system.

Bus journey to see if he can expedite the process at all. . modern clean air conditioned bus . But piped muzak and loud aboriginal chatter. "Walkabout" means catching the bus in 2015 I guess.

No progress again. Quarantine clean up taking as long as it takes. No amount of pestering makes any difference.

Another phone call tells me it won't be done in time for the scheduled compliance check. . Another delay. Next available slot is Wednesday. Stone walled when I call to try to get it in. "You have to book online"

Nearly one month in Darwin. I've got the patience of a saint but I've had enough now. 

There's a lot more to see than Darwin but I'm stuck. Pushing to get things done makes no difference. Trying to make things happen just ends in frustration. I've sat back and thought there's no point stressing but still nothing gets sorted.

Once I get legal in northern territory. I will head for Queensland. A journey of a maximum of 4 days where the legality becomes void and I have to obtain permits and  cover to ride on Queensland road. So another separate system.

It's a minefield of bureaucracy and conflicting legal systems.

I'm just weary of it now. Not feeling very positive. Sure I'll get the feeling back but it's tough to remain in a good state of mind.

post script

So seeing if I can make any headway with Queensland department of transport. . 

Called their customer centre and was referred to their website. . 

Extract follows:

Queensland

To drive a vehicle in Queensland that has been imported either using a temporary import approval or a CDP, you will need an overseas visiting vehicle (OVV) permit.

An OVV permit recognises your overseas registration and allows you to drive the vehicle in Queensland during your visit. There is no fee for an OVV permit.

Your vehicle is only eligible for an overseas visiting vehicle permit while its overseas registration is current. We cannot issue a permit if you aren’t able to renew your overseas registration.

How to apply for a permit

To apply for an OVV permit, you need:

your current passport

a Queensland compulsory third party (CTP) certificate—see this list of licensed insurers

your overseas vehicle registration documents

your vehicle import approval or your CPD.

Bring all of these documents and your vehicle to a transport and motoring customer service centre. Your vehicle’s details will need to be checked and recorded on your permit

. . . 

Easy!

So next stop. . One of the "list of licensed insurers"

"No mate you need to go to the department of transport. We only issue CTP for Australian registered vehicles"

Yeah been there . .They say I need to talk to you. , 

"Sorry can't help"

Do you ever get one of those days???

Not moving on!

And the beat goes on. . .

S'funny. . .

Being in a place long enough to peek behind the curtain. Like seeing a stage play. Out front it's bright lights, scenery, actors in character. But take a glance out back and the scenery is propped up on wooded frames and the characters are just costumes.

Darwin on the surface is a buzzing little town. Lots of shops aimed at tourists and backpackers. But the population actually appears quite small. . The travellers are by nature transient. And there's lots of empty shops. Fast food joints competing for the same dollar as their neighbours.

This far out, the "territory" actually appears to be a fairly tough existence, unless you're earning the government dollar.

There's a dark subculture of drunken Aboriginals. Barefoot and seemingly living on another plane. Angry with society ..maybe with good reason. . The white colonists have only been here a couple of hundred years. Short enough for long memories.

Modern white guilt over past conquests won't ease the situation . Things move on. You can't buy forgiveness. . Just live with it. .

Applying pressure on Monday. Is there anything I need to do to ease my bike out of the port?

And so it goes. . .

Some progress on compulsory third party insurance. Finally someone who seems to know the full SP. .

Once my bike clears customs/quarantine I need a compliance check and can apply for temporary ctp insurance. I will need to carnet as well . .which is with the import company in Victoria. .

Soooo. . . .
I've got to get an appointment for the check . . Book online . . . Sort collection once I'm given the go and get the rear tyre fitted (en route from the port to the test)
Get the carnet delivered to me in Darwin asap. And . . . Then . . Maybe . . I can leave. .

More time in Darwin yet.

BREAKING NEWS!...BREAKING NEWS!...BREAKING NEWS!...BREAKING NEWS!... etc..

(scrolling breaking news banner)

I've visited the import agent that has my bike today. Actually seen the unopened crate. Its cleared customs and is sat in the shipping agents warehouse waiting for the visit from the "quarantine man". What's not helping the situation is industrial action by Australia's border control staff. - just what I don't need!. However with a bit of luck the inspection will happen very soon. 

I've also registered with the local Motor Vehicle Registration(MVR) office and booked an inspection slot online, which will allow me to obtain the required Compulsory Third Part (CTP) insurance. Not sure how easy that will turn out to be and the next available slot with the MVR is not until Friday... 

Are you keeping up with this soap opera? 

I might actually get to see a bit more of Australia than Darwin yet! 

Hometown Darwin

I've been here that long it's starting to feel like home! 

Lazy summer days in Darwin!

days. . Days of palm trees, sunshine, swimming. Reading in the park. Days of acclimatising. Of getting to feel at home. Understanding how Australia works. Familiarity of the town, the bird chirp from the pedestrian crossing, the amusing abbreviated English.

The "wet" hasn't come yet. . It's early November. . I heard the locals expect it to be late this year.  Bonfire night back home. . No fireworks here. .

Bike arrived Thursday. . I want to unravel it from the port authorities. have it back.  Customs fees, port charges, quarantine inspections. Compulsory insurance. Paperwork. . Paperwork. . And more. . Paperwork.

Middle of next week before I grasp it from the official clutches. I'm being processed.

Big rumbles of thunder. .maybe I spoke too soon

But it came to nothing. unlike the east coast that being battered by storms. Maybe the delay was meant to be.

One day after the container ships arrival and not unexpectedly no update from the port authorities. It's going to be next week. I'm resigned to that. I hope to be on the road before the weekend. It will be good to do so. It seems like a long long time since I had to travel.

The "break" in the bay of Thailand was planned. . This stationary time in Darwin . . Though not unpleasant, wasn't.

I feel the call of the wild. . The escape from civilisation. Gazing at uninterrupted stars with nothing to do except ride. Rest. Experience the distance. Feel the isolation and perhaps share an understanding with like minded travellers.

It's what has made this whole venture worthwhile. Adventure. Experience. Outside of normal understanding. . .

A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.

My mind is set to apply that feeling to day to day life. It's what makes me feel alive. It makes normality worthwhile and common concerns trivial.

We all have a whole world to visit. To explore and to see and yet so many of us choose take the safe option. Plan for a future that none of us actually know is actually there.
I've said it before but human life is short with no guarantees. If you live to healthy old age to spend your pension then that safe option was the right one. But . . .

The red light is stale. The amber light is about to illuminate. The starting blocks are calling ..  .

Aussies do like a joke !

Doing time in Darwin

The world over. . Friday night. . The start of the weekend. . And everybody is out for a beer. . 

Darwin is no different. Apart from the dress code (strictly summer attire) and the budgies in the tree across the road from the "irish bar"

And Cruising v8 "utes"

It's not freezing cold downtown Sheffield. . But on the flip side it's not party city Spain either. . Just a few beers with all the pubs with open outdoor seating and beer by the jug. Nice place, no worries!

Tracking the slow progress of the ship that has my bike doesn't improve the situation. . Not that it's bad. . I'm just restless and ready to move on.  Nothing I can do about it.

I've got to just relax and enjoy the ride. .

Sunday morning and sitting in the park reading under a lightly clouded sky with temperature still in the 30s just letting the day drift by.

An Aussie rules "footy" pitch barks into life. Local small stadium that I can see from the road. While I'm no football fan it's an intriguing mix of sports. . football/Rugby/American football all rolled into one with what appears to be fairly easy to understand rules.  It passes 20 minutes of one quarter of the match.

Tuesday is Melbourne cup day. I'm told the country stops for that particular horse race. . Might be worth seeking out a bar with TV to dip into the atmosphere. Not that horse racing lights my fire either! Might even put a little random bet on. . You never know your luck!
...or maybe you do! $5 bet on the winning horse pays me $130 . . Nice!

Beaches.
Lots of them. Perfect clear water. Fabulous sandy stretches. Clear blue skies and not a single person on any of them. Anywhere else there would be swimmers, surfers, divers. . But no one uses them. I know why but it's a crying shame. Swimming is limited to lakes and pools. I suppose that means the shoreline is a place for nature to live undisturbed. It's a strange situation though.

I've spent a bit of time trying to sort out insurance. It's nigh on impossible to get cover for the bike . There is a compulsory third party insurance that I will have to obtain somehow from somewhere but other than that it's the same as Georgia and Kazakhstan . . I'm stuck with it. . Surprisingly Australia appears to be a paper trail nightmare of bureaucracy. Not all states recognising the same documentation and from replies I've had no one seemingly fully understanding the system. c'mon Australia. sort it out! one country shouldn't have such a confusing system. . I've passed through far less civilised countries that manage to be far less complicated.

The ship with my bike is due to dock late on Thursday . I've been told it could take five working days to clear customs and quarantine. Too long but beyond my control.

Darwin is draining my resources and I'm getting no benefit from it. It's a good place but I need to move. To travel, to make progress. its frustrating. I know that sounds frivolous. I'm in a tropical summer in November. stop complaining, but this wasn't the plan. Then again what was?

At the starting gate . . . I'm just keen to go.

Waiting is the hardest part. Guess its time for another beer!