Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Alice Springs

Imagine what raced through our minds when the car rental lady said

"THE INSURANCE DOES NOT COVER DRIVING AT NIGHT"

Our destination was Uluru, before Alice Springs but we had to make a significant detour to get our damaged car exchanged after The Kangaroo Accident

The journey to the centre of Australia

Our injured rented car

A view the sunset


Bestfriend and i were all smiles
unknowing of the insurance drama that lies ahead of us

Weeds as my object and the sunset in the background

Located our accomodation, checked in and asked for dinner recommendations. We were told that the Overlander is a good place

It really is, full house on Easter Friday. With live entertainment

They asked where we from and gave us flags

Australia, my new home in the long term. Russian with the Russian flag.

Food took ages to come so Bestfriend decided to have crocodile skin for starters

HUGE crocodile skin on the wall as decoration

Next to it, the Permit to Possess a Dead Protected Animal

More skin on the wall, its a real outback place

(Baybeetea.com does not condone cruelty to animals) Loved the ambience, loved the food, loved the company. And loved that the phone lines are working in Alice Springs!

I was smsing E, Russian was working on his mobile and Bestfriend complained that no one loves her. Hahahah. We walked back to our inn under the bright full moon. It seemed like there was someone following us...

I was just being paranoid i guess, we were fine =) My bunk bed is the one with purple sheets and the pink towel! But the towel isnt mine

I'd recommend this place. Only AUD 23 per person per night.

Alice's Secret is charming

Thats where the three of us sat at night, Russian taught us some curse words. Educational. And yes, there is a little swimming pool there

In the morning, Russian went online and posted on Facebook:

Melbourne > Hahndorf 700 km > Adelaide 20 km > Coober Pedy 850 km (speeding ticket for 220 AUD, adult kangaroo killed, front light doesnt work, cant open left side door) > Alice Springs 690 km (to exchange the car). Back to the desert.

While i walked around the traveller's in, taking pictures wherever i deem fit. Just like my mommy would =)

Wanted to take a pic of the bike cuz it looks rugged but hey, it looks even better with my shadow there =)

Headed to

The insurance cover does not cover night driving?!

Bestfriend couldnt breathe, Russian was full of rage, furious at the car rental lady, who was calmly taking out the insurance contract to prove her point. The term was highlighted. She repeatedly asked us "Where did this happen, was it in Northern Territory?"

Pissed off Russian yelled "Yeah... but what is the point of buying insurance if we arent driving at night..."

Loud, confident and firmly, I interrupted "91km from Coober Pedy, driving from Adelaide", looking directly at the lady in the eye. Ex-auditor Sue Lin has great attention for detail (not enough for my ex-bosses though)

She immediately soften and said "Then you ARE covered"

PHEW! Russian was speechless, i didn't observe Bestfriend's reaction, my heart was skipping a beat. Financial burden dissolved into thin air just like that. Snap, its gone =)

That was close, another close call. Wanna know the magic? The accident happened in the state of South Australia. The insurance does not cover driving between dusk and dawn in the Northern Territory, specifically Kangaroo Islands in South Australia and a few other states.

Since the accident did not happen in one of the restricted places, our excesss (liability) is zero!

Triumphant, relieved and estatic, we waltzed out of Alice Springs airport laughing dizzily towards the carpark attracting weird stares along the way

Say hello to our new baby, on the far right. Third from the right was our old car.

Out of curiousity, we asked how much does it cost to repair the damage. AUD 5,500. Crazy, that can be fixed under RM3,500 in Malaysia

What an adventure, and we were only halfway through the trip

8 comments:

Ken Wooi said...

wow.. driving through that distance? looks kinda like a long long journey to me!

anyway, i've yet to visit australia.. hopefully one day! =)

Sue Lin said...

Kenwooi, hey yeah it was a long drive, took 3 days to get there and 3 days back. Just some time to look around in between

Yeah! Visit Australia one day! But it is expensive

+ : A d a M : + said...

youre doing a really great job documenting your road trip! the number of photos u have is really great..hehe. Good job for spotting that error in the terms n conditions..its always great to get one up over stupid ppl who think they know the terms so well. Im sure she has conned many other travelers before..lol

Sue Lin said...

Adam thanks! Ur compliment made me smile =)

I didnt really spot the errors in the T&C, the lady was repeatedly asking if it happened in NT, i heard the question and corrected Russian who simply hentam by saying yes. It happened in SA and not NT.

Its attention to detail was in the sense that i answered the question appropriately =P

Biopolymath said...

The car exchange drama was a fun read. It's a fact that we don't bother to read T&C but who knows it can work in our favour when we pay attention to the fine print!

I did went through a rented car drama after the windscreen cracked while driving in regional Victoria. I just couldn't help but laugh considering the driver was president of a university club!

Is there anymore entries on road trip?

Sue Lin said...

Biopolymath hey thanks a lot! Really glad u enjoyed reading =)

How did the windscreen of the president's rented car crack? Poor guy, so did he get to claim insurance?

Yup, there'll be quite a few more on the road trip =)

Biopolymath said...

We were driving on a dirt track, one small stone hit the windscreen, the next thing was craking! The president was the drama king calling up car rent company. Phew, we were spared from any responsibility of reparing!

Sue Lin said...

What dirt track were u guys on? Weird for a stone to fly out of no where. Good thing the insurance covered it =)