The first calamity actually happened a week before we left when our two year old decided to lean back on her chair (despite being told not to several times...) and goes backwards head first through our dining room window, that is smashed to pieces, insurance claim #1 to be made for a new window. Luckily she suffered no more than tears and a fright to remember. Four days taken up with arranging a repair, fighting with insurance agents and cleaning up shards of glass.....
The following Thursday we left for what was planned to be four and a half weeks of holidays in SA seeing family and friends. The first week was pretty good, sister-in-laws wedding, ice-creams down the bay with the kids, crabbing at Fishermans Bay all good.....
Friday January 12, doing 112 km/h 16 kms out of Port Augusta (1 km short of the El Alamain turn off) going to the in-laws in Whyalla for a week, I felt the back tire start to vibrate. At first I though it was corregations on the highway as I've felt them before on that part of the road, so i've slowed down to under 110, next second the back right tire has blown, and the arse end has started to veer left off the road, so I've jumped on the anchors (which I arguably shouldn't have done but what would you do in a split second decision when you car is starting to spin out of control). The car has conined to veer to the left and then done a 180 deg turn on the highway to the left (thank christ it wasn't to the right into the path of on-coming traffic) at 100 km an hour so that we are travelling backwards with half the car on the dirt the other on the highway.
The laws of physics has caused us to turn towards the shoulder of the road towards the spinifex and mulga a metre and a half below whilst ravelling backwards on an angle. I've felt the car going off the shoulder of the road so I've pulled down hard on the wheel so we've gone down into the scrub backwards rather than sideways to avoid rolling the car. The bull dust and salt push has stopped us and fortunately no injuries except for the above mentioned two year old being woken up from her sleep and being pissed off!!!!
It could have been so far worse as I said before we could have swerved into oncoming traffic, someone could have been up our arse and collected us as we slowed due to spinning out, and we could have rolled off the shoulder of the road. In short we all could have been in wooden boxes.
Damage to the VT once we 've got onto the tray truck 3 hours later, back and front mudguards/ferrings stuffed, back right suspension and support struts stuffed, two tires shredded, other tires flat-spotted and some dents next to the right front headlight.
If you wondered if people stop at accidents don't worry they do, by far the majority of people were really helpfull and genuinely concerned even two hours after the accident just to see if i was okay standing besde a damaged car in teh otback in teh middle of summer, never have I had more offers for drinks of water. One bloke chucked some more charge into my mobile, ist people on the seen weve offering to help with teh kids, cups of tea, bourbons to settle the nerves. A couple of nuses stopped to see if we were okay (shock etc) So if any of those people who stopped read this site, thanks very much for your help it was much appreciated. Makes us feel like arse-holes as we don't stop as a rule....
Insurance claim #2 to be filled in and doesn't that open a pandoras box the back tire has shredded like a retread even though it was brought brand new less than six months ago (anyone game to take on a multi-national tyre company), excess charges co-contributions, finding repairers, preferred repairers...it goes on and is still going on.....
but wait theres more...
Last Thursday night (after a great feed of Spencer Gulf snapper) we've got a phone call from our neighbour over here and they've received 2 inches of rain in 30 mins, and the gutters on our house are over-flowing, there is damage to the facias underneath our verandahs and water is coming into the house and pooling on the carpets (lounge room and the main bedroom). Insurance claim #3, call in the cleaners and a builder to make emergency repairs and clean up the water damage. Luckily our neighbours got most of the water up off the carpets the night it happened. So Friday we decide to cut short the holiday (borrowing the in-laws neighbour's car) and come home to fix up the house (leaving our car behind in Whyalla). Once again thanks to our neighbours who have saved us and our insurance company the cost of new carpets for the house.......
All day Friday and Friday night it pisses down in Whyalla....
Saturday morning I wake up and check my phone after a quick shower before I pack the car, it is my old man telling me to ring the police/SES as the Whyalla to Port Augusta Rd is cut (like many other roads were on Saturday).....Looks like we aren't going anywhere. Drive out to Onesteel where the road block is and get told it could be closed for up to 12 hours.....can this holiday get any worse.....
Finally today, after an 9 hour drive we arrive home, tomorrow morning I'm going in to see the boss and request that they never give me holidays again!!!!
