We landed in Oz on 13th May and 12 days later the bike was cleared of Customs and Quarantine. We had arranged for an Agent to do all the necessary dealings with them and the total bill came to 615GB , which was money well spent as far as we were concerned.

Customs, appparantly, threw up theit hands in horror when they saw the state of the bike and it had to be steam cleaned twice. Then they saw that the wood on the crate had bark on it , so it had to go off for stripping of that. The clothes were fumigated and since arrival here , we have hosed them off with a high pressure hose !

All in all it was great that we had someone to do all the running around for us and when you consider tthe cost of staying for 12 days in one place, it probably worked out to be 'cost effective'. The Agent was very good and kept us informed of all that was going on.

The Agent E mailed the paper work to us and we couriered it back to him- along with the bike docs and Carnet. Later we went to Brisbane by car with the key for the Topbox (so that Customs could inspect the contents) and the second lot of paper work for the clothing (this had come on a different flight and a later date and we had left Delhi without any trace numbers--'no worries 'as we were able to pick this up on the net.)

Quarantine in Oz is very tight ( and so it should be- they don't want any 'nasties' imported in.) You are not allowed to bring in any foodstuff - not even sealed bottles of water and loads of other goods.

The bike duly arrived on a Crane truck (along with the clothing , that by now was in the same crate)and looked pristine ! It was still in the crate and all we had lost was one tyre pressure guage and a chamois leather .

Then it was getting Insurance- 6 months for 57GBP and registering the bike for Oz. Initially we were told that we would need Oz plates but after 3 girls had been on the Computer to look up the regulations- it was decided that we did'nt. The comment was ' we don't have many of these to do'.

So we are now road legal and on the first voyage out broke the 2 Golden rules -' no more dirt roads and no travelling at night'-( due to the kangaroos that can have you off as quick as lightening ).

Petrol is 54p per litre, food about the same as UK. It's up to 25 degrees during the day and falls to 16/18 degrees at night. You need sheepskin slippers to keep your feet warm on the tiles !

In the country they rely on rain water to fill the underground tanks. If they run low on water then it has to be bought. The amount of roos everywhere is so true , also kookaburras and parrots.. yet to see a koala. It's the space that is amazing and everyone seems to really make the most of the outdoor living.

We still think that we made the right decision about coming to Oz- we later heard that the schools in the Punjab had been closed early due to the heatwave.

We still have Indian rupees to change and the Banks will not do this , so we wait till we get to a Money Exchange to do this. What we should have done was to charge the Indian men that were lining up in the Agents place in Delhi , in order to see the bike !

So now we are to travel around Australia, probably North and South of Brisbane. We are looking into extending the visas-( make the most of it whilst you are here.)

No definite plans yet as to the return but I don't think we will go to America - probably freight back to Europe and ride from there. I'll keep you posted with the trips around Oz........ perhaps the Blog should be called "Wrinklies on Winter Walkabout" now !!!