I had another early start as dawn arrived. The fish were jumping out of the water catching flies and the birds were singing their early morning songs: a great opportunity to sit and soak in the wonder of God’s world at the start of the day. Somehow, I found I couldn’t sleep in as I had been allocated a sleeping spot on the floor just outside the toilet (bit smelly most of the time). So there didn’t seem much point lying in the way of the rest of the crew as they made their morning ablutions!
Before returning the craft to its mooring by the ferry, we thought we would journey a short distance further up the Colo River to see where Hamish and Jo had gone the day before. Sadly, it was not to be. The engine conked out completely – and it was not to do with stray branches that populated the river at various times. The only option was to call the boatyard for assistance. Sadly there was no mobile phone signal and so Hamish and Jo took the dinghy down river to find a phone leaving me and Chris to wonder whether we would get home before dark. Help arrived after an hour or so in the form of a mechanic who spent the next hour repairing the outboard motor.
When we arrived back to the boatyard, the lady in charge suggested that it was our fault that the engine had failed, but after some assertive statements from Jo, she relented and said that she would give us a special price when we hired from them the next time.
The car was packed full again and back to Sydney we went. We had had lovely weather up to that point, even though the first day was a little too hot. Yet it had to break at some point; and didn’t it do just that in great style. For most of the drive back to Sydney we were in a massive thunderstorm with so much rain that rivers started to flow down the road. We made it back in time to unload and go off to the 7pm service at St Stephen’s; it was really nice to be welcomed back again after the wedding. After dropping Jo off home we journeyed onto Oatley where we will be staying with Hamish’s aunt, Frances, before we return to the UK in just over a week.
Peter in Australia and New Zealand 