Waltzing Matilda | Local & travel website
Waltzing Matilda
Reviews
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24.01.2022 I should add -the vehicle was handled impeccably by the customs and quarantine authorities here. When we got to the warehouse Matilda was clean, nothing damaged, and the locker contents had been removed and stacked neatly, all in their original containers, near the vehicle. We were able to repack them ourselves and nothing seems to have been lost or damaged. The staff there helped us replace the rooftop tent using their forklift and everything went very smoothly. This was of course a huge relief after our experience in the last port we landed at (Montreal).
23.01.2022 Well the cleaners did a great job and Matilda is as clean as new! The job cost $475 CAD -which is similar in AUD. It’s money well spent if AU customs accepts it. At least the cost is under our control and supervision when it’s done at this end rather than hidden from our view under customs control at the other end! And now we have a packing date (Friday 19th) and shipping date (Wed 24th Jul). We opened up the penthouse (roof top tent) yesterday to air it and check it hadn’t gotten wet inside during the pressure hosing. We should have closed it up again yesterday -because it has rained all night. Now we need to wait for it to dry before packing it up again. And we will avoid driving Matilda on the wet roads and getting her dirty again. So it’s a rest day Today hoping the sun will come out!
22.01.2022 So we got our vehicle clearance today but not in time to actually pick her up before the weekend! So we have paid the bill and can get her Monday morning. The total bill was AUD $14,487.57 all up including port and customs fees in Canada, shipping, port and customs and quarantine (including cleaning) fees in Australia, and GST. The cleaning cost was $330 (3 hours steam cleaning). The destruction of the bike was also included (cost $140). So that's over.
21.01.2022 Today'snews.... the vehicle needs to be cleaned - all compartments, including the rooftop tent, and it needs to be fumigated. They found LIVE spiders in the container (and I guess we are going to bear the cost of that!) But cleaning? Well that is most surprising.... however, there's no arguing so we just have to wait while they do their thing. Nothing will happen over the weekend of course. And the e-bike is to be destroyed. The Canadian company we bought it from has refused to accept it as a return. (Rad Power Bikes). They deny that anyone told us that we could return it if it was in original packaging, unopened, if we could not succeed in exporting to Australia. So WTF! The bike will be destroyed. $2500 AUD worth. Sigh....
16.01.2022 And still we wait... The bike has had to be separated from the vehicle for seperate customs and quarantine procedures (resulting in copious amounts of red tape). We have gotten a quote for returning the bike to Canada to the seller. When we bought the bike we did ask whether we could return it if we could not import it to Australia.- and of course they said we could.... but now they say it is "not supported in their policies to accept a return under these circumstances"! I have argued with them and they are discussing it further.. but I am not confident that will be able to get our purchase price refunded. The Earthcruiser has not yet been unpacked from the container. MAYBE we will hear of some progress tomorrow. I hope so since we have booked Matilda in for a service on Friday. That is now looking doubtful.
16.01.2022 We have now seen the last two of the southwestern canyon National Parks that we are going to see. Zion was spectacular, seeing the canyon from the canyon floor, with the beautiful, cool, river and the chance to get our feet wet. And Bryce was different again with the feature being the many columns and complicated erosion patterns. From here we are speeding (for us) northwards. However we have another error code for our engine so we will be stopping in Salt Lake city on Monday to get it checked. Hopefully it is nothing too serious!
15.01.2022 It is now a week since our vehicle arrived in the port of Brisbane. There is no sign of when we will get her back. I made the mistake of bringing a canister of bear spray with us in the vehicle. I had to declare it on a customs declaration form. So now we have to wait until customs can go to the vehicle and "seize" the canister and destroy it. We also brought back an eBike. It is a bicycle with an electric assist motor. We had no idea that we would need a "Vehicle Import Per...mit" to bring it into Australia until was already in the container and at the port. At that point it would have cost thousands of dollars to retrieve. Instead we applied for the permit.- unfortunately it was refused - because the motor is 750W and that is too high for Australian standards. (if it had been a petrol driven motor bike there would have been no problem). Consequently customs is also going to "seize" the eBike and destroy it as well....Due to their "high work load" we now must wait until that is done. Then there is quarantine inspection (including an assessment of whether the vehicle needs to be cleaned). We cleaned her thoroughly before we left Canada, both ourselves and using a professional truck cleaning and detailing company. She is cleaner than she has EVER been! So we are cautiously optimistic on that issue. Once we get Matilda back in our own possession we will need to have her serviced. There were a couple of warning lights on the dash board before we left which will need to be seen to as well. So it is a long process getting Matilda back on the road in Oz!
15.01.2022 So we have now left the US, and are in Canada. We have been in the US (about 60 days) and Baja (3 weeks) and done 18,000 kms. We have visited 24 National parks in the US (in all of our visits), 17 states, seen lots of wild-life, been amazed at spectacular scenery, met wonderful new people, and caught up with old friends. We have fossicked for gemstones, soaked in hot springs, hiked in canyons, and photographed everything we saw! We have frozen and sweltered. We have been frustrated with vehicle problems but relieved with the professional management of them by Mexican and US mechanics. In all it has been a great trip!
14.01.2022 I always enjoy the wildlife we find on our trips, and the US was no exception. Gila Monsters, Chuckwalla, bears, squirrels, marmots, bald eagles, gopher snakes, mountain goats.... We found Cabela's stores a great resource for identifying the bigger mammals- they have displays of the local species with great taxidermy. The animals are in terrifically life-like poses and it was a great pleasure to see them. I did try not to look at all of the guns and tried not to think about the fact that the animals were dead!
07.01.2022 What a way to end our US travels! The Grand Tetons, Yellow Stone, and Glacier National Parks. Quite a contrast to the deserts of south west US - cooler, wetter, and very different wildlife. We did find them very crowded though, especially Yellow Stone. Not to mention the mountains!
04.01.2022 Matilda is squeaky clean, and safely in her container on the way to the port! Whew! What a relief! And we are recovering from all the strain in a swanky hotel room in downtown Vancouver. The packer wasn’t all that happy on my insistence that we wanted to be present for the packing and sealing of the container, but did finally agree. So we were able to ensure that it was well packed, the container was clean, no untreated timbers were used. We sprayed her out with insecticide... before sealing up. I left a written description of the cleaning that was done taped onto the bench inside. I left instructions about connecting the batteries and raising the roof etc taped inside the door. We left the lockers UNLOCKED. We saw the lock put on THE CONTAINER and have noted the serial number. So what can go wrong?!!!! We have learned from our mistakes - if only we had known all of this for our earlier shipping experiences! Now we wait 8 weeks to meet her in Brisbane! See more
04.01.2022 Well we had Matilda in our own hands briefly for the 30 mins it took to drive from the port to the Fuso service centre! She has been there for 3 days now. We are waiting for parts, and for further assessment of the brakes. We will not have her back before next week! However it is reasonable and desirable to have her overhauled, inspected, prodded after 7 years overseas. Of course while we were travelling we were reluctant to have non-urgent issues seen to because it ate into our time. For example there have been 4 recalls issued while we were away so they need finally to be dealt with. So we need to be patient a little longer!
02.01.2022 We are currently in an RV park in Vancouver, preparing our vehicle for shipping home. One major consideration is the cleaning of the vehicle. Ideally we would find somewhere that would clean AND CERTIFY that the vehicle is clean to Canadian or Australian standard. But we have not been able to find such a facility! So we will be going into a truck wash place on Monday for a full pressure clean underneath, and detailing inside the vehicle and engine clean. The owner will give us an invoice showing what he has cleaned but not a certification as such. Fingers crossed that is enough!
