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12
Moving into "Turbo Snail"
21-Nov-2005

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We found Ashley and he said that they were still waiting for the compliance plate and it could arrive any time now or tomorrow or the next day. Oh dear how much longer do we have to wait? We asked if we could return tomorrow, Tuesday, and start cleaning the motor home. There was a lot of dust everywhere and we would have to wash out all the cupboards and drawers and start moving things into it. Ashley had no problem with that as we could lock it at night and the motorhome will be kept in the big locked garage.

Esther & Fergus in Turbo Snail

Esther & Fergus outside Turbo Snail

Geri and Colin were pleased to see us back and we settled back in with them for a night or two. Then on Tuesday we returned to Turbo Snail. We were told that one of the waist pipes was leaking and should be replaced. Fergus tried to work out where to install the safe, which is just a little bit too big for most cupboards. Then there was a big box with hubcaps, which needed to be fitted. While Fergus got on with all these things, I was busy cleaning out the home. Geri and Colin arrived at 12:30 to have a look at our new home. They came armed with sandwiches and so we had our very first simple meal in our new home. Geri and Colin liked it very much and it was lovely to share it with them. After lunch Geri had to go to the dentist and so they left just before 2pm.

A very short time later there was some commotion and yes the plate had arrived. Decisions had to be made as to where it should be fixed to the vehicle. I got very excited this meant that we could have Turbo Snail this evening and finally drive away.

We were told that the engine battery was flat and that there might be a chance that the engine would not start. Oh NO!!! Not more problems!!!

Fergus and I got the paper work we needed to go and get Turbo Snail registered and issued with number plates, plus pay the road tax and the Diesel tax. Around 4pm we were ready and the boys at the compliance centre had jump-started the engine. All was well and my heart almost stopped as we very carefully drove out of the garage and out into Auckland traffic. It was 4:20pm and we were free. We were told to drive for a while to give the battery a good charge and it was agreed that we would return to Geri and Colin as we were not finished with installing things. Fergus was very quiet but very good at driving such a big motor. I just told him to take it slowly and in your own time. After all we are quite big, which means we can be seen and no one really wants to argue with us!!!

We phoned our new friends and informed them of our freedom. Then after 90 minutes driving we decided to go to the supermarket and buy a bottle of wine to celebrate. Fergus drove to the back of the big supermarket car park and I got out to help Fergus park the Snail.

All excited we returned with our bottle of vine and as we tried to start the engine, there was not even a murmur from the engine. We phoned Colin and asked him if he would mind coming to rescue us. He, being a star, did and he brought his jump leads. But Turbo Snail was not having any of it. Luckily we had become members of the AA as soon as we got to New Zealand four weeks ago and the motorhome was registered with them. So we called them out. We had to wait of course and so Fergus and Colin decided to drive back to the compliance centre and collect our hire car and return that to the hire company while I waited with Turbo Snail for help to arrive.

Help did come and the AA man (South African) was very kind but explained that he could get it stated but once the engine was shut down again it would not start again. Apparently when a car battery has been left to sit for three months, as it did, while being shipped would completely damage it and we will have no choice but to replace it. He offered to phone the AA battery man who could come and replace our battery tonight but it would probably be 8pm before he would get to me. I accepted gratefully and waited for Fergus and Colin to return. They came back about 7:30pm and agreed it was best to just wait and have it done tonight. Colin suggested that we should have a hamburger and he offered to go and get some for all of us. When he came back he said that he would not stay because Geri was not at all well after her visit to the dentist this afternoon. Apparently they had given her 36 injections, before they managed to numb her enough to work on her teeth. Poor Geri that sounds nasty.

Fergus and I tucked into our hamburgers and waited for the battery man. It was getting dark and late but he did come and was very nice indeed. Unfortunately the battery was difficult to get out and when he got it out he was surprised that the battery was not much stronger for such a big motorhome. He fitted a bigger battery and then the problem was solved. He kindly looked at the motorhome battery and that one was also completely dead. This battery is a deep cycle battery and the engineer did not have one on his van. He explained that it was a special battery and we would do better if we went to see Gavin at "North Shore Auto and Electrics". We thanked him very much for all his time care and service and we paid him $NZ249.00 (about £100). A nice way to finish the first day but at least we will not have to pray and hope every time we start the engine. We drove back to Geri and Colin and arrived there around 10:30 pm and totally exhausted. My cold too has by then come to full fruition and I was coughing, sneezing and blowing my nose vigorously.

Next day was Wednesday and we drove Turbo Snail to see Gavin. Gavin was very helpful and suggested that he took the motorhome battery out and see if he could recharge it. Meanwhile we could drive around and sort out other moving in things and then report back to him in the evening. That’s what we did, buying boxes to go into the overhead lockers making it easy to sort things and find them again later. At the end of the day we got told that the deep cycle battery would recover and that we should report back first thing Thursday morning.

Yes! We staged this

Fergus in Turbo Snail

That is what we did, hoping we would get away properly this time. We had moved everything out of Geri and Colin’s and all we now needed was the battery. Gavin put it in and the fuse blew immediately. Can you believe it now there is an electrical fault somewhere in the motor home. Gavin tried his best but as we did not have the "Road Star 726 handbook", finding the fault would take more time than Gavin had today. So he asked us to come back on Friday morning at 8:am and arrange to leave Turbo Snail with him for the day. The disappointment was almost too much plus we had to go back to Geri and Colin and ask to stay another night.

Surly Friday everything would come together and we can finally take off. Geri followed Fergus back to Gavin and then brought both of us back to their house for the day. I was wearing out my knees, praying that everything would be ok by tonight. I did the washing and Fergus did some photography for Geri, which took most of the day. Then at 3pm Gavin phoned to say that they had located the fault and that it is all fixed. We waited for Geri and Colin to return from town and then Colin took us back to Gavin again with all our overnight things. It had just started to rain and the wind was up too. As Fergus went to pay Gavin another $NZ469.00 (£187) I moved the rest of our belongings from Colin’s car to Turbo Snail. All excited I tried the light switch thinking a little light on the subject would help, but oh no, the lights are not working. I went to tell Gavin and Fergus and Gavin did not believe me. However when he saw for himself, he admitted that the job was done by one of his engineers who had already gone home for the weekend. Patiently I slid under my sheep skin rug in the sitting area of the home and hoped that Gavin would sort it out. He did and 90 minutes later we were off. Gavin advised us to go to a campsite nearby and if there was a problem, we could come back in the morning.

Great we were finally off but the heavens opened and it started to rain. We drove to the north of Auckland to a lovely place called Orewa and found a place in a Holiday Park. We parked by the beach and had a lovely view of the Pacific Ocean having a good moan. We decided to eat out as it was loo late to start to find out how everything worked. We prepared the bed and then headed off for dinner.

"Joust" was the name of the restaurant. It was very posh but we felt we could treat ourselves in the name of celebrating our arrival in our new home. It rained very hard now and we wondered if it would ever stop. The food was delicious and the atmosphere very good, created by a very friendly staff.

In the end we took a taxi home. I already had a very bad cold and really did not need to catch phenomena on top of it. We slid under our quilt and listened to the rain while the wind was rocking us to sleep.

On Saturday we awoke early and it was still grey out there but at least the rain had stopped. Fergus ventured off to find us some food for breakfast and I started to organise our new home. Colin phoned in the morning to check on us and then after breakfast we went shopping. We bought hooks and non-slip mats and in the afternoon we got busy organising things.

Fergus cooked his first meal in the new kitchen and we were both chuffed that we had finally got to this point. We went to bed and watched "Shrek 1" on our lap top computer. What fun we even have in-flight entertainment. The next morning we woke up to a most beautiful weekend. The sun was shining, the sea was much calmer and the light and colours all around spectacular.

We decided to go back to Whangarei. Tim had called to say that another of their neighbours had a house for sale and we could go and see that….