What. A motherfudging day.

I thought yesterday’s rains were exciting – I had no idea what was in store for me!

After going out for a few drinks last night and waking up slightly hungover (sorry Mum!), I checked the weather forecast and decided to get back on the road before the storms got any worse and the roads were closed. It was now or never!

I made it out of Broome and onto the Great Northern Highway in a couple of hours, and tackled a bit more rain and flooding but could certainly see it dissipating.

Fast forward to 3pm and I’d only covered about 300km but it was better than nothing and I was definitely out of the worst weather.

I was only 50km from the next town but I desperately needed a rest, so I pulled into a lay-by to have something to eat and rest my eyes – ended up snoozing for an hour!

I woke up and prepared to make my way into Fitzroy Crossing, where I’d fill the tank and decide whether to call it a day or carry on the next 200km or so to Halls Creek. In the end, my decision was made for me.

Shortly after setting off I noticed that the tiniest bit of added pressure on the gas made the engine rev like mad, but made no difference to my speed. Odd. For 5km or so I crawled along at 50 kmph, and then noticed, when I went to change gear, that there was no pressure under the clutch. Worrying. I optimistically hoped that pulling over, cutting the engine, and restarting it again would solve the problem. But alas, a car is not an iPhone – you can’t just turn it off and turn it back on again! The engine restarted just fine but the car wouldn’t go into gear and the clutch was being about as much use as a Swiss cheese umbrella.

The clutch was burned out. Bollocks.

I called the roadside assistance number provided by the car hire company and the Northern man (yes, Northern English) on the other end gave me some advice and said he’d try and source a towing company in Fitzroy.

As luck would have it, at this point a 4WD drove by and the three guys inside stopped to see if I was okay. Fitzroy is a small town so of course they knew the local tow truck bloke and called him out for me! Then they gave me a lift into Fitzroy and kindly offered to take me to the cheapest accommodation in town so I could find a place to stay the night.

Thomson, one of my rescuers, came into the hotel with me and asked how much the cheapest room was; $189 for one night. That’s £120. I’ve been paying no more than $35 a night for my accommodation since I got to Oz. Up until this point I had been taking the whole situation in my stride and very much keeping my cool. Not any longer; I could feel the waterworks coming on.

Clearly pitying me, Thomson offered to let me stay in his caravan and he would find a mate to stay with. Without stopping to weigh up my options, and blinded by the thought of not having to pay almost 200 bucks for a night’s sleep, I took up his offer. Though later, having spoken to Mother dearest, I decided the hotel was the better option after all. Don’t get me wrong, the guy was lovely, and I don’t think he was planning on cutting me up into pieces and BBQ-ing me, but he was a complete stranger so you can never be sure!

They very kindly bought me dinner and then dropped me back at the hotel. Just as I was about fork out, the lady I’d spoken to earlier on appeared and made an announcement: a businessman from out of town had paid for a room which he wasn’t actually planning on using, (something to do with tax, I wasn’t going to ask questions), and since it was paid for and empty, they were going to give it to me!

So that brings us up to now. I’m tucked up in bed, looking forward to a good night’s sleep, and even a lie in, since I won’t be leaving in a hurry in the morning, and feeling much much calmer than 5 hours ago.

I don’t know what’s going to happen with the car or with my transport to Alice Springs, nor do I know what of this mess I’ll have to pay for, if any. But that, my friends, is a problem for future me.

The Hermione of tomorrow morning will have to deal with those questions; let’s hope she’s got her thinking cap handy!

Goodnight 😴

Edit: After writing this, I discovered a beautiful little green frog living the bathroom of my motel room. His name is Floyd. He is looking after me tonight.