We Passed Quarantine!

Ghita braved (and vest-ed) up and made the journey out to the Port of Brisbane yesterday to do battle with the port folks and massage our trailer through the customs / quarantine inspection. And apparently it was a battle.

The security folks were terribly rude and made her feel like she was doing the wrong thing at every step - which she wasn't.  They are basically just lazy bullies.  Anyway, she got through them and met up with the AQUIS folks who were lovely.  They chatted with her about vintage trailers and her (our) adventure while they looked underneath for hidden contraband / Americans (I guess). They found none.

We were expecting it would need to be washed.  We've heard stories that nearly everything does.  Thankfully the combination of a sympathetic inspector and Ghita's rustic charms eased our passage and the trailer passed inspection unconditionally.  Woot.

Port Tips:
- Have all your documents ready (even ones you don't think you'll need)
    - Bill of sale
    - Port permissions
    - Printout of portside contact
    - Any form of certificate of ownership
- Bring the keys your seller cut for you and sent in the mail in case the ones they stashed on the outside of the trailer have been misplaced.
- Wear hi vis and boots
- Look and act like you're meant to be there (you are!)
- Stand your ground and don't take shit from port security.
- Bond with your inspector
- Enjoy the moment. You've just picked up your baby.  I'm sorry I missed this moment.
- Don't forget to take photos for your blog : )


Buoyed by this recent success, Ghita has confirmed transport for tomorrow.  She's not riding with them, they are just going to deliver it to Federal.  We'll head down and check it out at the weekend.  Apparently it needs a good airing.  Ghita opened it up on the dock and it smelled like the 70s had died in there.

She has similarly charmed the transport dudes but I need to save that story for another post.

The Eagle Has Landed

Well it has been a while since the last update.  


Things have been pretty busy with work but the main reason is that there just hasn't been much to report on the Airstream front.

We had a few delays on the US side with overland transport and then it seems we missed a couple of ships heading out of the port just north of LA.

The good news is that our Tradewind apparently arrived at port in Brisbane last night.

I'm in sydney for work and Ghita is booked in for the customs inspection at 2pm today.  The port authority requires special clearance for access to the port and there are particular clothing requirements.  Ghita needs to wear steel capped boots and a hi-vis vest  : )

She has some (non-steelcapped) Blundstones and has borrowed a vest from our neighbour who says he was called a "new age trucker" when he last wore it to port in similar circumstances.  I hope Ghita takes some photos.

Depending on how the inspection goes, the Airstream may be released tomorrow or it may need to be cleaned which will cause a delay of a few days.

We have some overland transport standing by.  Basically a tilt tray truck that will take the Airstream 200kms down to Northern New South Wales where it will reside at the mother-in-law's place until the site is fenced and levelled at our place nearby.

I hope to update tomorrow with details of how the inspection and associated portside craziness goes.  We've heard horror stories.

In the meantime, we have been watching the ship's progress from LA to Tokyo to Brisbane on a ship tracking website.  Yesterday as the "Delhi Highway" drew closer to port, it seemed to do a little victory lap. Woohoo!

: )