Australia Day 14 (Thu 11 Dec: Berkeley to Wollongong to Holbrook)

Weather was rainy in Berkeley and Wollongong. Sunny beginning mid day along the way and in Holbrook.

After breakfast at Mac, Zee went to return the 8-seater, while hubby and I went to pick up another car (also from Hertz) to continue our journey to Victoria. Zee used his dad's car and drove my uncle and family back to Sydney airport to return to Singapore.

We were assigned a Hyundai Elantra and happily drove off cos it had a cruise control mode (good for long journey). Then, KNS, the car broke down in between Holbrook and Albury (about 5hrs drive from Wollongong)!!!! Actually our destination for the night was to be Beechworth, another 1.5hr drive from where our car broke down! And the spot where the car stalled was the "best" - just about 2-3m from a dead wombat (road kill) - smelly lah!!

Can you see the dead wombat in front of the car?

We didn't even know where we were except we were on Hume Highway (a VERY VERY long highway) so we couldn't tell the Hertz roadside assistant we rang. No choice, I had to flag down cars travelling along the highway (nope, I didn't roll up my pants hahaha!!). A group of Highway workers in a vehicle stopped and told us exactly where we were. In fact, there were a few more good guys who stopped by and asked if there was anything they could help, and even asked if we had food and water etc. Aaawwww.. So nice of them!

Anyway, we waited for almost an hour before the mechanic came (it was 6.25pm). He said it was an engine problem and there was nothing he could do on the spot and hence called the nearest tow truck service from Holbrook (about 15min drive, vs Albury which would be about 30min drive).

Mechanic checking on our car - want to buy 4D or not? Car # 312 hahaha!!

As the Hertz car rental companies have closed by then, there was no way we could get a replacement car. So, no choice, we had to follow the tow guy back to Holbrook. The tow guy was another nice chap. He dropped the stoooopid car off at his repair garage and drove us to the nearest accommodation (diagonally across the repair garage) which he said was not bad.

We were both really pissed off at what happened! KNS! No more Hyundai cars!!! Arrrghhh!! I don't know why, but I was really really upset at the whole incident! It just disrupted my plan, and spoilt my holiday! Thank God for his angels again - I called up the accommodation I had booked at Beechworth (The Rose Cottage), told the owner what happened and that there was no way I could stay there for the night. I took the chance to ask if he would still charge me for no-show, and he assured he wouldn't (was to be AUD110 B&B). Phew!!

Accommodation - Jolly Swagman Motor Inn (Holbrook) AUD98/night. As it was a motel, we didn't have high expectation and were happy to be able to stay anywhere so long as it was decent and not too expensive. We were surprised to see the nicely managed motel, from the warmth hospitality to a classy reception and spacious bedroom! Rating - 8/10, more for the friendly service! Read on..

Motel sign
Motel front
Reception
Bedroom
Bedroom
Toilet
Restaurant

We told the couple who owned the motel, Keith and his wife about our situation, and that we needed to head to Albury where the nearest Hertz was. Coincidentally, Keith told us he needed to send his wife to the hospital in Albury the next day and could offer us a ride! Thank God! Though it was very early, like 6.30am, we were really grateful! Wouldn't know how to manage without transport (it would take 40min driving at 110km/h from Holbrook to Albury)!

We also paiseh, so we settled for in-room dinner from the motel. Homemade soup, swaggie pies and calamari cost us AUD34 - not cheap but we just wanted to give ourselves a treat after the stressful situation!