We spent most of July and August in the USA visiting friends and family while Domino (our motorbike) shipped from the tiny country of Timor Leste to Australia.
Austin first flew into Darwin in the Northern Territory where Domino was shipped to. I stayed in the USA for about 1 week longer. We typically spend about 1 week solo traveling every 3-4 months so we used this time as an alone week!
Austin picked up Domino at the port and guess what! We cleared customs fine and also cleared the bio security cleanliness test which we were quite nervous for. Bio security is very strict to make sure no invasive soils, plants, or species get brought into Australia so they are very detailed in their inspection. We haven't heard of anyone passing the inspection but we were about 50% sure we would after spending hours cleaning the bike before loading it into the shipping container in Timor Leste.
We have been having troubles with the motorbike starting throughout the second half of the Indonesian islands and sure enough, the bike didn't start at the port in Australia. Domino had to get a jump from a forklift to start.
Thankfully, there is a motorcycle shop that is certified to work on Urals (our type of motorcycle) so we are hoping to use our warranty for the problems we are having. We figured out that the starter is fried and is not functioning properly so we have ordered a new one but that will take 2 weeks to get up to Darwin. Our dashboard and speedometer stopped working about 6 months ago and we have a few other problems so we are hoping to get those all sorted in Darwin before we head into the “bush” aka the remote lands of Australia. With that, we now have a few weeks to kill in Darwin.
We are a bit torn about the delay because it is pushing us into the hotter and more humid weather (wet season in the tropics) for crossing Australia which is a challenge in prime weather so we will need to be extra intentional and proactive in taking care of our bodies with hydration and having ample food and water as we cross remote outback. This reminds me of our time in Central Asia in 115F weather with minimal amenities and people around.
On a positive note, we are getting to know Darwin very well with our time here. It is an eclectic melting pot that is a bit transient but offers a small city feel. There are a few beautiful neighborhoods that have running and bike paths along the coast of the ocean which are so beautiful. Their cafes are quaint and have delicious food! We found a church we have been going to so we get to worship with other believers each Sunday. I've found a few gyms that have group fitness classes so I have been enjoying going to those each day. One major blessing is we are about to house-sit for 2 weeks for a friend of a friend so we can help them out and also have free housing for 2 weeks, yahoo! We are also very excited to have a kitchen to make our own food instead of relying on eating out or making due with grocery store meals (salads and sandwiches).
So..no we wait for our motorcycle parts to get to Darwin and in the meantime, we will explore Darwin and enjoy getting to know the biggest city in the north (~130k people)!