Administrative tasks, Swimming Lagoon and Mindil Beach again

The last two days were mainly focused on administrative matters. We spent a lot of time at banks, opened our Australian accounts, and took out a Third Party car insurance. Third Party means that the insurance pays if we damage someone else's property. It's not worth getting insurance for our own car because of the purchase price.

Everything went well with the accounts, and next week we can pick up our bank cards. Then we won't have to pay the conversion fee of the German credit card for every purchase anymore.

In addition, we now have Australian prepaid SIM cards with which we can make domestic calls and have sufficient data volume for mobile use. Provided that we have reception, of course :D

We also helped Karo and Matze with their car inspection, and it was really funny. The seller was a little Englishman with a Japanese wife, and the campervan was from 1981. Both of them were super nice, and we had a really good conversation! He immediately told us about his hashish-smoking son and that he used to do it too because he used to live in Holland :D The car was really old, but still in pretty good condition. We gave him a hard time because we wanted to look at everything in detail, but he didn't know where the battery was. However, he could have had it checked the next day at his friend's workshop. Unfortunately, the purchase didn't work out because the test drive went completely wrong. The car is so old that it doesn't have power steering, and Karo couldn't make the turn :D In addition, you have to shift gears with a lever on the steering wheel. We have that too, but ours is automatic, and this one was obviously still manual. So, it was a bit difficult. But it's funny that something like this is still on the roads :D

To cool off in between, we went to the swimming lagoon and jumped into the water. It was really hot! :D And quite salty too. But at least we had more space than in the whirlpool and could swim a few laps. The place is actually nice. In addition to the enclosed bathing area, there were several large air cushions in different sizes and shapes. We asked if we could go on them, but unfortunately, it costs 15 AUD per hour. Quite expensive, but it looked like it could be fun to fool around on them :D

After the lagoon, we went home to take a quick shower because we were going to the Mindil Beach Sunset Market again with Karo and Matze. Thursdays are always a bit bigger, and this time we could drive there by car. When we arrived, we noticed that there was more going on than on Sunday, even at the parking lot. And that was confirmed as we walked through and at the beach. A lot of people. But the sunset was just as beautiful, and the food was delicious again. This time we got a variety from several stalls: a souvlaki skewer, a piece of garlic bread, mini spring rolls, and beef and lamb curry with rice. Unfortunately, two pieces of meat on the skewer were really chewy and inedible. Andi complained, and we got another grilled chicken part for free :D The lamb curry tasted too much like lamb for me, but everything else was good ;)

At Mindil Beach, the ebb and flow don't come in a 24-hour cycle like clockwork but have a different rhythm. That's why there was a real mudflat in front of the beach this time, which Andi and I also walked through. It was totally beautiful, and on the flat ground, we could really see how the water came closer to the beach with each high tide.

After dinner, we watched a fire show. It was impressive, but not every trick worked. The guy was more of an amateur, and at one point, he actually set his pants on fire! That was a brief moment of shock because it was obviously not intended. The final act didn't work either, but whatever. We didn't pay any admission or anything for it^^ After that, we strolled through the market a bit and then drove home.

So, those were our last few days. I really have to think of something to write at the end of my entries. I never know how to end them properly. But I noticed that there is a word here that people like to write at the end of a message as a farewell or greeting, so here it is: Cheers!