Spending another day working on the car,
Today is another FULL day working on the car. Dad fitted the headlights back after he washed and cleaned them inside (in an attempt to make them better because we still cannot find new ones to purchase). He also removed the number plates of the car and we agreed that he will keep one here (in Ceres, South Africa), maybe mounting it above the indoor braai and I will take the other one to NZ… uh Maybe to fit above my indoor fireplace? A fair trade / split scenario like in the movies, LOL. I got on with cleaning the car inside, vacuuming all the carpets and wiping all the interior detail. Everything needs to be clean and tidy for the NZ biosecurity inspectors, so we made an special effort. Dad fitted the air intake and hood (removing a broken bolt) and we removed and replaced the rear seat to check for any hidden “treasures”. Unfortunately non were found, other than a stamp, an old sweet and some confetti from a wedding… we think.
We removed and refitted some of the exterior trim of the car as well and I opened the door sill plates to check underneath them and the condition and cleanliness. I also started to polish the vinyl top/roof of the car, and decided to go with the dark brown colour (after purchasing just about every colour shoe polish on the market). We checked and fixed some other small things here and there. Cleaned the boot and wrapped all the cleaned and polished hub caps individually in bubble wrap to place them with the antenna in the boot. I even polished the accelerator, brake and clutch pedal rubber covers after making sure the were free of seeds and plant material.
At the end of the day things are looking good, and we are edging ever closer to saying that everything on the car is done and ready for shipping. The ship into Cape Town harbour is running late, so the loading date is pushed back to 25 October. Not great news, but still before I leave for NZ at least. I laid out the plans for my last 2-and-a-bit weeks in South Africa and people around me are getting a sense of my time coming to an end. Some people I will get to see again and others I might not… and the same goes for places around here. I am preparing good-byes already and saying “so long” to places as well, in anticipation that it might be the final time. I still have two things to cross off my list in South Africa and I am focusing on those at the moment. The other secondary things I am trying to squeeze in between the lines but time is seriously evaporating. My allergies are “crazy” today, or I am getting ill… hope it is the first one.
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43.5323 – 172.5567
14 October 2024
FP-277