Our 10 days in the camper van were over. Returning the camper was quite an experience, and I have to share my comic relief from all the stress. We got into Darwin – its suburbs and lights hitting us about 50 km out. I dropped off the 3 guys and our bags at the hostel and then headed to drop the camper. Finally finding the rental depot, I first learned that it had to be washed or pay a $300 fine. So off I went to the car wash – I had to use the self-clean wash due to the size, and it took a bit to figure out the automated soap and water dispenser car wash process. Back to the rental shop over an hour later where the boys had come looking for me by now – Mike had ordered me a beer an hour ago!
Next I learned that I had to empty the toilet or the fee was $150! So Pat & I headed to find a public toilet while Kyle went back to Mike - I was hot (it was well over 30 degrees) and tired, and my frustration was at it's limit. We found a public toilet – the Euroflush 2000 – it was a stainless steel cube. There were 3 lights – vacant, occupied and closed. When we walked up, another couple had been waiting but gave up and left. The light said ‘closed’.
We were at a loss on what to do – reading further we read it was programmed to self clean when unoccupied. It was certainly making lots of swishing sounds. Another couple passed and we inquired if they knew anything about these toilets. They just replied "Oh no, I’m not sure you could get out" (or something like that) and wished us luck. The swishing suddenly ended and the ‘vacant’ light came on. We quickly emptied our toilet. The whole time a voice was repeating “Welcome to the Euroflush 2000. Press the button to close and lock the door.” We had entered, but had not pushed the button to close the door. As we were leaving, Pat reached in and pushed the button.
So we left the Euroflush 200 with its door closed, no one in the toilet, and the ‘occupied’ light flashing. So much for the fully automated Euroflush 2000 – Patrick was quite thrilled to have outwitted this rather elaborate and certainly expensive fixture!
This hilarity helped my mood and upon returning to Mike 2 ½ hours after having left him, I enjoyed my beer immensely and got to meet all of his new acquaintances. You can’t leave Mike alone a bar and not expect him to meet a whole new crowd of friends after all!
Pat & Kyle had a very tasty fish & chips then headed to see the Harry Potter movie. Mike & I had a nice dinner as recommended by his new mates, checked out some souvenir shops then returned to catch up on photo editing and diary. And despite my initial introduction to Darwin, I really do like it.
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