Fear and Loathing in Port Hedland
"Want to help me repossess a car?"
This isn't a phrase you expect to here while on vacation. But this is exactly what Kat and I heard one day while we were in Port Hedland, Western Australia. Saying that it isn't something you are expecting to hear is a bit like saying that Punch Drunk Love isn't your typical Adam Sandler movie. But again, it's what happened. Enough jibba jabba! How did this come to be?
While planning our trip to Australia, Kat was looking at tours. She spotted a tour that took you all over Western Australia, but over 8 days. We decided that 8 days was a bit much. One of the places that they went to was Karijini National Park, which Kat really wanted to see. So we looked for shorter tours that focused on Karijini and found The Dingo's Oasis. They had a nice little website and we could contact them via e-mail about reservations and what not.
I sent in some e-mail asking about prices, times, accommodations, etc. and the owner was quite helpful with everything and even took our reservation with no deposit, since it would be a pain for everybody for us to get him money. They don't take credit cards and we didn't have an easy way to send Australian dollars. So we thought that was quite cool of them.
We went on the tour, and it was great, even with Tropical Cyclone Inigo dumping rain on us like you wouldn't believe (but that's another post). When we got back we didn't have anything "touristy" to take back with us from our trip so we started walking to the Rock Shed, where we were told they sold rocks. Not just normal rocks mind you, but all kinds of special rocks. The kind of rocks that you can give to people as gifts. The kind of rocks you don't just pick up off the ground, but you exchange hard earned money for. At least it was Australian dollars and not real dollards.
It was warm that day, close to 35 Celcius and muggy. We had only walked about 3 blocks and had already worked up a good sweat. We were about a block and a half away from the Rock Shed when a big, old, white Land Cruiser coming down the road stops to talk to us. It was the owner of the Dingo's Oasis. He asked where we were going and offered us a lift. It was only a block and a half, but he also had his air conditioner going. So we hopped in and he dropped us off.
We bought our rocks and headed into town for a little lunch before we went to the air port for our flight back to Perth. It was still hot, so by the time we got to downtown we were happy to take a break in nice air conditioned cafe. But then it was time to start back and gather up our gear. Again we were about 2 blocks or so away from the Oasis when the same Land Cruiser pulled up. The owner opens the door and asks where we are headed and we tell him that we are on our way back before our flight. "Have you got your drivers license?" Yeah, I tell him. It's a lie, but only a small one. I have my California drivers license in my wallet, but my International Drivers Permit is packed back at the Oasis. "Want to help me repossess a car?"
All kinds of things go through my mind at this point. Is he serious? He looks serious enough. Is he crazy? Well, he does live in Port Hedland so the answer could very well be yes on that one. Will we get hurt on this little adventure? Probably not, but who knows. I glance at Kat and she gives me the shoulder shrug indicating that she doesn't care and I should hurry up and make a decision. Basic human instincts take over at that point and I decide that the air conditioning is worth the risk.
Once we got in, all was explained and made clear to us. In addition to owning the Dingo's Oasis, our host was also a private investigator and did car repossession on the side. "Many crumbs make a load of bread," he told us. His daughter had spotted the car that morning and followed the owner to see where he parked it. The owner of the car, a local Iraqi business man, was in no hurry to have it taken away, so he had taken to moving the car around town and avoiding calls during the day. But today was his unlucky day. I don't know why he thought he could hide a shiny silver sports car in a place that gives you an idea of what Mars would be like once we set up a colony there. In a word, red. The car was parked at the local shopping center. We pulled up along side it and he asked me which car I wanted to drive. I wanted to drive the sports car desperately but I though of all the things that could go horribly, horribly wrong with that plan. "I'll drive the truck."
It was probably for the better. I still wasn't accustomed to driving on the left side of the road. Crashing a really expensive sports car, that was already getting repossessed, wasn't high on my list of things to do. He hoped in, fired it up, and off we went. We followed him to his place and he gave us a ride back to the Oasis. He said thanks and then went off to do some other odd job around town. It was all so surreal, it's hard to believe it happened.
