Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2008 | Page 58

life

INTERVIEW

Postcards from the edge

Think about Iran. (Danger, hostility,
suspicion.) Then think about Chitty
Chitty Bang Bang. (Mythical flying
car popularised by MGM film).
Put the two thoughts together and
you’ve got something of the sheer
breathtaking lunacy of Nick and
Carolyn’s trip from the Isle of Wight
to Australia.
Nick is so well practised in telling
his story that he is in danger of
glossing over the momentousness
of what he and his wife achieved.
A camera crew or a local reporter
popped out of the scrubland
whenever, and wherever, he and
Carolyn (and Chitty) stopped for a
cup of tea (and some oil). But this
is no glib story, despite involving
a fairytale car. In the next issue we
will plot the route they took, the
route they couldn’t take, and why.
In the meantime, Nick takes
three pictures from his album and
describes life on the road:
“Finally getting into Australia was

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quite an emotional time because the
quarantine laws are so strict that
we spent 14 hours on the Malaysian
border, cleaning her of any bugs,
seeds, hairs, anything. When we
got in, we had to pass their version
of the MOT. I was petrified she’d
leak oil and our journey would be
ruined.”
“India was such a colourful
experience but difficult. It was
impossible to camp because we’d be
surrounded by 300 people even at
2am. Carolyn and I were a fraid to
stop for a cup of tea, because every
time we did all these people came
from nowhere!”
“These two little girls were aged
just five and six. They worked the
Cambodian temples, begging us to
buy postcards, for one US dollar.
Finally I gave in and bought one –
but then the other little girl said:
“What about me, you haven’t bought
anything from me!”

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