And now for my next trick.... truck driving!

Monday last week was an interesting day! I spent 95% of the day driving - first, two laps to the airport (which is a round trip of roughly 1 hour, depending on the road - more on that later), and then I took our ute into the repair centre in town before picking up our truck. Yes, truck. And to answer your question, no, I haven't driven a truck before. To answer your second question, yes, I do have a licence to drive a truck in PNG (because apparently my Aussie driver's licence allowed me to convert to a class 6 PNG licence which allows me to drive trucks). Suddenly, I can drive the truck. With no prior experience. In the rain. Through the most giant potholes I've ever seen - and believe me, I've seen some big ones!

It was a rather interesting experience to say the least! The guy at the repair centre was rather stunned to see that it was me - a white girl - coming to pick up said vehicle. He asked me a LOT of questions before, somewhat reluctantly I think, handing me the keys. With a prayer and a few deep breaths, I jumped in and started the vehicle. The first challenge was reversing the truck - which some of my co-workers have previously said is rather difficult. I managed fine, and headed to the exit, which brought me to the world's most massive pothole - well, maybe not the world's, but a HUGE one never the less.

With nowhere else to go, I drove in. The ENTIRE truck fit in the hole, so my next challenge was to get this giant vehicle out in one piece. I managed and that's when the looks started! Other drivers started to notice that I was driving. Three things were clearly shocking them:
1. A girl was driving the truck
2. This girl was white
3. This white girl was alone

Now, many people in PNG sit in the back of ute trays, usually in groups of at least ten people. I was driving at peak hour in the afternoon so you can just imagine how many looks I got. All the way home - 18km - I attracted a lot of looks, people craning their heads to see and others tapping their mates to turn around and check out the truck with the white girl in it. It was a very interesting drive!

I was pretty happy to see the driveway when I arrived home :) The security guys at the gate were as stunned to see me in the truck, if not more so, that all of the people on the road. When I got to our compound gates, a pile of the LCM boys stopped what they were doing just to watch me go through our gates. I think they were seriously doubting I'd be able to maneuver the corners! Since I had made it that far, I figured I'd give myself one extra challenge, just for the fun of it - to reverse into the parking space which has posts on either side. I managed :) and was pretty happy with that!

God looked after me on the road that day, there's no doubt. I am so very thankful that He was with me, all the way, protecting me from any possible dangers and getting me home safely. Praise Him for His goodness!

The sky crying with me as I drove home from the airport after dropping Mum off. I often feel like the weather can anticipate my feelings and then goes out in sympathy. I like to think so anyway. 

Here is vehicle number 1 for the day - the Landcruiser

Vehicle number 2 - the Mazda BT50

It was actually very amazing that I made it to the repair centre in this car. All of the way to town, the suspension was shuddering terribly and considering the condition of the road and the rainy weather, it wasn't a smooth trip! 

Vehicle number 3 - the Mazda Titan truck

The security guys at the gate must have been wondering what I was doing, going in and out of the driveway so many times in one day - and driving every one of our cars! It must've looked pretty funny. The other funny part was that every time I got to the gate the security guy who opens and closes the gate had changed his shirt! It was definitely the same guy - he started with neon pink (my personal favourite), went to blue, then a darker blue and in the afternoon it was green. Maybe his shirt kept getting wet in the rain? Or he wanted to mix it up for his 'clients'?

This is my, 'Can I even do this?' face, which had been my 'crying at the airport for all to see'  face a few hours earlier.... hence the not-so-glamorous appearance

My view from the driver's seat and the most giant steering wheel I've ever been in control of 

Parked. Safe. In one piece.

When I arrived home, I sent my Dad a picture message showing him my new ride. He liked that. I told him he can just call me superwoman :)

Whoop whoop! I love it when I manage a new (somewhat challenging) task without any hitches. I must be honest and tell you that I did do a fist pump when I popped the handbrake on because I was so stoked! 

The look of relief that I had made it home without any troubles - just lots of stories :)