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Published: September 10th 2005
Andrew with all the stuff
We loaded Andrew like a pack muleSo, since Janice and I ended not being able to go skiing because of logistics/money/Budget and AutoEurope, (grr), we needed an adventure. I scoured the web, and found out about a horseback riding place about an hour north of sydney. I got Andrew and Janice interested, so we were going to ride the train up, and then figure out transportation around. We borrowed a tent and some sleeping bags and were fully intent on having a fire and camping out.
The day of our departure, last Friday, I found a cheap car rental, which equaled or was cheaper than the amount we would have had to pay on non-car transport. So we got on the train, and an hour later, we had our car from Howard the wry, "I've seen this all before" car rental man. We all love him. Anyway, it was a blue.. something. One of those nondescript cars who had seen better days, I'm sure. But cheap is cheap to a college student. We named it "Bumbledore," (I inserted that, I don't know if we named it) and with Janice in the driver's seat, we set off for our adventure.
We drove up to the beautiful
Janice
This picture does not need explanation countryside..It was so nice to escape the city. The trail riding was great, as we were allowed to canter and gallop and do whatever. I had a horse named Strawberry, and she and I were one. We also saw a red-bellied black snake, one of the most venomous snakes in the world. I picked it up and hugged it. Just kidding, I stayed a safe distance.
So then we decided upon a place to camp for the night and stopped at a place o eat to see if we were allowed to have fires in the area. The shopowner said no, and said there had been a brushfire three days before. Thinking we'd be unable to stick to our original plan of roasting hot dogs on sticks, we got food there. I ate an Australian hamburger, which has barbeque sauce, mayo, lettuce and beetroot on it. It was quite good, I didn't know i liked beet.
We also stopped at a farm stand and got some fresh fruit and vegetables, which were delicious.
Then we made it to our campsite, and we ogled at the people already there, who had fires roaring.
"Oh" said we, and
Janice and Andrew
on the train to pick up the car! set to work putting up our massive tent, which could sleep 6 people. Then we got a fire roaring ourselves and enjoyed our Aussie smores and a bottle and a half of wine, though to be fair, it was mostly Andrew's drinking it.
We got into our sleeping bags and Janice read for about an hour from "THe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" which was immensely enjoyable, and we repeated it at the beach later. Then..the production of sleep.
I was in the middle, with a thin thin thin sleeping bag. I froze my beans the entire night, and tried desperately to cuddle up to Janice and then Andrew, but nay, none would come to my aid. Finally, at 3:30 am, when I'd had no sleep until this point, I awoke Janice, and we zipped our sleeping bags together, and she became the big spoon. I don't know why, but she insisted upon it. Then, I was warm on one side, and not on the other because Andrew refused to be the little little spoon. He was warm and toasty in a thick canadian sleeping bag, and dagnabit if he was to care whether his friend turned into
Jan on Horse
Janice, poor one-bum-leg Janice, on Amigo an ice cube overnight! i have nicknamed him Spork, for his failure to join the Spoons.
I didn't sleep much after that, but I was soothed by the incessant snore-off betwixt Spork and Jan.
Though I planned to do my usual 6am hike I do when camping, we were all so exausted we didn't get moving unil 9am. So I guessed we learned our lesson....don't camp with Sporks in extremely cold weather.
Then we drove back to Sydney, an hour late for our car rental drop off, but it was okay, Howard loved us. On the way back, we took a ferry, and it was Spork's first time driving on a ferry. Jan and I are ferry grandmothers, to make a bad bad pun.
All in all, a very fun and memorable trip!
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casey
non-member comment
...
I laughed out loud a little to this one, Caro. I enjoy your whitty quips and poppycock anecdotes. It's not really poppycock, I just wanted to say the word poppycock. Poppycock. Good. ILOVEYOUANDIMISSYOUANDIHOPEYOUAREDOINGWELLTHEEND!