NEW YEAR, NEW HANGOVER!

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Waking up with slightly sore heads, we decided that driving would not be a good idea. Our hippy friends had decided the same, but were reminded of checking out time by the rather rude owner who knocked on their door and pointed at her watch saying “check out time is 10am sharp”. They were visiting friends who live on the site and were planning on stopping for breakfast so drove out the gates, parked their van on the road and wandered back in. We couldn’t get packed up in time so booked an extra half day on the site and walked into town to get a much needed breakfast.

The café was busy but we managed to get a table outside. Breakfast was good - although not up to Melbourne standards. We did however have a much more pleasurable dining experience than the group of people on the table next to us. They waited 45 minutes only to be told that their order had been misplaced. They then had a 30 minute wait just to get their coffee and a further wait for their food which I think also turned out to be incorrect. This is not what you want on new years day after a night of drinking!

After breakfast we felt well enough to set off. We had no set plan, all we knew was that we were heading south. As the day went on, and the further south we got, the harder the rain seemed to be coming down. We didn’t want to stop and set up in the rain so we carried on driving in the hope that we would find some dry weather. By 9pm we were still on the move and we were all getting hungry. We were nearly at Tully (the place with the giant boot) again. Spotting a sign for a rest area we thought that this would be as good a place as any to stop for the night. By now Kieran was thinking of nothing else but food, but our cupboards were bare and we had little hope of finding anywhere open on new years day. As we drove through Tully a beacon of light appeared in the sky bearing the letters IGA. Using the light in the sky for guidance we found our way to the supermarket car park. Surely they would be closed? As we got closer we saw a lady with keys was just about to lock the doors. We smiled at her very sweetly and thankfully she opened the door and let us in. We had to be quick so we dashed down the isles and started throwing things to make sandwiches in a basket. The staff wanted us to go to the check out but we said we were looking for pickle. They had no idea what we were talking about. After some explaining we were told “ah you mean chutney”. It looked like it could be some distant relative of pickle and since you cant make cheese and pickle sandwiches without pickle we put it in the basket and made our way to the checkout. As soon as the doors shut behind us they locked up. We couldn’t believe how lucky we had been. Normally shops in small towns don’t open when they don’t have to. In fact you’re lucky if they open when they are supposed to! Now we didn’t just have dinner - we had a choice of sandwich fillings - oh how spoilt we are! Out of all of us Kieran was the most grateful. He does like his grub, and doesn’t like to be without it for long. For finding a supermarket against all odds, being let in after closing time and ending up with a selection of sandwiches Kieran was crowned The Luckiest Boy in Tully.

When we couldn’t find the rest area we stopped to ask a taxi driver who was sat outside the office. When we discussed the directions we realised that if we took their advice we would be right back where we started in the car park of the supermarket. We were not keen on the idea so carried on in a southerly direction. 20km later we were arrived at a rest area that Andy and I had stayed at before. It was still raining so we decided that we would all try and sleep in the van. The four of us were sat around the table eating our sandwiches and finishing the last few bottles of Christmas cider when the heat from the engine started rising from under the seats. We soon realised that the heat from the engine plus the heat from four people would make for a very uncomfortable night. We climbed out of the van and into the darkness and rain. With all four of us it didn’t take long to put the tent up, but with little light we just had to trust that we had made a good job of it.

During the night a massive thunderstorm started. I was awake a lot of the night,. The rain was coming down so hard I was worried how Gem and Kieran would be in that little tent. We had said that if there were any problems they should get back in the van, so when they didn’t come knocking I assumed that all must be ok.
Waking early and stepping outside I was met by a very tired looking Gemma and Kieran. Not only had the noise of the storm kept them awake, but somehow some of the rain had found its way inside the tent. They spent the night moving around the tent looking for a dry spot and finally settled bunched up in the least damp corner. This was another important lesson - either put the tent up properly or don’t put it up at all.

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