a long road trip, murdering two kangas, mom and baby (i cried but i figured maybe it was for the better).

Began the trip with our progression down the scenic melbourne Great ocean road, where after the turns and twists, i was prepared to vomit out whatever i had for breakie. None of us had slept the previous nite, i did catch maybe 20 winks and that was it, but we had a little guzzle of beer and so, emotionally we were a little high still. Met up with a couple of friends at Werribee, before journeying down the Great Ocean Road. It was indeed breathtaking, especially the shots, although like dodo birds, we sat on the edge of the cliff awaiting for the sun to descend so that we could get excellent shots of the would-be bathed in sun beams apostles and the tiny stretch of beach that accompanied them. (It was regrettably incredible when we discovered that a few days after our photo-taking, another of the stone marvels had crashed and burned).

With the first night coming to an end, we camped out at Grampians at Makenzie falls, and advice for the hardcore roadtripper- Never Never sleep in the car at night, it only gets colder inside. You're better off sleeping outdoors with the beautiful stars and snakes.

When daybreak arose, we discovered that everything was iced-over, and the weather the previous night had dipped below subzero. The people, such and me, whom had invested in a tropical blanket had the worse night and least sleep, where i awoke at around 415am, and started gathering firewood for our fireplace.

Following that, we ascended Wonderworld at the Grampians, where we walked off the beaten track, and ventured beyond. Finally after much bashing, we discovered that we had taken the opposite route of Wonderworld and had basically come full circle of the mountain range. We descended back down the popular route that was indeed breathtaking (even though it was the second time i had been up there).

The night was once again spent in the wild, although this time we were more cautious and built up tents and had kerosene lamps on to prevent stray animals.

With the dawn of the third day, we made our way to Kangaroo Island which we had wanted to explore. Upon realizing that it was 7 times bigger than Singapore, we decided that we'ii be back during the September break to do it. (that was first time we experienced murphy's law throughout the trip, and where we were stuck at the door of our destination). Following that, we began travelling down to Flinders Ranges in Adelaide, and when dark came, we had many visitors, known as the kangas of the wild. It seemed that the South Australia Kangaroos are attracted to lights, especially that of the car's head beams and many occasions we had to sway off the road to avoid them - they seemed to head straight for the light, in a daze. However, after our dinner at Hawker's Town, and with high morals, we had set off down the road. Not too far down, the other car came to a haul, and we got down to check. A mother kangaroo had apparently jumped in from the left and hit the hood of the car, and flew off towards the side of the road. That i had not known, if not i would not have approached. The first shock- seeing a huge kangaroo with its neck broken, lying dead on the side. The second shock - a baby joey still apparently breathing with its last breath, twitching momentarily from the pain. The third shock - the car's hood was smashed in (later we realized the radiator, the cooler and condenser were all beyond repair = it costs a whopping $1950 to fix it up).

In any case, we felt really bad about this, and some of us returned to bury the kangaroos. During that expedition, the car which had been left on to shine light on the area of burial, had slowly began to dim. One of my friends Aw pointed that oddness out, and the owner Kai went "Oh Shit" and...the battery died. Back at Hawker's Town, trying to solve the problem of the car and the route back as the car might not be able to function properly, we got that news, and that was when murphy visited us the second time.
In retrospection, if we had gone Kangaroo Island, we would have been playing with them and not murdering them. This incident certainly remains the highlight of the trip with its twisted end.

Anyway, we didnt ascend Flinders ranges, and the next best thing that we did after fixing up the car with DIY techniques, we proceeded to Mungo Desert that was a beauty in itself. From its dunes, to the sand ripples and the mini sand storms, it seemed that we had entered into another dimension all together. One of brown and grey and no longer green, with humans all over the place. With the departure of the second car that went back to Melbourne, we proceeded down to Sydney, then Wollongong. The highlight of the trip, the death of the Kangaroos seemed to have erased the Grampians trip in our minds. The greenery, the forestry and all the wood that simply died and regenerated through giving life to others. Maybe everything dies for a reason, and even murphy is right once in a while. From misfortune, things that we expect to go right that goes horribly wrong, we still gain an experience. Maybe things are not that bad anyhow.

Road trip Road trip...
looks like, i need to get more sleep now, incase i screw up in the cold.

here's the likely timetable, all planned and served on a silver platter.

26th of June (Sunday)

- 2000hrs 1st Group to Leave Wollongong for Melbourne (Only applicable to those moving off from Wollongong.

27th of June (Monday)

- 0200hrs Reach Albury for Rest and Refuel
- 0530hrs Reach Werribee to Rest and Refuel and have breakfast and await for 2nd Group to arrive (Werribee, about 27 km south-west of Melbourne, is midway on the Princes Highway to Geelong. It is situated on the Werribee River, which has its headwaters north of Ballan.)

- 0630hrs Arrival of 2nd Group and reorganize
- 0700hrs Leave for the Great Ocean Road
- 0800hrs Stop by at Torquay to shop and look for information and maps from the Info center
- 1000hrs Arrive at Otway National Park, explore the place till 1300hrs (have lunch there)
- 1300hrs Leave for Port Campbell, explore the place till sunset at around 1730hrs
- 1800hrs Leave for Warrnambool
- 1900hrs Arrive at Warrnambool, Rest and Refuel and have dinner there, then leave for Dunkeld
- 2030hrs Arrive at Dunkeld, search for a campsite in the Grampians

28th of June (Tuesday)

- 0630hrs Rise and Shine, Pack up camp and have breakfast. Spend the rest of the day till 1730hrs (maybe earlier) exploring the Grampians. Get information from Hallgap’s info center about the Grampians’ attractions.
- 1730hrs Have dinner and head towards Adelaide and HOPE to find a cheap motel along the way to rest for the night. Be prepare to camp if no motel is found.

29th of June (Wednesday)

- 0630hrs Rise up, have breakfast and prepare to head into Adelaide City, but if motel is close to Adelaide City, we will rise at 0800hrs and spend the rest of the day till 1730hrs (maybe earlier) checking out the city.
- 1730hrs Have dinner and leave for Flinders Ranges
- 2200hrs Arrive at Flinders Ranges (Wilpena), search for a campsite.

30th of June (Thursday)

- 0630hrs Rise and Shine, Pack up camp and have breakfast. Spend the rest of the day till 1730hrs (maybe earlier) exploring the Flinders Ranges. Get information from Wilpena info center about the Flinders Ranges’ attractions.
- 1730hrs Have dinner and leave for Broken Hill and HOPE to find a cheap motel in there else head straight to Kinchega National Park and look for a camp ground.

1st of July (Friday)

- 0630hrs Rise and Shine, Pack up camp if needed, have breakfast and head for Mungo National Park
- 1000hrs Arrive at Mungo National Park and spend the rest of the day till 1200hrs exploring the National Park.
- 1200hrs Have Lunch and reorganize as 1st group departs for Wollongong and 2nd group departs for Melbourne.


1st Group should arrive Wollongong by 2230hrs 1st July
2nd Group should arrive Melbourne by 1900hrs 1st July



As it is...this is a likely plan.
My friend ends this plan with this little note, (his the one who planned it),
A plan is just a plan, we normally try to stick to it, but in most situation we can’t due to factors like being overly distraction by everything that we see along the way, waking up late in the morning and screwing the whole day’s timing up, getting lost and finding our way around, taking a long time to eat, breaking down of vehicles, injuries, meteor impact, Tsunami, attacked by kangaroos and koalas, alien invasion and many many many other variables that is beyond our control. From my experience in the pass road trips that I have done, the worst thing that can happen will happen, so be prepared. You may want to start off with writing your will.
so here's my legacy for posterity...if i dont return...its probably the cute koalas turned Fugly...or aliens have deemed me a social hazard and taken me back for experiments, or...i decided life's a bitch and have run off to join the circus...
Geesh.
such optimism.
I'ii enjoy it, i know...Man...How long havent i done anything exciting?

*rubs grubby paws together*