Start of School holidays
- I leave a day early with Pat and Jett. Radford is there to meet my truck driver with a Container 0n the back. No cash for a garage anymore so i’m reverting to a container for storage and a workshop.
- That night I head out to JT’s for the actual ‘East Hand Store’ dining experience with Luka as the chef. Its great. Good food, good company and JT on the guitar when we move inside. (1 week later Luka gets the sack!)
- Next Day I start setting up the container trying to find my lost hiking gear before we head off tomorrow.
- Pat has a slight accident in the golf buggy (again) and knocks the trailer of a cliff then follows it down! We have to pull them out with the Range Rover.
- Justin rocks up and we hit the instruments. And the booze. Justin hasn’t had a drink for 2 months. It’s a late night.
- I wake up next to Jett ( he doesn’t know how he got there). Were all a bit dusty. We pack for our epic 60km hike and I notice my OLD back pack I hiked around Thailand in the 90’s has a broken strap!. I fix it and we hit the road in 2 cars (slightly disorganized). We drop my car in Mallacoota and take Justins car to the start of the hike at Greenglade. We get our packs on and hit it. We bush bash up a steep mountain gully to the peak and bush bash around a bit. Turns out the unmarked track Justin took 10 years ago no longer exists. SO we come out on the rocks and try and make it around the foreshore. Its epic. Were literally rock climbing cliffs, handing bags to each other and pull each other up. I call justin who has soldiered ahead (with Jett’s pack that was way to heavy full of water) and say its time to turn back but he’s found a cave to camp in. Its massive, old and damp but has flat ground with sand so we can set up tens. It looks a bit aboriginal to me so I try and pay my respects. I have a rough sleep as the tide comes in and crashes so loud on the rocks it wakes me every 10 minutes.
THE CAVE
Next day Justin wants to keep cliff climbing but I say no way.! Back to the car we go and drive around to the actual hiking entrance that takes you to Merrica river. It’s a 8km walk. I push hard and do it in 1.5 hours. When I arrive, im blown away. This place is absolutely beautiful. No one around. Justin arrives shortly after then the boys 40 minutes later. The weather is perfect. 22 degrees and full sun with no wind so we all decide to go exploring. There is a river, with rocks and fish jumping everywhere. The rocks are covered in oysters and if you look hard large muscles underneath. THIS PLACE IS HEAVEN!. I convince Justin to stay a hole day tomorrow so we can really enjoy / recharge the batteries.
Hiking day 3 and its another beauty. Ive bough a fishing rod so we go rock fishing. I have a dip in the rock pool and Justin jumps off the rocks and swims back to the beach. I join in. We get back to camp and there is a curious monitor. We BBQ chorizo with parmesan on a slice of cucumber in a piece of bread wrap. YUM. I chase jett with some lunch and have an accident. I slip on a rock under water that’s cover in oysters. Full face plant into the water!. Ive cut the sole and toes on my foot really bad but I keep going. The boys and I gather up a feed of muscles and Justin goes for oysters. We use the muscle as bait and the boys start catching Fish (Bream). We have BBQ fish and muscles for dinner and call it a night with some single malt whisky. What a day.
I wake up to aching feet. I try to get my shoes ON but even that’s a struggle. I tell Justin I probably won’t be able to make the rest of the 50km hike to Mallacoota limping on 1 foot. – Jett and Pat chase a sting ray then make a witch’s warning for the next campers while Justin unpacks and looks for his phone. We hike to the fork in the road. Boys take a while then we split up. SAD but had to happen. Jett and I head for Justins car. On the way back through all the fallen trees I decide to craw while Jett climbs. BIG MISSTAKE for me. I get covered in TICK’s. Not sure if they jumped on me or fell while Jett was climbing. While were driving I feel something biting me. Iver got TICKs all over me but don’t know it and start picking them off while driving. ANOTHER BAD IDEA. We drive to my car in Mallacoota, swap cars and hid the keys. Jett bumps into Amy Schwartz from Caulfield. We have a pub feed, grab some local steaks, and hit the road for Nungurner. SPA with a frog.
- Next day I have a fight with the chainsaw, Jett’s Phone is dead / lost. Jett make shasliks and we shot some hoops. I design a new chandelier for Chamouni St. Candles straight MK2 in homage of Stuart Rattle.
- Jett and I head down Bunga Arm for a night’s camping. A spot of fishing, beach anticks then UNO in the tent. There is a wounded dear in the bushes that runs at our fire later that night! I jump and grab a chair ready to fight.
- Next day we pack up and hit Metung Pub for lunch. Eventually Justin and Pat turn up. They just made the boat Justin booked to cross the entrance at Mallacoota. We have a jamb and call it a night. Everyone is rooted.
Justin and Pat head home then the Tanya, Leo and Hugo show up followed by Tammie, Luke, Oscar, Zor and Isla. Full house again. I get the charcoal going and Luck and I cook up a meat feast.
Tammie and Luke hit the road home. We hit the 90mile beach with Doug and Jane and watch Jett and Leo jump off the foot bridge. That night I hit a wall and have to go to bed at 6pm. I try to come out for dinner but im wrecked.
Next day I find out that Patrick has been in hospital. Looks like were both victims of TICK bites. Pat is confirmed with rickettsia disease.
- I start antibiotics and get back to work.
- David and Justin new starts and Mattie is away so I’m in over drive.
- Doncaster with the family followed by Vic-market with HUGO then renovation warp speed kicks in. Leo helps me laminate the old bathroom door in the new light grey.
- Doncaster with the family followed by Vic-market with HUGO then renovation warp speed kicks in. Leo helps me laminate the old bathroom door in the new light grey.
- That night I hit a gig with Doug, Jane and Justin (pandamonium). It’s a 1980’s revival. Out doors in the middle of nowhere, freezing cold but really cool. Glad I went to see BLONDIE.
- It’s a long weekend but we stay in Melbourne and head to the Anzac Day clash between Collingwood and Essendon with Alex and Sava. 94,000 people and it’s a DRAW…..
I grab some new JBL – B52 classics for the den at Chamouni.
- Tanya and I have a visit from Brendan / Judo and sign up for bridging finance. Congratulations Tanya.
- we try to clean the pink stains off the couch and discover some treasure underneath.
- Leo and i do a matinee movie then KING-LIVING to select free cushions for our epic furniture order. Then a play at Nannys.
- We get the Caravan ready for an impromptu long weekend to the Grampians.
