Day One
Pacific Highway my arse.
I finished packing this morning (well, I didn't, but more on that later) and left at about 7:15. There was Guns and Roses in the CD player (which has been working faultlessly for the last few days now) and a song in my heart-- it wasn't a happy song, seeing I was listening to G n' R, but it was a song.
I think I may have already explained that I'm lazy in another post? Yes? Well, my laziness is outweighed only by my cheapness. I'd rather drive for an extra 10 minutes than pay to go over the gateway bridge. So, I drove through the city and hit the so called Pacific Highway about half an hour later.
Point number 1. The pacific highway is not overly peaceful. It is not very friendly. It's just a road with lots of people driving along it. When I was a kid, family holidays normally involved towing a caravan. One year I had a moment of brilliance and made a sign for the back of the caravan. It said, "Sorry if we held you up, have a nice day anyway." The roads where we went were peaceful and happy. When people overtook us they'd laugh and wave and toot their horn. Most people did that. Almost all of them. Before the sign? Nothing. They drove past and continued on their way. Happy, peaceful roads followed my sign. None of that on the so called Pacific.
Point number 2. Driving south this morning, I had my first sight of the Pacific Ocean at about 9:30 in the morning. That's over two hours after I first started to drive on the highway. About 180km. I glimpsed it then. I risked death and carnage by climbing partially across to the passenger's seat and craning my neck out the window, just to see the ocean-- like trying to catch a sight of the "city views" from units in Toowong. The next sighting was just before Coffs Harbour some time around noon.
Pacific Highway my arse.
I said that it was my cheapness that stops me from using the Gateway Bridge, it is also the fact that you don't really get to see anything, other than people racing along in their cars. I also like going through the city because it gives me the chance to witness a bit of life-- even if most of the people are just racing along the footpath. I just think it's more interesting going through the city.
For that reason I am also a little bit disappointed with the Pacific Highway. It isn't until just before Coffs Harbour that you really go through any towns. Yes, towns may well slow you down but...
Speed cameras also slow people down (what a segue). I'm normally a fairly law-abiding citizen. I've had my run ins with speed cameras, but 999 time out of 1000 I sail by them without a care in the world. And that sailing makes me feel good. "If I was a criminal," thinks I, "If I was a hoon, I would have been caught then." But I wasn't, and hopefully some other bastard will be.
I passed about 10 fixed speed cameras on the trip south today, some within a few km of others, and each and every one of them had warning sign before you got to them. The signs were far enough in advance that you would have to be travelling a few km an hour over light speed not to be able to slow down in time. What is the point, I ask you? (And if someone would write a comment, they could answer. Of course, if they did, I'd then probably make some smart arse remark about rhetorical questions, but you never know. And yes, I also know that the point of it it all is to slow people down.) There was also a cop with a radar that I had no problem with.
Another thing I saw near Ballina... Thursday Plantation. Ummm... Is that anything like a banana plantation? Is there a market for Thursdays? I would have thought a weekend would be much more profitable. I could do with a few extra Saturdays myself.
Anyways, I got to the Trial Bay Goal at South West Rocks, where I 'm staying. I'm not staying in the goal, they have camping areas nearby. After booking in, I found my site and started to set up my tent.
Except I was missing a bit. It was only a little bit. Its a cross that goes at the top of the tent and holds all the poles, which are outside the tent, together. It also has a hook to hold the top of the tent. As I said, it's only a little bit, but without it, nothing works.
I was pissed of. Let me tell you-- I was mightily pissed off. Tent pegs were also missing, probably in the same place as the other bit. Damn.
I found a little camping store in SWR.
"Do you need a hand," the man asked.
"Yes," replied I. "I have most of a tent. I would like the rest."
But he couldn't help me and sent me in the direction of a hardware store that has some camping stuff. Nope. No good. There's a camping store in Kempsy-- 34km away. I gave them a call. I quite liked my "most of a tent" line and used it for the third time. The woman on the phone didn't laugh. She didn't help me either. By this time, I am mightily pissed off. Yes, I was mightily pissed off earlier-- I'd been about as pissed off as I can be (quietly, of course) for about 3/4 of an hour.
Off to a metal fabrication workshop. Rick or Rob or... someone,.. gave me two little metal rods. Best he could do. Back to the hardware for string and tent pegs. Tie the rods together, tie the tent to the rods...
And this very moment I am sitting in my tent hoping the rain (bastards) doesn't weaken the string or something... So it wasn't really a good start, but now I'm feeling pretty good about it all. McGyvered up and solved the problem all by my lonesome.
Camping is stupid though. I don't have internet access. I'll have to post this at some later date. So, I think I'll complain about having to do without the necessities for a while longer and then watch a DVD.
I finished packing this morning (well, I didn't, but more on that later) and left at about 7:15. There was Guns and Roses in the CD player (which has been working faultlessly for the last few days now) and a song in my heart-- it wasn't a happy song, seeing I was listening to G n' R, but it was a song.
I think I may have already explained that I'm lazy in another post? Yes? Well, my laziness is outweighed only by my cheapness. I'd rather drive for an extra 10 minutes than pay to go over the gateway bridge. So, I drove through the city and hit the so called Pacific Highway about half an hour later.
Point number 1. The pacific highway is not overly peaceful. It is not very friendly. It's just a road with lots of people driving along it. When I was a kid, family holidays normally involved towing a caravan. One year I had a moment of brilliance and made a sign for the back of the caravan. It said, "Sorry if we held you up, have a nice day anyway." The roads where we went were peaceful and happy. When people overtook us they'd laugh and wave and toot their horn. Most people did that. Almost all of them. Before the sign? Nothing. They drove past and continued on their way. Happy, peaceful roads followed my sign. None of that on the so called Pacific.
Point number 2. Driving south this morning, I had my first sight of the Pacific Ocean at about 9:30 in the morning. That's over two hours after I first started to drive on the highway. About 180km. I glimpsed it then. I risked death and carnage by climbing partially across to the passenger's seat and craning my neck out the window, just to see the ocean-- like trying to catch a sight of the "city views" from units in Toowong. The next sighting was just before Coffs Harbour some time around noon.
Pacific Highway my arse.
I said that it was my cheapness that stops me from using the Gateway Bridge, it is also the fact that you don't really get to see anything, other than people racing along in their cars. I also like going through the city because it gives me the chance to witness a bit of life-- even if most of the people are just racing along the footpath. I just think it's more interesting going through the city.
For that reason I am also a little bit disappointed with the Pacific Highway. It isn't until just before Coffs Harbour that you really go through any towns. Yes, towns may well slow you down but...
Speed cameras also slow people down (what a segue). I'm normally a fairly law-abiding citizen. I've had my run ins with speed cameras, but 999 time out of 1000 I sail by them without a care in the world. And that sailing makes me feel good. "If I was a criminal," thinks I, "If I was a hoon, I would have been caught then." But I wasn't, and hopefully some other bastard will be.
I passed about 10 fixed speed cameras on the trip south today, some within a few km of others, and each and every one of them had warning sign before you got to them. The signs were far enough in advance that you would have to be travelling a few km an hour over light speed not to be able to slow down in time. What is the point, I ask you? (And if someone would write a comment, they could answer. Of course, if they did, I'd then probably make some smart arse remark about rhetorical questions, but you never know. And yes, I also know that the point of it it all is to slow people down.) There was also a cop with a radar that I had no problem with.
Another thing I saw near Ballina... Thursday Plantation. Ummm... Is that anything like a banana plantation? Is there a market for Thursdays? I would have thought a weekend would be much more profitable. I could do with a few extra Saturdays myself.
Anyways, I got to the Trial Bay Goal at South West Rocks, where I 'm staying. I'm not staying in the goal, they have camping areas nearby. After booking in, I found my site and started to set up my tent.
Except I was missing a bit. It was only a little bit. Its a cross that goes at the top of the tent and holds all the poles, which are outside the tent, together. It also has a hook to hold the top of the tent. As I said, it's only a little bit, but without it, nothing works.
I was pissed of. Let me tell you-- I was mightily pissed off. Tent pegs were also missing, probably in the same place as the other bit. Damn.
I found a little camping store in SWR.
"Do you need a hand," the man asked.
"Yes," replied I. "I have most of a tent. I would like the rest."
But he couldn't help me and sent me in the direction of a hardware store that has some camping stuff. Nope. No good. There's a camping store in Kempsy-- 34km away. I gave them a call. I quite liked my "most of a tent" line and used it for the third time. The woman on the phone didn't laugh. She didn't help me either. By this time, I am mightily pissed off. Yes, I was mightily pissed off earlier-- I'd been about as pissed off as I can be (quietly, of course) for about 3/4 of an hour.
Off to a metal fabrication workshop. Rick or Rob or... someone,.. gave me two little metal rods. Best he could do. Back to the hardware for string and tent pegs. Tie the rods together, tie the tent to the rods...
And this very moment I am sitting in my tent hoping the rain (bastards) doesn't weaken the string or something... So it wasn't really a good start, but now I'm feeling pretty good about it all. McGyvered up and solved the problem all by my lonesome.
Camping is stupid though. I don't have internet access. I'll have to post this at some later date. So, I think I'll complain about having to do without the necessities for a while longer and then watch a DVD.
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