Kir and I have a friend who's husband has recently left her. Now our friends is an awesome chick and would do the world for anyone of her friends or family. She has been brought up in a very wealthy family and has never in her life been camping/4wd'ing or anything outdoors beside the marques around spring carnival time.
She has been very down, so we invited her and her dog away for a typical weekend with us. A groups of 4wd'ing friends,
camping and som driving.
During this time she took notes and sent us the dear diary below. We all think what we doing is normal and problably think nothing of it, so have a read of the notes below from her perspective
Thank you to everyone who made her welcome and for a great weekend.
25th – 28th Nov
Dear Diary,
It’s been a while since I’ve had anything exciting to write – sorry, but I can MORE than make up for it with the news of my last weekend!
Mustard and I were invited by some special friends to join them in a 4WD
camping weekend. Yes, I know, totally out of character and predictably something I would hate – WRONG! We loved it!!
It did take me a while to register what was going on, but I found myself getting quite into the program by the time Sunday came around. This meant I did feel a bit sad that it was over by then, but am excited about trying the whole
camping thing again, and this time actually contributing to the process (have learnt how to take down a tent afterall)
M & I set off from home with our bags packed in time to get to Kir & Adam’s house by 6pm. Only to realise that we did not quite have our bags packed, M had everything, but I had completely forgotten what I’d be sleeping on. Kir to the rescue – take one!
First words from Adam when I saw her him made me giggle, “I pack alone”. Will be speaking to him later on I told myself…….only to find Kir on hands and knees packing bags, M & I didn’t want to interrupt. Wisely we hung out in the garden and chilled while our hosts did all the hard work. Having said that, they are clearly experts and I certainly benefited from their detailed planning.
We had not been travelling long before the first drink was cracked – Kir to the rescue, take two!, and this continued at a steady pace for the rest of the weekend. (Thanks to an “in car” fridge – the first gadget of many I admired).
Our travelling companions,
Shannon & Nicole, joined us for a Hungry Jacks dinner. Here I thought we had started
camping as we ate our meal on the freeway nature strip! Some local lads admired Adam’s “
wheels” and Mustard enjoyed his first serve of chips while attached by leash to the bulbar of the car.
We got to
camp about 1am. Not quite what I expected!!! And Ad & Kir spent a significant amount of time surveying the
potential campsite for the perfect spot (too be honest, at this stage, I admired their passion, on top of a rock would have done me). It paid off in the morning when we’d had a great sleep (bed at 3am mind you) and were up to “wee” Mustard then commence our trek. Not before a quick stop to change some break pads of course……not sure they actually needed it though!?
It was not long before I had an extensive list of gadgets to admire. I got my first lesson in GPS and Sat Nav (not sure there is a difference?) and how the trip metre gets set to zero before we start. Kir looks at the wider map while Ad refers to the GPS/Sat Nav showing exactly where we are. They worked really
well together, leading the group and solving various problems along the way.
Throughout the day a lot of country side was covered. I liken it to girls on a shopping expedition. You don’t have to try on that dress, but, “what the heck”. We didn’t have to cut up so many trees, but, “we get to use our chainsaws”. Another addition to the gadget list.
The landscape was beautiful; amazing
views, steep inclines, dense fernery, intriguing
mine shafts, a grave site, rivers, boulders and so on. Plenty to see between issues! “Chainsaw”, “Change Channel”, “Air Out of Tyres”, “Hessian Bag”, “Traveller”, “Dogs snorted something”!!?? Yes, that one was a little unusual, and he is still sneezing now! Mustard had us in fits of laughter after a sneezing attack that lasted at least an hour.
He was truly spoilt on our adventure. He had a special
seat in the car so he could rest or see out, he had so many cuddles, he was chased, fed Cheerios from a special oven (another cool gadget) and he learnt to swim. But most importantly he developed “Adam’s driving” legs for the time he was in the car!!
I was also very impressed by the cooking techniques people had mastered to maximise their
camping experience. The Fire & Ice (another gadget) got quite a work out and did a great job. And I really enjoyed the humorous conversations had on the CB throughout the day,
I had plenty of highlights while on our adventure. Having a leach on my jeans that I got to panic about and kill with salt, the fact that there were
toilets at our
camp site, the entertainment of Cam - a hilarious and mature 5 year old boy, learning a bit about 4WD and how all the cars work together, Ad’s music in the car, Kir as my drinking buddy, being taken out of my comfort zone, being totally spoilt (cooked for, etc.), but most importantly, the amazing understanding, compassion and generosity of two very special people who have helped me a great deal in many ways.
Chapter One of my new adventures – I hope they’re all this fun!