Next come the locusts
Really didn't want to get out of bed this morning, as I'm pretty tired after a little road trip with five friends. We spent the weekend at Jervis Bay - the first time in quite a while that I have been to the coast for more than a day. Of course, last time I went to the coast for the day, a substantial proportion of Canberra burned to the ground. This time, torrential rain and gale force winds caused havoc in NSW. Coincidence? I think not.
We drove down through the Kangaroo Valley, which was startlingly lush and green compared to much of the ACT and NSW. We went on a detour to the town of Berry, to drop in on a friend of one of the road-trippers, who runs an organic bakery. There are definately worse ways to be spending your life. I'm all in favour of having friends who do this sort of thing - it allows you to visit funky little towns and scam delicious fresh food. Anytime any of you want to try a career change and open a bakery, cafe, winery etc. I will definately be a regular visitor.
I was just glad to actually make it that far. As there were six of us we took two cars, and I was driving one of them. I didn't really know where we were going, so we agreed to go convoy-style. Somewhere past Lake George the lead car accelerated to something like 140 km/h and disappeared over the horizon. Some twenty minutes later my phone rang - "Ummm, we haven't actually seen you for a while. Are you OK?" Oh yes, just fine, chugging along somewhere in the vicinity of the speed limit. So where are we going again?
Any road trip requires good driving music - something with a good beat to keep you awake and alert. The driving music of choice this time was my rap/hip hop compilation, which starts off with the 8 Mile Sountrack before toning down and getting funky with the Black-Eyed Peas and US3. Yes, for two middle-class Australian women (one eurasian, one very white) we were probably enjoying some extremely dubious rap lyrics far too much, but it was fun anyway.
Naturally, being a rare weekend at the coast, it rained a lot. But it seems churlish in Australia's massive drought to complain about the rain. We went to Hyams Beach for a swim on Saturday anyway. According the the Guinness Book of Records it has the whitest sand in the world. The water was really warm too, barely different from the air temperature. Unfortunately the waves were really strong, so you couldn't go in too far. The good thing about a coast trip with friends though is that it needn't matter if the weather isn't cooperating - swimming; walks on the sand; frisbee on the beach; beer, fish and chips at the local pub; then back home for more alcohol and board games. A slow morning reading crappy magazines before hitting the beach again.
We got back into Canberra late yesterday afternoon, in time to go and see Tropfest. I was really glad that we made the effort to go, despite the driving-induced tiredness and the constant threat of rain, always a joy at an outdoor film festival. There was no way I was going to stay awake long enough for the judging though. Having read the announced winners this morning, I don't really agree with the judges' choice of Buried, but since I watched the films and am writing this in a tired haze, I don't really have a well formulated argument for an alternate choice. Suggestions are welcome.
Really didn't want to get out of bed this morning, as I'm pretty tired after a little road trip with five friends. We spent the weekend at Jervis Bay - the first time in quite a while that I have been to the coast for more than a day. Of course, last time I went to the coast for the day, a substantial proportion of Canberra burned to the ground. This time, torrential rain and gale force winds caused havoc in NSW. Coincidence? I think not.
We drove down through the Kangaroo Valley, which was startlingly lush and green compared to much of the ACT and NSW. We went on a detour to the town of Berry, to drop in on a friend of one of the road-trippers, who runs an organic bakery. There are definately worse ways to be spending your life. I'm all in favour of having friends who do this sort of thing - it allows you to visit funky little towns and scam delicious fresh food. Anytime any of you want to try a career change and open a bakery, cafe, winery etc. I will definately be a regular visitor.
I was just glad to actually make it that far. As there were six of us we took two cars, and I was driving one of them. I didn't really know where we were going, so we agreed to go convoy-style. Somewhere past Lake George the lead car accelerated to something like 140 km/h and disappeared over the horizon. Some twenty minutes later my phone rang - "Ummm, we haven't actually seen you for a while. Are you OK?" Oh yes, just fine, chugging along somewhere in the vicinity of the speed limit. So where are we going again?
Any road trip requires good driving music - something with a good beat to keep you awake and alert. The driving music of choice this time was my rap/hip hop compilation, which starts off with the 8 Mile Sountrack before toning down and getting funky with the Black-Eyed Peas and US3. Yes, for two middle-class Australian women (one eurasian, one very white) we were probably enjoying some extremely dubious rap lyrics far too much, but it was fun anyway.
Naturally, being a rare weekend at the coast, it rained a lot. But it seems churlish in Australia's massive drought to complain about the rain. We went to Hyams Beach for a swim on Saturday anyway. According the the Guinness Book of Records it has the whitest sand in the world. The water was really warm too, barely different from the air temperature. Unfortunately the waves were really strong, so you couldn't go in too far. The good thing about a coast trip with friends though is that it needn't matter if the weather isn't cooperating - swimming; walks on the sand; frisbee on the beach; beer, fish and chips at the local pub; then back home for more alcohol and board games. A slow morning reading crappy magazines before hitting the beach again.
We got back into Canberra late yesterday afternoon, in time to go and see Tropfest. I was really glad that we made the effort to go, despite the driving-induced tiredness and the constant threat of rain, always a joy at an outdoor film festival. There was no way I was going to stay awake long enough for the judging though. Having read the announced winners this morning, I don't really agree with the judges' choice of Buried, but since I watched the films and am writing this in a tired haze, I don't really have a well formulated argument for an alternate choice. Suggestions are welcome.
posted by Marissa @ 4:12 pm
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