The Roadtrip Log (Sat 0930hrs - 2257hrs)

Sat 2.33pm
Along the road after Byron onto Canberra
Sitting in the backseat of the Tarago, watching the sights brush past the window, my eyes swell up with memories of this same trip one year ago.

I still remember the trip on the bus. Either falling asleep on the bus with someone I loved right beside me, or just chatting and making a ruckus with the others...it was fun. If only time somehow stopped there and we never moved onto now. It was, whether it was an illusion or not, the happiest time of my life. A sense of longing just tugs onto something deep and refuses to let go. A pain suddenly fills my insides like an explosion of emotion surging through my veins. Its so silly yet it is the only thing I can hold onto.

Everything is coming back to me now...and I am overwhelmed.


Sat 2.42pm
Along the road after Byron onto Canberra
Well....just over 5 hrs into the trip and here we are...driving down a somewhat empty road (Pacific Highway) somewhere in NSW, around Macintyre Lane and we just passed Shark Creek. We had stopped three times since then, once for a fuse for the inverter to power all our devices in the Tarago and gather 'supplies'. The 2nd time for breakfast at a Maccers and finally, for a toilet break at a Hungry Jacks.

Alan is trying to fix a power problem in the front and we just found out that his laptop is the problem.
HAHAHAHA....we just found out that he plugged the wrong plug into the power socket....GENIUS!!!!
Everyone seems to be in somewhat high spirits and we're listening to old, but nostalgic rock music (with a short bout of chinese rock) while singing along.

So lets see....310KM travelled....around 900 more to go. It might be a still be a long more to go, but we're enjoying ourselves immensely. Alan has given up on his laptop adaptor and has used mine to substitute. Well...till the next time I feel like writing more about the trip, hold onto your horses and check regularly.


Sat 5.20pm
Leaving Coffs Harbour
We are on the road out of Coffs Harbour back onto the highway. Just had an interesting dinner/lunch at the local shopping centre.

After we stopped in Coffs Harbour a while ago, there was no food outlet open except Gloria Jeans and that was definitely not a cost effective option. So what did we do? We went to Coles, bought 2 roast chickens and shared the 'spoils of war'. It was the best food we had today la.

Still have no access to the Internet yet so all the entries will have to be uploaded only later as a batch. Coffs Harbour was beautiful. But we didnt get to actually get to the beach or the seaside. But from the highway, it looks wonderful. Imagine living in a town/seaside cove that looks like the ones you see on the O.C., cool man.

We are now back on the road and back to the routine of singing and talking total cock. The sun is setting. Everyone is quiet suddenly. And according to Alan, our next landmark is Port Macquarie. So till then...or sometime before that...here's me signing off.


Sat 7.20pm
Kempsy
We are at a petrol station just after stopping at a Maccers for coffee and snacks. Arrangement in the Tarago now is:
Mervyn is in the driver's seat with Anthony in the V-Com's seat. Jeff and Alan in the second row and me finally in the back row. My laptop is dying and I'll need to recharge the battery on this soon.

We are still a long way to Canberra; I believe we are around 400km from Sydney and then 300km more to Canberra. With this progress, we'll reach Canberra around 2-3am in the morning on Sunday. I can imagine how rushed and sleepy we'll be tomorrow morning when we have breakky with the other SSA representatives from the other states. Not to mention the actual Makan Besar...ugh. We'll need to plan a little better for the trip back else we'll be in trouble to get back to work on Monday. Well...at least for me.

ok...since this laptop is already beeping(low battery warning), I'll sign off for now and recharge before writing again.


Sat 9.14pm
Somewhere in NSW a little nearer to Canberra
Finally...power again. Charging up to 23% battery already...hope this charges up faster. We have no idea exactly where we are but definitely somewhere nearer to Canberra already. Watching MI:3 on the laptop (finally watching this movie but I'd never guessed that I'd be watching it on a way to another city from Brisbane).

Waiting on an update on how long more before we get to Sydney. Everyone seems to be ok. Awake again after a revival stop. I am guessing we are around 2 hrs from Sydney, but we are not going into Sydney proper. We are going to bypass it using the M7 I believe. Again, we are unable to broadcast this in any way to the Internet because there is still no reception on the mobile Internet card. SIGH. But everything is looking up and we'll definitely arrive in Canberra soon.

This trip has been very interesting indeed. We are learning about each other in ways that we probably will never do if we just stayed in Brisbane. New sides of our personalities are emerging with hopeless abandon (probably because of being together in a confined space for so long). But things are not for the worst...instead, things are good. We aren't killing each other yet (which is always a good thing), but we'll definitely be tired by the time we get to Canberra (kudos to the drivers for the efforts). I am still at the back of the Tarago but Alan has taken over as the driver and Mervyn is taking a break.

Ok la...nothing really interesting happening as yet. Might give this Internet thing another try but I am not holding my breath.


Sat 10.57pm
Getting onto the New England Highway (160km from Sydney)
And since we dont have a schedule to adhere to since the beginning, there is no way to know whether we are on time or not. LOL.

We just had another short break and we're back on the road. Trying to make sense on the plans for tomorrow morning. Are we still meeting the other SSAs for breakfast? How far is the YHA from the Singapore High Comm? There is alot we dont know and wont know until we arrive or maybe even tomorrow morning. But hey...how cares...this is fun, although tiring.

Ok...I am bored again...signing off!