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Well, in a nutshell....
My 40th birthday, long awaited trip down the Great Ocean Road....with my wife, who has always wanted to see the 12 apostles.
Day 1, Werribee Mansion.... tour, lunch, all good, bit of rain, OK.
Night 1, lunch steak irritated broken molar, spent 4-5 hours wandering the mansion with heat pack smooshed against my face, sucking hot coffee and ice cold water to try and ease the pain. Total sleep 1/2 hour.
Day 2, Made it as far as Geelong, head in hands in agony, wife pulls off the freeway, finds dentist on offramp (lucky), plead with Dentist to rip out tooth. Dentist declines as he is too busy. Tears in eyes help change his mind. Rip out tooth with pliers....mmmm, painful.... relief comes with corresponding VERY strong drugs....Spent 6 more hours taking photos and dragging along behind EVERY caravan and RV in Australia to get to Port Campbell in time for sunset. JUST make it, walk in teeming rain to viewing platform (just like Shelley's shot) but temp in April is 5 degrees and wind is 80km/h. Took a handful of sunset shots. CRAP.
Night 2, Flight centre has booked Port FAIRY not Port Campbell for Motel. Have to drive 1.5 hours in pouring rain dodging road trains on our side of the road, aquaplaning over sheet water and almost killing 3 dogs running down our side of the road at 100km/h. Motel is crap, restaurant is closed for private function, dinner at fish and chip shop, closes while we are eating...kicked out, go back sleep in stinky room.
Day 3, drive back to 12 Apostles, take photos, visit other sites, not bad....drive to Ballaarat, tour Sovereign Hill, eat crap food, find gold specks in tourist creek = impress wife, nice hotel in SH, Ghost Tour for dinner and walk through freezing town for 2 hours, see NO GHOSTS in most HAUNTED city in AUS, disappointed.
Day 4, Decide to look for more gold in tourist creek in SH, change mind to drive to Dunnolly to search for REAL gold, follow GPS through stupid country roads, head through Clunes, drive along road into town and.......GET T-BONED at a cross street which has no Give WAY sign visible. Rental Car is a right off, wife is in EXTREME PAIN (she was driving and car hit us on her side), she is trapped in car for an hour while fireys rip door off. Ambulance to Ballaarat hospital, 30mg morphine, XRAY, CT, no idea why she has such severe chest pain. Discharged at 4pm, we need to catch 530pm flight home, in Ballaarat, no car, its toast....
Cab to train station via chemist for pain killers for wife, choice, train to somewhere NEAR airport or bus TO airport, go for bus, $140...!!!
Missed our 530 flight. Get to airport at 745pm. Hand GPS to rental car company (no car, no keys). Get charged $4500 excess and other bull**** charges. Wife's pain killers wearing off....
815pm, head into terminal, Virgin flights full, Qantas full (Anzac Day Monday holiday) head to Jetstar...YES, they have 2 seats left to Sydney.... Wife says " OH thank god, I had a car accident today and have just been released from hospital...." Jetstar wench says: " Do you have a certificate to FLY????" Oh CRAP!. Look in envelope from hospital, only doctors referral, no CTF! Go to ring Hospital, Blackberry dead. Wife phone has not much credit, Jetstar hasnt got a working fax, flight boards in 15 mins, no ticket, no CTF, head back to Qantas desk for fax number, gay attendant says speak to the hand, I am on the phone....I almost rip his head off and get fax number, ring hospital, told Dr has gone home, cant help, I threaten to take a taxi to hospital and ram something down their throat, demand to speak to registrar, fax arrives 30 sec later. RUN back to Jetstar desk 400m away, wife has booked tickets, bags on plane, fax in hand 5 mins before flight is wheels up. RUN to plane, wife is in AGONY. Make flight, pressure kills her chest, plane almost returns to Melbourne as attendants concerned she will die....I talk them out of it. Get to Sydney, get car from long term, drive home, arrive at 1am.
Jet Star flights cost $700, Car excess $4500, train/cab $200, holiday for 4 days $2000. Total $7,400.....AND, my wife has a fractured sternum, takes her 7 months to recover, after she develops whooping cough from work 2 weeks later.
So, in a nutshell that takes 2 pages to describe in brief, we will NEVER be going to Victoria EVER again......only consolation is we took travel insurance, which covered the car and the extra expenses, refunded after 2 months of buggerising around.....
Sorry you asked now H?
Cheers
Chris
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