the GPS experience

It was raining on a Saturday morning. I woke up pretty early to prepare my stuff and get ready to leave the flat. The boys were still asleep. 

I picked up a compact car at Thrifty, along Bridge Road, Richmond. As much as I wanted to rent a 4x4 after hearing all of the horror stories on the ditch road, I knew I would blow out my budget. Instead, to compensate for my very much unorganized trip, I decided to hire a GPS... first time ever. Yes, you read it right. FIRST TIME. Despite my being an I.T. person, I still like the conventional way. Maps, good memory and a sense of direction. Looking back, I think I got too excited. 

I went back to the flat and found Lele awake and standing by the side of the kitchen. We decided to go out for breakfast. It was my first time to walk with Lele outside the flat. We stopped for a while watching the massive re-construction of Swan street, as he played with his umbrella and copied the sounds of the digger. We gooffed off until he decided to stop by a coffee place. After a few minutes, Tom and Hanz showed up and joined us for breakfast. 

the "initial plan"

Hans helped me out with the GPS and made sure it was all set and good to go. I hugged the guys goodbye... having mixed emotions of staying and going. I felt like i was just starting a good relationship with them. But I knew I had to move on and do m own thing. 

I continued on to Ashika's place to drop off my stuff. The GPS was working pretty well at that point. I found my way fine, and the re-routing was spot on. I found Satchin at the backyard, they just subdivided the land and built a house for rent. Ashika was busy cooking and taking care of the kids. i stayed for late lunch, giving her updates on my life and what I've been doing and deciding on. The clouds were grayish black and I knew the weather wasn't really good for that weekend in Melbourne. I had to head off around 3 pm before I went pitch black on the highway. I decided to make a last minute booking for my accommodation that night. So the plan was to stay overnight in a town called Swan Hill. Then in the morning head off to Mildura and then Mungo National Park. My estimated travel time that night was 4 hours. That was the plan. 

Guess What? 

I ended up in Robinvale which was almost 2 hours away North West of Swan Hill. A small town located 2-3 hours from the Mungo National Park. Great. 

I got lost. The "reliable" GPS pointed me to a different place. The car wash didn't seem to be a Motel. I figured. I stopped by a hotel and asked for information. Then I was told to drive S-L-O-W. It was quarter to 9 in the evening. Danger ahead? Roos. short for Kangaroos. They made it sound really scary it drove me crazy. I parked at the only gas station and fueled up. I was tempted to stay at that hotel. But after chatting with the lady at the counter, I was told to stay at the near by town called Euston. Again, they made it sound that the town where I was at... wasn't the place to spend the night. 

And so it went, I ended up staying over at a Motel in Euston. I was exhausted. I was shaking my head telling myself... "jowe, what did you get yourself into this time". As I've learned during my past travels, it always works out in the end. 

I was lucky to get mobile reception after a long stretch of null area. I sent a text to my sis and Ashika and closed my eyes. Looking forward to the next few days in the outback.