Spicer's Peak .... Part 1

More mist
Originally uploaded by b boy.

Yes, it has been awhile since the last blog entry by myself but the wait is over. The last weekend was spent at Pepper's Lodge at Spicer's Peak as a birthday present for Mel (which I obviously benefitted from as well) and the second and probably last weekend getaway before Noodles arrives. This lodge was recommended to us by Mel's anaesthetist and we are glad he did so. It was probably the best place we have stayed at for a long time if not ever. It is unusual to be able to stay somewhere and not be able to fault anything. It was simply fabulous.

But wait, I am getting ahead of myself here. The journey started with the drive up to the lodge. We were warned by the aforementioned anaesthetist that the road was a bit dodgy and if you didn't have a 4WD then you could have difficulty. I had mentioned to the staff of the Lodge that we planned to take Mel's car which has lowered suspension and low profile wheels but we were assured that it would be ok if we went slowly. That advice was given before if rained quite a lot on the Friday that we set off on our trip. As we started on the final 12km of dirt road (by now mostly mud) I had a few reservations. My concerns seemed to be reinforced when we got to a sign that said "only suitable for 4WD's when wet". Oh my! Never the less we pushed on with a certain feeling of foreboding. They had said it would be ok hadn't they. All cars can access our property the blurb said. At one point I thought things would work out....that was until the road started going up and the car started going nowhere! Surely my advanced driver training would come to the fore and somehow enable me to pilot this sports car up this muddy goat track without too much fuss. Sadly I was wrong. Spinning wheels in mud and a sinking feeling told me to raise the white flag and check my masculinity at the door. Even just reversing the car back down the slope to a flatter, and presumably safer, part was a bit hairy as the car seemed to be going sideways at one point.

Luckily we had mobile phone reception and were able to call for backup and were picked up in a sensible 4WD and taken to the top in relative comfort and warmth. Mind you, you could even feel the 4WD sliding a bit from time to time. Their defense was that they hadn't realised it had rained so much further down the hill and that other cars had made it up earlier in the day including a Hyundai. A Hyundai! How could this be? I consoled myself with the fact he must have been an ex rally driver and I was told it was a rental car so he probably didn't care if he wrecked it in the atrocious conditions.

Anyway we made it up safely and proceeded straight to the bar for a stiff drink by the log fire and quickly forgot the recent traumatic events. Oh, and we made it in time for a 3 course lunch as well. Now, back to the bar for some more refreshments!

Part 2 tomorrow.