Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - A Day Out... Mount Hutt

Well... what can I say? That was a first, and that was also the last time I will be visiting, well driving myself up to Mount Hutt Ski field.

Today as it turns out was the last day of the ski season and we needed to get out and go for a drive, so Mount Hutt was the choice of destination.

Only 1.5 hours from home taking the back roads it was a very pleasant and scenic drive to the base. Standing some 2000m above sea level, snow capped Mt Hutt is a truly majestic sight to be hold on such a beautiful spring day.

Now... that is where the pleasantries end.

What a crazy  mother fucker of a drive up the mountain that was! I'm still traumatized from the experience and I won't be doing that again.

Picture this, a drive straight up essentially, 14km winding up the gravel road, with little barriers or rails protecting you from the shear drops essentially back down to the base of the mountain.

The speed limit was 40km/hr but I don't think I krept over 30km/hr and I let anyone pass who wanted to.

Now I am not normally afraid of heights, I don't like heights, but can handle them. So what has happened to me? Is this an age thing or is it a Parkinson's thing?

I kept saying to Gary as we climbed higher, "I don't like this, I don't like this". 

I was experiencing a constant repetitive feeling of slipping over the edge. You know the feeling when you are standing on the edge of a balcony or deck or walking up steps, and you momentarily lose your balance and a rush of adrenaline from the fear of falling hits you... it was that feeling all the way up, and all the way back down. Very overwhelming and a few times I didn't want to go any further, but I had to push through and go on. I stopped looking beyond the roads edge, and focused purely on the few metres of road ahead of me.

Now I must confess, the road was actually in very good condition, dry, wide, hardly any corrugation, but my brain was not registering any of that. Instead I was driving 

Gary's little front wheel drive Suzuki with minimal tread on the city tyres and we were just going to slip right over the edge to our deaths!

My body and or brain was acting very dramatically for me today, and I'm exhausted from it.

We did manage to take some spectacular pictures.

I might consider visiting again as long as long as I take their Mountain Bus, with a more experienced driver at the wheel. Obviously my eyes will be closed for the entire journey next time 🤣

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - Thou Shalt Remain Nameless

I need to start with the back story... so you too can feel what I felt at the time.

With age, Max has become more of an indoor cat, so he doesn't get outside much to wear down his claws by scratching on a tree or the like. So his claws get caught easily in the duvets or blankets etc. I have trimmed them but neither Max or myself enjoy the experience.

So I had been on the lookout for an indoor scratcher for him.

I found good online reviews for a scratcher from Kmart, and it was low for our old boy, so I was eager to buy, and it was about 2 or 3 weeks before I finally made it to Kmart.

So today I purchased this long awaited cat scratcher and put it in place, ready for Max to use.

Now the 1st "person" who took an interest in the cat scratcher shall remain nameless. 

Now it wasn't a case of it being in the way, so it could be tripped over on.

I also clearly said several times over... "Don't Stand On It!".

I wasn't yelling, but on the cusp of it.

Next minute... I hear a loud "CRACK"! 

"I bloody told you not to stand on it!" "You never listen to me" and I went on with my tirade... it was such an effort to get it in the first place, and Max hadn't even played with it and it is now broken! I was pissed off!!!!

Max can still use the scratcher,  but it is not often Max gets new a toy. Perhaps an over reaction on my part for a $5 toy for Max, however... 

GARY owes Max a new cat scratcher.