19 September 2015 ... and a detour to Mt Gambier and back

Yesterday we made a visit to Mt Gambier. 
Firstly we needed to purchase a new tyre - thanks to our recent mishap (which was irrepairable) on the way home from Melbourne. Now it's done so we hope we never have to play around pulling out wheelchairs in the rain again in order to fix tyres that have been attacked by stray drill bits.

Meanwhile, we had the opportunity in Mt Gambier to check out some different shops and eating spots - and take the new red wheelchair for a bit of a spin. 

Enjoying a meal at Sorrentos

 Actually when I say 'take it for a spin' - I need to say that I am being a bit more than cautious. The day before I had been sitting on a special cushion in the wheelchair when I did a quite graceful slide forward with the cushion and landed on the ground (on my left side) right in front of the visiting OT! Of course, while I knew I wasn't in any way hurt, she had to do the right thing thing and amongst other things contacted my GP who ordered an xray on the left hip and pelvis. What a pill, as I knew I was fine!

On the way home, Brian wanted to check out if there were any scented  spider-orchids at Swan Lake, just off the Mt Gambier Road. So off we went in search.

From the Highway you can see the sand dunes and sea.

While Brian searched for (and found) some of the spider orchids, I stayed at the car keeping watch.

Before long, along came some dune buggies, and with their orange flags up high, off they entered the sand dune area. Brian and I have done this before when we had our Suzuki, and it was great fun getting past the initial sharp dune rise and into the 'lunar-looking' sandy landscape beyond, quite amazing to see.It's one of the few places in Victoria where vehicles are allowed onto the sand dunes. 

From there it was basically back to the highway and home again - feeling surprisingly tired after what was really a rather straight-forward outing.

However I am feeling more than sad right now, as I have just heard today that a dear Fijian Christian friend has just been diagnosed with a severe pain-inducing tumour on her own spine. She has been airlifted to Melbourne for surgery today (Saturday) and the whole family - including 4 school-aged children, must truly be in a state of shock.
And another of our kind local friends has also just had a fall and injured a vertebrae on her back. 
What is going on over here???