27.4.06
a trip down to the beach.
yeps i know it's crazy to go down to the beach in late autumn but to the beach my cell group did head last sun. we started our day at 6am and it was a 3 hr drive down to wilsons promontory national park for some hiking and chilling (literally) on the beach, but i must say it was all worth it in the end. 
the view from the top of the hill we hiked up was fabulous. the clouds soon came in though (that part was quite amazing too as we watched the whole view before us slowly being engulfed) and we found ourselves walking back down through fog/mist. it kept raining intermittently throughout the whole day tho but that didnt dampen our spirits (i think we were all kinda used to the fact that melb's weather is jus unpredicatable). we headed to the beach where we still continued to play touch rugby/captain's ball/soccer despite the cold. i must say that one privilege of going to the beach during winter is the fact that there is almost no one there. no crowd + the whole view of the untainted beach. quite a sight. was reluctant to take off my shoes at 1st - because of the cold - but then i relented. afterall, how can one go to the beach n not feel the sand under his/her feet?! my extremities became numb quickly though and soon we were scaling boulders on the sides of the bay without even feeling the roughness of the rocks abrading our hands and feet. just roughing it out eh. how cool. 
the mist engulfing the view 
we even had our bbq on the beach. set up a portable bbq top amongst the boulders to block out the wind. most of us were shivering, but i must say the food was awesome despite the cold. 
poor guy, the tide came in too fast and he got stranded on the rock!! but check out the sunset :)
we caught sight of a few wild animals too. kangaroos, wombats, irritating possoms and seagulls. i think if it hadnt been raining we would have gotten to see more (animals can sometimes be smarter than humans and know when to hide away from the rain and cold). but what was most spectacular was the NIGHT SKY. whoa. there was a huge spread of stars that day. so much so i think God was being extremely generous and giving us extra servings :) the milky way was sooo sooo pretty, what with it being all bright and clear. yet still retaining its myseterious stature all at the same time. we identified the southern cross that lay on the milky way, and also the orion. too bad none of us really knew astronomy, if not i bet we could have pointed out a few more. nonetheless, it was sufficient for me to just admire the twinkles, because of the mere fact that it was THAT splendid. stood there gazing upward for a pretty long time. just. simply. awestruck. well i guess the whole day had been quite an experience (not to mention it was a great time of bonding for my cell). i rmb my coach always said that we must be in control of the elements ie. the weather, but now i realised that another way to deal with it is to just brace it. YOU ARE STRONGER THAN U THINK U ARE ;p
i fluttered by;
10:26 PM
