Day 120 : Acrophobia Not Vertigo

High Point:  Coming down from a 40m hydraulic ladder.

Low Point: Being 40m up in a hydraulic ladder.

After the last few days of sleeping with bugs, staying in a dodgy motel where the windows where boarded up with steel shutters and generally having a miserable (sorry I mean awesome) time, it was a real pleasure to wake up in the luxury of the Fire Station Inn.  I’m sure you’ve seen the videos already so I won’t bore you with the details again.  Also, for a change, I’m going to stick to the script this time and try to stay away from the nonsense…

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Considering we didn’t really plan anything major for Adelaide we somehow ended up with one of the busiest schedules so far.  The Country Fire Service came into town to wish us well for the rest of the journey, many thanks to Lee Watson for organising the welcome party.  We had an interview with the local newspaper, and one of the Adelaide Fire Services crew came out to see us at the Inn.  All this before 11am!  Great start to the day.  I should have known things were going too well and something bad was about to happen to me.  I’m a strong believer in Newton’s 2nd Law of Thermodynamics and apply the theory to my daily life.  As you all know, Newton’s 2nd Law states that all systems will reach equilibrium over time, and for me that means that for anything good that happens to me, I imagine something equally bad around the corner…

The Adelaide Metropolitan Fire crew turned up in a huge fire truck equipped with a 40m hydraulic ladder and were kind enough to offer us a demonstration.  Naturally, I jumped at the invitation and got myself kitted out with some safety equipment.  I eagerly stepped on board the ladder and slowly we started to climb.  It was only after we reach the top that I realised my grip had become super human strong and all I could do was stare at my feet.  I had to get my stuff together and shoot a video for the website.  Nightmare.  How did I get to this point?  I guess its not like I could have known I wouldn’t enjoy it, it’s not a normal occurrence. You don’t think to yourself ‘this weekend I’ll go up in a hydraulic ladder’!?  Anyway, this is how I experienced my first bout of acrophobia (that’s right, not vertigo!).  Hopefully it’s that last!

I promised a no nonsense blog but have strayed slightly…

The rest of the day was spent at the Adelaide Fire Station, having lunch in the largest fire station in the southern hemisphere!  The Australian Professional Firefighters Foundation were kind enough to donate AUS$ 1000!  The donation is much appreciated and largely unexpected!  It is another example of how well we have been received in Australia and how much our trip has the potential to touch people we come into contact with.

Fuad

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