GTA V - First thoughts *No Spoilers*

Last night I finally got the time to take GTA V for a spin and had a few people ask me today "What's it like?" So here is my quick rundown on a review in progress.

A few things to note right off the bat. The game is beautiful... It uses the RAGE engine to render the game world in bright and vibrant colors while running at a silky smooth framerate.

The characters are interesting, they have flaws and seem "real."

The world is huge... like 10 time the amount of GTA 4. I have logged about 4 hours and haven't left the city yet.

The missions are varied and exciting. Stealth missions are a blast as they aren't punishing if you mess up, other missions are action packed.

Controls and gunplay are tight. Gunfights are more intense and the reworked cover system is fantastic.

The city is well designed too. It's not as easy to outrun cops and many times I found myself having to fight my way out of a dead end alley.

Car handling is reworked so they don't feel like wheels are butter. A few gamers have complained about it but once you get used to it, it makes for more exciting chase scenes.

The game is very impressive. I wasn't' a huge fan of the GTA PS2 games but am finding GTA V to be shaping up to be one of my favorites. A few downsides are racial stereotyping and excessive language but nothing on the level of Saints Row.

GTA V is almost certainly a must buy game even for people who haven't enjoyed the previous titles. The rich narrative, engaging missions and numerous non criminal activities keep me wanting to jump into the world of Los Santos time and time again.

-Sarge out!

Controversy - The Fake Cocaine GTA Launch

What's a Grand Theft Auto game release without a little controversy? This week saw EB Games host midnight launches country wide. At one store on the Gold Coast, this happened...

photo Reddit user MattWestacott

Now people who know me know I'm a big supporter of EB Games. I love their enthusiasm and staff, I love they brought gaming expos to Australia. But this... this is something a little different.

A Gold Coast EB Store used "Wizz Fizz" to simulate cocaine on the sales counter during a midnight launch of Grand Theft Auto. Initially, it was swept under the rug but then a photo posted by Reddit user MattWestacott went viral, and everybody lost their minds. EB have since issued a statement saying...

"Regrettably, one of our EB Games store locations in Queensland set-up an unauthorised display within the store in support of the launch of the Grand Theft Auto V video game,The display included a white powdery substance that appeared to be some form of an illegal drug. We can confirm that the powdery substance was 'sherbet', a type of fizzy candy, and at no point did the store attempt to give any of the fizzy candy away. This was an isolated incident, and we apologise for any offence this may cause."

Before I go on I wish to note that I know the staff and store members involved in the incident and they are not bad people, they simply tried to promote a game and went the wrong way about it. This was an R18+ event for an R18+ game, but the damage done by this promotion is far spread throughout the gaming community.

So why is this so offensive?

Let's start with gamers. I'm not going to rant about wanting gamers to be taken seriously because gaming shouldn't be serious. It's a fun, great way to spend some time after work to chill out. Unfortunately, people who don't play games think we are a bunch of violent, anti social nerds who do nothing but stay inside and waste their lives away. The use of fake drugs in this promotion gives people more ammunition about how games corrupt our society and are "evil." Here's an extract from a New York Times Article on GTA V...

"The game's genuinely problematic aspect is not its enthusiasm for violence or sex but its lack of interest in women as something other than lustful airheads"

The Grand Theft Auto brand is damaged as people see this game as the worst of the worst video games when it comes to stylized violence and drug use. The media have a very biased view to GTA and so far all I have read in newspapers is how EB were promoting a game that encourages players to use drugs and kill people. A lack of education in the general public and this biased view further damages the GTA brand.

EB Games have always promoted themselves as a family friendly brand, they try their best to promote a positive experience for young and old by changing the way they advertise, communicate and interact with gamers. This sets them back a few steps as parents are horrified that drug use was "glorified" by members of EB Games.

But you know what the worst part is? Simply put, drugs are terrible.

On our streets, people are dying from drug overdoses, being robbed for drug money, gangs are terrorizing society, and drug related crime is on the rise. GTA has drug related themes, but it doesn't shove them in the face of the public. They are viewed by players who purchase the game. The real damage is done to the people who have been victims of drug related crime or lost loved ones to drugs, who pick up the newspaper today and Misinterpret that gamers, GTA and EB Games think drugs are fun and cool, and used that to make a few bucks.*

-Sarge out

 *Clearly this was not the intention of those involved and simply the general consensus of the public.

History Professor Sarge - The Evolution of Grand Theft Auto

Sit up straight class. I want to tell a story. A story of rags to riches and how a glitch became one of the most anticipated games franchises in history!

I remember the day I picked up a copy of the very first Grand Theft Auto. My Windows 95, Pentium 120 with 32 meg of RAM was a computing beast and I needed something to play on it. While waiting for it to install I read a copy of PC Powerplay. In the magazine there were two reviews side by side. One of a game called Postal, and one of GTA. In between the reviews, there was a black highlighted section titled "Innocence lost" or something like that. The editor at the time gave GTA a 6/10 and used this small section to blast the developers of both games. The editor asked who would play such "violent and messed up games" and I knew then, this game was going to ruffle some feathers.

Ruffle some feathers it did, constantly being blamed for influencing childrens violent behavior, GTA appears in news headlines almost weekly. But the controversy is not what made GTA become a successful franchise. As a matter of fact, if they stayed on the same path, Grand Theft Auto probably would have failed. Rockstar saw this and developed a shock value game into a living, breathing world with fleshed out characters and a great narrative that made gamers want to see what happened in their game.

Grand theft auto hit the scene in 1997. The game originated from a glith in another game called "Race and Chase" which saw street racers try to outrun police cruisers. The glitch made the cops attempt to run the cars off the road and play testers thought it was awesome. Rockstar, (originally called "DMA Design") created Grand theft auto around this glitch and released the classic top down game we know today.

GTA 2 released hot off the heels of the first games success in 1999. It introduced a new gang alignment system that allowed players to choose their own missions. While the game was well received by critics with less controversy than the first, the new gang system wasn't very popular and was scrapped for GTA 3.

GTA 3 was the first major evolution for the series. A deeper narrative was delivered by supporting characters interacting with a largely silent protagonist. For the first time ever, GTA was fleshed out in full 3D with very impressive graphics, physics and a day and night cycle with dynamic weather. GTA 3 was very well received and for most, this is where Grand Theft Auto began. GTA 3 also spawned several spin-offs like San Andreas (the most popular GTA title to date) and Vice City.

GTA IV had a much longer development cycle compared to the other games in the series due to it debuting on the current generation systems. The engine was rebuilt from the ground up which gave NPC's jobs and tasks to do on their every day business. The size of the game was scaled down to fit in a more detailed and interactive experience. The main character, Nico Belic, had a personality and an interesting story to uncover. Multiplayer was introduced with MMO style deathmatches and countless activities to participate in. GTA IV had 2 expansion packs, The lost and Damned which followed a bikie gane and The ballad of Gay tony, which saw players take the role of a nightclub enforcer.

The latest evolution of GTA has so many features, almost too many to list here. Since it gets released at midnight, we won't give much away except it is going to be the biggest and best GTA game to date!

Have fun tomorrow gamers as you explore Los Santos!

-History Professor Sarge (Nes.SNES.N64.PS3.GC.360.WU)

Rockstar Week!

Welcome to What's it Likes Rockstar Week! To celebrate the release of Grand Theft Auto V, we are dedicating a fair chunk of our articles to Rockstar games. We are hoping to review...

Rockstar Table Tennis
Midnight Club LA
Grand Theft Auto Games
Red Dead Redemption GOTY
Max Payne 3
LA Noire
And of Course, GTA V!!!

Not only that, we are going to have a look at the evolution of Grand Theft Auto and how Rockstar
develop games. So unless your cousin Roman calls you to go bowling, stay tuned to What's it like!

Nerd VS Wild - The Corporal and the Colonel

After surviving the insane mountain drive that is the Kings Highway, I reflected on a part of my life that was no more. What seems like a lifetime ago now, I was in the Air Force. Unfortunately it didn't last very long thanks to my health, but there are some good memories I had there.

When I was being discharged, I was put in a unit called "transition cell" (TC for short.) The objective of TC was to help me readjust to civilian life. TC was pretty cruizy and for the most of it, we watched movies or helped around the base. The condition of watching movies was that they had to be military related. I seemed to be the master at finding a military link in anything we watched.

One day, Cpl (Corporal) *classified* walked in and we were watching "American Pie." Since I was the "Flight" (squad) orderly, he looked directly at me. "Hawthorn..." he said looking pretty stern, "What the @#$% does this have to do with the military?"
"Well Cpl *classified*, It shows that you work with your squad mates to achieve a common goal and stick together no matter what." Cpl *classified* looked at me, not very amused he said
"Shut the @#$% up Hawthorn."

This back and forth banter went on for a few weeks and one day he told me we were going to visit the Army base on the other side of *classified*. Cpl *classified* asked the rest of my flight if they had any formal requests for supplies etc. I turned to Cpl *classified* and said "You know what would be great Cpl *classified*? If we bought the boys back some KFC." I didn't realize it at the time but something must have ticked in his head about getting back at me for being a smartass all the time. Cpl *classified* looked at me and said "Fair enough Hawthorn, why don't you fill out a formal requisition form and if you can state your argument effectively I will get your flight KFC."

So here's the thing... Requisition forms are meant to be used to request new gear and important stuff, my requisition form looked something like this...

To Whom it May concern,

I, *classified* Hawthorn, formally request my flight have Kentucky Fried Chicken for lunch due to the following reasons. 

First, KFC tastes amazing and makes people happy, therefor my troops will be happy, which will increase my flights morale. 

Secondly, if my formal request is accepted, I personally will purchase Cpl *classified* a Popcorn chicken combo. I'm not talking about the small one either, I will upsize that shit for free!

Lastly, you may ask (aside from the morale boost) what KFC has to do with the military, my answer is this, the founder of KFC was called the Colonel.

Sincerely,
*classified* Hawthorn
*classified* *classified*
*classified* 

I smiled and handed Cpl *classified* the form. Roughly 15 minutes later the entire *classified* base was called to parade. We marched to parade to find our very intimidating leader, Commander *classified* standing to address the base. Cmd *classified* began tearing shreds off the entire base stating that the military is not a playground and people need to stop @#$%ing about. Fair enough I thought to myself, and vowed not to joke around with Cpl *classified* anymore.

We were dismissed and as we were leaving Cpl *classified* called me over. He looked concerned and said "Hawthorn, I handed that form up the chain of command as a joke to get you back." I immediately shit a chicken. He continued "It will be on Commander *classified* desk as we speak." The blood drained from my face. I was packing bricks, this guy just told an entire military installation to stop messing about and on his desk is my KFC request!

Now I wasn't there to see this, but one of my Sgt's was in his office when it happened. Cmd *classified* got back to his desk, face still red from screaming at us, looked up at the Sgt and asked him what the request was on his desk. Sgt *classified* cool as ever says, "It's *classified* Hawthorns requisition order for *classified* flight. He reads and and then breaks into laughter, saying only one word "Amusing" then slaps a big "denied" stamp on it.

I left a legacy at *classified* base. Turns out my form was being used as an example of what NOT to do with a requisition form. You're welcome ADF, you're welcome.

New model PS Vita and Vita TV Announced!

After dropping the price of the current model Vita, Sony have announced a newer, slimmer model. The new model is said to have reverted back to a PSP type LCD screen instead of the more expensive, yet sharper OLED display. It's also thinner and has an extended battery life. No word yet on a western release date but rest assured it will be coming soon.

In more Vita related news, Sony also announces the Vita TV. Which is essentially a Vita with no screen that you plug into your TV and use a Dual Shock PS3 controller for. The downside is however, that not all Vita games are compatible due to the omission of the touch pad which is usually on the back of the hardware. Sony have said that all PS1, PC engine and PSP classics will work fine. The price is similar to that of a standard Vita which has left many gamers wondering why they bothered. For me, I think it's an interesting concept and would jump at the chance to buy one of these if the price dropped a little.

What do you guys and girls think of the new Vita and Vita TV? Let us know on our Facebook!

-Sarge out!

The PC Medic - Hide yo kids Hide yo Wifi

I was recently at dinner with some friends discussing online security. They asked me how easy it was to hack someones WiFi and use it to do all sorts of nasty things. I pulled out my phone, connected to the restaurants free WiFi, and managed to open up their Modem settings with a web browser. The thing is that even if your wireless broadcast is password protected, your modem is not.

Let me show you how unprotected you may be...

1. Open up a new tab in your browser. In the address bar type "192.169.0.1" This is the most common router IP address, If this doesn't work, you can try "10.0.0.1"

Your modem will prompt you to enter a user name and password... If you haven't changed it, it will be "admin" for the user name and "password" for the password... this is what you need to change to secure your Internet.

As you can probably see, your login details, password and IP address are visible and not asterisked out like usual. 

This is a huge security risk but thankfully you will also notice options on your left in the toolbar. I can't tell you where exactly as every modem is different but you need to find the "Modem options" to change your device login.

Make sure you write it down somewhere or don't forget it, but once this change is complete, you will have added extra protection against someone compromising your connection.

-Sarge out!

Returning to the World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft... You either love it or hate it. Myself? I'm one of those in between people. You see I have been playing WoW since day 1. I loved it. It was amazing. But then it became hard to keep up with all the changes, especially those bought in from Cataclysm and Pandaria. I have decided to return after 1 year of going without, and it turns out it was just the right time.

Tomorrow, patch 5.4 hits and it's a doozy. I won't bore you all with the patch notes here but I will give you a few of the highlights...

Check the video here...

New Raid: Siege of Orgrimmar

The tensions stoked by Garrosh Hellscream's arrogance have reached a boiling point with the devastation unleashed upon the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Now it's time for leaders of the Alliance and Horde to lay siege to Hellscream's capital and topple the ruthless Warchief once and for all!
Siege of Orgrimmar contains 14 new encounters across four expansive wings as members of the Horde and Alliance take the war directly to Garrosh's doorstep. Siege of Orgrimmar supports the following difficulty modes: Normal, Heroic, Raid Finder, and (new) Flexible Raid.

New Feature: Flexible Raid Difficulty

This is a new raid difficulty designed for pre-made groups of 10 to 25 players or any number in between. This means it's possible to have raids of 15 or 22 players! Difficulty will adjust automatically based on the number of players present with encounters intended to provide a challenge roughly between Raid Finder and Normal difficulty. Flexible Raid difficulty requires a pre-made group to join but has no minimum item level requirements or role restrictions. Both BattleTag™ and Real ID friends are eligible to participate. Loot quality will be between Raid Finder and Normal difficulty and awarded through a personal loot system (similar to Raid Finder). Bonus rolls and loot specialization will also be supported. Player spells with different target limits depending on raid size will gradually increase their limits based on the number of players in Flexible Raid difficulty. Players will be able to earn raid achievements just like in Normal or Heroic difficulty. Flexible Raid difficulty has a lockout that is separate from Raid Finder and Normal difficulty.

New Area: Timeless Isle

A mysterious island, lost for millennia to the currents of time, has emerged from the mists off the eastern coast of Jade Forest. Players seeking to explore the Timeless Isle should visit their faction's shrine in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. The Timeless Isle is inhabited by all manner of strange and powerful creatures that will test the mettle of solo explorers, but great rewards await the brave and skillful: epic loot, bind-to-account gear, Mogu Runes of Fate, pets, mounts, fun toys, and much more.
The Isle is filled with secrets and mysteries, many of which dynamically become available to explorers. Keep an eye on your minimap while on the Isle for information on nearby events! The Timeless Isle is home to five new world raid bosses! Players may face each of the four Celestials in a trial of combat.
Heroes who have earned the legendary cloak from Wrathion may access the sanctum of the fiery Yaungol demigod Ordos, atop the Timeless Isle.

Seems pretty good huh? Well This WoW nerd can't wait to find out what happens to Garrosh and who will take over the old horde! Not only that, I think it will be great Raids won't have to be missed due to lack of players or people having to sit out because of too many.

So... Anyone need a scroll of Resurrection?

-Sarge

PC Medic - Reorganize with Defrag!

Did you know your computer file system is like a bookshelf. Initially, all the books (files) are filed in alphabetical order, but over time, they get disorganized making it harder for the computer to find files. This is the number one reason for your computer to slow down over time. Thankfully, there's an easy solution.

System Defrags should be completed perhaps once a month. This will ensure your system is organized and up to date, allowing for faster load times. Here's how you do it.

Depending on how you have Windows set up, you need to access the "computer" folder (formerly "My Computer." You can do this by either double clicking it on your desktop if it's there, or find it on the right side of the Start Menu.

From there, right click your main hard drive (typically C:\) and select properties...

When the properties window pops up, select the tools tab, then select "Defragment now"

Then all you have to do is select the drive you want to defrag, then hit "Defragment disk."

Now Defragging can take a while and you can still use your computer, but it's not recommended to do so. I suggest leaving your PC on overnight while it defrags. After it has defragged, restart your computer. You will probably notice and instant speed boost next time you start it up.

If you have any PC related questions, Send them through on our Facebook!

-Sarge

Pokemon Surprise Twist!

In a very surprise twist so close to the release date, it has been revealed the starting Pokemon will not be Chespin, Fenikin or Froakie... It's much better. Players will now have to choose between SQUIRTLE, CHARMANDER and you guessed it, BULBASAUR!!!

That's right your new starters are the original 3, and now they all have Mega evolutions to boot! Check the video below to see them in action!

In other news 2 new apps will be released on the 3DS eShop for Pokemon, the Pokemon Bank and Pokemon Transfer System. The Pokemon bank is a subscription service that allows you to drop your Pokemon off into the Pokemon bank and transfer them easily between Pokemon X and Y. The Poketransfer app simply copies all of your Pokemon from Black and White 1 and 2 into your Pokebank. The Pokebank will have a yearly fee but knowing Nintendo, the expense should be minimal. Also I should note these are addition features not required to play or use Pokemon and are simply for convenience.

So now the big changes are here, the main question will be, Who do you choose?

-Sarge

PC Medic - Data recovery!

So recently a friend asked the Sarge if I could fix a corrupted USB Hard drive...

Every time the user went to access the drive, Windows would ask to format it. This is caused by an interruption between your computer and the drive. Thankfully there is an easy way to reboot the file system on your drive.

First we need to find your drive letter. When the Format message shows up it should say a drive letter in the message like this... "The device in drive E: needs to be formatted." So for this example we will use drive E:...

To start click your Start Menu in Windows. Directly above the Start Button will be a text box saying "search for files" or something similar. In that text box, type the command chkdsk e: /f (E being the drive letter you found before...

If all goes to plan this window should show up *see below* and reboot the file system without any loss of data! Happy days!

If this doesn't work you will need to do a more advanced recovery which could result in loss of data. I'll get in contact with you to arrange to have a look at it for you.

Good luck!

-Sarge

Nerd VS Wild - The kings of the Mountain

1.      Kings of the Mountain

So after some relaxation time at Durras point, we decide it’s time to say goodbye to our kangaroo friends and head to Canberra, home of the slimy creature known as “The Politian.” We had heard from some friends that the Kings Highway can be an interesting drive, but we had no idea what was in store for us. “Don’t bother if it’s wet” was a sentence that was thrown around a bit at the christening and luckily for us it wasn’t raining… yet. So cruising along the Kings Highway I was starting to think that it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as people said, and even after it started pouring down it still wasn’t too bad, until we hit the start of the mountain climb…

It looked something like this…

Now a simple mountain climb doesn’t sound too bad unless of course you’re me, towing Chernobyl van which I swear puts the inertia brakes on just to piss me off, in a car that has about as much grunt as a guinea pig. Dear reader, if you think about visiting Canberra and are towing a van may I suggest you take the long way around and go through Cooma? Because we crawled up the mountain which is an incline of about 40 degrees with minimal overtaking lanes. By the way, when I say crawl, I’m talking about 20 kph, and in some parts I swear we were going backwards. My wheels were sliding and slipping so much I had to put 4WD mode on and what’s worse, was the sporadic stopping on the slope for lane closures. Once we got to the top I felt like I had conquered Mount Doom, only that probably would have been easier…

Aside from the perilous mountain drive the landscape all along the Kings Highway is something to behold. Wide open meadows surrounded by rolling hills accompany most of the drive, with the occasional gum tree popping up every now and then. At one part of the journey we had to drive through a small town named Braidwood. It’s the classic small country town that most people would love to settle down in. On the corner of the main street heading into town was a service station and after the mountain climb I needed to empty my bladder. The curious thing about service stations is the toilets sometimes have a sign saying “For customers only” but being the rebel I am, I managed to waltz right in without detection. My conscience however, got the best of me so after using their bathrooms I went into the shop and bought a packet of chips. I’m glad I did because shortly I read up on the history of the town which turns out to be a heritage listed town. Turns out Braidwood was like the wild west with stories of bushrangers and lawmen having shootouts that would put Clint Eastwood to shame.

It stopped raining after the mountain climb…

Ask the Sarge - PC has shit a chicken edition...

Ok guys welcome back to ask the Sarge where you can literally ask me anything gaming or Pc related. Since my PC medic series, I have been flooded with a lot of questions regarding PC's and phones doing things they aren't meant to.

I have been working diligently to solve your problems and most of the people here I have contacted personally to fix their errors. PC Medic will answer these questions over the next few days in hopefully simple, easy to understand steps to get you back up and running.

Our first question was received via text from a very panicked friend of mine.

"My USB Hard drive just died! I bumped it while transferring data and now when I plug it in it asks to format it. What can I do?"

Ok. Rest assured there are 2 possible solutions to bring your drive back while minimizing data loss. These answers will be posted tonight in the PC Medic Data recovery post.

Second Question.

"My computer only boots to "recovery mode." I can't access windows or anything. Can you fix it?"

Upon further investigation recovery mode failed to restore the computer citing "Reg" problems. I will make a bootable USB thumb drive to repair your registry. Further details will be available in PC Medic on Friday.

Third Question.

"Can my iPhone get viruses?"

Apple (who make the iPhone) have a habit of making very stable and safe software. Currently, the only viruses out there for iPhone are for security research purposes and will not be able to infect your phone. That being said there are still scams out there that will appear on your phone so make sure you don't give out personal details to anyone unless you know them or can verify its source. It should also be known that there are viruses that can infect "jailbroken" phones. If this happens unfortunately you are on your own as jailbreaking voids all warranties.

I'll get around to answering more questions tomorrow particularly the date recover on Android devices and backing up photos

of Android devices. Until then if yo got a question "Ask the Sarge!"

PC Medic - Penicillin for your PC

Onto our final step as we finish off out 3 part guide on virus and other nasties on your PC...

Now, after you have finished clearing malware and spyware off your PC, you can install a good virus scanner to make sure you stay protected. If you haven't cleared spyware and malware yet, follow these guides...

http://sogwhatsitlike.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/pc-medic-so-youve-been-hacked.html

http://sogwhatsitlike.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/pc-medic-malware-removal-and-you.html

All done? good! Now before you wonder the costs of a virus scanner the following link will let you download Avast Anti-Virus for free! (http://download.cnet.com/Avast-Free-Antivirus/3000-2239_4-10019223.html?part=dl-85737&subj=dl&tag=button)

People often think that because it's free it's no good but it actually got rated higher than a lot of its paid counterparts which I can't name here due to advertising reasons. Now simply install Avast and you're done.

Avast is great because it automatically updates, runs silent and picks up most viruses others don't. You can run a manual scan if you like, no need to go to safe mode for Avast like the others, just scan away.

*Please note that while all of these programs are fantastic, you will still be able to get viruses due to the internet and dodgy files. Run regular scans to make sure your computer is clean and be smart on the internet.

Have you got a broken PC or a burning PC question you need to ask? Let me know on our Facebook and we will do our best to help you out! Remember, it's free to ask and we might save you alot of money in the long run!

Until next time soldiers!

-Sarge out!

Nerd Vs Wild - The emergency accommodation surprise

1     The Emergency Accommodation Surprise

Determined to recover from the crappy start to our Anniversary, and Sally, I decided I would try to find a place to stay for the night and start again the next day. So I googled a dog friendly camp site in between Ulladulla and Batemans Bay. Being on crap reception I just hit the first thing that came up which turned out to be a places called Durras Lake North Holiday Park. “Hello?” the voice on the other end of the line answered. “Hi mate do you have a spare powered site tonight?” I asked, I heard some paper ruffling in the background. “Sure do mate.”
“Awesome” I say, “I got a dog is that alright?”
“Yeah that’s fine.”
“Sweet, see you in half an hour.” I felt kind of sorry for the guy because I was pretty short with him on the phone but I had been a shitty day and my mood matched. So Sally takes us on every possible unsealed road in between wherever we were and Durras North and finally we arrived at our destination. Now the thing is a lot of website have fancy phrases that draw you in to stay at their park and I noticed Durras North’s was “Shhhhh, It’s a secret.” I will tell you one thing now fellow travellers… Stay here. I have no idea why the place wasn’t booked out (I assume it has something to do with people have jobs to go to or something like that) but this was the most relaxing place I have been. I walked wearily into the office to have a lady point out all the dog friendly beaches and walking tracks in the area and even told me how to outsmart the GPS so I could take one of those fan dangled ”sealed” roads that Sally hasn’t heard of all the way into Batemans Bay.

Blending in with the locals

We picked a spot that backed onto the national park and were greeted by a group of Kangaroos just chilling out on the grass in front of our spot. I tried blending in but turns out our national icons are smarter than they appear and saw through my clever disguise. One thing I wanted to do since we set out on this adventure was have a campfire. Finally I got to make one and as I was making one I heard something fall on the chair behind me. I turned around and saw a king parrot who decided to pop in staring at me. I asked Court to get the camera and worried that us moving around would scare him away but luckily for us the little guy was a poser and even hopped on my shoulder for a photo or two.

Bird… Is the word

Our one emergency night ended up being 5 nights and I found that we could relax a little and forget about our crappy day. I declared we move our anniversary to the next day so we could have a better one. I ended up getting Court the “Lady and the Tramp” DVD and cooked her spaghetti and meatballs to try to recreate the famous scene from the movie. You know how they do the pasta thing in the movie? The part where they are both chewing the same bit of spaghetti and then they kiss? Well dear reader, don’t attempt this scene as all the warm and fuzzy feelings cannot overcome the fact you are eating saliva covered, half chewed pasta.

Not pictured: Girl germs