MISJUDGEMENT By Joshua Rohan Goodwin, 5/7 RAR
C Company was sent to Tully as enemy party for B and D Companies for jungle training. One weekend we were given leave so we all jumped on a bus and headed to Townsville. However, we were informed it was a dry weekend so no piss-ups. Some of us thought we’d head over to Magnetic Island and get on it as we figured nobody would catch us. We arrived and rented scooters so we could get around. We grabbed a carton and belted around, sinking beers wherever we stopped. Needless to say, by nightfall we were pretty legless but we’d forgotten to book somewhere to stay. It was late and pitch black. With a gutful of beer, I forgot that the side of the road ended in a 15 ft drop to the beach. I came belting down the road and misjudged the turn, sailing straight off the cliff, screaming as I went. The boys were losing it as I dragged the scooter up the beach to where they’d stopped. To make things worse, every place we tried had no rooms so we were left to sleep in the bush under some palm leaves. I took the scooter back the next day, dropped it out the front and bolted. It was an awesome weekend and despite some bumps and bruises, we came out clean.
