I always hate New Year's Eve... the crowds, the drunken antics, the way people try too hard to have a good time. Better to be away with a few good friends as far away as you can get.

Hence THIS (please ignore the poor camera work)

We booked about 6 months in advance so we could get the entire 12 person cottage, something which turned out to be an excellent move.

As it turned out New Year's Eve was scheduled to be a 42 degree day in Melbourne, and there was concerns about walking 20km down to the lighthouse. Thankfully the Prom is a bit cooler than Melbourne, and we made the trip without incident.

The actual cottage itself is awesome. Very well maintained and equipped, the dual shower facilities after a long walk are very much appreciated, after a few hours of recovery we were ready to break out the booze for the celebrations to begin.

Everything has to be carried in by hand. Booze, food, and sleeping equipment. There is a booby-prize draw in the kitchen which has leftover foodstuffs from previous trips, but it mostly contains items such as milk powder and condiments. Certainly not something to rely upon.

So with our booze tasting better than usual we settled in for the night. By 10pm at night it has gotten quite cold, as there is usually a strong wind blowing in from Bass Straight. By about 11pm a huge electrical storm moved across in front of us 40km south of the lighthouse. Very spectacular fireworks for the end of the year.

That storm changed the direction of the wind, and started sucking the hot air off the mainland. By midnight it was about 30 degrees and it made for a very pleasent start to the new year.

As the idea of walking back home on New Year's Day is a thoroughly stupid idea that has zero merit, we had a full day to relax and explore. A few of us went for a trip to the South Point, while everybody else just relaxed.

A stroll out to the South Point is further than it looks. The round trip is about 19km, which is about the distance back to the carpark, but the terrain is awesome. We really put the hammer down on the way back with Leighton (the light bastard) out-walking me going up the final hill.

If asked the rangers will give you a tour of the lighthouse and give you a brief history of the site. Its all interesting stuff, but at the end of the day you're there to climb the lighthouse.

One of the best things about the trip was that nobody was there. The threat of extreme heat had scared off the other guests, so we ended up being the only people there (apart from the rangers and another couple who left early on new year's day). The weather was exceptionally kind, with the awesome storm the first night, and crystal clear skies the second. The day's were just perfect.

In terms of things that could have been improved...

• We should have booked for an extra night.
• We didn't bring enough alcohol (it goes surprisingly quickly).
• We should have taken 12 people along instead of just 11.

Guests : Hugh, Rob, Sam, Luke, Ro, Leighton, Konrad, Michael, Katerina, Kornelia, Brad

Highly Recommended!!!

Konrad Steinmuller