It was a cold morning in Adelaide early July and we were preparing for a big day out.

The plan was a trip up to Mount Lofty to check out the views of Adelaide, followed by a visit to Cleveland National Park and then a leisurely walk around Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens. An itinerary that was planned unexpectedly by my younger brother Vantha.

“Your brother never plans an outing with us,” my dad remarked as my brother outlined the day. Indeed it was the first time that my brother did anything for or with us. 

“You guys are special,”  Dad adds. 

I smiled. It has been fifteen years and some things have changed. I had left my siblings when they were barely adults and now we are gathered together in the living room having conversations as adults. It was an interesting experience. 

“Did you want to drive?” Dad asked. 

“Sure,” I answered, thinking about the long stretch of road leading up to Mount Lofty, across the small city of Adelaide, and gradually up the mountain via the South Eastern Freeway. 

Driving in Adelaide wasn’t hard. I mean, I grew up and lived in Adelaide for more than half of my life. The only thing that was hard was driving on the other side of the car and road. But with practice, I felt I could do it. Besides, I drove around a couple of times already since we arrived a week ago. 

“Can we go to Glenelg instead?” my mum asked, her voice coming from the corner of the living room. Glenelg was a beach about 35 minutes from our house. It would be the fourth time we hit the beach and I was ready for a scenery change. 

“I miss the mountains and I would like to see them. And plus kids want to see the kangaroos and koalas,” I answered. 

“I just don’t like the winding roads,” she responded.

“Mum, you cannot live your life in fear.”

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” I added.

A moment of silence and in a determined voice, mum announced, “I will go.”

“What changed your mind?” 

“You said don’t live your life in fear and I want to be with my grandkids.” she answered, resigned to her fate. 

I smiled, happy mum won her battle with fear. 

Little did I know that those very words would come back to bite me.

An hour later, we finally reached Mount Lofty through the south eastern freeway, a long and easy drive uphill.

At the top, we took in the beautiful views of Adelaide, far and wide as the eye could see briefly before running back into the car for warmth. It was the middle of winter, and the winds up on top of the mountain were bitingly cold. 

We then explored Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens for a couple hours before heading to Cleland National Park to pet koalas and feed the kangaroos. By around 4pm, we were ready to go home. It was getting cold and dark. 

The Drive Down

As we got in the car to get ready for the drive back, I noticed my brother’s car taking a left turn towards Greenhill Road.

Just as I slowly followed him, a stunning aerial view of Adelaide came into sight. A second later, I felt my stomach drop as I saw the winding road that we needed to drive down. 

“What the f**k!!!!” I said out loud, my voice filled with surprise and terror. 

We were on Greenhill road. A two lane road wedged between a jagged rock wall of the hill and an edge of a cliff with only a metal railing for protection. 

“Why did he take me down this road?” I wondered, frustrated and fearful of this road. 

A long winding road covering over 8 km and hugely popular with cyclists, it was a beautiful drive not for the faint hearted. 

“Why! Why!” I mentally sent these thoughts to Vantha as if he was telepathic.

This was not what I signed up for. 

Heart hammering, I took a deep breath and resigned myself to driving this treacherous road down the Adelaide hills. 

“Remember to brake before you round the corner,” the voice of my driving instructor popped into my head. Taking a drive around the hills was part of my driving test. But that was 18 years or so and I remember screaming all the way (internally of course) through the experience.

A white car came in view from behind a rock, forcing me back to the present moment to hit the brake to slow down and turn the curve safely. 

Breathe.

 “Grrr, I am going to kill him when I get down this road.” This murderous thought popped into my head. 

“If you can drive down this road, you can do anything in this life,” my dad remarked from across in the passenger side. He was munching on some nuts, looking cool, calm and collected.

As if their very fate was not in my very hands.

“There is a metal rail so you won’t fall off the cliff,” he added. That was true but that did not make me feel any safer. 

More deep breaths. Another prayer to the heavens.

“Don’t live your life in fear.” The advice I gave my mum earlier this morning popped into my head. 

Dang it. Not cool when you are driving in fear. 

More deep breaths.

“We will survive this,” I willed my courage to continue.

“You are doing great,” my mum said encouragingly from the back. The twins were next to her, unaware of the inner turmoil I was facing. Or that their very lives were in my hands. 

“I have a banana and I can’t even eat it right now.” She said as a matter of factly, her eyes glued to the road. 

Instead of laughing, I wanted to cry. This felt like a life and death situation.

I knew there was no other way except down. In fear.

After what felt like the longest drive in my life but was actually 20 minutes, finally slowed to a stop at the base of the hill. Dozens of  cars zoomed past as I pulled to the side behind my brother to let them through.

“I thought you would have liked the scenery,” Vantha remarked when I asked him later that evening.

“Sure, for a split second but then it was terror all the way down.” 

“Yeah I took some driving lessons on this road.” He added. 

I did not. And I was not impressed. But I survived. In fact, we all survived to live another day.

Final Words 

I learned that in times of fear, faith helped me navigate this road of terror. 

And that sometimes in life, we are placed in the driver’s seat and may be forced to navigate a difficult and dangerous path. We may not know what the outcome will be but with courage, faith and some skill, we can arrive at the planned destination, perhaps more stronger than we realized.

When was the last time you did something that scared you? Was it a roller coaster or something else?

How did you handle it?