Robbie Julian reckons the world is not such a bad place after all: There are still plenty of people who are prepared to put themselves out to help others.
Ms Julian came to that conclusion on Wednesday night after her car and the horse float she was towing collided with another car about 35 kms up the Parapara Highway.
The crash impact jack-knifed her car and horse float in the middle of the road. The other vehicle, apparently stolen, came to a halt up some distance up the road.
Ms Julian said despite the isolation it seemed like only a few minutes before "all sorts" of people were on the scene helping in different ways.
She said some people parked their cars at each end of the crash site and set their hazard lights working to warn other traffic.
With no cellphone coverage in that area, one person went off to a nearby property to make a land-line call to the emergency services.
Ms Julian said others helped to unhitch the horse float and then shift it and her car off the road. Someone else found a broom and began sweeping up the debris from the crash while others tended to her show pony, Honey, who had fortunately come through the crash unscathed despite the float having suffered substantial damage.
She said in the immediate aftermath of the crash at least a dozen people were helping out in various ways.
"There was this amazing whole community spirit ? it was absolutely awesome. And when the cops and the fire brigade and ambulance people arrived it was real party," Ms Julian said.
"It was a horrible thing that happened. But how different it might have been. So I am just so very grateful to all those who stopped and helped."
l Neither Ms Julian nor her passenger were injured in any way. How those travelling in the other vehicle fared was not known. In the dark, they abandoned their vehicle and fled the scene.