The road south from Cairns is acres and acres of sugar cane, brick chimneys billowing white smoke and road works. I had no plans to stop anywhere apart from to sleep but stopped many times to hang around at traffic lights on the open road.
A few days later I rolled into Noosa, another old play ground, from my time living in Sydney in the seventies. The Sunshine coast back then wasn’t very populated except for surfies, These days you have to drive around for a couple of hours to find a parking spot in Noosa. I continued further down the coast to Coolum, where I was looking forward to visiting old friends. People come and people go, some people though, stay with you. One of the joys of travel is to run into people who are part of the journey. Toni was one of the first people I met when I arrived in Sydney and we became good friends. She married Philip and over the years I’ve knocked on their door on occasion as I pass through, Philip is the architect of this site that allows me to write these stories.
After a few days of catch up, it was on to Brisbane to see Jim, Jim goes back to the class room at High Felling Secondary Modern in the sixties, we went on a school cruise to France, Spain Portugal and Gibraltar. I’ve been wandering about ever since and we’ve crossed paths on many occasions in various parts of the globe. Spent the weekend with Jim and Ravina and also caught up with Tori who I first met at the ski lodge in Victoria.
It was too cold down here, I was hoping to get to Byron, another place from the past, although NSW in the south was a Covid hot spot, Queensland Government was allowing, entry to those in Byron Shire just over the border, to come in. I decided not to cross the border in case things changed and I couldn’t get back to Queensland, instead I headed north again into warmer climes. Dropped into Peregian just south of Noosa to catch up with the digital nomads. Daniel, Danielle and the young Greasons. A new breed of traveller who aren’t restricted and can live anywhere they choose, making a living from the internet. While there, I got word from Tracy in Bali, an agent I’d dealt with a few years ago. She told me she’d made a video of the house and was getting some interest, I wasn’t expecting much to happen. Onward north. After spending a few days in a bed, I wanted somewhere to hang for a while and get out of the car.
Airlie Beach, between Townsville and Mackay is the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands, a boaties paradise. I checked a few places out and ended up in Bose/Nomads hostel, an 8 bed dormitory with 2 showers and me as the only occupant. Normally, I’m sure this would be filled with backpackers coming and going but because of covid the only backpackers around are those that got stranded here. So I had the room to myself, I was at one of the gems of the Queensland coast with no desire to move for awhile, NSW had on and off lock downs, Victoria was in it’s second wave and was in lock down. I couldn’t get back to WA, The border there was still locked up, the rest of the States didn’t like it but because of their actions, WA was in total control of the menace. I had an enormous playground in Queensland, NT and SA if I wanted but for now, what better place to be than where I was.
I got another call from Tracy, she had a buyer and after a bit of negotiation we agreed on a price. Just amazing!! I couldn’t get to Bali but Tracy was able to do everything without me being there. So once again I find myself homeless. I remember the feeling of being free of “Stuff” from 12 years ago and here I was again. “Freedoms just another word for nothing left to lose”. Bali Cool Property, highly recommended.
A month in Airlie Beach and I had to drag myself away, the weather was warming up in the South and I still wanted to get to Byron. I’d heard good things about a small place just north of Bundaberg and decided to drop in on the way.
I rolled into Agnes Water/1770 on a beautiful Saturday morning, drove around and decided the weekend I was going to spend here, wasn’t going to be enough. Checked out the YHA, this time I was offered a 4 bed dorm and again it was mine alone at a very reasonable weekly rate. Managed by Greg, an older guy who ran a tight place and employed a great bunch of young people from all over the Globe doing a variety of jobs. I felt very at home here and would end up spending a couple of months. My beach was a 200m walk through the bush with a bit of surf to play in. A population of about 2500 with great bush walks, deserted beaches and temperatures between 25 and 30.
Byron was still on the to do list, until I got a message from JB in Perth. Don’t know why I’m telling you this he said, cause you won’t be here but we are having a 50th anniversary open house to celebrate.
The Padbury Hilton, where I have been looked after on many occasions and partied in the eighties and nineties, where Jack spent a lot of his childhood. What do you mean I won’t be there I thought, It’s only 4000kl away, there was talk of WA opening it’s hard border, which had been locked up for 8 months, I began looking at the possibility of bypassing NSW and Victoria because once I enter either, I would be persona non gratta and probably wouldn’t be allowed into WA. A few days before I had to leave, if I was to get to Perth on time, SA got infected. They too became locked out of WA. Ah well!! looks like the long way round, which would add 2000kl and 2 more days to the journey. I left around the same time WA opened it’s door to NT and Queensland and added SA as the enemy.
Heading north, I left the Bruce Highway at Rockhampton and hit the Capricorn Highway to Mt Isa, a new road for me. Day one was a pleasant drive through tree lined road, up through hills and winding road, down onto the plains and the usual dry country. At the end of the day I pulled up at the pub in Jasper, a one horse town with not much more than the pub. I thought, this place could be Walkabout Creek – the Pub in Crocodile Dundee, a couple of beers later I climbed into the back of the Subaru for the first time in a couple of months. Just up the road the following day, what do you know, there it was, Walk about Creek Pub, It wasn’t beer-o-clock yet and It didn’t look open as I whizzed past. I was outback again, dry, hot, 180 degree horizon and a straight road for as far as the eye can see. Every now and then something comes along the other way and gives a wave as they pass, I just love it out here, an insignificant dot in this vast land. Left at Cloncurry onto the Flinders Highway, through Mt Isa and as the sun was setting I pulled off the road. Climbed in the back, end of day 2.
Half way to Three ways the following morning, I discovered what the dealer had done when I bought the Subaru, Part of the deal was to put tyres on the front, my own fault of course, for not checking but the front tyres were on the back and one of them blew out. There was more wire than rubber on the inner tread, when I got it off, luckily the spare was good, although a bit flat., Craig had gifted me a pump that he won in a pool comp before I left Perth, so all OK. I still had about 4000kl to do and on checking the other rear tyre I find more wire sticking out. Will it get me to Perth? Driving at sunset and sunrise is a liability outback, depending where you are, you might come across all manner of wild life on the road, cows, goats and sheep, wild horses, camels and of course Kamikaze Kangaroos. On the third day, just after Katherine the sun was on the way down and out of nowhere he/she appeared and bang, when I stopped for the night, I discovered just a small bit of plastic missing on the driver side bumper, no drama, musta been a small one. You’d think a bloke would get wise after such a thing- not this bloke – Off I went with the rising sun, still half asleep. Just down the road, I got a flash in the corner of my eye, as quick as it was there, it was gone, flying into the bush. The Subaru was still going but when I got out a few kl’s later to have a look, the front end from the passenger headlight to the door was smashed, I now had only one headlight but scooby wasn’t dead yet. At the WA border while one policeman was checking my paperwork his mate was checking my lights, “just happened this morning officer, bloody Kamikaze Kangaroo” OK! don’t drive at night, “of course not sir” I was back in WA.
On the morning of the seventh day, we coughed and spluttered into Perth. East to West in the time it takes to create the earth, if you believe the fairy tales. Scooby had done the job I asked of her, “It was the Kangaroo what killed her your honour. She would still been alive today if it hadn’t been for the jumping furball”. The coughing and spluttering, I would guess, was probably a plug lead or something but the rego was up in a week and the smashed wing would cost more than she was worth. So first stop on my way into town was the Subaru wreckers, They offered me $350, “see you in a couple of weeks”.
The search for a replacement wasn’t going well, I was looking for a van with a bit more room. Must of seen a dozen rust buckets, work vans, campers, anything I could live in. As I was looking on all the sites, I kept seeing THE TRIUMPH. Two weeks later it was still there, with no sign of my van yet and driving around in an illegal car, I had to do something. I went to see it, 2009 Triumph America a year newer than the one I had 12 years ago with only 10,000kl on the clock but with a ding in the tank.
The price ended up right, the car went to the wreckers and I was back on 2 wheels, a summer in Perth and surrounds on 2 wheels with temperatures in the 30’s? Yeah! Who could ask for anything more.
I Am….The Lonesome Traveller….The Journey Continues….Be Happy
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