Day 16 – The Drive Home

We started early today, naturally, we were pretty much on the road by 6am, and headed for some things on our ‘Big Stuff’ list, like the pineapple and the macadamia nut. Our first stop was back in Sarina for the big Cane Toad!! I took some snaps early in the morning, more beautiful pics of foggy mist, mountains and sugar cane – didn’t realize how big it can get, I now have pics to prove it. Next stop was Rockhampton for a final family visit, and pics of the Big Bull that welcomes everyone to Rocky, he also says goodbye, he’s in the middle of a roundabout, AND pics of the Big Dugong! So hello to Leslie and her grand kids. Lori’s mom was there again too – hello Nana! A dugong by the way, is something like a manatee, they pretty much describe them as cows of the sea. Back on the road!!

All in all we drove 16 hours from the Whitsundays back to Brisbane, but like I told Lori today, it was 150% worth the drive. I’m so lucky, blessed and grateful to have swam the Great Barrier Reef – and I’m so proud of myself for not chickening out. I will try and give thanks for that as much and as often as I can. Matt is worried the rest of our tour won’t live up (our Sydney stretch) but I have a feeling I’ll cry at Uluru as well. This time I won’t have drowning to wake me from my stupor… So I’ll just let it flow baby.

How does one adequately entertain oneself in a car for 16 hours? Well listening to a CD with Rage Against the Machine, Silverchair, Hunters and Collectors, The Cure and the Beach Biys helps (thanks Triple J and your Hottest 100!!). And then reliving memories that these songs brings back wasted another 4 hours. I drive with Lynda that stretch and I kind of woke up out of my stupor and worried shed think I was being rude, not talking (she wasn’t!), but honestly I was reliving my 1994 summer and all of my great friends from then (hello Jay, Rob, Lisa, Kev, Gumby, Kate, Josh, Rae!!), and thinking it was probably my favorite year of all time. The people I met in Sutton were some of my best and closest relationships ever, it’s sad how people drift apart isn’t it? However all that said, i was comforted to know that through my thoughts they were all with me in that car Monday afternoon on the east coast of Australia, living my dream. I love you guys.

I drove again, for the final 4 hour leg of the journey, from Childers home. We were going to stop in Gin Gin (love that name!) but the truck stop was crammed with trucks and people, so Mackers it was (McDonalds). By this time it was night, so that. Ads things slower for me, their highway t that point is just one lane each direction, like Hwy 48. But after about 2 hours it divides and gave us an easier drive. Luckily they live near the highway so I only had to negotiate 1 roundabout. Whew!!

High/Low
High: time travel via music
Low: 16 hours in the car!! Haha
WOD: Refuse Tip. Another term for Garbage Dump!! But they also do refuse tips here… Haha!!