Queensland Roadtrip Day 1: Ballina, NSW – Brooyar, Queensland (381km)
Our race to beat the setting sun was a lost cause.
If only we’d set off earlier, as planned then we might have got pitched in daylight. If only we’d not taken a diversion to put our pennies into the honesty boxes of roadside stalls in exchange for avocados and potatoes and tomatoes, if only the calamari at Brunswick Fish Co-Op hadn’t called out to stomachs that lightly rumbled barely thirty minutes into the journey, if only the super supermarket conveniently positioned right on the highway at Gympie hadn’t reminded us of forgotten necessities, well, maybe then we would have gotten to Brooyar State Forest on time.
But, hang on! This is holiday time, time off from being on time.
Queensland Roadtrip Day 1: Still a long way to go… what adventures are up ahead?
We could have stopped off somewhere sooner, somewhere closer to the road. Brooyar was an en-route decision, a decision that took us away from concrete and the last light of day, down a long, pitted dirt track into an expanse of rain forest and a scattering of gum trees. Glastonbury Creek Camp. Arrived.
And realistically setting up camp and cooking in the dark was more of an adventure than a problem, three concentrated explorers equipped with head torches, hammers, high spirits and unspoken coordination.
Tents up, kick back, eat easy food, say goodnight to the glow of neighbouring fires, switch off the lights and lie beneath a light sheet.
Listen to the darkness.
And fall into a fresh air sleep full of dreams about what this place might look like by day.
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- Roadtrip! Heading up through Queensland, Australia (travelola.org)
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I love driving at night because you always wake up in a new place.
This website is also structured so well. Nice work!
Thanks for stopping by and joining me on my adventures! And thanks also for your comments. You’re so right about the magic of waking up in a new place. And it really was a beautiful spot to greet the day before hitting the road again…
there is a path over all waters,leading to my feet alone…..[kathleen raine ]
Thanks for this poetic snippet. 🙂
Brooyar!! 🙂
Brooyar!
I’ve been camping there. It was really nice. Good place for rock climbing. We went in the middle of winter and it rained the whole time. So cold haha
The fact it rained and you still thought it was a lovely spot means it must be pretty special 🙂 I’ll be posting a little blog piece with some pics in the next day or two.
That’s good you looked at setting up camp after dark as an adventure and not an annoyance, which can be easy to do. And like George commented, it’s great to wake up to a new place. One of my favorite quotes by Freya Stark speaks to this: “To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.” 🙂
At the start of an adventure it’s always easy to be more positive. Another wonderful quote! Thanks! And I agree wholeheartedly.
Love it.. Camped a bit in Canada last year and I think that there might have been once that we ‘set up’ in daylight… Love the extra adventure in trying to remove the bumps fom beneath the tent pad and exploring in the dark… LOVE LOVE LOVE waking up in a new unexplored place…
Seems to be a recurring theme, this like for waking up in new places 🙂 It’s all about the intrigue and discover, right? Sometimes removing the lumps and bumps from the site can be a bit freaky… at least in Australia with all these dangerous bugs and beasties kicking around… but all good 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
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