Day 69 - Turning of the tide

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Greenup Camp - somewhere near Nundubbermere 67km

Almost everyone who hears where we are heading (Stanthorpe, Granite Belt) starts waving their arms up and down, signalling "big hills ahead" or similar. Usually followed by a more vocal "oh boy, you have some hills coming your way" (or similar). To be honest, we are not quite sure where we are heading to exactly, today, but we leave Greenup Camp with a few options up our sleeves. 

To be on this road on Easter Sunday is a bliss. The climbing is much more manageable when there isn't a fully loaded 4WD with a caravan in tow passing you every 1km. The focus quickly shifts into the lower gear range as we tackle the first two minor climbs on road A89 - a major connector between Inglewood and Stanthorpe. The bodies are working okay but my mind is absent. The lack of mobile reception worries me more than it should. I was hopeful for a quick "Happy Easter" chat with Mum. A simple worry grows into something much bigger when you have nothing else to distract your mind with other than a pair of legs pushing into pedals. My mind also fills with childhood memories of Easter egg hunts and the hope for a white chocolate bunny. I feel the tide is coming in. 

We reach the locality of Pikedale and find a promising lunch spot: the Telstra Exchange station including a big tower! But the only reception we get is the one to satisfy our appetite.

We spread out on the nice concrete pad and make a commitment to take the detour into Stanthorpe. Which means turning off the sealed road and hitting the gravel (and more hills). I swallow my disappointment for not being able to connect and we hop back on the bikes. Louise is cheerleading me on, she knows of my worries and is trying hard to distract me by pointing out lots of different birds and other roadside wildlife. 

About 8km in on this beautiful gravel road we reach the top of a hill and a big clearing with just enough reception to receive a reassuring message from our dear friend Astrid in Switzerland, letting us know that all is good with mum. I start to feel the tide is turning.

One of the overnight options is the Nundubbermere Falls primitive campground in the Sundown National Park. Which, according to the QLD NP website is fully booked but you can purchase a bushcamp permit which allows you to camp anywhere in the park as long as you walk in. We do have such permit but when we get to the turn off for the site, we doubt whether this is a good idea. Now I can see the tide is turning on Louise. It's 3pm and we have a couple of hours left to find a free/wild camp somewhere in the bush along this gravel road. 

The misunderstanding was, of course, as it always is, unintentional. While I happily push on and grind into the hills, Louise is on the immediate lookout for an ideal camp spot. The gap between us grows. And so do the climbs. I get off the bike and wait for Louise to catch up. When I see the yellow helmet closing in, I start cheerleading... and then I realise the tide has really come in for Louise. We survive the meltdown that follows (including some unpleasant vocabulary) and find a tranquil camping spot that looks perfect for a final turn of the tide to bring this Easter Sunday to a good ending. 

There is nothing like a campfire to stimulate ambience. And then you add a full moon and the setting is perfect. Louise is happy, she reads aloud by the fire while we sip whiskey and eat chocolate.  What a way to wrap up this day.

And by the way, I also found a Telstra tower delivering good reception....

Location: Nundubbermere QLD 4380, Australia

Comments

  1. BrendaApril 23, 2022 at 8:22 AM

    Family is important wherever you travel, your thoughts were no doubt felt regardless of lack of reception. Easter is a special time all over the world. I am learning some resilience training myself from your ability to come back from the brink. It is amazing how you support each other

    ReplyDelete

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