Rum and Ginger

The drive from Cairns was undertaken with no extra passengers. We felt we could do the relatively short drive (1713 km) more erratically and leisurely that way. We did it in four days, camping in national parks or forests twice and in a free roadside camping once. But we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn on the way down. This is their December. It is cold. The first night was alright. The second night, after seeing some crocs being fed and koalas and such, we stayed in a national forest in a campground 12 km along a dirt track. A German ex-pat was camping there and we set down next to him in the dark. He invited us to his massive fire and told us he has been travelling for 10 years since retiring. I think he knows every corner of the country, he knew in detail exactly the places we had been.

Each of our three camps, we were visited by a new creature. The first night it was little black turkeys, keen to annoy us with turkey noises and rustling of grass. In the state forest the following night it was clever little possums. They came down from the trees at dusk, and quickly discovered our tomatoes and bread. Kent even put a rock on our pantry tupperware and the cheeky monkeys worked so hard at the handles they pulled them off. The third night was the frozen free camp, where we saw Grey Nomads in their natural habitat. Louis excitedly identified them in a whisper. They arrive quietly, hours before you do, and await the veil of night in their caravans, enjoying an occasional brisk walk through camp. Then, without warning, they turn on their generators and outdoor floodlights and watch satellite TV. In all honesty, we met a few lovely RV campers who were helpful and polite, and genuinely interested in our trip. All the elements of camping came together like the four ingredients of a bittersweet instant coffee: good simple meals, waking up cold at night, meeting fellow campers and wildlife.

Yesterday, we finally made it to our most important destination: Bundaberg! Yes, the site of the famous rum distillery as well as the ginger beer brewery (read ginger ale). We visited both places and sampled their sweet nectars and bought some drinks and merch. Unfortunately, Bundie is not the stuff dreams are made of and we decided to push on. Even more unfortunately, Kent scored the first speeding ticket of the trip, doing one one four in a hundred zone. The cop didn’t scold, infact he must have been trying to meet his quota of the night before taking a little nap, he rushed off without even saying “no buts meow, that’s the law.”

As if compelled by the television gods, Louis got out of bed last night to see what he was hearing on TV. It was only Bill Maher but a promo said that Conan O'Brien was coming up and Jimmy Fallon too. Louis stayed up half the night watching them, gleeful and content.

This morning, in the Mooloolaba hostel, Coldplay blared through blown speakers early in the morning as if to make some young packpacker feel it was the soundtrack to their OC inspired life. We now turn our attention to the beach, and ponder the next stretch of road to Brisneyland. Without having actually seen the beach yet, this potent holiday spot seems like a cross between Perth’s Scarborough beach and the Sydney Harbour. The Sunshine Coast we are just an hour or two from Bris Vegas, small country roads are now divided highways with roadside motels and fast-food joints and everything! We are both looking forward to settling down for a bit, and lord knows Subo needs a break (and a new rear left tyre!).