Noosa to Broome - Day 1 & 2 (Alpha & Avon Downs)

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Day 1. I was keen to get an early start. No alarm required she’ll be right.



Wide awake at 0400! Well that’s too early so I tried to talk myself into going back to sleep of course that is impossible.



Oh except for one case – involving me.



If I may digress for just a bit. It was my last job before hitting the road maybe in August 2009 and hell yeah it was funny at the time. Back then I worked with 2 blokes good blokes Bruce and Chris. We had commenced at this particular place virtually at the same time, it was a new business opening up on the Sunshine Coast. Anyway it was early on in the piece and we were entering stock into MYOB.



It was getting repetitive and monotonous!



This had been going on for what seemed almost forever, say a couple of days. To cut a long story short (a great song, an old fave) Bruce was giving me details of each item ie description, stock number etc as I entered it into the computer. I just went to sleep on him! I’m told for maybe 4 or 5 seconds you know, one of those microsleeps.



When I woke up I was pretty sure what had just happened but I wasn’t sure if Bruce knew. I simply said “did you say something”?



The mongrel was right onto me he came straight back “you just fell asleep” and laughed his head off. We both did. Best I don’t quote some of the other things he said.



You can’t sleep while you’re involved in conversation.



So I upped it at about 0530 and eventually departed at 0750. That’s fine let’s see what the day brings. I had decided a couple of days before that I would head up to Rockhampton and then chuck a lefty. So I did. I have done this particular route numerous times and was not particularly looking forward to it but it’s what you gotta do.



I stopped at Alpha around 1845 in the caravan park where I’d stayed before. I had done about 960 k’s. Pitched my tent while I had a quick stubbie and headed down the pub for dinner, I had chicken keiv (turns out it WAS the same thing as chicken kiev) with salad and chips. I was a hungry man and it satisfied me.



DAY 2. Up and at ‘em (love the Griswalds) it was still dark with a slight glimpse of light on the horizon so I did the shower thing. And drove out at 0605 around sunrise.



It was starting to get hot the kind of hot when the console is hot to touch and the firewall and gearbox that kind of stuff. I have to be very wary of microsleeps!



Tonight I am free camping at Avon Downs Rest Area. It has a dunny and across the road is the Police Station perhaps providing a sense of security. I stopped at 1740 and had driven about 1,140 km’s. The next stop was just too far and it would have been well dark.



The flies! Incredibly welcoming! I was hoping for a spectacular sunset because it had the makings, unfortunately not to be but there’ll be plenty of others. I took a few different shots around the place.



It’s a nice breeze blowing but if you venture in to windless territory the Mozzies are right on you. Dinner was way less flash than last night, I polished off the twiggy sticks and chook wing I had bought a couple of days before and topped it off with one of the plain leftover tiger rolls – yummo.



Thank you Sarah for preparing my lunches, I had some delish chicken and salad rolls.



I hadn’t pitched the tent this time I thought I’d have a nice sleep in the front seat. Hmmmm that did not go quite to plan. The car was still stinking hot inside I’m talking about 34 degrees and I couldn’t open the windows because the mozzies were keen to feast.



Fair dinkum I was up about 5 times throughout the night to go for a walk and cool down but it stayed like that all night.



Just one other thing I’d nearly forgot and who doesn’t enjoy a laugh? I filled up at Camooweal my last refuel for the day and I was wearing one of my Beatles shirts. The Indian fella about 30 with some stylish head and facial hair happening working in the garage stared at my shirt for maybe 5 seconds then said “The Beatles hmm are they a band”?



You’ve gotta laugh.



Take care travel safe and remember - it's nice to be important but it's important to be nice.

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Photos

Another challenge
This trailer took ages to overtake it kept swaying from one side of the road to the other. Except when a vehicle was approaching from the other direction!