The lumbering night train made for a grinding backdrop.
This evening, I had reason to dig into my archive in search of some specific shots. I wasn’t very successful, but found a little mix from a night of failed crocodile baiting in Weipa.
When a machete comes in handy.
There were only a handful of streetlights, pools against the inky dark of night…
Memory lane is fun. Anyway, back to plotting…
I missed this one when it went viral in 2009, but back then I was planning my own adventures. Now, on a sunny London afternoon (yes, they exist), having just been for a walk in the park (… for those counting, this is a pre-scheduled post!) it seems like a fantastic idea.
But how far could I push myself on a project like this? A week? A month? A year? Where would I do it? China has many obstacles; the language would probably be one of the biggest. Also, though, the culture isn’t something that fascinates me. Europe? Or is it too developed to be fun? Australia? Would I survive the wilderness?
Would I walk, or ride a bike, or drive a car like I did in 2010?
At Congo, New South Wales, on a crisp winter afternoon...
Could I build surfing into the trip, and if so, how would I manage the gear? Could it be an amazing way to experience the United States?
As you can see, my head is buzzing with ideas. London has been an urban adventure, but it doesn’t sate in me the hunger awakened by my youth at the shack, then travel with my family aged 11, then 5 months with Dad aged 15, and my own adventures since.
That there is The Shack at Point Turton, and it holds some of my most precious memories.
If you navigate the map downwards (south) of those buildings, you can see a dark brown area of land – ‘the swamp’ – which we, as a handful of kids, used to explore and trek and play in. It was full of twisted trees and sheep bones and little mystery hideouts. We clambered through barbed wire fences and felt a sense of wonder at the world, but also what I can only describe as naturalness at being there, a state that can only be achieved when the journey is not about achieving ‘place x’ but simply to see what’s there.
OK, this is garbled and long, but it has planted a more determined seed than the existing one inside me which chatters away, vaguely telling me to ‘see more of the world’. It might not be tomorrow, it might not be this year, but… watch this space.
I’ve done some serious travelling this year: 5 months of dedicated travel in Australia, Ireland and Scotland, plus what amounts to 3 months in London. Of that time, much of it was spent exploring far-flung, wild areas well away from the bustle of city life. Here’s the 5 moments I enjoyed the most while off the beaten track in 2010.
1. New England Night and Sunrise, Great Dividing Range – at the start of my road trip, I ventured into the depths of New England National Park for a night. It was clear, freezing cold and remote. The Corolla was tested for 20km of potholed dirt road to get to the campsite, and I shivered through a frosty night. I woke in the predawn and continued to the top of the mountain, to a stunning view and silence more complete than I’ve ever experienced.
I saw every side of Bawley Point in the few short weeks I spent there. I camped in a maelstrom of wild gales, sat in awe of enormous storm swells, explored the beaches on stunning, clear days and shivered on freezing nights. I miss the adventure and the solitude; the privacy of a headland to myself, the occasional curiosity of the friendly local kangaroos.
Can you take a minute to lose yourself in my dream? It’s a place you’ve probably never been, at a moment in time that will never be repeated. It’s one of an infinite series of places and moments that live on only in memories or dreams; if we forget them, they are lost to time.
You take a deep breath. Crisp, clean air – there isn’t a town for a hundred miles. The fog slowly burns off, leaving in its wake a cold, sunny day. And that’s where your imagination has to take over – thanks for visiting my memory of New England National Park.
