Life has been a “funny old thing” over the past few weeks. And not surprisingly… the theme of ongoing change has seen me back on the road again. This time… homeward bound to the tropical north after six months living away. The time away was what I needed to regroup and reassess my loss and what I had gained as a consequence. [And there can never be one without the other]. It was a time when I tested out other possibilities and alternative scenarios for my life.
What I came up with was… I missed my friends and family… and this place I have called home for so many years. I missed the familiar beauty of it… the lush green environment… the sky at dusk. More than anything I missed [me]… realising for the first time perhaps… how inextricably linked I am to this world and my particular place in it. For now I need to be where I can create. That’s the artist in me I guess.
It feels good to be home. Even if the notion of “home” is still as yet rather abstract as I search for a new place [of my own] to call home. It won’t be as it was before. It will be better! And I will be better… and stronger. Already the creative ideas are flowing. This place just “does it for me” I guess.
THE JOURNEY
The drive home was incredible. Again… it will come as no surprise how much I love being out on the open road! That sense of glorious freedom with the long black ribbon of highway stretching out ahead is almost indescribable. The “possibilities” out there seem endless. Optimism abounds and creative thought takes over.
I decided to take the 1750 kilometre road trip north in two gigantic bites. Leaving the Gold Coast at 9.30 am on Saturday morning… I broke the journey that night in Rockhampton 683 kilometres away.
Late in the day I sailed into Rocky alongside a coal train as it thundered along beside the road… giving real sense to the speed the car was travelling (!) The early evening light was intoxicating. The air was balmy. A single coconut palm stood in blank relief by the side of a bridge as I crossed over the Tropic of Capricorn and finally I knew I was going home.
Next morning…back on the road again before daylight… I encountered the problem of early morning fog. But like so many things in life… what seems at first to be a problem turns out to be something else! Grin.
The fog painted a surreal landscape out on the flat plains of Central Queensland. Treetops hovered mysteriously above the ground as far as the eye could see… their trunks shrouded in mist.
Soon the sun rose and bathed the world in a rosy glow. Then the fog lifted and it was plain sailing for the next three hours straight until I again reached the sea.
Across all the years of travelling this route… the aquamarine sea still comes as a huge surprise coming out of that harsh outback landscape at the end of the Marlborough stretch. Anyone who’s ever driven it will know exactly what I’m talking about!
Anyone who hasn’t… well… you really should!
The countryside morphed and changed a number of times as I zoomed along the highway stopping only for fuel and water along the way. I didn’t want anything else. It was only the journey I needed for now.
By mid afternoon on the second day and only three hours short of my destination… I finally relinquished the road and steered into the Frosty Mango for a sandwich… a cappuccino… and yes you guessed it… the ubiquitous mango gelati!
Anyone who has ever travelled this way has stopped at the Frosty Mango for a breather… and this day was no different… with people from all over the place stopping to commune there for drinks and ice-cream before continuing on their respective journeys.
A consummate people watcher… it was fascinating to at last sit out under an umbrella in the warmth of the tropical winter sun and simply observe the passing parade of travellers and tourists of almost every stripe… in caravans and RVs… in sedans and on Harley’s… some even on foot with only the thumb of their right hand to secure their onward journey!
There was something about this place that really captured my imagination. It enjoys a strange congruence of people and place; the chance meeting of total strangers going in opposite directions… each with his or her own purpose. No-one really spoke beyond a nod or a reluctant smile… but the sense of kinship in a common aim was unmistakable and a surprising comfort along the way.
The little sugar town into which I was born – my parents are both buried here.
The journey could have ended as it began… as a simple unremarkable movement from place to place… but somehow I felt changed by the experience.
Somewhere along the way I remember looking up into the intense blue sky and pondering how very easy it is to fly over this vast distance in just two short hours. It was something I had done many times before. By road it takes almost twenty four.
But who would choose to do it otherwise?
Who would choose to miss this?
EPILOGUE
It occurred to me then that travelling by road is a bit like life really. It’s long and it’s arduous. The way is never altogether smooth. There are potholes and detours… hold ups and handicaps… and experiences galore. We might choose to skim over the surface… or traverse it in small predictable bites.
Or we might choose to immerse ourselves entirely in the length and breadth of the road… choosing to feel the full impact of the experience… enduring the full intensity of life’s pain and joy along the way. There are no guarantees that the road (or the people on it) will be kind. But the road has many bends with good people everywhere and surprises around each corner… if we would only stop long enough to look.
It’s a personal choice… but one we must make… and soon. I can’t say I’m not scared out of my wits at times… but I guess that’s part of the journeying process isn’t it?
When it’s all said and done… it’s the contrast in life that we need as human beings. For it’s the lightness and darkness of the human experience that brings depth, meaning and gainful longevity to a fully lived life.
I’m going to do it again sometime soon! The road trip that is. [grin]
As for life… well… I might not get another chance at it… so I’d better hurry up and get on with it!
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Beautiful post, Jean. I wish you all the best in your continued life journey, and am joyful that things are going well. Yes, there’s nothing like a road trip for seeing the world in a new and wondrous way. I can totally relate, having driven the U.S. from lower left to upper right and back twice now, most of the time camping out, and look forward to doing it again, only meandering more next time. Your lovely and evocative words served as another major push to get moving again!
Thanks for sharing the journey with me Jean. I am adding that trip to the list of things to do. Sounds magnificent. Can’t avoid the sense of excitement you have about embarking on new beginnings.
Thanks John
So glad I was able to inspire you to get those wheels under you once again. Crossing the US from Coast to Coast would be a great experience. It is a country of huge contrasts (and very different from Australia)… so interesting to see.
I reckon the open road is the best place to clear cobwebs and reawaken the creative pathways. Especially good to go by yourself… that way you’re in the very best of company… and don’t have to answer to anyone but yourself! And if you do start answering yourself… it’s time to stop for a coffee and a good walk around! [Grin]
Thanks Joh
Yes by all means… come North… you won’t regret it! Maybe not around Christmas time though… the place is just too darned hot and rainy around then. But the middle of the year is literally Paradise!
Jean, I meant to mention, great photo of you. You look terrific.
A wonderful read: John Steinbeck’s Travels With Charlie. I had my dogs om both journeys, and they were the best traveling companions.
Thanks John. How I came to be in a swimming pool fully clothed is another story LOL (I have a mountain of them – grin) The photographer thought it would make for some ‘cool’ shots… and he wasn’t wrong. By the time I was in up to my neck I was shivering so much they had to haul me out. Needless to say the photo shoot was a lot of fun!
I’ll watch out for Travels with Charlie… I get the feeling it could be a good read!
Meant to say too everyone… when you check out the link (above) for the Frosty Mango… don’t forget to take a look at the video. It’s a tourist promo but a lot of fun to watch as Paul Mercurio (Strictly Ballroom) taste tests 101,000 varieties of pure fruit icecream. Way too much of a good thing! LOL