Country Road

The road out of Mt Isa is pleasant enough and it's only a short ride to Longreach. The town of Longreach is famous for having a 747 parked in the middle of a paddock. It's a tourist attraction and for a nominal fee ($79!!!) you can get a guided tour of the cockpit, the wings, etc. Dave seems fairly excited about the prospect but I'm unexpectedly uninterested. There's something not quite right about a plane that doesn't fly. It seems dead, or broken, or something like that. To me it's like paying money to see whale carcasses on the beach rather than watching whales swimming in the ocean.

Dave is resolute on ending the odyssey early. He's had enough of traveling and he wants to go home. His brother lives near Brisbane and he's about to go overseas, so Dave wants to stay there for a few nights before heading straight back to Canberra. Dave invites me to his brother's place but I think that would be an awkward situation. I consider the idea of continuing the odyssey by myself although the idea of going home has a strong attraction. I'm seen everything I wanted to see - Kakadu was the last thing I had on my list - and I really hate the thought of more camping! I sleep on the decision.

The next morning I've made up my mind: I'm heading straight down through the centre of Queensland and New South Wales towards Canberra. Dave is going a slightly longer route via Brisbane so here's where we part ways.

Dave reckons it'll take me three days to reach Canberra so I challenge myself to make it in two days. The roads in Queensland are much better than Northern Territory and it's easy to keep the pace up, although the long hours in the saddle are wreaking havoc on my rear. As I travel south I can feel the air getting colder and colder; yesterday around lunchtime I'd be sweating yet today I've got the heated grips on full bore! I'm no longer enjoying the benefit of Dave's GPS so for only the second time since starting the trip I pull out my maps. My navigation skills are slightly rusty so it's a miracle I don't get lost.

After a long day of riding, most of it roughly approximating the speed limit, I reach Bourke with daylight to spare. The next morning I'm in a cheerful mood because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's absolutely freezing so I suit up with all the winter gear that hasn't been worn since Perth. Even with all the extra clothing the cold wind bites through my arms and chest and my teeth start to chatter. I see storm clouds towards the south and I hope it isn't raining in Canberra; I couldn't bear being this cold and wet as well.

The transformation in the landscape is astounding the further south I travel. Fields are greener, trees are taller, and there are farm animals everywhere. Only four days ago I was in the desert of the Northern Territory where the grass is brown, the trees are stunted, and the only animals I saw were dead ones by the side of the road. I begin to appreciate how lucky I am to live on the east coast. I've seen the sunburnt country and the sweeping plains and it's not my cup of tea. You need to be a special kind of person to love that kind of land.

The road winds through a shady forest and I almost weep with joy because I haven't seen a forest for weeks, much less ridden through one. The road starts to get twisty as I pass Boorowa with crests and hard turns. It's narrow and bumpy and I suffer a moment of panic because I'm no longer used to this kind of riding. It would be a disaster to crash the bike this close to home. I go wide on two corners and I'm almost collected by a truck before I force myself to slow down. Better to get home late rather than not get home at all.

I turn onto the Hume Highway near Yass and suddenly I feel like the trip is over even though there's at least an hour to go. The rest of the ride is merely bookkeeping. As I pull into my driveway I can hardly believe that the odyssey has ended. I park the bike, get off it gingerly, and step inside my house.

I'm home.