Day 147 | Alice: time for a break

96 km | zzOz total: 7,669 km

I’m stretching out this last day, that’s why I’ve pulled into a rest area, 3 have been located at the top of the hills since Redbank, but despite a benign day and a low key level of Sunday traffic, ie, none, I’ve only cranked out 13 km. This is where I ate that sugar cake last time around.

Checked out the amazing view down the valley, there’s long running bands of vertically stacked rock, sometimes only a couple feet wide, loosely piled, why doesn’t that heap blow over with the wind?

A few 4WDs start sporadically appearing in the rest area, I’m sitting at a picnic table in the shade, all do exactly the same thing: drive over to the very edge of the view, then without dismounting, some photography from the window, they wheel around and move along. Start to finish it takes, 3 or so minutes from entry to exit.

One 4WD breaks the mould, a large bottomed gal clambers out and into the shrubbery, toilet stop I s’pose.

Cruises close by, the window down.

You been around? she asks, twirling a finger in the air.

Yeah, I guess I have, although I’m not entirely sure of what around she means. You going around too? no finger twirling required for me.

Yup. Need anything?

No, just a hug from me Mom, I say.

How about a grape? Wow, that’s something new.

Sure. As she fiddles around inside the cab I make some conversation. I’m not always skilled in this area.

Been listening to Cold Chisel to get me up that hill. (This type of revelation would normally floor anybody who knows me, I mean, really.)

What?

It’s not a question as if she hasn’t heard me, it’s expressing a remote interest. She doesn’t sound too perturbed by my Bogan choice of propulsion motivation, hey, they might even still listen to that ancient history out here.

She hands me a single grape through the window plucked between immaculately groomed nails, maybe that’s where she works.

Oh, Driving Wheels, that’s archetypal Chisel, but with an unusually muddy guitar non-solo, Jimmy singing great over a mush of instrumentation, the band just don’t know, or care, and a powerful Gospel 2nd chorus.

What else? she persists. A second grape is produced.

Hungry and Broken Hearted. Another grape.

That all?

Oh, (slightly less than innocently), the organ solo on Janelle.

This time she sticks the grape straight into my gob. I playfully bite a little.

Her friend, no doubt used to her errant behaviour suddenly animates, exasperated, eyes rolling, Come on.

Encounter with stray locals out on a day trip over they fang off.

I’m off too.

Yeah, I try to go slowly to take this last day for a while in.

The scenery is inspiring with the range just over there on the right but immediately there’s 3 5km down hill, then later a whole lot more, and the wind has turned around to a decent westerly pushing me urgently towards the end of my current trail.