Our first rest stop was the city of Toowoomba, nearly 100 km west of Brisbane, and here we got a taste of what was afflicting Queensland. In very short order there was a tremendous downpour as the heavens let loose their fury. It made driving difficult and I seem to recall driving around the city for a bit trying to find the way out, but we eventually did. Although I didn't know exactly where they lived, I did happen to know someone from Toowoomba; a former floormate of mine named Collette.
From Toowoomba we headed southwest towards Goondiwindi. As we were driving down the highway we encountered one of Australia's great problems --- poor road signage. We tried to find the turnoff to the route we wanted but couldn't so we took a turn that appeared to be the most reasonable approximation. Looking at the map we realized we were on the right track until out of nowhere, without any signage previously, we came to a barrier that said the road was closed. The bridge over the Condamine River was flooded and there was no hope of us getting across. Beside the bridge, someone had impaled a fish on a spike for some reason. A gentleman in a truck stopped as well and we asked him the best way to get to Goondiwindi and he said that the roads were mostly flooded, despite what I had read on the automobile association website the night before. Again, Isabella and I had to quickly improvise.
Looking at our atlas, it looked like our best option was to return to the turnoff but this time continue south along the New England Highway to Warwick and Stanthorpe. We drove on and I remember Warwick being quite abuzz with traffic. I think because it was now the primary route into NSW from Queensland. Warwick itself had just recovered from a flood and I could see evidence of recently cleared mud on the streets. Luckily, we made it through Warwick without much trouble.
Further south we reached Stanthorpe and as it happens, another former floormate of mine, Phil, was from this town. There wasn't much to see except a large apple which seemed to be the main tourist attraction on the highway. And not far south of Stanthorpe we crossed into NSW. Just before we did, we stopped at a little tourism info shed run by a lady volunteer. It's designed as a rest stop and there was coffee available too. I asked her what the road conditions were in NSW and she replied that as far as she'd heard, there'd been no road closures. I breathed a sigh of relief thinking that we finally had a bit of luck.
The rest of the trip that day mostly involved passing through small towns. The first was Tenterfield, a famous place in Australian history as it was at the local schoolhouse in 1891 that Sir Henry Parkes had given a speech advocating a federation. Although he died before Australia became a country, he is considered one of the major driving forces behind federation.
The next town was Glen Innes, and as it happens I know someone from there too, Alexandra. I first met her in Montreal where she was an exchange student at McGill University studying law. She was friends with my friend Andre who was studying medicine and I happened to visit him one day and he introduced me to her. Alexandra is now a lawyer in Sydney. Glen Innes wasn't all that interesting but it does sit at a crossroads and from here we turned west along the Gwydir Highway. I do remember telling Isabella that Glen Innes seemed very sleepy and picturesque, as we drove in under with waning light.
The next town was Inverell, and I know someone from there too, Christian. He is a person of part aboriginal heritage and I met him through mutual friends at Fenner Hall in my first year. He and I played Dungeons and Dragons with a few of my floormate Dimitris' friends. It seemed as though I knew people everywhere in Australia.
And finally we reached Moree at night. Driving along a lonely highway as dusk settles in is one of life's singular pleasures, I think, and this is especially true in Australia. Although you have to be careful of wildlife, there's no telling what you'll see and Isabella and I saw a kangaroo bound away from the road. This was nothing new to me but for Isabella it was her first encounter with a wild Australian animal icon. We reached Moree and immediately looked for a place to spend the night.
Isabella had brought a tent with her for the express purpose of sleeping outdoors whenever practical. This was to cut down on our costs since we could camp in many places instead of spending money on a motel or hostel. Isabella is very much an outdoors person and I have been a scout for a very long time so this seemed natural and was second nature to us. Australia is replete with rest stops that allow overnight stays and I had bought an atlas that showed where these spots were, how good they were and what sort of facilities were around. In this case, the place we chose was a little detour from the highway with only sheltered eating area but it provided everything we needed.
Isabella had also brought along a camp stove with some propane and as she set about making dinner, I pitched the tent. The dinner was fine and we were looking forward to doing some stargazing but the sky had broken clouds so we couldn't see all that much. I tried to point out the constellations as best I could and I think I even managed to find the Southern Cross. This was particularly interesting for Isabella as she had never seen it before; it is such a telling sign that you're in the southern hemisphere. With our tent pitched we settled into a relaxing slumber hoping that the rest of our trip would go to plan. The next day we would be heading into the outback and we were hoping nothing would go wrong as you can be in real trouble if you're stuck in the outback. The best laid plans, though, are often the ones that can most easily go awry.
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