Reflections

Firstly, a massive thank-you to Kerry and Conor for doing so much to help make October such an awesome month for me. Without my blog I wouldn’t have remembered everything, but in a good way just because I did so much while I was there. I wouldn’t have had it any other way though.

Burt Munro (The World’s Fastest Indian) is famously quoted as saying “You live more in five minutes flat out on a fast motorcycle than most people live in a lifetime”. As a biker I get that, but I reckon I came pretty close in October.

So, what did I do? Well, here goes:

I travelled ten thousand miles across the world, encountering delay and diversion in the process due to the issues in the Middle East, went on a crocodile spotting cruise, rode a motorbike for hundreds of kilometres in October without the need for thermals and waterproofs, rode some awesome roads, carried my daughter as a pillion, twice went camping in the Australian Bush, panned for gold – and found a tiny bit, learned how to spot huntsman spiders in the dark, visited some of Queensland’s oldest and most iconic pubs, signed the wall at the Lions Den, regularly walked along a beach fringed with palm trees and dotted with coconuts, enjoyed several walks through the rainforest, swam in a crystal clear freshwater pool in water running down through the rainforest, had barbies for tea on several occasions, went a full month without having to use my blue inhaler or GTN spray, went snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef and saw amazing coral, fish and reef sharks, ate kangaroo, ate crocodile, ate a selection of the best bacon and egg sandwiches ever, saw crocs in the wild, rode all 263 corners of the Gillies Range on the way to a day spent riding in the tablelands, visited the iconic Millaa Millaa waterfall, saw loads of amazing and varied scenery, went beach fishing – and packed up quickly when saltwater crocs appeared, saw a huge variety of native animals, birds and fish at the Wildlife Sanctuary – and  fed kangaroos from my hand, introduced cornish pasties and clotted cream to Port Douglas and whisky to Kerry and Conor, met Kerry from work for lunch, visited Cape Tribulation and Cooktown, saw some thirteen thousand year-old aboriginal cave paintings, stayed at a campsite in the middle of nowhere owned by a man originally from Stockport, held a wallaby joey, travelled the infamous red dirt of the Battlecamp Road, visited a range of breweries and distilleries, enjoyed a crocodile experience day, got a bush hat with corks on, drank rum cocktails from fresh coconuts while overlooking the Coral Sea, and saw water going down the plughole the other way!

I also met some great people, and avoided close contact with sharks, salties, stingers and huntsmen,

Ripper mate!

What an incredible month it was! I’m glad I recorded it as I went along. At some point I’ll try to upload more photos (maybe as a slideshow) and give links to videos.

On the way to the airport today we stopped at Yorkeys Knob for breakfast. As it was open this time it turned into a far better experience. I had a bacon and egg sandwich, obviously, and it didn’t disappoint. Outside we saw about ten black macaws, which are rare to spot in the wild yet were just there feeding on the grass.

As my first flight was domestic Kerry and Conor were able to come through to the departure lounge with me at Cairns Airport, and they stayed with me until it was time to board. We kept checking in case anything suddenly escalated and flights were cancelled but it didn’t happen, and I left on time for the three and a half hour flight.

At the moment I’m just catching my breath, sitting in Melbourne airport as I wait to start the second of my three flights home. And enjoying an Aussie beer. I’ll continue this as the journey goes on – hopefully incident-free this time!

I spent five hours at Melbourne Airport but it passed quickly enough and once again the flight left on time. The pilot got his foot down as well, so we made it to Doha in only thirteen and a half hours!

Unlike a month ago, this time  I was able to take my time and have a look around the airport as I had about two and a half hours to kill. There was a much bigger Duty-Free shop than at Melbourne, as well as many high-end retail outlets such as Harrods, Gucci, Omega, Hublot and Versace, to name but a few. The iPhone 16 was on sale for less than in the UK, but the discount wasn’t enough to make it a cheap impulse buy. I went to the  food court and bought a chicken sandwich instead.

The flight to Manchester left on time. The temperature when we arrived in Doha just after 5am was 27 degrees, which is substantially higher than what I was expecting when we reached our destination in about six and a half hours. Same goes for the clear blue sky!

In the event it was fourteen degrees and dry when we landed. There was full cloud, but, as Meatloaf said, two out of three ain’t bad!

And, just like that, I’m home again. A few days yet until I go back to work though.

I started this blog comparing the transportees journey to Australia two hundred years ago with our experience today. I concluded that we have it far better today, and I stand by that.

There is one area though that was better back then. They stayed for longer than a month, and I really wish I could have done.

But, as the big man said, ‘I’ll be back’!