The five nights that we have just spent at Undara Lava Tubes for the annual Rock and Blues Festival was one of the most enjoyable times we have ever had. We danced, sang, laughed, ate and drank our way through three days of festival music. The line-up of artists was exceptional and the festival team have to be congratulated for the huge effort they put into making this weekend enjoyable for all. I think the thing that we loved the most about the weekend was that the vast majority of people were our age so even if we are not terribly good at shaking the tail feathers, no one is judging because they are just too busy enjoying themselves.
Of course it helps to have the company of good friends. Jane, Micheal, Philip and I could sit and talk for hours but then also respected the quiet down time that we all needed after a late night or two. Jane had pre-pared some delicious meals and I contributed where I could. It worked well. Micheal enjoys a campfire so two of the five nights we were able to immerse ourselves in the smoky orange flicker of fire with the smell of the bush, that only a campfire can bring. Perfection.
We hiked for two of the mornings. The first hike was a very long one called the Bush Walk. I wouldn't recommend it. We walked for around 6km along an only just visible path through very thick spear grass. If anyone has ever had the experience of spear grass let me tell you it is not pleasant. The barbs from the grass penetrate right into clothing and can make for a very uncomfortable walk. We stopped numerous times to pick them out of our clothing. When we finally left the spear grass behind we were then confronted with a swamp! By the time we got back to camp our shoes were very squishy with water.
A far better walk that we did twice was much shorter, around 2km, but it took you to the top of the bluff above Undara Central. Looking out from the bluff towards the camping area there is not a vehicle/caravan/camper to be seen because each and very site has an abundance of shady trees. It makes for a very pleasant camp. The only downside was the Khaki Weed that has inundated the camping area. We used to call this invasive weed "prickles". They get into everything and as we packed up our camp we made sure that we were not carrying any of the weed with us.
Our next stop is Charters Towers where we will stock up on a bit of fruit and veg and will try to find the Mosaic mural that has been making news. It is 80 metres long and 7 metres tall. I don't think we will have any trouble finding it!
No comments:
Post a Comment