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Welcome to Jack and Dad's Big Adventure Blog! Instead of rambling on along the lines of 'and then we did this and then we did that' we're going to use an arrangement of:
AWESOME: The standout feature of the day. Doesn't have to be a sight..could be a meal or even a comment!
ROOKIE ERRORS: No doubt many along the way but should hopefully make for some amusing reading
SIGHTS: Stuff we saw which is worthy of note!
DRIVE: Road conditions, fuel, maybe some tips for folks who might want to try parts of this trek.
BEST ON GROUND: Stuff that was extremely useful worthwhile taking (the 500 page chronicle of the life of legendary coach Norm Smith is not going to make this list).
SIGNATURE TUNE: This is a musical journey. Much of this trip is inspired by music that has been in my heart and soul for many, many years. Jack has added his touches. We'll try to capture a tune that captures the day. We'll print lyrics, notes and a link to the clip where available.
So here goes for Day One:
AWESOME: Just the feeling of finally being out on the road after all our planning, packing and plotting. Pulling into Workman's Beach camp was a good feeling with plenty of other campers about, though most in semi-luxurious motor homes!
ROOKIE ERRORS: Driving into the underground car park at Gympie Coles and hitting the safety height rail with 'The Bullet' which is our single fin retro gun surfboard stacked high on top of the Navara. "Jack, am I right to go". "Yeah, no worries dad, you'll make it". Early sign not to rely on Jack's clearance guesstimates.
SIGHTS: Agnes Water is just beautiful. Being on the beach as the sun set after a long drive was brilliant. Stopped at Repco Gympie trying to fix the stupid bike carrier (the top plate is missing).
DRIVE: We'd only recently driven up most of this highway. Jack remembered where their rowing bus was delayed after a horse float rollover earlier in the year. We turned off to a dirt road (John CLifford Way) just before Miriam Vale. Was a successful test for a fully laden Navara and we were glad to have left the highway.
BEST ON GROUND: Clips for glasses attached to the sun visors. No more lost/damaged glasses.
SIGNATURE TUNE: First day so just has to be On The Punt by The Aerial Maps. Once described by Paul Kelly as the 'Quintessential Australian Song' and so relevant to this trip in many ways. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAIh8fH0cbU
Just search 'The Aerial Maps' On The Punt in You Tube if this doesn't work.
ON THE PUNT. THE AERIAL MAPS
My father loved a punt and on most afternoons
we'd come home from school
and he'd be calling up PhoneTAB:
this is 20791900, he'd say,
this is 20791900, thank you,
race 5, Eagle Farm, number six, four units each way,
race 6, Flemington, number 12, there's two units each way
thank you very much
his transistor covered in a brown leather case,
frayed at the edges
and the lino floor in the kitchen
and he loved a punt my dad
and jesus he lost a lot
he loved a punt my dad
and jeez he lost a lot
and i connect that with
long drives in hot cars, hot leather seats
which burnt your legs to touch
and non-specific coastal roads;
and non-specific coastal roads;
(it's all coming back to me right now)
these aren't the places of magazines,
these are nowhere in history writ,
they figure in no mythology.
not a bit
there's static on the car radio
and many years have passed,
scattered cassettes are lying on the floor,
and the window are stuck-fast-dry,
out the windows,
bits of roadside kill
and it's been several years now that
that i've been lost,
all those years since my father died
and i don't believe a minute of that
not for one second
not for one second.
Because the bitumen it flew
into my face years ago,
it stuck in my cheeks
stuck in my chin and
caught in my eyes
and it's been many years
all manner of cars:
Chargers and other Valiants,
Holdens, XCS
All manner of Japanese imports
I can remember them all
cos I never forget
and I remember everything
my father loved a punt
oh he lost a lot
and we've up and down we've been across,
and me personally
have eaten so many bags of hot chips,
so many meat pies,
drunk so many cans of Coke,
so many bottles of lemonade
chocolate milkshakes,
so many cakes from cake shops
so many pies from pie shops
so many bananas from roadside stalls.
It's been many years now
and I remember my father and
I remember him on the phone tab
And jesus he lost a lot
And these years I've been lost
I've been driving,
raising my index fingers
to the oncoming cars,
just to say
how's it going?
Just like my dad used to do
In the old Valiant
oh across rivers and towns and over plains,
the Hay Plain
the Nullabor
places which don't resonate with the tourists,
the tourists have no idea of this history,
for many years I've been lost,
I've been so stuck on the roads and
we've become a road ourselves.
ah he lost a lot my dad
he used to say on the PhoneTAB:
this is 20791900,
Race 5 Randwick, thank you
Race six Eagle Farm
coming from some distance town
some distant place
oh the Daptos of my life
and the childhood
little signs that say such and such
and such and such.
this is the road there,
this is the road back,
this is the time I drove
so far
and so long
this is the time I
ate
that
custard tart.
Ahh this is 20791900,
all the while i've been dragging something,
all the way from Cairns to Broome and back again
all these things have been holding me back,
so I drove to another coastal town
look for another surf point
look for another right hander coming around a bend
and as I do the radio flickers to life
and on the races come on from distant town
from Eagle Farm or Flemington
from Eagle Farm or Flemington
and I hear my father saying those afternoons
this is 20791900, thank you
ah race 5, Eagle Farm, number six, four units each way,
race 6, Flemington, number 12, two units each way...
ah he lost a lot
but jeez he lost a lot
he lost a lot
but jeez he lost a lot
he was on the punt
on the punt
on the punt
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