brightly.devoid.vocals

Weather: Overcast. Rain. 15C.

A sweet downhill roll to Cann River. The last time we came this way was just after the bushfires. Back then the road down snaked its way through a post apocalyptic cinder-scape. We were both shocked and I remember us discussing whether the bush would ever be able to recover from the fires.

Today the understory is replete with a rich regrowth, and many of the gums are in full recovery. Wildflowers poke out from the green like a constellation of asterisks footnoting the you-humans-really-dont-deserve-us resilience of our forrests.

However, the same could not be said of the road. It may have survived the bushfires, but the recent heavy rains have taken their toll. Most of the drive down required us to play pothole pinball. Kelly started calling them butt-holes (she is all class).
Some of them were total game stoppers.
And some of the hasty repairs were even worse….pot-hills!

We had planned to stay tonight at the most excellent (and free) Cann River Caravan park.
Pulling up we were excited to see the number of vacant sites (especially since it is a weekend). Scoping out a primo site I was just about to peel Ripley in, when Kelly yelled.

“Wait……STOP!
Its a trap!!!”

And it was a trap.
Although the ground looked verdant and inviting, the recent heavy rains had left it a lurking liquefaction… concocted of two parts quicksand, one part mud and 3 parts sinkholes that would deliver the foolish camper directly to the pits of hades.

If I had turned off the track onto the grass, my super heavy, pissy horsepowered, front wheel drive motorhome would have been bogged for at least a million years.

Disaster averted, we drove up the road a ways for our plan-B (always have a plan B). Tonight we will be staying at a pull-in just off the main road. It has a firm bitumen surface, toilets and some neat campfires.

• Whilst writing this post I discovered (afer a heated argument with Kelly) that my entire life I had thought the word was asterix not asterisk. I am an idiot.
• Front wheel drive motorhomes are particularly inept at getting off slippery or muddy ground. Especially if there is a slope.
  And because they are so heavy, you might initially think you are on the solid ground only to find that overnight you have sunk down just enough to ruin your day.
• Here is the Wiki Voyage link to Cann River.