Nabbed In Narrabri

The outlines of the mountain ranges are a blue purple shadow in the distance with several distinctive peaks standing tall against the sky. As I travel through more blackwood forests, I am reminded of the native seeds that I have grown to seedlings recently. I volunteer to grow assorted natives each year for The Tree Project which assists individuals and organisations revegetate degraded land with native species. To date the Blackwoods have been my most successful species. It is a delight to see what they may become.

The day is silent and hot as I pass through a sleepy sprawling mid-size town on my way to yet another sleepy sprawling mid-size town. They are tidy and sometimes pretty places however a visit to shopping centres indicates an absence of prosperity but an abundance of congenial pleasant people who smile and engage.

I who have never had a traffic ticket now have two (at least). On the outskirts of Narrabri, there was the flash from a parked car, and I was nabbed again. I will be lucky to get home, license intact.

Entering Queensland is a little bit Alice In Wonderland and it happens almost immediately. The towns are a much more manicured, a little greener and just feel more serene although they too, have a siesta quietness about them in the midday heat.

I take time to see a glorious exhibition of art works created by a woman living on a large rural property. These are created from petals, paper, fine precise stitching and indigo dying. They were delicate and intricate and represent hours of work. I walk though painted alleyways on the way back to my hotel and these too, bring life to the town.

In the largest regional town of my journey, I stay several days and have time to explore although I have a reasonably useless GPS and once again spend hours getting lost and not arriving at a desired destination. I did however visit an international textile biennale and several other exhibitions at the fabulous art gallery in the centre of the town. Textiles are a particular pleasure of mine and the exhibits here and in the other two galleries were beautifully curated. There were more muralled alleyways and cafes serving fresh delicious salads and vegetable bowl combinations hitherto absent from any town through which I have driven so far.

It's a long way to travel without eating something that is not fast, not encased in pastry or bread. The cobbled together supermarket meal which a least allows for a few salad ingredients is not assisted by most motels having no cutlery or plates in the room due to, they advise theft, or the rooms not being intended as places where food is prepared. The restaurants advertised as attached to motels I chose for this reason, were either shut or did only room service meals, with the only vegetable matter being chips and a sad rocket garnish.

I suggest that a salad bowl franchise, not serving any pasta in creamy sauce type salad options but with meat, fish, egg and chicken choices attached to leafy greens and other multicoloured vegetables would a smash across the country if the keeping it fresh logistics could be worked out. Ok, every small to medium size town, let's start a community garden for this purpose. And a water recycling system to keep it watered. And a kangaroo proof fence. Ok. Vegies in the bush are challenge but I have sorely missed the green ones.