(written by Nancy)

We both slept great at Hugh & Jude’s house – quiet and comfy. We had breakfast and more stimulating conversation with Hugh and then he kindly escorted us from their house to the main road we were to take for the first 20k or so.

Hugh and Nancy

The road, the Warrego Hwy, was pretty wild. This is a major route between Toowoomba and Brisbane, so we waited until after 9 to leave to let the rush hour traffic get through. The first 10k or so was a massive downhill, coming off the range to the east. The sign at the beginning said 10%, with all kinds of warnings for trucks to use lower gears. The first little bit was under construction to reinforce the bank that had been undermined during the flooding, so it was down to one lane. Once two lanes opened back up we actually were going past trucks in the right lane as they were going very slow due to the slope – not sure I have ever done that on my road bike even!

10% but note the trucks

We had a few more kilometers on the Warrego Hwy until we took a bypass to Gatton. This was a bit scary, as the shoulder was not great (or not there) and trucks were barreling down the road at that point. We made it to the Gatton turnoff and were very happy to get off the highway! On the way to Gatton we went through Grantham, another area very hard hit by the January floods. Most of the houses appeared to be destroyed, with grass and other debris showing high up in the trees. However, it did look like people were trying to get on with things, as many of the fields showed fresh plantings of crops.

By the time we got to Gatton it was about 11:30 so we stopped for an egg and bacon roll (or egg and bacon burger, as they seem to call them in Queensland) at Marie’s Have a Chat Café (can’t go by a café name like that!). They hit the spot, and fueled us for the remaining 45k or so to our final destination. From Gatton we had a little bit to go and then finally got to turn North and take advantage of the winds. Whew, what a difference that made. The roads were narrow but traffic was not bad – a few trucks but most waited patiently for us or pulled far over into the other lane. We were a bit surprised at the terrain. I think we expected flat open farmlands, a bit like yesterday, but the area was actually quite forested and very up and down.

Egg and Bacon in Gatton

There were trucks with loads of fresh crops coming out from some of the dirt roads. At one point Dave said something about seeing a potato bump off a truck that had turned. He turned around to go see what it was and came back with a sweet potato in his handlebar bag to eat later!

We finally made it to Esk about 3 or so and stopped at the Tourist Information Center to get the scope on the area. We got some good maps and info on the Somerset Region, where we are now. There are some pretty lakes on the road north of us. We have booked into the Esk Caravan Park for two days – time to take a day off after the last couple of days to recuperate.

PicturESK

We had a great dinner in the camp kitchen and had a chance to chat with a fellow, Rod Ritchie, on a road trip on his motorcycle who lives up north. We may end up at his place in a few weeks! There was also a group of local Dutch and Irish friends having a potluck who were quite funny. Dave sweet-talked a couple of pieces of leftover cake us and Rod and an extra stewed pear that they had. A very nice dessert after a good meal.

Oh, we also sliced up the sweet potato and Dave fried it lightly in some olive oil and spices – it turned out quite tasty! We will have to try that again (perhaps even buy one at the store instead of eating road kill…).