Maji's blog: "Life shtuff..."

<div align="left"><font color="#33FFFF">Back on the 10th, took the scenic rural drive up to Queensland, via Ballina and Grafton, a landscape marked with small townships amidst sugar cane fields and cow pastures backdropped with eucalyptus covered mountains....when the rains started. This didnt make getting acclimated to driving left side of the road any easier, but trudged on.
I did like how the rest stops had holding tanks that accumulated rain from the small shelter's gutters for use as flush water in their restrooms, dont see much of that in the states.
 The cicadas were like natures symphony in the treetops at my stops along the way. I recorded a bit on my phone just to remember how it sounded.
Further north I got the worse the rain set in, pissing sideways in fact. I saw the tributaries were starting to flow over the banks, and had to make several detours due to impassable roads, so switched over to local news radio to get the updates of road conditions ahead. Turned out this was a good idea, as things were worse than thought. A town northwest of me called Tawoomba had been literally wiped out but sudden flash flooding and that whole area was being closed off. Time to stop and plan...
I came across a little blinking light town called Ulmarra and pulled in to recharge and gather intel. The buildings were all front-only decored to the street almost like a wild west movie set. A little cafe at the end of the street with a porch diner looked like a good place to rest.
I went in to the restaurant amidst the clatter of convos and dinnerware tinkling and had a look. When I spoke to the lady at the order desk, half the place hushed to hear my accent, which told me they didnt get many Mercan visitors. To break the awkwardness I spouted "Does anyone here play the banjo?" which was well received with a robust outburst of laughter from the locals and raised glasses at me making a funny, and then resumed with their normal clatter.
 Turned out the joke wasnt over as I ordered just a large cappy and the lady handed me a pager...yes, a pager, for a cappuccino. So I had a look about the adjoining rustic hotel and bar. Twenty minutes later I got my brew and had a sit and a smoke on the porch. The silence was short however as some patrons struck up questions about where I was from and headed etc, to which I utilized to gather info about my planned trek. This is where they told me I better rethink my journey. They debated amongst themselves about what routes I should take and that should forget Brisbane for now. I absorbed and thanked them for all their generous advise and concern, and made haste back to the highway and the torrential downpour.</font></div>