Wolves and Kangaroos

"When you have completed 95 percent of your journey, 

you are only halfway there." 

Japanese Proverb

Ghastly Painful Sheila (the GPS) was up to her usual tricks trying to get us lost in the outback.  Of course, the detours never had anything to do with me (the blonde Sheila) fiddling with the settings as we headed north to Noosa.  Surprisingly however, the electronics did come up with a wonderful restaurant suggestion when we wandered of the Pacific Highway in search of sustenance.  

White Jade Cafe www.whitejade.com.au

“Luck is like having a rice dumpling fly into your mouth”

Japanese Proverb

The White Jade Cafe completely changed our day.  We drove around Pottsville's roundabout several times and parked on the street corner doubting GPSheila all the way.  Cursing our navigator,  we ran through a downpour towards a quaint looking cottage.  Dripping on the veranda we squinted through the raindrops at the menu.  There was a "heating is on" sign scribbled onto a scrap of paper which sealed the deal.  A man with a mafia moustache opened the door and waved us along the wooden floorboards to the wide smiling waitress.  The cafe was a vintage clothing shop and the walls were decorated with retro accessories and jewellery.  The low chatter of the clientele had steamed the windows opaque and the rain drilled on the corrugated roof to a backdrop of muted conversations.  The tomato and basil soup I ordered was laced with bacon chunks.  The feast for my stomach was matched by the feast for my eyes as I took in the vibrantly colored silk kimono hung from the wall.  The light was brighter in the front "tea" room which was lined with racks of vintage lace dresses and clothes from the sixties.  The bathroom foyer was displaying tempting bead necklaces and antique earrings.  My inner magpie was squawking with delight.  The whole visual and culinary feast had been a welcome stylish surprise.

"It's no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. 

Fiction has to make sense."

Mark Twain

Further north by the side of the road sat the Ettamogah Pub.  The first pub was a figment of a very creative imagination, merely a cartoon featured in a magazine.  Using the cartoon as the blueprint, actual pubs were erected and the fictional pub was brought to life.  On top of the Sunshine Coast Pub sits a 1927 Chevy.  In the cartoon story it arrived on the roof after a flood and the owners never bothered to remove it.  

"A cool breeze stirred my hair at that moment, 

as the night wind began to come down from the hills, 

but it felt like a breath from another world.” 

Francis Marion Crawford

We'd had so much rain I imagined we also could end up being swept away, but with dumb blonde luck we'd probably end up on top of a parking meter.  Luckily, the weather cleared a little as we finally arrived in Noosa and our hotel for the night was a wonderful respite from the cold and the damp.  The name Noosa is derived from the Aboriginal word which means "shade" or "shadows".  Perhaps the Kabi tribe enjoyed respite from the sun offered by the tall forests in the area.  

"And if tonight my soul may find her peace 
in sleep, and sink in good oblivion, 
and in the morning wake like a new-opened flower 
then I have been dipped again in God, and new-created.
" D.H. Lawrence


With a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast the rain of yesterday was as forgotten as the stale crispy creme donuts in the back of the car.  We would return to Noosa, but for now we needed to get back on the road and head north.

Finding our way on the back roads was proving as difficult as spotting any wild kangaroo.  When we followed the dirt road as per GPSheila's instructions we came to a junction with far too many warning signs than we felt comfortable with.

"It's like trying to pin down a kangaroo on a trampoline." Sid Waddell

"I chose the wrong fork in the road, took the road less traveled and got off the beaten path and now I don't know where the hell I am." Unknown.

It didn't matter that we were clueless as to where we were, where we were going or where we had come from.  All that mattered was that the last few days had indeed been very wet.  We had to decide if we should risk continuing on and save a great deal of time and fuel, or avoid the red mud road and double back to the gravel and eventually the sealed highway.

"Sometimes the road less traveled

 is less traveled for a reason" 

Jerry Seinfeld

Sanity won out, we "chucked a 'u-ey" and returned the way we had just come.  In true dumb blonde fashion we had clocked up plenty miles, used up fuel and gone nowhere.  The only thing we had achieved was an appetite.  Luckily Wolvi General Store seemed to be offering up a solution to all our needs.

"The woman just ahead of you at the supermarket checkout has all the delectable groceries you didn't even know they carried."  Mignon McLaughlin

This was turning into a cultural experience of note as we ordered steak sanga's, meat pies and sausage rolls from the chalkboard menu.  The owner was only to happy to have a chat and we had soon put the world to rights over a cuppa tea.  

Replenished and rejuvenated we started out anew.  The end of our rainbow did not prove to be elusive as we pulled into Rainbow Beach just on dusk.  With seconds to spare we managed to unload the bags at the motel before the heavens opened once more and the evening deluge began.  

“Anytime you suffer a setback or disappointment, 

put your head down and plow ahead.” 

Les Brown