Friday, September 21

With tragedy comes beauty

Last night we camped on the banks of a river. It was a beautiful place. Tall slender gums lining up along the water's edge and retreating back as far as the eye could see. A picturesque image that I know my words would never do justice.

After the heartbreak of saying goodbye to my aunt, uncle and my sister, her new husband and their beautiful son, the comfort of a secluded waterhole was exactly what I needed. Though as with a lot of this trip it was not exactly how we had planned.

We left Cairns at about 10am, which was a bit later than what Mr Awesome had hoped for yet hours before I was ready. The plan was to power through till Charter's Towers. Around 600km or six hours away. Just the right distance for the first day.

Even though I had taken the car for a drive the day before I was still a bit reserved about her reliability. Not that there is any validity behind these reservations because she is actually going better than before after her little visit to the mechanics at the start of the week.

After the first two hours I began to relax and soak in the tranquility of my surroundings. By this time the busyness of the city had been left behind the magic of the bush was beginning to work it's magic on my pained soul.


Thanks to the air conditioner no longer working our fuel consumption was surprisingly less than expected and we realized we would be able to make it destination without needing a top up. We had enough snacks and things in the car to ward off hunger pangs so we powered on.

About 50kms after Ingham, and the same before Townsville and around 180kms before our planned final destination for the day we came to a grinding halt. There were cars backed up for further than our eyes could see.

Being somewhat of a sticky beak I put my double pluggers on and jumped put to have a gander at what was going on. I got a few cars down before I came across a truck driver with a two way radio. I stopped to ask what he had heard but apparently what ever was causing the blockage was still so fresh it hadn't hit the airwaves yet.

Wandering on a bit further I could see that the road started to bend and the cars continued to bank up. In the distance I could just make out the flashing of lights. My stomach sank a little, flashing lights were never good.

There were three truckies standing around talking. As I approached I could here the words fatality and three to four hours. Turns out there had been an accident involving a semi and two cars. They didn't have all the details but there had been a death and the road would be closed for a while.

Not needing to actually see any more I headed back to the car. Relaying what I had heard to others along the way. By now it was nearly three in the after noon.

We retraced our steps to try and find somewhere to set up camp for the night. As much as we wanted to go on further waiting by the side of the road for some four hours was not really an option. However we also didn't want to go back to far either as that would just put us even further behind the next day.

In many ways it was almost as if the universe had scripted it all to make us stop and enjoy some of the beauty that mother nature has to offer. Mind you as I sat there bathing in the glorious water way I couldn't help but think of the family that had just lost their son. My deepest condolences to all who knew the 31 year old man that tragically lost his life.

Fairy wishes & butterfly kisses to one and all.

Joining in with Grace for a bit of Friday flogging

9 comments:

  1. oh no :( that is just terrible. Sounds like a great trip for you guys, fatality delay aside.

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  2. It's always really shocking when something like that happens. I remember driving to horseriding in a beautiful part of the country and seeing a motor-biker on the side of the road. I hope the next part of your journey is smoother.

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  3. I hate seeing car accidents. So many could be avoided if people slowed down a bit.

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  4. Oh, what a terrible day for those poor people. Rachel x

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  5. Oh that is sad.
    The night before Taylah was born, we we out walking trying to move the contractions along, and there was a car crash only about 50m from us.
    I found out afterwards that the driver, a young man died.
    It was the craziest feeling, being happy with a newborn, but sad for that families loss.

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  6. Oh dear that is so sad to hear :( We have a lot of accidents on our busy roads here and it always breaks my heart knowing somebody died in one.

    Drive safely, everyone.

    Ai @ Sakura Haruka

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  7. oh sending big hugs... I have been in a few car crashes, seeing and being in them is terrible.. :(



    popping over from FYBF :) xx

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  8. Oh, that's just awful. When I was younger, I made a lot of trips to Jakarta to visit family. The traffic there is diabolical and fatalities are rampant. Saw so many terrible accidents.
    Praying for that young man's family too.

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  9. What a terrible thing to encounter. I guess if it teaches us anything its that life is fragile and we should enjoy the moment. I wish you all the best for a safe trip home.
    Love Mumabulous

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Fairy wishes and butterfly kisses to you, thanks for stopping by, it really means a lot, you taking the time so say hi. I try as much as I can to write a reply but if for some chance I don't get to it please know that I always read them.