We left Mundubbera in the drizzle this morning.

The whole of Queensland is experiencing a bit of wet for a few days and nowhere is exempt. It’s quite comfortable though because it’s still pretty warm. As native Victorians, rain means instant cold weather so to have wet weather and wet still be warm is quite a novelty.

As we were pulling out of the caravan park, the owner was inside one of the onsite cabins cleaning it. We tooted as we pulled out and as we hit the main road on the other side, there she was waving us goodbye. She must have rushed out of the unit and bolted across the lawn to be standing out the front waving us goodbye. That enthusiasm would go a long way in a number of the caravan parks we have stayed in. Good on them, I hope they enjoy their stint Managing the park. 

As we travelled we saw lots of evidence of the recent flooding. There was a lot of roadworks along the way where road crews were repairing the bitumen. We saw complete orchards bare of all foliage and most of the orchard lying horizontal on the ground. The landscape was bleak and black. Muddy and soggy. It wasn’t an enjoyable sight out of the windows and we marvelled at the devastation that the communities had been through. People’s lives were literally lying on the roads and paths around us. It was horrifying.

We reached Monto and had something to eat. We were heading North and had decided to keep driving until we found somewhere we might like to stop. About 30 minutes out of Monto we saw a turn off for Cania Gorge National Park. We hadn’t heard about it but decided to head there. There was a caravan park there which looked peaceful and they advertised that the gorge walks commenced from there. We booked in. Not long after we had set up we heard the sprinkle of rain on the roof so we had lunch thinking it might stop. No such luck. I picked up a book opened it and began to read. Hours later it was still raining and I was still reading. Caleb was quietly playing and Ray was outside under shelter reading also. It was peaceful and cathartic. I didn’t intend to break the peace so I kept reading until I realised it was dark outside. Caleb got up, stretched and demanded feeding. 
I finished my novel after tea, glad for a half day of nothingness and hoping that tomorrow would reveal at least a patch of blue sky.