I’m back home
But can’t settle
Miss the rumbling wheels beneath me
Melbourne still a touch too cold
So headed north
The warm arms of the north were beckoning me
To reach the humid warmth of the sub tropics
In northern NSW
The rolling curves of the mountains
The water flowing through moist valleys
And smooth flow of the sandy beach, the water warm and welcoming.
Bylong Way south of the Hunter Valley
Rolling green pasture
Snaking River
The road snaking and curving under the tyres of my bike
Along the northern edge of the Blue Mountains
Will this be lost
Will it be dug up
For a coal mine
Such a waste of land
And of history
Towns sitting in the pasture land
Nestled under the Blue Mountains
\
What a difference 2000 km makes
A couple of weeks ago I was on the Atherton Tableland
1000 metres high
Camping
A mild 14 degrees overnight
Last night
1000 metres high
The New England Tableland was -3
The frost white on the grass this morning.
It’s the last day of winter
And I’m heading south
Back home
It’s now sheep country not cattle
The Brahman studs replaced by merino studs
On a clear day the air is crisp and dry
The moist tropical air way north.
On the bike Im wearing 5 layers of clothes
Cause
Its now 2000 km south
I had ridden up to Jingellic to join some others camping on the side of the Murray River in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains. It was ANZAC day, in a part of the country linked to national legends, the men of the Snowy Mountains and the headwaters of the Murray River – Australia’s biggest river. It was cool and crisp camping by the river and on ANZAC Day the memorial service remembered other local legends who had died at Gallipoli and other fields of battles since. Other local legends. 
Hard men of the bush Dead on foreign shores But the river still flows Still on the surface Reflecting The mountains around The sky The heaven as a cloud hangs in the valley The river A mirror on the surface Is flowing relentlessly below
