[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajZxKdHhoyM[/youtube]
Aussie singer/songwriter, Graeme Connors, is one of my favourite Australian artists. Unlike many who feel that the have to resort to ockerism in order to express the Australian experience, Connors relies on his lyricism to do it and he does it beautifully as in the above song. And, despite the fact that my brother and I often laugh about his constant whining about how great Queensland is, I can forgive him that too.
Well, I am sharing the Connors experience this week. I haven’t been to Queensland since 2010 when I did the Six Days on the Road tour, but I have now been twice in the last week!
Last week it was the Shannons nationals at Lakeside and this week it is a family break in sunny Cairns. While the Lakeside trip was a last-minute affair, this one has been in the planning for some time. We haven’t had a real holiday since Norfolk Island in May 2013 so we were overdue. And, since the furthest north I have been in Qld is Caloundra and Townsville for Helena, we thought we’d go the whole hog.
After getting away from Sydney over an hour late last night while the plane waited in the cue to get airborne, the first and lasting impression of the Virgin version of the 737 was that cattle class gets a much better class of seats than other airlines’ iterations of the model. With at least 15cm (6″) more legroom than any plane I’ve travelled in, the nearly 3 hour flight from Sydney to Cairns went far better than I could have hoped. An aisle seat, as usual, gave me even more room to stretch the game leg and we touched down here just a bit after 9 and headed to the hotel.
This morning we caught the bus downtown to get the lie of the land. A huge paddling pool on the lawn in the middle of town was crowded with holiday-makers while families basked in the sun all around. Gee, some people get it tough.
Tomorrow we had out early for the gondola ride to the top of the mountain and the Barron Falls followed by a train trip back to town. As I said, some people are doing it tough. Heaps of bikes on the road up here, mostly ridden by squids (when will they learn?)
Lastly, please spare a thought and a prayer, if you do it, for my good mate, Ottis Lance. The crazy Texan was involved in a serious accident while riding to work the other morning. A woman driver crossed to the wrong side of the road and mowed him down. An operation has cleared him of major liver damage (though it is lacerated) but it was touch and go whether the surgeons would be able to save his right leg which was badly smashed. The operation completely removed a section of the femur that was too badly mangled to be repaired so, at the moment, he has only part of a femur. Bone grafts over the next few months will be done in an attempt to rejoin the undamaged ends so it is going to be a very long and, sadly, a very painful rehabilitation.
Nevertheless, he is in good spirits with lots of friends and family close by and the knowledge that his wider circle of friends from all around the world are pulling for him. Unfortunately, we may not see him at PI in January, though I have been told NOT to count it out at this stage! You can’t beat Texas.
Reporting from Cairns, far north Queensland, this is me. Catch you tomorrow.