So the long-awaited Friday finally arrived and I was so excited to be heading back to Vegas to catch up with my girls. To be honest, we've probably made more of an effort to stay in touch since I've moved to Toowoomba, but still it feels like it's been ages since I've been able to give them a hug and have a proper gossip of the calibre that is only possible with people you've known more than half your life (gulp).
So after the first aborted attempt to leave town (forgot my iphone - oh the horror), we finally hit the road.
And the traffic.
I've only ever driven the Toowoomba/Vegas route on the weekends or during the week at odd times and never encounter traffic on my back-streets foray from work to home, so I didn't realise that despite this being a much smaller place than Brisbane, peak hour is peak hour wherever you go.
Getting down the range wasn't too bad, at least we kept moving, but then we literally came to a standstill...where we waited, and waited, and waited. Meanwhile it looked like my car was going up a degree more than it should have been, and after a serious Tenterfield debacle last easter where my car's engine literally blew, I'm a little overzealous when it comes to these things. So after a quick pitstop to reassure myself that water/oil ratios were all present and correct, we continued on our (very slow) merry way.
So roadworks after roadworks averted, we pass an electronic sign saying 'Fire Hazard, Hatton Vale. Expect Delays'. Wondering wtf this was all about, we finally hit a decent speed and were on our way, excitedly chatting about seeing Cathy and the kids (whom E just adores) and also totally pumped after E's sports carnival that day where he scored 2nd in the 100 metres, 3rd in the 200 and 5th in the 800 metres, thank you very much my little sportstar!
So here I am slightly frustrated about all the delays as I was hoping to get to Vegas before dark, when we pass through the Hatton Vale region to see this so-called 'Fire Hazard'.
Fire hazard my ass!!!! It was a proper, old fashion bloody BUSHFIRE.
Seriously, the whole hillside right beside the road on the opposite side was completely alight. There were police and emergency services everywhere and the smoke was so thick it went right through the ventilation systems in the car. Passing by in such close proximity on the opposite side of the road was absolutely frightening. What was worse is that cars were still driving on the other side of the road, literally METRES from blazing trees.
It was terrifying and so, so sad to see such a picturesque area going up in smoke.
I just hope and pray that no-one lost their animals, belongings or god forbid, their lives during this blaze.
By the time we got clear of the smoky haze, it was full-on dark but fortunately we were nearing Brisbane by this stage.
Meanwhile I realised I didn't know the number of Cathy's new house, as she's recently moved since I've been in Toowoomba. Silly bitch decides to just not answer her phone however, so E and I are laughing and leaving increasingly ridiculous voicemails, the last being 'answer your bloody phone!'.
We finally hear back just as we're a few streets away, so out comes iphone maps with E as navigator.
Well there's an error in judgement.
E's skills in navigation include directions such as 'somewhere up ahead we need to turn right but I don't know where'.
And...
'Oh there's the street we were meant to turn down...you know, the one we just passed'
By the time we pulled up in front of Cath's house, I was so relieved to be there I could've kissed the ground. Fortunately our arrival coincided with that of our other friend Kathy (too many (K)Cathys, I tell you!) so I kissed her instead.
And we'd arrived!!!!
xx
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| Not a great photo due to the smoky haze, but here's us approaching the bushfire (and yes, I was wearing my gloves whilst driving, it was cold, OK? |
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