The rolling Rainbow Region geography
Continuing on her circle loop and under the advice of at least three Australians, she left the Channon market to head for Nimbin – the apparent drug capital of Australia – well from a marijuana perspective. So not really knowing where she was going and just following the signs, she headed north. The road became narrower and windier. Even though its apparent speed was 80 km with the winding and narrowness, she was baffled to see how anyone would drive that fast. Not only that, there was a lot of traffic and it took all her concentration to see far enough ahead for oncoming cars. She stuck as far to her side as she could but it was nerve racking because it seemed the other cars coming towards her couldn’t care less and more than one time she felt she gave up more than her fair share of the road to just squeak by the oncoming car which seemed to believe it owned the road. “Selfish Austrlians,” she mumbled under her breath, more from the stress of the driving than believing it was true.
Twisting and winding, and ancient tree on Mount Nardi
So she finally hit a T-intersection where there was one of the few signs she often saw on the roads (seems Australians don’t like to go overboard on signage – guess you are just supposed to know street names etc…). It was Nimbin to the south for 5 km or Mt. Nardi to the north for 7 km. Well given that the poor diggity dogs had not been out of the car for a bit, she decided it would be good to take them for a hike, so north she went. Well if she thought the last road was narrow and windy, this one took the cake. Luckily it was an access road for Nightcap National Park so the traffic was minimal, but double the windiness and add steepness, it was another nail biter. But finally they arrived at the top.
Neo (black) and Chewy happily exploring the forest
Neo and Chewy, with their pent up energy, bounded out of the car, racing back and forth, taking in the scents and sounds. She decided to do what looked like a little loop called the Pholis Gap. This immediately started heading downwards. Luckily she had changed from her flip flops to her more rugged Merrell sandals. But where were her Vibrams when she needed them? There’s short sightedness. This was a lovely example of subtropical rainforest. She didn’t know the names of the trees or the birds which she heard, but it was a busy place. The most important thing to her was just to keep her eye out for spiders and snakes since Australia was well populated with poisonous ones.
Elaeocarpis grandis - also known as the Blue Marble Tree
The subtropical rainforest was rich with species she had never seen live before. Very different from the Canadian rainforest. Most prominent were the Blue Marble Trees with their quirky trunks which extended out in thin (relative to the thickness of the trunk) sheets at the base. They were fascinating and ancient in feel. Peppered throughout were palms of sorts, ferns and vines twisting and turning over everything.
A good example of the Blue Marble tree with its sheet like base
Chewy and Neo raced in and out of the forest. She didn’t know how dogs did it, ploughing through the underbrush, likely meeting up with snakes and spiders, yet naively undeterred. Chewy, being the youngest, was full of piss and vinegar and boundless energy. Suddenly, stairs, and more stairs going down down down. Follow the stairs. “Wasn’t that nice of someone to put these in” she thought. “However it also means that I will be climbing back up,” she said. Oh well, exercise. Besides, today had been mostly driving.
Tongues a-wagging, heading back.
Well they got to the turn around in the loop so she started following the return, less open trail. And it only became less obvious and open. To the point of not really being there, and she really was not in clothing for bushwacking. So turn around they do. Neo had started to tire and was mostly just following on her heels whilst Chewy kept running ahead. Numerous times she prodded Neo forward when the dog got in front and didn’t want to walk fast. But the dog had 4 legs and she only two, so the dog would be fine.
Stairs in a forest, how convenient!
Back to the top they went. At one point she felt something soft and wet in her shoe. In Canada she would not have stopped to wonder what it was but here she had been warned about leeches. Sure enough one had found the space between her toes and was wiggling about. Quickly she flicked it off before it had a chance to grab hold. “Hah, got ya” she said. Feeling awfully proud of not getting stuck with a leech sucking her blood, she was more careful about her footing making sure not to step under brush or get dirt in her shoes. Sure she thought she had them beat. Wait until she got to Nimbin. But with the dogs now well exercised and a hike under their belt, it was time to head to Nimbin.
I see the face, can you? It's a little crooked with the two eyes in the upper right, a small nose underneath and a vertical smile on the lower left.
Ok, this feels crazy to read! Who is she anyway? She needs to proof read a little … or not!
Yes she does proof read from time to time but mostly writes in a stream of consciousness. Often she goes back and fixes stuff. Sometimes not. Check out the comment sections for the reason of third person.