My world walk blog Australia 41 

It's Everywhere

I spent an hour and a half waiting in the Roma bus station in Brisbane waiting for my bus to return me to Toowoomba. That was the spot that I paused my Australian walk for a summer timeout to walk New Zealand. Thanks to Greyhound Australia for a free passage for Karma, my cart. While waiting a man called Jason Cowden who is originally from County Down in Northern Ireland stopped for a chat and he kindly bought me a cappuccino and a sandwich. He now works for Hilti tools. Previously, he worked in the gold mines in Mt. Isa. It is a small town in the middle of nowhere in Queensland, this same state that I'm walking in. The town has a huge Irish community. While chatting about my immediate route he mentioned that he has a mate in Dalby and is working on a place for me to stay! Thanks to Sally Carpenter in Brisbane, the state capital. She kindly picked me up from the airport, gave me a lovely stay for the night and then dropped me at the bus station. Not to mention she minded Karma for three months. Thanks also to Tina King-Garde for massive help and hospitality.

In Toowoomba, I was soon back walking Australia. To get to the restart point I had to walk seven kilometres from Toowoomba and I didn't count that distance. When I eventually arrived I just turned around and walked all the way back to a pizza restaurant where I had left Karma. After my break to walk New Zealand my legs were a bit sticky but I soon got back into gear.  There was little point in pushing my cart out to the restart and then returning it to town... By the time I got back, it was late afternoon and sunset was on the way. The temperature had been hovering at a hot 30 degrees C with just a light cooling breeze. I really wanted to keep moving and to clear the city so I chose some back roads which just added an extra three km to my route to Oakey. I walked through some quiet city roads and eventually came out on Cecil Plains Road. Traffic was light and at times there was decent shoulder so I walked on and enjoyed the refreshing evening breeze. Eventually when I decided it was time to pitch my tent. I had covered 21 official kilometres as I did not count the seven back to my route. That night I pitched my tent on a wide shoulder of grass at the edge of a little-used local access road. With no overhead shade, it was sweltering in my tent when I awoke. In many ways, it was good to be pushing Karma again, even if she is a bit cumbersome its still nice to have all of the extra luxuries like a cooker and extra food. 

I broke camp without breakfast, just a quick cup of tea and an energy bar. After almost an hours walking, I came to a junction and walked north for about seven km and was delighted that there were only about ten vehicles in that time. I walked past fields which were full of strange crops which I was told is Sorghun. According to the Good Food Guide, it is wonder grain and has reached global superfood status. A traditional seed-like grain native to Africa, Sorghum is now gaining momentum as the healthy grain alternative. Firstly, it's gluten-free, non-GMO and is said to contain less fat than quinoa, but to top it off it's also massively high in protein and fibre and is proven to have a higher antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nature than blueberries and pomegranates. The grain also contains anthocyanins – powerful phytochemicals proven to fight off cancer and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and obesity. 

It was also the first day of Autumn I was told, but it sure didn't feel like it and my phone told me it was 31C. Back in Ireland and much of Europe, there is a serious snow storm which has been dubbed 'the beast of the east'. Schools, offices are closed and flights are cancelled. My sister told me to make the most of it, in my own real world and that she has no sympathy for me.

That backroad took me back onto the busy route 2 but it was easy going as I had a nice wide shoulder to walk on.

A television filmmaker who had driven over from Melbourne to work on a real 'survival' show stopped to take my photo. "Let me guess, they were bitching about not having enough showers, clothes, food and broken fingernails?" I joked.

"Pretty much and not real survival as you are doing!" was her reply.

Then a man called Noel came along on his kid's scooter. I had met him on the road and invited him to walk into Oakey with me. First, he returned his car home before scooting out to me. We had a pleasant walk all the way to a fish n chips shop where we stopped for a chat while I ate. His father died of cancer a few years prior and he felt he wanted to walk with me to honour him and to show support for my walk. While we chatted we got talking to another woman called Caroline who had lost her husband to prostate cancer some years back. "He was 65 and full of life.

 She insisted on paying for my meal. So, I treated my friends to a two-litre bottle of Coke while we chatted. Just then three high school girls came in and mentioned that their friend, a former teacher aged fifty-seven passed away, a victim of the so-called Big C. It's everywhere.