As the alarm failed to go off we did not awake until 07:20hrs. However, having become so practised at preparing breakfast, packing clothes and food, and loading up the car, we nonetheless found ourselves departing the motel at 07:50hrs. Even at this modest hour the mercury was off the scale, with air temperature climbing to over 40C by noon. Fortunately, travel eastward out of The Outback to Goondiwindi was 'a breeze', with very little traffic to contend with, and road conditions on the byways being surprisingly good. However, the excessive amount of road kill encountered on route completely sapped all pleasure, and would definitely dent tourism to the region.
Owing to the time zone change crossing into Queensland, we arrived in Goondiwindi at just after noon. With the town offering little by way of entertainment, and with both of us still feeling relatively fresh, we pondered whether to push through all the way to Brisbane, rather than prolong the holiday another day. Following 'consultations' with Emilie it soon became apparent that we could reach home long before dark, and possibly before the evening rush hour. We thus decided to forge ahead, maintaining strict adherence to a 2-hour driver changeover schedule that we had instigated on leaving Jindabyne. ('Stop, Revive, Survive').
Though the roads became ever more crowded the closer we approached Brisbane, we nonetheless managed to precisely match Emilie's ETA prediction of 16:32 hrs. On arrival our trusted steed had covered 912 km since leaving Bourke, with total distance travelled during our 'Mega Transect' of SE Australia, spanning 5 states, being just 7km short of 6,000km! While we could simply bask in such impressive statistics and reflect on the amazing experiences that we shared during the holiday, thoughts are already turning to our next great adventure. Where shall we go? What can we do? What new records can we set? Watch this space.....
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