“That looks an exciting road!” I exclaimed to Chris as we approached Birnum Range Road on the right just off the main road to Beaudesert. It reminded me of some of the roads from my childhood in Gumdale, not least because it was a dirt road, although it was in much better condition than Molle Road (our road) of old, which used to flood every year when there wasn’t a drought.

“Let’s go up it on our way back,” suggested Chris, “it will be a mystery tour.”

Beaudesert was very hot. It hit us like a wet electric blanket as we got out of the super cool air-conditioned Subaru and walked into Hungry Jacks for a fifty-cent ice-cream apiece.

“Shall we explore Beaudesert or find that road?” Chris asked with a twinkle in his eyes when we were back in the car. He knew the answer before he had asked.

Birnum Range Road proved to be as exciting as it sounds: it took us away from country-town suburbia and into the bush, up into isolated territory with picturesque Queenslander dwellings set on private hilltops. We stopped frequently to get out and take in the views (and take photographs). Old beer cans and bottles left on the ground at the best vantage points were testaments to the beauty of the land beyond and the pleasantness of standing under the trees, perhaps more especially when, as yesterday, a balmy breeze was in the air…

And clouds of dust followed the cars… And my mind went back to Gumdale…