Thanks one and all for the concern at my absence.  Yes I should have let you know what I was doing.

For some time now I have been contemplating moving back to sunny Queensland and two weeks ago the decision was finally made.  A quick trip up to sign up for a neat little house in the Forest Lake area of Brisbane and I will be moving around the end of the month.  Much now to do.

However, as I was driving up I traveled along the Newell to Coonabarrabran, then the Oxley to Tamworth, then the New England Highway through to Warwick and the Cunningham to Brisbane.  While driving along I was listening to a number of old Slim Dusty CD's and my mind was taken back quite a lot.  It was about half way into the trip up that I was reminded of the song by Cher - If I Could Turn Back Time.

I first traveled the New England Highway as a 10 year old boy with my family in dads old Ford Customline. We went from Sydney to Gympie in Queensland.  From memory I think it was 3 or 4 days for the trip and I remembered it well.  We slept in the car and I recall at Glen Innes it was so cold that ice settled on the windows on the inside of the car. I next drove along the same Highway when I was around 17 with a mate and again by motor bike when I was 20.  There were also a few other occasions many years ago.

This trip however I found that the old New England Highway is no longer.  It bypasses towns, no longer crawls up very steep curvy hills or follows creeks, it's a totally new road.  This saddened me and I constantly looked for where the old road was.  A little strip of bitumen here and there off to the side, an old bridge remains in the distance.  I even traveled off the highway to visit a few of those old towns from my memory.

Traveling along that Highway back then was a great experience.  Every roadside stop had a fireplace to boil the billy and it was often that you stopped and shared a brew with fellow travelers.  Not any longer as there is a Maccas about every two hours.

So where has that past all gone.  I know where.  It is in our minds and our dreams.  Life was simpler then wasn't it and thats why I was reminded of Cher's song.

If only we could turn back time.


Derek

Sad really Derek. They call it moving forward and planning for the future.
They can have it mate. I feel sorry for my kids not being able to experience what I did. I tell the kids stories about hunting down at the creek and the likes and they really think I'm joking.
Anyhow thats life and that's the way it goes I reckon, so I guess we have to just grin and bear it.
Maybe thats why most of us on here are happy to go bush camping and enjoying the simple things in life, like CO cooking.

Just my opinion
Skiproosel

Derek,
        I remember that song well but mainly for the film clip :-X
Skip

Ok,
Quote:

Not any longer as there is a Maccas about every two hours.

, what's a Maccas?

Re. the old roads, could you turn them into places to hike?  Especially. with a canine companion?

BTW I'm moving in a little over 3 months, like you from one province to another.  I've been here more than 24 years.  

:-/

Maccas = McDonalds Fast Food

Derek, All the best with the move. :)

Talking about how things changed. I grew up not far from Forest Lake at Algester. I remember Forest Lake, Calamvale, Parksinson and the other areas was bush with narrow dirt roads. Now houses and those narrow dirt roads are 4 lane roads.

Still Forest Lake is not a bad place to live. 8-)

wrote on Feb 10^th, 2008 at 9:57pm:

Maccas = McDonalds Fast Food

Better than a Wally World every 200 km.

:-[

you better give me the heads up on when the garage sale is on derek so I can slip around before the other vultures. good luck with the move.

shane