So yesterday, Saturday 17th Jan, this little introvert was feeling exhausted and overwhelmed, so she decided to run away.

I took off up into the D'Aguilar Range. It had been YEARS, like 9 years, since I had last been up here, but the memory of its beauty has stuck with me. Since moving to the Northside of Brissie a year ago, I hadn't realised that I was just 29 minutes away from the 'gateway' of the D'Aguilar, but now I do know! First stop was Walkabout Creek. We've had a lot of rain of late, but the creek was still dry. However the Ennogera Reservoir was full! I went for just a small hike, as it was a stinker of a day, temp was at 35C and the humidity was 66%, icky sticky. I took the Corymbia Circuit which comes in just under 1km. I then went down and checked out the reservoir that I had seen from up on the ridge. If I had something to swim in, I would have gone in as I was feeling pretty damn hot.

Out of Walkabout, left back onto the road and I stop at McAfee lookout, and then my old fave, Jolly's Lookout and then after that I stopped at Westridge Lookout. I drove up and over Mt Nebo and Mt Glorious, then hung a right to head back to Brisbane via the Samford Valley.

I found it interesting that up at McAfee's there was only the sound of the cicadas. When I got to Jolly's the cicadas were still buzzing, but there were the songs of the Currawongs filling the air. Then at Westridge, the cicadas were still in force, but the Currawongs had been replaced by another very distinct song, the Bell Birds. As I was snapping the view from the lookout at Westridge I noticed in the distance a fire. I wondered casually if it was a control burn or something more devastating.

By the time I got home I was feeling tired but also rejuvenated. There is something special about being amongst the trees, no people, no cars, no demands.