A bicycle ride into town and karma catches up with me as I feel the sudden rush of wind behind my ear and adrenaline through my system as a magpie swoops me. I can only laugh as I wave my hand frantically over my head fending off the repeated attacks. A teenage girl watches me from the front steps of a country church and I hope she is being entertained.
Despite developing a sore throat through the night and feeling a bit off we head to Tamworth for the morning. We hoped to get to Aldi just before opening hours & pick up a cheap portable toilet. I figured there may be half a dozen people lined up to be first through the doors. Boy was I mistaken...the queue almost extending out the shopping centre doors.
As I made my way through the throng to reach the toilets, the most sought after items appeared to be the solar panels and generators, as happy punters strode past me towards the checkout. The toilets weren't as popular and I had no problem securing one but after examination and further thought I said 'Bugger it. If I have to empty them, then I want to do it in style'. We ended up at Tamworth Camping World who were having a sale and got a fancy one at a good price.
The evening was reserved for rugby league as Manly took on the doggies. Talk about a roller-coaster ride. I was glum early when we were down 16 nil, ecstatic when Cheyse Blair scored in the corner, worried when Hodkinson potted a late field goal, elated when Chezza did likewise and then devastated to lose it in extra time. Oh well…there’s always next year.
Sunday saw us head up to nearby Mount Borah - a paragliding hotspot. To get there we passed through cattle and sheep farms as well as hay plantations. A steep ascent was a good excuse to put her into 4W4 and we slowly made our way up the mountain. At the top we were greeted by several model plane enthusiasts and paragliders - you could say two very different sub cultures.
A large area covered in astro turf is used to launch the paragliders into the air, 400m or so above ground level. In the right conditions i.e. plenty of thermals they can travel up to 200km before having to land. Amazing! On this day though the conditions didn't seem so good as they landed just a few kilometres away. Not that we minded though - the conditions were perfect for a picnic lunch as we ate some of Tomoko's tasty sangers in the warm sunshine.
We were gifted with a pretty sunset for our last day in Manilla. It was a good couple of days. The facilities are more primitive than what we are used to and Tomoko and Shaka were a bit spooked at first. It was a good transition as we will be free camping at our next stop. Until next time…ja ne.
