Day 3 Kaimkillinbun

Distance today 72km. Woke this morning to a heavy fog and everything outside very wet indeed. My heads up to make sure any gear is covered or put away. I met up with Barbara and John on the way out and passed on my bag of non-essentials for now. They were kind enough to arrange a drop off with my partner when they’re back in Brisbane. They also gave me head’s up on the rail trail into Yarraman. The trail was beautiful and da great tip to start the day away from the traffic and serious hill into town. I have met some cool people today. I love the different folk I meet along the way. I topped up on some noodles and Carmen Bars and was able to fill my water bottle at the hotel that was just opening. The couple who manage the hotel were very curious and of course loved Banjo. From Yarraman it was onto Cooyar where I called my partner to have lunch together – nice!! also met a couple from the Sunshine Coast heading down to South Australia for a couple of months and a wine festival down there. Phone access is a real treat at this early stage of the challenge. The countryside is stunning with rolling hills and views out over the Bunya mountains. From Cooyar it was onto Wutul and crossing over the great dividing range. I was very proud of myself working through some tricky head space and feeling that sense of ‘yay’ at the top. My next break was at Maclagan then 5 Kms of long climbs heading towards Kaimkillenbun. 5kms out I spotted a farm close to the road and there were a couple of people walking towards the house. Oooo maybe a chance to camp. They have been kind to allow me to camp on their property and have access to the water tank. Mike and his family own a beef cattle farm with hay as a side business to get them through when money’s tight. His wife and two girls are nurses and his boy is up in the Kimberleys working open property’s. Late afternoon he took me on a quad ride around his property. Mike spoke about the trials since he bought the property in 2008. They were affected by the tsunami and lost the sheds and part of the house in 2015 from a tornado. The last couple of years they have been in drought and lost half of the cattle. His attitude is amazing still deeply loving his property and focused on rebuilding his cattle numbers. Most of his cows are with calf and the property has heaps of feed after the rainy season. It was inspiring listening to his story, super amazing amazing and big fun!!! I never know what the day will bring and I like that a lot. Time now for dinner and an early night. Might try and get underway a bit earlier tomorrow to do Dalby in the morning then onwards after lunch to see how far we can get. It’s good to do some more Km’s today. Great for the legs and mental state knowing I can ease into longer distances. Apparently it gets a bit flatter after Dalby with some hills around Miles.