This weekend Devin and I decided to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and go to the country. Well, when I say country I mean the Sunshine Coast. It isn’t exactly “the bush”, but compared to Brisbane it is welcomingly restful.
Most of last Friday was rainy and dreary in the city, and when we arrived on the Sunny Coast that evening it was more of the same….except not. When off loading the car we both stopped for a few seconds and took a deep breath. The air was fresh, and carried the smell of wet dirt and grass. Devin’s response struck it perfectly, “Oh my gosh, it smells like autumn!”
Now for those who don’t understand what the big deal is. While there are distinct seasons here in South-East Queensland, it isn’t often clearly portrayed. Most of the plant and tree species here are evergreens, so there is very little of the green – orange – red leave colour changes here, or the fresh smell of mountains of decaying leaves. (Did I just put “fresh” and “decaying” together? Hmmm…still works for me).
So it seems to take the keen smell of city-dwellers to appreciate the aroma of country autumn. I just called us city-dwellers, though in truth we aren’t really. We’ve only been living in Brisbane for the last three months. Devin grew up on an acreage just outside a small town in Minnesota, USA. I’ve lived in lower dense residential areas of towns in South Africa, and for the last few years in Nambour on the Sunshine Coast. So while we think Brisbane is a nice place, we would try to escape it atleast every two week. Even if it is just for a few hour hiking trip in the nearby mountain forests. *For more on that trip click HERE
We love the outdoors – the outdoors is good for us!
Though the Sunshine Coast is more often associated with its beautiful beaches, for this weekend we’ve taken on challenging dirt roads in the counrty side and twisty roads up the Hinterland hills. Ok fine, it wasn’t that extreme since nothing was more than probably 6km from my parents’ house. It was however very relaxing and provided many great oppertunities for photography. For more photos check out my ‘Photography‘ section under the ‘Art’ tab above.
It is time to go back to city life now, but we will be back in a couple weeks. The thought of sitting on the beach while enjoying the peaceful sound of the waves is most tempting.
So tell me where you like to escape to, and what it is about that place that draws so strongly…
Johan Joubert 